It was early June, and I was exploring the backcountry of North Carolina. The COVID-19 pandemic was still in full force, with numbers on the rise daily. My phone rang, and it was one of my supervisors in Breckenridge, Colorado. The ski resort I worked at was getting ready to resume operations for the summer…
Tena Overacker Archive, Page 2
Patrolling the Alpine Loop
Life is a journey. Within the span of a lifetime, epic journeys take many forms, but they all have one thing in common. Some journeys are arduous like the Phoenician Steps, while others are longer and terminate on an abandoned military dirt airstrip near Crook’s Corner, Zimbabwe. Then again, there are those in between, those…
Guinea Bissau is an Unnoticed Gem on Africa’s West Coast
From Senegal to Guinea Bissau In a small clay hut, behind a crooked, much too low, and visibly worn-out plywood table, Guinea Bissau’s customs officer sits on his white plastic garden chair looking at the carnet. Obviously, he doesn’t know what to do with our vehicle’s customs document lying upside down in front of him….
BeOldLater Celebrates the Ancestors on Dia de los Muertos in Michoacán
We weren’t 100 percent sure about the idea of just strolling into a small, local cemetery near Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico, during the week-long celebration of El Dia de los Muertos, but the spirit of the holiday overcame any uncertainties. After all, that’s why we had decided to skip seeing the Baja 1000, take a…
The Inaugural Panhandle Overland Rally Hits Idaho
The first annual Panhandle Overland Rally was held this past weekend from October 2-4, 2020, in the idyllic, forested Mountain Mafia Off-Road Park, 10 miles north of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and approximately the same distance from the Canadian border. About 200 overlanders descended from all over to a privately owned alpine spread covering nearly 100…
The 1,600-mile Commute
The cash deposit I’d paid was all the ATM would give me, and a handwritten receipt was all I got back. So once I’d landed back in the UK, I transferred some money to my new Bulgarian bank account and jumped on the bike back to the European Union’s most easterly member. I was on…
A Journey to the Arctic Circle
We put our finger on the map, packed the car, and left the UK on a rainy Thursday evening. Not the most memorable start to an adventure, but after spending the previous two weeks converting the inside of our Land Rover Defender from a tired utility truck into a home on wheels, we couldn’t wait…
Exploring the Southern Appalachians
It was mid-March 2020, and news of COVID-19 was widespread and omnipresent. Businesses were shutting down left and right, and the dreaded pandemic was taking hold across the globe. I was in Breckenridge, Colorado, working on the mountain, and in the midst of the best winter of my life. As COVID-19’s spread increased, and public…
Caught Up in the COVID-19 Crisis in Saudi Arabia
A life on the street, a life in a van—after more than four years in Africa, we thought that nothing and nobody could stop us. But then came coronavirus. Africa We spent 1,561 formative days on the African continent, and every country left its mark—a total of 36 countries, 49 border crossings, and countless roadblocks…
The Sweat Box in the Gambler 500
The Gambler 500 inspires some amazing vehicles—the 1955 Desoto “Chupacabra” and Lightner Racing 911 Rally Porsche both come to mind. If you don’t yet know, the Gambler 500 is an off-road rally adventure challenge with weird cars, weird people, and, most importantly, an epic trail cleanup. This year at the OG Oregon event, based near…
Lagunas Route | Total Eclipse if We Start
No, I didn’t know diesel fuel gels when it gets too cold, preventing the van from starting. I did not find this to be common knowledge before this all went down. We should have probably thought things through a bit more or at least paid attention to the below-freezing temperatures the night before when the…
Tom Sheppard Reviews the Suzuki Jimny
This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2020 issue. If you find the absurdity of black leather seats scaldingly hot or sticky in summer and dark-slippery-cold in winter; if the advantage of flush, pop-out door handles escapes you; if a line of 10 tiny touchscreen icons has you taking off your gloves, reaching…
Overlanding as a Team
This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2020 issue. As an instructor for various overlanding skills, I am often asked what the secret is for encouraging an unenthusiastic partner to appreciate the outdoors and how to make the overland experience enjoyable for them. People wonder if the solution may rely somewhat on buying…
Modern Explorers: Justin Coffey & Kyra Sacdalan
Embracing adventure, one day at a time.
Living Legend :: Lois Pryce (April 22nd, 2020)
Smitten with life, UK adventuress Lois Pryce has always been on the move. At 13 years of age, an unchaperoned, week-long trip on bicycles through Cornwall’s back roads with friends introduced her to the possibilities of travel by design. And also to the idea of minimalist travel, taking shelter where you can find it, and…
First Look at the New 2020 Nissan Titan XD
When I first approached Scott Brady about covering the launch event for the 2020 Nissan Titan XD for Expedition Portal, it was a different time. He was just getting ready to embark on a journey to Namibia to drive the new Defender, and I had a full schedule of events planned for the spring. It…
Meet Aloha Wanderwell, the first woman to drive around the world
The year was 1922, and the casualties of WWI were still fresh in everyone’s minds, contributing to a nothing more to lose attitude of the public at large. The women’s suffrage movement had just succeeded in 1920 of obtaining the right to vote, and if you were a woman, your job opportunities, aside from motherhood,…
2020 Nissan Titan
The Nissan Titan full-size pickup truck has struggled to find sales success in the United States. It’s not because of the quality of the truck or the value it brings to the segment, but rather that it’s nearly impossible to win over fans of other brands in the lucrative segment. That hasn’t stopped Nissan from…
Field Tested: Kenda Klever RT
In May of 2019, I purchased a 1998 Mitsubishi Montero Winter Package. I knew I wanted the Montero to be a vehicle that would allow me to tackle many miles of on-road driving, help progress my driving skills off-road, and allow me to conquer my goals of international travel. As I looked to outfit the…
Reviewed: Kinsmen Hardware 270 Awning
I must’ve used my traditional-style car awning only a handful of times over the year or so that I owned it, mostly because of the difficulty it took to set it up. Whenever I wanted to use my awning while I was by myself, it was almost always a quick “Nope” as I laughed at…