Overland Journal :: Winter 2011

ii

Overland Journal Winter 2011

1

Overland Journal Winter 2011

CONTENTS

Winter 2011

Feature s 27

Expedition Reads: Adventure Books for Winter Nights

39

Crossing the Gap: Expedition through the Darien Gap, John Blashford-Snell

53

Roof Rack Comparison, Chris Collard

74

Rainforests and Ruins: Mayan Guatemala, Graham Jackson, Photos by Ben Edmonson

87

Vehicle Feature: BMW F 800 GS, Brian DeArmon

95

Peruvian Amazon by Six-log Raft, Pablo Rey

Dep artments

2

8

Overland Post

12

Editor’s Column

16

News from the Trade

21

Overland News

67

Latitude

105

Overland Conservation, Roseann Hanson

106

Overland Medicine: Ocular Emergencies, Dr. Jon Solberg

111

Skills: Crossing Borders, Scott Brady

120

Overland Chef: Chicken Poblano with Rice, Overland Gourmet

123

Classic Kit: Expedition Vices, Christophe Noel

128

Tail Lamp: Shanghaied in Zambia, Chris Collard

On the cover: Guatemalan jungle. Photo by Ben Edmonson.

This photo: Navigating the Rio Carrao, Venezuela, in a traditional curiara, or dugout canoe. Photo by Chris Collard.

Back cover: James Roy clearing the trail in the Guatemalan jungle. Photo by Scott Brady.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

3

Overland Journal Winter 2011

4

Overland Journal Winter 2011

5

Overland Journal Winter 2011

6

Overland Journal Winter 2011

We are adventurers. Constantly traveling.

Testing and using gear in real-world situations.

Gaining experience, which we freely share.

OUR RESUME:

7 continents 132 countries 290 years combined experience and counting...

EXPERIENCE MATTERS We only know things when we live them

Winter 2011

Publisher and Chairman Scott Brady President and Director of Design Stephanie Brady Editor-in-Chief Chris Collard Executive Field Editor Jonathan Hanson Senior Technical Editor Graham Jackson Technical Editor Christophe Noel, James Langan Conservation Editor Roseann Hanson Contributing Editors Zach Berning, John Blashford-Snell, Tom Collins, Andrew Cull, Brian DeArmon, Jack Dykinga, Ben Edmonson, Lois Pryce, Cyril Mischler, Andrew Moore, Christian Pelltier, Pablo Rey, Chris Scott, Tom Sheppard, Dr. Jon Solberg, Harry Wagner, Gary Wescott Copy Editors Denise-Christine, Tena Overacker Editorial Intern Åsa Björklund Cartographer David Medeiros Graphic Designer Chazz Layne Senior Photographer, South America Jorge Valdés Photographer At-Large Sinuhe Xavier Director of Business Development Brian McVickers Director of PR and Marketing Ray Hyland Director of Operations Jeremy Edgar Executive Assistant Kelsey McLaren Fulfillment Bo Rounsavall

7

Contact Overland Journal LLC, PO Box 1150, Prescott, AZ 86302 service@overlandjournal.com, editor@overlandjournal.com, advertising@overlandjournal.com Overland Journal is a trademark of Overland Journal LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. overlandjournal.com Moving?

Send address changes to service@overlandjournal.com.

Include complete old address as well as new address. Allow two to four weeks for address change to become effective.

Our promise to you

NO COMPROMISE

We carefully screen all contributions to ensure they are independent and impartial. We never have and never will accept advertorial, and we do not allow advertising to influence our product or destination reviews.

You have our word

Overland Journal Winter 2011

OverlandPost Magnificent

Next Generation

I wanted to say thank you for the issues of Overland Journal that you sent to me in a care package. I gave a few to my colleagues, and then I took the rest down to the Pat Tillman USO at Bagram Airfield. The troops there were very thankful to have them... they were all snatched up within a few minutes! We’re not used to getting such a high quality publication while deployed, so this was a real treat.

Received my copy the other day... my 11-yearold son who is not a fan of reading says...

“Awesome, can I take this to school for reading?” It’s confirmed, I have a member of the next generation of adventurer on my hands.

On a personal note, thanks for the magnificent publication. Your team continues to inspire and educate. I have enjoyed overland travel for years, and Overland Journal only makes me thirst for more. It’s very tragic that Afghanistan is in the state it is. It would be an overlander’s dream to ride around here. The countryside in the east and north are among the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I pray this country will know peace one day. I would love to come back on my GS without my uniform and meet these amazing people on different terms.

8

Captain Nathan Rave, U.S. Army 2010 BMW R1200 GS

Will Corbett crossing Imogene Pass, the next generation of adventurer, Austin Slike, age 11, (left to right) Major Michael Boivin, Major Christopher Henry, and Captain Nathan Rave at the Pat Tillman memorial USO at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

CONNECT SHARE Become a fan on Facebook to communicate with us and other readers and get up-to-date information on what we're up to, the latest trips, and newest gear.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Christian Slike 2005 Ford F150 Supercrew 4WD, Honda XR 400, KLX 110

Good Times

We just thought we’d share our appreciation and enjoyment of our new subscription to Overland Journal.

My childhood was filled with trips that we would now call “overlanding,” but at the time I just called “camping.” Each summer my parents and I would embark on adventures in the American West. First in a 1968 International Scout, and later, a 1975 Toyota Land Cruiser. Both of which (and my dad’s two subsequent rigs) have carried the same license plate: EXPLOR. Since those trips, I’ve developed my own stable of “overlanding” vehicles that includes a 4Runner, several dual-sport motorcycles, and a fairly radical CJ-5 buggy. Even my Dodge 3500 is built for self-contained camping.

Write us a note

attention: Overland Post editor@overlandjournal.com PO Box 1150 Prescott, AZ 86302 Include your name, address, email address, daytime phone number, and the year and make of your vehicle.

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Where in the world has your Overland Journal been? Send us a photo, along with your name, the location, and a brief description.

As I write, we are on a two-week trip through SW Colorado with three generations of Corbetts. Reading Overland Journal reminds me of good times, and motivates me to continue the adventures.

Will and Desirae Corbett Jeep CJ5, Toyota 4Runner, Dodge 3500 diesel

9

Overland Journal Winter 2011

CONTRIBUTORS

10

Winter 2011

John Blashford-Snell

Jon Solberg

As one of the most seasoned and respected explorers, the former Royal Engineer Colonel John Blashford-Snell has organized over 100 expeditions. He led the first descent of the Blue Nile and the navigation of virtually all the 2,700 miles of the Congo, as well as the first complete crossing of the Darien Gap by vehicle. Under the patronage of Prince Charles, he led the global expedition Operations Drake and Raleigh for young people of 30 nations named.

He is closely involved in helping the disadvantaged young, holds many of the top awards for exploration, and has twice been decorated for his work. He is President of the Scientific Exploration Society, the Just a Drop water charity, and a pioneer of innovative means of transport.

Dr. Solberg is an emergency medical physician whose experience in underserved areas of the Midwest, jungle hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a remote combat support hospital in Southern Afghanistan, offer an insider’s glimpse into the world of expedition and emergency medicine. His writings have been published in scientific journals and he has been a presenter at Wilderness Medical Society and National Disaster Medicine conferences.

He has climbed Mt. Rainier, owned and maintained a sailboat, and is an avid scuba diver and private pilot. When not working, he and his wife Agnieszka enjoy exploring the backcountry in their Jeep Rubicon.

Pablo Rey

Cyril Mischler

Pablo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He moved to Spain in 1992, where he enjoyed an extraordinary life… but just on weekends. In 1999, during a trip thru Africa, he committed never to buy a return ticket again. Shortly after, he moved into a 1991 Mitsubishi L300 4WD with Anna Callau, his adventure partner. The goal: overland during four years thru Africa, America and Asia while making as many turns as possible. After 50 countries and 11 years, they are still on the road—it seems they have succeeded. Pablo is an “ex” creative ad writer, “ex” illegal immigrant, and a master of getting into trouble in faraway places. His web page, www.viajeros4x4x4.com has become a source for Hispanic travelers and overlanders. His latest book, Around the World in 10 Years: The Independence Book, will soon be available in English.

With many childhood summers being spent in West Africa, Cyril received an early education of the African bush and dusty Land Rover rides. As an adult, living in his native home of France, these exotic memories drew him to seek further adventures. Fresh out of college, the tropics proved irresistible and he found himself trekking the backcountry of Latin America. From the tallest peaks of the Andes to the deepest jungles of Central America and the Amazon, Cyril has found his place in the southern wilds. He’s spent the last 18 years in Central and South America as an explorer and expedition guide. In his spare time he works as a photojournalist; Cyril’s work has been published in dozens of magazines in Scandinavia, the U.K., and the U.S.

Brian DeArmon

Ben Edmonson

Riding on four wheels or two, the soles of his boots, or the saddle of a horse, Brian DeArmon has spent most of his life exploring the wonders of nature.

This obsession has taken him from the Rocky Mountains, to the Gold Coast of Australia, the beaches of the Seychelles Islands, the frozen landscapes of Alaska, and a few places in between. Settled now in the Sonoran Desert, Brian is enjoying a lull in the fast pace of life before the next adventure begins.

Ben is an international adventurer and photographer, specializing in overland and adventure travel product features and editorial. Ben has traveled to South America, Mexico, Asia and Europe for his clients that include Mountain Khaki, Patagonia and others. Ben has a love for the outdoors and enjoys fly fishing, wing shooting and trekking. Ben often travels with his wife Beverly and their Border Collie, Jackson, touring the United States by Land Cruiser FZJ80.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

11

Overland Journal Winter 2011

JOURNAL ENTRY: From the Editor

Chris Collard

The Good Old Boys Club 12

We select each advertiser with

care and forethought;

making sure the products they sell are worthy of

your dollars.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

I received a call the other day from a manufacturer and importer of overland gear. The topic of the call was regarding an upcoming gear review and his company’s participation. Our initial correspondence had been via email and initiated from Overland Journal’s interest in reviewing one of his products—it went like this.

“We simply have concerns that any review of products that we manufacture or import may not be objectively reviewed… we have to assume good intentions on your part, but can’t take a chance… as one other person called it ‘The good old boys club in Prescott’.”

My first reaction, I’m embarrassed to say, was to be insulted and a little ticked; and then there were a few not-so-nice words drafted in a retaliatory email. (By the way, NEVER write this type of response in your email manager. An accidental tap of the send command could be embarrassing, costly, or worse.) After I stowed my fragile ego, reread the note, and absorbed the message, I was truly appreciative that he had the intestinal fortitude to be honest and lay it on the line; possibly at the cost of a relationship with this magazine.

I was going to save this Journal Entry for a future issue, but the timeliness of his email, his concerns, and our rack review in this issue, merits my mention of it now. I feel that as your new editor I need to share where I come from; where I stand on advertorial, or what I call “sleeping with your advertisers.” So here we go.

I’ve been in this industry for a few years, and I’ve been a contributor to magazines from Cigar Aficionado and National Geographic ADVENTURE, to 4WD & Sport Utility and Four Wheeler.

In the process I’ve tested and written about tires and wheels, winches and air compressors, knives and tents, and the list goes on. I don’t have to tell you that all products are not created equal, nor are the results of product tests. The aforementioned magazines have granted me the liberty to present accurate assessments, but at an industry-wide level, this is not always the case.

It’s this thing called revenue; the lubricant that turns the wheels of commerce, or the cogs of printing presses—presses that print magazines like Overland Journal. The problem is this: If you have an advertiser who spends thousands of dollars each month filling your ad pages with their

Subscribe overlandjournal.com

Subscriptions and Back Issues Payment must accompany all orders. 5 issues/year Online at overlandjournal.com or PO Box 1150, Prescott, AZ 86302 Domestic & Canada (USD) 1 year $45, 2 years $80, 3 years $112 Back issues $17 (includes postage & handling) International (USD) 1 year $75, 2 years $140, 3 years $202 Back issues $22 (includes postage & handling) “The publication for environmentally responsible, worldwide vehicle-supported expedition and adventure travel.”

13

Searchable ISSUE INDEX Can’t find what you’re

looking for?

Neither could we. Introducing the Overland Journal index. A comprehensive searchable index of all back issues. Search. Find. Easy. overlandjournal.com/index

FOLLOW US

on Twitter for real-time updates on our reviews and expeditions.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

You, our subscribers, pay a premium price for this magazine. It is my opinion that part of the reason, is that you know you’ll receive solid,

un-biased and un-bought opinions and reviews. swag, what would you expect the result to be if you tossed their product under a rapidly moving Unicat? You may find yourself drilling for oil (lubricant) somewhere else.

The review, or testing, of any product needs to be just that. There are the objective aspects, based on raw empirical data, and then there is subjectivity: the opinions of the people doing the review. Though we’re not engineers, we’ve been in the field enough to have products fail or serve us well. These experiences, in my opinion, have rendered us competent to levy a fairly authoritative opinion.

Biases, favoritism, and sleeping with the advertisers

14

There is a natural occurrence for relationships to form between a magazine and its advertisers. No argument here. They are the first to send us press releases on new gear and provide products for testing. We see these folks at trade shows, and have probably tipped a few coldies with them around a campfire or at Overland Expo. And yes, they play a key part in the financial stability of the magazine.

Overland Journal is committed to maintaining a 70/30 split between editorial pages and advertisements (well below industry standards/most average a 50/50 split). This being said, we must select each advertiser with care and forethought, making sure the products they sell are worthy of your dollars.

This brings me to an important point, your dollars. I suppose the bottom line is that you, our subscribers, pay a premium price for this magazine. It is my opinion that part of the reason is that you know you’ll receive solid, unbiased and unbought opinions and reviews. It is a trust you put in the Overland Journal staff that must not be broken or comOverland Journal Winter 2011

promised, even at the cost of losing one of our valued advertiser (which has happened).

At this point I’ll remove the halo from above my head and admit I’m human. With our recent roof top tent (RTT) review, the Value Award was given to the Howling Moon Stargazer. I felt the ARB Touring Series III should have received the nod. It was by far the least expensive, fared well in most areas, and was the most waterproof of the lot (a big deal to me). I’ll admit though, that I may have my biases. I lived in an ARB tent during a two-month trek in Africa and another month-long trip in the U.S.: the tents served me well. However, upon Senior Tech Editor Graham Jackson’s decision, I needed to analyze whether my relationship with ARB was affecting my opinion. As it was, Graham did the review, he had his hands on each unit side-by-side, and I did not. Objection overruled.

Dial Indicators and Decibel Meters

I participated in my first Overland Journal gear test this month. The review team consisted of three staff members, Scott Brady, Jeremy Edgar, myself, and a guest, Overland Journal subscriber Chris Holohan. Though there are dozens of companies offering roof racks, we have a limited number of pages and could only choose five: the five we consider to be of the best available. For four days we inspected paint, welds, instruction manuals, mounting systems and function. We measured noise levels with a decibel meter, used dial indicators to detect lateral and vertical deflection under a load, and analyzed tiedown systems, aesthetics and packaging.

A few of the companies represented in the review advertise with us, but most do not.

At no time did our ad sales director ring to see how our advertiser’s products were doing (his livelihood is directly related to… uh… the lubrication). The sole focus of that 96 hours was to reveal which roof rack ascended to the top of the class.

The manufacturer I mentioned earlier is also the U.S. importer for Hannibal. Talking on the phone, I had insured him of the unbiased nature of our reviews. He agreed to participate and said the rack would be shipped to our office. For reasons unknown to us, it was never shipped. On the final day of testing we were expecting the Hannibal unit to arrive, but instead we received a one-line email stating, “the rack is still on the floor in the back of our shop.”

This news was very disappointing for a number of reasons. 1) Hannibal makes some of the best gear on the market (they won our awning test, Spring 2010). 2) There are several other manufacturers that offer high-quality roof racks who would have happily participated, if given the opportunity. 3) I was ready to pay to reschedule my flight home to California if the Hannibal unit arrived. 4) It left a gaping two-page hole in our review and you are only getting information on four racks.

I can attest to the fact that the Overland Journal crew is a bunch of good old boys and not-so-old girls. But there are no smoke-filled card rooms, under-the-table deals, or a Good Old Boys Club when it comes to picking winners. And, I can promise you this—it won’t happen on my watch.

15

Overland Journal Winter 2011

NEWS FROM THE TRADE Exploring the newest gear for overlanding

By Jeremy Edgar and Chris Collard

Field Notes Original 3-Pack $10

Looking for a durable compact notepad? Field Notes offers some great options. Available in plain, ruled, or graph paper, each has 48 pages and measures 3.5 by 5.5 inches; about the same size as your passport (their Original series). Not keen on the natural look? Other colors are available, including a special U.S. States series. All Field Notes products are made in the U.S.A. with durable materials. The rugged 3-staple, saddle-stitch binding will help keep this notebook intact while crammed into a pocket or bouncing around in your luggage. (JE) fieldnotesbrand.com, 312-243-1107

PacSafe 20L Travel Safe $90 So you’ve locked up your precious valuables inside your vehicle while you step inside a border immigration office. But what’s to stop a thief from a quick smash-and-grab to get at your laptop or camera equipment? Here’s where the PacSafe Travel Safe comes into play. Their 20L sack can swallow up plenty of valuables, then lock to a seat post or other immovable object inside your rig. The eXomesh® wire cage system is slash resistant, and comes with a lock and key set. Also perfect for securing valuables inside a hotel room. (JE) pacsafe.com, 360-651-7999

16

Icon Light Designs Link $28

The Link LED flashlight from Icon comes in bright orange, making it easier to find when you need it most. Made of high-strength aluminum, it seems durable enough to handle some abuse. The carabiner clip has a sturdy spring, and attaches easily and securely to a belt loop or backpack strap. Requiring just one AA battery, it will burn for three hours on high (50 lumens), or 70 hours on the low setting (6 lumens). And for the reasonable price, this 4-inch, 3.1-ounce flashlight is worth keeping close by. (JE) myiconlight.com

Overland Journal Winter 2011

NEWS FROM THE TRADE Exploring the newest gear for overlanding

AEV JK Spare Tire Fuel Canister $329

American Expedition Vehicles comes through with another innovative product. Taking advantage of the unused space behind the spare tire on the Jeep Wrangler JK, they have managed to squeeze 10-plus gallons of fuel into an area not much larger than the footprint of a 35” tire. The filler is situated on the same side of the vehicle as the gas cap, and with a shaker style siphon (included), one can easily top up the main tank without the need of lifting heavy jerry cans or spilling precious fuel. Molded from cross-linked polyethylene, it is EPA, DOT, and CARB approved, and 50-state legal. (JE) aev-conversions.com, 406-251-2100

Expedition Exchange Expeditionware Transport Loop $9 The folks over at Expedition Exchange have designed and manufactured some tiny but tough tie-down brackets. About the size of a coin, and made from 1/8inch stainless steel, these Transport Loops can provide a lashing point virtually anywhere you need one. The mounting hole is about 3/8-inches wide, accommodating M8 and 5/16 fasteners. The lashing ring is oval-shaped and about 1/2 x 3/4 inches, and most ratchet-strap hooks will fit. Don’t let a lack of tie-down points on your rig be a cause for unsafe loading and lashing. (JE) expeditionexchange.com, 310-618-1875

Ride Brazil with Lois Pryce $5,990

In May 2012, London-based Overland Journal contributor Lois Pryce, motorcycle adventuress and author of Lois on the Loose and Red Tape and White Knuckles, is teaming up with Compass Expeditions to host a two-week, all-female ride through Brazil. The trek takes place May 22 to June 4, beginning in Rio de Janeiro and ending at the 275 waterfalls of Iguazu. According to Lois, “It’s gonna be fun, fun, fun!” Compass Expeditions is an official BMW partner and will be providing a fleet of F 650 GSs. The trip includes riding Costa Verde and Serra do Rio Rastro, all accommodations, transfers, a BMW F 650 GS, fuel, most meals, and 1,430 miles of dual-sport adventure. (CC) compassexpeditions.com, +61-3-5368-2113 Overland Journal Winter 2011

17

NEWS FROM THE TRADE Exploring the newest gear for overlanding

Filson Wheeled Carry-on Bag $475 The Filson Company has been known for high-quality American-made gear since the Klondike Gold Rush. With a water-repellant exterior, two-way brass zipper, thick leather straps and handles, the Wheeled Carry-on Bag fits right in. The ball bearing rollerblade wheels and heavyduty sled runner track will keep the bag out of the muck when you set it down. Dual, zippered interior pockets provide for toiletries. As is expected from Filson, the stitching is excellent, and the dimensions (14x22x9 inches) fall within airline carry-on regulations. Yes, it is pricey.

However, if you want your next carry-on to last for decades, the investment may be worth it. Overland Journal Copy Editor Denise-Christine liked it so much she grabbed it for her upcoming 12-month trek through Europe and the Mediterranean. (CC) filson.com, 800-624-0201

Mojave Phoenix MCU-1 Fuel Carrier $249 The Mojave Phoenix MCU-1 is crafted from 16-gauge galvanized steel and will securely accommodate two Scepter, Blitz, Jerry, or NATO 20-liter fuel cans. The unit has a textured, black powder-coated finish, removable hinged top, and closed-cell rubber foam pads to reduce noise. We love innovative grassroots products, and the Phoenix would be an ideal addition to a roof rack.

All parts are made and constructed in the U.S.A. (CC) mojaveoffroad.com, 714-202-7037

18

Lonely Planet Language App $5 Lonely Planet, a leader in travel guides, is now offering an Offline Translator. Functioning without a cell connection, the Offline Translator is a stand-alone application and perfect for overland treks in remote regions of the world. You will also avoid costly international bandwidth. Just type or say a phrase into your phone and it responds audibly in the chosen language. The app is powered by Jibbigo, utilizes a 40,000-word library, features a searchable database, and is available in Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, and oddly enough, Iraqi ($4.99 each). It’s available for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Android-powered devices. (CC) lonelyplanet.com, 800-275-8555

Overland Journal Winter 2011

19

Overland Journal Winter 2011

20

Overland Journal Winter 2011

OVERLAND NEWS Showcasing expedition travelers and resources from around the globe

By Chris Collard, Photography by Chris Collard and Chrysler

2012 Jeep Wrangler With a new power plant, better fuel economy, and increased range, Jeep hits an overlanding home run

M

The 2012 Wrangler Rubicon maintains the same seven-slot grille and classic lines as its predecessor. Upgraded in 2011, much of the Wrangler’s interior has been left untouched. The seats are nice and high (like a seat should be). The steering wheel, shifter and arm rest are ergonomically designed, and as with all opentop Jeep models, visibility beyond the windshield is excellent.

The new 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 provides an additional 85 horsepower (to 285) and increases torque by 10 percent.

y first experience behind the wheel of a Jeep was in 1985. I was on the Rubicon with a friend, he in his 1978 CJ5 and I was driving my three-year-old Toyota Hilux. After a day of friendly jabs at each other’s steeds, we decided to trade vehicles for a while.

Slipping in behind the wheel, my first impressions were surprisingly positive (considering the tongue lashing I’d been giving him). The seat felt like, well, a seat; high above the floorboard and positioned to deliver an excellent view over the real estate beyond the windshield. With the doors removed, I admittedly felt a little naked at first; however, I quickly came to appreciate the feeling of control. Just a slight lean to the driver’s side provided a direct line of sight to the front tire and approaching obstacles. Additionally, the turning radius was exceptionally tight, and the aftermarket differentials and low-range gearing made for a comfortable and easy traverse of the trail’s technical sections. When we stopped, I asked him what he thought of my truck. He said politely that he’d like his Jeep back.

Since that time, I’ve had the opportunity to drive a number of Jeep models during extended overland treks on several continents: similar sentiments returning with each occasion. When Jeep introduced the Wrangler Rubicon, based on the coil-sprung TJ and fitted with a factory-installed, 4:1 low-range transfer case and driver-actuated locking differentials, they had answered the call of 4WD enthusiasts worldwide. When the Rubicon JK arrived in 2007, the only real flaw was the anemic 3.8-liter V6 power plant. Equipped with the OEM four-speed automatic transmission, which was routinely confused as to which gear to be in on the slightest incline, the vehicle, while performing brilliantly in slow technical terrain, didn’t fare so well on highway inclines or towing a trailer.

