This year's bikepacking trip

My family and I are in the process of planning a family bikepacking trip along the Kettle Valley Railway this summer and the idea is that my daughter, son and I will ride the trails on our bikes while my wife who doesn't cycle will drive the support vehicle.

Expect the unexpected

Already I can sense some disagreement as to how we're going to do this.  One child is more than happy to put all his camping gear into the car and ride his bike unencumbered to the next campsite.  Whereas my youngest wants to carry all her gear on her bike. I'm in the middle - the idea of just carrying the day's requirements is appealing, yet to do the trip proper, I want to carry all my gear.

We will find peaceful campsites


There are two major scenic routes along the KVR.  There is the loop from Penticton east to Rock Creek and then up to the spectacular Myra Canyon but includes the deadly Anarchist Mountain climb.  The campsites are plentiful and most of the overnight stops have full washroom facilities.

Could run into forest fires

Then there is the route from Castlegar to Midway and back which includes the longest tunnel on the KVR and very fetching views that last for hours as you ride above Lower Arrow Lake and Christina Lake.  Not to mention the gorge at Cascade where on a hot day you can watch people swinging from the railway trestle into the ice cold, churning waters racing past the sheer granite walls beneath you.

A cool patio at a winery could be in the cards



Who carries how much gear on this trip will depend on how much conditioning each of us has had during the season and since we are thinking of going after the Labour Day weekend, all three of us will have had the maximum amount of training time possible to prepare before departure.  My wife points out that she won't have to train at all to be able to press the accelerator on the car.


While she won't have to train, my wife will miss scenes like this