Overland Journal Spring 2015

Wanderlust Do you think we can do it? This one sentence, along with the usual response of “Let’s try it,” is often at the heart of every great story. This is a common exchange between my father and me during hunting, fishing, and four-wheel drive adventures. One such incident was during a hunting trip when we came to a narrow passage between a stout fence pole and a 15-foot mound of soft snow. There was a gap between the pole and the snow bank just wide enough to allow our Ram 2500 to pass…but only just. We decided to “try” and slowly inched forward. As the cab cleared, my dad added a little more throttle. The tires spun, lost traction, and the vehicle slid into the post, crunching the bed. The…

Ants Bolingbroke-Kent Ants Bolingbroke-Kent is a veteran of lengthy adventures in unsuitable vehicles. It started in 2006 when she co-piloted a bright pink tuk-tuk for a record-breaking 12,500 miles from Bangkok, Thailand, to Brighton, England, with her best friend. They raised £50,000 for Mind, were named Cosmopolitan’s Fun, Fearless Females of the Year, and wrote a book about the trip called Tuk-Tuk to the Road. She has since wobbled around the Black Sea on a zebra-striped Honda Cub, survived an attempt to reach the Arctic Circle on a Russian Ural, and spent two months traversing the Ho Chi Minh Trail on a Honda Cub (also pink). Her book, A Short Ride in the Jungle, was released in April 2014. In between traveling and writing, she’s a TV producer and currently working…

My wife Suzy’s good friend Teri passed away last month. They had known each other for 30 years, worked together, enjoyed regular lunch dates, and confided the personal details that bond friends for life. One day Teri was fine, the next day she was diagnosed with cancer, and five weeks later she was gone. After the funeral we talked about trips Suzy had taken with Teri and her daughter Jami, and the things they would have done after Teri retired. It was quite sad, and presented a strong argument for the Latin aphorism carpe diem. Over the years I have lost several friends and family members to various ailments or accidents. With each loss, each heartbreak, I was reminded that I made the right decision to step away from a secure…

It’s nearly impossible to slip on a pair of Randolph Engineering HGU4/P Aviator sunglasses and not feel compelled to check your six for inbound bogies. The official supplier to the U.S. military since 1982, the company’s sunglasses are also favored by NASA personnel, submariners, and discerning eyewear aficionados the world over. They are battle tested, prized by those who own them, and represent the best in homegrown American manufacturing. Founded in 1972 by Polish immigrants Jan Waszkiewicz and Stanley Zaleski, the company quickly evolved to produce MIL-SPEC sunglasses as well as the tools used to create them. Over time this gave them the edge required to build products to the highest standards using only the best materials possible. Their proprietary soldering flux, for example, facilitates such strong joining of the frame…

Motorcycle soft luggage, a category of products once best described as unexciting, has been enjoying a resurgence of popularity and a welcomed infusion of new offerings. AltRider’s Hemisphere Saddlebag system has been on the market for just a few months, and we were fortunate to be among the first to test it—in the high peaks of the Ecuadorean Andes no less. Comprised of a unique two-part system, the Hemisphere employs a heavily constructed base structure paired to a waterproof main dry bag compartment. The crescent-shaped primary bag slips into a permanently mounted lower holster, which simplifies the removal/installation process that complicates many other systems. The 40-liter main bag is constructed of welded vinyl-coated polyester. It features a wide roll-top closure that not only seals out the elements, but also creates a…

When preparing our 1987 VW Syncro for a trip to South America, I replaced its mud-terrain tires with General’s Grabber AT all-terrains. Syncros are known tire eaters, and during the last eight years I’ve averaged 20,000 miles on various brands of mud-terrains. Though I’d hoped for increased longevity, I’ve gained more than just mileage. The Long Haul We are in Santiago, Chile, have been on the road for nine months, and covered 19,000-plus miles—50 percent of which have been on dirt back roads in Mexico and Central and South America. While I don’t have a tread depth gauge, I’d guess they have about a quarter of the original tread left. At this wear rate I feel the tires have enough life to take us over the Andes into Argentina, Bolivia, and back…