Recap: Swift Campout

Is June bikepacking month? Seems like there have been a lot of posts about it. I'm not complaining, though.

This past weekend, twelve happy campers utilized the extensive greenway system here in Raleigh to ride up to Falls Lake, where we spent the shortest night of the year and returned via a whole different set of greenways the next morning.

It was wonderful – fantastical – unimaginably hot, humid, and sweaty – and a ton of fun.

I made a recap video (duh) which is slated to enter the video challenge in a moment or two. Here it is, in all its 9:16 glory.

The original route was primarily on greenways on day 1, with a few roads at the end before the campsite. Although the Neuse would be closed for a section, it still seemed like the preferable way to navigate northward. The biggest adventure of the day happened during the circumnavigation of that closure: we encountered 3-lane stroads, a desertish section between two developments, and a strange frayed heatmap section that turned out to be a short hike-a-bike through a very desolate suburban development. It was next to a golf course, yet it felt so inhospitable and foreign in the hazy asphalt heat.

The final gas station stop (of the three major stops that day) was perfectly timed and much needed. Most of the crew spent at least some time in the walk-in beer fridge. We bought a few too many gallons of water, but feeling the furnace blast as we opened the glass gas station door to the blazing outside silenced any potential complaints.

After surviving more than a few harrowing flybys by Brad, Chad & Co. over the next 4 miles, we turned right onto the gravel road that led us into the campsite.

The private beach. The wide, open communal camp area. The trees, the undergrowth, the hammocks, the sunshine flitting through the leaves. The birds. The waterskiers and fishermen. The afternoon air. Conversation while treading water. It was glorious.

We stayed up and celebrated the sun until quite late. The next morning, we enjoyed Benton's Bacon and Eggs and started the achy roll back to town. After recharging at Jubala in Lafayette Village, we took the greenway past Shelley Lake and back into town via House Creek and Reedy Creek.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, a wholesome time with friends and an experience we won't soon forget. As always, feeling very grateful for such a wonderful city and for the ability to do things like this.

Until next year!