MIXED SURFACE: a BC Bikepacking Story

We're not new to cycling.
We're definitely not new to backpacking.
But Bikepacking? This is new... and we're ready to give it a go.
We've chosen a self-supported, 3 day, 400km+ route from Kamloops BC, to Chilliwack BC. Utilizing smooth paved Highway, rural sideroads, chunky gravel, and some mysterious singletrack.
It became obvious early on in the trip that navigating the route would be secondary to navigating bike mechanical issues, weather, and the exhaustion of long days in the saddle.
Bikes:
2018 Rocky Mountain Solo 70
2019 Norco Search XR
Route Info:
www.komoot.com/tour/245626688
Music:
"Bunny" by Tourist
"A Riff With Stomps and Claps" by Fantoms
"Miles Apart" by Demure
"Mystery" by Third Age
""The Mighty Rio Grande" by This Will Destroy You
Shot with: GoPro 7 Black

[@scottsugimoto8223]

Stumbled across your channel . Truly enjoy your videos !

[@curtisgmchale]

I’ve always wondered about the Skagit connection into Chilliwack Lake from Manning Park. Now I’ll be prepared for an adventure.

[@YetiAdventure]

Hey Curts, yah it was pretty hectic in spots. Not technical riding necessarily, but just super undermaintained and overgrown. Keep in mind I have NO idea what shape it is in now, after the 2021 Floods, it probably rides even worse. Let us know what it's like if you head in there!

[@danielpeterson2770]

Using a song by "This Will Destroy You" seems appropriate considering the challenges. Great video guys. Makes me want to partake of the next adventure.

[@YetiAdventure]

Seriously though... We'd love to have you out on an adventure soon!

[@davidgoodier9151]

Great video of a great looking trip. That could be a great route.

[@YetiAdventure]

Thanks David! It's a fun ride, but we'd love to re-ride it and make some changes to avoid the highway sections.

[@shaunoleary8740]

Great video guys!

[@jamesrumble6842]

Fantastic trip and video, thanks for sharing. I cycled the Tulameen River section of the KVR this year, it was a beauty.

[@ryanmuller4996]

These videos are amazing, I love em!

[@YetiAdventure]

Thanks a ton Ryan. We really appreciate it.

[@clavebleeder2585]

This was great!!! Hope to see more over nighters from Kamloops in the future

[@YetiAdventure]

Thanks Clave! You can count on it. We have a few solid rides planned for 2021 and would love to capture a bit of the experience for a couple more short films.

[@moelouie8213]

This is good stuff. Well done! Gotta get Dave and I into a trip!

[@AdventuresWithDaniel]

Epic riding. Those are some huge days you put together! Nice work

[@YetiAdventure]

Thanks! The short days of winter definitely get us excited to get back out there in the summer for long days again. Much appreciated!

[@Benji...]

Love the edit and flow of this video, great work guys

[@YetiAdventure]

Thanks so much Benji! We really appreciate it!

[@SaltyBeard_Adventures]

I grew up in Kamloops, and was biked some of your route this Sept (2020). Excellent little film. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. :)) 👍🏻

[@YetiAdventure]

Oh man, Thank you! Ee loved your Vancouver Island Gravel Tour videos! We actually watched most of them while editing this film and it was always a bit of extra inspiration! Great work!

[@SaltyBeard_Adventures]

@@YetiAdventure Back at you... so awesome to hear feedback like that. Keep it real guys. Email me if your on the island. ~ salty

[@Yabogoad]

What a great video. Like another commenter said, great flow. I think you undersell just how hard that route you did is. Even the road sections would destroy most cyclists. You guys are weapons on a bike! Cheers

[@YetiAdventure]

That's very kind of you! Each portion of the route had its ups and downs for sure. While the paved sections let us move quickly, you're right, it was still a real fight at times. Cheers!

[@thebikehippie6562]

Awesome

[@GregEdwardss]

Awesome vid mate! I'll make it to BC some day for some gravel riding

[@YetiAdventure]

Thanks so much! BC is truly a wonderland for gravel... when it's not completely on lit up and devastated by wildfires (like it is at the moment) Hopefully things die down before you make it over here... we'd be lucky to have you ride here.

[@GregEdwardss]

@@YetiAdventure I'll give you a holla when I do :)

[@PiquePictures]

Great video! My wife and I just rode from Chilliwack to Fernie! I recognize the route from Brookmere to Princeton!

[@YetiAdventure]

Outstanding! That is definitely on our list of Must-Do Bikepacking trips. How many days did you take?

[@PiquePictures]

@@YetiAdventure We had 12 riding days with a few rest days in between! However, unlike you two, we were not carrying all of our gear with us! We had a SAG wagon, but it was still an amazing trip! We had initially planned to ride over Pale Face pass from Chilliwack to Hope, but after watching your video, I'm glad we didn't!

[@YetiAdventure]

@@PiquePictures Haha! Oh man, Yah, Pale Face is a soul crusher! We're incredibly jealous of your support vehicle and timeline. And rest days ;) Super excited to have found your channel! Keep up the amazing work.

[@PiquePictures]

@@YetiAdventure Thank you so much!

[@PiquePictures]

@@YetiAdventure Would you be ok if I put a link to your video in my first episode where we talk about the Pale Face route?

