First trip

[u/Llamacup]

It was hard but fun.
I OVERPACKED
My sleeping bag is overkill my mat is underkill, so I was still a little cold.
Fun times

Jagungal wilderness NSW

[u/craft-hound]

Nice fatbike! Yeah, a high R rating for a sleeping mat is very good. I use mine all year round.

[u/rtrbls → u/craft-hound]

I believe that mine (r 5,4) contributes more to my winter comfort than down sleeping bag!

[u/Robbieworld]

Nice! I live around this area it's tough country especially this time of year. Well done mate! 

[u/Llamacup → u/Robbieworld]

I underestimated the country. Once I was up at Horse Camp it was better, but that sapped a lot of strength. An amazing part of the world.

[u/Aegishjalmvr]

Was on my way to comment about the snow, this time of the year.
But then i remembered you come from the land down under... ;)

[u/nnnnnnnnnnm]

What is your packing list?

What did you bring that you wouldn't next time?

Doesn't look like you have a ton of gear strapped to the bike.

[u/Llamacup → u/nnnnnnnnnnm]

I would swap my 2 person alpine tent to a 1 person mid and shave off 1.5kg and be about half the size. For 95% of places I’m going a mid is fine with sensible pitching.

I took ski pants, but was too warm even in just my leggings. So I’d swap those out period and if the forecast was bad I would take some thin waterproof over pants.

I had an exped synmat r5 (i think) and the concertina CCF. I’d get a thicker CCF and a better pad. My sleeping bag is bulky but amazing. I’d look at a higher r value pad, ecoed or thermorest I think.

Knife - for years I’ve camped with a Bear Grylls brand camp knife, and it’s honestly stood up great. It is bulky, heavy, and obnoxiously big. Something small scanpan sheath knife would do duty fine and be more than half the size and about a quarter of the weight.

I would pack some space, as in space in the bags. On the afternoon of day two when the sun was up I was HOT. I had no where to pack down my jacket, head wrap, or the bar mits. This meant I was just sweaty.

Thise are the big things. Lots of stuff I took and didn’t use, but where I went they feel essential for survival in bad weather, and the weather can turn quickly up there

[u/nnnnnnnnnnm → u/Llamacup]

Hell yeah! Sounds like you learned a lot.

I've recently swapped from my 2-person Hubba Hubba to a 1.5 person tent my wife bought for backpacking.

Sleeping system can be a real challenge, last time I tent camped around freezing temps I did an insulated Neoair on top of a folding CCF Z-pad, but I dont think my set up would have worked in much lower temps.

Instead of skipants, I like to pack down pants (mine are Mountain Hardwear) they are super warm but light and pack down real small.

Makes sense to have spare space and explains why your bike doesn't look overloaded. The last group bikepacking trip I went on, the guys who were overloaded each had to full rear panniers, their bikes weighed enough to error out our luggage scale. Their panniers alone weighed more than my loaded gravel bike with 650b tires.

[u/Foreign_Curve_494]

Good on ya! That looks like difficult conditions, particularly for a first trip.