Share how it all started - Homage to the beginnings - Your story is welcome here!

[DaleRF]

Checkin on my old content and read through all of these over again!!!
Great thread that I not ashamed to revive hahah

May as well, right! Ha!

 

[M Rose]

I started out doing this overland thing at the age of 11 or 12 solo on a bicycle. But I grew up camping and 4wheeling as part of life out here in the NW.

 

[DMS1]

I have been car camping, fishing, shooting, hiking, exploring, dirt biking and dune bugging all my life. Here is a picture of us Camping\Dirtbiking\Dune Bugging near Ensenada Mexico in the 60s. Back then we we had a Ford Station wagon and a BMW Dune Buggy. The 2nd pic is my 1982 Toyota Truck I bought new in 81 at the age of 20 and did tons of exploring in it. I daily drove that Toyota from Dec 28 1981 to Dec 31st 1999 when the transmission let go on the way to work. I also used the canvas Coleman pop tent seen in both pictures until it was about 30 years old and the fabric started falling apart. I replaced the 82 with an 85 4Runner I purchased in 2000 and sold it in July 2020 and have a 99 4runner I purchased in 2007 which is my current overlanding vehicle.





Me driving the Dune Buggy for the 1st time at Gorman - Now known as Hungry Valley - the rule was, as soon as your feet could safely touch the pedals, you got to drive the dunebuggy. Picture taken in early 70s

 

[DaleRF]

I have been car camping, fishing, shooting, hiking, exploring, dirt biking and dune bugging all my life. Here is a picture of us Camping\Dirtbiking\Dune Bugging near Ensenada Mexico in the 60s. Back then we we had a Ford Station wagon and a BMW Dune Buggy. The 2nd pic is my 1982 Toyota Truck I bought new in 81 at the age of 20 and did tons of exploring in it. I daily drove that Toyota from Dec 28 1981 to Dec 31st 1999 when the transmission let go on the way to work. I also used the canvas Coleman pop tent seen in both pictures until it was about 30 years old and the fabric started falling apart. I replaced the 82 with an 85 4Runner I purchased in 2000 and sold it in July 2020 and have a 99 4runner I purchased in 2007 which is my current overlanding vehicle.

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Me driving the Dune Buggy for the 1st time at Gorman - Now known as Hungry Valley - the rule was, as soon as your feet could safely touch the pedals, you got to drive the dunebuggy. Picture taken in early 70s
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Nice!

 

[old_man]

My first overland experience was the summer of 1952, 69 years ago. I was 6 weeks old and my parents struck out from Texas in a Woody wagon and went all the way through Colorado and up to the Tetons and Yellowstone. I have a pix somewhere of me on that trip. I guess it has always been in my blood.

 

[DaleRF]

My first overland experience was the summer of 1952, 69 years ago. I was 6 weeks old and my parents struck out from Texas in a Woody wagon and went all the way through Colorado and up to the Tetons and Yellowstone. I have a pix somewhere of me on that trip. I guess it has always been in my blood.

Yep!

 

[IronPercheron]

Some serious history in here!!

I really like that, and I am favoring the older things. I have a 2016 4runner that my wife drives, I just love my old Bronco, Canvas tent, Cast Iron, and my lanterns. I built a rocket stove in a 30mm ammo can and I use all wood to heat, and light my area (aside from lanterns). The only fuel burned, and the only advanced tech, is the cell phone in my pocket and the EFI under the hood of the bronco (factory...)

Maybe I am weird but I tried the "new" stuff and decided it wasn't for me. Sold the RTT after only a few uses, now the 4runner is a grocery getter with a refrigerator and a winch. (it really is a fantastic car, and an unparalleled family vehicle. I go to work with confidence my wife will make it to her destination, safely, regardless of her obstacles.

 

[IronPercheron]

I go long periods of time between log ins, i expected more stories !

Let it rip tater chip! Circle the wagons and lets hear them stories.

