Photography by Chris Collard
Housed in a New York City building on East 70th Street lies the headquarters of the Explorers Club. Home to the Kon-Tiki globe, the Apollo 11 moon flag, and thousands of archival volumes, artifacts, and maps gathered since the club’s inception in 1904, the society’s mission remains “to explore by all means possible.” Its impressive history includes famous firsts such as the North Pole and South Pole expeditions, the Mount Everest summit, descending the Mariana Trench, and the unforgettable step for humankind on the moon’s surface in 1969. With more than 30 national and international chapters, the Explorers Club continues its dedication to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, and resource conservation.
As one would imagine, the majority of the society’s members and fellows are scientists—including biologists, geographers, botanists, and archeologists. To become a member or fellow, applicants must have worked in the field as a participant in one or more documented scientific experiments in unknown or little-known destinations to gain knowledge for humankind. Not all members and fellows, however, are scientists. Some are photographers, cinematographers, or conservationists; others have teamed up with a group of scientists to carry out their mission. And while some expeditions may rely on historical archives at HQ, most of the Explorers Club missions take place far away from the wood-paneled rooms in New York City. An even smaller percentage are granted the privilege of carrying one of the historic Explorers Club flags into the field.
In 2023, a team of experienced off-road drivers, medical and communication specialists, a photojournalist, an archeologist, a geologist, and a biologist/botanist gathered in the Mojave Desert, wielding pickaxes and shovels in the 97ºF heat. Using 4WD vehicles, the team successfully remapped the Old Traction Road, a 120-year-old historic mining route spanning some of the most rugged and remote desert terrain on Earth. The leader of this expedition, Billy Creech, is an Explorers Club fellow and former president of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA).
The team reviews its plan on day one of the Old Traction Road Expedition. (Pictured L to R: Nicole Keefner (BLM Biologist), Sean Holman (Comms Specialist), Mike Ahrens (BLM Field Manager), Will Corbett (Medical Specialist), Billy Creech (Leader). Photo: Chris Collard
Creech is the first to admit he isn’t an archeologist. His master’s degree is in business administration, not geology; his day job is in product management, not biology. But he knows his stuff—a product of jumping down the rabbit hole and ascribing to the concept of “fractal exploration,” which examines the world by looking at the small details, revealing more meaningful and sustainable results. In short, he’s an unwaveringly curious man with a passion for the Mojave Desert, its history, and its preservation.
With the support of the US Bureau of Land Management, Creech and his team not only remapped the Old Traction Road but discovered undocumented Native American sites, documented a threatened species of tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), mitigated private property concerns, confirmed wilderness boundaries, and gained crucial information for the local BLM to inject conservation resources to the area. As BLM vehicles must be stock, officers cannot carry large amounts of extra fuel or water, so private 4WD vehicles used on the expedition meant BLM partners could access remote areas to better understand threatened species and sensitive cultural sites. Impassable sections of the Old Traction Route were connected, leaving a path for off-road enthusiasts and field scientists who compliantly access the region without threatening wildlife or designated wilderness areas.
Carefully relocating a threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) to prevent him from being run over by a vehicle. Photo: Chris Collard
Creech says that being awarded the Explorers Club Nº238 flag and Rolex expedition watch provided a sense of satisfaction that, with all the people and resources involved, what he did mattered. “If I can become an Explorers Club fellow, I think anyone with a curiosity about a project can, too,” he says. To get started, he suggests contacting local BLM chapters to see if they need anything checked on in the field. On average, one officer is assigned to nearly 1 million acres of Mojave Desert—so if you live nearby, that’s the perfect place to start.
Billy Creech holds the historic Explorers Club Nº238 flag on its second field expedition. Photo: Chris Collard
To learn more about the Explorers Club and the Old Traction Road Expedition, visit explorers.org and explorers.org/journals/a-land-of-rugged-beauty/.
Please enjoy Overland Journal Podcast Episode 218: Billy Creech on Overlanding Conservation and Remapping the Old Traction Road.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2025 Issue.
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