When the rumor mill began to churn out reports that Chrysler, Jeep’s parent company, was developing a motor with increased horsepower and better fuel economy, and that it would be standard fare for the 2012 Wrangler, we pitched our name on the list to be test dummies for a first drive. This July, Overland Journal received the nod to be one of the first twelve magazines on the planet to drive the new Wrangler; and what better place to put the vehicle to the test than the world-renowned Rubicon Trail, and long, steep grades of the Sierra Nevada.

The Pentastar V6

The motor in question is Chrysler’s Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 that debuted in the Jeep Grand Cherokee last year. With auto manufacturers tightening their financial belts, Chrysler, who was producing almost a dozen different V6 engines, invested millions to create a cross-platform mill that would replace two thirds of the existing variants (yes, this means the Jeep Wrangler will again be sharing a motor with a minivan). Before you dismiss the Pentastar altogether based on mere principle, read on.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

21

OVERLAND NEWS Showcasing expedition travelers and resources from around the globe Chrysler’s new all-star is also the same 305-horsepower base engine for the Dodge Challenger. In short, the Pentastar can be tuned for an easycruising-soccer-mom-mobile, a fairly competent muscle car, and anything in-between. As for the technological innovations, the list is too long for this editorial; but I’ll start with a few.

Technology and Innovation

At the core of the Pentastar is a cast-aluminum, 60-degree V6, fitted with cast iron cylinder sleeves. Aluminum 10.2:1 compression pistons sport a reduced skirt, low-friction rings, and are cooled via spray jets in the block, further reducing induced drag. Up top, two variable-phase cams reside in each of the 319 T7 heat-treated aluminum heads, which now have integrated exhaust manifolds. Down below, main crank bearing caps are secured with four bolts each, and a specially configured Wrangler-specific oil pan allows the oil pump to draw adequately at extreme angles.

Another component which received considerable thought was the two-speed, variable-pressure oil pump (who ever heard of a two-speed oil pump?). When the motor is cold and requires less oil, the pump’s internal chambers are reduced in size, thus requiring less energy to operate. It also has high and low settings, which are triggered when the engine is running below or above 3,500 rpm. The net result is less drag and a more efficient lubrication system.

To get a close look at the motor, I popped open the hood and removed the engine’s acoustic cover. First item of interest was the alternator, which is located nice and high, reducing the introduction of mud spray and grime, and increasing the ease of servicing. The Wrangler also receives a model-specific intake plenum and throttle body, equallength down pipes and an optimized collector, all of which enhance mid-range performance.

22

Transmission and Transfer Case

Two transmission options will be offered for the 2012 model. If you are a slush box aficionado you’ll be happy to know the previous four-speed has been replaced with the A580 five-speed; standard issue in the automatic category. After putting the A580 through the paces on the long steep inclines of the Sierra Nevada, I can tell you that the new engine/transmission combination was a breath of fresh air (though many of the issues of the previous four-speed issues had to do with lack of engine power).

A580 five-speed automatic and NSG370 six-speed manual transmissions.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

If you like standard cogs (as I do), and appreciate manually shifting through the gears, the close-ratio NSG370 six-speed will be your choice. A 4.46:1 first gear provides plenty of pull off the line and enhances low-range driving. The 0.797 overdrive allows for efficient, lowrpm cruising on the highway. Fourth and fifth, 1.25:1 and 1:1 respectively, make it easy to find the proper gear and rpm when toting a trailer or ascending grades.

Whether taking a casual drive through the Rubicon, or venturing into the vast expanses of the Australian Outback, I’m a big fan of ultra-low-range transfer case gearing and locking differentials. I think of them like a tire plug kit or onboard welder; they are seldom needed, but when they are, you’ll be glad you made the investment. In my opinion, the Rubicon’s NV241OR ROCK-TRAC 4:1 transfer case and electric locking differentials add a level of security and are worth the additional cost.

On the Road

If there is one place the Pentastar shines, it is definitely on the highway. To test this, in a layman’s kind of way, fellow journalist Ned Bacon and I took two Wranglers (both with automatic transmissions) to the base of Donner Pass near Truckee, California; an eight-mile, sixpercent grade. Side-by-side, and at a base speed of 45 mph, we put the skinny pedals to the floor: Ned in a 3.8-liter 2011 and myself in the Pentastar/A580 five-speed 2012. Our request for speed sent both transmissions into a lower gear. The immediate observation was that I could hear the 5,500-rpm cry of the 2011 well above that of the Pentastar in front of my own firewall. Second, was that I pulled away at an impressive rate, accelerating well past the legal limit as Ned and the 2011 faded in my rearview mirror. A third notation was that the A580 had no issues selecting the proper gear, and shift transitions were very smooth. I then backed off to hold a 70-mph cruise (where previous versions struggled). The A580 found a comfortable place in fourth gear, at a reasonable rpm, and maintained the pace without bouncing between gears. To make sure there were no mistakes made in this highly scientific process, we traded vehicles, circled around and repeated the test; again with the same results.

I don’t need a Hemi V8 and loads of power (I would personally prioritize an extended-range fuel cell or dual tanks), so the 285-horsepower Pentastar would be more than enough for my requirements. Additionally, the increased towing capacity, now at 3,500 pounds (4-door), will easily accommodate any overland camp trailer. With EPA estimates at 16/20 (city/highway), and a 22.5-gallon fuel capacity, range has increased slightly. The addition of a couple of jerry cans would be more than sufficient for most overland treks. Lastly, the Pentastar is perfectly happy sipping 87 octane: a big plus in third-world countries.

Though I may not have always been a big Jeep fan, the past 26 years have helped me see the light. The introduction of the coil-sprung TJ, four-door JK unlimited, and now the Pentastar V6, a power plant worthy of the platform, have each begun new eras in the development of the breed. Are we still waiting for a diesel? Sure (such as the 2.8-liter, common-rail turbo-diesel found in Europe and the Middle East… please). But for now, I’m definitely looking forward to slipping in behind the wheel of Jeep’s latest offering for an extended overland trek.

However, it won’t be on the Rubicon Trail—I’m thinking… Alaska. jeep.com, 877-426-5337

OVERLAND NEWS Showcasing expedition travelers and resources from around the globe

By Chris Collard

Range Rover Evoque Land Rover introduces their newest family member

W

hen Overland Journal received the invitation to attend the launch of Land Rover’s newest vehicle, the Evoque, my first thoughts were “Hmm, no transfer case,” and “I’m not sure.” I let the idea sit for a while, thought about the Land Rover brand and what it stands for, then about the current automotive manufacturing environment. I called back and accepted.

The Evoque is the lightest and most fuel efficient Land Rover to date; and adheres to the breed’s uncompromising position on premium craftsmanship, luxury and performance. Its new turbocharged direct-injection 2.0-liter 4-cylinder produces 240 horsepower and is a work of engineering art. I was thoroughly impressed with the performance of the motor and positive feeling from the six-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle incorporates most of Land Rover’s proprietary systems such as Traction Control, Terrain Response, Hill Descent Control, Dynamic Stability Control, and new technology such as MagneRide.

MagneRide, or magneto-rheological damper technology, is fascinating. The concept is to increase shock rigidity by manipulating oil viscosity. By applying a magnetic field around the fluid orifice (think shock valve), microscopic ferrous particles in the oil align themselves, or bunch together, thus increasing the fluid’s resistance as it passes through the orifice. Brilliant.

Now I know what you are thinking, “What about a low range?”

Before you throw me under a moving Defender, let me provide an update on the automotive world. There is this thing called emissions, and CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) and Euro 5 standards regulate them: OEMs must comply or shut the doors. Did I mention EPA estimates for the Evoque are 18/28 mpg? In order for the company to continue to produce premium models like the Range Rover HSE, LR4 and the much-loved Defender, they must comply with CAFE; thus selling downsized, fuel-sipping variants as well.

It is true that the Evoque does not have a low range. Is it the best thing since the Defender 110? No. Would it be at the top of my list for a Cape to Cairo trek? Probably not. Land Rover did not design the Evoque for slogging through the Atrato swamp of the Darien; so rest assured, it is not replacing the LR4 or Defender. However, this is not to say it isn’t an extremely comfortable and fairly capable vehicle. It would be a worthy second vehicle for treks to the snow, the beach, or anywhere you need all-wheel-drive luxury performance with Range Rover style. I’m glad I accepted the invitation. The Evoque is a necessary move in our global direction; it is good to know Range Rover didn’t cut corners to get there… save a transfer case. landrover.com, 800-346-3493 Clockwise: The new Range Rover Evoque. The Evoque has 8.4 inches of ground clearance and a fording depth of 19.7 inches. A turbocharged directinjection 2.0-liter 4-cylinder produces 240 horsepower.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

23

OVERLAND NEWS Showcasing expedition travelers and resources from around the globe

By Chris Collard

Off-Road Expo Overland travel is the newest craze at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo

24

T

he Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo has long been considered one of the most relevant gatherings of four-wheel-drive enthusiasts in the country. It rivals SEMA in the number of 4WD-specific manufacturers, and attracts upwards of 40,000 members of the community. With the exponential growth in the overland travel sector of the market, event promoters requested that Overland Journal assist with the creation of the Expo’s newest endeavor, the Overland Adventure Travel Pavilion.

In the pavilion were some of the top gear purveyors in the industry, including Sportsmobile, Equipt, TJM, Lightforce, American Overland Expedition, Tuffy Security, and Adventure Trailers. At the Overland Journal display, Publisher Scott Brady, Editor Chris Collard, and our newest team member, Kelsey McLaren, spent two days greeting guests, fielding questions on gear and international travel, and handing

Overland Journal Winter 2011

out free copies of the magazine and Overland Journal decals. Television news broadcasts each morning attracted overland adventurers from across Southern California.

The Off-Road Expo takes place in early October each year at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. With the number of visitors and amount of enthusiasm generated, we’re expecting the Overland Pavilion to be a permanent addition. It was an honor to be involved at the ground-floor level and we are looking forward to next year. See you there. offroadexpo.com, 317-236-6515 Clockwise from top-left: The Overland Adventure Travel Pavilion drew thousands of adventure-travel enthusiasts. The event attracted overland gear purveyors such as Tembo Tusk, Extreme Outback Products, and American Teardrop Trailers. Scott Brady and Kelsey McLaren greeted guests. Icon Vehicle Dynamics taught attendees the shocking truth about shock technology.

OVERLAND NEWS Showcasing expedition travelers and resources from around the globe

By Scott Brady

Sportsmobile Sportsmobile celebrates 50 years of making conversion vans for adventure travel

S

portsmobile is a classic success story, made even more enjoyable to hear when told by Alan Feld of Sportsmobile West. As Sportsmobile celebrates 50 years of making conversion vans for adventure travel, Overland Journal wanted to honor their achievement with a view of their vans from 1961 to 2011.

In 1961 the company was little more than a small shop in El Paso, Texas. Sportsmobile is often credited with being the worlds oldest van conversion company. After their first creation, a VW bus, they began supplying kits to Volkswagen of America.

In 1962, Ford Motor Company contracted Sportsmobile for the installation of camper kits in their Lorain, Michigan plant.

In 1967, rising tariffs ended their contract with VW of America. However, they started shipping kits directly to Germany for fitment. Shortly after, the Westfalia was developed in Germany, directly copying several Sportsmobile patented features. A little research will show that early Westys had a roof that popped up on both ends. VW changed to a one-ended pop-top to satisfy any patent infringement.

While looking for a conversion van to travel in with his young family, Alan Feld first saw a Sportsmobile in a grocery store parking lot. This led to discussions with Sportsmobile and he ultimately opened the Sportsmobile West facility in California. Alan’s new enterprise started in a 2,000-square-foot shop outside of San Diego in 1989. He quit his corporate job and put everything into his new passion. In 2000, the company was moved to a 60,000-square-foot facility in Fresno, CA to keep up with demand for their Ford van conversions. The vans are popular with teachers, firefighters, surfers and even Navy Seals.

In 2004, Alan took a chance on building the ultimate 4WD van and hired a full-time engineer to develop the Sportsmobile four-wheel drive system. Fortunately, his engineer knew exactly what to fit where, and pulled together a who’s-who roster of the 4WD world. The list included Old Man Emu, ARB, Advance Adapters Atlas Transfer Case, Dynatrac, Warn, Aluminess, and Extreme Outback Products.

With 35-inch tires and available locking differentials, these vans will go anywhere they will fit.

Sportsmobiles, which are sold throughout the world, are assembled in three manufacturing facilities, the largest of which is Sportsmobile West. Specializing in 4WD conversions appropriate for the overland community, Alan enjoys knowing he has hundreds of clients roaming the planet in his luxurious creations. He and his team have also provided custom search and rescue vans for the country of Qatar, for Airstream in Japan, and even a fully autonomous unit for the DARPA challenge. As Sportsmobile rolls into its sixth decade, the company’s future looks as colorful and exciting as its past. sportsmobile.com, 559-233-8267

25

Clockwise: 2011 4WD Ford van conversion. 1961 Volkswagen van conversion with awning. 1974: the future is now, with big awnings and full enclosures.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Give the gift of

ADVENTURE

26

Can’t afford to take your friends and family around the world this holiday season?

Purchase a 1-, 2-, or 3-year subscription to Overland Journal and receive a limited edition overlanding patch, exclusively woven by Triple Aught Design.

Overland patch

Love your friends and family...but maybe not that much?

Purchase a 3-issue mini-gift subscription (priced as low as $21), and we’ll throw in an Overland Journal decal.

P

Overland Journal overlandjournal.com 928-777-8567

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Holiday shopping. DONE. (Wasn’t that easy?)

3 things you need to know

1. Must click on ‘2011 Holiday Offer’ in our shopping cart or mention the offer when you call our offices for the offer to be valid. 2. The decal and TAD patch will ship in December. We are unable to guarantee Christmas delivery. 3. Offers expire January 8, 2012.

Photo by Chris Collard

27

Expedition Reads Winter is setting in—stoke the fire, grab a coffee and your favorite chair, and get inspired with Overland Journal’s first annual book review.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

One More Day Everywhere Author: Glen Heggstad Reviewed by Chris Collard Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Glen Heggstad, who was bound for South America on his motorcycle, was kidnapped by the National Liberation Army in Colombia. After five weeks of interrogation, he was released. Mentally bruised but not beaten, he set out to exact revenge on his captors and settle the score with his demons within. Retaliation would not be in the physical form, but rather to continue adventure riding, and to live life well.

One More Day Everywhere takes you on a seat-of-the-pants ride through 50 countries on three continents. From sipping vodka with Russian truck drivers to fending off massage girls in Thailand, Heggstad’s insights into the cultures of Asia, Europe and Africa are colorful, educational and inviting. A champion kick boxer, he doesn’t pull any punches with his bare-knuckles sentiments about the World’s governments and industrial machines, terrorist groups and the chaos of third world cities, or complexities of international travel.

His rebellious nature and approach to travel is summed up in two sentences. “According to Uncle Sam, we should stay home and wait for the next terrorist attack…

Every time anyone crosses an international border or shakes hands with a foe, it is a middle-finger-message to those who terrorize.” The book is an inspirational pageturner that won’t leave you wanting. When asked if he had any regrets, he writes, “I wish I could have stayed one more day everywhere.” (ISBN: 978-1550228823)

Two Years Before the Mast 28

Author: Richard Henry Dana Reviewed by Gene Collard When my son asked me to review Two Years before the Mast (circa 1840), my first thought was change. Richard Henry Dana’s book brought change to the maritime world. Son of a prominent Boston family, at age 20 he set sail on a merchant ship bound for the Mexican state of California Norte. From the tropics to the icy swells of Cape Horn, to fruit-laden convict islands and a five-minute funeral for an overboard shipmate, Dana brings you with him on a personal transition from step-aboard landlubber to able-bodied seaman. You’ll pull anchor and race away from oncoming gales, befriend the Kanaka Sandwich Islanders, and share night watches with a mysterious Englishman. You will labor to follow Dana through constant chores in unfathomable conditions. There is no Social Security or Medicare, and the ship’s African cook doubles as the doctor, quick with a handsaw and keg of rum for the occasional amputation. Ill or disabled seamen were jettisoned at the next port. Dana’s detailed description of life under Captain Thompson’s brutal hand brought a harsh clarity to life at sea. This brilliant economy of words brought a nation, proud of its Bill of Rights, to ameliorate the conditions of American seamen. (ISBN: 978-0451531254)

Overland Journal Winter 2011

29

Overland Journal Winter 2011

The Unlikely Voyage of Jack De Crow Author: A. J. Mackinnon Reviewed by Jonathan Hanson An 11-foot-long dinghy is not designed to be the boat in which to have an adventure. It’s designed to get you to the boat in which to have an adventure—say, a 40-foot Valiant cutter anchored in Portsmouth Harbor.

That didn’t stop A.J. Mackinnon, although he didn’t start out to push any envelopes. His plan was to indulge in a fortnight of genteel sailing on the river Severn in Wales, in an ancient, gaff-rigged wooden dinghy rescued from rot in the yard of the school where Mackinnon taught. But somehow things got out of hand, and a year later he had traversed England via canals and the Thames, successfully dodged supertankers and ferries in the English Channel, tacked up the Rhine and the Danube into Romania, and was on his way to the Black Sea. As with all the finest tales of adventure, the actual adventure is almost beside the point. It’s Mackinnon’s encounters with people along the way that make this book a treasure—that and his unrelenting self-deprecation and humor. I read this book aloud to my wife each night while she made dinner, and lost track of the times we stopped all proceedings while helplessly hiccupping with laughter. Read it. You’ll want your own dinghy and pith helmet afterwards, I promise you. (ISBN: 978-1574091526)

Guns, Germs, and Steel 30

Author: Jared Diamond Reviewed by Harry Wagner Years ago, Jared Diamond was asked a simple question by a New Guinea native: “Why is it that your people developed so much cargo, but we natives have little cargo of our own?” The New Guinean was not explicitly referring to Diamond’s roof racks full of gear, but the question is intriguing all the same. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, he suggests four factors are chiefly responsible for all historical developments of the world: 1) availability of crops and livestock, 2) orientation of continental axis to facilitate the spread of agriculture, 3) transfer of knowledge between continents, and 4) population size. Like the old adage in real estate, the importance of location, location, location becomes readily apparent in this book.

At the end of the last Ice Age, all societies existed as hunter-gatherers and were on equal footing. Fast forward to 1532 AD and the Spanish conquistador Pizarro was able to travel across thousands of miles of ocean to conquer the Inca with only 169 men. The proximate causes of the Inca Empire’s collapse, as well as that of most non-developed societies, can be linked to guns, germs, and steel.

As much as I enjoyed the book, my only gripe is that he makes no reference to the Industrial Revolution and organized religion, and how they’ve impacted the world. That aside, this is a fascinating account of the European development of the world; consider adding this volume to your cargo before embarking on your next adventure. (ISBN: 978-0393061314)

Overland Journal Winter 2011

31

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Historias en Asia y África Author: Pablo Rey and Anna Callau Reviewed by Jeremy Edgar I had the pleasure of meeting Pablo and Anna at the 2011 Overland Expo, then of having them as guests in my home a week later. After five continents and eleven years on the road, they still have beaming smiles as if they were still on a “honeymoon.” En route they’ve published two books about their travels, and their decision to leave their normal lives in Spain for a bohemian life on the road—living out of an old Mitsubishi 4WD van that they have lovingly nicknamed La Cucaracha. These are the first Spanish books Overland Journal has featured and are worth learning the language to read. A quote near the beginning of both books tells all: “The only thing we knew about the future was that almost all countries were connected to each other by a road… May all the roads in the entire world begin at your front door.”

Historias en Asia y África, a quick read at just over 100 pages, is a backseat ride on a modern-day hippie-van trek from Europe to Southern Africa. It is interspersed with wonderful prose, at times bordering on poetry, into the wonders of humanity and culture, and the deep effects it has on one’s self. The reward to the reader is inspiration. It closes with: “For the first time in my life I know that it is possible to live life with an intensity that I never dreamt was possible.” (ISBN: 987-0520820)

El Libro de la Independencia 32

Author: Pablo Rey Reviewed by Jeremy Edgar El Libro de la Independencia, details Pablo and Anna’s mild-to-wild drive through countries from Italy to Botswana. We learn about Pablo’s hilarious Aladdin-style pants he wore in Turkey, and enjoy his funny play-on-words for the police in Kurdistan. Pablo spent the first 25 years of his life in Argentina. Having lived there for a year myself, I appreciated the Argentine sense of humor and attitude that comes through in his writing: everything from a comical commentary on the chosen moustache style of Arab men, to encounters with border guards and customs agents. This overland autobiography will leave you laughing aloud, inspiring you to get out and experience another part of the world—one that is well outside your comfort level.

If learning Spanish is on your bucket list, then be sure to jot down these books on that list as well. (Note: English version expected in 2012.) (ISBN: 978-8461386789)

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Malaria Dreams Author: Stuart Stevens Reviewed by Cyril Mischler Stuart Stevens wants to travel though Africa, and he has it all figured out. He, along with a female friend, will fly to the Central African Republic (CAR), pick up a Land Rover from his friend Lucien, and drive back to Europe.

Arriving in the capital city of Bangui, they realize that Africa has something different in store for them. His Excellency, the Minister of Mines, fancied their Land Rover and appropriated it for himself: an apparently common occurrence in the CAR. Wading through arcane bureaucracy and ever-present corruption in an attempt to have the vehicle returned, days dragged into weeks. Their Lucien connection clearly becomes a liability as they learn their friend seems to be entangled in a covert plot involving smuggling, unpaid debts and spying. It’s time to seriously rethink their strategy if they are to continue on to West Africa and the Sahara.

In Malaria Dreams, Stevens brilliantly recounts the adventure in his ever-humorous style, which turns at times, downright hilarious. Unbelievable occurrences and amazing encounters, mixed with a dose of suspense, make for a fascinating book that you simply can’t put down. As the story unfolds, you’ll embrace the couple and become frustrated with CAR’s third-world bureaucracy. Will Stevens triumph, or will it be yet another case of WAWA (West Africa Wins Again)? (ISBN: 978-0871133618)

Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 33

Author: Chris Scott Reviewed by Lois Pryce When I first came up with the idea to do a trans-continental motorcycle trip, I had no idea where to start. My adventure-riding credentials were zero, I didn’t know anyone who had done such a thing, and my biking experience was limited to nipping around London on my old BSA. So I headed for Stanfords, London’s legendary travel bookstore. It was there that I happened upon the book that I can say, without exaggeration, helped to change my life—Chris Scott’s Adventure Motorcycling Handbook (AMH).

A guidebook? I hear you say, that doesn’t sound very awe-inspiring. What about all those great travel writers weaving their magical prose about distant lands and fascinating cultures? Bah! Y’see, the AMH spoke to me. It was funny, self-deprecating and reassuringly human—and, it was just as fascinating and informative as any of those long-winded, serious travelogues. In fact, it was so darn exciting that I had to ban myself from reading it at bedtime.

I consumed it, several times over, absorbing every scrap of information as well as the swashbuckling tales from normal people who had got out there and done it. The AMH made me realize that you didn’t have to be a superhero or a millionaire to do this stuff; that I could be one of those people too. (ISBN: 978-1873756805)

Overland Journal Winter 2011

The Exploration of the Colorado River Author: Major John Wesley Powell Reviewed by Chris Collard In 1869, knowledge of the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada was limited to rumors of settlers and trappers. Even the local Indians had no knowledge of what lay beyond the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers. Some said that the river flowed underground, and there were waterfalls that dwarfed those of Niagara; it was merely empty white space on the map.

With a contingent of 10 men, four wooden longboats, and several tons of equipment and supplies, Major Powell, a one-armed civil war veteran, embarked on one of the greatest expeditions in American history: a geological and geographical survey of the Colorado River.

Powell goes to great lengths to describe the precipitous canyons, interaction with Paiute Indian tribes, bounty of wildlife, and life on the wildest river in North America. Surviving torturous months of lowering boats down rapids on rope tethers, portaging up precipitous canyon walls, the loss of one craft to the raging torrents, spoiled food, and the desertion of four men (three, never to be found), they emerged from the southern reaches of the white space: the Virgin River.