 

[Deleted member 82267]

Well I grew up in the Jemez mountains so four wheeling was just part of everyday life. Summers were spent cutting firewood and camping, fall was hunting season. My first vehicle was a 1948 willys, I have never not had a four wheel drive of some kind. My brother and I would pack our bags a cooler and head down some logging road. We would set up camp, hike, shoot, eat and just enjoy being outdoors. If we got lucky we might catch some trout and have a fish dinner. To this day camping and exploring back roads are still my passion. I was lucky to get to explore the Sierra Nevada mountains in the late 80's early 90's. The Fordice trail being one of my favorite camping/wheeling trails. Funny we now call it overlanding I guess that sounds more official. The amount of gear people take is what I see as the biggest change. I am 57 years old now and we just bought our first trailer. I have to say I still prefer the tent and packing light. So grab your bag a cooler and Happy trails!

 

[Ragman]

The love of the outdoors started with the Boy Scouts and the amazing camping trips that we did in the late 60s and 70s. Never was big on the Eagle Scout thing but never missed a campout. From there it was dirt bikes and camping every chance I could get-often as a platform for drinking and debauchery in the high school years! Multiple trips to Quetico for a week of isolation, then a solo Harley ride to the Arctic Circle via the Alaska Hwy and Haul Road (Get to know the Iron Butt Association). First real camping vehicle was a 92 CJ7 that I still miss terribly and now with the new vehicles (JKU and F150 Raptor) but we are still in a ground tent, still use Coleman fuel-although we do use some more modern conveniences as well these days depending on the trip.

I think the love of adventure trumps the hardware all day long!

 

[Advtres]

As a only child growing up in Santa Cruz, CA I was left mostly unsupervised so I would take my bike everywhere I could (beach, any rivers or lagoons and trekking down the RR tracks ) when I actually had money I would take the bus, just to see where the line went.. I was always hiking around, finding lost kittens and rock hounding, my Mom got me hooked on that early as she was a jewelry maker. I met lots of people and made friends along my exploring routes which I would go back and visit - it was a different time then it is today when kids could actually do that alone. Neither of my folks were outdoorsy so who knows where the desire to explore came from..Norse DNA is what I blame it on.

In college my friends and I would always go camping during breaks and Lassen was one of regular haunts. I had boyfriends that were into fishing or wheeling and enjoyed many an adventure in their company.

Later on down the road I got into motorcycling and have naturally been attracted to learning about the history of places (anyone watch Time Team?) I then got into ADV riding ( long road trips with plenty of camping) that really spurred me to go further and bring the hubby and the dog along, so I got Alice (my 4Runner) and it has been an adventure ever since…

 

[RatAssassin]

I come from a family that has always rambled down forest roads and camped out of their vehicles. My grandparents were big canoe campers and car campers back in their day. My parents.....the same.
Its all I grew up knowing, and we lived very rural also.
So its no surprise that I would take off backpacking and canoe/kayak expeditions for up to 3.5 months at a time. That was my longest trip ever.
Fast forward to a big snowstorm a few years ago that was supposed to hit us. I looked at my wife and said..."Lets get out of here."
I went down to the gear room and we loaded one of my work trucks with gear since the storm was supposed to start within 3 hours. We headed south.
Using inflatable insulated pads and our sleeping bags, we overnighted in the truck under the cap. And thats how we camped the whole 10 days even though we had my 4 season tent with us. My wife loved it. So much that I built a dedicated platform and storage for our one truck. So along with our more purist camping situations, we just added another dimension to it. Once you have all the gear already.....its pretty simple. And we can use most of our ultralight gear to keep the " overland" camping trips simple and easily manageable between our other pursuits.
So now with us transitioning to more free time with my son running 90% of the day to day with our biz, we are 2 weeks away from picking up our off road teardrop we ordered last year. Which will work great for the newly extended time to travel.
I have always averaged about 50 nights a year out. Its been hard to squeeze them in at times. I want to bump that up to 120 nights a year.

My system will allow us to take a canoe/kayak, bikes and whatever else we want now. Take our time getting places and stay longer.

 

[IronPercheron]

Well I grew up in the Jemez mountains so four wheeling was just part of everyday life. Summers were spent cutting firewood and camping, fall was hunting season. My first vehicle was a 1948 willys, I have never not had a four wheel drive of some kind. My brother and I would pack our bags a cooler and head down some logging road. We would set up camp, hike, shoot, eat and just enjoy being outdoors. If we got lucky we might catch some trout and have a fish dinner. To this day camping and exploring back roads are still my passion. I was lucky to get to explore the Sierra Nevada mountains in the late 80's early 90's. The Fordice trail being one of my favorite camping/wheeling trails. Funny we now call it overlanding I guess that sounds more official. The amount of gear people take is what I see as the biggest change. I am 57 years old now and we just bought our first trailer. I have to say I still prefer the tent and packing light. So grab your bag a cooler and Happy trails!

