Traveling in a pandemic (Dirtbaging it)
Asheville 5 days $90 Zero contact
I should start by explaining that the total money spent does not include food, as we did not eat out and (like any good dirtbag) food bought at the grocery store is already budgeted into my monthly plan.
Preparing to leave
Know your car. Know your gas mileage (tip if you don’t have a fancy new car that tells you this: fill up your tank, reset your miles, drive until empty, refill, number of miles driven divided by number of gallons added). Know how big your gas tank is. Know how many miles you can still drive once your empty light comes one. Know how to check your oil, transmission and coolant. If you have some sort of external storage, traveling with a tiny gas can is not the worst idea.
Gather all your shit in one pile. Food bin, camping gear, clothing, everything. You will be able to pack more efficiently if you can see everything that needs to go in.
Your first day will probably be hectic with packing and driving. The last thing you’ll want to do when you stop is unload a bunch of shit and cook a meal. For this reason, I usually cook bite sized potatoes and pasta in herbs and olive oil the night before or while I’m packing. I can eat it with my fingers while driving and it makes an easy dinner once we get to camp (also they don’t need a ton of refrigeration, so you could still eat any leftovers the next day)
Freeze ½ gallon jugs of water instead of using ice (more on that in the food set up)
Packing
My best advice is this; there is a fine line between “It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” and “I just packed all this shit, didn’t use it, and now I’m unpacking it”. This fine line is different for everyone and requires trial and error to perfect. If you plan on traveling often, start a journal, write down what gear was helpful and what wasn’t.
Space is limited and valuable, don’t take two of something. (example: two pairs of flip flops are not useful. Hiking boots, water shoes and a pair of slip ons for around camp is useful)
Ask yourself how much you’re going to use a piece of gear. If it’s only once and it’s big or heavy, it’s probably not worth bringing.
Bring a dirty clothes bag. Ideally one that is sealed (so no smells escape). Do not put wet clothes in the dirty clothes bag, it makes everything funkier.
Ditch the makeup. No one gives a fuck what you look like when you’re out in the woods. It takes up space, time and requires you to remove it every night.
Compartmentalize fucking everything! Everything has a place, space, box, bag, drawer, reusable grocery bag (if you do not own/use reusable grocery bags, come on!) cube, cup holder, whatever.
On that note.. I have one reusable grocery bag as a “safety bag” that hangs on the back of my drivers seat. This contains a cloth mask, disposable gloves, clorox wipes, hand sanitizer wipes and baby wipes. It hangs behind my seat for easy access when pumping gas. (IMPORTANT: I do not touch my car, door handle, phone or keys in the process of pumping gas and thoroughly wipe everything down before reentering the car, including my credit card).
On the back of the passenger seat I have a reusable tote for “important things”. This bag includes a headlamp and batteries (always check your headlamp before leaving and always bring batteries), a collapsible lantern, spork, swiss army knife, TP & shovel (actually a tent stake, but more on that later), sunscreen, fanny pack, deck of cards, chargers as well as a pre charged extra battery and apple cider vinegar gummies to help prevent heartburn (so dope).
Recycle some plastic grocery bags and stuff them under the passenger seat. Collect trash until full and throw away at the gas pump.
Keep your food bins on the floor of the back seat (if you don’t have passengers back there) for two reasons. One, snacks are easily accessible while driving. Two, that is the coolest part of your car. You can place a blanket over the baskets to further insulate the food and help it keep longer (like apples, bread or tuna)
Kitchen set up… foldable table, collapsible bucket (one of the most recommended unessential pieces of gear. Makes washing dishes so much easier and showering somewhat possible. Also makes a nice storage container for loose kitchen items), pot and pan (cast iron), two burner stove for dinner, jet boil for coffee soup and camping, spork, bowl (I eat every meal out of a bowl), baggie with dr bronner soap, scrapper and sponge, spatula, hyrdoflask cup (for coffee, wine and hot toddies), pour over coffee set up (way easier to clean up than a french press)
Camping set up… tent, pad, pillow, sleeping bag, rumpl blanket, hammock and rain fly for the hammock. Okay two things. One, when traveling on the east coast in spring (or anytime really) always always always prepare for rain, even if it says 0% chance. Just fucking do it, okay?! Two, I invested in a rumpl blanket (and when I say invested, I mean I looked on ebay until I found one for $40 instead of $100) and I have to say it’s totally worth it. It packs up small, wipes off easy when you spill shit on it (I’m messy), is a great alternative to a sleeping bag on a hot night and is super cozy when it’s chilly out.