Complete with more than 200 illustrations, The Exploration of the Colorado River is an excellent choice for your expedition library. (ISBN: 978-0486200941)

The Secret 34

Author: Rhonda Byrne Reviewed by Gary and Monika Wescott When my first Land Rover found me in San Francisco in 1970, I was using the secret. Years later, as Monika and I drove away from customs in Cartagena, Colombia and headed south to the far tip of Argentina, the secret was there. Nearly a decade had passed when we pulled our camper from a 40-foot container in Magadan on the frozen coast of Siberia—again, we had used the secret. We didn’t really know how it worked. We didn’t even know we’d been using it. Now, clearly defined in Rhonda Byrne’s magical book and equally informing DVD, we realized what we had been doing all along. Some of the greatest people in history knew about it; Plato, Shakespeare, Newton, Beethoven, Lincoln, Emerson, Edison, Einstein. Call it visualization. Call it the power of positive thinking… or the danger of negative thinking. You cannot escape it. The Secret gives you a clear, frighteningly unavoidable set of instructions. Like driving a car with your arms tied behind your back, you might get where you’re going, but it’s much faster and easier with both hands on the steering wheel.

Think of the secret as the steering wheel to reach all your goals. Henry Ford knew The Secret when he said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” If you have a dream of overland travel, read The Secret and start packing.

(ISBN: 978-1582701707)

Overland Journal Winter 2011

The People’s Guide to Mexico Author: Carl Franz and Lorena Havens Reviewed by Gary Wescott The problem with travel guides is that most of them are out-of-date before the ink dries. Back in 1972, when I first started south towards a distant land called Tierra del Fuego, I picked up copy of The People’s Guide to Mexico. Now adventure-torn and duct-taped, it has been around the world, and is still the most comprehensive general travel book I own. The wonder of this classic is that its main focus is not to tell you where to go, but more importantly for the overland traveler, it explains how to go. The authors have been exploring Latin America since the early 1960s, and the wealth of practical information they have accumulated is both humorous and invaluable for anyone headed south of the border (including Central and South America). You’ll find tips on where to park, how to sharpen a machete, how to hang a hammock, bribes, and public baths. The book’s subject index is amazing. It can lead you on for hours as you learn about stuff you never thought of, like how to street grunt and survive, border crossings, or Spanish names for car parts, tools and hardware; there isn’t a subject that isn’t covered. Now in its 13th printing, the latest edition is loaded with valuable websites and current travel suggestions. The authors remind us, “Wherever you go... there you are.” (ISBN: 978-1566917117)

Marco Polo - From Venice to Xanadu 35

Author: Laurence Bergreen Reviewed by Ray Hyland Most kids know of Marco Polo, he’s the guy who walked to China and brought noodles back to Italy. The actual story however, retold by Laurence Bergreen, is one of the most riveting overlanding tales ever, and justifies Polo’s enduring fame.

From Venice to Xanadu begins with an entertaining clarification of politics and various misfortunes of the Polo family (the book opens with Polo in jail). Enroute, we explore the cultures and cities of 13th-century Eurasia, experiencing how they differ from today. We accompany Polo as he navigates sandy deserts, snowy passes and shifting war zones. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, Polo never appears to have a specific plan, route, or end-date in mind. He allows fate to move him around the map, and he recounts what he sees. As an overlander, I found this especially fascinating.

Beginning his adventure odyssey as a teenager, Polo comes of age on the road, not returning to Venice for 24 years. Raised in this multi-cultural environment, Polo lacked the social prejudices shared by his countrymen. In his lifetime, Polo became a representative of the two most powerful men on Earth: Pope Gregory X and Kublai Khan. It was a life of adventure and privilege, and he amassed great wealth. Yet when he reflects on his life, it was the experiences on the road that he cherished the most: things he saw and people he met. More than seven centuries later, this lesson still holds true. (ISBN: 978-1400043453)

Overland Journal Winter 2011

The Hundred Days of Darien Author: Russell Braddon Reviewed by Cyril Mischler Forty years ago the British army, under the command of Major John Blashford-Snell, undertook the commission to drive two Range Rovers through the impossibly rugged region of jungles and swamps that separates Panama from Colombia—the Darien Gap. The expedition, comprised of seasoned soldiers, was organized like a military campaign. Though supported by airlifts, boats, packhorses, native work crews, and explosives, the assault on the Darien was reminiscent of epic British explorations of past centuries.

In The Hundred Days of Darien, Russell Braddon gives an extraordinary account of how the British, against the odds, battled the jungle, faulty equipment, diseases and bad luck. Braddon recounts tales of the hardships, privations and despair that plagued the group.

He draws you into events that unfolded during the three-month ordeal, and the immense technical, physical and psychological challenges faced by the team. He does not shy from uncensored accounts of strained personal relationships. As exhaustion and frustration took hold, minor disputes often turned into all-out grudges that, at times, threatened the success of the expedition.

Overlanders from all skill and experience levels will benefit from Braddon’s fascinating narrative of this epic adventure. Not so much to learn a new driving tip or jungle survival skill, but rather to see how human crises can impact stressful and unexpected circumstances. (ISBN: 978-0002161503)

36

Overland Journal Winter 2011

37

Overland Journal Winter 2011

38

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Crossing the Gap Major John Blashford-Snell reflects on the 1972 British Trans-Americas Expedition through the Darien Gap

By John Blashford-Snell Images courtesy of the Scientific Exploration Society

39

Overland Journal Winter 2011

40

From the air, the Darien Jungle seemed to stretch into the horizon forever. Opposite: The vital British Army Air Corps Beaver at our forward base, Palma,2011 Panama.

Overland JournalLaWinter

In 1970, having lunch in the British Ministry of Defence was not a gastronomic delight.

But when I received an invitation to dine with some gentlemen of the Anglo-Hispanic Society, I accepted gladly. A retired Colonel, wearing a purple bowler hat and sporting a monocle, greeted me and came straight to the point. “What do you know of the Darien Gap?” he asked as he filled my wine glass.

“Nothing,” said I. He immediately proceeded to describe the dense jungle, hills and swamps in Panama and Colombia that had blocked the completion of the 29,000-mile Pan American Highway, which connects the Americas from Alaska in the north to Tierra del Fuego on the tip of South America.

I learned it was in the Darien where Spanish Conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa stood on the peak of a hill in 1513 and became the first non-Indian to see the Pacific Ocean. “Until the highway crosses the Gap” explained my host, “the continents of North and South America will not be joined by a road and the American nations are trying to persuade the U.S. Government to fund a link.” Several previous expeditions, which were costly and ended in failure, had not helped the case.

“You’re a Royal Engineer with a reputation for overcoming obstacles. Can you do it?” demanded the Colonel. As I had never been to South America, I asked for time to consider and went off to consult my General.

“Of course we must do it,” he smiled. “It will be jolly good for international relations and excellent experience for the troops.”

With backing promised by the British, Colombian, Panamanian and U.S. Armed Forces, I began planning the assault on El Tapón, or The Stopper: clearly it would not be a picnic.

In the process of crossing the inpenatrable Darien, we would also be required to conduct a number of scientific programmes: scientists from the four countries would be researching the botany, biology, geology, geography, entomology, and zoology of the region. Medical and veterinary subjects, as well as the protection of the local Indians, were also to be studied. During the following six months we recruited 59 men and five women from Great Britain and the U.S., plus 40 Panamanian Guardia Nacionale and 30 very tough Colombian servicemen.

Though we had extensive government support, there were still funds to raise and of course, we needed the most robust 4WD vehicles available. Land Rover had just produced a successor to the legendary Series II and kindly agreed to lend us vehicles for the expedition (editor’s note: A loan… did they actually want them back?). In December 1971, two new Range Rovers were flown by the Royal Air Force (RAF) into Alaska with a crew of British Lancers. The goal was to drive them the entire way to Cape Horn, the southernmost point of the Americas. From Anchorage they started the long drive south.

When a 200-yard slide on the frozen Alcan highway sent one Rover carreening into a huge truck, rapid repairs were undertaken

to make the vehicle road worthy and ready for the next challenging section—the Rocky Mountains. Moving south, they traversed the deserts of Mexico and rutted tracks in Central America, covering 5,000 miles before they met our main force in Panama City.

The wet season in Central America usually ends in mid-December, leaving about three relatively dry months in which to cross the Gap. In 1972 we were out of luck. The rain continued to fall through mid-January and the start of our route was a sea of mud. My first task was to conduct air reconnaissance in an Army Air Corps De Havilland Beaver (singleengine fixed-wing aircraft). The first view of the Darien revealed one of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world.

The sun glistened on the thick brown coil of the Bayano River, making it look like a giant snake. The altimeter read 400 feet, yet we seemed almost to brush the tops of the tallest trees. Closer inspection revealed a dense green carpet extending from around their bases. What we had seen was merely the top of the jungle’s canopy; the real jungle lay below. The thick undergrowth, which looked like shrubbery, was in fact the top of a lesser forest of trees.

The Bayano alone broke up the mass. We made a tight banking turn to take a photographic run and I found myself clutching a Polaroid camera to avoid it being sucked out of the open window. Our information officer processed the film as I handed the camera Overland Journal Winter 2011

41

Our prison (for that is what it was)

was illuminated by a dull and filtered green light, at times giving an almost translucent appearance

to this eerie world.

42

Overland Journal Winter 2011

back to him after each shot and made notes on a tape recorder. Our eyes searched for any sign of a track. There was none.

The task at hand was to locate the best place to cross the river. We flew up and down the serpentine flow until our fuel was nearly exhausted. Several points looked possible, but all would require fording the river on rafts and the current appeared strong. We then noticed a small muddy trail leading to the river; this was to be it.

I could not imagine how Balboa, in his suit of armour, had staggered across this green hell to stand on a peak and see the Pacific. But I could easily understand how Sir Francis Drake and his lightly clad raiders had crossed the jungle to attack the treasure-laden mule trains of the Spanish and enrich the coffers of Queen Elizabeth I.

Into the Jungle

Though the rains continued, we could wait no longer; the remaining three months

of the dry season would be minimal time to reach the southern end of the Darien. On 17 January, our ground reconnaissance team moved towards the jungle. Spotters above, in the De Havilland Beaver, directed them by radio onto the right track. Meanwhile, at our jumping off point in the town of Canitas, the main body assembled with 28 packhorses, vehicles and stores. We were drenched to the skin as we loaded the horses on 19 January.

For three days we marched in terrible conditions through the heat and mud of the open pastureland. At night we camped with our hammocks slung between the trees, cooking on damp wood fires.

The Bayano River wasn’t an insurmountalble obstacle—150 yards wide and flowing at over four knots. In three hours, the Royal Engineers had used our unique Avon inflatable raft, which was carried in the Range Rovers, to get vehicles and equipment safely to the other side; the men and horses swam. Ahead lay the darkening jungle of the Bayano valley.

Each day we marched farther into the forest, moving in a long straggling column.

The Land Rovers followed at best speed. Our prison (for that is what it was) was illuminated by a dull and filtered green light, at times giving an almost translucent appearance to this eerie world. Trees rose like pillars reaching for the sun, which beat down on the canopy 150 feet above. Lianas and vines hung in a tangled mass to catch projecting pack loads and to trip the unwary. The ground was a mat of leaves; from a layer of humus beneath it grew the thick underbrush. Visibility was rarely more than 100 feet, and the jungle resounded to the drip of condensed humidity and the occasional crash of a giant tree falling at the end of its life.

We used an Avon raft to carry our Range Rover across the Bayano River in Panama. Opposite: Some of the creeks could be waded without using the raft.

43

When the rain came, it was torrential, turning the track into a quagmire. Fast-flowing streams and patches of poisonous palms and stinging plants augmented the challenges posed by glutinous mud, ravines, and gullies of the dense jungle. The heat and humidity were oppressive; even the nights brought little relief. Our sweat-soaked clothes rotted on our backs, leather equipment grew mould, and even our U.S. Army-issued jungle boots began to fall apart.

Mosquitoes, gnats and flies plagued man and beast alike, and inch-long black ants, whose bite stung for hours, were a constant menace. There were also stinging caterpillars and, in the rivers, electric eels capable of a 500-volt shock. Clusters of aggressive and vindictive hornets, which nested in numerous tree hollows, swarmed out to meet anyone who disturbed them. Inch-wide centipedes and black scorpions also took their toll, while spiders as large as dinner plates were certainly fearsome to behold. In brushing against the foliage we constantly picked up ticks that, almost unnoticed, buried their teeth into the flesh with such tenacity that they often had to be removed by the medical officer. On the other hand, snakes, although numerous, were usually shy. Not until later did we come across more aggressive varieties.

The larger animals were rarely dangerous, though we did come face-to-face with a beautiful black jaguar. There were also other cats such as ocelot and margay, and a surprisingly large breed of deer. The white-lipped peccary, a small wild pig, was a different matter altogether. Unlike his timid cousin, the whitecollared peccary, this beast was much feared and avoided whenever possible. In the impenetrable darkness of the Darien night, only the noise of their snorting and rooting warned of their approach. A machine gun would have had little effect on a concentrated rush of these ugly-tempered creatures. One night they completely wrecked one of our camps, scattering our terrified horses into the jungle.

Our night sentry only escaped by hurling a small can of gasoline onto the fire to scare them off.

Initially, we moved as a complete body with the leading reconnaissance team working 5-10 miles ahead. Another group worked about two miles ahead to mark the trail. Behind them came the first engineering section, using machetes and power saws to cut a track 10-feet-wide. When they reached a ravine they

44

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Our sweat-soaked clothes rotted on our backs, leather equipment grew mould, and even our U.S. Army-issued jungle boots began to fall apart.

Clockwise from top left: Packhorse used to transport supplies. A giant USAF helicopter brought in the Pathfinder Land Rover at Santa Fe, Panama. Private Dustin Clark of Panama’s Guardia Nacionale with an 11-foot constrictor. Dustin hunted game for us to eat. Opposite: Vampire bats attacked our horses. Using Jim Master’s alloy ladders to climb out of a creek.

bridged it with special aluminium ladders, two of which were carried on each Range Rover.

These ladders could be linked to each other and were used for many purposes from bridging to rafting. The second engineer section used jacks, blocks and tackle, and the vehicle’s capstans, to their absolute limit in dragging the heavy Range Rovers up the steep slopes.

The animal transport and expedition headquarters brought up the rear of the column. Rations, gasoline, radios and medical supplies made up the bulk of the packhorse loads. Meanwhile, the scientists moved in independent groups about the expedition area.

From time to time they joined the column before once again disappearing into the jungle in their quest for knowledge. For them it was a demi-paradise.

As the late dry season started, another setback hit us. The Range Rovers, with their immense power, developed differential trouble; several exploded with fragments piercing the car floor like shrapnel. Shortly, a Rover expert was on his way from Britain with spares and specially made parts. Lifted by helicopter into

the jungle, he worked for three weeks until the last cars were rolling forward again.

To maintain momentum we bought an old Land Rover in Panama City. It was stripped down to the bare essentials and flown in by a U.S. Jolly Green Giant helicopter to carry our engineer stores forward. We named it Pathfinder, and it soon proved its worth.

As the weeks dragged on, the climate and pace were beginning to tell. More than 30 members were evacuated due to illness and we soon became short of labour. To open the trail we employed indigenous Indians who, with long machetes, hacked a pilot track. For a few bottles of whisky we persuaded the Panamanian jailors at El Real to give us 12 convicted smugglers… provided we only released them in Colombia. One turned out to be a girl, but that’s another tale!

Supplies including 10 tons of rations, 5,000 gallons of Ultramar gasoline, 2,400 cans of beer and 80,000 cigarettes (smoking was more popular then), were brought in by boat, helicopter, parachute, pack ponies, and porters. Sacks of horse fodder and mail were Overland Journal Winter 2011

45

delivered, mostly from our support base in the coastal town of La Palma. To help the Army pilots find us, bright orange balloons, gas-filled and launched from the end of a tether, were sent bobbing up above the tree canopy. We also used signal rockets. Even so, searching for a small party deep in the jungle took much skill.

There were many narrow escapes among the team. One officer was bitten on the boot by a deadly six-foot bushmaster snake. With its fangs embedded in his rubber heel, he drew his .45-caliber Smith & Wesson and shot its head off with speed that Clint Eastwood would have admired. Skillful night flying by a USAF helicopter pilot into an Indian village on the Colombian border saved one young soldier’s life. He’d had acute appendicitis, which lay undetected because penicillin taken for a previous injury had masked the failing appendix.

46

Overland Journal Winter 2011

One evening our radio picked up the tragic news that five Colombian Marines coming to assist us had been drowned when their boat capsized in heavy seas off the port town of Turbo. By a miracle our British liaison officer somehow survived. Undaunted, the Colombians sent in a new team.

Although the army rations were very good, we’d lost a great amount of weight as the expedition proceeded. To vary the diet we ate local foods including jungle fruit, iguana, fish, monkey, snakes and wild turkeys. In this climate, usually around 90°F and 85-percent humidity, we longed for fresh, crisp salads; but our dehydrated food, especially the sliced apples, was a reasonable substitute.

Lack of fresh water became a problem and we resorted to tapping vines, filtering the water from slimy pools, or awaiting delivery by parachute.

The first rains came as we were crossing one of the most difficult areas, the hilly frontier region known as the Devil’s Switchback.

As the torrent soaked me I asked an elderly negro if these were the expected heavy rains.

“No Sir,” he replied. “D’is is jus’ hoomity.”

The expedition was also not without severe navigational obstacles. At one point I’d led the column straight up a one-way street, or corridor, that ended at an impenetrably hilly barrier. The Beaver, which had been providing air reconnaissance, was under repair, so we had not been warned of the impediment. For 10 days we floundered and struggled to conquer the heights. In the end, we took a gamble and drove the cars up the bed of the shallow Tuira River. When we reached deep pools, our raft ferried the cars to the next shallow. We nearly lost one Range Rover, which sank in an unseen hole in the riverbed. After winching

Strange unearthly shapes grew up from the swamps around us, all of which were populated by huge birds, lizards and giant otters. Here was a primeval forest

uninhabited and untouched by man.

it out, it took our mechanics 36 hours to get it going again. Finally, after using Tirfor jacks to winch the vehicles up to an old smugglers’ trail, we conquered the 65-degree slope.

At last we reached the frontier marker at Palo de las Letras, a concrete plinth on a jungle-covered hilltop. This was our summit; from that point on we were going downhill.

Shortly before reaching the plinth we found a rusting red saloon car, a reminder of the illfated Chevrolet expedition of 1962. Trees had grown through the engine compartment, ants nested in the boot, a venomous coral snake slithered from the remains of the back seat, and a large black spider emerged from the dashboard. Apparently, it (ed. Chevy Corvair) had been dragged this far by a huge towing

truck, which we found abandoned nearby.

At the frontier we were welcomed by a platoon of rugged Colombian soldiers and a new spirit came into the team. We felt that nothing could stop us, not even the Atrato Swamp, as large as the State of Massachusetts, which lay ahead. On 10 April we stood on a peak in the Darien looking out over the steaming green morass of the Atrato. We were two weeks behind schedule and the promised heavy rains threatened. We still had to cross 36 miles that no motor vehicle had traversed before.

Thankfully, a Colombian Navy gunboat awaited us on the river to support our crossing of this last obstacle. On the gunboat was our reconnaissance officer who had discov-

A Range Rover sinks into an unseen hole on the Río Tuira. We pulled it out with a Tirfor Jack, dried it out, and it was driving again in 36 hours. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Cuna Indian women with the baby we treated for a skin rash.

They brought us a live spider monkey as a thank you, cut its throat and cooked it for us. The Pathfinder Land Rover with Captain Ernie Durey at the wheel. It had been purchased secondhand in Panama City. Rafting a Range Rover on the Rio Tuira, Panama. Near the Colombian border lay the abandoned vehicle remains from the General Motors expedition of 1962.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

47

The original sketch of the British Trans-Americas Expedition route and chronology. Elevation change graph of the Darien from Canitas, Panama to Chigorodo, Colombia. Opposite, clockwise from left: Our Avon raft carries the Pathfinder Land Rover as the team picks a way through weed jams on the Atrato Swamp. A Colombian Navy gunboat supported our crossing of the Atrato River. Marching over the bridge at Barranquillita, Colombia, after completing the Darien crossing. This was the end of the northern section of the Pan American Highway: St Georges Day 1972. Side bar: Major John Blashford-Snell, Warrant Officer Tickie Wright and Colombian Major Alberto Patron seeking a route through the Atrato swamp.

ered a possible route. Much of the area was liquid with a coating of waterweed, in which lived a myriad of mosquitoes, snakes and an occasional caiman. Again we used our Avon raft, but forcing a way through the matted weed was impossible. We tried cutting with machetes, pulling on it with grapnels, and eventually used necklaces of dynamite to clear a path. A side benefit of the last method was delicious fish breakfasts.

In some places giant logs were tangled in with the weed, forming more obstacles, which we smashed with explosives. Gradually, the number of trees began to increase; strange unearthly shapes, growing up from the swamp around us, all of which were populated by huge birds, lizards and giant otters.

Here was a primeval forest uninhabited and untouched by man.

Eventually the cars were on a firmer crust—a slippery surface of matted vegetation and soil. It would soon be flooded by seasonal rains, but at the time was three feet thick and could withstand the weight of our vehicles. This area was like a giant sponge with holes from the surface into the liquid mud. Many parts appeared solid, but when I climbed gingerly onto the surface from a float-fitted helicopter, the entire area wobbled like a jelly.

On 23 April, St. George’s Day, as the sun set with its usual livid orange glow, we emerged from the swamp. Covered with bites and bruises, our feet rotten with immersion foot, we were a party of ragged, filthy, hollow-eyed men and women with our pack animals and vehicles. But we staggered on, dragging, heaving and pushing our cars to the northern end of the southern half of the Pan American Highway. Crossing of the Gap had taken 99 days. That night the sky opened—we had beaten the heavy rains by just eight hours.

48

Overland Journal Winter 2011

49 Arriving in Bogotá, Colombia we were driven through the streets in a motorcade, followed by a fantastic celebration. The Darien Action Committee presented the team with a gold medal, and each member received a gallon of local spirit from the Colombian Army.

It was a great party.

Though a way had been found for a road, some 40 years on it still only reaches Yaviza, Panama. Politics, along with the technical problems of bridging the Atrato Swamp, still block the route to this day. However, the scientific work of the expedition helped to establish the Darien National Park and protect the region’s indigenous people.

In Bogota, Rover engineers inspecting our vehicles were astonished by their excellent condition. In May, the vehicles were fitted with road tyres and sped on through South America, crossing the Andes and meeting the desert again in Chile. Over the course of four days the team drove 2,375 miles. On a single

day, at a pace of 99 mph on a straight road, they covered 800 miles. Nearing the southern reaches of South America they were met with snow and ice once more. Mountain passes, many of which were blocked by deep drifts, took days to break through. At one point, they ferried across a lake on a local raft to avoid a blockage in the route.

On 9 June, 1972, after seven months and 18,000 miles, the drivers gazed at Cape Horn and switched off their engines. And the Land Rovers, though pushed beyond all expectations, were still running perfectly. They were the first motor vehicles to complete the entire trek from Alaska to the tip of South America.

It had been an incredible adventure, one accomplished by teamwork, determination, flexibility, and good practical engineering. I recalled an inscription on the wall of the Chief U.S. Army Engineer in the Panama Canal Zone that read, “Only those who attempt the ridiculous can achieve the impossible.”

Editor’s note It has been an honor to work with Major John Blashford-Snell to bring Overland Journal readers his personal account of this historic and ambitious trek. The Major has authored two books on the subject, Where the Trails Run Out (Hutchinson) and Something Lost Beyond The Ranges (Harper Collins), which you may see in one of our upcoming book reviews.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Darien Gap Trip

Route

Cartography by David Medeiros (mapbliss.com)

50

Overland Journal Winter 2011

51

Overland Journal Winter 2011

52

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Reserve Capacity Overland Journal takes four roof racks through the gauntlet to see how they perform.

