Learning to Slow Down Even More

Posted on 9 April, 2012 by Jeremy

Looking for a campsite at sundown

After departing Culiacán, I made my way past the Tropic of Cancer to the southernmost point of Sinaloa – a place called Teacapán. My friend Cyril and I had attempted to camp here the previous year while on a road trip, but didn’t make it to a suitable campsite before dark. And this time wouldn’t be much different. I was late in departing Jorge’s (around 1 pm), so I didn’t reach the township of Teacapán until right at sundown. It took driving down three streets until finding a suitable place to camp for the night. But I wasn’t quite certain what the place would be like during the day, as it appeared to be something of a public parking lot (just a semi-grassy area on the edge of the sandy beach).

Carter enjoying his perch in the FWC

I generally have an uncanny ability to sleep in well after the sun is high in the sky when camping. And this Four Wheel Camper is no exception to the rule. I can block out the sun and turn on the exhaust fan to keep the interior cool. But this morning, nature called early so I had to make a quick trip outside. What I then witnessed I was lucky to capture on photo. I haven’t witnessed a fraction of the sunrises compared to the sunsets in my life. So this was truly a rare moment. And after witnessing this I knew I couldn’t pack up and head out any time soon.

 

For the next several days, I took time to meditate and walk the beach with Carter – several kilometers in each direction. Teacapán draws birders from all over the world, as it’s a natural sanctuary for migratory species seeking refuge in this tiny peninsula with costal estuaries and mangroves. Personally I’m not big into bird watching, but I did enjoy seeing so many species that were new to me; capturing them from afar with my telephoto lens. Plus, it was fun to watch Carter unsuccessfully chase flocks on the beach, grinning ear-to-ear and getting a good workout in the process.

  

  

  

 

One evening I was able to capture the moonrise with my zoom lens. It was a full moon, and I was amazed that with this little Lumix I was able to photograph the detail of the moon’s cratered surface. Based on the times when I saw the moon setting on previous mornings, I set my alarm to get up early to capture this same full moon setting. As you can see in the second photo, the ‘man in the moon’ is upside-down compared to the first.

  

 

To further my progress south, I ventured into a new time zone and the state of Nayarit to find a good beach camp at San Blas. Previously, I only knew of this place from the famous pier that the Mexican rock group Maná sang about. I’m sure they get plenty of tourists asking about it. I neither ask for nor saw this landmark, but did find an excellent beach camp to myself where I spent the next few days slowing the pace down even more. And thus I continued my study of sunrises and sunsets, at the cost of hundreds of mosquito and gnat bites. But not just any gnat – these were no-see-ums (jejenes). One evening when capturing some big fishing boats a ways off shore silhouetted against the setting sun, I set up my tripod to capture the moment. At just the same moment, the message went out to all local gnats that there was a solitary gringo with gourmet blood just waiting to be bit. I could only withstand several seconds at a time trying to focus my camera before having to run around like a crazy person, swatting at myself and the air around me. Even Carter was rolling around in the sand trying to rid himself of these buzzing pests. What a sight for passers by.

  

 

One day while rounding the end of the beach where the freshwater estuary met the Sea of Cortez, I explored a footpath that led to a nice inlet. I noticed some swimmers in the water, and initially thought it was a group of tourists snorkeling. Soon I realized it was locals diving for oysters. Several were hanging out on shore, so I approached them to chat about what they were doing. This was the first time in my travels that I randomly walked up to a group of strangers and started talking. But it wasn’t long before we were laughing and telling jokes. I’m so thankful that my Spanish is at a level where I can chat stress-free with locals, being able to use regional slangs to break the ice and make people smile.

  

 

I hadn’t broken out my snorkel gear yet, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Plus, I hadn’t really done any volunteer work yet (Guanajuato would be my first “planned” place to volunteer, so I was on the lookout to find other places along the way before I arrived there). I asked one gentleman in the group if I could return with my snorkel equipment to learn how to dive for oysters, and help them to fill their bags. He said that would be fine, and explained to me what else I would need for the task. In addition to the regular snorkel kit (mask, snorkel, fins, and wetsuit), these guys each had a small inner tube with a net in the center. Attached to that was a long rope tied to a sharpened metal stake, which they used to break the oysters free from the rocks. This metal stake I was lacking, but grabbed a 2-foot crowbar from my toolkit and tied this with a 20-foot rope to a kickboard (that I packed for swim workouts). I ended up returning the following morning, but sadly the conditions were not optimal for oyster diving. It was a cloudy and rainy day, and visibility underwater was about 10 inches. The bottom of the lagoon was ranged from about 5 to 10 feet deep. After a few fruitless hours of scouring the rocks for oysters, I decided to head back to shore. Hopefully better luck next time. I really admire these guys for the hard work they do to make a living like this.

