Exactly one year ago, I had just completed a 650+ mile solo bikepacking trip through a hurricane from Charlotte, NC to my hometown of Montoursville, PA. Reactions to that adventure from the HPM community varied. Many were inspired to knock out their own multi-day beatdowns while others responded along the lines of “Yeah, I could never do that”. This Journal and Short Film aim to address the latter and provide inspiration to get you started on your own adventure, in your own way. Join me as I take my boys, ages 5 and 7, on their first bikepacking trip … in our backyard.

(For the record: Yes, you 100% can do more than you think. Stop making excuses, set a goal, and work feverishly to achieve it!)

Galen Bratton, the older brother of Human Powered Movement founder Adam Bratton recently completed his first multi-day bikepacking trip of the 184 mile Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Trail.

Although many have ridden this popular and completely car-free route, from Cumberland, MD to Washington, DC (or vice versa), the experience with his HS pals did more than just allow for a few days away from computer screens and onto two-wheels. It re-inspired the childlike wonder of riding bikes, it re-invigorated the need to move through nature, and it reinforced 40+ years of friendship.
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We tossed a few questions his way to get a feel for what last week’s pedal powered comradely session meant to him and his HS buds.

​In early 2022, I got a seemingly random text from adventure pal, Samuel Martin (of “Available for Pickup Only” fame amongst others) It simply said “Packrafting trip in Alaska?”. Wesley Maxwell (the photographer behind most of Human Powered Movement’s shenanigans) was also on the text and immediately responded the same obvious way I did. “Love it … I’m in!”. These semi-serious and semi-wishful thinking responses ended up turning into something that only the very best dreams are made of.

On the 9-hour drive back from a self-supported 650+ mile bikepacking trip from Charlotte, NC to my hometown of Montoursville, PA this past October, I couldn’t help but daydream about the next “relatively random, but also meaningful to me” journey. Over the next few months, my wandering mind was running rampant, and locations all over the East Coast were under consideration. It took another few months until the light bulb clicked, and it was all my wife’s fault!