Jarbidge or Bust - "Overlanding" Nevada 2015
- Thread starter FJ60Cam
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I wan't to come next year.
- Thread starter
- #3
If you were able to get on the guest list, it would take more than two buckets to clean up and swirl marks are a definite.
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- #4
But totally worth it.
- Thread starter
- #6
Alex ( @concretejungle )has a thread going over in the NC clubhouse... https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/la...ou-driving-a-subaru-or-a-land-cruiser.861033/
He's got way more pics and videos (which I'll be stealing, unless he objects). This thread won't be much different, just from a different vantage point.
He's got way more pics and videos (which I'll be stealing, unless he objects). This thread won't be much different, just from a different vantage point.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Subscribing. Awesome, let's see it. I want to know what happened.
Concretejungle's video teaser is awesome, but I want to see the whole thing.
Concretejungle's video teaser is awesome, but I want to see the whole thing.
- Thread starter
- #9
So I'm not exactly sure how I originally ended up on the NorCal crew's guest list, but for the last year or so, I've found myself continually getting added to the email chain for all of their off-road western U.S. adventures.
A few years ago, at the 2013 Rubithon, I met Alex (@concretejungle), from NC, Andy (@Cruiserdrew), the Rubithon Wagon Run leader, and Tom (@TrickyT ), C-Drew's co-pilot and the Wagon Run's lead spotter.
Sometime after returning, I stumbled into The Coleman Thread , the Its Not Cast Iron Thread , and the Breakfasts thread. I must have triggered a ping on their radar, because it turns out that those are pretty much the raw ingredients for all of their trips.
I really think they look at the map and ask..."where is the absolute worst, most remote, out of the way place to break down, run out of gas, food, or water?"...and then plan a trip to go there and cook a bunch of awesome food and drink a few gallons of wine.
Last spring I flew out and joined them on a trip to Non-Moab Utah, where we did everything off the beaten path. It was a full week
of "overlanding", expeditioning, or whatever else you want to call it. We only surfaced into civilization every few days to top off the gas & water tanks, then quickly ducked back off the grid.
This goal of this year's spring trip was to carve out a route through Northern Nevada (pronounced NevADa, not NeVAHda...http://www.movoto.com/blog/opinions/say-nevada/ ) and try to make our way to Jarbidge, a small high-elevation town not normally accessible this time of year. However, this winter was unseasonably dry, so there shouldn't be much, if any, snow blocking our path.
A few years ago, at the 2013 Rubithon, I met Alex (@concretejungle), from NC, Andy (@Cruiserdrew), the Rubithon Wagon Run leader, and Tom (@TrickyT ), C-Drew's co-pilot and the Wagon Run's lead spotter.
Sometime after returning, I stumbled into The Coleman Thread , the Its Not Cast Iron Thread , and the Breakfasts thread. I must have triggered a ping on their radar, because it turns out that those are pretty much the raw ingredients for all of their trips.
I really think they look at the map and ask..."where is the absolute worst, most remote, out of the way place to break down, run out of gas, food, or water?"...and then plan a trip to go there and cook a bunch of awesome food and drink a few gallons of wine.
Last spring I flew out and joined them on a trip to Non-Moab Utah, where we did everything off the beaten path. It was a full week
of "overlanding", expeditioning, or whatever else you want to call it. We only surfaced into civilization every few days to top off the gas & water tanks, then quickly ducked back off the grid.
This goal of this year's spring trip was to carve out a route through Northern Nevada (pronounced NevADa, not NeVAHda...http://www.movoto.com/blog/opinions/say-nevada/ ) and try to make our way to Jarbidge, a small high-elevation town not normally accessible this time of year. However, this winter was unseasonably dry, so there shouldn't be much, if any, snow blocking our path.
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- Thread starter
- #10
Dan (@spressomon), who has covered and gps-tracked millions of NV back-country miles, hooked us up with a set of of tracks (GPS trail to follow for the non-GPS'ers) that would take us from Sparks to Jarbidge, up into Idaho for a few minutes, and finally out to pavement near Jackpot, NV.
