overland

***New Member Introductions***

OTG Ben

OTG Principal Explorer
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Apr 24, 2021
Messages
469
Location
NorCal
Just joining the OTG community? Tell us a bit more about yourself including:

  • Your location of residence
  • Your vehicle(s)
  • Some of your favorite trails/routes/areas to explore
  • Any planned trips
  • Anything else you want to share!
 

OTG Ben

OTG Principal Explorer
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Apr 24, 2021
Messages
469
Location
NorCal
Hey everyone! I'm Ben, the founder of Overland Trail Guides based in Northern California (North Bay). I created OTG for a couple of reasons. Number one, when creating my own overland routes, I came to realize there wasn't a comprehensive directory of quality and verified overland routes/adventures. Second, I've had a long love affair with maps and exploring new places since my early teenage years, which began on a mountain bike, and then eventually spilled over to 4 wheel drive vehicles later in my life.

I love exploring all over, whether it's the desert or the dense and dark forests of the Pacific Northwest, but Northern California holds a special place in my heart-- especially the out of the way places that others tend to overlook. I'm most often accompanied by my 6yo son, Thomas, who's been going on multi-day adventures for several years now. Currently, the tool of choice is a 2009 Lexus LX570. If you see us out on the trail, be sure to wave us down and say "hi". We love meeting fellow OTGers out on the trail!

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The White Whale aka Big Tex (the Lexus from Texas).
 
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camtnbiker

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 26, 2021
Messages
29
Hello all, my name is Gerard Horan and I am getting back to spending time in the wilderness/camping. I am married and live in Redwood City, CA with my wife and 2 kids ( who are supposed to be in college but due to Covid are at home). I drive a 2016 4 Runner Limited and am in the process of upgrading various components. I have upgraded the Suspension with Fox 2.5 DSC and Old Man Emu Spring for the rear. I have added RCI armor for the gas tank, and RCI Sliders. I have also added Ironman 4x4 Recovery points to the front. I made the big decision this year to add an ICECO Fridge, with a Goal Zero 1500 and a Solar Panel. I also LOVE my Gazelle tent and my EXPED Mattress. Currently thinking about a winch and a front bumper. I am an avid photographer and my goal is to perfect the art of Light Painting with Star Pictures.
I love exploring the Sierra's especially off areas off of Highway 4. Hope to get up to Corral Hollow later this year!


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Dylan Pankow

Trail Grom
Joined
Apr 28, 2021
Messages
1
Hello everyone, I'm Dylan Pankow AKA Blue Beard Adventures. I love the outdoors and go out as often as I can. I drive a 2016 Outback, 2014 3/4 ton Duramax, Yamaha 2003 TTR230, and a 2003 WR250f. I am mostly found in the Mendo forest or at Indian Valley. I am a glamper for sure, I like to have a lot of the comforts of home, I tow a 6x10 box trailer when I out. I am a FAA part 107 drone pilot with all 3 DJI Mavic 2 drones. a Sony A7c, several action cameras, and DJI Ronin M and SC gimbals. I do go hunting (upland game mostly), target shooting, and riding our dirt bikes when I'm not working or exploring.

Right now residential construction is what pays my bills, but I want to move to flying drones for a living in the near future. Please feel free to reach out anytime, I try to make myself available. Explore, discover and repeat. Cheers!
 

brainwash

Trail Grom
Joined
Apr 29, 2021
Messages
8
Hi everyone. I’m Brian Rush and currently reside in Chico, CA with my wife, son, and two dogs. I’m a newbie when it comes to overlanding, but just got my adventure van and can’t wait to spend my early retirement exploring new areas and meeting fellow overlanders. I’ve taken it camping in the Mendocino NF a few times and look forward to the Lost Coast ride and many off grid adventures.
 

OTG Ben

OTG Principal Explorer
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Apr 24, 2021
Messages
469
Location
NorCal
Hi everyone. I’m Brian Rush and currently reside in Chico, CA with my wife, son, and two dogs. I’m a newbie when it comes to overlanding, but just got my adventure van and can’t wait to spend my early retirement exploring new areas and meeting fellow overlanders. I’ve taken it camping in the Mendocino NF a few times and look forward to the Lost Coast ride and many off grid adventures.

