All photos: Gregory McDonald
This is the last post about 2015’s Overland Expo, West. If you’d like to go this year, it’s taking place in Flagstaff May 20–22.
These are some shots of last year’s obstacle course. Read the rest of this entry »
Archives for category: North America
All photos: Gregory McDonald
Overland Expo West, the rally, camping, and training experience, held every year in Flagstaff, Arizona, starts in a week.
Here are some more photos of our friend Greg’s trip there last year. Read the rest of this entry »
All photos: Gregory McDonald
This is our second installment on Overland Expo covering products. Besides the classes and workshops, there’s a whole section of the Expo devoted to vendors. What follows are some of the more interesting ones that Greg, our man on the scene, spotted.
The photo above shows a collection of handmade fire steels by L. T. Wright.
Next year’s Overland Expo will be held May 20–22, 2016 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The event offers a chance to work on your overland driving skills, attend workshops and classes, watch films and demos, and offers a tangible air of camaraderie. They’re already taking reservations. If you’re interested, click here. Read the rest of this entry »
All photos: Gregory McDonald
Greg on his way to Overland Expo 2015
Dear Readers!
I apologize for the radio silence the past few months. I’d like to get the WCXC ball rolling again with series of posts about last spring’s Overland Expo 2015. I had initially invited my good friend Greg from gadmachine to go with me. When a scheduling conflict came up, Greg, always up for adventure, accepted our press pass (kindly provided by Overland Expo) and headed to Arizona solo. He had a great time, met some great people, and took the fantastic photos you see here.
I’ll cover the Expo in four posts: Trucks, Products, Camp Vibes, and the Obstacle Course.
Next year’s Overland Expo will be held May 20–22, 2016 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The event offers a chance to work on your overland driving skills, attend workshops and classes, watch films and demos, and offers a tangible air of camaraderie. They’re already taking reservations. If you’re interested, click here.
On to the trucks! The Expo is a great place to see adventure vehicles. Here’s what Greg spotted. Read the rest of this entry »
According to the BlueRibbon Coalition over 100 miles of Moab trails are being threatened with road closures by the proposed Grand County Council Public Lands Initiative.
The initiative is open to public comment until the 31st of March. Check the link for more details on the issue and how to comment.
Link:
National Call To Action – Help Save Moab’s Trails | BlueRibbon Coalition.
5,000 miles across the USA in an old GMC conversion van? Sure—if it looks this good and has the camp vibes to match. You have go-van.com, an online magazine about van culture, to thank for bringing you along for the ride.
Link:
go-van.com
In case you haven’t heard, Overland Expo WEST 2015 will be May 15–17 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The event plays host to 170+ classes, 180+ exhibitors, as well as food, films, happy hours, a BBQ, and, according to last year’s figures, about 8,000 people from around the world. Camping is available onsite, though you can also come for the day or weekend without pitching a tent.
What does all of this fun cost? Here’s how it breaks down, if you get your tickets in advance.
Entire weekend of camping, classes, and the event:
$285 per person, or $490 per couple (kids under 17 are free with couple rate)
Entire weekend of camping and the event, but no classes:
$90 per person, or $155 per couple (kids are free with couple rate)
Entire weekend, just the event, no camping or classes:
$55 per person, or $95 per couple (kids are free with couple rate)
Single day at the event, no camping or classes:
$25 per person, or $45 per couple (kids are free with couple rate)
Check the site for day-of pricing and other special deals.
There are many famous overlanding routes: Australia’s Canning Stock Route, for example, or Russia’s Trans-Siberian Highway. But what if you’re looking for an epic off-road journey a little closer to home? Well, a man named Sam Corerro has spent about twelve years scouting an all-dirt route across the United States for you. He calls it the Trans-America Trail.
The Trans-America Trail (TAT) makes it way 5,000 miles from southeastern Tennessee to the Oregon coast. It is meant to be driven from east to west, and was designed for dual-sport bikes, though it was recently tackled by Land Rover fielding its LR4 (see video above or Gear Patrol link below).
The route was laid out as to provide adequate fuel stops for non-desert-tank motorcycles and technical riding on every section of the trail. The Tennessee starting point was chosen on account of there being no continuous dirt any further east.
How satisfying ride across the U.S. on nothing but dirt.
If you’d like to learn more, check the links below. Scott Brady from the Overland Journal has made the trip and posted a descriptive write-up.
Links:
Trans-America Trail website
Scot Brady Rides the Transamerica Trail
Gear Patrol
Here’s a well-shot video of Pinzgauer 710M negotiating the Defense Mine / Cummings Cutoff trail in south-eastern California’s Panamint Valley. The driver doesn’t always choose the best lines, and the trail is pretty tough, but the ability of the vehicle is unfailing. It’s amazing to see what these trucks can do.
A couple of weeks ago I dropped by Thorson’s Off-Road in Santa Rosa for a quote on a new skid plate. We got to talking and I was given a quick tour of the shop. They were prepping an insane looking Jeep for the King of Hammers, a 165-mile desert race in which teams must blast through open terrain at 100+ mph and also negotiate difficult, slow rocky sections.
The week-long event takes place in Southern California near Twentynine Palms, features motorcycles and buggies, and starts on Friday, January 30th. The main event takes place on Friday, February 6th.
See the rest of the post for links and photos of Thorson’s crazy Jeep.