Tip: tie your tarp/rain fly from your car to your tent so you have a space to cook, sit, move around out of the rain.
The itinerary (that we totally made up as we went along)
Starting Monday, we left Ohiopyle PA and headed towards Summersville WV. Our original goal was to camp at the put in for the upper gauley river. However, since it was a designated camping area, it was closed due to covid. Upon realizing this my adventure partner, Adam, got on freecampsites.net (Best thing ever! It points out dispersed campsites, usually within a national forest) and found our next spot to checkout, Stone Cliff.
Side note: Stone Cliff is a designated camping area on the New River and therefore closed during the covid shut down. However, I highly recommend checking this place out when it opens back up. The spot we checked out is a very large and accessible parking lot with a short walk down to the beach shoreline. There are a ton of trees for hammocks, flat spots to pitch a tent and a very wide, very flat river to swim in.
On our way down to Stone Cliff, we followed a beautiful creek in the national river area with multiple pull off spots, some with space for a tent. After we nixed Stone Cliff, we headed back up the hill, picked a spot, set up camp, ate our premade meal from earlier and fell asleep to the sound of rushing water. In the morning, we drank our coffee by a waterfall, ate a light breakfast, pooped in the woods, packed up and headed to our next stop.
Tip: If you have TP & a shovel, the world is your toilet. Seriously. Find a spot that is off trail and away from water, dig a deep hole, poop and cover it up. THIS is how we avoided all facilities.
Tip that an REI employee taught me years ago: swap out a shovel for a heavy duty tent stake. It’s way lighter, packs better, works just as well and you never know when you’ll need an extra stake (I actually travel with like three extra, just in case)
Tuesday, Linville falls. This was a gamble that paid off. Linville falls is a very popular area, however it was 50 degrees and raining so the place was deserted. Tip: pack a rain jacket and be okay with getting wet. The average person will actually melt in the rain, so you probably won't see a lot of people. We took the Blue Ridge Parkway from Linville down into Asheville. It definitely added time to our drive but was beautiful and way more peaceful than the interstate. Once in Asheville we set up camp in my best friends yard. Luckily for us, she has an empty and detached garage that we were able to commandeer for two days. We finally set up the kitchen, had steak for dinner, drank wine, visited with friends at a distance and played strip poker before bed. Thus far we spent about $45 on gas.
Wednesday we woke up to fresh baked sourdough bread from a quarantined friend and a fuck ton of rain. We had cheddar jalapeno sourdough, bacon and mangos for breakfast.
Tip: fruits are awesome when camping. They have vitamins and nutrients you’re not getting from camp food and they don’t need to be refrigerated.
It was raining so freaking hard that no amount of recreating would have been fun. Our options were stay in the tent all day or find the sun. I googled the local radar and found that the storm directly over us was headed northeast. I then looked for a recreation area southwest of us and found the smokies. First, we drove onto the parkway and found a dirt road to pull off and poop (off trail, in a hole), shower (baby wipes) and brush teeth. Then we went to clingmans dome. This was a gamble that did not pay off. I assumed that the mist and fog would keep people away as it had at Linville the day before, I was wrong and the place was jam packed (we didn't leave the car). Luckily, I am somewhat familiar with the area and was able to find an unmarked creekside trail that showed us multiple waterfalls, a really good rock for snacking and zero people. Lunch was fresh bread and red pepper hummus, strawberries and brownie hummus (taste delicious and packed with protein). The weather was about 65 degrees and sunny for most of the day.
Tip: If trails are overly crowded, just find a creek and scramble up. You’ll usually find a swimming hole, sunning rock, lots of nature and an abundance of peace and quiet. Roadside creeks are also great snack spots throughout the day. Easily accessible and way prettier than a rest stop.