  

  

 

What a beautiful place – southern Sinaloa and Nayarit. I will never forget that sunrise in Teacapán nor the sunsets in San Blas.

  

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Culiacán, Sinaloa

Posted on 9 March, 2012 by Jeremy

Jorge, demonstrating proper caguama pouring techniques.

Back when I studied at a university in Guadalajara, I lived in a house with several other college students – most from other cities in Mexico. One of my good friends from that house was Jorge, who was born and raised in Culiacán. We had kept in touch over the years, so this was the perfect opportunity to finally get to visit him in his hometown. I left San Carlos late that morning, and figured if I stuck to the toll roads I would get to my destination well before dark.

only at urinals in Mexico...

 

However, there were a few flaws in my plan. Free WiFi was harder to come by than I had anticipated. Plus, I forgot to write down his phone number (which he had sent to me via Facebook), so I would need to get Internet access to look it up. I did recall the name of the neighborhood he lived in, so I stopped a few times to ask directions to that area, but each time was given somewhat vague instructions leading me astray. The sun sank ever lower, and after about an hour of fruitless driving in heavy traffic, I spotted a Starbucks in a large shopping center. A friend had given me a Starbucks gift card before the trip, so now was the ideal time to use it – and to get some Internet. As soon as I was online, I got in touch with Jorge. He insisted on driving to where I was, since getting to his place was a bit confusing (plus, it was already after dark now). Turns out he lives in a somewhat new neighborhood, which may attribute to why I was sent in several different directions when I asked random locals how to get there.

 

  

 

I instantly felt at ease and the stress level was back down to low once I connected with my friend. Over the ensuing days, he made sure to show me some great areas of Culiacán (and tons of awesome food), and introduced me to a bunch of his friends. By the time I left, I felt as if I had been part of that group of friends for years. I think I heard somewhere that Culiacán was supposed to be really dangerous. The only danger I encountered was some dangerously delicious food. True – probably not the best city for a tourist to stumble into unaware, but with the helping hand of a local it’s a truly wonderful place in Mexico to experience. Just a few hours after landing there I was eating menudo at 2 am on some random backstreet near downtown. Probably not something that very many tourists to this city get to experience.

  

  

 

Jorge works as a real estate broker, dealing mostly with land. Sinaloa is the leading agricultural producing state in all of Mexico – and not just the green stuff they export to the north. As seen on the state’s license plate, they grow a lot of tomatoes (among many other vegetables). On Saturday, Jorge needed to check out a piece of land in a rural area to the north, so Carter and I went along on this “field trip.” His sedan wouldn’t make it down the 4WD road to the property, so we jumped into the back of the other agent’s nicely restored 1970s Ford pickup. Later on, we walked around downtown – including an indoor produce and meat market. At first I was apprehensive about taking Carter through there, but he was a big hit. Not a single person hollered at me to get my dog out of there – but on the contrary, many people stopped to ask me what breed he was, and to give him compliments.

  

  

 

Jorge and his friends made sure I experienced a bunch of Culiacán’s cuisine. But I didn’t want to just be a consumer here, so I thanked them all by having un asado de alce y venado (an elk and venison cookout). They were super exited to try the elk, since it’s not an endemic species in their country. Many had tried venison before, but said this was by far the best they’d had. To top things off after the steaks were gone, I grilled up some combo elk chorizo/venison burgers. These were a huge hit among this group of Sinaloenses, to say the least.

 

  

 

Just like my first campsite in Sonora, I had only initially planned on being in Culiacán for a few days. But the week I spent there was absolutely wonderful. I had a chance to really dive into speaking Spanish, hanging out with a group of friends, understanding jokes (and even telling a few), listening to and learning how to speak with a Culiacán accent and slangs, and seeing so many young people happy and enjoying life. Hats off to you Jorge and friends, for being such wonderful ambassadors of your city, state, and country.

