Slow touring outside of cities.. is it possible?
#26
Senior Member
I wouldn't want to do that for even 14 days, but the way I read the OP, he is talking about staying 14 days in one place and moving on to another for a long stay, and so on over an extended period. I am not sure he is completely serious, but if we take him as such he would need some kind of sustainable diet.
Heck Look up the attempts at reaching the South Pole unsupported, those guys carry the most monotonous food loads in the world not that much different to eating peanut butter for the duration, and they do that for months.
#27
Senior Member
Maybe I misread, but I didn't get the impression that he was talking 14 day stretches, just 14 days between moving to the next spot where he'd be for 14 days. The logistics of it all were unclear though.
I met a guy who did long stays while "walking across the country" carrying his stuff in a double baby jogger, he had pretty much stopped trying to make it anywhere and was just going from one place to another. This made me think of that guy. I think he stayed a year or more in some places. He didn't stay out in the boonies though. When I met him he was camped in a tent area at Apache Gold Casino. There were clean showers, the site was cheap, and the food was good and inexpensive. I got the impression he was managing to live off of his social security check.
I met a guy who did long stays while "walking across the country" carrying his stuff in a double baby jogger, he had pretty much stopped trying to make it anywhere and was just going from one place to another. This made me think of that guy. I think he stayed a year or more in some places. He didn't stay out in the boonies though. When I met him he was camped in a tent area at Apache Gold Casino. There were clean showers, the site was cheap, and the food was good and inexpensive. I got the impression he was managing to live off of his social security check.
Last edited by staehpj1; 09-07-23 at 06:34 PM.
#28
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Well the ill conceived plan would still be doable on peanut butter and multivitamins. Else he would need to carry about 3 times the weight and bulk.
#29
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Some fancy protein powders and solar powered blender? I've never tried this but can't see how anything like peanut butter could be lighter.
I think we all agreed that water on site is a must.
I think we all agreed that water on site is a must.
#30
Senior Member
It would be for me to even remotely consider anything remotely like that, but the OP did say"needing to pack all the food and water necessary to survive". So if taking them at their word packing a huge amount of water is the order of the day.
I doubt the OP will actually do anything close to what they are proposing. I figure he is most likely yanking our chains. So yeah, if taking them serious in their intent of actually doing the trip, good advice would be to be sure to go where filterable water is available.
I am inclined to take them literally but not too seriously.
I doubt the OP will actually do anything close to what they are proposing. I figure he is most likely yanking our chains. So yeah, if taking them serious in their intent of actually doing the trip, good advice would be to be sure to go where filterable water is available.
I am inclined to take them literally but not too seriously.
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#31
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#32
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just carry a gallon can of dried vegetable protein, and half a dozen bars of dehydrated water.
fits in a midsized seatbag, he's good for a month.
#33
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The amount of water a solar still can produce depends on several factors, including the weather, the soil's moisture, and the still's size. A solar still without vegetation can produce anywhere from a few hundred milliliters to 1 Liter of water in 24 hours. 1. On a sunny day, for every 1,000 square inches of cover surface, the solar distiller will produce about 1 gallon of pure water. 2. An efficient 4-by-8foot distiller should yield 2 to 4 gallons 3. Most stills need to be about six square meters in size to produce enough water for a single person for a day. (LINK)
I try not to work that hard in camp. Cycling is work enough.
Last edited by JoeyBike; 09-08-23 at 11:33 AM.
#34
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Perhaps a fishing license plus gear plus some skill at shore fishing would go a long way? Even in the US desert Southwest, one can find free campsites along the Colorado river or reservoirs, while there are many streams and lakes in the mountains. Don't turn your nose up at crayfish, either.
There are also more berries and edible greens in the mountains that can help provide the nutrients that a fish diet lacks. Just make sure you're not blithely gobbling some poisonous berries like certain self-assured yet somehow famous (and dead) jerks.
There are also more berries and edible greens in the mountains that can help provide the nutrients that a fish diet lacks. Just make sure you're not blithely gobbling some poisonous berries like certain self-assured yet somehow famous (and dead) jerks.
#35
Senior Member
Perhaps a fishing license plus gear plus some skill at shore fishing would go a long way? Even in the US desert Southwest, one can find free campsites along the Colorado river or reservoirs, while there are many streams and lakes in the mountains. Don't turn your nose up at crayfish, either.
There are also more berries and edible greens in the mountains that can help provide the nutrients that a fish diet lacks. Just make sure you're not blithely gobbling some poisonous berries like certain self-assured yet somehow famous (and dead) jerks.
There are also more berries and edible greens in the mountains that can help provide the nutrients that a fish diet lacks. Just make sure you're not blithely gobbling some poisonous berries like certain self-assured yet somehow famous (and dead) jerks.
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#37
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Perhaps a fishing license plus gear plus some skill at shore fishing would go a long way? Even in the US desert Southwest, one can find free campsites along the Colorado river or reservoirs, while there are many streams and lakes in the mountains. Don't turn your nose up at crayfish, either.
