“The real work of an expedition begins when you return.” –Louise Arner Boyd Many of us put in the work to plan, save for, and finally embark on a long-term adventure without a single thought as to what we’ll do when we get home. At the time of departure, the last thing you want to…
London to Singapore in a 1954 Land Rover With a Family of 5
“What do you mean the boat is late? How late?” A combination of mechanical delays, bad weather, and agent apathy meant that our 1954 Land Rover (Series 1, 86-inch station wagon) was going to arrive a month late in the UK. This set the tone for two things that happened over and over on our…
A Touch Of Camel Trophy: Towing a Land Rover Through Canada’s Whipsaw Trail
What do experienced overlanders do when a disabled truck needs to be recovered on the trail? Some of North America’s best off-highway driving instructors and vehicle recovery experts showed us their skills when they recovered a disabled truck from the historic Whipsaw Trail in July 2019. My husband, Steve, and I have driven Whipsaw four…
Hastings Overland Expands to the Southwest United States
You may recall a story we published several months back on a Canadian-based company called Hastings Overland. (You can read it here.) This small business rents fully built Jeep Wranglers equipped with everything from roof tents to kitchens, but they also do something much cooler: help you explore a new region like a local. By…
Happy Holidays!
As we round the final bend into 2020, we wanted to take a moment to wish you and your families a joyous holiday season. Wherever you are, whatever you’re celebrating, and whoever you’re celebrating it with, we hope you’re making memories as warm and inviting as a campfire on a cold day. Happy Hanukkah, Merry…
Say Hello To The United States’ Newest National Park, White Sands!
The stunning gypsum sand of New Mexico’s White Sands National Monument has intrigued and inspired generations of visitors since it opened in 1933. But you can bet things are about to get a whole lot busier because last Friday White Sands officially became our nation’s newest National Park! The changes come as part of the…
Why Add the Pamir Highway to your Overland Adventures?
Crossing high-altitude deserts with snow-capped mountains rising on the horizon, meandering through gorges along vertical rock walls. And that for 766 miles! How can that not be attractive to any overland traveler? The largely unpaved road alternates with smooth asphalt and paved stretches that have turned into washboards and potholes, so you never know what…
Skills: PreFense for Travelers
Be free to explore with the skills and confidence of a protection professional.
Slow Is the Way to Go
We were recently reminded that the unquestionable fundamental principle of off-road driving—drive as fast and necessary, as slow as possible—applies equally to overland on-road driving. Nigeria is a difficult country to travel overland: the roads are either terrible or okay, the police either horrific or friendly and relaxed, the heat sucks the energy from your…
From The ExPo Vault: Dust and Snow in the American West
Five months. That’s how long it took me to crack. Just five months and the concrete jungle surrounding my Dallas apartment had driven me insane. A train rolled by every 15 minutes, passing cars echoed in a constant hum, and the view outside my window was nothing but a continuous reminder of the city in…
An Overlander’s Real Christmas List
Dear Santa, I hope all is well up north; I hear that it is unseasonably warm up there. It has been a while since I last wrote you a letter, about 34 years to be precise. My older brother told me then that you didn’t exist, but he also told me that the bottom of…
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Expedition Portal and Overland Journal staff would like to take a moment to wish our readers and their loved ones a very happy Thanksgiving, and to say THANK YOU for your continued support of our publications and this community. We’d also like to extend a special thank you to those men and women serving our country…
Is the Rebelle Rally the Most Important Off-road Competition in North America?
OFF-ROAD RACING, YEAH!! The smell of gasoline, the sound of thunderous exhausts, the teeming energy drink representatives, and million-dollar tube-chassis race trucks. The Rebelle Rally is, well, none of that. In fact, it’s not a race at all, but rather a competitive and inspiring navigation and driving challenge. Four years ago, when Emily Miller and…
Crossing the Gobi Desert to Camp at the Flaming Cliffs of Mongolia
We have seen our share of empty landscapes in South America: Patagonia, the Atacama Desert, Bolivia’s Altiplano—but all of them pale when compared with the Gobi Desert in Southern Mongolia (and stretching into northern China). The Gobi is intimidating—so immense and seemingly boundless, driving here was claustrophobic at times, making me wonder, worry even, if…
Overland Routes | Anza-Borrego State Park
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Spring 2017. Anza–Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) is a remote moonscape that beckons the adventurer with technical terrain, expansive geology, and the solitude of desert campsites. It is named for the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and borrego (bighorn sheep). At 600,000 acres it…
From the ExPo Vault: Pacific Crest Overland Route
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2017. My heart sank as the axe gave way with a resounding crack beneath my gloves. What had felt like hours of chopping had scarcely brought us two-thirds of the way through the downed tree, and now our only cutting tool was gone. It…
The Coolest Overland Video You’ll See All Week
It’s Friday, and most of us are coming off of a long work week and ready to relax. So regardless of what you have planned for the next few days, we’ve got a little dose of dirt roads and dust to kick things off. This video from Benyamin Senkal follows his family’s adventure through the…
A Weekend Overlanding Michigan’s UP
The Western United States is a fantastic place, filled with wide-open spaces, diverse scenery, and enough backroads and public lands to keep you occupied for years, if not your entire life. It’s little wonder why overlanders from all over the world travel there to explore, but for those of us lucky enough to live in…
Overland Routes | The Rim Rocker
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2019. Eastern Utah and Western Colorado encompass some of the most beloved off-pavement trails and backcountry terrain in all of North America. Moab, specifically, draws in thousands of visitors each year, stunning them with secluded escapes amidst serene landscapes, but times are changing. Thanks to increases…
The Way Overland Confirmed In Iran’s Evin Prison
For the most part, the world is much safer than we think. People are generally good, and time and again our worries about international travel are proven to be unfounded. Yet every once and a while something does go wrong, and it’s important for us to acknowledge that risk. That’s why today we’re sharing the…