Demetrio, who is getting ready to open up Café Chiapas near downtown Culiacán, which will feature some of his artwork as well as coffee direct from Chiapas, Mexico.

 

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Personal Preparations

Posted on 8 March, 2012 by Jeremy
1562 The Americas

The Americas, as known in the year 1562.

I’ve written quite a bit so far about several of the vehicle and gear preparations for this trip. Now it’s time to cover some personal preparations. Let’s call it a “dermographic mod.” In part, my inspiration came from a 1562 map by Spanish cartographer Diego Gutiérrez (engraved by Heironymus Cock). In researching old-style maps, I came across this one. It’s the Americas as known back in the mid 16th century, and definitely conjures up images of sea monsters in the uncharted waters of the New World’s oceans. I spent quite a bit of time zooming in and panning around this masterpiece, but knew that I would be a bit much for my first tattoo.

 

Cartography from mapbliss.com

So I then contacted David Medeiros (who designs the route overview maps in Overland Journal). I explained to him about my desire for a map tattoo on my upper arm, but was thinking that a modern-day accurate representation of those continents might look cool. I asked him for a specific projection that would not make Greenland the size of South America – something that would appear more like a globe since it may wrap over my shoulder as well. He sent over a few samples, along with an old parchment style fill. I was now one step closer to having some cartographic ink on my body.

 

  

Thankfully, Prescott has several reputable tattoo parlors. However, this being my very first permanent artistic marking of my skin, I proceeded very cautiously. Over the course of a week or so, I went into each and every shop in town to check out the operation, as well as to interview several different tattoo artists to get a feel for how they would interpret what I was hoping for. The map outline samples that David provided for me definitely helped in this process, and before long I had narrowed down my choice to Hold Fast.

 

Now enters Mike “Speed Racer” Beard. Of all the local tattoo artists that I interviewed, he seemed like the best fit for this piece. We talked a few times in person, as well as via email. Due to the complexity of the outline and fill, Mike decided that it would be best to do just the outline and drop-shadow on the first session, and then come back 4-6 weeks later to get the fill completed. It was only fitting that I wore my Hema Maps shirt to the first session. Paperwork, I settled in for the pain. Initially it just slightly stung, but as the outline progressed around different areas of my arm, the pain varied on a scale from “kinda annoying” to “my entire humerus is rattling because there is not enough meat atop my shoulder to absorb the needle and I might jump out of this chair!”

  

  

  

  

 

I made sure to take good care of the outline once it was complete – plenty of lotion, sunscreen, loose-fitting shirts, and no backpack straps over that shoulder. It stung like a moderate sunburn for the first several days. A few months later I braved the return visit to get the old parchment style fill in sepia and natural tones. Thankfully this round was not nearly as painful, as the tattoo artist did not have to go as deep in the same areas over and over, as with the drop-shadow on the outline. Again, I took good care of it for several weeks so that it would heal well. You can see the difference in the final two photos. Initially I was concerned about the richness of the colors, but after several weeks it began to fade into more of the old map parchment look I was going for. I also decided to not have any of the political boundaries included, since these could very well change in my lifetime. Many ask me if I plan to tattoo the route that I drive. For now I have no desire to do that, but maybe I can put pushpins in the locations of all my favorite campsites.

  

  

 

Resources

 

 

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Catch 22

Posted on 2 March, 2012 by Jeremy

Primo beach camping

I did decide to stay on that beach. Three nights, in fact. Initially I planned to just stay one night, and then continue my drive south to make good progress. But would that really be “good progress?” I was very glad to spend more time there, since I was able to get a better feel for the space inside the camper, as well as further organize my gear. As a nice side effect, I got to witness some beautiful sunsets and sunrises. What a great way for both Carter and me to really slow down our pace, unlike on previous road trips we’ve taken.

 

Bull that wondered close to camp.

 

 

 

Archie the windsurfer.

I met a really cool old dude who lives on a sailboat half the year in San Carlos, Mexico, and then lives in a different sailboat up in Oregon the rest of the year. Every afternoon when the wind was blowing, he was out there windsurfing. He talked about how few windsurfers were left now, as most had switched over to kiteboarding. But he classified himself as both a sailor and a surfer, so windsurfing was his hobby of choice. I invited him to a “smugglers cookout” which consisted of elk and venison (that I hunted the previous year) grilled over coals of some mesquite logs that I smuggled south over the border. He brought along the stuff for a proper classic Daquirí (rum, lime juice, sugar, water). And here all along I thought a Daquirí was a fruity drink with an umbrella, but was informed that the original recipe from Cuba consisted of just those few simple ingredients.

