Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2010 från Overland Journal

I deliberately titled this column in a way designed to raise eyebrows. Clearly, there is no such thing as the perfect tool kit—at least, not short of stock number 9600GSBO in the Snap-on catalog: a spectacular 1,000-plus-piece triumph of the forger’s art that includes rolling chests and wall cabinets and retails for—I’ll write this out for full impact—thirty seven thousand, seven hundred and twenty dollars. And ten cents. Even that wouldn’t be perfect. Most obviously, while 9600GSBO is inarguably comprehensive, it would be . . . inconvenient . . . to transport, and one of the salient features of an ‘overlanding’ tool kit clearly must be portability. Considering only that, then, the Leatherman Charge TTi on my belt would qualify as perfect—except the Leather-man falls short when we factor in…

 His horses would have been quarantined, his weapons confiscated, and his troops rounded up and left in a small, soulless waiting hall until they strangled each other in frustration. Obdurate officialdom would have thwarted the take-over of the known world, and Pax Mongolica, Moscow, and the Golden Horde would never have come to be. If western China’s border guards had been on duty in the 13th century, Genghis Khan would have never made it out of Mongolia. For those who have yet to visit the vast wildernesses of Central Asia, the regional icon that most often comes to mind is the Mongol warrior. Those who have been here and followed in his stead are far more likely to call to mind that enduring symbol of the Soviet successor states: an…

Anyone who has ever held a fly rod and caught a wild trout can identify with that moment. I grew up not far from where Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories took place and never caught a trout longer than six inches, but I shared the experience with Nick. Several decades and a career in the Air Force later, and living a half-dozen states away, I reread those stories—and decided to head across the prairie in my Sports-mobile to explore the Upper Peninsula. With my fly rod, dog, and wife on board, I looked forward to catching the wild trout of the Big Two-Hearted River. Along the way, we would explore the vast region’s history, culture, and forests. I also had several other missions for this trip. First, I wanted to take…

It’s not really a fetish, honest—but for as long as I can remember I’ve had a thing about first-aid kits. Looking around, I currently have at least a dozen in my home, cars, AT trailer, workshop, and fanny pack. And, with just one exception, they are all home-made. My first first-aid kit was an old metal Band-Aid tin (yes, they used metal cans way back in the Dark Ages) with an assortment of goodies inside. Later I made one from an army surplus canvas pouch that hung on my army surplus web belt—chock full of Band-Aids, tincture of iodine, and a stinky burn ointment that made a terrible mess when it split open after I rolled over on it one time too many (hey, we played “army” really rough in…

A common fear—sometimes, it seems, bordering on terror—of Americans contemplating foreign travel is food-related disorders—even though the majority of those disorders involve no more than a few hours discomfort (or, at worst, some time spent calling Ralph). Those fears escalate the farther away from major hotel chains and fancy lodges Americans venture. Ironically, in our experience it’s the major hotel chains and fancy lodges—where food preparation is done on a large scale—where such problems most often occur. The single time a group I was with had trouble was at the upscale Lobo Lodge in Serengeti, where fully half the participants came down with food poisoning. (My only personal experience with it on an Africa trip was on returning to the U.S. and eating dinner in a restaurant at a stopover…

Tom Sheppard Tom has an exploration career spanning 50 years, and totaling over 110,000 overland miles since 1960, including significant exploration in northern Africa and the first-ever lateral crossing of the Sahara from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Tom is a freelance writer/photographer and consultant, and author of the Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide and the new The Nobility of Wilderness (Desert Winds). From the Royal Geographical Society, Tom has received the Ness Award, and the distinction ARPS (Associate of the Royal Photographic Society). Graham Jackson Graham Jackson was born in Lesotho in Southern Africa. He grew up racing motorcycles in the dirt as well as helping his father design, build and race off-road buggies. Graham completed his first safari across the Kalahari at age 10 in a Range Rover…

DAFN without the AF? Why electric vehicles don't feature here very often You may have noticed that, over the past couple years, I’ve covered few electric-powered vehicles. The word order in the title of the column is an indication of where my personal preferences lie, but despite that I’m not one for ignoring the possibilities electrics offer. For that reason I feel my lack of coverage deserves an explanation. There is a handful of criticisms typically directed at Electric Vehicles, or EVs. The source of the electricity is often questioned, since much of it is derived from burning fossil fuels. While true, this is a short-sighted objection, since, besides the efficiencies of scale (one big power plant is more efficient than a bunch of little ones), that infrastructure is more…

Before you decide to buy a car in the ‘Stans, take a deep breath: this may well be the most drawn-out and stressful part of your entire journey. The ‘official’ process in each country seems to be subject to the interpretation of the official involved, and at every turn you’ll be offered the opportunity to fast-track, confirm, or merely process your paperwork for an invariably usurious (but frequently unavoidable) fee. If the official is required to lift a finger too far, you may be informed that your request is simply impossible, although a donation will likely change his mind. The most straightforward way to buy and, importantly, register your vehicle is a) to be a resident, or b) to ask a resident or local company do the paperwork on your…

usually involves a khaki-clad chap in a pith helmet hacking through the jungle a la Stanley and Livingstone, or maybe the bearded, cloaked figure of Marco Polo trudging his way along the Silk Road. What doesn’t normally suggest itself is a be-suited, white-haired American businessman sporting a blue beret cocked at a jaunty angle. But the seemingly innocuous gentleman I describe is responsible for some of the most ambitious overland journeys of the 20th century. The man in question is Wally Byam, founder of the Airstream Company and the inspiration for thousands of adventures around the world. These days the Airstream trailer is synonymous with vintage cool; it’s up there with the Coke bottle and the Zippo lighter as one of the great American design classics. But I defy anyone…