By Chris Collard, forward by Scott Brady Photography by Chris Collard and Scott Brady

53

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Forward by Scott Brady

I hate roof loads.

There, I said (wrote) it. So as to not conceal any personal bias, avoiding roof loads has been a mantra of mine for nearly a decade. Despite this, and having avoided almost anything on the roof of my vehicles, I have learned to appreciate a bare roof rack. Let me explain.

Every modification we do to our vehicle comes at a cost. We add larger tires to gain ground clearance, yet we compromise fuel economy, acceleration and braking performance to achieve it. We add a bumper and winch to provide protection and recovery options, yet we accept reduced payload and (often) performance advantages to gain that security.

Our goal must be to employ the minimal effective change to achieve the desired result. If we start with the correct vehicle, the changes are minimum and operate within the design tolerance of the platform. This same approach should be applied to roof racks and the load we put to them—the minimum allocation.

My softening on the idea came from a heated debate with John Lee from Expedition Exchange, no doubt fueled by the Yook Hwe (raw beef) and Soju (rice alcohol) we were enjoying. My argument was that a rack should only be used if absolutely necessary, such as a family of four in a Discovery on a month-long trip.

John’s argument was that a roof rack should be fitted, but seldom used; that a rack should serve as reserve capacity; citing firewood trash bags, etc. The scenario that ultimately shifted my opinion was this: Two vehicles are traveling in a remote region and one becomes disabled. You now need to fit the people and their gear into the remaining vehicle. At this point an empty roof rack would be a valuable asset. John was right, and I’ve adjusted my bias towards roof loads, ever so slightly, to allow for a very light and very empty roof rack.

54

Roof Payload

Auto manufacturers do not rate roof loads based on the capacity of the vehicle’s structure, but upon the change in vehicle dynamics; reduced handling once the load is affixed to the vehicle. A good example is the FJ Cruiser. Through exhaustive testing, Toyota has determined the FJ can safely carry a distributed roof load of 150 pounds (we happen to know the guy who did this testing). Exceed this threshold and you are operating outside the vehicle’s design limits: a game of Russian roulette. Add a lift kit, taller tires and payload, and the vehicle’s drivability is diminished even further. This basic principle applies to all vehicles. Before fitting any roof load, you must know the roof capacity of your vehicle and use this as a hard-and-fast upper limit to your mobile tree-fort aspirations.

of requirements. It must be light enough to provide remaining payload once installed; it must be robust enough to allow for high static loads, such as a person lashing down a gear or standing up top to photograph a white rhino; the strength must also extend to the mounting hardware, flooring and lashing points, all which will be subjected to intense vibration on the trail.

In my experience, the most successful combination is to build the rack from aluminum, using extrusions that usually increase strength while limiting additional weight.

Welded aluminum racks are also effective, but difficult and costly to construct. Steel racks are immediately at a disadvantage; they can certainly be made affordable and strong, but nearly always at the cost of increased weight.

Rack Construction

Attaching the Rack

Properly designing a roof rack is no easy task, as it must meet a nearly impossible list Overland Journal Winter 2011

Twenty years ago, attaching a rack was simple; make a set of adjustable feet that

clamped to the rain gutter—done. Today, there are only a few new 4WD vehicles available with a rain gutter (in the U.S., the G-Wagen is most notable). This being said, a majority of vehicles currently used for overland exploring are older and retain a rain gutter: the decision was made to use this application for our rack test.

For vehicles without rain gutters, mounting becomes more complex. Chris Collard, while traveling through Africa in a Hummer H3 (with a fully-loaded roof rack), had the nutserts pulled from the bodywork, cracking the roof ’s sheet metal and causing costly repairs. With a modern vehicle, the attachment method is nearly as important as the basket design. Particular care must be taken to ensure the body mounts will endure the hundreds of miles of corrugated roads.

Testing Procedure Scott Brady provides a comprehensive review of the key points of consideration when choosing a roof rack, or to choose one at all.

In this review we’ve picked four conventional, full-sized racks (read my Journal Entry for the location of the fifth unit) and two load bar systems. Though we put the Yakima and Thule load bars through the same testing procedure as the full racks, because they are of a different genre they are only compared with each other.

Testing consisted of analyzing 35 different aspects; from price and packaging, to noise levels, construction, mounting systems and load lashing. The team also provided their personal opinions with regard to clarity of instructions, ease of assembly, quality of mounting hardware, and fit and finish. To provide an equal test platform, all racks were fitted to subscriber Chris Holohan’s 80 Series Land Cruiser, using the factory rain gutter mounts.

all manufacturers’ static ratings are in the 600-pound range (two people in a roof top tent) and we felt each would be suited for this use, we needed to determine the effect of climbing up top to lash down gear, sleep, or take a photograph. Mounting a dial indicator on the roof, we were able to measure the vertical deflection, or sag, with the average, 210-pound person standing in the geographic center of the rack.

Dynamic Load Test

To determine lateral deflection, or movement, in a real-world scenario, we fitted a magnetic-base dial indicator to the roof, using gaffer’s tape to ensure a fixed position. A small rubber O-ring was slipped tightly over the spindle/needle of the dial indicator. If

the rack were to move, the O-ring was forced away from the dial, rendering quantifiable measurement. Movement below .020 inches was not detectable in this test.

All the racks in the test assert a dynamic load rating of 300-plus pounds. Our sample load consisted of four Pelican and Caribou hard cases, filled with a normal selection of equipment, and a portable ARB compressor. All were loaded in the same configuration if possible. The aggregate weight was 285 pounds, 95 percent of the lowest stated maximum dynamic rating. We then drove the vehicle through a rutted and rocky section of trail at 10 to 15 mph; the maximum speed we felt the average overlander would drive in such conditions. Two samplings were taken for each rack.

Packaging, Installation, and Fit and Finish

This is a somewhat subjective field. Upon opening the box, each member of the team took notes as to the protective nature of packaging, clarity of instructions, and if all required hardware was included. We also inspected quality of finish, type of mounting system, overall design, and welds. As for welds, short of rendering each to an X-ray, the team reviewed them visually for thoroughness and apparent penetration.

55

Wind Buffeting

Historically, roof racks have not enjoyed a reputation for being quiet. Some racks, when used without a wind deflector, can be downright annoying. To measure sound levels we used a decibel meter, at 65 mph and on an identical section of highway. Baseline was first determined (without rack), followed by two samplings with each unladen rack. We also did a pass at 75 mph to check for audible increases or harmonic vibration.

Load Lashing and Static Load

For load lashing, we purchased a generic set of ratchet-type tie-downs; the same set was used with each unit tested. Though

The team inspects packaging, instructions and fit and finish. Dial indicator used to measure lateral deflection. Preparing racks for installation.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Baja Rack

$750

Pros:

• Low cost • Ease of mounting • Quiet on the highway • Heavy-duty tower mounts • Rubberized gutter protection

Cons:

• Light-duty hardware • Deck subject to sagging under maximum load • Difficult to secure gear • No sunroof access

56

A

s the name would imply, the Baja Rack is manufactured in Baja, Mexico. Packaging was adequate for the rack to arrive in good shape, and the paint, zinc primer and black powder-coated finish, should hold up well. First impressions were that the Baja Rack, at 72 pounds, is very light for an allsteel rack; two people can easily install this rack. Construction, rather than a halo-style loop as all others use, is a longitudinal loop on each side with welded crossmembers fore and aft, and ½-inch cross members comprising the deck area. It incorporates eight sturdy ¼-inch plate tower mounts with rubberized gutter protection. Feet mount with singlebolt clamp and two feet-to-rack bolts which are placed longitudinally with the axis of the vehicle.

Assembly and installation of the Baja Rack was the easiest and most straightforward of the units tested. All hardware was included and no additional tools were required. Wind deflectors, which cover the leading edge’s upper and lower surface, are pre-mounted.

There are two holes in the rear of the rack that could be used for mounting auxiliary Overland Journal Winter 2011

work lights. The units compact size, 46 inches by 75 inches, put it in the middle of the field with regard to load area.

Accessories include a shovel, axe, Hi-Lift jack, and awning mounts. The jack, shovel, and axe mounts are poorly designed, using only a half-radius clamp on the bottom, which raises the upper hoop away from the rack, leaving air space and room for considerable vibration.

The awning mount fits securely with a proper sandwich-style clamp; this method should have been used for the other accessories.

We removed all accessories for the dynamic testing.

The Baja Rack fell short in several areas.

We noticed after walking around on the rack on the shop floor that most of the crossmembers were sagging in the middle, bent. An additional longitudinal support (the rack has two existing) and beefier tubing might alleviate this issue. While you can stand on it while loading gear, I would suggest caution. Our generic tie-downs hooked easily to the crossmembers.

However, unless the load was strapped directly to the side rails, it tended to shift while on the trail; the tie-down hooks slipping from side to side on the smooth crossmembers.

In the lateral deflection test, the Baja Rack came in behind the other units, showing .090 and .160 inches in two samplings. Being of lighter construction, we expected this result.

While I feel this is within an acceptable range, I also feel this issue lay with the single-bolt tower mounts and Allen head setscrew that keeps the assembly in place. If the setscrews were to back out, or the thin horizontal washer become deformed, the shifting of the rack would increase dramatically. With regard to wind noise, the dual wind deflectors do an excellent job; there were no audible changes at highway speeds.

Overall, the Baja Rack, at a fraction of the price of the other units, is still a viable option. What is gained by the lower cost is lighter weight and ease of installation; the tradeoff is less robust construction and hardware. bajarack.com, 760-621-0171

1.

2.

57 3.

4.

1. Eight sturdy mounting towers affix the Baja Rack. 2. Gear is easy to lash down but difficult to keep stationary on the trail. 3. The main frame is fabricated from 1-inch round tube with ½-inch crossmembers. All are steel. 4. Two vertical bolts secure deck to tower mounts.

5. Gutter clamps consist of a vertical bolt held in place with an Allen head setscrew. 6. Preinstalled wind deflector.

5.

6.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

1.

2.

58 3.

4.

1. Attachment is via a single bolt retained by an Allen head setscrew. 2. The lack of an upper hoop provides a clean lowprofile appearance. 3. Largest load area in the test. 4. Jerry can holder has a secure mount but will only accommodate NATO cans. 5. Eyelet hooks provide easy load lashing. 6. Wind deflector mounts below the leading edge of deck and is out-ofsight.

5.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

6.

Front Runner Slimline 2.2m

$1,245

Pros:

• Very lightweight • Large load area • Self-locking eyelet lashing points • All-aluminum construction • Wide range of accessories

Cons:

• No sunroof access • Additional cost for eyelet lashing points • No available top rail

P

ublisher Scott Brady, who had previously said “I hate roof loads,” immediately took a liking to the low profile and ultralight weight of the all-aluminum, South African made Front Runner Slimline. With clean, uncluttered lines and lack of an upper rail, it definitely presents a minimalist approach.

Adventure Trailers, who delivered the unit, had removed it from its shipping crate. However, what was left was a cellophane mummy wrap that King Tut would have approved of.

All hardware and instructions were included.

The single-hoop design is comprised of two lengths of extruded aluminum (2 inch by .6 inch), bent at opposing 90-degree radiuses and TIG welded at the front and rear. There are 10 .930-inch by 3.60-inch lateral crossmembers, also extruded aluminum, placed evenly along the longitudinal axis; the front and rear are tied to the main hoop with two additional struts. All are formed from 6063 aluminum and are powder coated black. The finish is immaculate, and Front Runner states their racks have been salt-spray tested; receiving a 816 hour rating.

Mounting the Slimline was a simple af-

fair, and can easily be done by two people.

It was the only unit in the test with aluminum mounting towers; this is reflected in the overall weight of just 65 pounds, well below all others. Fabricated from ¼-inch aluminum plate, the six towers affix to the gutter with an upper foot, and lower clamp bracket. As with the Baja Rack, there is a single clamp bolt that is held in place with an Allen head setscrew.

The fit was firm and secure, but again, if the setscrew were to back out, or the placement washer to bend, the entire assembly would become loose (admittedly, we don’t have long-term experience to know if this would happen). The feet and clamp lacked any protection for the rain gutter.

Unique to the Slimline is a patented T-slot design molded into the aluminum crossmembers. The slots accept Front Runner’s selflocking tie-down eyelets, which slide into the crossmembers at either end. This system provides excellent options for securely lashing gear, ranking high with the review team, and placing second behind the ARB. The eyelets are optional (we used six, $6 each) and highly recommended, as the rack’s deck does not have any center-area lashing points. Though

there is plenty of room for two, sleeping on this rack would require a sheet of plywood or very firm pad.

Dynamic testing favored this unit. There was no noticeable increase in noise at speeds up to 75 mph, and the decibel meter confirmed this. It was also the only rack in the review to pass the lateral deflection test with less than .020 inches of movement. The static load test revealed the second-highest amount of droop, at .650 inches, though the aluminum crossmember slats fully resumed their original form with no evidence of bending. It is unknown whether the flex incurred on an extended washboard road would have any affect on structural integrity. frontrunneroutfitters.com, U.S. 818-253-1322, S.A. +27-0-11-466-0155

Overland Journal Winter 2011

59

Gobi Stealth

$1,499

Pros:

• Durable construction • Pre-wired for lights • Front/rear auxiliary light tabs • Sunroof access • Ladder or sunroof insert included

Cons:

• Heavy • High cost • Smaller load area

60

F

rom the amount of protective cellophane wrapping, foam inserts, and mini-pallet base, Gobi wants to make sure their products arrive unscathed and with all accessories intact. First impressions were very positive; the Gobi even received a few “Now that is sexy” comments. All reviewers liked the flat black finish, low profile and solid construction: the moniker Stealth is appropriate for this rack.

The all-steel Gobi was the heaviest in the corral (call a couple of strong friends for this one), and the most expensive. Similar to the ARB, the basic design is two halo-style hoops, bent at 90-degree radiuses and welded fore and aft: with couplers rather than a butt-weld.

The hoops are attached with vertical risers, the front and rear placed at 45-degree angles towards the center of the vehicle. All tubing is 1-inch or 1.25-inch heavy-gauge steel tubing. The Gobi was the only rack in the test with lateral crossmembers above the deck area, which is tight-mesh expanded metal. All welds displayed uniform, half-moon crescents, and appeared to be of quality.

As with all racks, it is important to mount the unit with all hardware loose to allow the feet to seat properly in the rain gutters. It did Overland Journal Winter 2011

make it easier after we read the instructions, which were clear in the process (we stripped one bolt by not following the process). The eight mounting clamps are solid and have rubber pads top and bottom. The design is a single vertical bolt to cinch it down, as do the Front Runner and Baja Rack; then two horizontal bolts clamp the gutter clamp directly to the vertical tower: a better design.

The gear storage area is not full length; rather the forward section is open to the vehicle’s roof. While this limits the amount of usable real estate for gear, I found this type of configuration extremely useful in Africa while shooting (photographing) wildlife through the sunroof. If you don’t have a sunroof, you may want to opt for the sunroof insert (insert or ladder included). The remainder is broken into two sections by the above-deck crossmembers; the rear being 14.5 inches, the front is 45 inches. This configuration did make it somewhat of a jigsaw puzzle when attaching our assortment of gear. I might suggest sourcing appropriately sized top cases after you buy the rack. The deck area is heavy-gauge expanded metal, suitable for walking on while managing gear. Because the expanded metal would inhibit installation, Gobi has handy cut-a-ways

over the mounting points. As our tie-downs would not fit through the expanded metal, the cut-a-ways made good anchor points.

Sleeping on this rack is not an option.

Unique to the Gobi is wiring for lights fore and aft, which scored big points with the team. Four auxiliary light tabs are built into the front, and two light tabs are welded aft. The included wind deflector attaches below the leading edge and follows the same contour as the windshield. In the noise test the Gobi was very quiet with no noticeable increases or harmonic vibrations at 65 to 75 mph.

As expected, the Gobi did well in the vertical deflection test, sagging just .200 inches and placing second behind the ARB. In our lateral deflection test, we were surprised to see any movement at all, but the unbiased dial indicator displayed .090 inches; behind Front Runner and ARB. Again, all of the racks did well in this test.

With a tougher-than-nails appearance and build, the Gobi would make an excellent choice for the overlander who is not concerned with a little extra weight. As with the others, a roof top tent version is available. The Gobi is made in the U.S.A. gobiracks.com, 720-479-9372

1.

2.

61 3.

4.

1. The double-bolt clamp-style mounts are tedious to install but very sturdy. 2. There are four well-designed towers on each side. 3. The all-steel Gobi is constructed of upper and lower halo hoops; the deck area is expanded metal with two heavyduty crossmembers. 4. The upper rail will accommodate a standard 1-inch tie-down hook.

5. The Gobi’s sunroof access would be a must-have for an African Safari. 6. Wind deflector follows the contour lines of the windshield.

5.

6.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

1.

2.

62 3.

4.

1. Offset rack-to-mount bolts and thick washer plates provide ample sheer strength. 2.

Large load area provides ample room for gear. 3. Mounting system is comprised of three molded-steel towers on each side. 4. Frame is comprised of 1-inch and 1.4-inch aluminum tubing, and 1-inch diameter crossmembers. 5. Though the most tedious to install, the ARB mounts are extremely well engineered. 6. Amplimesh expanded aluminum deck allows for securely lashing gear in any location.

5.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

6.

ARB Alloy

$1,103

Pros:

• High-quality construction • Large cargo area • Corrosion-free aluminum • Excellent load lashing options • Rigid deck

Cons:

• No sunroof access • Cumbersome to install • Wind deflector not included • Roof top tent version not available

E

very time we prepared to move the ARB Alloy around the shop, we squatted down like Russian weightlifters preparing for a teeth-grinding clean and jerk. To our surprise, it was deceivingly light considering its presentation. To our delight, no one got a hernia. This is not to say it is a lightweight rack. At 84 pounds, it was the second heaviest in the test.

After removing the dozen-plus blownfoam protective inserts from the box, the unit’s millennium grey powdered coating and hefty construction received everyone’s attention. Next was the heavy-gauge expanded metal deck. The basic design of the ARB is two halo-style hoops, bent at opposing 90-degree radiuses and TIG welded fore and aft. They are attached via formedaluminum vertical pillars. The upper hoop is 1-inch tubing; the lower, the frame hoop, is crafted from 1.4-inch tubing. Three sets of two, 1-inch aluminum crossmembers ride between the six mounting towers: three per side. All components are crafted from 6000 Series T4 aluminum. The entire ensemble is decked in heavy-gauge Amplimesh expanded

aluminum mesh. The forward eight inches has a steel plate that is suitable for mounting auxiliary lights.

The ARB, without question, has the sexiest looking mounts, though it did rank as most difficult to install by the review team.

Six formed-steel towers fit firmly on the wide, flat pads of the rack’s deck. The two stainless steel Allen bolts, which are offset and ride in lateral slots, secure the two together. The design is superior to the other units with the exception of aligning an Allen wrench with the bolt, which may pose an issue due to the expanded aluminum deck surface. There are slip-in, formed-rubber pads to protect the vehicle’s gutter rails. Tolerances are tight and it is important to place the pads in the proper orientation, or the doors will not open. This was the last rack installed and we must have breezed by this small detail in the instructions (we of the male gender must force ourselves to actually read the instructions first).

The ARB was the largest of the racks in the test. Its usable load area reflected this, ranking just behind the Front Runner. The expanded-aluminum deck and six crossmember supports rendered it the most rigid

platform for standing on while lashing gear; the unobstructed surface would easily accommodate two sleeping bags. The deck also proved the most suitable for securing gear in any location without the possibility of shifting; however, the 1-inch halo frame was too large for our generic tie-downs. Created in the shadow of ARB’s steel model, and using identical mounts, this unit can be a direct replacement for their steel variants. ARB does not offer a lowboy version for mounting a roof top tent: some adaptation would be needed here.

In the lateral deflection test, movement, at .050-inches, was barely detectable and ranked second to the Front Runner. Where the ARB fell short, and where the Gobi received gold stars, was the lack of sunroof access: a big plus for a photographer.

The second was lack of a wind deflector.

Though we detected only slight audible differences during highway driving, the decibel meter informed us of a 1-decibel increase.

This rack is manufactured in ARB’s Thailand facility. arbusa.com, U.S. 866-293-9083, AU +61-3-9761-6622

Overland Journal Winter 2011

63

Conclusions

I

like roof racks. There, I said it, so as not to conceal my biases.

I’ve used them on a number of extended overland treks and appreciate the ability to load them with gear, roof top tent, firewood, etc. I’ll also say that I’m not opposed to the additional weight that comes with equipment that is built like a Sherman tank. This being said, I’ll be the first one to admit that a fully-loaded roof rack will negatively affect the handling of your vehicle; at high speeds or slow sidehill driving—simple physics here.

We consider the racks chosen for this review to be some of the best on the market, yet each had its pros and cons. All had adequate instructions, secure mounting systems, the welds and finish seemed to be of quality, and installed with standard hand tools. In dynamic testing, all performed within acceptable levels. With the exception of the ARB, none had any detectable increases in wind noise. The other important note is that we only tested racks from manufacturers with cross-platform applications.

Beginning with the all-aluminum Front Runner Slimline, I appreciated the light weight, ease of installation, and a large, unobstructed surface for gear or a roof top tent. The patented T-slot crossbars and tie-down rings are brilliant, though they come at additional cost. However, we were not wild about the setscrews that secure the tower mounts, and I’m partial to a rack with side rails (in case your tie-downs come loose and for carrying firewood to camp). The Slimline would be a viable option if the goal were a very lightweight, well-built rack that is sure to withstand the elements.

The Baja Rack was the least expensive unit in the test, and fairly lightweight for an all-steel rack. The tower mounts are constructed of thick, ¼-inch plate steel, and we liked the rubberized protective pads on the

64

gutter mounts. It lost favor in the light construction of the deck area, difficulty in center-loading gear without shifting, and the Allen head setscrew on the mount. This rack would be a good choice if price point were a primary consideration and it would not be subjected to excessive loads.

Next is the Gobi Stealth, the most expensive and heaviest in the review. I’m less concerned with weight than some, so the tank-like construction scored points. I appreciated its low profile and durable mounts, and the expanded metal deck provided a firm surface for loading; albeit the mesh was too small for our generic tie-downs. Having spent two months in Africa standing through an open sunroof with my camera, I loved the open front section of this unit. The two additional cross members above the deck, and smaller load area, do require some creativity when lashing gear. This being said, the Gobi Stealth was an extremely close contender for Editor’s Choice. If I were sitting at a water hole in the Kalahari, I’d be standing through the sunroof access of a Gobi rack.

Lastly is the ARB Alloy, in the middle of the pack for price and weight.

My only gripe with the ARB would be the increased profile of mounting a tent above the upper hoop, and the lack of sunroof access. On the plus side of the ledger, this rack’s no-compromise construction, flawless aesthetics, and meticulous attention to detail present themselves from every angle. It performed well in all corners of the arena, save a little wind noise: which I can live with. Mounting towers are first rate, and the expansive Amplimesh expanded-aluminum deck offers unlimited tie-down options.

This combination of features renders the ARB Alloy as my personal rack of choice—this doesn’t mean I wouldn’t pull out a Sawzall if I were heading to that Kalahari water hole.

Team Favorites Chris Holohan As we tested the racks there were different at-

tributes of each one that stood out to me. The engineering and finish of the ARB, the sturdy hardware and value of the Baja Rack, the extremely clever design of the Front Runner—but the one that I would buy is the rack made by Gobi. While being the heaviest of the racks we tested, there were a few key components that made it my choice. I really liked the sturdiness of the construction, the low-profile design and the open area above the sunroof. These details made the Gobi the best rack for my personal overlanding needs.

Jeremy Edgar Since I drive a truck and never needed to store

cargo above the cab, I have never owned a roof rack. Of course I’ve had exposure to using them on vehicles, so I was glad to become very familiar with each model we tested; from opening the box to bouncing down a rutted track with a full load lashed to the top. It was a tough decision, but the one that really rose to the top for me was the ARB. When lined up on the shop floor next to the rest, it looked just as tough, if not tougher. Every time we moved it, I prepared myself for a big lift; since it looked to weigh 200 pounds. I just couldn’t get over how deceptively lightweight it was, given the hefty construction. I re-

Overland Journal Winter 2011

ally liked the thick-gauge wire deck—mainly because one could easily put down a sleeping pad, and also because of the almost endless lashing configurations for tie-down straps. Don’t be discouraged by the 30 bolts involved in mounting the six feet: once it is properly fitted to the vehicle, it’s not going anywhere.