This is still my go - to set up in my 91 Bronco.... everything else is in my backpack lol

 

[Rick 58]

For me, started on a trip to Vegas, cause of a traffic jam, Waze sent us through a unpaved road that turned out to be in the Mojave desert, which I didn’t know anything about it as a result we got stuck in soft sand

 

[tjZ06]

Share that story, let it rip! Consider this a virtual campfire!

I am paying homage to a gas drinking machine. His name was Uncle Ruckus.

When I ran across Overland Bound. I didn't even know what overland was, but i knew that i liked everything they did, and had been doing it a long time!!!

So here is where it all started. A bronco, a ruck sack, a cooler, and some basic kit. "Just get out there"... remember that?! LOL Think i had $2, 000.00 in the whole gitup.

I had been a wheeler, and a camper a long time. So really, you could say it all came together with OB and this old truck.

I do miss the spontaneity of topless truck adventures... made for a cool experience... or a wet one now and then. lol.




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Love those bullnose Broncos! Thanks for sharing. For me, IDK when it really started. I grew up going backpacking. I also grew up with a cabin in my Dad's side of the family way out in the woods in Idaho. I'm talking a real cabin, you don't sleep in it, it's just a kitchen/dining area and some storage (though it does have running water and a bathroom) that obviously we took trucks and whatnot to my whole life. Other than that if I camped out of a truck it was because we were wheeling and got stuck/broke/whatever and it wasn't planned. Then my friends and I all got more into riding quads (and later sand rails, SxSs etc.) so did a lot of trailer/RV-based camping. I still have an RV and SxSs/sand rail and do that, but the last few years I got another Jeep and took it wheeling/camping (aka, Overlanding ;) ) a few times. I found I really, really, really enjoyed those trips. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the RV trips and ripping SxSs or whatnot... but some time in the woods without a fancy RV to worry about and a ton of gear/vehicles to maintain has been nice. The last few years I've bounced around from ground tent, to off road teardrop, to current Four Wheel Camper in my pickup and have enjoyed each. I'm settling on the FWC/pickup route so I'm as self-contained as possible, and ready to go out at a moment's notice.

-TJ

 

[ahmedroyce3]

we both laid down in the back of my tundra on a moving blanket and was staring up at the beautiful night sky.
turkey property

 

[North American Sojourner]

Well, in 1970 my dad took me to the Charles County Fair, Maryland. We were walking around the fair and off in the distance I saw 3 trucks lined up and some Forest Service guys standing around. I was hooked. They were all 49-50 Dodge power wagons, brush fire trucks. I thought that was the coolest thing I ever saw in my life. And off we go. Life long Boy Scouts of America, mountaineering here in the States and Alps, Ski Patrol and on and on. The vehicle beginning was in or around 1990 when I was stationed in Sardinia Italy. I had a 1988 Samuri and ran over and up anything within a hundred miles of the house. (I was on a island) LOL. It's been fun, and I'm not ready to stop.
Zim

 

[FishinCrzy]

I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus
Rollin' down highway 41
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man

Either that, or I got started fishing early and often and finding the next good spot has now become my reason to get up in the morning...after the coffee. I have always liked camping in quiet, beautiful places. Took me 30+ years to figure out how to do it in reasonable comfort. Not sure what's beyond a RTT? Maybe a slide-in camper in a full-sized truck?

 

[reaver]

Great thread! Some super interesting stories in here!

Mine started about 41 years ago (I'm 41,lol). I've been camping pretty much my entire life. Did tons of camping, either with the family, or through my adventures through scouts.

I learned about this style of travel early in the expedition overland days, and started down the rabbit hole. Ended up taking my first trip over five days with @GHCOE, and that was all she wrote. I started with a stock 2004 Colorado, and have evolved my setup to accommodate my family, and we're getting ready to do the Idaho BDR in less than a month.

Obligatory pictures from some of my trips: