High Water Mark Trail (Arkansas)

For this week's episode, we welcome John Liotti of Big Thumpers back to the show.  This past summer, John had the opportunity spend 3 weeks in Pakistan, most of which was spent exploring the highways and backroads with a local guide.  The group traveled 1,600 miles through Pakistant visiting locations such as  the Silk Road, Islamabad, Lahore, the Hindu Kush, KarakoramTune in to hear about his time traveling through Pakistan, along with a couple of near death experiences.

Different Agenda Motorcyle Tours
Moin Khan grew up in Pakistan and received his bachelors from San Francisco State University.  Today Moin leads motorcycle tours through his homecountry, visiting both well known locations, as well as out of the way villages and tracks that only locals know about.  If you're interested in a tour, you can find A Different Agenda on Facebook, but they also work closely with the Recylcery Garage in Santa Cruz, CA.  

The infamy of the Burning Man festival has brought infamy to the Black Rock Desert.  But beyond Burning Man, Black Rock is filled with geological wonders and a wealth of Native American and Pioneer History.  The Black Rock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conversation Area (if that ain't a mouthful!) covers 800,000+ acres of protected dry lake beds, mountains, and volcanic canyonlands in Northern Nevada.  The Black Rock Desert features the largest salt flat in the lower 48, a number of hot springs, rugged trails, 3 historical emigrant trails, and some of the darkest skies in the contiguous United States.  

For this episode, we chat with Joey Grimmer who experienced the Black Rock Desert Adventure Route earlier this summer with the OTG Crew.  

The Black Rock Desert Adventure Route
The Route is 200+ miles that hits some of the higlights within the NCA like the Black Rock Playa, Soldier Meadows Hot Springs, High Rock Canyon, the microplayas and more.  To learn more about this route and dozens of other routes, be sure to check out www.overlandtrailguides.com

For Episode 017 we chat with two bad ass women about their rookie experience competing in the 2021 Rebelle Rally.  Angie Lux (team She-Wave Velocity) and Carey Lando (team Mountain Subi) are both based in Northern California, and spent countless hours training and studying for the 2021 Rebelle Rally.  We talk with them about the rally raid format (it's not a timed race), the time spent preparing for the rally, and their experience competing in the 2021 Rebelle.

You can follow both Carey and Angie on Instagram:
@xterra_athena (Angie Lux)
@mtnsubi (Carey Lando)

The Rebelle Rally
The Rebelle Rally is a 2000+ km rally raid competition that typically takes place in the California and Nevada deserts (and sometimes Arizona too!).  Unless rally races which are timed competition, the rally raid format is a points compeition, where teams collect points by locating various checkpoints using only a map, a compass, and their intellect.  To learn more about the Rebelle Rally, visit https://www.rebellerally.com . 

About Overland Trail Guides
Overland Trail Guides features over 20,000 miles of curated overland routes throughout North America.  The best way to support us is by buying one of our subscriptions or buying merchandise at www.overlandtrailguides.com 

The Owyhee Canyonlands are an expansive wilderness covering more than 2 million acres with rugged canyons, low elevation mountains, and rolling hills of sagebrush in the high desert of Eastern Oregon and Southern Idaho.  We talk with Matthew Mangus of Mangai Rollin, who's been exploring the Owyhees for a number of years.  

You can learn more about Matthew's creative agency, by visiting https://www.mangai-rollin.com/

The Owyhee Discovery Trail
If you're intersested in exploring the Owyhees, check out OTG's Owyhee Discovery Trail.  A 200+ overland route through some of the better known places in the Owyhees, and some out of the way places as well.  https://www.overlandtrailguides.com/post/owyhee-discovery-trail

Want to Support OTG?
You can support us by buying one of our subscriptions at Overlandtrailguides.com or by supporting us on Patreon.  

If you live in the American West, there's a good chance you've either been to Baja, or it's on your overlanding To Do list.  And take it from us, every overlander should visit Baja at least once in their life!  But being in a foreign country, there are a few things you'll need to prepare for when crossing the border into Baja.  

We talk with Kiley Johnson about some of his recent experiences exploring Baja.  The first was with a guided tour lead by Pacific Overlander, where the group traveled from Tecate at the US-Mexico border down to the quaint seaside town of Loreto in Baja Sur.  The second trip Kiley and crew went without a guide, and explored the mountains and Baja's east coast along the Sea of Cortez.  Turn in to learn more about Kiley's adventures, along with some tips and recommendations to help you prepare for your first Baja trip!

Overland Trail Guides features thousands of miles of curated routes, including various routes in Baja and Sonora, Mexico.  To check out OTG's Mexican Overland Adventures, CLICK HERE.  

