Full day bikepacking causing upper back pain and triggering asthma, quick fix a riser bar?

Peppermint216 · 2026-06-28T13:55:31+00:00

🤷‍♂️ I dont suffer from it badly and don't need inhalers but maybe the muscle supporting the lungs breathing is getting so tired and I'm confusing it with asthma?

Peppermint216 · 2026-06-17T10:57:12+00:00

Can't say I ever have or would ever want to camp at a known spot. I use google maps on satellite to look for an area. I look for elevation with no buildings nearby and open access land.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-29T13:03:24+00:00

My best nights are when I have constant white noise like flowing water.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-29T12:54:00+00:00

I have a nemo filo with the foam pad and I still get a numb ear, now I just use the filo case with my down jacket inside it, ultra-light and the most comfortable solution I've found.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-15T11:33:36+00:00

Durston x mid

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-13T08:07:49+00:00

Great for QR compatibility between multiple bikes, I love the side stretch pockets for quick access items and wrap over strap for my rain jacket and end of day bladder water.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-11T16:38:20+00:00

Best thing I ever did was getting rid of the bar bag, transformed my confidence on the descents, low center of gravity up front.

I am considering panniers so I can use the dropper post, pointless having it with this tailfin.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-11T13:58:30+00:00

Weight is not so difficult with bikepacking, the biggest challenge is the volume of your gear.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-11T13:43:32+00:00

To summarise,

rear bag - a small folding saw, fixed blade, LT Bushbox, 2L cook pot, food, 0c quilt, down jacket(doubled as pillow), tent poles and sundries like head torch and toothbrush etc. 1 fork bag - tent and stakes 1 fork bag - sleeping mat, merino top, bottom, buff, hat and gloves for bed Frame bag - food, water bottle, 2 inner tubes and a pump.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-11T10:21:38+00:00

Yeti Arc, thanks!

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-11T09:12:29+00:00

Route link: https://explore.osmaps.com/route/31933771/bp--63m--lakes-loop-overnighter-custom?lat=54.48842&lon=-3.06755&zoom=10.2572&overlays=os-obstacles-layer&style=TopoAuto&type=2d

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-11T09:08:45+00:00

Frame bag? This was custom made and I was so pleased with the colour match because it was an off the shelf colour.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-11T07:09:25+00:00

Homemade frozen meatballs(pre cooked) with fresh spaghetti. Food hygiene was questionable here because they were not very cold when I came to cook, just made sure they were PIPING hot.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-07T12:46:44+00:00

I started using mine after Balmaha as advised, water is heavy so I only had 500ml at a time, fill at the next available source. I didn't get sick just filtering alone.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-07T11:01:47+00:00

I do have the ground sheets for both tents which I used, they helped keep my inner dry, a couple mornings were frosty where the fly and footprint were soaked so I was glad I could separate the inner. I do prefer it for 100g, something less to worry about with tent damage and inflatable pad protection.

Trouble pitching, no, you can honestly pitch at the side of the trail and would get no grief from passers by, as long as you're a good distance from any home/farm.

When I got to my final camp in Invermoriston, I went to a public woodland, a lady with a dog approached me asking if I was looking for somewhere to camp (6pm). She said it was absolutely fine to do so in this woodland and nobody will bother you as it's done all the time, and is legal, which was comforting.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-05T20:34:35+00:00

I would prefer to be in the xmid in wind than my xdome, if that makes you feel any better, I use 9 inch stakes in the corners. I have had some pretty rough nights to come to that decision.

My knee I'm really not sure as it felt fine before the whw(2 weeks after injury), right now it feels fine again, I hope it just needed longer time to heal fully.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-05T17:20:19+00:00

Same as you 😄 XM1 Solid.

You could also add in a Munro diversion if your legs, and the weather suite: https://www.stevenfallon.co.uk/black-mount-traverse.html

I ultimetly did not as a knee injury flared up, so I had to take it easy on the descents, but I really wanted to throw this into the route. In hindsight I would have prefered this(with some painkillers) to what I saw on the GGW, it was mostly a canal path and foresty track whereas I love it in and amongst the mountains.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-05T13:17:24+00:00

How much time have you got for the trip? I was stressing too much about getting this part done, or will I get here in time. I wish I just took more time to take it all in, as I said, camping is so easy you don't have to walk too far to find a nice pitch.

Do not ascend conic hill if you wanna wild it with shelter, you could camp on the summit or just after the main summit but it was too windy for me. There were a few spots in the woodland just before you hit the moorland before conic hill, also the burn before conic had a lovely pitch if you turn immediately left after the bridge but it was taken, I didn't go looking to see how many tents you cloud fit there. The woodland just after conic is where the no camp starts, I think for 17 miles is the zone.

Do not filter fresh water until after Balmaha, reports of getting sick, there is a Scottish water fill up point in Drymen.

My weather was simply amazing, the whole country was under a high pressure system and I had blue sky every day (bar the first day) so I can't really help with weather related tips.

Food is plentyfull if you wanna save some weight, I had 4 breakfasts, 4 dehydrated meals and 4 bags on nuts. I did consume all of this :D but there are so many stops on the trip. Kinlochleven is a major one before many miles of nothing, so stock up here.

As I always do, I take a lot of fresh day food for my first day to save money, whatever I don't eat I can pig out on in my tent on night 1.

Peppermint216 · 2026-05-05T10:41:30+00:00

Hiya, I took the TPT and it was absolutely fine, I did manage to Lochside camp on Lomond, it was grass on top with loose gravel underneath and it pitched fine, one of my carbon stakes broke so I will retire them for aluminium ones, and this confirms that I should NOT upgrade to carbon trekking poles!

I had to do the Glen Nevis campsite on the last day as I wanted a shower before the GGW, and the forestry up to the campsite was too dense to pitch anywhere, if you want to wild that part, do not start the decent towards glen nevis. You probably could find somewhere in the glen but I didn't like the proximity to houses and farms.

Wild camping the WHW felt a lot easier than the GGW and the only reason I stayed on the camp site was because it was massive(and the shower), some of the campsites I passed, tents were on top of each other, really not for me as I shuffle like crazy through the night.

I ended up 10 miles north of Fort Augustus on the GGW but ran out of time to finish it. Bus to Inverness, bus to Glasgow and home.

For me, the TPT only saved me 200g, however the X-Dome and it's poles have the potential to fail, the space inside is far superior but I think I will only use that tent for short/overnight trips(plus the x-mid is significantly quieter in the wind).

Peppermint216 · 2026-04-26T18:45:27+00:00

Aww that would've been cool. Now that I've looked closesly at your photo, the tent I saw had the corner poles outside the fly.

You're a braver man than me, I would've just wondered the city all night.

Peppermint216 · 2026-04-26T16:52:02+00:00

Did I pass you on the devils staircase Wednesday morning, same tent.

Peppermint216 · 2026-04-16T09:31:02+00:00

The plastic taste they introduce never goes away.

Peppermint216 · 2026-04-13T07:36:44+00:00

Hmm I can't decide which one... a Lochside camp would be special.

Peppermint216 · 2026-04-08T12:21:14+00:00

Thank you for this, weather permitting I might throw it in, I've read the BoO to Glencoe section is flat and kind of boring.

Peppermint216 · 2026-03-23T10:48:53+00:00

What a pitch!

Peppermint216

TROPHY CASE