Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2011 från Overland Journal

Mr. Hanson, Life itself is a transition. Sharon and I wish to acknowledge the education and great pleasure you extended to us during your term as Editor of Overland Journal. We have carefully saved each issue; the magazine has been unique. You have earned an old Irish blessing which reads in part: An Old Irish Blessing: May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields.... Very best regards, Sharon and Stephen Russell Editor’s note: On news of Jonathan’s departure, letters of praise flooded in. I’m sure Jonathan is only a size nine, maybe ten, but these are going to be some big shoes to fill. From the Middle East, fireside in…

Live vicariously… yourself. through It was a warm, austral summer night in the South Pacific. Under cool hues of a waning moon, light surf rolled in from the east, churning the white sand beach and dispersing calming timbres through my camp. Aside from a few dingos darting through the shadows, I was alone. I’d come to Frasier Island, Australia, as part of a one-month hiatus from the daily grind. Say, an effort to sort out my life. After college, tired of being poor, I’d taken a job as a UPS driver. From day one it didn’t feel right for me. I was working outside, a good thing, but I dreamed of doing more, to travel, maybe drive around the world. But time had slipped by, 13 years worth—a close evaluation…

An icy north wind howled over the knife-edged peak and across the back of my neck like a Siberian Express, cutting through my parka and rendering my exposed fingers as stiff as three-day road kill on a Kalahari sand track. We were perched atop a 3,000-metre peak. The previous night’s gale was so fierce we opted not to set up a tent. Crawling into the cab of our vehicle instead, we rode out the night curled up in semi-fetal positions in the front seats. Did we feel a little wimpy? Sure, but there was no one around for a dozen kilometres to witness our lily-livered act. If there was, their English was probably as dodgy as my Sesotho. I’d come to Southern Africa for what I considered to be the…

Summer Skewers Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Equipment: 12 Skewers 12 skewers, small to medium 1 cantaloupe, small to medium sized 12 grape tomatoes 1 package mozzarella balls 4 slices of prosciutto 12 fresh basil leaves, small to medium On a medium-sized serving plate, lay out 12 skewers. Wash tomatoes and gently rinse the basil. Add one tomato and one folded basil leaf onto each skewer and set aside. Remove prosciutto from packaging and carefully slice each piece into three long strips. Wrap one prosciutto strip around a mozzarella ball and add to each skewer, set aside. Slice the cantaloupe in half and using a melon baller, or small spoon, create 12 small to medium sized balls. Add one ball to each skewer. Serve and enjoy. Optional:…

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 with his family. This trip planted the seed for Graham's lifelong overlanding obsession. In 2004 he completed a 30,000 mile overland adventure from London to Cape Town. He has guided expeditions in Africa, the American West, Mexico and Central America, and has been an active supporter of the global overland community. A scientist by trade, Graham tries to combine his interest in the natural world, his passion for overlanding and his love of things mechanical. He is now director of Overland Training. Andrew Moore…

Keeping clean while being green Keeping yourself and your camp clean helps improve your outdoor experience. An under-appreciated piece of kit to help with this is a shower mat. It not only keeps your feet free from mud and sand while you clean up, it also works well as a debris trap at the door to your tent. What makes the Expedition Ops shower mat unique? Not only is it handmade in the U.S., its materials are almost entirely comprised of reclaimed products. The redwood is recycled from old pickle, wine, and water tanks—the copper and stainless steel hardware is reclaimed, when available, from the construction industry. According to Expedition Ops’ Jeremy Womack, “This product was designed after working in the mass retail furniture market, designing products with a very limited lifespan.…

Two years ago, if I saw a vintage metal-sided camp trailer parked prominently in someone’s driveway, I’d wonder if neighbors complained that the eyesore diminished property values. Now that the universe has had its way with me, I own one of these eclectic bits of history. I call her Old Ironsides, after an 18th century battle ship. “Old Ironsides” was the nickname given to the USS Constitution, a three-masted, heavy frigate launched in 1797. After being commissioned by America’s first Commander-in-Chief, George Washington, she earned public adoration for her stalwart role in the War of 1812. The mere mention of decommissioning her provoked public outcries. Some vessels, personified in historical annals, just have a way about them. In 1997, on her 200th birthday, Old Ironsides plied the ocean waters once…

Throughout our lives, adventure can take on many forms and many meanings. In late 2006, the team at Overland Journal started a new adventure, one quite different from the typical border crossings and desert travel we had enjoyed as travelers—we started a magazine. With the country dipping into the Great Recession, and the publishing world being turned on its head, our timing could not have been worse. None of us had run a publication before—we didn’t know what not to do, or what could not be done. I suspect that is part of the reason for our success. We produced the first issue in the guest bedroom of my home, with just enough room for the new iMac we bought for our new designer, Stephanie, my wife and high school…

Adventure never turns out exactly as you think, the unexpected often cropping up and shifting your experience into a whole new direction. This adventure was actually intended to be that way—take the most unconventional of machines across hundreds of miles of pavement, dirt tracks and rocky, rutted Jeep trails, all the while, not burning a single gallon of traditional fuel. Alternative energy is a fascinating topic, causing the mind to wander towards the possibility of running a motorcycle entirely on electricity and charging it from a solar panel, wind generator, or an outlet at Mama Espinoza’s (Editor’s note: Baja California’s best lobster burritos). “Motorcyclists who object to the trouble of starting the gasoline-driven cycle, or its gatling-gun-like exhaust will welcome a new type of electric motorcycle which is being introduced,…

Conceived in 2009, the Mercedes Entdecker, designed by Alex Beccaria and Stanley Illman, was to be the ultimate overland wagon. Their goal was simple: create the most capable long-distance overland vehicle available—and spare no expense to do so. By physical dimension alone, the Entdecker varies greatly from larger overland trucks, or lorries. It is smaller, more nimble, and designed for the narrow lanes of colonial towns of the old world—or maneuvering around the edge of a washed-out road in the Atlas Mountains. The concept appeals to me personally, as I have a strong affinity to the traditional wagon-based platforms. The wheelbase , large windows, solid axles and coil spring suspension, as well as the technical prowess rewards the driver . Sharing space on the trophy shelf with 70-series Land Cruisers,…

In the movie The Incredibles, a character named Edna Mode uttered the quote, “Luck favors the prepared,” when questioned on the necessity of a hero’s suit being indestructible. In my experience and research, there are few instances which disprove Edna’s quote. I would like to share with you a process of evaluating potential hazards, controlling those possibilities, and making the determination of whether or not the risk is acceptable to you. This process is called a risk assessment. Since 2003, I have led an organization that provides medical care and rescue services in some of the most remote areas of the world. I am also an avid adventurer and passionate about exploration. In both endeavors, my team and I have been a part of what the National Aeronautical and Space…