We have our backpacking, climbing, cycling and skiing gear ready to go for our U.S. road trip (and a bit of Canada, eh?). My brother, Evan, and I are embarking on our cross-country adventure to check out our top picks of National Parks. We have no time limit, no pressing deadlines and definitely no hotel reservations (hello, funemployed and newly graduated). Check out the map and follow my posts to stay up to date on our weekly progress—the car leaves this weekend!
The Route:
We are starting in the Keystone State and aiming for the Mile High City as our first official stop. From there, we will head into “the international sanctuary of dirt bags known as Moab,”* Arizona and Nevada. We will drive up California to Oregon, Washington and Canada (for Banff National Park). Swooping back into the United States, we will hit Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. After a stop in Minnesota, the drive will take us above the Great Lakes in Canada for a few days before we hit Maine. Evan and I wanted to be sure to snag some poutine on this trip! After stopping at Mt. Washington and Whiteface, we will begin our last leg back to Pennsylvania—showers and a real bed may take some getting used to again.
The New Gear:
Both Evan and I have accumulated gear throughout the years, but here are our most recent purchases that we will be testing out throughout the trip:
- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1
- Brooks Caldera Trail Runners (Women’s)
- Jetboil Genesis Basecamp System Camp Stove
- Osprey Kyte 36 Pack (Women’s)
- EMS Sector 35 Pack
- Big Agnes Happy Hooligan UL2
- Big Agnes Two Track Sleeping Pad
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Home Stretch:
*Quote from Evan
See Bags Go 
How exciting, thanks for sharing your adventure with us.
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What a fantastic trip–can’t wait to read all about it! Traveling with siblings is the best. Excited to see your Kyte–I have a Kyte 46L version that I love for weekend treks–so streamlined and easy to use. The rain fly is awesome, too; it really came in handy in the Pacific NW! Safe travels and have a wonderful trip!
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Glad to know the Kyte works well! I’m excited to put it to good use 🙂
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Road trips are always my favorite form of traveling due to all the unique things you can find along the way. Looks like you guys are all geared up and ready for the adventure of a lifetime! I see your planning on driving thru Washington state, make sure not to miss Mt Rainier and Olympic National Park. Two of the most stunning national parks I have witnessed in my life!
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Awesome! We’ll make sure to stop there 😀
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WOW!! One summer my husband and I camped and drove from our home in British Columbia through Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Montana and Idaho – it was awesome. HOT (and we had no air conditioning in our old beater…), but totally awesome. Have a great trip!!
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Aside from no AC, that sounds like it must’ve been a sweet trip!! Thanks for the good vibes 🙂
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Your trip really appeals to my sense of adventure and my love of the US National Park. I am looking forward to reading more about your trip 🙂
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Wow this is one hell of a trip! Best of luck to you! Don’t forget lots of snacks for the journey… 😉
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Wow, this will be such an incredible trip – I can’t wait to read all about it. And you are squeezing in some Canada too! Awesome stuff
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Wow! What an amazing, exciting trip you have planned – free to do as you please, it’s going to be epic! Can’t wait to read your up-and-coming adventures! #feetdotrave
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Wow this looks like an amazing trip, look forward to your posts. #feetdotravel
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I can’t wait to follow your progresss. You’re going to love Rocky Mountain National Park! I could tell you’re going to Mt. Rainier, but couldn’t tell if you’re you’re hitting Olympic National Park– A must see!
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We’reo excited to follow along on this one. We hit all 48 states in 3 months last year, and seeing all those sights on one trip is amazing. You will have so much fun!!
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That’s so cool you made it so far so quickly!!
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We can’t wait to follow along! We did our US road trip in 2 months (way too short). One word of advice: there may be a couple nights on the trip your campsite will be too rainy or difficult terrain to stake your tent– splurge on an inn or b&b if you can afford it. It made all the difference to us those few crazy nights. Let us know if you have any questions or need recommendations 🙂
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Good advice–I’ll make sure to keep that in mind!! So glad you got to experience a trip like this, too!
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This looks fantastic. Looking forward to your updates. 🙂
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That looks like a massive, awesome road trip and can’t wait to hear about it as you go. I know so little about many of these places so will definitely find your posts useful.
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Great stuff – I have been thing about investing in a Jetboil. I worked in an outdoors store for a bit that sold them and I was impressed. Haven’t seen the stove system in action yet though, but it looks great.
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Just used it for the first time this morning and it came in handy! Heats up quickly, and I got to work the skillet for my veggies and the pot for my rice at the same time. 👌🏼👌🏼
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Sounds like an amazing adventure. You will see so much more going by road rather than flying. We are looking forward to following your trip as I finish work end of next month to start planning our trip which we will be going full time ! Enjoy your adventure.
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I love how detailed your planning is! I’m excited to read your reviews on the new items you’re testing out on this marvelous adventure. We’ve been looking at UL tents and BA is one of the contenders.
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I’m going to do a write up of the gear soon, but all the Big Agnes stuff has been amazing and resilient. One of my favorite gear brands!
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Wow! This is so exciting! You are going to have a blast and I can’t wait to read all about it!
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Thanks!!
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What a great adventure! Have an amazing time!
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This is SO exciting! This is a trip that’s absolutely on my bucket list – thank you for sharing your routes with us! Can’t wait to see the photos and hear your tips.
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Thanks! Hopefully you can snag some ideas from this trip 🙂 I’d definitely recommend taking the time to do it!!
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What an epic trip! My husband and I totally want to do that some day. can’t wait to read more!
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