It wasn't until after we were off the trail that I realized just how much ground we were covering. I knew NV was a big state and all, but we were scheduled to cover 750 miles. Off-pavement. In a week.
Yikes!!!
It wasn't until after we were off the trail that I realized just how much ground we were covering. I knew NV was a big state and all, but we were scheduled to cover 750 miles. Off-pavement. In a week.
Yikes!!!
- Thread starter
- #11
With the route planning out of the way (or maybe not, each track has the possibility of being snowed in, mudded in, or having a locked gate), it was time to plan for the meals.
This might be the best part of the trip. The strategy here is that for each meal, one person (maybe with a helper or two) cooks a meal for the whole group.
And we're not talking Ramen noodles, instant oatmeal, or chili from a can. These are meals that the average cook has a hard time nailing at home.
We will be a long way from a fully stocked kitchen with modern conveniences, electricity and running water. These will have to be made on camp stoves, with whatever supplies can be squeezed into the trucks.
Tom whipped up a spreadsheet to keep everyone organized. He put it up in google drive so we all had access to to edit and fight over the available spots.
This might be the best part of the trip. The strategy here is that for each meal, one person (maybe with a helper or two) cooks a meal for the whole group.
And we're not talking Ramen noodles, instant oatmeal, or chili from a can. These are meals that the average cook has a hard time nailing at home.
We will be a long way from a fully stocked kitchen with modern conveniences, electricity and running water. These will have to be made on camp stoves, with whatever supplies can be squeezed into the trucks.
Tom whipped up a spreadsheet to keep everyone organized. He put it up in google drive so we all had access to to edit and fight over the available spots.
- Thread starter
- #12
At some point in the conversation, Andy mentioned that everyone should have the means to carry an extra ten gallons of gas and ten gallons of water.
We almost ran out of water on our Rubicon trip, so I vowed to be better prepared this time.
I didn't have the means to carry either of these vital liquids, so I had to come up with something.
I had been eyeing Pasquale's (@desertdude ) Rotopax system on the 2014 Utah trip. They were kinda spendy, but they seemed sturdy, fume/spillproof, and are thin enough to be able to tuck them just about anywhere.
After exchanging several hundred texts with Pasquale on the matter and several hundred more hours overthinking and researching jerry cans, I ended up with two NATO gas cans and a Sceptor water jug.
That only gave me five gallons of water, but I was running out of room for the big stuff and thought I'd buy gallons at the store to tuck away throughout the truck.
Now I am ready for this overland expedition stuff!
My plan was to run them in the truck if they didn't vent fumes, otherwise I would build a rack to attach to my Thule roof bars.
I filled them and drove around for a month with them and never once smelled gas, so I went with the inside the truck option.
I also "broke in" my water jug by filling it every week or so with water to get the plastic taste out.
We almost ran out of water on our Rubicon trip, so I vowed to be better prepared this time.
I didn't have the means to carry either of these vital liquids, so I had to come up with something.
I had been eyeing Pasquale's (@desertdude ) Rotopax system on the 2014 Utah trip. They were kinda spendy, but they seemed sturdy, fume/spillproof, and are thin enough to be able to tuck them just about anywhere.
After exchanging several hundred texts with Pasquale on the matter and several hundred more hours overthinking and researching jerry cans, I ended up with two NATO gas cans and a Sceptor water jug.
That only gave me five gallons of water, but I was running out of room for the big stuff and thought I'd buy gallons at the store to tuck away throughout the truck.
Now I am ready for this overland expedition stuff!
My plan was to run them in the truck if they didn't vent fumes, otherwise I would build a rack to attach to my Thule roof bars.
I filled them and drove around for a month with them and never once smelled gas, so I went with the inside the truck option.
I also "broke in" my water jug by filling it every week or so with water to get the plastic taste out.