Scott Brady My choice reflects my personal bias. I want a rack that is as light as possible and as low profile as possible. The most I will likely use a roof rack for is to attach an awning, take photographs standing on it, or sleep on it in the heat of the desert. As a result, the Front Runner rack is the perfect solution for me. The Wind Cheetah (a.k.a. Slimline) has a huge surface area, has a low profile and was the lightest in the test. It made no notable wind noise (with the wind deflector in place) and installed quickly. My favorite awning, the Hannibal, can easily be bolted to the side—perfect. Regarding fit, finish and overall design, I liked the ARB. It is a beautifully constructed piece and has a style (and finish) unique to the group. For overall beefiness, I liked the Gobi, which is thoughtfully constructed, has a low profile (even with a top rail) and is tough. I’ll bet you could remove the Gobi and use it as a bridge to cross a chasm.

Roof Rack Comparison ARB

Baja Rack

Front Runner

Gobi

Model

4900010M

BR-TYLC80-1-0

Wind Cheetah

Stealth

Retail cost (base rack)

$1,103

$750

$1,245

$1,499

Available accessories Jerry can mount

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Hi-Lift mount

Yes (Kaymar)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Shovel mount

Yes (Kaymar)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Axe mount

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Light mounts

No

No

Yes

Yes, included

Kayak mount

No

No

Yes

No

Bike mount

No

No

No

No

Wind deflector

Optional

Yes, included

Yes, included

Yes, included

Tire mount

No

Yes

No

No

Awning mount

Yes

Yes

No

No

Ladder

No

Yes

Yes, tire step

Yes, ladder or sunroof insert included

Roof tent version available

No

Yes

Yes

Custom

Weight (lb / kg)

84 / 38.2

72 / 32.7

65 / 29.54

93 / 42.27

Cargo area dimensions: width / length

49 x 87 in 124 x 221 cm

46 x 75 in 117 x 190 cm

51.5 x 83 in 131 x 211 cm

74.5 x 45 in 189 x 114 cm

Load area (sq ft / sq m)

29.6 / 2.7

23.96 / 2.2

29.68 / 2.8

23.5 / 2.2 with insert

Load rating (lb / kg)

330 / 150

300 / 136

360 / 770

300 / 136

Weight to load ratio

1:3.93

1:4.16

1:5.54

1:3.22

Weight to area ratio

1:0.352

1:0.333

1:0.456

1:0.253

Construction

TIG / CMT welded box frame Fully welded boxed frame

TIG welded box frame

Fully welded boxed frame

Construction material

Aluminum, steel mounts

Steel

Extruded aluminum

Steel

Framing / crossmembers

1.400 in / 1 in round

1 in round / .500 in round

2 in x .5 in / 3.6 in x .93 in rectangular

1 in / 1.125 in round

Specifications

Number of mount points

Six

Eight

Six

Eight

Country of manufacture

Thailand

Mexico

South Africa

United States

Gutter protection

Lower only

Upper and lower

None

Upper and lower

Walk-on deck surface

Yes

With caution

Yes

Yes

Undercoat / paint

Zinc primer, powder coat

Zinc primer, powder coat

Powder coat

Epoxy undercoat / powder coat

Clarity of instructions

Accurate

Accurate

Accurate

Accurate

All hardware included

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Special tools needed

No

No

No

No

Lateral deflection (285 lb load)

.050 in / .127 cm

.160 in / .407 cm

None

.090 in / .229 cm

Vertical deflection (210 lb load)

.150 in / .381 cm

.750 in / 1.905 cm

.650 in / 1.651 cm

.200 in / .508 cm

85.7 / 86 db

85.9 / 86 db

85.7 / 86.0 db

Installation

Field testing

Noise level (65 mph, 2 samples) 86.9 / 87.1 db

Overland Journal Winter 2011

65

Load Bar Systems

By Scott Brady

Thule

66

Designed in Sweden, Thule racks are a popular option for mounting everything from bikes to boats on your car or SUV. Competitively priced and stylish, Thule is one of the two big players in the consumeroriented rack space. I have used Thule racks for decades, first mounting my Rossin road bike to them for triathlons. For this purpose, they have always performed as advertised, and as of late, I still use Thule receiver racks and spare tire racks for mounting bikes.

This test was my first opportunity to compare the Thule against the Yakima and also mount their M.O.A.B. gear basket. Fitting the crossbars was simple, the all-metal uprights clamping easily to the Land Cruiser’s rain gutter and tightening in place with a large diameter plastic knob. The knob, which can be fitted with a lock, seems a little out of place and results in a slightly unfinished appearance. The crossbars are my favorite part of the Thule design, a rectangle being far more effective than a round tube for keeping accessories (kayak and bike mounts) in place. This part of the design is better than Yakima.

Installing the M.O.A.B. gear basket was relatively simple, even with the extension in place. However, it was immediately apparent to the team that the basket was better suited to hauling bags of feathers than anything of mass. All of the joints are plastic and simply too fragile to bear a load, and the load we used was exactly what the manufacturespecified: 130 pounds. We found our lightest team member, Kelsey, and had her load the rack with gear; the basket flexing and creaking under her body weight alone. On the flex test, the rack bowed over 1.5 inches and once the load was removed, it remained bent by .5 inches. On the dirt test loop, I had to stop the test prematurely, as the load was beginning to bend the rack in the center. The Thule load bars are perfect for mounting bikes and kayaks, but the M.O.A.B. basket failed this test.

Yakima

Yakima products are designed in Washington State and many of the products are produced/assembled there as well. Traditionally, Yakima products have taken a backseat to Thule in design and finish; Thule releasing innovations sooner and to notable acclaim. However, the Yakima products we reviewed for this test were superior to their Thule counterparts. Not just stronger, but easier to assemble, better designed, easier to attach, and with a more robust construction. For example, the Thule bike mount required nearly 15 minutes to attach to the rack, and we needed to refer to the instructions several times. The Yakima took only a few minutes, arriving nearly assembled and completely intuitive—no instructions needed (to the applause of men everywhere). The bike rack was also stronger, capturing the front wheel from both sides as opposed to one. It also included a cable lock to prevent the wheel or frame from being stolen. The kayak mounts were larger and stronger as well: this was becoming a theme.

Moving on to the Megawarrior gear basket, the unit assembled quickly and mounted to the crossbars with large brackets. On the flex test, the rack only sagged .4 inches with a 130-pound load. The rack included a wind deflector and was fitted with optional auxiliary light mounts. On the test loop, we heard no cracks or creaks from the basket; the unit completed the entire test with no additional sag or failures.

Conclusions The conclusions from the test team were unanimous; the Yakima rack and accessories were clearly of better design than the Thule. They assembled easier and quicker, were better constructed and stronger, flexed less and required minimal retightening. However, we also concluded that neither of these baskets are appropriate for serious overland travel, especially on bad roads. There are too many plastic parts and molded knobs Overland Journal Winter 2011

that would be prone to fail under rigorous use. Security is also an issue, as all of the accessories and baskets could be removed without tools (the load bars are locked in place). It is not to say that these systems (the load bars specifically), do not have a place on a vehicle. In lighter applications, such as hauling a pair of kayaks or a bike, they would most likely work fine, but they may not be appropriate for many overlanding applications.

Lati tude Welcome to theJungle

67

16° N Harry Wagner Overland Journal Winter 2011

68

29° N

Overland Journal Winter 2011

16° N

Chris Collard

Cyril Mischler

69

30° N

29° N

Steve Pfeffer

Chris Collard

17° N Stephanie Brady Overland Journal Winter 2011

70

Overland Journal Winter 2011

3° S

Jim O'Neal

71

21° N Chris Collard Overland Journal Winter 2011

72

Overland Journal Winter 2011

9° N

Jim O'Neal

17° N

Scott Brady

73

21° N Chris Collard Overland Journal Winter 2011

Rainforests and Ruins

The Mayan Cities of the Petén Basin Technical Editor Graham Jackson delves into the hidden Mayan world of Guatemala.

74

By Graham Jackson Photos by Ben Edmonson

Overland Journal Winter 2011

75

Long before we reach the Río Azul River, its influence becomes evident; ruts again swallow the grey Defender. Even in the dry season it is impossible to avoid the ruts.

We just dropped into them and trundled along as if on a Disneyland ride.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Ensconced in our work-a-day world and bombarded by international media, it is very easy to believe that the world is known, that every mountain

has been conquered and every desert traversed; that we should go to work each day and watch reality TV each night. But while it’s true that most of the first ascents and initial crossings have been made, as Ariane Audouin-Dubreuil states in her book, Crossing the Sands, about her father’s crossing of the Sahara by car, being an explorer is an attitude. The world is an immense and intricate place. Even the seemingly known places can provide a dramatic adventure for those willing to step out the box, out of the mainstream. The feeling of being out there is hard to capture in your backyard. The remote regions, the ones that force you out of your comfort zone, are the places that add to any adventure in the offing.

For most of my childhood I was caught up in the drama of Africa and its wild places. Other parts of the world held little interest until later in life. One region that never even registered on my radar until very late was Central America. It only took a few suggestive words by some good friends to open my eyes to the possibilities. In April 2011, I had the opportunity to assist James and Angela of No Limits Expeditions with a small expedition into the Petén Basin. This was an opportunity I could not pass up.

76

The Petén Basin of northern Guatemala is a dense rainforest: wet, wild and brimming with native fauna and flora. It is also peppered with Mayan ruins; many are known, but as yet lay untouched. At the height of the Mayan civilization, around 750 AD, it is estimated that two million people lived in the basin, making it one of the most densely populated regions on the planet. Today, the population stands at about 450,000 souls, most of which are squeezed into the city of Flores, in the south. The Petén is also home to the 8,100 square mile Maya Biosphere Reserve, which encompasses the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Tikal and the massive complex of pre-classical Mayan ruins at El Mirador, among many others. El Mirador, the largest pyramid complex in the Americas, is the site of La Danta, one of the largest structures in the ancient world. In the northeast corner of the region is Río Azul, another pre-Colombian archaeological site second in size only to El Mirador. Within the Petén, there are an additional 26 known ruins and an estimated 30 that still await discovery.

My friends’ invitation aroused my curiosity. What would it be like to be part of a small expedition into the Petén, to seek out the more remote, hidden and harder-to-reach ruins; to explore, not quite like Cortez did, but with the same sense of adventure? Tikal is one of the most visited sites in Central America, but the tour busses stop there, deposit their passengers, and turn back. None continue north into the jungle, and for good reason. As the vegetation transitions to dense undergrowth, the road deteriorates (or improves, depending on your point of view) to a narrow, winding, muddy two-track, blocked in many places by fallen trees and often covered with

Overland Journal Winter 2011

standing water, sometimes a foot or more in depth. Forward progress depends on the machete, chainsaw and winch. Sheathed for centuries behind tangled layers of vines and spider webs, ruins appear out of the jungle like apparitions in an Indiana Jones movie, but only to the practiced eye. Spider monkeys, the acrobatic masters of the canopy, make aggressive displays in the treetops. Massive pyramids, still blanketed by the jungle, seem completely untouched. In a region that sees only 15 tourists a year, it is easy to feel that you are the first to set foot in this place.

Though it took me a few years to come around to the idea of exploring the untouched wilds of Central America, it is now a place to which I’m sure I will return; one I would highly recommend to others.

While coordinating self-guided treks into the region is possible, hiring a local guide with intimate knowledge of the area, someone who can supply a fully-kitted vehicle, makes a lot of sense. There are a handful of companies similar to No Limits Expeditions; James and Angela just happen to be good friends… and they know their stuff: a big bonus.

The objective of our expedition was to reach Río Azul and explore as many ruins as we could along the way. With eight people, two Land Rover Defenders and a shared sense of adventure, it was to be an experience I will not soon forget. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I’ll let Ben Edmondson, photographer extraordinaire, continue with the story. I’ll just fill in some details. Travel with us . . .

Travel with us...

Our first camp, at Uaxactún, was magical and remained one of the group’s favorites. There were no tourists, only a few masons working on one of the plazas. We parked the trucks at the foot of a pyramid and set up camp. In the morning, a light mist partially shrouded the ruins and surrounding jungle, adding to the mystery of the site. Dinner was served under an open-air awning: every seat provided a view of the pyramid. Sylvanus Morley, who gave the site its present name, discovered the ruins at Uaxactún in 1916.

Expeditions take planning. Unfortunately, maps of the Petén are vague at best. Eric, Mark, and Pete get an overview from James and Graham on the planned route and discuss the complications caused by the closure of our planned exit route.

For reasons unknown at the time, the Guatemalan government had recently closed the southern route from Río Azul.

77

Overland Journal Winter 2011

78

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Footed in the crux of a robber trench, a rickety wooden ladder rises to the top of tallest pyramid—the climb

was a bit hair-raising.

Alice (peering out of the window) takes in a Strangler Fig tree that has completely enveloped and killed its host.

The flora in the jungle is huge; right out of a scene from Land of the Lost.

Intricate designs and carvings are still visible

on the walls of many structures. When originally in use, the limestone base would have been coated with plaster and decorated.

79

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Río Azul has 41 plazas and 752 structures (counted to date) in 1.2 square miles. Very little has been excavated and murals and artifacts are not cordoned off: we were free to explore at will.

Roof top tents are easy targets for trees and low-hanging vines, and spotting becomes

a critical part of getting through the jungle without damage. Mark adds some ballast to the passenger side as Eric follows James’ guidance through a tight section of trees.

Mayan ruins at Río Azul peer out of the jungle like ghosts from another world. Two of

the highest pyramids are clearly visible and the complex is said to be second largest of its kind in the Americas. Visitors are few and far between: we had the entire site to ourselves.

80

Overland Journal Winter 2011

81

Overland Journal Winter 2011

82

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Far below the canopy at the base of a pyramid,

robbers have dug massive troughs into the structure in search of artifacts. Eric ventures

into one of these robber’s trenches. It is estimated that 1,000 pieces of fine Mayan pottery leave the Petén every month bound for western markets and collections.

Rising 155 feet above the forest floor, the

top of the pyramid at Río Azul would have provided Mayan rulers with an imposing view of their domain.

Estimates are that 400,000 people lived in the surrounding area in 400 AD. Though some evidence indicates that Teotihuacán invaded Tikal around 400 AD, Tikal reached its peak in the Classic Period (200 to 900 AD), becoming the political and economic hub of the region.

Stretching beyond the remarkable architecture of the city, there are an estimated 23-square miles

or residential areas which have yet to be discovered.

83

“I came to think of being an explorer as an attitude, a way of life for those who have a keen interest in the world outside common experience; a way of life that is stamped with the seal of freedom and adventure.”

Ariane Audouin-Dubreuil, Crossing the Sands

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Guatemala Trip

Route

Cartography by David Medeiros (mapbliss.com)

84

Overland Journal Winter 2011

85

Overland Journal Winter 2011

86

Overland Journal Winter 2011

87

BMW F 800 GS Overland Journal’s moto guru puts the final touches on our long-term BMW F 800 GS project bike. by Brian DeArmon

Overland Journal Winter 2011

I

88

n the first half of this project, I addressed what I felt were the minimum modifications an 800GS would need to serve as a durable, mid-sized, adventure bike. I addressed crash protection with some robust and surprisingly inexpensive parts from Adventure-Spec. A set of Jesse Luggage Systems aluminum panniers provide convenient and secure storage for all manner of gear. The G2 Ergonomics throttle cam, combined with bar risers from Rox Speed FX, an inexpensive and simple foot peg modification, and a few other minor ergonomic tweaks make for a more comfortable ride and reduce fatigue.

When you get right down to it, those basic modifications are really all the bike needed to be a competent adventure bike. The GS now has about 15,000 miles of sun, rain, and sleet under its tires, but thankfully no snow (I live in the desert for a reason). It has taken me from wide-open deserts on one day, to putting down 1,000 miles of freeway the next, with nothing more than checking the air in the tires. It’s had the inevitable bouts with narcolepsy but has gotten me through a few spots that had me questioning my commitment to the line I chose.

In the second half of the project, I’m going to push the performance envelope just a bit. I don’t have any fantasies about competing in Erzberg or even keeping up with a group of dirt bikes for that matter—this isn’t the bike for that sort of thing. However, I am convinced that I can kick the fun-factor up a notch or two without compromising anything.

Suspension

The most obvious area for improvement is the suspension. Like most BMW dual-sports with traditional suspensions, the 800GS is pretty soft when it rolls off the assembly line.

It favors the casual street rider. In BMW’s defense, I suspect that if one were to look at every 800GS ever sold, they would find the great majority of them have never seen anything worse than a graded dirt road. Accordingly, the suspension works fine off-pavement as long as you keep the speed down. Pick it up and you’ll find that both ends run short on travel.

If your riding style includes street and intermediate terrain, not to worry, there are plenty of aftermarket options available. You Overland Journal Winter 2011

just have to decide what your priorities are.

The problem is simple physics. When you have a load that is within sight of 700 pounds (455 pounds of motorcycle plus rider, farkles, camping/cooking gear, food, water, spare fuel, etc), and you are dealing with eight inches of travel over which to dampen that load, you have to walk a fine line between the suspension being overly harsh for the street, or way too soft for venturing into the unknown.

Race Tech did an impressive job with the front suspension on the F650GS project a few years ago (Overland Journal Summer and Winter 2007). They also did a simply spectacular job with the suspension on my Husaberg. I didn’t see a reason to turn to anyone else for the task of breathing some life into the bike’s suspension. As usual, all it took was a relatively short phone call to bring them up to speed on the typical riding conditions and loads the bike would see.

We decided to start with a simple spring upgrade in the forks, along with some fresh oil. The rear shock would be replaced with Race Tech’s G3-S unit, with a hydraulic preload adjustment and a spring matched to my riding style and anticipated kit. Swapping out the fork springs is a pretty straightforward task, but since there is no drain plug, removing the oil requires pulling them from the triple clamp and turning them upside down.

The heavier springs use a thicker wire and the factory spring guides won’t quite fit. It’s a quick fix with a die grinder and a steel deburring burr. It’s an even quicker fix if you read the instructions before you start working, as you would realize that there is a new set of spring guides for this purpose hiding in the bottom of the box. The oil level is set after the forks are back in the clamps.

There is no rocket science involved in replacing the rear shock. Unbolt the OEM shock and bolt the Race Tech G3-S in its place. You don’t need to lubricate the threads with anything on reassembly, but be sure to use a torque wrench. There is a fair span between the plates. It is essential that you follow the manufacturer’s specs to achieve the proper tension on the assembly. I’ve read several reports of people finding bent or broken shock mounting bolts on the top end due to over, or under torquing.

When it comes to suspension, you can set all niceties aside. The friendliest tech support

in the world won’t give you a good ride, and a flawlessly anodized finish won’t let you carry more speed across that washed-out section of trail mid-way up a loose climb. Once the chips are down, it’s all about how well it works. Given my history with Race Tech, I expected great performance—I wasn’t disappointed. As a bonus, their support and final fit and finish was pretty darn good as well.

Performance in every type of terrain was improved after the suspension modifications were in place. On the street, it’s solid and predictable, if just a touch stiff. In rough terrain, the bike absorbs bigger hits with more grace and composure. I don’t blow through the 8.25 inches of suspension travel on every little ledge when I’m out for a more spirited ride. Considering what the target and limitations were, I’d say Race Tech nailed it.

Steering Damper

Heavy bikes and deep sand just aren’t a good combination, and the one handlingrelated issue the suspension upgrade didn’t solve was in this area. Typically, I try to avoid long stretches of sand if I can, but dry wash crossings are a fact of life in the desert.

While typically they are no more than 20 to 30 feet wide, it is not unusual to find a fairly substantial drop into, and climb out of, these crossings. This often prevents you from carrying enough speed to keep your front tire floating on top of the sand, and washes usually aren’t wide enough to build up speed once you drop in. In addition, you need to slow down before hitting a steep ascent. As a result, I often end up plowing straight through; balancing the need for speed (flotation), with caution. Bottoming out the suspension, pinching a tube, or bending a rim when you hit the embankment on the far side are constant considerations. To help mitigate this sand-wobble problem, I decided to add a steering damper.

With a call to Scotts Performance (and the forfeiture of a couple days’ pay), the parts I needed for the modification were on the next truck. The damper is the same unit used by riders around the world. It will work on virtually all makes and models, and the under-bar mount was built specifically for the 800GS. Since the unit is essentially universal, I can move it between bikes provided I have the proper mount for each.

+

1.

2.

3.

4.

The friendliest tech support in the world won’t give you a good ride, and a flawlessly anodized finish won’t let you carry more speed across that washed-out section of trail mid-way up a loose climb.

Once the chips are down, it’s all about how well it works.

89 1. The Scotts steering damper and under-bar mount provide a 20 mm rise for the bars, and inspires a new level of rider confidence in rough terrain.

2. The Warn WXT-200 HID lights can seemingly turn night into day, and only consume 30 watts per light. The Warn light mounting kit for the F800GS locates the lights high and tight to the OEM headlight assembly.

3. The OEM auxiliary power port, to the left of the key, only supports a 5-amp load. A second port was added to handle larger loads, such as heated riding gear.

4. A Garmin 267c and a Touratech locking GPS mount simplify navigation and keep everything within easy reach.

5. Race Tech’s G3-S rear shock is tuned for the riders weight, anticipated load, and typical riding conditions, providing a substantial increase in performance over the OEM shock.

6. The rear hub was originally designed for a KTM 950, but was adapted to fit the F800GS. The hubs can be anodized virtually any color.

7. Woody’s Wheel Works started with custom billet hubs, added stainless spokes and nipples, and laced the Excel rim in their exclusive super-lace pattern, resulting in a set of wheels that are as visually stunning as they are strong.

5.

6.

7.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

+

Control through dirt and rocks was also improved and there was a notable refinement in street handling.

90

The under-bar mount on the 800GS raises the bars by approximately 20 mm. Because of this, I removed the bar risers I’d previously installed. The combination of both would be a bit much for the OEM brake line, clutch and throttle cables.

I was amazed at the difference the steering damper made. It literally transforms the bike in the sand. Even when circumstances force me to shed speed and the front tire begins to plow, it stays on track, and getting the tire back up on top is a considerably easier task. Control through dirt and rocks was also improved and there was a notable refinement in street handling.

A lot of people claim that if you need a steering damper on an adventure bike, you need a smaller bike. Having lived with my modified dual-sport for a while now, I have to disagree. It’s not about being able to hold your line through a nasty stretch of loose rocks at 50 mph; it’s a matter of stability and the ability to predict what your bike will do in any terrain you choose to ride in. The Race Overland Journal Winter 2011

Tech suspension upgrades combined with the Scotts steering damper provide just that.

Lighting

With the handling sorted out, I turned my attention to augmenting the headlight, which is a bit anemic. For trail use, LED lighting has proven to be a fantastic technology, and lower energy consumption is a major benefit when operating at low speeds (due to reduced alternator output associated with near-idle engine speeds). Though technology is improving rapidly, LEDs still can’t throw a beam down the road with the intensity of a modern HID. Since almost all of my night riding involves maintained roads and higher engine speeds, alternator output isn’t as big a concern as it would be if I were working my way down tight trails. As a result, I decided to sacrifice the miserly energy consumption of the LEDs in exchange for superior usable light from a pair of HIDs. Warn Industries, the legendary vehiclerecovery winch manufacturer, has been

making inroads in the power-sports industry. Among other things, their product line includes winches and lighting suitable for the motorcycle, ATV, and side-by-side markets. Of particular interest to me was their smallest light, the WXT200-HID, which has a scant 3.6-inch mounted height (2.6-inch diameter housing and a 1-inch mounting stud).

The HID version of the light generates 1,850 lumens while consuming 30 watts. The pair lights up the road nicely and keeps the power consumption at a manageable level—not as low as an LED, but well within the capacity of the BMW’s charging system. Included with the lights are a wiring harness and a sealed toggle switch. Warn also offers a set of mounting tabs that allow installation right next to the OEM headlight. This keeps them tight enough to the body that they won’t hit the ground when the GS decides it’s naptime.