[@stefanomigliuolo3468]

Wow... 😁

[@Dingo10-4]

Cool video! How fun is it when you hit those unridable trails on a set of tired legs? haha

[@ThisTall]

This was great! I take it your guys style is to always push hey? Ever just wonder or take it slow on purpose?

[@YetiAdventure]

Ha! Great question. The truth is, 98% of our rides are cruisy, slow explorations... we just don't take the camera.

[@ThisTall]

@@YetiAdventure thanks for the reply. I’m enjoying your channel ! I wonder if you’d mind giving me a bike recommendation? I’m 42 years old, 50lb overweight but strong and recently dropping weight and getting healthier fairly quick. Grew up a BMX kid then dirt biked all my life but got out of it in recent years cause all my riding partners are more nascar while I’m a Dakar type of adventure guy if you know what I mean. I’d WAY rather do the long range destination riding like you guys do. I want a good bike 75% for fitness, 25% to get out more with some friends that all have enduro MTB’s. I have no aspirations of becoming particularly great at real trail riding but know I’d like something that can get out there with my friends occasionally, but know I’m going to do a decent bit of road to. Any particular recommendation for that kind of cross over? Perhaps just best to get an enduro as well and hope to get more in to it? Just tighten up the suspension for moe road days and maybe invest in a second set of more street tires? Thanks in advance.

[@YetiAdventure]

@@ThisTall ooh that's a tricky one! My knee jerk reaction is that if you were to go with 1 bike, the best way to go would be a Hardtail MTB that has clearance for larger 29" tires. (like 2.6" tires) If you ran it with those, you'd have plenty of comfort on Mountain Bike trails, and as long as you aren't racing Enduro or trying to set records at the Bikepark, you'd be able to do alot of good trail rides. The added bonus being that a hardtail is a decent gravel bike, and easy to setup with bags for a bikepacking trip! Throw some slimmer, less knobby tires on it, and POW! You have a fast gravel bike! I hope that helps?

[@michaelryancook23]

Great video. Those were some seriously long days. I'm just getting into bikepacking myself. What is your opinion on the RockBros bikepacking bags that the one of you are using? Have they held up or been replaced?

[@YetiAdventure]

Hey Michael! Thanks for checking it out. We seemed to have mixed results with the Rockbros gear. The Frame bag and the Top Tube bag are excellent value and function just great. The Seat Bag is sturdy but unfortunately, the straps seem to constantly loosen (especially on the bumpy stuff) and it created some pretty horrific "waggle" (You can really see it in the Forest section on day 2) If you modified the straps with clamps or something it would be fine. Overall, they are a really great entry-level setup I think. I hope that helps!

[@michaelryancook23]

@@YetiAdventure Thank you for the quick reply. That does help. I had read a bunch of comments on them but appreciate your opinion based on the ride you would have put them through.

[@AydinProductionsLtd]

Looked good except I would have wanted to try to go on some gravel backroads rather than the Road. Is that possible even if extended?

[@YetiAdventure]

Hey Aydin, Technically, we probably could have managed to avoid more sections of pavement, but we only had the 3 days to make the trip happen. With the length of some of the gravel detours, we would have needed at least another day to make it work. Did we love being on the highway as much as we were? No. But it worked out and we still had an amazing time. This year we may try something similar but with more gravel. :)

[@AydinProductionsLtd]

​@@YetiAdventure Nice! I'm going to do a few more rides myself this year hopefully meet up with my Enduro riding daughter in Kamloops and do something out there. Enjoy the ride !

[@Dad-er]

Hey, Albertan here, Ive been waffling on trying the hammock. I have the tent now but curious if the Hammock is a better option. Do you find it colder? any issues?

[@YetiAdventure]

Great question! In regards to pros and cons, the Hammock is able to be setup virtually anywhere as long as you have trees / sign posts. No need for even, flat ground. It's also insanely comfortable. The best sleeps I've ever had in my life were in the Hammock. As long as it's not dipping into the minus temperatures, and you have a good insulated sleeping pad, you'll be toasty warm. I also like not having to pack poles when you take a hammock. Because it's just a bunch of soft fabric and lines it stuffs nicely into bikepacking bags. Tents offer much greater shelter from extreme weather, and much better storage for your gear. You can bring things into the vestibule and sort of hang out in there. If you're riding with others, you could afford to take a bigger tent and split it up between riders. That would shed a ton of pack bulk / size. Overall, for summer Bikepacking, I prefer a hammock because of how comfortable and versatile it is. For trips with a emphasis on speed and light weight, I would opt to take a Bivy sack instead of a tent or hammock though. Because they are so incredibly light. I hope that helps!

[@Dad-er]

@@YetiAdventure oh this is great, I really appreciate the tips! I think sleep is super important to be able to enjoy the day after a big ride and having to do it again. I look at trying it out.

[@saunamchan2908]

Fun fact: Cougar and bear scat can sometimes look like human poop.

[@YetiAdventure]

Interesting. Maybe the hammock ripping night terror was a result of a nocturnal predator stopping by?

[@tandemcompound2]

why did you go around to Princeton and back Hwy 3 and not up to Coquihalla Lakes and down via Romeo?

[@YetiAdventure]

Hmm... Interesting suggestion. I'd be keen to see a GPX file with that route tweak! Thanks

[@PiquePictures]

Don’t think I would like the Skagit Valley trail!