Nepal Bikepacking Gear List
The Trip -
Over the next four months, we will be riding mountain bikes and shooting photography across Nepal, Chile, and Argentina. During our first month in Nepal, we will be attempting the Annapurna Circuit, a 21-day trekking destination, on our loaded mountain bicycles. We will be staying in tea houses along the route so we did not bring camping equipment for this leg of the trip. The highlight and biggest physical challenge is Throng La Pass, a 17,000 ft crossing over the mountain range where we will be ”hike-a-biking” our heavy bikes straight uphill.
We were extremely fortunate to partner with Feathered Friends, Arcteryx Seattle, Porcelain Rocket and Tumbleweed bikes to get the gear needed for our trip.
Clothing -
Hard Shell Jacket - Arc’teryx Beta AR, S - I knew I wanted something durable for the long-haul of this trip. Chris went with the super light Zeta SL but I desired helmet compatibility so I went with an All-round shell. I’m interested to see which of us still thinks we are right after 4 months wearing these.
Base layer - Arc’teryx Konseal Hoody, S - great thick long sleeve with a nifty buff integrated into the hood for cool temperatures
Softshell Pants - Arc’teryx Gamma LT Pant, 4 - I picked these as my main pair of pants because they are breathable, stretchy, and have the thigh zip pocket I love in my climbing pants to always have a place for quick phone storing.
Wool Hooded Shirt - Smartwool
Wool t-Shirt - Smartwool
Capilene T-Shirt - Patagonia
Hooded Sun Shirt - Patagonia
Leggings (base layer) - Prana
Shorts - I nixed these at the last moment, remembering that Nepal has a conservative dress expectation and changed them for a pair of heavier mountaineering pants for in the alpine
Socks x 4 - Various levels of warmth: low cut cushion running socks, thin hiking socks, thick hiking socks, burly wool socks
Underwear x 7
Glacier Glasses - Julbo Shields, Category 4
Bandana - Dust is a real issue in Nepal and part of the poor air quality in Kathmandu
Approach Shoes - La Sportiva TX4s
Sandals / Shower Shoes - Tevas
Tea House Gear -
Silk Bag Liner - reduce the transfer of dirtiness while increasing the warmth, especially because our Flicker bags has a cinch closure on the foot box when it is zipped up as mummy bag
Travel Towel - dries quickly and packs tiny, I have had much success with Youphoria brand on previous solo backpacking endeavors, the smallest size is adequate
Hygiene -
Campsuds- concentrated soap good for washing hands, clothes,, camp gear and anything else
Shampoo Bar - Lush Cosmetics
Deodorant stick
Nail clippers / tweezers
toothbrush / toothpaste / dental floss
Face Lotion - Lush Cosmetics
Sunscreen- SOL Zinc sunscreen, Multi-sport and Alpine travel bottles
Comb
Medical / Repair Kit -
Diamox, Altitude Sickness Medication - in the US, you need a prescription, if you’re in Nepal, just ask the hostel concierge and they’ll slap a box of tattered diamox bottles on the counter donated by previous hikers. I received these at no cost through my insurance thanks to my pharmacist / travel doctor
Prescription Antibiotic Anti-Diarrhea - These are stronger than over-the-counter diarrhea pills and if you have better things to do than spend two weeks uncontrollably shitting yourself in a tiny mountain town in Nepal (I may know from experience) then ask your travel doctor
Typhoid Vaccine - last time I received the shot which is good for two years, this time I was two weeks before my departure so they gave live virus pills which are good for five years and more effective, don’t procrastinate on vaccines!
Rehydration Salts - When everything listed above fails
Water Purification Tablets
Dramamine Tablets, Non-Drowsy
Electrolyte Tablets - Nuun
Advil Pain Relief
Extras of any prescription meds you take that will last the duration of the trip
Tenacious Tape - fix the slash in the butt of your rain pants, the hole you poked in your hard shell with crampons on Mount Baker, there are no limits to this magic tape
Gauze Pads / Climbing Tape / Bandaids - will fix most the things
Bike Repair Kit - replacement spokes, tubeless sealant refill, multi-tools, tire patches, chain replacement link, etc.
