The Best Explanation Of Overlanding I've Read

[North American Sojourner]

I'll just leave this here. You can bet Dad worked hard to put this rig together for his family.
Zim

 

[grubworm]

I did a upkeep on the Shark in LaMadd. If you were onboard, we probably bumped into each other in the geedunk line. LMAO
Zim

i got on a little bit after that. after the shark decom, i went to the uss houston and ended up taking it to pearl harbor for a DMP. shipyard sucked, but being on land the whole time in hawaii made up for it. still got my sub and sea pay, too

 

[North American Sojourner]

i got on a little bit after that. after the shark decom, i went to the uss houston and ended up taking it to pearl harbor for a DMP. shipyard sucked, but being on land the whole time in hawaii made up for it. still got my sub and sea pay, too

Cool. I did 2 separate tours in LaMadd and the USS Orion. 8 years total. We did the Houston too. Can't remember the year. Too much Vino. LMAO
Zim

 

[lhoffm4]

Well, I suppose I will give my .02. many years ago, I watched a Martial Arts demonstration. It piqued my interest. So much so that I went to a local dojo (gym where martial arts are practiced) and started training.

There are ranks within that activity that are earned for accomplishing levels of competency. A White Belt denotes a beginner a Black Belt denotes someone who has mastered basic tecniques. They are both considered students of their martial art. Does that make either or both Martial Artists? Masters of the Martial Arts? I would submit yes and no. When I earned my Black Belt after several years of practicing and developing my skills. My Sensei (Teacher) told me " Now you have mastered the basics, now it is time to learn Karate". His words ring true. Mastering the basics does not make one a Master. It does, however, make one a practitioner, a Martial Artist.

The act of doing is transformative. It changes you. It strengthens your mind, body and spirit. It forges you into something and someone different than you were before. Hopefully, for most who undertake the process, into something better.

There are so many analogies that can be drawn to make this same point. Becoming an Adult, becoming a Parent, becoming a Soldier, Teacher, College Graduate, Overlander. It does not matter where you are along the path. There will always be someone ahead of you along the path and there will always be someone who starts after you did.

Are we Overlanders if we only car camp on the weekends or we only have a few pieces of kit, like a tent and cooler? Do we need a roof top tent and a 12v fridge/freezer and a Scottle before we are considered an "Overlander"? I guess that depends on the individual practitioner.

Are you working on the basics? Are you out there practicing and using that knowledge out in nature and on trails. If so, you are an Overlander.

 

[Sylvester]

OK I feel baited

You guys know how I feel. The article is 180 degrees opposite my own personal ethos. The way I feel is in our founding principles. We created OLB because we saw a lot of the "you have to do this to be an 'overlander'", and just thought it was horseshit. That's OK - I'm friends with folks I disagree with and will say it to their face with a smile. We need more of that. I can shake hands, have a beer and agree to disagree.

I do agree aspiration to a positive end is important. As Corrie likes to say, we didn't name the community "Overland Nailed It", or "Overland Been There Done That". We are Overland Bound. It's an aspirational journey. Anyone can do it. It doesn't matter what you drive.

I've had this overland definition debate a lot. It always comes down to the person trying to define it, NOT about overlanding. It's personal. It's what it needs to mean to them. What it is to you is very personal, and that's why no one else can define it for you. It's presumptuous to do so. I watched a guy at Expo interviewing a family that lives in their car full time. They travel the world. It was SO apparent the interviewer NEEDED their life to be about the adventure, the risk, its not about the destination but the journey...insert rhetoric. The family was like, "Dude...we just live in our car and travel as little as possible because petrol is expensive". It was really about the interviewer not the family. The interviewer was blinded by their need and missed the awesomeness of the family.

If you need to define it - define it, but that's not what we will do here, for everyone, at a founding principle level. Like the interviewer, it would be short sighted. We think you need to meet people where they are, and inspire. For us, cultures and backgrounds and financial means are way too diverse to define for someone what the activity of overlanding is. We prefer that 95% of the people we inspire feel it's attainable because it's not about us. It's about them. Getting outside and touching grass makes better humans. Why would we limit that?

Today I got a message, not uncommon, from a member who said Overland Bound saved him from suicide. What if the standard we set in this community was unattainable to this person? What if they didn't feel welcome or didn't get involved with the community because they thought, "well that's not me."? This is the most serious matter for Corrie and I. It is why I will never back down from my convictions. Overlanding is vehicle dependent travel. Period. I've never seen anything good come from defining it beyond that. Overlanding is something different for everyone. It should be. Aspire to do great things and have a great adventure, but once you start to define it for others - that's about you, not overlanding.

I have been HOPING Michael or Corrie or Kent would jump in on this Thank You