The journey of nearly a thousand miles begins with a fuel stop - our rallying point before leaving the pavement. Sadly, our friend Jason would be the first rider to drop with a mechanical - a bad clutch cylinder on his KTM 950 Adventure halfway through day one. A million thanks to Austin Willis for the last-minute loan of his '08 Husqvarna TE 510 - the replacement for my desert dualsport, a '98 Honda XR600R that blew rings right before we left. The Husky proved to be a worthy ride, with its only real drawback being the fuel tank capacity. The last few liters of fuel could not be utilized, because the fuel injection intake sits too high in the tank - I would spend hours over the course of my five-day ride transferring gas one 1.5-liter bottle at a time from one of the KTMs with 5+ gallon tanks that made fuel a non-issue for them. Here's what I carried in/on the Husky's Giant Loop Saddlebag: Sleeping Kit • Integral Designs bivvy sack • Integral Designs guide tarp w/Easton aluminum stakes • Integral Designs mummy bag • Therm-A-Rest lightweight pad Cooking Kit • Aluminum backpacking pot w/ nested cups • Unbreakable plastic fork and spoon • Coleman butane stove and fuel canister • MSR water filter/pump Food • Instant oatmeal • Instant espresso with powered milk • Vacuum pouches of precooked salmon and tuna • Vacuum pouch of precooked rice w/mushrooms Clothing • Down vest (the temperature differential was 60°+ between night and day, with frost covering us the first night) • Polypropylene hat • Extra riding gloves • Polypropylene long underwear • Wool socks • Soccer socks Tool Kit • Spare inner tubes (front and rear) • Tire irons • Mt. bike tire pump • Patch kit • Channel lock pliers • wire • wire ties • duct tape • adjustable wrenches (1 large, 1 small) • Allen wrenches • Multi-driver • webbing tow strap (NOTE: I was heavily reliant on my fellow riders, as I did not carry many of the supplies that ended up being used by other riders during this trip, including, extra motor oil, hydraulic clutch oil, Quick Steel epoxy.) Here's what I carried in my tank bag (an early, really rough proto-type of the new Fandango Tank Bag): • Trail mix • Cliff Bars • First Aid kit • Sunscreen • Cell phone • GPS • compass • digital camera • bandanna • Clear Shot lens cleaning kit (goggles, sunglasses) • wallet • sunglasses • baseball cap • toothbrush And in my CamelBack hydration pack: • 2 liters of water • rain gear (top and bottom) • Voile straps • map -hoc
