Update: More details have been found on the incident, and added below. We all have bad days, but some are worse than others. Take this poor soul for example, who seems to have flopped his beautiful expedition truck on a mild trail in southern Texas. From what we can gather, the driver was tackling Old Ore…
¡Viva Baja! The Overlander’s Guide
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Fall 2011. Photography by Scott and Stephanie Brady, Cam Brensinger, Chris Collard, and Jeremy Edgar. The recoil forces me backward, the shaft releasing from the teak stock of the Riffe spear gun and driving home into the side of the triggerfish. I take a moment…
Expo East 2018: The Field Report
North Carolina has a reputation for an almost unreal autumn beauty. Its rolling hills backed by rugged mountains come alive with the changing of the seasons, lighting up with the vibrant yellows, reds, and oranges that only a deciduous forest could provide. Yet the weather can be a bit mischievous this time of year, a…
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…
From Van Life to Overlanding
It was nearly 100°F. I sat on a metal chair with water soaking my shirt, a last-ditch effort against the stifling heat. Even in the shade, the temperature was nearly unbearable. Inside the open-air pavilion, Jessica and I sat enraptured, listening to the stories being told by Pablo Rey and Anna Callau, two travelers who’d…
Trying the Van Life in Northwest Oregon
Oregon was calling, and I knew it was time for us to go back. The summer heat had been getting the better of us for a few months, and the cool, crisp air of the Pacific Northwest seemed dreamy. As we started to plan our next trip, we wanted to incorporate what we learned from…
Thirty-six Hours of Adventure: A Sea of Green
The morning was gray, and the damp Oregon cold soaked through my sweatshirt as my girlfriend and I loaded the last bags into the Land Cruiser. It had taken months of changed timelines and rearranged travel plans to get our hands on this Maltec camper, but it had all finally come together. The plan was…
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…
Overlanding With Purpose
When you first start overlanding, the journey itself is the goal, but we have found that having a purpose behind your travels can enhance the experience even more. Your hobbies reflect who you are, so weaving those passions and interests into your journey will ensure that you enrich your life and take your skills to…
Pacific Crest 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…
Travel Tunes: The Overland Playlist
We’ve all got them, those treasured playlists we save for kicking up dust on our favorite backcountry trail, or hammering out long miles on some grand trip. They might be filled with throwback tunes from the ’70’s or a modern mashup of electric funk, but their rhythms are like a narration to our adventures, and…
Great Plains Drifter
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Winter 2017. Like all young boys, my childhood was filled with fanciful tales of soldiers clad in shining armor, new lands explored, and the quest for treasure. As a resident of Glasco, Kansas, I assumed such exploits only unfolded in places distant, if not imagined….
Tips on Keeping your Overland Vehicle safe, low-budget style
What if you want to keep your vehicle burglarproof for an overland journey without spending a fortune on car alarms, GPS tracking devices, and other expensive temptations? After 15 years on the road without a break-in, we’d like to share our tricks with you. Disclaimer: No setup is foolproof, no matter how much money you…
The Outpost Trade Retreat
I’d like you to take a moment to close your eyes and envision a trade show. What do you see? Images of little white booths, plastic folding tables, and long conversations might drift through your mind. Your feet probably ache at the memory of convention center floors, while your soul pales at the endless line…
Video of the Week: The Swift Campout
We love four-wheel drives here at Expedition Portal, but occasionally we prefer something a little different. Be it the lapping of waves on a paddle board, the silence of a hike on a misty morning, or the grit of rock beneath our hands while climbing, it’s nice to explore nature in a more personal way….
The Overland Commute: Mauritania
Mauritania has an air of infinite sunburned monotony, the entire country a distant sandy horizon wallowing under a powder-blue sky. Maps of the country only highlight the emptiness, the few landmarks achingly lonely amongst the dunes. Of all the maps.me files I downloaded for the commute, the Mauritanian one measured only 12MB. In contrast, east…
Bonafide Moto Adventure to Sani Pass
When we planned this recent adventure we had these crazy ideas and high hopes to summit Sani Pass in the middle of winter with snow all around us. Thankfully that was not the case and somehow we managed to pick the perfect weekend that gave us a nice mix of slightly warm weather in the low lying areas and some very cold moments up at the top of the pass.
A Look at Outworld and Their Toyotas
A while back, I was browsing through Instagram when a 2000 4Runner popped up in front of me. I had seen this awesome Toyota several times now, and I felt like I need to learn a little more. As I dug deeper, I learned that it was one of three builds for a company called…
The Cradle of Adventure
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Spring 2017. Kenya stretched out before us. We moved slowly and deliberately along a rogue track through the rugged and sparsely vegetated area near Sogwass Mountain in Northern Uganda. We were not convinced that this rarely used smugglers’ route was even passable, let alone legal…
Ultimate R&D at Zone RV
Australia is not a forgiving place. While it’s people might be some of the kindest and most welcoming on earth, its landscape is anything but. Bone-rattling corrugations lead across sun-scorched deserts for days without fuel or water. Tight trails through dense rainforests are crisscrossed with deep fords through swirling rivers, and if the coastal drives…