I do have to offer one warning about these lights though: they throw a lot of light down the road—sometimes too much. Even when they are aimed below the factory head-

91

Overland Journal Winter 2011

light and centered in your lane, they will still blind oncoming drivers. That said, they are simply incredible for the open road at night.

While the lights themselves are top notch, the wiring arrangement gives me some pause.

The quality of the components is there: the wire is properly sized, the terminals are insulated, and the toggle switch is properly rated and sealed. However, the harness isn’t tied to a switched circuit. The lights can be left on even if the ignition switch has been turned off. While it is not likely that you will forget to turn them off at night, it would be easy to do during the day… or for someone else to switch them on while you are away from the bike. Anyone who has parked their bike in the village of a third-world country will attest to this: kids come out of the woodwork and love to push buttons, flip switches, turn knobs, and generally move anything that may (or may not) move.

For tying lights into a switched circuit (so they will shut down when the ignition is turned off), I’m a big fan of Autoswitch.

They are currently retiring their older product line for a single user-programmable model. The new switch was unavailable before the editorial deadline for this article, so it and a relay will be added later. This will tie the lights to a switched circuit, so they will shut down when the ignition is turned off.

92

Wheels

Setting luggage, ergonomics, and performance aside for the moment, there has been one area where durability on the 800GS hasn’t proven to be as good as I would like: the wheels. In addition to retaining the odd 17-inch rear tire that BMW seems to love, the wheels are soft and tend to bend. In my first 15,000 miles on the bike, I bent the front wheel twice, and spent an entire day in a major U.S. city trying to locate a set of tires. All the shops had 18s, in all sorts of dirt and dual-sport tread patterns, but no one could accommodate my 17-inch wheel. After having this much trouble in a major metropolitan area, I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like in a small, remote village in Guatemala.

A call to Woody’s Wheel Works in Denver set the fix in motion. Woody’s has been building and repairing motorcycle wheels for as long as I’ve been alive. They offer a full range of services from custom-built, one-off wheels, to lacing, truing, rebuilding, and repairs. These guys are truly talented artisans

Overland Journal Winter 2011

and take their work seriously. When it comes to wheels, there are a few names out there, but Woody’s is always at the top of the list.

My original intent was to ship my wheels to them and have a set of Excel rims laced onto the BMW hubs. However, once we started discussing options and considered the resale value of the OEM wheels, things went in a little different direction. I ended up with a set of new billet aluminum hubs, Excel rims, and stainless spokes in Woody’s signature Super-Lace pattern. The Super-Lace configuration brings the spokes off of the hub at close to a 90-degree angle, significantly increasing the strength of the wheel and virtually eliminating problems with loose or broken spokes. To provide better performance in the dirt, they recommended using a narrower wheel than the originals and putting an 18-inch wheel on the rear.

Included with the rear hub was a new cush drive and sprocket. To compensate for the increased diameter of the rear wheel, we used a 45-tooth sprocket. The new hub uses six rubber dampers instead of the original four, and they are a tighter fit than the OEM parts, which should help increase the service life. The sprocket carrier is a tight fit in the hub, but once it is seated, everything falls into place nicely, and installation is as easy as with an OEM wheel.

This was my first experience working with Woody’s and they’ve lived up to their reputation. So far, the wheels have proven to be substantially more robust than the OEM units, and Woody’s customer service has been great. The toughest part of the installation was fitting the new tires onto the narrower rims, although I suspect that a little shade from the southern Arizona sun would have helped the process along.

Electronics

Over the two years since I bought the 800GS, I’ve made a few miscellaneous tweaks, fixes, and additions that I haven’t covered here yet. I moved my Garmin 276c to

the new bike using the same Touratech locking mount I’d used on my 650GS. Touratech also sells a mounting adaptor that uses the four bar-clamp bolts, but I’m not sure if it is compatible with the Scotts steering damper.

The GPS is powered off of a diagnostic plug on the OEM wiring harness. This provides a switched power source without hacking into the wiring harness, which is a risky move on CAN-Bus equipped bikes. The plug is readily available and downright cheap, at least by BMW standards. (BMW part: 83300413585)

Overall, the 800GS has turned out to be a great mid-sized adventure bike. I think BMW did a nice job with this offering.

The only accessory outlet provided by the factory is tied into the CAN-Bus system, and is limited to 5 amps. That’s not nearly enough for a heated jacket in the winter, so I added a second one. The new outlet, located to the right of the ignition switch, is wired directly to the battery. Fused at 15 amps, it is independent of the OEM electrical system. Finally, I changed the countershaft sprocket to get a little lower gearing on the trail. If I’m looking at significant highway miles, it’s a relatively simple task to switch back to the OEM sprocket to regain street performance.

Overall, the 800GS has turned out to be a great mid-sized adventure bike. I think BMW did a nice job with this offering. It’s not the bike I would choose for a short day-trip where the terrain is tough and the speeds are high, nor would it be my choice for a longer road trip that was limited to travel on improved surfaces; there are bikes better suited for each of those extremes. But any time I need to be self-reliant for multiple days, weeks, or months while covering questionable terrain, the 800GS is where I turn. Job well done.

RESOURCES Race Tech, racetech.com, 951-279-6655 Scotts Performance, scottsonline.com, 818-248-6747 Warn Industries, warn.com, 800-543-9276 Woody’s Wheel Works, woodyswheelworks.com, 866-936-0232 Touratech, touratech-usa.com, 800-491-2926

93

Overland Journal Winter 2011

94

Overland Journal Winter 2011

95

3 Gringos, 10 Days, and a 6-Log Raft When the road ends, Pablo and Anna Rey commission a six-log raft and continue their adventure through the Peruvian Amazon.

By Pablo Rey

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Adventure

Adventure is starting something without knowing how you are going to finish, and usually comes with a large dose of adrenaline and a small measure of fear. It is to venture down a new and unfamiliar path, often without being completely prepared. It is quitting your job to start a new life. Adventure is about abandoning self-doubt and personal fears, leaving doors open to chaos as it may come, and walking to our final appointment with death, feeling that life as we lived it was worth the price.

96

Many of the world’s greatest adventures have begun as a casual suggestion, a few words between two sips of beer, a recessed thought that slips out from your memory files, or a farfetched idea picked up by a stranger who was close enough to overhear a conversation. What if we did this…? And why not have a… And then we’ll climb the…

It is a pivotal moment of an adventure: when an idea morphs from an absurd and nebulous fantasy, to intention. This is minute zero—you are not yet away from home but you have already mentally checked out (in my case, I’m probably already getting into trouble). When you realize you have an accomplice, and that your private delusion is shared by another (this is Anna, my traveling partner for eleven years), any thoughts of backing out, or (God forbid a verbalization), and you would be eternally labeled as a city-slicking chicken.

The details of the vision don’t really matter—It could be getting lost in real Mexico (further south than the North American colony of Baja), sky diving with skis into the crater of a snow-covered volcano (better if it is active), or pointing your dual-sport towards the far reaches of the Dempster, the Dalton, or Pan American Highway.

Wherever your end of the world is, Tierra del Fuego, the Cape of Africa, or the Moon, the important thing is committing yourself to finding it.

In our case, the words that slipped between a glass of beer and my lips, an inconceivably ludicrous thought that I’d regurgitated from that foolish part of my body called the mouth, had become an insane but semi-plausible plan. At first thought, the idea was so simple that it seemed possible. We simply needed to drive our ultimate overland machine, a Mitsubishi L300 4x4 we call La Cucaracha, to the last village on the most remote muddy two-track in the Amazon jungle, and keep going—on a wooden raft.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Yes, a wooden raft. The same type of rickety, hand-built craft that Tarzan used to ply the rivers of Africa, and similar to the tatty and unstable lashed-log vessels used in the Yukon during the gold rush. It had been 470 years since the first white man, Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana, navigated the Amazon River from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. With Orellana in mind, our sortie would need to be on a traditional craft: no fiberglass or carbon fiber here.

It would undoubtedly be safer to do this trip in a modern kayak or canoe; to have a detailed map of the region rather than a photocopy of a free tourist pamphlet (folded in fourths so it can fit in my pocket); or to delay the trip until we found the appropriate equipment. Any of these might be acceptable cause for most people to nix the whole idea.

But it is now or never, and from time-to-time it is good to do something crazy. How else could we consider stepping onto a wooden raft, in a remote jungle, on a river that we don’t know (though we do know it is full of caiman and anaconda)? We are without a guide, satellite phone or any chance of being rescued if things go wrong. Armed only with an African-made machete and a Swiss-Army knife, crazy… yes, we must be crazy.

There are two fundamental reasons to continue on with the plan.

The first is that we have mentally committed ourselves to the vision.

The second is that if we really want to explore the depths of the Amazon jungle, short of joining an expensive tourist boat cruise, this is the way. Anna and I will park La Cucaracha, the place we have called home for the last eleven years, and take a waterway less traveled.

The Price Of Adventure

This is our fifth month in Peru, one of the most fascinating countries in South America. During our time here we’ve explored 2,000 kilometres of coastal deserts, flown over the mysterious geoglyphs of the Nazca lines, and walked through the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. In the process we’ve followed railroad lines across the Andes several times on roads over 5,000 metres above sea level (yes, that’s 16,500 feet). All were exhilarating and breathtaking, yet one of our greatest adventures was yet to come.

It was in the city of Cusco, ancient capital of the Incan Empire, where we met Mauro, a Uruguayan volunteer who had been helping with the educational needs of children in the Peruvian Amazon. Mauro had invited us to visit him in Salvación, a village of about 700 habitants in the state of Madre de Dios. It didn’t look so distant on the map, about 300 kilometres; but the line identifying the road, became thinner and thinner before disappearing in a massive area of green—perfect.

It ended up being a 12-hour trek on a tortuous dirt track full of combis (passenger vans) and trucks driven by kamikazes who apparently believed in eternal life.

Mid-trip we crossed an invisible border into a land of settlers in permanent struggle to conquer the jungle and convert it into their vision of civilization. These were rough men, hungry for a plot of land to extract timber, produce maize, raise cattle, and mine for gold. What was left of nature resembled a decaying and mutilated corpse of what had been. The once-thriving aboriginal tribes of the region were now hollow-eyed and dispirited, decimated by alcohol and other imported vices.

The raft idea arose on the second afternoon in Salvación as we sat on the banks of the Río Alto Madre de Dios. This was moment zero. The river’s cool waters flowed fast, like an artery into the heart of South America. Though its final destination is the Atlantic Ocean, the river’s course meanders to the north and south as it drifts towards Bolivia and Brazil. There it becomes Rio Madeira, one of the most important tributaries of the Amazon. But we were not aiming to go that far. Our quest to see a private slice of the Amazon would need to be done in just 10 days, ending in the mining town of Colorado. Once there, we hoped to find a truck to bring us out of the jungle and back to Salvación. As the crow flies, the distance is about 200 kilometres, not counting bends of the river, accidents or occasional piranhas—10 days should be enough.

“Mauro, have you ever driven a raft? I guess you have a driving license…” I asked, “It is important that someone knows where the steering wheel and the brakes are.”

“Yes, I’ve driven a raft in a cocha… once…” Mauro replied.

This was not a confidence builder. Cochas are long lakes surrounded by jungle; old watercourses carved out by the river during the intense rainy season, then abandoned as the waters ebb. A cocha is calm with no current…there are no submerged trees or boulders to run into. It is the perfect place for a contemplative drift on a sunny day; however, this wasn’t what we had in mind.

Two days later we arrived in Shintuya, a small village of the Harakmbut tribe. Though Shintuya is only 40 kilometres from Salvación, it was a two-hour drive on a road that again, does not appear on any maps.

The entire village is comprised of about 40 houses constructed from branches and adobe brick. There is also a Christian mission, a bar, and three stores that sell rice, oil, cookies and sundries.

This is where we meet Leoncio, the official raft builder of the town.

He wanted 24 hours and 100 soles to do the job. About $30 U.S. dollars, this was the high price for the specialized gear we needed. He would build the raft with trunks from a tree called topa, an extremely buoyant white wood, and assemble it with nails, or spikes, made from the chonta tree, a very hard and dark wood. The design (patent pending we were sure) included a small table built of reeds, placed in the centre of the raft to be used as a storage trunk. Our craft included two tanganas, long poles used to propel and steer our classic Flintstones vessel. We added two paddles, which we rescued from an old and decaying kayak, and that was it. A raft is a raft. You can’t choose the color, the extras, or the leather upholstery. You can only pick the piece of raw wood that will serve as your seat.

The following morning we found our brand new raft anchored in a nearby stream. It was four metres in length and just a metre in width.

In one word, it was small. While we were loading the equipment (a tent,

97

Taking a look at our only map, a photocopy of a tourist brochure. Semiabandoned warehouse of an old plantation near Salvación.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

The

first rapids come to sight at the next bend of the river.

The sound is of a roaring beast charging wildly in our direction.

98

sleeping bags, food for 10 days, a bottle of rum, clothes, Anna’s grandma’s pot, a bundle of bananas, and a gallon of mosquito repellent), some of the villagers came out to see us off. They pointed at the raft, whispered to each other, and shook their heads from one side to the other. It felt like they were saying good-bye… forever.

The priest asked, “Well… if you are not back in a month I inherit the van, right?”

“This raft is not okay, you should tie the trunks with wire. If you’ve never driven a raft you are going to hit many large stones in the river.” says Miguel, the person in charge of (sometimes) watching out for illegal deforestation.

“You have to better secure the storage trunk, the bark strings normally get loose when they become dry.” Miguel’s assistant points out.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have one more log?” commented Laia, a volunteer from Barcelona.

“Thanks to you all for your supportive words and optimism. I appreciate it. It is not a boat, but it floats. How do we name it?” I ask, while Mauro and Anna paused from piling our provisions on the sand. Silence… Everyone looked with skepticism and concern at our new overland, (well, not really) our overwater vehicle. We had exchanged a 4WD for a log raft, and dirt roads for an aqueous conduit into the unknown.

Suddenly, Anna starts laughing. “What if we call it Titanic?” Never before was a project undertaken with such questionable odds of success.

In The Amazon, The Carnivores Are Silent

August is at the middle of the dry season: the best time of year to ply the rivers of the Amazon basin. The morning is sweltering hot and heavy clouds shadow the hills of the opposite shore. It is 11 a.m. We push the Titanic to the main flow of the river and drifted away from Overland Journal Winter 2011

civilization. Que sea lo que Dios quiera (May God’s will be done).

The first thing we notice is that a log raft doesn’t react like a car. It handles like a slow and heavy tanker sliding along a huge oil slick; you move at the same pace, but in different and uncontrollable directions.

A familiar voice inside my head keeps asking me. “Where have you left your brain? With the enormous effort that men have made to send a vehicle to Mars, you are travelling as if you are living in the Stone Age…” The voice is that of my sedentary devil that never stops getting into my personal business.

After the first moments of excitement, the silence becomes overwhelming. No one speaks a word as we drift with the flow of the river.

From time to time we dip a paddle to align our craft with the flow, and maybe win back a bit of navigational confidence.

On both sides of the river, trees dressed with green, yellow and red leaves obscure the rest of the world behind a thick veil of tangled vines.

All that can be heard is the voice of the jungle: the chatter of howling monkeys and the sweet harmonies of the Amazon’s intensely colorful birds. Without doubt, we have entered another world. We’ve stepped into an ancient church, into the original and universal temple of humankind.

The river splits as we move ahead; it is not easy to guess which arm is the correct one. We are three people, and there are always three chances: right, center and left. If we veer to the right, the current will drive us against the sharp reeds and branches of the shore. If we stay in the center, we might get stuck on the shallow rocks; the left arm may lead us to a dead-end lagoon. A small gang of squawking parrots carves a path between the shoreline trees, seemingly to laugh at our dilemma; it is not easy to come to an agreement.

The first rapids come to sight at the next bend of the river. The sound is of a roaring beast charging wildly in our direction. What to do? The crystalline water reveals the bottom of the river moving at full

speed, just a few centimetres under our feet. It is as if we are dancing over a horizontal climbing wall, our small craft pitching and rocking with every undulation of the current. The rocks follow one another like a violent horizontal hailstorm. We avoid branches and tree trunks, treacherous whirlpools, and frothing puffs of toxic foam (the result of human pollution). Flying over the river, we paddle to the right to evade a large rock; maybe the same one we eluded before. Then it appears in front of us to bite again (it must have been the first rock’s cousin).

Water bursts into a foaming spray as it collides with the uneven bow of the Titanic. Anna and I paddle from the front in an attempt to align ourselves with the flow. Mauro, standing in the back, pushes the tangana against the elusive river bottom. The Titanic insists on offering its cheek to the current rather than its chin. Round rocks, the size of human skulls, scrape the bottom, catching the tangana and snapping it in two. But we have cleared the rapids and are safe. I stand up on from my crouched position on the bow to celebrate; slipping on the wet logs, I fall into the river. We haven’t seen any caiman yet. Hopefully, this will not be the time of our first sighting.

Mid-afternoon, four hours after our departure, we pull out near the mouth of a dry creek. After mooring the raft on the shore and setting up the camp high enough to avoid a flash flood, I look for some dry wood for a campfire. It is not cold, but hot coffee helps to warm the soul, wet under a layer of soaked clothes. Midday coffee is a ritual that will be repeated over the next 10 days.

With evening comes the rain. It is a warm rain, but we retreat into the tent for shelter. I think to myself, “Isn’t it the dry season? Is the river going to rise?” We are close to the equator and the hours of daylight and darkness are fairly shared. But nights, full of lightning and noises foreign to us, seem longer. I think of nights in Africa. I miss the sound of snorting hippos, the roar of lions surrounding a baby elephant that cries hopelessly for its mother, and the hysterical laughter of hyenas beyond the edge of the firelight.

Half an hour before dawn, the natural alarm clock of the jungle sounds. Birds respond to the first light and begin singing as if in a choir.

As each awakens and joins in, it transforms into a symphony. Monkeys stretch their loins and screech as if to celebrate surviving another night in nature’s food chain. The sounds of cu-cu and aak-aah, reach the point of ecstasy by the time the first rays of light kiss the upper reaches of the canopy. I step out of the tent to look around. We are far from anything that would be considered modern—we are in paradise.

It rained last night, but the river is still in place. Next to my bare feet there are fresh tracks in the sand. Somewhere in the night, the Otorongo, tiger or jaguar visited. At this point, the nomenclature doesn’t really matter; the feet of a large cat made these. In Africa, at least you know where your enemies are; in the Amazon the carnivores are silent.

Although the river presents new rapids today, our advance is slow.

A peque-peque, a small canoe with three passengers and some cargo, progresses against the flow, propelled by an outboard motor. It has just left the right shore, where empty petrol barrels mark the boat’s presence.

About half an hour walk from the left shore we visit Shipitiari, a remote village where people still speak machiguenga, the indigenous language of the region. Shipitiari remains hidden in the heart of the jungle, quite possibly one of the only places where the knowledge and tradition of this special culture might be preserved. It is also the home of Noemi, a wild-eyed, seven-year-old girl we met in Salvación.

Lovely and hyperactive, and with several of her baby teeth missing, Noemi holds the extraordinary skill of climbing trees, vines or people; up one side, down the other, sideways or upside-down and head first, she never falls. It is said that her father, the tribal shaman, gave her bear blood when she was a baby, and that she inherited the strength and agility of the donor.

99

The Last Stronghold of the Incas

By 10 a.m. the sun hits us at full force. Squadrons of insects, looking for breakfast, fill the air. A tiny white fly seems to have a fetish attraction for Anna’s arms. Mosquitoes circle as if in a landing pattern, waiting for an unsuspecting moment to dive in for the kill. We swat away the blood-sucking Dracula flies, but they won’t surrender. In a calm spot of the river, a beautiful spider walks over the water like an eight-legged messiah. On the shore, a fat and lazy tapir, perfectly designed by nature for a barbecue, lumbers through the reeds and takes cover behind the first line of vegetation.

Shallow sections of the river, which required stepping off and pulling the raft, made for difficult and slow progress. A map of the region, painted on the wall of a cabin in Barrancas de Boca Manu, was as accurate as our map. Opposite: Leoncio, the raft builder of Shintuya, finishing the last details. He is working with a long strip of bark to tie the raft together. The team, preparing to set sail, checks the seaworthiness of our fully loaded vessel. Nobody talks but everybody thinks the same: What the hell are we doing here?

Overland Journal Winter 2011

100

Overland Journal Winter 2011

There are herons on the shoreline, and plants that recoil when I

touch them. A turtle pops its head out of the water and overtakes us.

Deeper into the jungle is Manu, one of the most impressive national parks in South America. Created in 1973, Manu, a World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve, is a primeval paradise that protects sixteen different ecosystems. Somewhere beyond the last Machiguenga settlement and buried under layers of undergrowth, awaits the mythical golden city of Paititi. Hidden in this impenetrable jungle, Paititi is said to be the last stronghold of the Inca people. For four centuries, beginning with the release of a report by Jesuit explorer Andres Lopez in 1600 AD, archaeologists and treasure hunters from around the globe have searched for this lost city of gold.

Three Gringos Trapped in the River

It is day four on the river and my body is riddled with swelling bites, red bruises and irritated lacerations. Some type of invisible insect has settled in and is nesting on my testicles. I can’t stop scratching. Our return to nature is turning me into a chimpanzee. But at this moment I’m excited and wouldn’t exchange my weary state for anything.

The name of our ship, the Titanic, has almost faded from the hull.

Leoncio, the architect of this fine vessel, failed to inform us of one important detail, logs absorb water. Though still floating, we are now receiving all-day aqua therapy on our feet and ankles. This aside, if fate were to deal us cards again, optimism would be ours. I remember the sense of safety we had with our wheeled home, La Cucaracha: above all, the feeling of being dry. In a raft you get wetter than riding a motorbike in Florida during a hurricane.

From the left, a twenty-metre-wide river joins our course. The transparent waters of the Alto Madre de Dios mixes with the red, sediment-rich flow of Río Manu. “Treeeeeee!!!” Mauro screams from the stern, catapulting me back to the moment. We paddle frantically to overcome the flow that is driving us towards the open jaws of a twisted and sunken tree. All is in vain; it is our Moby Dick of the jungle. The river is deep, flowing swiftly, and the impact is hard. The Titanic begins to lean to one side, threatening to flip over and discard us into the water. We are stuck between the fast-flowing current and a tangle of dead trees and branches. We have no lifeboat. Well, on the other hand, we are standing on the lifeboat.

Mauro plunges the tangana into the water looking for a pivot point to secure the raft. Anna jumps onto the tree, half her body underwater, and keeps the raft from capsizing. In my usually helpful way, I stand up, turn on the video camera and begin filming. I think they both want to kill me.

Thirty seconds pass; they struggle with Moby Dick and I document the scene. Anna swears to drown me if we survive. Locating the machete we bought in Uganda, I hack off one of the branches to no avail.

I grab a rope that is tied to the Titanic and leap into the water. Grasping a tree limb, I pull the rope to straighten the raft. Anna pushes desper-

ately against the branch that is pinning us to the flow of the river.

Three children watch our reality show from the shore. What attracts their attention is not the risk and danger of the situation, but the fact that we are three gringos, in the middle of the river on a log raft, and without a guide. (It doesn’t matter if we were born in Europe or South America; if we are white skinned, or non-Indian, we are considered gringos to the Indians.) A few minutes later the raft slips between the dead trees like a small branch dragged by the current. We are free.

Miners, the Wild West, and Beer

We pull out at the village of Barrancas de Boca Manu, the midpoint of the trip. Rising from a sandy beach, small wooden cabins stand in scattered disarray, each of which seems to be a small store with sundries, food, and alcohol strong enough to start an engine. In a place like this, a small village far from a power grid or cell tower, we can feel the calmness. There is not much to do except lay in a hammock, watch the river drift by or observe the dance of the flies.