Thursday drove back up to the Linville Gorge area. We hiked the babel tower trail, then drove to the other side of the gorge towards table rock. We set up camp in the parking lot and ate three different dinners (all with their own dessert), drank hot toddies and went to bed early.
Friday we woke up at 5:30am, grabbed a pre packed backpack and hit the one mile trail up to table rock for an EPIC sunrise. We brought everything we needed to make coffee, eat a light snack and go to the bathroom. We did not see anyone on this adventure (per usual, the average person hates waking up early, especially on vacation). After we got back to camp we took our time tearing down, packing up and making breakfast. We headed back north with the plan of stopping at the summersville dam to break up the drive. It was about 75 degrees and we pulled off at a known climbing area and took an unmarked trail down to the lake. While we did not occupy the most beautiful spot (with cliffs, a waterfall and a shit ton of people), we did find a little spot all to ourselves right on the water's edge. We hung out there, swam and soaked up the sun before arriving home Friday night.
All in all, we spent zero extra money on food, zero money on camping and used zero public restrooms or facilities
The food set up (obviously the most important part)
Day one and part of two we ate food that I already cooked at home. Day two and three we ate food from the cooler; steak, black beans and tomatoes (prepped at home), bacon, hummus, tofu, strawberries. Day three, four and five we ate camp food.
What I consider to be camp food: ramen noodles, mac and cheese, soup, rice in a bag (make sure you get the original flavor otherwise you’ll blow through your days worth of sodium in one meal), dehydrated meals (these are great but expensive as fuck. With a little extra effort you could save a lot of money), tuna from a bag (it has less juice than in a can and comes in lots of yummy flavors like ginger or spicy Thai) and crackers, pretzels (with dark chocolate, apples, and peanut butter), oatmeal, PB&J, chips and salsa, dolmas (they come in cans and are the best adventure snack ever!)
Food tips
Baby food is dope. I’m not fucking with you, not even a little bit. They come in little squeeze containers with a resealable lid, they’re cheap as shit and they’re basically a fruit smoothie! My favorite is apple pear spinach or anything with chia seeds. YUM!
We avoided stopping for coffee while driving by keeping a giant bottle of Starbucks almond milk caffe mocha cold brew (this stuff is crack and I love it) in the cooler, as well as a few smaller non refrigerated bottles in the food bin. This is also nice to mix with your regular brewed coffee instead of packing creamer and sweetener.
Insead of ice, freeze ½ gallon jugs of water (we recycled plastic OJ bottles). They last longer than ice chips, you don’t have to drain your cooler and you’ll have extra water when they melt. This gave us about two full days of cold food, after that we ate packaged food so we didn't have to go into a gas station to buy ice.
We brought about 10 gallons of water. That’s one gallon, per person, per day. It may be excessive, but we never had to worry (This includes the water that was previously used as ice in the cooler)
You don't need a whole condiment bottle. Put condiments in squeezable shampoo bottles. Use soy sauce packets from chinese take out (careful, they break easily), hot sauce from taco bell, chick fil a sauce packets, jelly or cream packets from diners … the list goes on forever. On the same note, put your favorite spices (salt, pepper, garlic, maybe cayenne or paprika) in one spice jar for easy and compact seasoning. Bring a little bottle of oil if you're feeling extra fancy.
I like mixing a bag of rice with a can of soup to make it a little more hearty and filling
A few meals that I would not travel without
(I apologize, the directions are as loose as my lifestyle)
Bitesized potatoes either get little tiny potatoes or cut up red potatoes (with the skins on). Preheat the oven to 375ish. Toss the taters in less oil than you think you need, I prefer sesame and a splash of soy sauce. Bake for about 30 minutes. Stir them up and sprinkle your favorite seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary), turn up the heat to at least 425 and cook for another 10-20 minutes.
Tip for cooking potatoes: preheat oven, start packing, prep and begin to bake, continue to pack, check on potatoes while packing. When you’re done packing, the potatoes should be done too.
