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How to Prepare for and Survive Inclement Weather While Overlanding

Lead photograph by Michnus Olivier, Piki Piki Overland More than a decade ago, we camped in a large wooded campsite in Punta del Este, a coastal town in Uruguay. Despite extensive overland travel in Africa, we were relative rookies. It was our first night in South America, the Defender had been released from the port…

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Unbreakable: Vasilisa Komarova’s Six-Year Journey to Justice

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Spring 2023 Issue. Illustrations by Wayne Watford. Editor’s Note: This article contains mature content that may be considered disturbing, particularly to victims of sexual assault or minors. Seven years ago, I was dispatched to London to deliver an enrichment program at the Apple Store in Covent Garden….

What You Need to Know About Water Sourcing, Filtration, and Storage

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2023 Issue. Camped beside a road in Ivory Coast, I filtered soupy rainwater from an old plastic barrel. I trusted my system but had to wonder—was the hard-working filter up to the task of removing chemicals, bacteria, and viruses? Was I hydrating my family with…

Overland Medicine: Over-the-Counter Field Pharmacy

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. Travel by four-wheel-drive vehicle affords rapid access to the middle of nowhere, which is a potential mecca of peace and tranquility until said vehicle breaks down, or its jockey becomes ill. As an emergency and wilderness medicine physician, I’ve been trained to identify…

Stream2Sea Sunscreen And Bodycare Products: Sunscreen, Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Lotion, and Lip Balm That Won’t Harm Waterways

Stream2Sea creates sunscreen and other hair and body care products that are safe for waterways. Many companies claim to make environmentally safe sunscreens, natural shampoos, and more. Stream2Sea also makes this claim but backs up its assertions with testing. Stream2Sea has the only products proven safe for simple nematodes (C. elegans), freshwater fish, saltwater fish,…

Making it Out Alive: Learn to save your own life or the one you love

Fieldcraft Survival and TacMed Solutions, companies providing industry-leading medical, simulation, and protection solutions for combat military personnel and first responders, collaborated on this comprehensive trauma kit, the MTK (Mobility Trauma Kit), with everyday mobility, off-roading, and overlanding in mind. The kit includes everything you could need in a life-threatening emergency: a tourniquet, modular bandages, combat…

Stopping the Bleed: Yes, it Can Happen to You

Kevin Henson has been answering calls to horrific accident scenes for at least 34 years. The trained paramedic and retired fire chief still grimaces a little when thinking about the worst accidents he’s attended. Many of them involved motorcycles. But there’s one item he never reached for in a trauma event: a first-aid kit. When…

Skyway to Highway, Overlanding notes from a bush pilot

It seems Ramona Cox was born for adventure. She won’t share the locations of her favorite fishing holes, but she’s quick to share her survival stories with other adventurers, whether they travel by land, air, or sea. The Hollywood, California, native has adventured through 50 countries, pushing the limits of her comfort zones and navigating…

Telemedicine: Health Care Options Continue to Expand for Overlanders

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Summer 2022 Issue. Technology has advanced considerably over the past couple of decades, and services once out of reach while traveling have become readily available. This is especially true in the wake of Covid-19, as safeguards brought on by the pandemic have allowed expanded insurance coverage…

Staples In Tents’ The Gathering is Coming to Vancorum, Colorado, August 18-22

Sonya and Necota Staples of Staples In Tents and Black People Off-road are champions of equality in the outdoor space. They strive to make camping and overlanding accessible to everyone, including those from marginalized communities who haven’t traditionally enjoyed easy access to outdoor recreation opportunities. Enter The Gathering, a weekend of outdoor adventure and education…

Bear-proof Food Storage for Moto Campers

Many of us traveling overnight or long distances on motorcycles are going into bear territory; that’s why we love our ADV and dual-sport bikes—to get off main roads and into the backcountry. But what about storing food out of reach from bears while we sleep at night? Growing up in the Canadian Rockies, I often…

The Overland Adventure Rallies Return (With a New Name) For 2022

Lead photo by Bryon Bass As rally organizers gear up for this year’s full season, I know I’m not the only one looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. Overland rallies are where like minds come together, bundling up for nightly bonfire raffles, visiting with colleagues and friends, listening to stories from…

Garmin’s Acquisition of GEOS Might Affect Those With Additional Evacuation Coverage Who Activate inReach SOS Function

Early last year, Garmin announced the acquisition of emergency monitoring and incident response service GEOS Worldwide Limited, which operates the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) for SOS rescue efforts triggered by Garmin’s inReach personal satellite communication device. “With this acquisition, Garmin is now able to provide even more peace of mind to our inReach…

The Overland Expedition Medic

All bleeding stops, eventually. This morbid maxim, with two very different outcomes, is taught to first-year surgical residents during day one of rotation with the trauma surgery service. The moral being that if medical professionals do not learn their craft well, a patient could bleed out. The same dire lesson is especially true for anyone…

Duration Health

Suffering a medical emergency while traveling is a scary experience, especially when far from home and definitive medical care. For those who travel remotely, I recommend taking a wilderness first aid course and bringing an activity-specific first aid kit capable of handling the first 24 hours of accident or illness. But, what if your travels take…

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