Five years ago, Costa Rican overlander Emmanuel Solórzano went camping for the first time. At the site, which was located near Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica, Emmanuel met an American couple who had been traveling in their 2012 4Runner for nearly two years. Ernesto López Pérez and Taisa Welhasch of Overland the Americas shared stories…
Scottish Highlands in a House Truck
Photography by Jason Spafford I’ve always been fond of Scotland, our near-faraway neighbour, famed for its white-painted dollhouses nestled in the hillside, among red deer grazing in a lush green glen. There are likely more sheep than people, chewing the cud on the rush pasture amid bright bursts of yellow gorse bushes. There’s often a…
In Search of Solitude :: Heading into the Mountains of Uzbekistan
Photography by Coen Wubbels One Lada Niva or UAZ Hunter after another came bumping down the trail, the vehicles packed with people. What was going on? Weren’t we going to a super remote place deep in the Uzbek mountains, a place that “everybody” told us to visit? “You have to go to Urungach; it’s the…
From India to London in a Toyota Fortuner :: Interview with Amarjeet Singh, The Turban Traveller
As a teenager in New Delhi, Amarjeet Singh longed to roam free and travel the world. He dreamt of meeting people and sharing ideas, food, and culture. But when Singh told his father of his plans, his father became upset. “This is not the time for you to travel,” his father said. “This is the…
Leave No Trace—Outdoor Ethics for Riders, Overlanders, and Other Land Users
I was camping in eastern Washington a month ago. We had a gorgeous spot right on a river and plenty of space for three vehicles and six dirt bikes. On arrival, I jumped out of the truck and headed into some trees to relieve my water-filled bladder. Walking a few feet away from camp, I…
A Self-Drive Adventure Through Botswana
In January 2021, my wife, Kirsten, and I went on a self-drive safari in Botswana in a vehicle from Chobe 4X4. We are camping idiots and always depart with a slight sense of trepidation that we may not return. It is not being in the wild that worries us; it is our profound mechanical ignorance. …
Field Tested: Nomad Grill and Smoker
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Spring 2021 Issue. There is nothing better than a satisfying meal after a day of adventure in the backcountry, and it needn’t consist of hotdogs and Kraft singles on white bread. Enter the Nomad, the low-mess solution to smoking and grilling. As travelers, we…
Don’t Go There; You Will Die
Have you ever wondered why planning for and embarking on a modern, maiden, extended overland journey is so stressful? Well, prolific overland travelers (myself included) are partly to blame as we tend to focus more on the adventure than ease of travel, which creates a false impression. Let me explain. I, and many of the…
Road to Lofoten
“The Arctic Circle during wintertime…hah…you know there’s a reason why they call them a MOTfalia*. I wouldn’t drive that to the shops, let alone to Lofoten in January.” – a fellow Vanagon owner on Facebook, offering words of encouragement. *MOT in the UK stands for “Ministry of Transport” and is a compulsory annual inspection to…
Forest Road
Photography by Michelle Francine Weiss and Roy Rudnick Mirny is a city as isolated in the middle of the Russian expanse as many others in the far east of the country. But it has a strong reason to exist in that place: 25 percent of the diamonds which circulate the world come from its…
Humanity :: Pay It Forward
My family has been on the road for a long time now, almost a quarter of our adult lives and the majority of our children’s lives, through thick and thin. There has been an abundance of spectacular thick and inexplicably regular suffering of thin. You soon realize as you travel to foreign continents far, far…
10 Years, 10 Routes, 10,000+ Miles—A Decade Anniversary for Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR)
Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) are one of the best ways to adventure-road trip around the U.S. And what better way to celebrate Motorcycle Awareness month and National Road Trip day (May 28) than with the 10-year anniversary of BDR—an organization that literally defined the phrase “adventure riding.” What is BDR? Using double-track, forest service, and…
Canvassing the Colorado Plateau in the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX
Words By Chris O’Neill, Photography by Greg Fitzgerald Here’s the thing about being in your favorite place in the world when it’s 5:00 a.m., 20°F, and there are 8 inches of snow on the ground—it’s still your favorite place in the world. For me, that place is the Colorado Plateau, and I was there with…
Sonya and Necota Staples: Overlanding and Creating Inclusive Communities
Sonya and Necota Staples have been traveling together since the early days of their relationship. Their first adventure outside of the US was an escape from routine, a chance to relax—what most people might envision as a vacation. But an unfortunate interaction led them outside the walls of the all-inclusive resorts. And it was then…
How to Sustain the Overlander’s Lifestyle
Not as a complete definition, but as an often-overlooked component, I’ve started describing overlanding as “intentional self-deprivation.” This is the part you rarely see on Instagram. Those who use the activity to escape the city and trials of work-life could probably care less. Even when the weather doesn’t cooperate, disappointing for sure, it’s all part…
ARB Experiences, The Adventures of Scott Brady
Established in 1975, by Anthony Ronald Brown, ARB 4×4 Accessories has a warranted reputation for manufacturing quality products designed for the harshest conditions. The company is now Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of 4×4 accessories, has offices in the US, and an export network that extends through more than 80 countries around the world. Nevertheless,…
10 Solutions for Carrying Extra Fuel on Motorcycles and Off-road Vehicles
Updated April 28, 2021. Many overlanders have a conundrum—how to carry extra fuel for those far-from-it-all excursions we all dream about. Carrying gas or diesel safely is even more of an issue: gone are the good old days of filling up plastic Coke bottles and strapping them to your overland rig or ADV ride. Even…
Why I Shoot Adventures in Film
I bought my first 35mm film camera from a charity shop on the outskirts of London for £20, a Canon AE-1, along with a note from the previous owner: ‘Take good care of me, I’ve been on many adventures, and hope to see many more’. It came into my life at a time when I…
36-Hours of Adventure :: In Search of Terra Incognita
This 36-Hours of Adventure is presented by Nimbl Vehicles. Nimbl also provided a loan of their Evolution camper, which we used for this journey. Curiously, one of the last significant unexplored regions of North America was the Sierra Pinacate, a vast desert of lava and sand stretching from Southern Arizona to the Sea of Cortez….
BDR Announces Plans for the Wyoming Backcountry Discovery Route
Anytime Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) announces another project, I can’t wait to get on my F 800 GS and go there. So far, I’ve ridden four of the BDR’s 10 routes and hope to add more, including Wyoming, which the BDR team has declared their next project for 2022. Highlights of the WYBDR are three…