I’ve spent a lot of time lately planning my upcoming vacation. My wife and I are setting off on our first major bikepacking trip. We’ll be on the road for 7–8 days, camping in tents along the way. If you read about this online, it seems impossible to do without a smartphone—apps for finding campsites, apps for locating drinking water, route-planning apps, rain radar apps to know when to pitch the tent, and so on.
I decided to take a different approach. I planned the route beforehand using BRouter online. Then, I broke the route down into segments and identified suitable overnight spots—whether wild camping, official campsites, or designated bivouac areas. I noted down the addresses and phone numbers so I could make reservations while on the go. I also looked up places to buy supplies and wrote down their addresses.
I recorded all of this in my Field Notes notebook, where I also plan to keep a brief journal during the trip. I saved the route as a GPX file and loaded it onto my compact Garmin bike computer. Additionally, I printed out OpenStreetMap maps and marked the locations of nature reserves so we don’t accidentally camp there—doing so can result in hefty fines.
I booked a train connection in advance, as we’re taking our bikes to the starting point by rail. I printed the tickets, so no smartphone is required.
I’m bringing the Kompakt along, but it will stay in “Offline+” mode most of the time; I’ll only take it out to call campsites or check the weather.
I’m also bringing my analog Minolta camera to snap a few photos.
I took only the Kompakt on vacation last year, and it really helped me enjoy the trip without distractions. The year before that, I carried the Punkt MP02 in my backpack. I’m really looking forward to approaching this vacation as minimally and mindfully as possible.
We already did a test run with our luggage and gear last weekend, cycling 60 km to a campsite to spend the night and test out our new tents, gas stoves, and so on. The Mudita came along for that trip, too; it stayed in my bag and didn’t distract me the way a standard smartphone would have.
After our vacation, I’d love to share how I experienced the time away.