  

 

After breaking camp I found a little café in town with Internet. My Dad had been watching my SPOT messages, and emailed me asking how I liked camping on “Catch 22” beach. I guess it was where they filmed a movie of the same name back in the 70s, but I had never heard of that movie. He had camped there too as a youth growing up in Arizona. San Carlos has grown quite a bit since then, but that beach is still pretty tranquil, adjacent to a small fishing village. So again in a not-so-dangerous catch 22 situation, I needed to choose whether to stay or to go. After three nights, I decided to continue my journey south to the state capitol of Sinaloa: Culiacán.

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Spare Fuel: RotopaX

Posted on 26 February, 2012 by Jeremy

The stock fuel tank on a 2004 Toyota Tacoma is only 18.5 gallons (70 L), which makes for a rather short range given my general fuel economy of between 13-16 mpg. I searched for a good place to mount a standard 5-gallon jerry can somewhere on the outside of my camper or truck, but just couldn’t come up with a good solution for something that would keep the weight forward of the rear axle. Ideally I would want to have that weight down low, but there was quite a bit of wasted space in the gap above my cab and below the cab-over section of the Four Wheel Camper. A regular jerry is just too big to fit in that space, so I needed something with slightly different dimensions.

I remembered seeing some really cool 1-gallon fuel & water cells for motorcycles from a company called RotopaX, and found out that they make a larger 4-gallon canister for vehicles. After checking the dimensions online, it seemed like it would be a perfect fit. And even better – they make a special locking mount for it! That way, it would be securely mounted to the vehicle, making it difficult for anyone to steal my extra fuel. I had hoped to not have anything bolted to the outside of my truck or camper to draw any unnecessary attention, so this would be an exception.

4-gallon RotopaX, locking mount, and backing plate

 

One major consideration for mounting this to the underside of the cab-over portion of the FWC is the bed slide-out on the inside. I would need to make the back side of the mount as thin as possible, but still have it be strong enough to handle over 30 pounds (about 25 pounds of fuel and 10 pounds for the canister and mounts). Along with the locking mount, RotopaX also makes a backing plate. However, the bolts they provided with it were quite thick, like a typical carriage bolt. I made a trip to my local hardware store and found some elevator bolts that would do the trick, with only some slight modifications.

 

Since these would be the first holes drilled into my brand new camper, I consulted with Chicali and Stan at Four Wheel Campers regarding anything special I should be aware of (such as wiring, framework, etc.). I must have measured half a dozen times before boring through the sleeping platform! The elevator bolts are completely round on the top, so no way to get a wrench on them to tighten the locknuts. So the first thing I did was to grind down two flat sides on each bolt. I then discovered that when inserted into the RotopaX backing plate, they sat a bit high so I opened up those holes a bit with a chamfered drill bit. Last, I had to grind down the bolts to the correct length so they wouldn’t cause damage to the RotopaX canister. With locknuts and Loctite, these shouldn’t loosen, even after hundreds of miles of bumpy roads.

  

 

 

The final touches on this installation included some caulking, taping, and sanding. I wanted to caulk up both the interior and exterior with a waterproof silicone so that moisture, dust, and bugs would not enter the camper. I also put some caulking around the elevator bolts and backing plate to help make them more flush with the floor so that the bed extension could more easily slide atop them. It was still a bit rough, so I sanded an edge of the wooden bed extension, which vastly improved the sliding without it getting snagged. Finally, I covered the plate and bolts with duct tape, making an even smoother surface for the extension to slide over.

 

 

 

I chose to situate the RotopaX fill cap towards the middle of the cab so that it would not be visible from the side of the truck, thus making it more difficult for someone to open and empty the fuel (since the cap does not lock). With a single locking mount, it’s impossible for someone to steal the canister, even when removing the non-locking mount. It is a bit difficult for me alone to lift up the 4-gallon RotopaX and tighten the mounts, but this isn’t something that I’ll be doing on a regular basis – only in emergencies when I need the additional fuel between fill-ups. I’m quite pleased with the end result of this modification, as it makes great use of wasted space and still keeps the look quite simple and low profile.

