If you’re at home, and you have some time on your hands, check out this 1986 documentary about the Paris-Dakar Rally. You may remember that that was the year Porsche got their rally program dialed and pulled off a 1-2 finish with their newly-developed 959. There’s some great footage of the 959s in action across Africa.
In 1939 a 55-foot-long, 37-ton snow vehicle with a planned 8,000-mile range was deployed on Antarctica to explore the continent. It was called The Snow Cruiser. How did it fare? Not so well. If you saw my post from a couple of weeks ago, you know how it’s done today.
Maxtrax are often the first thing overlanders grab when they get stuck. They’re easy to deploy. Just do a bit of digging and stick them in front of the wheels. A set will cost you about $300, which seems like a lot for two injection-molded plastic planks. Have you ever wondered if knock-offs are a viable alternative to an original set of Maxtrax? The verdict seems to be favorable according to this video.
My friend Nathan told me recently about the Royal Enfield Himalayan, a back-to-basics, 411cc adventure bike from India. From reviews I’ve read the bike is more pack mule than race horse. Or said another way, the long-stroke engine provides more useful torque than it does useful horsepower. But often that’s just what’s needed off-road.
I think the YouTube review above does a good job of laying out the bike’s pros and cons. After the jump there’s another video of bike on an adventure in the Himalayas. And here’s a review of the bike in Cycle World to round things out. Read the rest of this entry »
Last Sunday I took Illabot Creek Rd., in Washington’s Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, up to the Slide Lake trailhead for some winter fun and snow driving. Here are some photos and some trip notes at the end in case you go.
Chained up and ready to go.
Read the rest of this entry »
Australian map and app company Hema is mapping the Continental Divide more their North American mapping app. They’ve also created a cloud sharing service where users can upload and share tracks. Here’s an example.
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 McDonaldGreg 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 »
This English couple has written a photo book about their 5-month trip, north to south, through Africa. To do it they bought an 80-series Land Cruiser which they named “Indlovu,” the unstoppable elephant.
They’re currently pre-selling their book on Kickstarter.
Link:
Indlovu on Kickstarter