Green light Many of our outdoor gear gadgets use AA batteries, which we hate to simply throw out. Mostly we’ve switched to rechargeables, but on extended trips it’s hard to keep batteries topped up. A month ago we had a chance to test a 2.2-watt roll-up AA battery charger by PowerFilm, on a 3,500-mile trip through Tanzania and Kenya. The soft panels fold up into a tiny package (3.5 x 3 x 1.5 inches) but unfold to 32 inches long to charge four AA batteries surprisingly quickly—about an hour in full sunlight for partially discharged, and maybe twice that for fully discharged. We liked the unit a lot, but not as much as the young Maasai game scouts we met in Kenya’s South Rift, where there is no power grid.…

Supplies: • First-aid manual (military manuals are good) • Hand sanitizer, soap (use hotel bar soaps. Cheap, small, long-lasting) • Absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches) • Adhesive bandages/Band-Aids (assorted sizes) • Sterile gauze pads (2x2 and 4x4 inches)(lots) • Roll gauze (1 or 2 inch wide and 3 or 4 inch wide) • Eye bandages • Elastic bandages (Ace® wraps) • Bandage scissors • Triangular bandages and safety pins • Adhesive tape (1 inch and 2 inch wide) • Betadine (antiseptic) • Alcohol swabs (check often, they dry out pretty fast) • Emergency blanket (space blanket) • Instant cold packs (sometimes a nuisance. Consider carrying plastic bags and ice or cold drinks in the fridge) • Disposable gloves (latex and non-latex)(lots of them) • Flashlight/batteries (a headlamp is…

There’s something to be said about travelers coming together around an open fire after a long day. The warmth of the flames, the crackle of the wood, and the instinctive comfort it instantly provides—all of these are the perfect ingredients in the recipe for the sharing of great food and drink. This recipe is perfect for this time of year. It’s a simple yet elegant way to turn a few basic ingredients into a gourmet meal. By pairing easy-to-find pork chops with fresh fruit and vegetables, even the most amateur chef can put smiles on fellow diners’ faces with this one. In fact, you might even call it your ‘ace in the hole.’ Starter ~ Selection of cheeses, nuts and crackers Dinner ~ Cider chops with grilled asparagus and grilled…

Few things are more annoying than watching a useful piece of gear be reduced to the status of cliché, even parody. Back in the day, BMW 2002s and Bavarias were performance sedans for a discerning few cognoscenti. Then the brand was discovered by yuppies who couldn’t define trailing-throttle oversteer, much less correct it. A Rolex used to be a rugged steel watch you could submerge 200 feet or wear at 40º below zero without worry; now the popular image is a diamond-encrusted hunk of gold on a hip-hop star’s wrist. And that hip-hop star is likely to be driving a leather-upholstered, climate-controlled, satellite-navigated Range Rover—another icon victimized by its own success. The same can be said for the bush jacket. Developed as a thorn- and tsetse-fly-proof outer garment suitable for…

There are times in each of our lives when we have to do a little self-motivation to get through a difficult situation. This was definitely one of those times—but the voice I heard wasn’t coming from within. “You’re headed right toward that precipice. Do you see where the contour lines on the GPS get really close together? Make small corrections and get away from there or we’ll drive off the glacier.” From the passenger seat, Garrett, my trusty co-pilot and a head instructor for Overland Experts (OEX), made it seem like driving on 15 feet of snow atop thousands of feet of glacial ice in a whiteout should be easy. He watched the screen of the GPS plotter with a furrowed brow as I led our team of four Land…

I’ve learned something over decades of doing a lot of different things outdoors: No matter how tough you think you are, there’s always someone tougher. One of my most satisfying moments on the “tougher” end was the time years ago when my friend Tommy Thompson and I paddled our sea kayaks out to a tiny island in the Sea of Cortez, about 16 miles from the nearest land mass, and farther from where we launched our 22-inch-wide, 17-foot-long boats. It was a rough paddle in choppy conditions, and we were tired but satisfied when we pulled up to the cobbled shore, and carried the boats up to a spit beneath a hill on which several thousand seabirds were nesting. Late that afternoon as we relaxed in camp, glassing for the…

One of my favorite thriller writers once penned the following concerning a certain dodgy pistol: “It was a Chinese copy of a Russian copy of something that wasn’t very good to begin with.” While the Lada Riva has no Chinese DNA, the rest of that description fits well. The Riva, introduced in 1980, was a warmed over version of an earlier Lada, itself a ripoff of the 1966 Fiat 124 sedan. Perhaps “ripoff” isn’t quite the right word, since Fiat underwrote the building of the AutoVaz factory in the Soviet Union, and so must have received some sort of royalty. Perhaps “poor imitation” might be a better term—the Soviets downgraded the Fiat’s already marginal engine and brakes, and stamped the body out of thicker but apparently pre-rusted steel. But it…

In the heart of these words is an entire life’s dream. To those of you who find in the promise of these words your promise, I bequeath this creed. . . my dream belongs to you. To place the great wide world at your doorstep for you who yearn to travel with all the comforts of home. To provide a more satisfying, meaningful way of travel that offers complete independence, wherever and whenever you choose to go or stay. To keep alive and make real an enduring promise of high adventure and faraway lands . . . of rediscovering old places and new interests. To open a whole world of new experiences . . . a new dimension in enjoyment where travel adventure and good fellowship are your constant companions.…