Resources:

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Day One: Adventure

Posted on 2 February, 2012 by Jeremy

 

Day One [Adventure]

 

Spirits soared. Or was it the apprehension & anxiety around embarking on this grand adventure? Time would tell. I was departing my parents’ house in my hometown, bound for the Patagonia in South America. But before arriving there, I would need to start in Patagonia, Arizona. Just to the southwest of Tucson lies the small town of Patagonia, nestled in the Santa Rita mountain range. What perfect way to start out a drive to southern Chile & Argentina.

 

–  Patagonia to Patagonia  –

 

 

 

After arriving & getting the photos I wanted, I parked to hang out for a bit, while the SPOT unit sent the first ‘OK’ message of it’s long journey south. While sitting there, getting ready to look at a paper map of Mexico, two local gentlemen approached the vehicle. In awe, they asked, “where you headed?” I said, to the southern tip of South America, to the Patagonia region there. Patagonia to Patagonia.” They chuckled and said it looked like I was well prepared for the trip. I sure hope so, after the countless hours over the past several weeks.

 

SPOT message sent, I hit the road after finishing my conversation with those nice fellows. Before no time I was in Nogales, ready to cross the border into the United States of Mexico. Although sometimes I hear it referred to as the Republic of Mexico. No problems crossing whatsoever, and I proceeded on to Km 21 to get my vehicle permit. I still already had my 6-month multiple entry tourist permit from the drive to Guatemala I did with Cyril two months prior, in his Defender 110. I hit another SPOT ‘OK’ message there, landmark #2 complete on day #1.

 

I had long been fascinated with San Carlos after doing my scuba certification dive here 11 years ago. It reminded me of the mountains surrounding Tucson, but right on the beach. Warm bathtub water in the Sea of Cortez made for a great mid-October weekend. But now it was late January, and the water was just a wee bit chillier. I rolled into a campsite just before sundown. First order of business was feeding Carter, who did an awesome job as co-pilot as we kicked off this little road trip.

 

Then I had just enough time to bust out the tripod, set it up, and snap some self-portraits just at the sun sank below the horizon. Perfect way to end the perfect first day. Very relaxing time that evening, getting settled into the Four Wheel Camper in the 5-foot bed of my truck. The next morning, I angled the roof down to catch the first few rays of sunlight, in an effort to recharge the auxiliary battery from Engle 45 freezer consumption during the dark night.

 

 

 

Now came the first big question: would I stay or would I go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Auxiliary Battery & Solar System

Posted on 1 February, 2012 by Jeremy

Auxiliary Battery & Solar System

Over the past 7 years, I took the risk of powering all of my accessories from the starter battery in my Tacoma. Per a recommendation from Mario of Adventure Trailers, I installed a Blue Sea fuse block behind the back seat (after he saw the fiesta of wiring coming off the battery terminals under my hood). To that, I hard-wired my Engel 45L fridge/freezer, Yaesu 7800 HF radio, and inverter (for charging my laptop or any other 110V device). Thankfully this setup always worked well for me when out in the back-country, and with careful monitoring I never ended up with a dead starter battery. But twice I ended up killing that battery while parked in my driveway – once from leaving the fridge turned on for several days during warmer summer months (think: cold cerveza after a mountain bike ride), and once from accidentally leaving the 2M radio turned on for an entire week while I was out of town.

 

On this upcoming adventure, I don’t want to push my luck and end up with a dead battery, and the inability to start my vehicle while camped in a remote location. It’s an automatic transmission, so I can’t push-start it. And depending on weather conditions, it could take days to charge it up via the small Brunton 14-watt solar roll that I have. So I decided to install a separate battery to power all auxiliary devices – which makes much more sense now that I have the camper. I left the Blue Sea fuse block behind the rear passenger seat, but will only use it to charge my laptop or other devices via an inverter while I am driving (never while the truck is parked).

 

Left over from the “Chaser #1” that Adventure Trailers built for Expeditions West several years ago was an 80-watt Carmanah solar panel. This panel was originally designed for residential use, so should be more than enough to meet my power needs in the Four Wheel Camper. I sent the Carmona out to FWC ahead of time, so they ensured it was properly mounted to the roof of the camper.