Everything but the kitchen sink pasta (my favorite go food since my early track and field days) Cook the pasta. Doesn’t matter what kind or how much, and if you need directions for that, we’ve got bigger problems. Add a splash (I mean an actual splash, don't drown it) of oil, soy sauce, hot sauce (I like trader joes sriracha, I think it’s more garlicky), vinegar (rice, white wine or balsamic) and sweetener (maple syrup, honey or agave). Every spice in your possession that smells like it would be good in there (salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, ginger, cayenne, paprika, oregano, ginger, whatthefuckever). Mix that shit up and that’s it, it’s literally that easy
Rice & beans While camping, mix a bag of rice with beans and tomatoes. Prep at home by rinsing beans and dicing tomatoes, then put them in separate containers in the cooler. If you're on day 5 and no longer have cooler food, a jar of salsa and black bean dip works just as well. Don't forget to spice it up with your condiments!
That’s all the tips I have for now. I have three possible trips planned for the next two weeks, if you want to hear about how I lifestyle backpacking trips, multi day river trips or the beach, let me know! (P.S. Yes, there are dispersed camping spots in a national forest 3 miles from the seashore)
I hope this encourages to do some lifestylin' of your own!
Lots of love,
Know your car. Know your gas mileage (tip if you don’t have a fancy new car that tells you this: fill up your tank, reset your miles, drive until empty, refill, number of miles driven divided by number of gallons added). Know how big your gas tank is. Know how many miles you can still drive once your empty light comes one. Know how to check your oil, transmission and coolant. If you have some sort of external storage, traveling with a tiny gas can is not the worst idea.
Gather all your shit in one pile. Food bin, camping gear, clothing, everything. You will be able to pack more efficiently if you can see everything that needs to go in.
Your first day will probably be hectic with packing and driving. The last thing you’ll want to do when you stop is unload a bunch of shit and cook a meal. For this reason, I usually cook bite sized potatoes and pasta in herbs and olive oil the night before or while I’m packing. I can eat it with my fingers while driving and it makes an easy dinner once we get to camp (also they don’t need a ton of refrigeration, so you could still eat any leftovers the next day)
Freeze ½ gallon jugs of water instead of using ice (more on that in the food set up)
Space is limited and valuable, don’t take two of something. (example: two pairs of flip flops are not useful. Hiking boots, water shoes and a pair of slip ons for around camp is useful)
Ask yourself how much you’re going to use a piece of gear. If it’s only once and it’s big or heavy, it’s probably not worth bringing.
Bring a dirty clothes bag. Ideally one that is sealed (so no smells escape). Do not put wet clothes in the dirty clothes bag, it makes everything funkier.
Ditch the makeup. No one gives a fuck what you look like when you’re out in the woods. It takes up space, time and requires you to remove it every night.
Compartmentalize fucking everything! Everything has a place, space, box, bag, drawer, reusable grocery bag (if you do not own/use reusable grocery bags, come on!) cube, cup holder, whatever.
On that note.. I have one reusable grocery bag as a “safety bag” that hangs on the back of my drivers seat. This contains a cloth mask, disposable gloves, clorox wipes, hand sanitizer wipes and baby wipes. It hangs behind my seat for easy access when pumping gas. (IMPORTANT: I do not touch my car, door handle, phone or keys in the process of pumping gas and thoroughly wipe everything down before reentering the car, including my credit card).
On the back of the passenger seat I have a reusable tote for “important things”. This bag includes a headlamp and batteries (always check your headlamp before leaving and always bring batteries), a collapsible lantern, spork, swiss army knife, TP & shovel (actually a tent stake, but more on that later), sunscreen, fanny pack, deck of cards, chargers as well as a pre charged extra battery and apple cider vinegar gummies to help prevent heartburn (so dope).
Recycle some plastic grocery bags and stuff them under the passenger seat. Collect trash until full and throw away at the gas pump.