There are also more berries and edible greens in the mountains that can help provide the nutrients that a fish diet lacks. Just make sure you're not blithely gobbling some poisonous berries like certain self-assured yet somehow famous (and dead) jerks.
There are also more berries and edible greens in the mountains that can help provide the nutrients that a fish diet lacks. Just make sure you're not blithely gobbling some poisonous berries like certain self-assured yet somehow famous (and dead) jerks.
maybe take a solar powered black light, would help to locate scorpions and tarantulas at night. yummy, and packed with protein.
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For sale. PM if interested.

#42
Banned.
It depends on whether there is water available and toilets. On BLM and similar lands the campers need to be full self contained and have a porta-potty if in an area without a public toilet.
#43
aka Timi
#44
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Let's say for simplification you're touring around the USA slowly.
You want to spend a lot of time on BLM land and camp in each spot for as long as possible.
Most BLM land allows 14 days before you have to move.
How can someone traveling by bicycle, needing to pack all the food and water necessary to survive, make something like this work?
You want to spend a lot of time on BLM land and camp in each spot for as long as possible.
Most BLM land allows 14 days before you have to move.
How can someone traveling by bicycle, needing to pack all the food and water necessary to survive, make something like this work?
Water, you better find a spot to camp near a stream. Or carry a lot. I know a guy that bike tours in the desert, he loads down his bike and also the trailer with a lot of water.
Backpacking in cool weather, I usually get by with 3 to 3.5 liters of water a day. My backpacking trip this year, some days were upper 80s and lower 90s (F), dewpoints in the 70s (F), that pushed my water consumption up close to 6 liters a day. One day I carried 6 liters of water for several miles to the campsite that night, that included my water consumption for the first half of the next day. 6 liters is 6 kg, or roughly 13 pounds of water. For backpacking I use Evernew 2 liter bladders and plastic disposable water bottles that get re-used.
EDIT: Above, I previously said 2 to 2.5 liters of water per day in cool weather, but I was thinking the amount of water that I filtered. I usually use a liter a day for cooking and coffee, I do not bother to filter water that I boil, so I corrected the above to add one liter so it reads 3 to 3.5 liters of water per day for cool weather.
Food, I usually carry almost 2 pounds per day for food if I am being careful to just carry dehydrated foods to reduce weight. That might consume about 1.5 to 2 liters per day for volume. But bike touring where I am more inclined to buy canned food, fresh eggs, etc., weight and volume goes up.
A few years ago someone asked me how I can carry over a couple weeks of food on my bike. So, I answered their question at this post:
https://www.bikeforums.net/21674202-post25.html
After I wrote that post, I have started buying packets of Chicken and Tuna Creations. They are great on a tortilla for lunch, etc. I had one of those every day for lunch on flour tortillas.
https://starkist.com/products/pouches/#anchor-895
https://starkist.com/products/pouches/#anchor-890
But I suspect you can't buy outside of North America.
My backpacking trip a month ago, one night a gal in the same campsite was doing a cookless trip, no stove, that night her supper was Chicken Creations on crackers.
I am leaving in a few days for a canoe trip for 9 days. That is 8 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 8 suppers, and several snacks. The snacks are two granola bars and one protein bar per day. My food filled a 15 liter dry bag. The lunches are the Chicken or Tuna Creations and flour tortillas. The breakfasts and suppers are as described in the above post that I wrote several years ago. Some of my breakfasts will be the old formula Mountain House Breakfast Skillet that I mentioned they no longer sell, I have a few cans in storage that I am careful to not use up too fast.
I also am carrying approximately a half liter of dehydrated mixed vegies. I bought a food dehydrator, last winter I dehydrated a bunch of frozen mixed vegies and I can throw a handful of those into each of my one pot suppers.
If your goal is to become a homeless person as you wander the country, I think you will find you need to be closer to grocery stores than you plan.
Last edited by Tourist in MSN; 10-06-23 at 01:02 AM.
#45
Senior Member
Did I say bars? You can purchase cans of dehydrated water on amazon, only $13 for an 8oz can.Bernard Food Industries Dehydrated Water 8oz Can.
https://www.amazon.com/Bernard-Industries-Dehydrated-Essential-Survival/dp/B08B6DFZS9

But of course that can get pricey for super extended tours like OP has planned.
I suggest you learn to make your own dehydrated water. It's so easy!
Excellent site and very informative.
It even includes instructions for rehydration.
Bernard Food Industries Dehydrated Water 8oz Can.
NEW Formula! Essential Camping & Survival Supply.
https://www.amazon.com/Bernard-Industries-Dehydrated-Essential-Survival/dp/B08B6DFZS9
But of course that can get pricey for super extended tours like OP has planned.
I suggest you learn to make your own dehydrated water. It's so easy!
Make Your Own Dehydrated Water
https://www.instructables.com/Make-Your-Own-Dehydrated-Water/Excellent site and very informative.
It even includes instructions for rehydration.
#46
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#47
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And this is why I continue to come back to the touring forum after almost 20 years, you just can't find this valuable info anywhere else.
You guys are killin' it here.
You guys are killin' it here.