 

Underneath the bench seat in the camper, FWC prepped a battery box, downstream of a Morningstar Sunsaver-6 solar charge controller. After wiring up the proper Anderson Powerpole connections, I dropped in a Goal Zero Ranger 350 battery (now called the “Extreme 350”). This will power all devices in the camper, which include the Engel 45L fridge/freezer, a 2-way ceiling fan (Fan-Tastic Vent), two interior overhead lights, one exterior utility light, two 12V outlets, and a Cobra 300-watt inverter. On the inverter I installed two short extension cables, so that larger AC adapters wouldn’t block the on/off switch or the USB charge port.

 

 

 

 

 

Not only is the Goal Zero battery charged via the 80-watt panel on the roof, but also by the starter battery when driving the truck. Four Wheel Campers installed an automatic battery separator, which joins the two batteries when my truck is running and the alternator is charging the starter battery. However, after turning off the truck when it senses a drop below 14 volts, it separates the two batteries – thus protecting the starter battery from any parasitic drain while camping.

 

To ensure proper health of the aux battery, I installed an Argus Battery Bug (from Adventure Trailers). This small device has an LCD display that displays the current amount of volts in the battery. It will begin emitting audible beeps when the battery hits 12 volts, since it’s not good for it to drop below that point. Currently the largest consumer of power on my rig is the Engel 45, so at times I need to turn it to a lower setting at night while the battery isn’t being recharged via solar. In a pinch during several days of cloudy skies or if I’m parked in the shade, I can fire up the truck to charge the aux battery (at the loss of gasoline, and causing noise/exhaust). Before installing the camper, I had the Battery Bug connected to my starter batter – but the beeps were difficult to hear with it being under the hood. Throughout the trip, I will get a better feel for how long I can run the various devices without depleting the battery below 12 volts.

 

Resources:

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Electronics

Posted on 22 December, 2011 by Jeremy

Electronics: Camera Kit, Laptop, and Backups

One of my main goals in this journey is to document much of what I’m learning and experiencing along the way – mostly in still photographs, with some occasional video. Since I plan to travel light, I started researching smaller pocket-sized cameras. I didn’t want to be lugging around huge camera bodies & lenses, which would shout out, “hey, check out this gringo tourist and his fancy gear!”

Initially I checked out some of the waterproof and ruggedized point & shoot cameras, such as the Olympus Tough Series. These would definitely survive the trip, but the quality of the images would be lacking – plus, no possibility for interchangeable lenses. After a recommendation from a coworker, I then seriously looked at the Canon S95, which packs a lot of quality into a very small size. It shoots in RAW and full HD video. They even offer a waterproof case, plus some lens kits. But these are not true interchangeable lenses, so for me a deal-breaker. On an adventure like this, the S95 would better serve as a secondary camera, but be slightly lacking as a main.

 

I was then turned on to the Panasonic Lumix GF2. This is a professional-grade digital camera with interchangeable lenses, but in a smaller package, utilizing Micro Four Thirds lenses. This model shoots RAW at 12.1 megapixels, plus full 1080 HD video. With a pancake lens, it is almost a pocket camera (and could be easily stuffed into a jacket or cargo pocket. The basic kit comes with a decent “photojournalist” lens (14-42 mm, f3.5 – which equates to a 28-84 mm on a larger DSLR). I immediately picked up a fixed 20 mm f1.7 lens, which is awesome for low-light situations and shallow depth of field shots. Lastly I purchased a larger telephoto lens; 45-200 mm f4.5, which has built-in optical image stabilization. With a supply of filters, a few spare batteries, and plenty of SD cards, I should be ready for a variety of great photos while out on the road. Over the past few months since purchasing this camera, it’s been a pleasure to shoot. And I look forward to having more time over the next several months to further master this piece of equipment, as well as hone my photography skills.

 

Full camera kit, with Pelican for protection

 

Compact travel camera with 20-mm pancake lens

 

Ever since coming to work for Expeditions West & Overland Journal 3.5 years ago, I’ve converted over to be Mac-only. Honestly, I don’t have a lot of desire to ever switch back to Windows, even though it’s much less expensive to purchase that equipment. In my opinion, the hassle-factor just isn’t worth it. And like the Lumix GF2, Macs are a pleasure to use. And sticking with the lightweight theme, the 13” MacBook Air is an ideal laptop for this type of travel. Plus, the aluminum case and solid-state hard drive help to make it “ruggedized” (with no moving parts). The built-in SD card reader makes it easy for me to load photos into Aperture without the need for any external adaptors.