Boca Manu marks the beginning of a more difficult portion of the river. We have no rapids to deal with, but the river has become wider, deeper and slower: we now must paddle. Through the heat of the day, we navigate endless horseshoe bends; near-perfect circles of several kilometres in diameter, all of which seem to end not far from where they 101

Noemi, the lovely Machiguenga girl from the village of Shipitiari. Opposite, clockwise from top left: A daily routine. Set the camp, boil some water in Anna’s grandma’s old pot, and update my journal.

Anna and Mauro using the tanganas to push us through the shallow waters of the Alto Madre de Dios. Mauro’s bitten leg. The insects were happy to find exotic imported food in their neighborhood.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

102

start. The hours tick by; today turns into tomorrow. In real distance we don’t seem to cover much ground.

The jungle presents new surprises every day. Overhead, a parrot passes by, sporting a rainbow tuxedo. Kingfishers carve turns over the river at full speed, in search of their next meal. There are herons on the shoreline, and plants that recoil when I touch them. A turtle pops its head out of the water and overtakes us. Startled at our presence, it quickly darts away. Next to the raft is a tree trunk that resembles the tail of an airplane; maybe evidence of another of Jimmy Angel’s wild South American adventures.

Day Eight: Today we see the first gold miners of the river. With dredges, water pumps and dragging belts, they work the edges of the river and adjoining creeks, turning them to a murky soup of brown.

They do not see us as we silently drift by their chaos. At sunset we camp under an enormous tree, while the river continues to slip by like a silent mercenary in the night.

Day nine: For the last several days we have been drinking the delicious but turbid water of the river, which has an almost smoky flavor.

Now that we are approaching the town of Colorado, a significant mining area, this is probably not such a good idea. We know we are getting closer, as river traffic has increased. Peque-peques (small boats) ply the river, transporting supplies and laborers to different mining interests, which now occupy larger portions of shoreline. It was our desire to get lost in the pristine and untouched Amazon jungle, the real Amazon. We have done this, and it is a beautiful and wild place. We are disappointed to see the chaotic mess before us; how man is rapidly transforming paradise into a polluted hell.

Colorado itself is reminisent of a Wild West town, but in deepjungle South American style. Rustic wooden buildings line the narrow dirt streets, 24/7 signs hang above gold buyer shops, tuk-tuks speed by, kicking up dust which swirls through numerous Inka Cola stalls, and prostitutes wait for their workday to begin when the sun sets. Almost everybody wears a T-shirt, which they receive for free, of the political party that unites rubber tappers, loggers, miners, and farmers—the people who want to extract the jungle’s resources and leave nothing but toxic waste and deforestation.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

After finding a hostel, we step into a local saloon for a cold beer, clinking our bottles in celebration of our accomplishment—an absurd and crazy plan to see the Amazon that became a reality. We contemplate the number of people who dream to live a life of adventure, yet are held hostage by fear: it is sad. Fifteen days ago we didn’t know this adventure was written in our destiny—The Amazon River on a six-log raft? Yeah, right.

We now need transportation back to La Cucaracha. Our trusty 4WD must be lonely without us, and anxious to continue north on the PanAmerican Highway towards Deadhorse, Alaska. There are no busses or taxis here; the only way out of Colorado is to catch a ride on top of a transport truck (Amazon taxi), then get on a river boat, followed by another truck ride. “Or,” I say between two sips of beer, “We could paddle back up Rio Madre de Dios…” Anna sets down her beer and closes her eyes as I start talking again. “What if we…?”

Clockwise from top left: Main Street in the Wild West town of Colorado. A mooring spot on the shore of Barrancas de Boca Manu, where the Alto Madre de Dios River joins the Manu River.

Our cute little raft looked a little primitive compared to the modern motorboats. Andean public transport can be very exciting.

This adventure is

about the journey,

not the destination.

A reality-based web series that follows six overlanders and their outfitted vehicles.

Xoverland.com

103

Overland Journal Winter 2011

104

Overland Journal Winter 2011

OVERLAND CONSERVATION

Roseann Hanson

Polar challenge pushes the boundaries

In December, the three-man team of Jason de Carteret, Keiron Bradley and Jason Thomas will set out for the South Pole in a revolutionary green vehicle. Their aim is to beat the current overland record of two days, 21 hours, 21 minutes (Guinness World Re-

cords, 2005). The event will mark the 100-year anniversary of the first successful attempt to reach the Pole, by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Although setting a new record is certainly a motivation for the team, the company backing the expedition, Thomson Reuters Eikon, says it is also about testing and proving greener technologies for polar exploration. Purpose-built for polar travel, the vehicle runs on bio-fuel and achieves twice the fuel economy of similar vehicles. “We’re using solar panels to reduce carbon footprint further, and the very latest in real-time GPS Satellite communications and tracking.” According to Thomson Reuters, “This is about continually pushing the boundaries—this time seeing and proving what is possible with green fuels and the latest technology. With the introduction of our cutting-edge, biofueled vehicle, we have the opportunity to fundamentally change this (Arctic exploration), and we might even break a record along the way.” expeditiontothesouthpole.com

Eco-Overlanding Noteworthy efforts around the globe 105

Fronteras del Sur: This winter, four Venezuelan friends; Greg Rodriguez, Jesus Reyes, Daniel Quevedo, and Joseito Roman, are embarking on a grand adventure called Fronteras del Sur, or The South Borders Expedition. The four men founded the non-profit foundation, EcoAventura: Turismo 4x4, to publicize tourism opportunities and help protect natural resources in Venezuela. To date they have worked in Mata Palo in the state of Apure, the hamlet of Las Cumaraguas in Yaracuy, and Adícora in Falcon State, among others, publicizing the regions through their work as journalists, web developers, and graphic designers. They have also donated school supplies and clothing, and assisted reforestation efforts. “We felt it was a pity that only a few explorers knew the secrets of our country’s beautiful natural jewels,” said Jesus Reyes. “For this reason we created the Fronteras expedition, which achieves our goals and allows us to proudly carry the slogan ‘Life is Exploring.’” The expedition

will leave the city of Barquisimeto, head for the western boundary of Venezuela and cross the Colombian Andes. They will then journey south from the equator to Ecuador, traversing arid desert landscapes before ascending the Peruvian Andes to the ruins of Machu Picchu. In northern Chile they will enter the Valley of the Moon and visit Tatio Geyser. Along the way, they will produce audiovisual material to support environmental causes in Venezuela and the region, noting such things as “uncontrolled population growth, which has contributed to significant destruction of ecosystems.” laraturismo.com

Overland Journal Winter 2011

OVERLAND MEDICINE

Dr. Jon Solberg

Ocular Emergencies Backcountry care for common ocular injuries

T

106

When to seek treatment

Any time trauma is involved and the victim is unable to look in all four cardinal directions, medical attention should be sought at its earliest availability.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

he best off-road drivers, when pressed for advice suitable to the impressionable beginner, often reference the importance of developing good hand-eye coordination to keep the vehicle, its occupants, and the environment in good working order. It’s without question then, that ranking in importance with good auxiliary lighting and appropriately timed gearshifts, would be proper care and maintenance of the aforementioned anatomical pair, the hands and the eyes.

This article, as the first in a two-part series, will specifically address backcountry care of common ocular injuries, while a subsequent article will deal with first aid for the hands.

Each day in the United States, 2,000 workers suffer job-related ocular injuries requiring medical attention. The most commonly afflicted professions are ones with which we can all likely relate: metal and construction workers, material movers, cleaners, automotive mechanics, etc. Not to be stereotypical, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in a compendium of data collected in 2004, reported that 80 percent of these injuries happen to men, most commonly between the ages of 25-44.

While some eye injuries require prompt evaluation by a properly trained physician, the outcome of many ocular accidents is often greatly affected by the quality and timeliness of first aid rendered at the scene. Other more benign ocular maladies can be managed and treated in the field, or better yet, be prevented with the pre-application of suitable safety measures. Sorting the specific injury into the appropriate treatment category (see a specialist vs. first aid) requires a working knowledge of ophthalmic anatomy and a measure of common sense. For example, a large metal object protruding from the eye, or fever of 106˚F and a red, inflamed eye, would merit a posthaste trip to the nearest ER. The eyeball is firmly held in place by muscles and connective tissue, and generally cannot be popped out (despite what your older brother told you). The front surface of the eye, in its entirety, in addition to the underside of the upper and lower eyelid, is covered with a thin but continuous membrane called the conjunctiva, which thankfully makes it all but impossible for a contact lens to slip above, around, or behind the eye. Light passes first through the conjunctiva and cornea (a thick, very tough, yet clear fibrous layer at the front

107

Overland Journal Winter 2011

108

of the eye), the pupil (the black hole, whose diameter is controlled by the iris muscle, the colored portion of the eye), and then through the lens (for focusing) before traversing the inner eyeball, which is filled with vitreous (a jelly-like substance). It then makes contact with the retina, which sends a signal through the optic nerve to the brain.

I find the approach to eye problems easiest when tackled in respect to anatomy, starting externally. Most eyelids blink several thousand times daily, serving as the wipers for our bodily windshields. Just as hot, dry, and dusty conditions can wreak havoc on rubber wiper blades, it can also cause problems with the eyelids. Two problems I’ve frequently treated in the desert are blepharitis and hordeolums/chalazions (styes). Blepharitis causes itching and burning of the eyelids, and is often associated with flaky, crusty eyelid margins. Gently scrubbing the lids with baby shampoo and applying warm compresses (warm, wet, clean washcloth) two or three times daily will help. Additionally, applying some good artificial tears such as Systane will help if the eyes themselves are irritated. Hordeolums and chalazions are infections of eyelid glands that have come to a head on the lid or lid margin. Think of these as small pimples, and treat them as such, using warm compresses and good hygiene until they resolve or grow large enough to implement the procedure stated above. Also, sterilizing your Leatherman with gin and attempting a mini-surgical procedure in the field is not recommended.

The cornea is, thankfully, one of the fastest healing tissues in the body. It is, never the less, highly innervated with nerves and extremely sensitive to the touch or scratching. Most problems with the cornea present as, “It feels like there’s something in my eye.” Dirt, sand, metal, and dislodged eyelashes can be one of the most irritating sensations imaginable. In most cases, excluding obvious eyeball penetration, gentle irrigation with clean (doesn’t have to be sterile) water can only help. Have someone with clean hands help to hold the eyelids open, and gently, using a canteen or water bottle, attempt to flush out the culprit. Don’t be afraid to use several bottles worth, and always, always remind your friend, the patient, that you’ve done this to six-year-old girls who didn’t complain nearly as much. Chemical and acid burns should be handled in the same manner. Your best chances of saving someone’s vision in this situation lie in the concept of immediate and copious irrigation. Corneal ulcers can develop on the eye underneath a contact lens, especially when the lenses are worn on a continuous basis and in conjunction with poor hand hygiene. If there is even a remote possibility of an ulcer, promptly remove the lens and irrigate thoroughly; if the problem does not resolve itself, see a doctor at your next stop. Pink eye (conjunctivitis) is usually a viral infection of the eye, and typically presents with discharge (eye boogers) that may be removed with a warm, wet, clean washrag. It’s very contagious, so it is very important to wash your hands: don’t worry… it won’t kill you.

Some old-timer doctors still prescribe antibiotic ointments, but current research shows they’re generally not helpful and the condition usually resolves on its own—despite your child’s teacher who refuses to let Johnny back to class without antibiotics.

Trauma to the eye itself can cause a variety of presentations, and again, common sense usually applies. Any time trauma is involved and the victim is unable to look in all four cardinal directions (not compass directions Sparky, but rather up, down, etc.), medical attention should be sought at its earliest availability. A blood collection on the sclera (the whites of his eyes) or conjunctiva is called a sub-conjunctival hemorrhage, and is commonly caused by a small broken blood vessel. As long as vision is preserved and there’s no chance of a foreign body Overland Journal Winter 2011

having entered the eyeball itself, this complaint is much scarier than it looks: it can generally be evaluated by a doctor the following day.

Avoid blood-thinning medications such as ibuprofen and aspirin in the meantime.

Trauma that involves penetration of the actual globe itself, whether observed visually or by fluid (vitreous) leaking from the eye, is an absolute emergency. Use a Styrofoam cup or wrap paper towels consecutively around your hand to form a makeshift doughnut to place around the periphery of the eye, preventing any further damage. Tape it in place and seek medical attention immediately.

Ultraviolet keratitis (welder’s flash) is caused by excessive UV light exposure from welding with inadequate protection, or from prolonged sun exposure. Because overlanders tend to be outside for prolonged periods of time, invest in some good sunglasses. This is especially true when traveling in snow under full sun. If you’re going to do any welding or torching on your rig, be sure to use the proper lenses (numbered from 1.5 (lightest) through 14 (darkest). A general guideline for gas welding is a lens rating between 4 and 8; for arc welding, 10 to 14. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer from ultraviolet keratitis, stop the offending activity, don some sunglasses, take an oral pain medication like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin), and see a doctor if it doesn’t pass within a few hours. (Editor’s note: I’ve found myself doing emergency trail welds without a proper welding hood.

The fix was to duct tape five pairs of sunglasses together in a stack. I then taped an old T-shirt to them to protect my face from burns. It wasn’t pretty—neither were my welds—but it worked.)

Unlike tires and winch cables, which are easily replaced, you’ve only got your one set of eyes. Protect them today and you should get plenty of miles out of them. Consider adding to your first aid kit a small package of eye wash solution and better yet, a good pair of appropriate, well fitting safety goggles. Your eyes are the most important piece of navigation and recovery gear in your kit: take care of them with enthusiasm. Use this article to justify the purchase of a nice set of aviators or Oakleys, you’ll be glad you did... Doctor’s orders.

Welding Operation

Electrodes

Filter Shade No.

Soldering

N/A

2

Torch blazing

N/A

3-4

Light cutting (up to 1”)

N/A

3-4

Medium cutting (1” - 6”)

N/A

4-5

Heavy cutting (6” and up)

N/A

5-6

Light gas welding (up to 1/8”)

N/A

4-5

Medium gas welding (1/8” - 1/2”)

N/A

5-6

Heavy gas welding (1/2” and up)

N/A

6-8

Shielded metal-arc welding

1/16”, 3/32”, 1/8”, 5/32” 10

Gas-shielded arc welding (nonferrous)

1/16”, 3/32”, 1/8”, 5/32” 11

Gas-shielded arc welding (ferrous)

1/16”, 3/32”, 1/8”, 5/32” 12

Shielded metal-arc welding

3/16”, 7/32”, 1/4”

12

Shielded metal-arc welding

5/16”, 3/8”

14

Atomic hydrogen welding

N/A

10-14

Carbon arc welding

N/A

14

If you find yourself or someone in your group in need of a trail weld, using this chart will help keep your eyes in proper working order.

109

Overland Journal Winter 2011

110

Overland Journal Winter 2011

SKILLS

Scott Brady

Crossing Borders AK47s, Chicharones, Red Tape, and a Smile Publisher Scott Brady unravels the mysteries of international border crossings.

111

Overland Journal Winter 2011

112

Overland Journal Winter 2011

It was dark, but I could still see the

sheen of the soldier’s gun.

He was yelling at me in Russian and pulling my camera from inside the tent. Just moments earlier a van had rammed the border fence, several drunk travelers spilling from its confines, laughing at first and then coming to terms with the scene; soldiers with guns and a commander yelling at the top of his lungs. We were between Mongolia and Russia, inside one of the longest no-man’s lands in the world; our hosts were far from pleased. The hour was 1 a.m., it was freezing cold, and condensation from each breath, now elevated to an excited rate, rose into the Mongolian night. Vodka, the regional drink of choice, had been flowing on both sides of the conflict: I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A Japanese passport, issued 1866. Opening page: Shotgun-wielding security officer in Guatemala.

Imagine travel during the Mongol Empire, when most of the known world was controlled by a single entity. Passage across borders was granted by governance only, or attempted illegally. The first known reference of granted passage is found in the Hebrew Bible (Nehemiah 2:7-9) when the Persian King Artaxerxes provided to Nehemiah, “letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah.” Letters granting safe passage were common in that era. Though passports and visas are usually all that are required, there are areas of the world where offers of safe passage from a chieftain, or introduction documents from officials or ministries, still have relevance.

The issuance and use of a passport is approximately six centuries old. Initiated during the reign of Henry V of England, the document would include a detailed description of the carrier and allow freedom of movement and commerce between France and the recently United Kingdom. In 1920, the League of Nations agreed on the basic format and construct of the modern passport. Detailed descriptions gave way to photographs and a standardized design amongst issuing nations.

From the perspective of an overland traveler, the passport is the ticket to exploration beyond our native borders, and a surprising number of Americans have one (37% as of 2010). This is certainly not to say that overland travel must be done in foreign countries, but the sense of adventure increases considerably once we leave the familiarity and protection of our own borders.

That night at the Mongolian border taught me a few important lessons; the most important of which is that honesty and a smile will calm most nerves and produce a completely different result than deception and frustration. I ended up getting my camera back and we headed off on the dusty northern route. Within a few miles, we came across the van; its very drunk occupants had rolled the vehicle in a gravelly turn.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

113

Before You Leave A little planning and research prior to an intended border crossing will increase your chances of success. Start by communicating with travelers who have recent experience in the regions. Online communities like ADV Rider, Expedition Portal and the HUBB are excellent places to start. These sites can often yield more current information than the State Department can provide. We have found this to be invaluable, and using them has, at times, resulted in significant changes in our routes: our entry into Russia and Kyrgyzstan in particular. Here are a few subjects I’ve found to be good starting points for research:

Best crossing location There are often secondary, or truck/

commerce crossings that are more pleasant and less crowded. However, they usually have limited hours of operation and may be ill prepared to deal with tourists.

Unique requirements Each country has its own special process for entering or exiting. Knowing this information ahead of time will greatly improve efficiency and reduce potential issues.

Restricted items Many countries do not allow importing or exporting large amounts of fuel or cash; and a pile of camera equipment may also raise suspicions. Most important though, are there any restrictions on satellite phones, BGAN units or other radio frequency devices? Know the laws before you go.

Importing or exporting food products I know how

114

disappointing it can be to toss out a hundred dollars worth of food that was just purchased. Often, these restrictions are in place to control the movement of non-native species and diseases; these requests should be respected. Fruit is almost always a no-no, meat and dairy is often off limits, and some of the restrictions can be quite humorous. For example, a ban on chicharones coming from Mexico to Belize (chicharones is fried pig skin, usually complete with dripping grease and hair).

Visas With any international overland adventure, you need to determine the visa requirements for each country on your itinerary. A visa is an entry document, typically obtained in advance, where the host country pre-authorizes your entry. They vary widely and often the requirement depends on the country of origin of the applicant. For example, Mongolia does not require a visa for American citizens, but they do require one for someone from England (and most other countries). For U.S. citizens, the most reliable source for this information is the Department of State. Based on the itinerary and duration of the trip, it is common to secure all visas before leaving home. This can be done using a visa service company, or by personally visiting the destination country’s consular offices (visa by mail is also possible). A visa service will charge a fee, but they are exceptionally efficient and know all of the bureaucracies involved in the process. However, on very long or loosely planned trips, obtaining the visas beforehand will not be practical. In this case, securing your visa will need to be done en route, most often in the capital city of the neighboring country.

For nearly all of the countries in the Americas, visas can be obtained right at the border, eliminating any need for travel-window estimates, Overland Journal Winter 2011

extensive applications, or long wait times. For almost all countries of Central Asia and Africa, a visa will be required in advance of entering.

Do your research and always plan for a liberal amount of time; some applications are extremely detailed. Always be truthful on your visa applications—always.

Getting Organized We have found that a divided file folder is the best way to organize information, copies and country-specific documents. I also have a separate file folder with the originals, which I keep hidden but accessible in the vehicle. My original passport always stays on my person and never in an easily accessible pocket. Several expedition-grade clothing companies design hidden pockets into their clothing. For example, Triple Aught Design’s pants have a second, floating, rear pocket that is only accessible from inside the waistband. I keep a wallet in my front pocket with only enough cash for the day (usually about $100 USD) and my driver’s license. Inside my shirt, around my neck, I keep a passport holder with additional cash (about $500 USD) and copies of my driver’s license, vehicle title, vehicle registration and passport, and an original of my international driver’s license. I also keep a flash drive with copies of all documents and a backup of my best photos from the trip… just in case.

1.

2.

the country until customs confirms that the vehicle exiting with you is the one you brought in, and they have cleared your stamp; most often with another stamp on top of the first one.

Some countries are particularly detailed and will record all manner of information on the vehicle and inspect the car with equal care.

If you have nothing to hide, any issue is almost always resolved with patience and time. In most countries, the document they are most interested in is the original title; which should include a matching VIN, vehicle description, and some validation of you as the owner. This gets more complex if your company or someone else owns the vehicle. If this is the case, you will usually be required to provide a letter of authorization on the owner’s official letterhead, with the requisite signatures and the stamp of a notary. Ensure that the letter is executed during the same calendar year in which you are traveling (this applies in Panama and Mexico, in particular).

Each country has its own special process for entering or exiting. Knowing this information ahead of time will greatly improve efficiency and reduce potential issues.

The Carnet de Passage 4.

3.

1. Azerbaijan exit document, filled out by hand and in considerable detail 2. The Carnet de Passage is a temporary importation document that financially bonds the vehicle while in the host country.

3. A road tax sticker, now popular in Eastern Europe.,They collect a single fee based upon the duration of your stay.

4. Letter of invitation and immigration for Turkmenistan. Our travels also required a government minder.

Opposite: File folders keep information organized and accessible at border crossings. We sort them with originals first (in a removable pouch), personal documentation copies and shot records second, vehicle documentation and copies third, electronic equipment details fourth, and then a separate folder for each country. These pants from Triple Aught Design have a second, floating, rear pocket that is only accessible from inside the waistband.

The Vehicle

The more developed the country, the more they are concerned with people entering illegally. The less developed the country, the more concerned they are with a vehicle entering legally. As a result, developing countries will take exceptional care in making sure the vehicle you are driving is not sold on the black market. To control this, requirements for entering with a vehicle fall under a wide range of vehicle importation systems. Some systems are brilliantly simple; using a stamp in your passport along with a written description of the vehicle; typically the VIN, license plate, make, model and color. You will not be able to leave

The Carnet de Passage (Carnet) is a temporary importation document that financially bonds the vehicle while in the host country. A significant number of countries still require a Carnet. Fortunately, that number is decreasing. As an odd development, Australia now requires it (as of 2009), unusual for a developed country, especially one without a land border. The Carnet is particularly relevant for travels in Africa, where its use is still compulsory in many countries. A Carnet is obtained through an automobile association on your continent and financially secured with a cash bond, letter of credit from your bank or an insurance policy. The insurance policy is most common, although the most expensive choice. Depending on the country, you may be required to post a bond for up to 300 percent of the value of the base vehicle.

Consider that before bringing your Unicat to Mongolia.

The Equipment Having your equipment organized and well-documented will greatly facilitate smooth border crossings. Have a list (with copies) of all electronics in the truck, including cameras, radios, computers, etc. In my experience, we have never been hassled for having one camera and one computer per vehicle occupant. At some borders you will be required to complete a declarations document with a description of the equipment and its value. It is not uncommon for the border custom official to inspect your vehicle to verify that the declaration document is accurate. Full disclosure is important, but it can be useful to be somewhat cryptic in the description, for example with satellite phones or BGAN units. Listing a “Motorola 9555 Phone,” rather than a satellite phone might simplify the inspection while still being honest.

It is critical to know the laws of the country you are visiting, as some countries require permits and permission before bringing any Overland Journal Winter 2011

115

radio frequency devices in; especially satellite communication. Russia in particular is serious about satellite communication permits, but no website indicates the means of obtaining a permit. The same is true in India.

At the Border

116

Depending on the border you nose your vehicle up to, you may find order and efficiency, or utter mayhem. However, the process is almost always the same; so park the vehicle within sight of the customs and immigration buildings, grab your file folder and lock the car. I recommend that you keep your camera out of view. In most developing countries you will be mobbed by moneychangers and offers of assistance. In most cases, exchanging currency is fine. However, you should know the exchange rate in advance (there are great iPhone and Droid apps for this), and it is usually easier to do with smaller denominations. The offers of assistance can be quite valuable and allow for some efficiency if you feel the person is trustworthy. As a rule, never give them any paperwork, but use their services to get from building to building. Negotiate the fee up front. (Editor’s note: Experience has led me to never trust anyone who says, “Ah, my friend… trust me my friend.”)

