fantastic headgear

it isn't just any day ya fill in the new wave of treading on broiling sand dunes

love it. it's a king size bed up there so there's not much to dislike can store all my bedding up there as well.

not a big fan of the 160+ weight up there but I'm over built for the light off-roading I do.

The tent alone is 160+??

Denver?

tent 160lbs
rack platform ~65lbs
bedding ~10lbs
lights are up there too, so may as well add another 20lbs or so

case in point

What’s the static load of the vehicle roof? When you factor in the body weight in the tent, it must be over manufacturer specifications, right?

frontrunner rack. bolts to the rollbar

So, I hit a nice little summit today. Nothing spectacular as it is in the 90s now and that makes mountains tough. Lake Roosevelt off in the distance.



That’s not the fun part.

I hike back down to my truck and find a couple, in their 60s, I’m guessing, looking miserable. Clearly they are not used to the heat.

Long story short, their vehicle broke down and we are 20 miles from just getting cell service let alone finding someone that can help. No problem, I’ll get them to civilization.

They’re out wandering the American Southwest on a 6 month odyssey.

Here’s the thing, they are a French couple. The lady has a bit of English but the husband has none.

I’m almost pissing myself with excitement. 5 years of French I have under my belt. 3 in high school and 2 in college. This is my first chance after all these years to use my skills out in the wild.

I just start yapping and they light up.

Right up until they start replying. I’m catching about every 9th or 10th word. So sad. It’s too thick and I just can’t sort it out.

We had a good laugh when I told them they don’t sound anything like those tapes I had to listen to in school.

Currently in Dell City Texas about to head north into the boonies

headed to the Mescalero unless your cars bad

I’m dreading the hike out. It’s hot down here. Gonna jump in to cool off first.

beautiful

I'd just sit in that pool until someone comes to get me.
I would be hoping that the searchers could beat the night critters!

First overland trip was a success but had a few issues.

Tried to follow the path from Overland trail guides but it was all ****ed up. Road just ended at one point. Got a few scratches from driving through mesquite and cactus



Wrong neighborhood mother ****er



Ended up coming to a locked gate. Turned around and ended up camping outside Dell City.


Wednesday Morning drove from Dell City around the north part of Guadalupe through Big Dog Canyon.

Please don't tell mom we were playing in the street



One thing I love about west Texas/Southern NM is when the road goes to the horizon




Big dog canyon



Camped Wednesday night and drove around Lincoln National forest on the east side of Guadalupe.



Got up Thursday morning to this



Eastern most part of the park



and headed off to Odessa, but stopped to get some west Texas fine dining

Looks fun. The best trips happen when they don’t go according to plan.

Dang! You passed up some veal on the hoof just a little while back.

j/k. I would love that trip, but I'd have to be able to find a comfortable bed to sleep in every night and a halfway decent restaurant for one meal a day.

I'm spoiled. I admit it. I'm enjoying the pics though!

by all accounts the best pair of micro burros you ever had

They just hit harder when you’ve been camping for two days.

ab-so-lutely
years ago had my first taste of canadian a&w after being in the woods for a week and nearly lost my mind

On the Mogollon rim.

This, my friends is a blonde black bear. 30ish yards. Walking down hill and did not take any notice of the hiker. Gave a little whistle and he pops his head up to take notice and appears slightly bewildered.

Whether he noticed the pistol with the dangerous game load or not, he decided to trot off to go on about his day.

The photographer remained in place for a solid 15 minutes intensely aware of his surroundings to ensure the bear was not performing any flanking maneuvers.

Had it been a female or cubs would have been spotted, the bear would not have been alerted.

This was no time to be concerned about f-stops and shutter speeds so excuse the lack of quality.

A storm rolled through last night and cooled things off. Low 80’s this morning. Decided to jump in the truck and find an impromptu hike.

I ended up in big horn sheep country in the Superstition wilderness. I had hoped to catch a glimpse of a sheep or two but no such luck.

I picked this peak as my destination.



Spoiler alert, I did not make it. There’s no trail and the path I decided on ended in a dead end. Trapped. I think I may have been able to scramble up with some effort but the more I thought about it, I had no idea if I could get back down. I would not have been able to make it down the same way and would have been screwed if there wasn’t another way.

The Arizona desert is gorgeous.





I saw no wildlife beyond a few lizards. I did find this interesting long trail/line of rocks. My picture does not show how much it stood out. It went on for 150’ or so. I’m sure the real explanation is not anywhere near as interesting as to what my imagination conjured up.



Get outside people.

likely among your wisest words of wisdom
beautiful country

I am frequently near Yellowstone, mostly to the West and North (Ennis or Livingstone, for example). From the last time I was actually in the park, June 95 (note the snow):


Later in June from the same trip:


My trusty (hardly) 72 Westphalia VW. Miss it every day.