(SN) OVERLAND EXPO 2015
Guess I picked a fine time to drive a thousand miles to the expo where the weather was the real story. I got to Flagstaff Friday. it was raining with snow predicted I wanted a stocking cap ...
Forum Discussion
Rick 4x4x4,
Nicely shaped trip report. I'm kind of sorry I missed the muddn'. When I was 20, mud was a party. Now, it is something to endure or avoid. I was not there this year but we had that same 'front' roll through 600 miles to the North West on the West Slope, Northern Sierra Nevada. I did not think it would dip that far south. Seems like El Nino is alive and well.
You would think folks who are going to an Overland Expo would be equipped for any weather/any traction condition, rig-wise. After all, aren't these folks the self-proclaimed tip of the expedition/overlanding spear, or what's left of it? After 50 years of four wheel driving, over many miles of muck and mire; oceans of sand and mountains of snow, I rarely go anywhere in the TC without an abundance of self recovery equipment. It looks like a lot of people (I"m not going to call them Poseurs) relied on good old G.I., 6x6 heft to be extracted from the goo.
Rick, you have an ace up your sleeve with 4wheelsteer as you can 'waddle' the rear steer to help you get through the mud, zig zagging to and fro. My bro John won the Top Truck Challenge one year because he used that technique to swim through the 4 foot deep mud holes on the last obstacle which stopped most of the contestants cold.
The lessons learned are simple: Be prepared; Build your (truck) camping rig to be successfully motatable under any terra or atmospheric condition. Be self sufficient; depend on no one to help you out of trouble.
This is ultimate peace of mind while traveling in the overlanding mode.
After that I still have a lot of compassion for the people who made it through the week end at Mormon Lake: So many worthy, personal lessons learned. And memorable.
regards, as always, jefe
Nicely shaped trip report. I'm kind of sorry I missed the muddn'. When I was 20, mud was a party. Now, it is something to endure or avoid. I was not there this year but we had that same 'front' roll through 600 miles to the North West on the West Slope, Northern Sierra Nevada. I did not think it would dip that far south. Seems like El Nino is alive and well.
You would think folks who are going to an Overland Expo would be equipped for any weather/any traction condition, rig-wise. After all, aren't these folks the self-proclaimed tip of the expedition/overlanding spear, or what's left of it? After 50 years of four wheel driving, over many miles of muck and mire; oceans of sand and mountains of snow, I rarely go anywhere in the TC without an abundance of self recovery equipment. It looks like a lot of people (I"m not going to call them Poseurs) relied on good old G.I., 6x6 heft to be extracted from the goo.
Rick, you have an ace up your sleeve with 4wheelsteer as you can 'waddle' the rear steer to help you get through the mud, zig zagging to and fro. My bro John won the Top Truck Challenge one year because he used that technique to swim through the 4 foot deep mud holes on the last obstacle which stopped most of the contestants cold.
The lessons learned are simple: Be prepared; Build your (truck) camping rig to be successfully motatable under any terra or atmospheric condition. Be self sufficient; depend on no one to help you out of trouble.
This is ultimate peace of mind while traveling in the overlanding mode.
After that I still have a lot of compassion for the people who made it through the week end at Mormon Lake: So many worthy, personal lessons learned. And memorable.
regards, as always, jefe