MacBook Air — lightweight & powerful

 

Now comes the most important part: backups. Being on the road for such a long time, I will surely generate a lot of data. And much of this data will be irreplaceable if lost – namely, the photos. A tradeoff for the solid-state drive in the MacBook Air is that it’s quite small – only 256GB. I will store only my most current and best photos on this internal hard drive, so will need to have some external hard drives to store the rest. And in the unfortunate event that my laptop gets stolen or broken, I will want to have a full backup.

 

Built in with all new Mac operating systems is a program called Time Machine, which makes a full backup of your computer. I’ve had great luck with this program – not only for recovering individual files, but also for restoring entire machines. My main backup drive will be a LaCie 1TB Rugged Mini. This drive is shock-, rain-, and pressure-resistant, and is connected & powered via a USB 3.0 cable. This will also serve as an external Aperture library for older and less-important photos not stored on my laptop’s hard drive. I plan to do backups daily to this hard drive, and store it separately from my laptop.

1TB ruggedized drive & Magic Mouse, atop the Air

 

Since video takes up a lot of space, I will not be storing these files on my laptop. For this, I plan to have a two 320GB WD MyPassport hard drives. These are both slightly smaller in size than the LaCie Rugged Mini, and use USB 2.0 cables. One will act as a video “scratch” drive for unprocessed videos, and the other will house video projects in-process and completed videos.

 

Since no data is safe until it is backed up three times, I will attempt to have other redundant systems in place. My “big daddy” backup will be a LaCie 2TB Desktop Rugged XL. This drive requires 110 V external power, and connects via USB 2.0 interface. It will act as a backup of all my data, and will be stored in a very hidden and secure place in the vehicle. I’ll only bring it out to update the backups about every week or so.

Backups galore: 2TB & 1TB LaCie drives, 320GB MyPassport drives (left to right)

 

But what if a major catastrophe occurs, and all of the data in my truck is lost or destroyed? As Internet connectivity allows, I plan to upload any crucial documents and important photos/videos to online repositories such as Google Documents. In addition, I plan to burn CDs/DVDs that I can mail back home as an additional offsite backup. Thankfully I’ve never lost any data, but I don’t want to press my luck on this upcoming adventure. Like they say, “Plan for the worst, hope for the best.” If I stick to this plan, it will be one less thing for me to be constantly worrying about.

 

Resources

 

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Water Storage & Filtration

Posted on 21 December, 2011 by Jeremy

Water Storage & Filtration

 

Potable water on self-supported overland travels ranks at the top of the list of basic survival needs, right above shelter and food. With a shelter (FWC) secured, my sights now move to how I will both filter and store water while on the road next year. Sure, I could purchase bottled drinking water along the way, but over the course of time that’s not the most fiscally responsible method (not to mention the mounds of empty plastic bottles that I would have to discard). For most of my life, I have been in the habit of filling up reusable water bottles (plastic, aluminum, etc.) for drinking throughout the day.

Since most of my previous travels in North America had consisted of camping trips of no longer than a few days, I was able to get by with just filling up all of my available water bottles and bladders. Instead of having 40 Nalgene bottles rolling around in my backseat, I decided that one large storage tank would make more sense. Here’s where a 40 L (10.5 gal) water tank from Front Runner comes in. With a conservative rule-of-thumb being one gallon of water per person, per day – this should be enough for my dog and me for at least 5 days between resupplies.

 

Now I must figure out the best placement for this water tank. There was a perfectly sized place for it in the very back driver side corner of the camper, but this was well behind the rear axle. Having about 80 pounds of water sloshing around that far back would not be a good thing. Since I won’t be having passengers regularly in the backseat, I decided to place it in the wheel well. Tacomas are notorious for a “lean,” since the 18.5-gallon fuel tank is on the same side as the driver and starter battery. So I decided it would be best to place the water on the passenger side to help balance things out. Plus, my leaf springs will thank me for having this weight forward of the rear axle.. With the front passenger seat pushed back and slightly reclined, the tank is firmly wedged into place, preventing it from moving around in the case of a crash or rollover.

