This was a short overnight trip I took on the DR-Z I took to test out a new hammock camping set-up and the Acerbis 4-gallon tank I’d just installed. I’d always been super hesitant to take solo off-road trips prior to this for fear of getting stuck in the woods by myself, so this was actually my first dual sport trip without my usual riding buddy, Dylan.
Earlier in that summer I’d killed my battery when doing some trail riding and Dylan ended up suffering from heat exhaustion while we tried to get the bike bump started. He took off by himself in search of air conditioning and water to get himself sorted out, with the plan to come back and help me once he was good. While he was gone, I managed to get the bike pushed to a large hill to bump start it and made my way out of the woods. That experience really boosted my confidence, and after a few day trips I felt I was ready to tackle an overnight.
For this trip I used Wolfman’s rackless setup with the large Rollie bags and my Nelson Rigg enduro tailbag. This setup offered me just enough space for my camping gear and a change of baselayers and kept the load on the bike pretty light.
I picked up Section 3 of the North East Backcountry Discovery Route just north of Norfolk, CT and followed the route North through Massachusetts. This section of the BDR hits primarily well-groomed unpaved roads weaving through Cookson, Sandisfield, and Beartown State forest for the first half. The trails are gorgeous and nothing is particularly challenging, so it’s a good warm-up for the rest of the day.
In the 2nd half, the route gets a bit more interesting after you hit October Mountain State Forest, with some steeper hill climbs and alternating rocky and muddy sections. You continue through Peru State Forest and to the town of Cheshire, where the alternate loop up Mt. Greylock takes you up (or down, depending on which direction you take the loop) an awesome unpaved access road. The section gets more technical again once you hit Savoy and Monroe State forests and officially ends by hitting the first of the truly challenging Class IV roads in VT. I ducked out after Savoy to make camp for the night in Mohawk Trail State forest before heading home the next day.
This was my first trip trying out my Kammok hammock setup, and it was only after spending the night shivering that I realized that I needed an underquilt even for pretty mild evenings. The bike and rackless luggage were great for this overnight trip, but I also realized that I’d need a bit more space if I wanted to comfortably pack enough for a longer trip.
Overall the trip was successful and gave me the confidence to start taking on more solo off-road motocamping trips. I dropped the bike once in Savoy when I lost momentum on a rutted hill climb, but I couldn’t have been happier with how the bike and setup performed.
I never did take the time to edit these or clean them up, but here’s the raw helmet camera footage: