Archives for posts with tag: trip

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.
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It’s refreshing to see a video from the Middle East that’s about the people and the land, instead of the turmoil. Modern Motorcycle Diaries takes us aboard their KTM 990 on a trip through Oman. It looks beautiful.

Links:
Modern Motorcycle Diaries

Save this one for when you have some time. It’s an hour and ten minutes of overlanding action as three mates head up the wild east coast of Australia’s northern Cape York Peninsula.

When I say wild, I do mean wild. They’ve gotten permission to drive much of it along the beach and have to take tides into account when rounding rocky points and crossing rivers. That and, of course, avoiding the crocodiles while doing a bit of night fishing. It looks like a lot of fun.

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About a year ago the forgotten ghost town of Seneca made national news after Paul Reubens (of Pee Wee Herman fame) tweeted about a long-idle Craigslist ad listing the town for sale. This year the “town,” which is just three rundown cabins and an old bar, sold. The bar, once called “The Gin Mill,” did come with an actual liquor license, so who knows, maybe it’ll reopen one day.

I mention it here because, if you live anywhere near the Sierras, it might make a good overlanding trip. The town sits at about 3600′ elevation in a canyon along the Feather River, about 50 miles northeast of Oroville and about 75 miles southwest of Redding. It’s actually just south of Lake Almanor, if you know where that is. Here are the coordinates: 40.112083,-121.0848

The roads to the site, though not that rough looking, are said to travel along 1000′ dropoffs, so if you go in winter, bring chains, shovels, and another friend with a truck.

Keep me posted, if you go check it out!

Links:
Craigslist ad

Google Map

LA Times article

Facebook page

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Here’s a five part video from YouTube user Mark Doiron about their 2011 trip through Moab, Utah, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Part 1 (Ridgeway, CO to Murphy on White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP)
Part 2 (Murphy to Caineville, UT)
Part 3 (Caineville, UT to Batty Caves in Grand Staircase-Escalante)
Part 4 (Batty Caves to Lake Powell)
Part 5 (Lake Powell to Grand Canyon north rim)

See the rest of the post for the all the videos.

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Oregon Dunes, WCXC
Greg out on the dunes. All photos: Nik Schulz

WCXC is back, albeit on a very limited basis while I make a living and write a book about spending a few months living on a mile-wide British island. (More on that later.) Still, adventures are being had and it’s time to get some photos up.

A few days ago, Greg, his wife, Abbey, and I, went to the Oregon Dunes in southwestern Oregon. See the photos after the jump. It was nice camping there, if a bit noisy.

Link:
Oregon Dunes

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To me, this video captures the joy of overlanding, the quiet stretches of road, the beautiful scenery, the people, the friendships. Two Czech guys head off through Turkey for a drive around Georgia, Armenia, and Karabkh, in their Land Rover Defender. Well done.

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A big thank you to Greg, Mas, Bryan, Ismael, Jesus, and David & Sadie, Lola, and Bee, who all came out to Hollister Hills for WCXC’s first trail day. It was great to see everyone enjoy the food, camping, and a day on the trails.

We had fun despite the rain checking out the various obstacle courses and working on our driving skills. Then, as we headed back to camp, the day took as serious turn when we learned that a man and his small boy had slid off the mud-slick trail and had gotten their full-size pick up seriously stuck. A full report soon.
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Fancy doing a 3,500 km (2,175 mi.) lap of India in a 7 hp Bajaj rickshaw? Well then, step right up young sir, young miss, The Adventurists are at it again. Correction. They’re always at it. They’re running three Rickshaw Runs a year, by the looks of it.

The idea is that you raise £500–£1000 ($816–$1632) for charity and pay The Adventurists £1395 ($2277) to sign up. They give you rickshaw, host the start and finish with some epic parties (according to their site), and send you off on a 16-day, shit-your-pants adventure through Indian traffic.

It actually looks like a lot of fun.