This past summer, English teacher Kim Gilbert embarked on a unique excursion that combines two of her favorite hobbies, biking and backpacking.

Bikepacking shares the same riveting sense of adventure as backpacking, but the participant is mounted on a bike instead of on their own two feet. However, despite its growing popularity, bikepacking remains widely unheard of. Gilbert had barely heard of it herself before she went on this trip. 

“I love backpacking but my main passion has always been biking, and when I started to see people venturing out, using their bikes as a way to backpack, it was really interesting to me,” Gilbert said. 

The organization that led her trip, Galpackas, is an adventure company that specializes in bikepacking, particularly for women and female-oriented individuals. They aim for “all gals to discover the magic of exploring the trail together,” according to their website. Galpackas fostered a supportive environment for the group. “I think just being out there for those days and having to power through certain situations and pushing your bike for a mile uphill can make you want to turn around and go home, but its kind of fun to be out with a group of people and everybody is super supportive, and it combines everything I love so I could get through those moments,” Gilbert said. 

Their trip began at a trailhead in Sargents, Colorado, a small, isolated mountain town 33 miles west of Salida. The trip was a total of 55 miles and climbed 3000 feet of elevation, and the group conquered some difficult terrain. This included a section where they had to dismount and hike their bikes a mile uphill. “It is physically demanding, but you can go at your own pace, and no one was pushing us to go any faster than we felt comfortable going,” Gilbert said.

Ultimately, for Gilbert, bikepacking was an enlightening experience, and she looks forward to doing it again, hopefully next summer. “My motto, which I picked up from this other bikepacker that I’ve listened to, is ‘“all I have to do is ride my bike today,”’ and when you frame it that way it becomes a lot easier. That’s all I have to do, and I have the whole day to do it.”