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I need some good nato gas cans....I'm so tired of the present gas can I have that you have to man-handle-hug to get to pour...what a pain in the #$#. PM me the source on the gas cans...thanks. Looks like a great trip
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Corrected.
- Thread starter
- #15
Make sure you get the authentic NATO cans, not the Chinese knockoffs. Here's where I got mine…
http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Nato-Jerry-Cans.html
Instead of manhandling them & pouring, I filled them from the tailgate with a shaker siphon, aka super siphon. It works surprisingly well, and empties a can in two or three minutes.
I'll build a swing out eventually and will fill the tank from the swing out. The shaker siphon does leave a few gulps of fuel in the can though.
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This thread is very good. I like it. A lot.
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- #17
With my overlanding gear crossed off the list, I turned my attention to the truck.
I was 99% of the way through my engine swap. I just needed to relocate my ARB compressor & reconnect my locker lines, add some caster shims to my front springs, and throw my front bumper & winch back on.
I had plenty of time to do these few things before the trip.
Until I put the front bumper & caster correction on. The extra weight & freshly greased springs helped me find a major flaw in my engine swap - my engine was sitting too low.
Not to mention that my springs were tired. All of this lead to me smashing my oil pan on the front axle.
Add raise motor, replace oil pan, and replace front springs to my list. And lets throw in some front brake service in while we're at it.
I was 99% of the way through my engine swap. I just needed to relocate my ARB compressor & reconnect my locker lines, add some caster shims to my front springs, and throw my front bumper & winch back on.
I had plenty of time to do these few things before the trip.
Until I put the front bumper & caster correction on. The extra weight & freshly greased springs helped me find a major flaw in my engine swap - my engine was sitting too low.
Not to mention that my springs were tired. All of this lead to me smashing my oil pan on the front axle.
Add raise motor, replace oil pan, and replace front springs to my list. And lets throw in some front brake service in while we're at it.
- Thread starter
- #18
Fast forward to the day of departure... I take off work early and plan on being ready to hit the road as soon as my son got home from school.
I did mention he was going, right?
I originally thought this would be a solo trip, and I would be able to travel light and sleep in my truck.
When my scheduling coordinator ran the trip dates through her scheduling algorithm to see what kind of child care & shift juggling at work she would have to do (best wife ever!), we saw that Andrew's last day of school was two days after I was leaving.
It never occurred to me he would be out of school. Hell, he can miss the last few days of second grade. If he hadn't learned it by then, it was too late.
So here we are, noon on Wednesday, I'm home from work and I've even bought all the groceries I'd need, except for a few fresh produce and dairy items. (Basically, I stocked up on beer and road food.)
I never had time to get everything together or test pack the truck or any of that stuff. I'm throwing stuff together at the last minute, hoping I'm not forgetting anything. We filled up our Sceptor with five tasty gallons of Memphis water for sipping on the road and took off. At 5:00 pm. In rush hour traffic.
A few hours late, but who cares. We'll make up for it by hauling ass.
I did mention he was going, right?
I originally thought this would be a solo trip, and I would be able to travel light and sleep in my truck.
When my scheduling coordinator ran the trip dates through her scheduling algorithm to see what kind of child care & shift juggling at work she would have to do (best wife ever!), we saw that Andrew's last day of school was two days after I was leaving.
It never occurred to me he would be out of school. Hell, he can miss the last few days of second grade. If he hadn't learned it by then, it was too late.
So here we are, noon on Wednesday, I'm home from work and I've even bought all the groceries I'd need, except for a few fresh produce and dairy items. (Basically, I stocked up on beer and road food.)
I never had time to get everything together or test pack the truck or any of that stuff. I'm throwing stuff together at the last minute, hoping I'm not forgetting anything. We filled up our Sceptor with five tasty gallons of Memphis water for sipping on the road and took off. At 5:00 pm. In rush hour traffic.
A few hours late, but who cares. We'll make up for it by hauling ass.
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Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Wow-you, Andrew and the truck look so clean!