Keep your food bins on the floor of the back seat (if you don’t have passengers back there) for two reasons. One, snacks are easily accessible while driving. Two, that is the coolest part of your car. You can place a blanket over the baskets to further insulate the food and help it keep longer (like apples, bread or tuna)
Kitchen set up… foldable table, collapsible bucket (one of the most recommended unessential pieces of gear. Makes washing dishes so much easier and showering somewhat possible. Also makes a nice storage container for loose kitchen items), pot and pan (cast iron), two burner stove for dinner, jet boil for coffee soup and camping, spork, bowl (I eat every meal out of a bowl), baggie with dr bronner soap, scrapper and sponge, spatula, hyrdoflask cup (for coffee, wine and hot toddies), pour over coffee set up (way easier to clean up than a french press)
Camping set up… tent, pad, pillow, sleeping bag, rumpl blanket, hammock and rain fly for the hammock. Okay two things. One, when traveling on the east coast in spring (or anytime really) always always always prepare for rain, even if it says 0% chance. Just fucking do it, okay?! Two, I invested in a rumpl blanket (and when I say invested, I mean I looked on ebay until I found one for $40 instead of $100) and I have to say it’s totally worth it. It packs up small, wipes off easy when you spill shit on it (I’m messy), is a great alternative to a sleeping bag on a hot night and is super cozy when it’s chilly out.
Side note: Stone Cliff is a designated camping area on the New River and therefore closed during the covid shut down. However, I highly recommend checking this place out when it opens back up. The spot we checked out is a very large and accessible parking lot with a short walk down to the beach shoreline. There are a ton of trees for hammocks, flat spots to pitch a tent and a very wide, very flat river to swim in.
On our way down to Stone Cliff, we followed a beautiful creek in the national river area with multiple pull off spots, some with space for a tent. After we nixed Stone Cliff, we headed back up the hill, picked a spot, set up camp, ate our premade meal from earlier and fell asleep to the sound of rushing water. In the morning, we drank our coffee by a waterfall, ate a light breakfast, pooped in the woods, packed up and headed to our next stop.
Tip: If you have TP & a shovel, the world is your toilet. Seriously. Find a spot that is off trail and away from water, dig a deep hole, poop and cover it up. THIS is how we avoided all facilities.
Friday we woke up at 5:30am, grabbed a pre packed backpack and hit the one mile trail up to table rock for an EPIC sunrise. We brought everything we needed to make coffee, eat a light snack and go to the bathroom. We did not see anyone on this adventure (per usual, the average person hates waking up early, especially on vacation). After we got back to camp we took our time tearing down, packing up and making breakfast. We headed back north with the plan of stopping at the summersville dam to break up the drive. It was about 75 degrees and we pulled off at a known climbing area and took an unmarked trail down to the lake. While we did not occupy the most beautiful spot (with cliffs, a waterfall and a shit ton of people), we did find a little spot all to ourselves right on the water's edge. We hung out there, swam and soaked up the sun before arriving home Friday night.
Baby food is dope. I’m not fucking with you, not even a little bit. They come in little squeeze containers with a resealable lid, they’re cheap as shit and they’re basically a fruit smoothie! My favorite is apple pear spinach or anything with chia seeds. YUM!
We avoided stopping for coffee while driving by keeping a giant bottle of Starbucks almond milk caffe mocha cold brew (this stuff is crack and I love it) in the cooler, as well as a few smaller non refrigerated bottles in the food bin. This is also nice to mix with your regular brewed coffee instead of packing creamer and sweetener.
Insead of ice, freeze ½ gallon jugs of water (we recycled plastic OJ bottles). They last longer than ice chips, you don’t have to drain your cooler and you’ll have extra water when they melt. This gave us about two full days of cold food, after that we ate packaged food so we didn't have to go into a gas station to buy ice.
We brought about 10 gallons of water. That’s one gallon, per person, per day. It may be excessive, but we never had to worry (This includes the water that was previously used as ice in the cooler)
You don't need a whole condiment bottle. Put condiments in squeezable shampoo bottles. Use soy sauce packets from chinese take out (careful, they break easily), hot sauce from taco bell, chick fil a sauce packets, jelly or cream packets from diners … the list goes on forever. On the same note, put your favorite spices (salt, pepper, garlic, maybe cayenne or paprika) in one spice jar for easy and compact seasoning. Bring a little bottle of oil if you're feeling extra fancy.
I like mixing a bag of rice with a can of soup to make it a little more hearty and filling
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