Spring has sprung and warmer days are upon us! You know what that means?!…
Camping! Exploring! Adventure! (insert Indiana Jones theme song)
I’m sure after the dumpster fire that was 2020, EVERYONE in your home is itching to get out of the four walls of your house, am I right?!? I know we’ve all had plenty of time to dream about our next getaway, but it is now time to actually (finally) make those dreams a reality.
Time to plan! …..But where to start?
There are a lot of things to consider when planning an overland expedition. Where to go, what to bring, what to eat and who do we invite (I’ll leave that last one up to you)… Whether this is your first time overlanding, you’re looking to knock the rust off of those planning skills, or you’re curious to see how others plan their trips, keep reading as I cover all of the bases when planning an adventure to remember.
The first thing to consider when planning a trip, getaway, vacation, holiday (whatever you want to call it), always always always, check your attitude. No one likes to travel with a grumpy pants. We’ve all been the grump, we’ve all experienced the grump… don’t be that guy. That’s all I have to say about that.
Okay, now really. The first part of planning is to consider how many days you have to travel and be away from home. This is important because, although the journey is a huge part of the adventure, you wouldn’t want to spend too much time simply getting to your desired area of exploration if you only have a limited time to actually explore.
For example, you wouldn’t want to spend twelve hours driving just to get someplace, say Moab, Utah, if you only have four days total for your trip. You would end up spending half of your time just getting to and from. I know some folks will do it this way, but it’s not our ideal situation for budgeting our time. But, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Basically, consider how much time you have, then figure how much time you are comfortable with allotting for travel to & from and how much time you want for exploration & relaxation. Our general rule of thumb is if we only have a weekend to be away, spend no more than 25% of that time traveling to & from.
The second thing you’ll want to consider is the weather for the area you plan to visit at the time of year that you’ll be visiting (obviously, you don’t want to check today’s weather for Yellowstone if you won’t be visiting until September…). This is important in order to be as prepared as possible for any inclement weather, temperature swings (don’t forget to factor in elevation when looking at temperature), and
Knowing the weather will ensure that you pack the proper clothing, any needed shelter or shade from the elements and it may influence the foods you plan to cook.
The weather forecast is also important to consider when planning trails to drive and for places to camp. For example, snowy conditions can lead to impassible roadways which would alter your course. Heavy rainfalls can result in road wash outs and flooding. High temperatures require extra water, plenty of sunblock and probably some sort of awning for shade.
All right, now it’s time for the fun stuff! Let’s get to some trails… well, the digital kind, first.
Trail planning… actually, I’m going to call this “Trail Scouting”. Most of the fun with overlanding comes from the unknown, so let’s not “plan” every detail of this adventure (unless you like that sort of thing).
For “trail scouting” depending on where you are going, the first place I look is the internet to see if there is an associated website. This would be for places like state parks, national park and forests, ecological reserves, etc. These websites will give you a basic understanding of the park layout, the history of the park, the points of interest and some camp & trails information.
The next place we check are two apps. Gaia GPS and Avenza Maps. (links) These apps are designed to show detail of permitted off road driving trails, public versus private lands, allowable camp site locations and to plan potential routes. Even if you map it all out, you don’t have to travel all of the routes you create. It’s just better to be prepared with the map of the area downloaded to your GPS device. Make sure you download the map because most of these trails provide limited cell service.
Another place we always like to reference when planning a trip is YouTube. (embed) A quick search for overland trails and the destination of your choice (example- overlanding Death Valley) is an easy way to see where and what other people have done that you may also find interesting.
Alright… we’re getting there. It’s almost time to go! But it wouldn’t be much fun without having a little bit of food. No one likes to be hangry while exploring the great outdoors (I guess rummaging for berries would work…). You’ll need to consider how many people are you feeding, how many meals will you eat and are any of those meals on the road (ie. fast-food/restaurant). Our meal plans usually consist of a planned dinner adnd sandwich wraps for lunch (or leftovers). We don’t always plan for breakfast everyday because Brandon doesn’t always eat breakfast or we may be trying to pack up & get on the road quickly. Therefore, breakfast can be anything from eggs & bacon, to oatmeal, yogurt fruit & granola, or a quick granola bar.
And lots of snacks through out the day!
When planning your meals, you also want to consider recipes depending on how you can cook out on the trails. Stove top and BBQs are pretty standard camp options, but some people travel with cast iron dutch ovens that go in the campfire or camp ovens designed for stovetop use. (Coleman link) There are so many options available for camp cooking now, its incredible. The opportunities are endless!
OK! The time has come, the trip is upon us. Time to start packing!!!
Time to break out that checklist & start making piles of things to go in the truck! Don’t have a checklist?!?… here, let me help. (insert our checklist link)
It is always a good idea to use a checklist, either a paper or a digital version, to ensure that nothing gets left behind. It does not matter how often you get out for adventures, without a checklist, it is inevitable that something will be forgotten (hello Mt Shasta Walmart, thanks for the new set of pots & pans for a camping gear…). Checklists are also extremely helpful in the case where more than one person is trying to gather all of your equipment (I thought you packed the kids…).
I know what you’re thinking… “My mind is a steel trap. I never forget anything.” Well, just think, Santa has a list & even he has to check it twice.
Our checklist covers everything from clothing & toiletries, to recovery gear, kitchen supplies, tent setup, first aid, extra fuel, and making sure that you give someone not traveling with you details of your trip. It is always a good idea to let someone know where you will be traveling in the event of an emergency first responders know where to start looking for you.
Well, now you’ve planned out where you’re going to go, checked the weather, planned some routes, gone to the store & consulted the list. The only thing left to do is fuel up & it the road!
This may seem like a lot of things to consider when planning an overlanding/camping adventure, but when traveling to remote areas, you can never be too prepared (especially if traveling solo). But, don’t fret, the more you do this, the easier and faster it becomes.