 

Access to both filling up and extracting water from the tank in this location should be easy. The fill cap is on the top, which may require me to move a few bags (depending on how to pack the backseat). The tap consists of a flexible hose, which I positioned facing the rear passenger door. This can be brought outside of the truck and below the level of the tank so that gravity can do all the work when I need to fill up water bottles or bladders for drinking, cooking, or showering.

 

When researching water filtrations systems for this trip, I considered various options. I liked the idea of something portable, in case the water source I was filtering from wasn’t near the truck. The plan would be to filter all water before storing it in my vehicle, so that there would be no confusion as to whether or not it would be safe for consumption. I came across Lifesaver’s website, remembering that we had tested their waterbottle filter back in the Fall 2009 issue ofOverland Journal. Now they offer a jerrycan filter. I can now not only make sure that all of my water is potable, but also carry an additional 5 gallons with me. A much more in-depth review of this product is forthcoming.

 

With just over 15 gallons of filtered drinking water stored in my truck and camper, I now feel comfortable being “off the grid” (a.k.a. camping on a remote beach somewhere) for about a week without having to resupply. Plus, I can fill up all of my smaller water bottles and bladders for an additional few gallons if necessary.

 

Resources:

 

 

 

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Route Planning

Posted on 14 December, 2011 by Jeremy

Places I Plan to Volunteer

I’m approaching this adventure from a point of view slightly different than a typical tourist. Instead of looking for hotels, restaurants, and major tourist attractions, I’m trying to figure out interesting places that I can volunteer & document, as well as places to stop & work for a short while if I need to ear some more gas money. With a camper to live & cook in, lodging & food is already taken care of. Granted, I will probably book a room in an inexpensive motel from time to time, in order to get a proper hot shower, do laundry, and re-organize & re-pack everything in the truck. And there’s no way I would pass up on delicious street tacos & other affordable local cuisine along the way. If I encounter any tourist attractions along the way that are worth checking out, I will do just that. But I won’t be going far out of the way for them, nor will they necessarily be a goal.

A very rough outline of my proposed route south. Subject to nearly infinite changes!

 

 

 


 

Primarily, I would like to check out places in Latin America that we’ve featured in the Conservation Postcard column in Overland Journal. Closest to home is Rancho Aribabi in northern Sonora, Mexico. Unfortunately, I’ve had trouble getting a response to my many offers over the past several months to volunteer. Perhaps they just don’t need any help at this time. A little disappointing that they haven’t responded to me, but a good lesson for me in volunteering: just because I’m offering to help doesn’t mean they need to accept it.

 

In addition to sites that I’ve researched ahead of time, I hope to find local artisans & regional industries to document. This could vary from woodworkers, fishermen, tequila distilleries, farmers, ranchers, vineyards, or leatherworkers. There are a few clothing companies with operations in Latin America that I plan on checking out. I’ve also got an opportunity to help distribute water filters for humanitarian aide in some remote locations.

 

About 7 years ago, I volunteered to help do some construction & renovation at a school in a small town in Costa Rica. A few of us also backpacked in to a village of an indigenous tribe (Bribri) to donate some gardening tools. It would be great to stop by there to see how things are going. And I recently contacted the organization, which is still involved in the community there. They told me there would be plenty of opportunities to help out when I arrive.

 

Earlier this year, I met a gentleman from El Salvador selling coffee at the farmer’s market in Prescott. He invited me to stop by his plantation as I was driving south. It’s these types of connections that I’m excited about making, especially while I’m on the road next year. I have always met interesting people throughout my travels, but rarely have had the time to follow up on those contacts. I have a friend who works at a vineyard in Mendoza. So I have an invitation to stop by there when I make it to this famous wine-producing region in Argentina.

 

I’ve been in contact with the folks at the Muskoka Foundation, and am looking forward to helping out with some of their humanitarian efforts in Latin America. They have a great network of volunteers around the globe working on a variety of interesting projects.

 

With my ultimate destination being the Patagonia, I already have some volunteer plans for a place in that region. I’ve been in contact with Conservación Patagónica regarding volunteering with them in late 2012/early 2013. They have worked to build national parks in both the Argentine & Chilean Patagonia. Currently their main project is in southern Chile, in Valle Chacabuco. That park has been referred to as the Yellowstone of South America. I can’t wait to lend a hand in helping to preserve this beautiful place for generations to come.

 

 

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