Want to Support OTG?
You can support us by buying one of our subscriptions at Overlandtrailguides.com or by supporting us on Patreon.  

We chat with Jeff Thiel from Washington state about his experiences exploring the Olympic Peninsula this past summer.  We'd shared a route still under development called the Olympic Traverse, and Jeff agreed he'd provide us with some boots-on-the-ground intel, recognizing that the route hadn't been fully researched and developed at the time.  We're happy to say that Jeff's feedback has been a godsend and it's motivated us to finish up the route guide before winter rolls around.  The Olympic Traverse is a 600+ mile loop through the Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest that visits some of the Pacific Northwest's most spectacular scenery.   

Check Out Jeff's Youtube Channel at Where to Next?

Overland Trail Guides features thousands of miles of curated routes, including the Olympic Traverse.   

Want to Support OTG?
You can support us by buying one of our subscriptions at Overlandtrailguides.com or by supporting us on Patreon.  

Episode Notes

The California Crest Trail is poised to become the grand daddy of overland routes in California.  Once fully developed, the route will span approximately 1,500 miles, with over 1,000 miles of dirt backroads and traversing a wide variety of ecosystems from the high desert to the lush evergreen forests near Mt Shasta.    

Largely built along the backbone of the California Backcountry Discovery Trails, OTG has been persistently extending this network of routes by developing the Shasta-Trinity and Tahoe BDTs in 2020.  In 2021, OTG looks to develop the route even further south and east to create the California Crest Trail.   Once all is said and done, the route traverses through the basin ranges and high desert, central and northern Sierra, southern Cascade Ranges, the Klamath Mountains, and the Coastal  Mountains of Northern California.  

Overland Trail Guides features thousands of miles of curated routes, including the Mojave Road.  

Want to Support OTG?
You can support us by buying one of our subscriptions at Overlandtrailguides.com or by supporting us on Patreon.  

The 138 mile long Mojave Road is one of the most iconic overland routes in California.  And while it's not the longest, most technical or arduous track, the stark beauty of the Mojave desert, quirky attractions, and rich pioneer history makes this route the perfect weekend get away.  And because it's relatively mild on the technical rating scale, it's a great route for beginners to try their hand at overlanding and off road exploration. 

We chat with John Liotti from Northern California about his experiences on the old Mojave Road and why he keeps heading back to the deserts of the American Southwest.  In fact, you may recognize the voice or name, which is because we had John on a previous episode to discuss the Kofa Pioneer trail.  

Overland Trail Guides features thousands of miles of curated routes, including the Mojave Road.  

Want to Support OTG?
You can support us by buying one of our subscriptions at Overlandtrailguides.com or by supporting us on Patreon.  

With nearly 100,000 square miles of public land (nearly 88% of land is public), Nevada is an Overlander's Paradise.  If you thought the Basin and Ranges that dominate much of Nevada as a barren wasteland, you'd be sorely mistaken.  The mountain ranges and basins that separate them are rich with pioneer and mining history, and the hidden canyons and mountain peaks hide craggy trails and high desert forests made up of various juniper and pine.  

We talk with Mike Henderson from All Terrain Family about some of the hidden gems and his favorite places to explore near his hometown of Reno, and why Nevada is the free-est state in the lower 48 (sorry Texas!).  Whether you're seeking out a quick day trip or a multi-week dirt adventure, Nevada has got you covered!  

Overland Trail Guides features thousands of miles of routes across the American West.  Check out our growing overland route library at www.Overlandtrailguides.com . 
 

Mike Henderson / All Terrain Family Youtube Channel
https://allterrainfam.com/
 

Overland Trail Guides features thousands of miles of curated routes.  

Want to Support OTG?
You can support us by buying one of our subscriptions at Overlandtrailguides.com or by supporting us on Patreon.  

At over 900,000 acres, the Mendocino National Forest sits about 3 hours north of San Francisco.  Despite its proximity to the Bay Area and Sacramento, many outdoor enthusiasts have never visited the forest.  "The Mendocino" as it's called is filled over 1,000 miles of dirt roads and trails, and is the perfect place for a weekend get away, or a weeklong adventure exploring the backroads.  Dylan Pankow aka Bluebeard Adventures has established himself as the go to person on Youtube for all things related to the Mendocino National Forest.  We sit down and chat with Dylan about the forest, and save of his favorite places to explore and camp.

Dylan Pankow's Youtube channel
 

Overland Trail Guides features thousands of miles of curated routes, including:

• Mendocino Backcountry Discovery Trail (167 miles)
• Mendocino Grand Circuit (301 miles)

Want to Support OTG?
You can support us by buying one of our subscriptions at Overlandtrailguides.com or by supporting us on Patreon.