7 minute read
Summer Travel: Van Life
OPEN NEW DOORS TO ADVENTURE
Members Take Community with Them Whatever Direction They Go
BY JAKE TEN PAS
Picture a Sprinter van, and the mental image likely reflects Instagram shots of posh interiors set against the most photogenic exteriors nature has to offer. Cedar siding backs cleverly designed kitchenettes adjacent to secret storage compartments, Pendleton blanket-bedecked beds, and beautiful bohemians sipping their coffee beachside.
Now, take that stereotype, fold it thrice, and squirrel it away in a nook of its own. For MAC members, van life is less about taking the comforts of home along for a photoshoot and more about carrying an array of gear with which to explore the natural wonders that are just a road trip away.
“For us, it was less about making it a camper van and more about making it able to haul three boys and their friends and a dog and any toys that we ever could possibly want to take with us. We built it out for that,” says member Russell McLemore, whose Mercedes Sprinter van emphasizes practicality with a an easy-to-spray-out interior and plenty of cargo space.
A van is just a box that can be packed with whatever adds the most value to its owners’ lives, and those who opened their doors for this story clearly are thinking outside the box. at means skiing, fishing, hiking, climbing, mountain biking, and water sports ranging from surfing to kayaking.
“Most van people are van-cationers. They’re using it for a long weekend, or maybe they’re going on a road trip where they’ll camp a little bit but then stay at a hotel and an Airbnb along the way and stuff like that, as opposed to the RVer who’s living in their vehicle,” McLemore explains. “It’s centered around the activity.”
He’s driven his family to Oregon’s Steens Mountain and the Alvord Desert; Moab, Utah; and Bishop, California. “Of course, we’re going to take the van on that trip because you can load a ton of crash pads in there, have all the room you need, and take all the gear you want. It just facilitates that way of adventuring,” McLemore says. He and his family also regularly meet up with other members on these excursions, in the process taking the spirit of MAC community with them wherever they rendezvous.
Je Lahti is one such fellow traveler. He bought his Sprinter in 2018, three years after McLemore, and both say that the availability of factory four-wheel drive in uenced their decision to choose van life.
“When Covid came, this turned into our mobile ski lodge. You weren’t allowed into the resort, so we’d all go out there and turn on the heater, turn the front seats around, and be able to hang out there for lunch.” Lahti says. With fellow member Dave Davies riding shotgun, he’s taken all 10 kids on the Lincoln High School Ski Team — plus their gear — to Red Mountain in British Columbia.
As an emergency room doctor, he also finds his van to be the perfect way to destress after a long shift while setting himself up for a successful start to the next day. “You don’t go home and go straight to bed. You’ve got to kind of simmer down a little bit. So oftentimes that’s a drive to whatever the next morning’s destination is and just sleep there. Usually that means skiing, surfing, or mountain biking for me, and it’s nice to hit that activity first thing in the morning.”
McLemore and his wife, Suzanne, both work in the venture capital eld, and he points out that his Sprinter can serve as either a mobile office or portal to cell coverage-free realms. “I think if you have to be available for people all the time, it’s even more cherished when you can be unavailable. I have gone to the mountain, worked and taken calls from the van, and then when I freed up in the afternoon, gone and met my son up on the hill.”
Another commonality between McLemore and Lahti is the ages of their kids — spanning from late teens to early 20s. That means in the next few years, both might be reevaluating what internal configuration makes the most sense for their changing lives.
“When the kids are all out of the house, we might start using the van in a little bit different way. Take longer trips, and we’ll probably continue to build it out,” McLemore speculates. “I’d start thinking about putting a little galley kitchen in here. Let me get rid of the seating because we don’t need it, and that creates more space to have a dinette or clothes storage. Maybe we do a month-long trip in the Southwest. Yes, we’re going to work, but we can be mobile.”
Lahti already feels like sleeping inside hard walls, as opposed to a tent, is a certain form of luxury, but he also anticipates making the family van a space his wife, Elizabeth, will be red up to bed down in. “I could do little things to the inside, like adding bamboo siding and inviting a little more of the posh into the camping experience.
“Or do you sell the van to someone who’s looking for the same thing I used it for and start over with a shell and build it out from there? Some of my friends have successfully gone down that rabbit hole.”
Maybe there’s not that much difference between members and Instagram influencers after all. Regardless of what the future holds for the McLemore, Lahti, and their rides, both have learned valuable lessons from their time spent vanning.
“Get the high-roof van. I think being able to stand up makes a really big difference. I have the low roof, but if I did it again, I’d go high,” McLemore says. “And invest in a good set of snow tires. Yes, it has four-wheel drive, but snow tires make a huge difference. We’ve never had a problem, and we’ve been in some terrible weather.”
Lahti recommends thinking through the fact that there are more and more vans on the road these days, and many of them are looking for places to park for the night. Some cities, resorts, and other potential destinations have taken steps to curtail overnight parking — and sleeping — in vans. While he has been lucky in arriving late and rising early wherever he ends his journey, there are apps that can help anyone navigate the ins and outs of sleeping not-so-rough.
“I think I’m a good citizen. I’m not leaving garbage behind or anything, but with something like the Overlander app, it gives a description of a variety of destinations, whether you’re able to spend the night here, if the person before you got hassled by the park ranger, or whatever you might want to know.”
Ultimately, each van owner must glean the rules of the road for themselves, but as Assistant Athletic Director Chad Failla points out, MAC is a great place to undertake that education.
“Vans and the lifestyle behind them naturally promote a bond and community. I have met some great people over conversations and outings based on our vans. I ski quite a bit and see multiple vans with MAC stickers on them in the parking lot. Both of which have strong communities, and when you put them together, that is where the real fun begins.”
