Crossing the Sierras

A late morning in the canyon, the sun finally hit us around 09:30. With clear skies and plenty of time we wandered our way north along the Walker river towards Monitor Pass in search of some fresh coffee.

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Racing Snow

The maps of this route show a deceptively straight line. We left our camp overlooking Black Lake this morning expecting to drop quickly into the open plains around Mono Lake. Instead, we’ve been winding through beautifully thick pine forest and jagged mountain vistas for the last twenty miles.

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Death Valley to Black Lake

Morning blasted through the open window, brighter and earlier than any civilized day ever should. At least, that was Danielle’s feeling on the matter.

Moments later she had figured out how to work the blinds and gone back to sleep. Meanwhile, I took a pre-breakfast hike to explore the abandoned RV park we pulled into not 5 hours earlier. I’m not sure what it is that makes me this way, but now I do know it isn’t the tent. Despite a very comfortable bed, we are “camping” so I am awake and ready to start the day before the sun.

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Prescott to Death Valley

My first “assignment” in my new position with the Journal is to move a Bigfoot up to San Francisco. A Bigfoot is a well-insulated, 3,000-pound “cabin” that sits in the back of a pickup truck, in this case a GMC 2500 Diesel. It needs to be there by the morning of June 3rd.

Dani has joined me on this 1,200-mile test drive so we can evaluate the pros and cons of an “overlander” this large, though we will be sticking to tarmac for the most part. The plan is to retrace part of a trip we did back in June of 2000, and hit a few of the little places we missed last time – like Bodie and Yosemite. For sentimental reasons (and a luggage-free return flight) we’ve left most of our gear behind, and will figure the route out as we go using a paper map and our open eyes.

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Mixing Business with Pleasure

It’s been a few months since I wrote an “on the road” entry. That’s the downside (and upside) to rural living: you can do a 100+ mile wilderness trek and be home for dinner, but you get far less of that long highway to ponder life like you do on a multi-day excursion. Yes, I actually enjoy those long highway hours…

Today I find myself climbing up the hill to the overlanding Mecca: Prescott, Arizona. Its funny, when we started marketing Enfluence a few weeks ago, my friend Drawk asked me what I really wanted to do if I could do anything. My answer was continue exploring farther and farther out into the world (preferably via Land Rover on dirt roads), and find a way to make a living doing it. While I enjoy design and production very much, it has always felt like a means to an end. So naturally when Scott asked if I would be interested in doing what I do for Overland Journal I jumped at the opportunity. Work I like to do, on a product that’s right at the core of my own interests? It’s win-win.

Taking that opportunity means leaving our rural lifestyle for the big-little town of Prescott, but I count that in the “plus” column. As much as I love it out here, I’ve missed having an open downtown we can enjoy. It’s pretty clear Danielle feels the same way.

The Mojave Road: Day 4

Last night I was able to hop on the Keller Repeater in time for OAUSA’s net and get a report on Soda Lake conditions from another group that had just crossed it last week: muddy, but passable (I’m really digging this HAM thing). Reassured by the good news, we packed up camp early and set out for our last day on the Mojave Road.

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The Mojave Road: Day 3

Trailer thoughts: it took 20 minutes to get the canvas tarp folded just right and secure the load this morning. This is mostly because the only tarp on hand is more than twice the size it needs to be. I still like the idea of a canvas lid for The Mule, but it will definitely need to be something custom made that fits perfectly – with integrated tie-downs on the trailer.

Overland Navigator: after yesterday I think we’ve both mastered the form and function of this wonderfully simple piece of software. I’ve been dealing with complex programs for so long I never thought to simply toss the track I downloaded into the “tracks” directory until we departed from Mitchell Caverns. I wish more developers would write their software with such KISS logic. It has become an invaluable navigation tool, and while I’ll always have paper maps be on board, Overland Navigator will be riding shotgun on future trips.

We aired-up for the side trip to Kelso Depot this morning, where we spent a couple hours exploring the museum and enjoying brunch indoors. Afterwards, we took an old service road up to rejoin the Mojave Road and visit Marl Springs, the Mojave Road Mailbox, and the lava tube.

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The Mojave Road: Day 2

Note to self: never pack cases of bottled water in the trailer ever again.

We had a busy morning today, somehow managing to squeeze in Carruther’s Cabin, Rock Springs, (Bert G. Smith’s) Stone Cabin, Government Holes, a few detours, and a drive down to Mitchell Caverns in before lunch. At the caverns we were joined by Lou in a well-equipped 2001 Discovery. The Mule continues to perform admirably despite Wal-Mart tires and no suspension. Today we had it flexing down moguls, up rocks, and through ruts with little more than a third “bump” to signal its presence.

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The Mojave Road: Day 1

With no time left to wash off the BorregoFest mud, we caught up to a small group from Expedition Portal at Avi Casino this morning: Kurt in a ZJ, Richard in a Tundra, and Brock in a shiny new 4Runner. Our task: the Mojave Road, with visits to a generous number of side attractions over the 4-day trek. After introductions and a few group photos we set off on the first leg of our journey.

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