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Is anybody actually getting out ? (Edit)

Smileyshaun

Smileyshaun

Rank V
Launch Member

Member III

I guess I need to make my question this way , over the last couple years have you noticed overlanding has become more about the gear and the build than it has being about getting out in whatever you have . You see more and more build posts on vehicles that maybe get out once a year . I know it’s everyone’s prerogative to do there own thing and building a vehicle is fun but it just seems to be more and more about having that perfect awning and now you gotta have that diesel heater . Don’t mind me much attention it’s just my mind wandering as I go through new posts and don’t really see much in the way of people getting out ….. carry on with your day

Maybe it’s just me but I’m seeing way more builds and general discussion than any actual adventuring . I know it’s the holidays and hard to get out but at least get out for a day trip and take some pretty pictures . Let those thousands and thousands of dollars of accessories shine in the outdoors
 
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pluton

pluton

Rank IV

Member I

I always think I'd like to make a little photo story to share here or on EP, but once out "in country" I've got other things to do. Generally, it's 1) Get there, and 2) Get out of the damn car and set up camp, hike, explore. I work on documentary TV for a living, so I seek to make my vacation 'not like work'.
 
reaver

reaver

Rank VI
Member

Explorer I

Smileyshaun said:
Maybe it’s just me but I’m seeing way more builds and general discussion than any actual adventuring . I know it’s the holidays and hard to get out but at least get out for a day trip and take some pretty pictures . Let those thousands and thousands of dollars of accessories shine in the outdoors
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I do t know about everyone else, but the mountains out here get super treacherous when it snows. Then there's the Owyhees.... That mud gets extra sticky. If you've not experienced it, I can't begin to describe it.

So, in order for me to head out into that area, I have to wait until it dries out a bit (usually takes about a week of no rain and above freezing temperatures) to attempt to head out that way alone.

I'm hoping to head out in a few weeks for my first trip of the year, and quite possibly my first solo trip.
 
Autism Family Travels

Autism Family Travels

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

Winter up here, even though we have no snow, it's terribly muddy and crappy. Cold, wet, and nasty. Winter camping would be fine if we had snow to insulate etc, but not with nothing...
 
MOAK

MOAK

Rank V
Launch Member

Off-Road Ranger I

I used to post up trip reports on various forums, here, expo, mud, YouTube, F/B etc, and even had a couple of stories published along with photos in hobby magazines. I was easily clicking the shutter a thousand times during a 3-6 week trip. I even had a very small fan base. In the 3-4 years I was doing all this I discovered a couple of things. It’s hard work. When you’re behind the lens, it removes you from the experience. When you are constantly taking notes, that too removes you from the experience. I was busy “ making memories” which is a term I have come to despise. Memories, should be a by product, by default, of an experience, not the primary reason for creating an experience.

Other things I learned about myself? I wasn’t living in the moment, I was always looking ahead to the next great shot or the next great story line. Secondly, I’m not enough of a narcissist. Too often people would tell me how they were living vicariously through me. That ended up making me uncomfortable. People should live their lives through themselves. So, I stopped writing, I stopped clicking the shutter so damned many times and I took down my FB page. Now, when we tour, we actually enjoy it for what it is, not for what we want it to become, and I don’t pull out the camera nearly so often. I could easily tell a very nice short story about the day this photo was taken. However, I’ll remain silent and allow the viewer to make up their own story. 084812BC-1536-4ED8-A313-4D604FED5326.jpeg
 
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Red_Leaf_Overland

Red_Leaf_Overland

Rank V

Advocate III

Winter here is build season. Time to look at gear and see what I can improve on and what needs to be repaired that as been neglected.
Most of my time in the winter is spent clearing snow and maintaining things around the house. I do usually make a trip north for the holidays to visit family ( which is about 3.5-4 hour drive around the bay and north). That doesn't get posted here as an outing, or trip, but it is usually a few days bouncing around to different families houses ( my dad, my mom, my grandmother, my wife's dad, her grandmother, her mom).
I did have to use some traction boards backing out of my grandmother's yard. I slid backwards into a snowbank and cracked my rear bumper trying to turn around ... I was supposed to go back north today (which would have been a 7 hour round trip minimum) but my family canceled.
But for build season I have lots planed for my larger offroad rig. I have to rebuild the steering, rebuild the brakes, repair the soft top, finish rewiring the lockers, install on board air....
 
grubworm

grubworm

Rank V
Launch Member

Member III

prior to the covid lockdowns, the wife and i were traveling constantly and it seemed that the more we traveled, the easier and more prone we were to just keep going and "work" and projects easily took a backseat. the lockdowns came and kept us at home, which was fine because i have a big shop and lots of projects that i can do. right when that debacle was getting back a little more to "normal", hurricane IDA hit us directly with so much damage, i came out of retirement and spent over a year doing repairs. since i was back in the "building mode", i bought a cargo trailer to convert and the wife hit me up with a kitchen remodel. i have a great rep around here as a contractor/builder, so when folk who know me saw that i was back in the game, i got hit up with even more work...

now i have to start saying "NO" again and try to retire a second time and get back on the road again...
 
DintDobbs

DintDobbs

Rank V

Advocate III

@Smileyshaun Here ya go!

Once upon a time, every week or two for the last year or so, I drove out into the forest. I drove between lots of trees which looked largely similar to one another.

Some times, when I had passengers along, we stopped driving between the trees, and got out and walked between the trees in stead.

One time, I got my truck stuck in mud, but I got it back out.

I found a baby tree, which my ex-girlfriend named "Pickle", before we broke up. I loved her. (The lady, not the tree.)

I still drive between the trees, and once in a while I still think of her. Ladies come and go, but the trees will always be there.

Then I always drive back out of the forest, and go home.

I imagine a lot of people's trips are like mine - go to nice places, see nice things, and connect with nice people, but nothing outstanding to share. But if you're constantly documenting every thing, the community value is lost and the personal experience goes down the drain.

Also, some times what makes a nice experience isn't really worth sharing... if my photographs are any indication.
 

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Smileyshaun

Smileyshaun

Rank V
Launch Member

Member III

Offroadnutz said:
Are you checking out the trip reports section?
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no I’m lazy typically when I get on here I just look at new posts . Just seems like over the years of being on here there’s more and more posts about gear and vehicle builds than there is about getting out . Just seems to be as overlanding becomes more popular it becomes more about the vehicle and less about getting outside . I will agree with others on here about not taking pics on every trip ( I’m terrible about it )
 
reaver

reaver

Rank VI
Member

Explorer I

Smileyshaun said:
no I’m lazy typically when I get on here I just look at new posts . Just seems like over the years of being on here there’s more and more posts about gear and vehicle builds than there is about getting out . Just seems to be as overlanding becomes more popular it becomes more about the vehicle and less about getting outside . I will agree with others on here about not taking pics on every trip ( I’m terrible about it )
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For me, building and working on the vehicle is part of the fun though. I just went through and reorganized the majority of my camping gear. Now that I have a roof top tent on top of the X, my layout has changed.

I'm planning my first long trip this year (10-12 days on the Idaho BDR), which will take up a large portion of my pto for this year.

So hitting the road isn't the only aspect of this activity.

But, at the same time, I don't necessarily disagree with your statement.
 
Longshot270

Longshot270

Rank V
Launch Member

Experimenter I

Well, no pressure here. I spend dozens and dozens rather than thousands and thousands. We’re pretty set on how we like to do things which makes gear and planning easy.

I try to take at least one camp picture, a landscape picture and a group picture because I cycle through them on my phone and computers. I also print some of them on postcards to send to elderly relatives that can’t travel anymore.
 
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