Headlamp
Creative Career -
Canon 5D Mark III - This five-pound brick has been the joy of my life and the bane of my existence for the past three years And I have dragged it up every mountain I’ve climbed. This is the second long term backpacking trip this camera has endured.
Canon 35mm F/1.4 L II Portrait Lens - This lens is a new addition that gets some crispy beautiful shots of people and details. Weather-proof camera gear is essential for all the type 2 adventuring I get into.
Canon 24-105mm F/4 L All-Round Lens - My original lens that I still carry for landscape and zoom shots. This was the only lens I have had for the past three years until recently.
128G SD Cards x 8 - Not erasing any photos until they are safely backed up when we get back since we are dealing with a lot of brand photography of our sponsors and portfolios
1T Solid State Hard Drive - Second copy of all of our RAW images and video.
Plastic Camera Raincover
Watercolor Palette - 24 half pans of Daniel Smith Professional watercolor paints poured into a small metal tin, excited to push my illustration into a daily habit
Moleskine Art Sketchbook x 2
Micron Pens
Mechanical Pencils
300gsm Watercolor Postcards x 10
Cold Weather Gear -
Down Jacket - Feathered Friends Helios Down Jacket, XS - This jacket has been a workhorse for two seasons of being a mountaineer and instructing for me and I knew I wanted one for this trip. My favorite part is the pockets, they retain heat so well that I don’t use gloves when hanging around camp when I can keep my hands in my pockets. It’s snowing this week in Manang, Nepal with the high range going from 20-40 degrees F.
Down Pants - Feathered Friends Helios Down Pants, S - I am not going to sugar coat the situation, these pants are huge and short of flattering, but they are extremely warm. As an adventure photographer and a cold person, I need extra layers for standing outside in the early blue hour with my camera. I think they will be useful when camping in South America if our quilts become insufficient and in the upper villages of the Annapurna Circuit with no indoor heating.
Sleeping Bag - Feathered Friends Flicker 20 YF Quilt, Regular, Cardinal - These quilts are awesome and super popular for their versatility. Since we will be spending time in unheated tea houses in Nepal and in long-term hosteling in El Chalten, these will be equally great as blankets for our cots and traditional mummy bags while camping in a tent in Patagonia. We downsized our stuff sacks to 5L to obtain the correct diameter to fit in our bike bags, but want to clarify getting a Flicker into a 5L bag is a serious workout and not the traditional sized stuff sack for these bags.
Down Booties - Feathered Friends Down Booties, S - cold mornings with icy boots left me longing for down slippers when you need to go to the bathroom in the wee hours. See lack of heating above.
Fleece Buff - I was given a hot pink buff from my mom that looks like it originated with matching leg warmers sometime in the 80s but I like it and here we are
Mittens - Black Diamond, I was blown away at how warm mittens are compared to gloves, the downside is wearing only one mitten while shooting photos and a liner on the other to maneuver the buttons
Glove Liners - Arcteryx Gothic Glove, wool, gloves that stay warm while damp and dexterous enough to fiddle with my camera settings are a lifesaver
Wool Cycling Cap - Toast Tea Threads - I try to support small business and shop local where possible, so I was stoked to discover these wool caps designed for winter cycling, they are made by a one man shop in Olympia, WA. They have ear flaps.
Toe Warmer Packets - Tossed into the first aid kit in case of unforeseen shivers
All of the Feathered Friends gear pictured above fit into impressively neat and tiny packages, pictured below.
1.) Helios Down Jacket, XS in a 4L dry bag. 2.) Helios Down Pants, S & Down Booties, S in a 4L dry bag. 3.) Flicker YF 20 Sleeping bag in 5L stuff sack.