The most important consideration at the border is to be patient and courteous. You are visiting their country and the border officials are just attempting to do their job. Respect and a smile will do wonders. In all of my travels, the most hospitality and kindness we encountered was at the Tajikistan/Uzbekistan border, where the officials welcomed us warmly to their country, smiled and helped us navigate the process.

The least hospitable you may ask? Entering back into my own country—America.

Left column: A typical Central American border crossing, comprising immigration and customs.

Most are easy although disorganized. Malawi and Mozambique, locals pass without documents. The model of order and cleanliness, Chile is both high tech and serious about protecting their borders. The ingenuity at some crossings can bring a smile to weary travelers. Axles serving at gate swings, human fence lifters, etc. Right column: Crossing the border from Argentina to Chile was organized and professional. With the Shengen area, most border crossings are simple, some only occupied by empty structures. Gas stations and exchange offices now take up the space. Some border crossings are a pleasure, the Sani Pass outpost between Lesotho and South Africa being one. It is common for borders to have wash racks and insecticide/pesticide/ herbicide sprays and tanks to help prevent foreign species from entering.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

The most important consideration at the border is to be patient and courteous. You are visiting their country and the border officials are just attempting to do their job.

Respect and a smile will do wonders.

117

Overland Journal Winter 2011

“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”

Helmuth von Moltke I, German military strategist (1800-1891)

Avoiding Trouble The Border Dance

This is what you can expect at a typical border; however, there are a few things that are unique to specific regions of the world. Of course, every border is a little different, and this list cannot be all-inclusive. The items in bold are typical.

Immigration

118

1. Approach border post: Have vehicle organized and all documents available. Avoid cash or electronics in plain view.

2. Immigration: Have passport and secondary means of identification available. Passengers may be separated from each other.

3. Visa confirmation 4. Documentation of entry: Visa stamp and/or passport stamp.

5. Health and shot record review.

6. Immigration payment: This varies by country and can be as high as $130 USD. Most borders have nominal (or no) fees.

7. Detailed itinerary: Some countries require a detailed route and intended lodging disclosure. Some countries require tourist registration to be recorded each night on a tourist card.

8. Interview: Some countries require an extensive interview at the border post, which may include questions of military service, drug use, purpose of visit, etc.

9. Government Minder: Limited countries require a minder to accompany the visitor throughout their travels.

Customs

1. Vehicle importation: Vehicle importation is typically recorded in the passport, although many countries are switching to electronic records. Vehicle importation may also be regulated via a Carnet de Passage. Documentation may be simple or extremely complex, including engine serial numbers and a thorough inspection.

2. Customs declaration: The declaration records all items of notable value, as well as currency.

3. Simple vehicle inspection: Limited inspection and most items remain in vehicle.

4. Detailed vehicle inspection: Everything removed from vehicle; common when entering Russia.

5. Non-native species inspection: Vehicle inspected for cleanliness, dirt, seeds and insects. Border officials may spray the vehicle or require thorough cleaning.

6. Food inspection: It is common for vegetables and fruits to be confiscated at borders. Meat can also be limited.

7. Drugs and alcohol: Some countries may require all medications to be declared and their use disclosed. Many countries do not allow alcohol to be imported, or limit the volume allowed.

8. Payment of road tax: A road tax is becoming more common. It can be a flat fee, based on engine displacement, or the estimated mileage you will drive.

Overland Journal Winter 2011

While the aforementioned planning is essential to safe and efficient transition between countries, reality often dictates otherwise.

Borders may be closed, roads can be washed out, paperwork might get lost, or maybe the officials just decided they do not like Triumph motorcycles. This is where the border adventure begins; it will test your adaptability, patience and attitude. Remember, honesty, patience and a smile resolves most issues. I have heard far too many travelers brag of hiding food, lying about documentation and paying bribes. This will just breed trouble for you or for those who come later.

When I say most issues I mean this in the literal sense. There will be times that nothing will resolve a problem; you will need to stay in noman’s land until another official arrives, documents can be delivered or a border has been cleared. We encountered this entering Kyrgyzstan.

The border was closed due to ethnic fighting in the region and they would not allow passage, or even talk with us. Eventually, a French woman arrived who knew the residing officials; she negotiated entry on our behalf. Remember to be patient—you are on their schedule.

The Bribe Unfortunately, much of the world is still lubricated with a greased palm. As a result, you may pay a bribe unwittingly or you may make the choice to do so consciously. While it is important to note that every situation cannot be controlled and exceptions are justifiable where personal safety is at risk, it is our opinion that bribes should not be paid. The reason for this is both ethical and practical. If you pay off a border official because your documentation is incomplete, it could compound the problem during a routine traffic stop or upon exiting the country. If you expedite your entry with a few dollars slipped into a handshake, it sets a precedent, or expectation for those who follow.

Every traveler must set their own standards, but please consider those that come after you.

Border crossings are a necessary component of international overland travel and can be viewed as either a hassle, or as a rewarding and interesting part of the journey.

RESOURCES U.S. Department of State, travel.state.gov Visa Service, passportvisasexpress.com (note: we have personally used this service with excellent success) Ministry of Communications, office@minsvyaz.ru, 495-771-8100 Canadian AAA (CAA), caa.ca/travel/travel-carnet-e.cfm (resource for Carnet de Passage) Triple Aught Design (pants), tripleaughtdesign.com, 866-613-1386

119

Overland Journal Winter 2011

OVERLAND CHEF

Zach Berning and Jonathan Snaza Overland Gourmet

Chicken Poblano with Rice A recipe that is delicious and overland friendly.

120

Chicken Poblano with Rice

Serves: 2 | Cook time: 20-25 minutes Equipment: Medium pot, grill or medium frying pan 2 chicken breasts 1 package instant rice 1 can poblano chilies 1 can corn Cotija cheese, grated to taste Sour cream if desired Salsa, to taste

Cook rice in a medium pot per directions on package. While rice is cooking, grill chicken breasts until cooked thoroughly (if traveling by dual-sport or grill is unavailable, pan fry chicken). When chicken is ready, begin plating dish. Start with an even layer of rice, followed by a layer of chilies and corn. Place grilled chicken on top and garnish with a dollop of sour cream; sprinkle with grated cheese. Salsa should be served on the side, as the focus of this dish is on the flavor of the poblanos—not the salsa.

Zach and Jonathan run Overland Gourmet, a website dedicated to gourmet cooking in the field: overlandgourmet.com, 855-7646-7484

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Chili peppers are an essential part of south-of-the-border cuisine.

Whether it’s diced serranos in freshly made pico de gallo, roasted jalapeños nestled alongside grilled seafood for a subtle kick, or the famous stuffed poblanos found in chile rellenos—you can’t deny the significant role that chilies play in food as you travel south.

In this recipe, we thought we’d focus on the wonderful flavor of the poblano. Poblanos, which are often considered mild in flavor, originate in the state of Puebla, Mexico. While typically harvested in the late summer, they can be found year round just about anywhere in either canned or dried form (known as chile ancho). Mild on heat, yet wonderful when paired with other regional ingredients, we’ve created a recipe that is extremely overland friendly and definitively delicious, Chicken Poblano with Rice.

This simple dish, which requires minimal prep time, will delight your senses, and fellow diners will remark on how wonderful the flavors work in harmony together. The subtle, smoky flavor of the grilled chicken pairs ever so wonderfully with the sometimes-sweet and mild zest of the poblano, and the sugary nature of corn gently relaxes the spicy, sharp notes often found in salsa. It is amazing how something so simple can taste so good.

This recipe also serves as a great canvas for vegetarians or vegans.

Poblanos are fantastic when combined with grilled tofu or fire-roasted veggies. Dual-sport riders can even adapt this recipe for their own use as well. Substitute the chicken for a smoked salmon, and watch your fellow riders’ eyes go wide as you sit back and enjoy this dish.

Menu

Appetizer ~ Jalapeno skins, field green salad with jalapenolime vinaigrette Main course ~ Chicken Poblano, served with rice, grilled baby bell peppers, smoked brie quesadillas with green chilies and apples Beverage ~ Margaritas or ice cold cerveza

121

Overland Journal Winter 2011

122

Overland Journal Winter 2011

CLASSIC KIT

Christophe Noel

Expedition Vices Love them or leave them— the world might still be flat without them.

H

ow far would you go for a good bottle of Scotch whisky? Would you embark on an expedition to the bottom of the earth to get your hands on it? Al Fastier would...

In February of 2010, Fastier and a team from New Zealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust embarked on an expedition in search of a tiny wooden shack on a small island on the edge of Antarctica. Why? To recover priceless artifacts rumored to be buried beneath—which had not seen the light of day in more than a century. This was not just any treasure; this was Scotch whisky—Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Scotch whisky. Fastier spent three long days prostrate under the floorboards of the small abode, chipping away at ice in search of the long-lost swag.

Eventually, five crates were lifted from their icy vault; headlines around the world would announce the discovery with just four simple words, Shackleton’s Whisky Comes Home.

Shackleton, one of the most illustrious explorers of the modern age, is best known for his epic, yet ill-fated, 1915 expedition to the South Pole aboard the HMS Endurance. However, the recovered cache of whisky was actually part of his lesser-known Nimrod expedition of 1907. During that first attempt to reach the pole, he and his crew erected a small shelter on Ross Island. When they departed several months later, they abandoned 11 bottles of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky and a few bottles of brandy. The bottles, entombed in ice, remained untouched and perfectly preserved for more than a century.

The recovery of this rare collection of spirits was big news to Scotch whisky aficionados the world over and raised many questions; Would the whisky taste as it did in 1907? How much is it worth? Can it be replicated?

For many, the inescapable question is, why would anyone leave behind 11 bottles of premium Scotch whisky? The answer is simple enough—someone who had brought 25 cases of whisky, 12 cases of brandy, and six of port. Shackleton and his crew were notoriously heavy drinkers, and the expedition’s supplies allotted nearly one case Overland Journal Winter 2011

123

of alcohol per crew member. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for a Shackleton expedition to include long Antarctic nights of heavy bottle passing. One particular Christmas celebration included a drunken brawl, party hats, and paper noses. Shackleton’s crew undeniably enjoyed their drink, but they were not the only explorers to pack a healthy inventory of their favorite indulgences.

Beer has almost always been touted as a healthy beverage, especially on board ships under the command of renowned explorer Captain James Cook. Starting in 1768, and ending at the time of his death in 1779, Cook embarked on three extended voyages covering the greater part of the globe. A life-long servant of the British Royal Navy, Cook was quite familiar with the professional beverage of the sea––rum. For decades, watered down rum was the only highlight of a sailor’s workladen day, but it wasn’t necessarily Cook’s preferred libation. During long deployments in

lar brew in the American Pacific Northwest where nary a case of scurvy has been reported in years.

Not every expedition leader thought it wise, or necessary, to add alcohol to the supply list, at least not in Shackleton’s liverpickling quantities. John Wesley Powell, the fierce one-armed explorer of the American West, was not much of a drinker, but he was a staunch advocate of coffee. Powell’s 1869 trip on the Green and Colorado rivers is without question one of the most grueling and ambitious expeditions in adventuring history.

While their supply list at the onset of the trip is an interesting read, it’s far more telling to see what they had on hand at journey’s end.

During their three-month river odyssey, Powell’s team lost a boat and endured flash floods, mutiny, and near starvation. Within the first month, they had lost most of their scientific equipment and one man deserted the expedition saying he had simply had his fill of excite-

It’s clear the Powell expedition could handle all manner of adversity, but they were not going to

flirt with total disaster and 124

risk running out of coffee.

the cooler regions of North America, Cook struggled to safeguard his crew from the ravages of scurvy. In an effort to provide his men with a proper dose of vitamins, he had them brew beer using the fresh green tips of spruce trees. Ship’s log from 1778 reveal Cook and his men brewed spruce tip beer while visiting Nootka Sound on what is now Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This beer-making method, thought to have originated in Norway, became a staple during those extended voyages. Long before marketing departments and flashy ad campaigns, spruce-tip beer had vocal advocates such as Cook’s superior, Vice Admiral Samuel Graves. He went on record as saying that crews issued rations of rum appeared debilitated and sickly, while sailors served spruce-tip beer remained healthy, active and light hearted. You need not take his word for it. Spruce-tip beer is still a popuOverland Journal Winter 2011

ment. Of the 10 men to start the trip, three would leave the expedition before its completion and never be seen again. Some have speculated they were killed by Shivwit Indians, or ambushed and murdered by Mormon settlers.

It was without question a miserable misadventure.

When Powell’s battered boats finally emerged from their biggest challenge, the savage rapids of the Grand Canyon, the team took inventory of their meager provisions.

For weeks their food stores were so low they survived on almost nothing but rations of hardtack bread made from moldy flour and muddy river water. There was however, one exception. They still had 80 pounds of coffee.

It’s clear the Powell expedition could handle all manner of adversity, but they were not going to flirt with total disaster and risk running out of coffee. It would have been interesting

to be a fly on the wall during those planning stages prior to departure. At what point did Powell say, “Add another 100 pounds of coffee, I’d really hate to run out.”

Other expeditions have not fared so well… and faced the indignity of running out of coffee. In the pantheon of famous overland explorers, there are few men more accomplished and storied than Henry Morton Stanley. This is the man who found, or some would say rescued, the most famous African adventurer of all time, Dr. Livingstone. On one of his most ambitious expeditions to the Congo in 1877, Stanley found himself in dire straits. His train of porters, hunters, and cooks was on the edge of certain death. On the stretch between Zanzibar and Emboma, he had run out of food and starvation was imminent. Attempts to purchase sustenance of any kind from local villages had failed because the natives refused to trade food for spools of wire, or anything else Stanley had to offer.

Knowing the days were numbered before the eminent starvation of his men, he sent two messengers ahead to Emboma with a letter addressed to any English-speaking recipient who could read his plea. The letter, penned with a tone of humility and desperation, asked for scant quantities of grain and rice for the 115 men, women and children under his charge. He also slipped in a small order of emergency supplies for himself. He requested tea, coffee, sugar and cookies. To be sure his cry for help would be answered, and the aforementioned luxuries would not go unsent, he attached a post script to his letter saying he was the man who found Livingstone.

Two days after the letter was dispatched to Emboma, help arrived with all the requested items, including Stanley’s tea, coffee, and several bottles of pale ale. It’s interesting to think the most hardened explorer of his generation would send out such a desperate mayday appealing for help––and coffee.

Perhaps it isn’t unusual at all. Coffee is a powerful elixir. Without it, it’s reasonable to speculate many adventurers would have failed to push out of bed before noon. Would Powell have braved the Grand Canyon had his coffee supply run out? Even the great cattle drives of the American West were fueled by coffee. Cowboys from the frontier days also had their favorite brand. It was not uncommon to hear a trail-hardened cowboy say, “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my Arbuck-

les’ Ariosa.” Not just a catchy synonym for coffee, Arbuckles’ was a revolutionary improvement on an ancient morning favorite. Prior to the days of Arbuckles’ brand coffee, cowboys had to roast their own green coffee beans over a campfire. Not every cowpoke was a master coffee roaster, which might explain why to this day the mere mention of cowboy coffee can make a barista cringe. What made Arbuckles’ coffee unique was their ingenious roasting process, which coated the beans with a light egg and sugar glaze. This kept the beans fresh and cut the bitterness of the finished brew. Many cowboys in post-Civil War America had no idea there was any other brand available and wouldn’t dare undertake the trek from Abilene to Dodge City without their bag of Arbuckles’ Ariosa packed in a saddlebag.

These simple vices have always been an important part of surviving long excursions away from the comforts of home. They were important inclusions not only for lowly crewmembers and porters, but also prized by the most extraordinary of men. Those men often had exotic particulars they had to bring along. On his quest to conquer the world, Napoleon Bonaparte spent much of his life on the road to war. Shadowing his every move was a supply wagon filled with cases of his favorite Gevrey-Chambertin red wine. Each bottle was emblazoned with an unmistakable “N.” Gevrey-Chambertin accompanied Bonaparte on every campaign from Egypt to Waterloo. It must have been agonizing for him to know that upon his retreat from Moscow, marauding Cossacks looted his cherished cache of wine.

Whisky, beer, coffee and wine weren’t the only luxuries included in the stores on many of history’s greatest exploits. Room was made for tea, tobacco, and even chocolate. For some adventurers, these extravagances were last-minute additions to improve the experience. For others they were essential provisions to be carefully measured, appropriately rationed, and responsibly enjoyed. The adventurer of today is no different. We may not load up the Landy with two cases of whisky, or bring an extra 80 pounds of coffee, but it’s safe to say we still enjoy these simple pleasures. If nothing else, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Scurvy doesn’t sound like any fun at all.

Want to take a bottle of Shackleton’s lost Scotch whisky on your next overland trek? Unfortunately, you won’t be able to get your hands on one of the 11 bottles recovered from Ross Island. Al Fastier has lovingly returned them to their resting place below Shackleton’s hut, but you can buy a carefully crafted replica of that very whisky. Mackinlay’s, which is now owned by Whyte and Mackay of Glasgow, Scotland, had their master blender painstakingly match the flavors of Shackleton’s recovered whiskey. It is available in a limited production run of 50,000 bottles, and a portion of the proceeds from each bottle will benefit the Antarctic Heritage Trust. It may not be the genuine article, but you don’t have to travel the bottom of the earth to obtain it.

125

Overland Journal Winter 2011

Continued from page 128

126

I’ve traveled through enough third-world countries to usually know when I’m getting hustled; but this was a legal hustle. The immigration officer at the border (probably this guy's cousin) must get a cut of the Kwacha pie. Now mind you, I’m a white guy, a muzunga, driving a bright red Hummer H3 (borrowed), in a country where $1 per day is a reasonable laborer’s wage. I tried to explain that I was just a poor photographer, the vehicle was borrowed from a friend, and after paying 3,000 Kwacha per liter ($12 USD per gallon) to fill the gas tank, I didn’t have this much money. He didn’t buy it… “You may want to call your consulate.” I grabbed my Lonely Planet guide (great for important numbers like... your consulate), locked the vehicle, and walked across the chuckhole-riddled road to a lone, flaky-stucco market to top off my phone card. I dialed the number.

Anthony came on the line and I explained the situation. The real issue at this point was not my expired visa, but that I was in country under the guise of a tourist. The truth of the matter was that I was there as a journalist. The H3, which was borrowed from General Motors, and accompanying paperwork would be a dead giveaway. Anthony was quick to inform me that my little… uh… lie, could be an issue. This small detail, if discovered, would be a big problem—one that could result in a very large fine and incarceration. The bottom line, Anthony said, was “I can only officially help you if you have been arrested... the process could take weeks. Even with my help they might still fine and deport you.” He continued, “If you pay, get an official receipt… I suggest you try to talk your way out of it first.”

My mind spun through a dozen possible scenarios; the luxurious accommodations of a Zambian jail, my borrowed vehicle in an impound yard or disappearing altogether, the $20,000 worth of camera gear behind the seat, and editors who were expecting articles from the four countries I’d yet to pass. How to play my cards? I returned to my new friends.

“What did he say?” Umbasi queried.

“I talked to Anthony at the U.S. Embassy, you may know him?”

I responded with the optimistic air of a felon who had just received a pardon. “Anthony said this must have been an honest mistake, a misunderstanding at the border… he has worked at the embassy for eleven years, that Zambians are wonderful people and usually very understanding with their country’s guests.” I continued, “You see, my traveling friend Allen was to fly home from Livingstone and only needed five days on his visa; but I requested fifteen days. I do think it was an honest misunderstanding with the border officer… is it possible for you to give me an extension here?”

Umbasi’s brow dipped in disapproval. “What else did he say?”

I played my second card. “If you are not allowed to do this here, I can take one of you to Lusaka with me (200 kilometers away) and we can go to the court. If there is a fine, I will be able to go to the bank for the money, then pay the court and then bring you back here.” I felt like a dog, sitting in the kitchen with hopeful eye and waiting for a Scooby snack.

Umbasi was not happy at this point, retorting in a slightly frustrated tone “What else did he say?”

With my best poker face I responded, “Or, he said you can arrest me. Then he would be able to help in his official capacity. But that does not sound like very much fun.” I was a day behind schedule and in a bit of a hurry, but I was dead set on not parting with $600 (yes, I did Overland Journal Winter 2011

have the money). I then sat down cross-legged in the dirt at the base of an acacia tree; the ball was in their court and I now had all the time in the world.

An hour passed, then another, but with a bit of small talk. They stopped a few other cars; the cars passed through. Apparently their papers were in order… or, Umbasi figured he had a bigger fish on the stringer. Another hour… They conversed in their native tongue. I smiled; queried about their families, the weather, the economy, Zambia’s upcoming elections, how beautiful their country was… anything to direct the conversation away from my non-business visa. Apprentice got up and walked to a market. Returning with three bottles of CocaCola, he handed one to Umbasi and one to me. We talked ... “CocaCola is everywhere in the world. All people have so much in common.”

I said with an optimistic nod. I waited.

Shadows began to stretch long across the road and I figured I might be staying the night. “Are you hungry?” I queried. “I can make us some food.” Umbasi sighed and shook his head. He then pulled out his binder and scribbled something inside. This was the decisive moment; when one player either folds or calls the bluff. Leaning over to me from his chair with one arm extended, he handed me my passport.

“I give you a five-day extension, you are free to go. We hope you enjoy your stay in Zambia.”

I let out a huge internal sigh of relief, smiled and thanked each of them profusely, wished their families well, blessed their homes, their goats, and insisted that Anthony was right about the goodness of the Zambian people. The cards had been dealt and the game played. I didn’t have the winning hand but the pot was mine. I climbed in behind the wheel and got the heck out of there.

127

Overland Journal Winter 2011

TAIL LAMP

128

Chris Collard

Shanghaied in Zambia The fine is 1,800,000 Kwacha—you may pay in U.S. dollars.

H

is penetrating eyes hid in the shadow of a full-brim hat, the sun glistened off his ebony black skin, wet with sweat from the mid-day heat. “Your visa is expired.” A patch on his sand-khaki uniform read Department of Immigration, Zambia. Having been in the country for just seven days, and always on the lookout for a scam, I said with a lighthearted and audible laugh, “Pardon me sir, this can’t be correct. This is a three-year visa.” “Yes, a three-year visa” he responded in heavily accented English while pointing at the Zambia stamp on my passport, “but you are permitted only five days in Zambia for this visit. It has expired.” A sustained pause… “The fine for this is one million, eight-hundred thousand Kwacha. Please come with me.” His were not welcome words.

I was mid-span on a two-month trek through Southern Africa, and had been flagged down at a roadside checkpoint between Livingstone and Lusaka. When I say roadside, and checkpoint, I mean just that. There was nothing official about it; no building or kiosk, welcome sign or queue to a glass-windowed reception desk. There were just a few orange cones placed in the middle of the road, two khaki-clad, gunOverland Journal Winter 2011

toting officers, who I’ll call Umbasi (Zulu for The Boss) and Apprentice, and a few 70s era fold-up chairs under a tree. I looked again at the handwritten scribble on my passport. Sure enough, it had a date; my three-year visa had been expired for two days.

I queried Umbasi’s eyes in an attempt to assess the gravity of my predicament. I ran the numbers in my head and responded respectfully, “That is almost $600. It seems very high… and I have already paid $130 for a three-year visa. I don't understand.” He coldly responded, “Yes, this is a three-year visa” pointing again to my passport and the date, “You are here illegally...You may pay the fine in Kwacha or U.S. dollars.” I followed him to his office, the chairs under the tree, where he proceeded to open a weathered leather binder and shuffle through the dozen hand-written ledgers. Presenting it to me, he pointed to a printed name, the number K1,800,000, and the signature of some poor bastard that actually paid this roadside extortion. He asserted in a gravelly and authoritative voice, “Look, here, this is the fine that someone paid yesterday.”

Continued on page 126

cxxix

Overland Journal Winter 2011

cxxx

adventure Overland Journal Winter 2011