The Adventure Rig -
Mountain Bike - Tumbleweed Prospector, Medium Frame - Rolhoff Internal Gear Hub, Dynamo Hub, Brooks Women’s Chrome Saddle, Surly Moloko handlebars, Ergo grips (for normal people that means it has the gears are not exposed like a standard bike, the wheels spinning generates electricity to power the front and back lights, and I got some weird looking handlebars to maximize hand positions on long rides). Tumbleweed is a small business by Daniel Malloy in Idaho creating mountain bike builds intended to endure long international bikepacking trips.
Rear Bag - Porcelain Rocket Mr. Fusion - This bag is convenient for quickly pulling out a dry bag full of clothes/camping gear/etc. and not needing to fiddle with any attachments. Porcelain Rocket is an awesome small business out of Canada making durable and waterproof bikepacking bags that we have been stoked to use.
Frame Bag - Porcelain Rocket x Tumbleweed 52Hz Frame Bag - I am stoked on this bag, especially the burnt red color and the roll top closure. These Tumbleweed additions are specifically designed for the geometry of a Tumbleweed Prospector.
Front Bag - BagsXBird Goldback, Medium, Waxed Canvas- this bag looks like a frog to me and it’s been really practical so far, until I added the new Moloko bars.
Handlebar Bag x 2 - OuterShell and Roadrunner - I hold my camera in one and quick access snacks in the other
Stem Bag x 2 - extra storage spots for quick access items like more snacks, sunglasses, sunscreen, chapstick, etc. along the top tube of the bike
Airport / Travel -
55L Backpack - Arcteryx Alpha AR 55 Backpack - I picked this bag for its versatility over having a second duffel bag for carrying through airports, stuffing into my bike bag, and multi-day mountaineering adventures on our upcoming treks in Argentina. This backpack has a durable fabric, a removable plastic framesheet and my favorite, a full length zipper on one side. When I was stopped by security for an unusual item in my carefully packed carry-on, I unzipped the side to reveal the culprit at the very bottom, a five pound bag of Costco trail mix. Ten minutes of repacking saved.
iPad, art supplies, cameras, snacks, jacket, puffy, bike helmet
60L Packable Duffle - this is my checked loaf of Tetris level packing. I originally opted for a Patagonia black hole duffle like my trusted ski bag but found these packable duffles on a quick jaunt of REI and appreciated the weight, space, and financial savings. We will see how it holds up to being constantly overstuffed and wrangled by baggage claim. One perk of the Patagonia duffles is the U-shapped zipper and the rigid corners, which are much easier to pack to capacity. But if you’re on a budget, or weight is a priority, this bag fits the bill.
stuffed bike bags, extra Nalgene bottles, clothes
Bike Boxes -We kept the original boxes for our bikes (Thanks Matt Smith for storing them in your garage all summer) which we carefully packed to barely teeter under 50 pounds, which involved going as far as removing all the bottle cages to throw in our carry ons. Our hotel in Kathmandu offered to store the boxes for us for three weeks while we are in Annapurna which will greatly reduce the headache of recreating them for Chile.
Camping Gear & Climbing Gear -
We have a layover between Nepal and Chile in Atlanta, Georgia where Chris’s parents live. We shipped a big box with our 4-season tent, sleeping pads and camp cookware to them as our resupply pitstop in December before our connecting flight to Santiago, Chile where the camping begins. Our friend Rinatuo was left with a large duffle of trekking poles, mountaineering boots, a alpine rope, double trad rack, and climbing gear, now in the back of his closet for meeting again in El Chalten, Argentina in January. Both the resupply box and duffle were key in minimizing our gear to carry in Nepal.
Special thanks to all of our good friends, roommates, and fellow mountaineer instructors that joined us for a proper sendoff from Seattle. Thanks Matt for taking care of my house plants. And especially Rinauto for letting us crash on his couch for a weekend, make a disaster of his living room with our gear packing, and letting me take all these photos on his apartment floor. I feel incredibly fortunate for the lifelong friends and communities I’ve found during my two years living in Seattle, and can’t wait to see them all again.
Signing off from our first morning breakfast in Kathmandu. Over the next two days we will be reassembling the bikes, acquiring our Annapurna permits and heading to the beginning of the Annapurna Circuit route in Besisahar, Nepal.