Hey @brainwash welcome to the OTG community and excited to meet next month at the Lost Coast. What kind of adventure van did you pick up? My family and I rented a Winnebago Revel (Sprinter 4x4) last month, and all that luxury certainly had me envious of folks who have an adventure van as their full time overland rig! We even got her up on on 3 wheels on the climb out of Usal Beach, which was fun as well.
 

brainwash

Trail Grom
Joined
Apr 29, 2021
Messages
8
Thank, Ben, for the welcome and for setting this all up! Looking forward to more group ventures and this club will be great for this. After 7 long months, I picked up the Storyteller Overland Beast earlier this month. Originally had my eyes on a Winnebago, but the Volta system swayed me to the STO. There’s a great community on a fb group with a rally coming up in Sedona next month. I follow the Revel group as well as there are lots of great ideas applicable to both vehicles.. STO did fine in Mendo NF even with the fresh spring snow from last Sunday.
 

brainwash

Trail Grom
Joined
Apr 29, 2021
Messages
8
Hello all, my name is Gerard Horan and I am getting back to spending time in the wilderness/camping. I am married and live in Redwood City, CA with my wife and 2 kids ( who are supposed to be in college but due to Covid are at home). I drive a 2016 4 Runner Limited and am in the process of upgrading various components. I have upgraded the Suspension with Fox 2.5 DSC and Old Man Emu Spring for the rear. I have added RCI armor for the gas tank, and RCI Sliders. I have also added Ironman 4x4 Recovery points to the front. I made the big decision this year to add an ICECO Fridge, with a Goal Zero 1500 and a Solar Panel. I also LOVE my Gazelle tent and my EXPED Mattress. Currently thinking about a winch and a front bumper. I am an avid photographer and my goal is to perfect the art of Light Painting with Star Pictures.
I love exploring the Sierra's especially off areas off of Highway 4. Hope to get up to Corral Hollow later this year!
Hi Gerard @camtnbiker , we just moved from RWC to Chico about 3 years ago. Loved it there, but it was time for new pastures. Still get down there to visit.
 
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Vipprotector

Trail Grom
Joined
May 2, 2021
Messages
6
Hi All,
Martin here. 15 years of Overlanding off and on. Had 1997 LC supercharged and fully built for years. Sold and wine with a 2007 LC 100 series. Sold and now in a 2014 4Runner Trail fully built out For Overlanding. Had a break for a few years due to work tempo, but now on trails every months again. Also have a 2013 Tundra CM Rock Warrior that’s semi built out.
Currently in East Bay.
Looking forward to some good trips. Have a small group of friends I usually go with or we sign up for Cal4wheel, Pure4x4 runs etc as well on top of downloading routes here and other places I also research and built my own trips for us, usually as the lead driver with the maps.
Love this resource BTW.
 

godzillavsmountain

Trail Grom
Joined
May 3, 2021
Messages
6
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Hi all, My name is Keith Hampton. I live in Sonoma County, Ca. I'm pretty new to off-roading/overlanding. I have a 2006 Xterra that I bought with a few mods: 4 inch lift, 33" wheels, rear bumper w/tire mount and gobi ladder, etc. I recently ordered a roof rack from Roxterra that I'm hoping to have mounted before the Lost Coast trip! Have taken a few trips, mostly to Mendo where I camped on Horse Creek, and got stuck in the snow near the peak of Hull Mountain! They've been great trips and I'm planning another, solo, up there at the end of this week. Any tips on good dispersed camping spots North of Hull would be appreciated. So far have only camped on the South side. Looking forward to meeting you all later this month!
 

OTG Ben

OTG Principal Explorer
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Apr 24, 2021
Messages
469
Location
NorCal
Hey Keith @godzillavsmountain Welcome to the OTG community and nice rig! I haven't done much exploring in MNF since the big fire hit last year. One of my favorite locations is Skunk Rock off of m1 that is closer to Black Butte River Ranch. Skunk Rock has a great view overlooking round valley and the surrounding mountains. It's fantastic for sunsets and sunrises, and gets enough protection from the wind as well. There's also some great camping off of M61, but not sure how hard that area got hit with the fire.
 

godzillavsmountain

Trail Grom
Joined
May 3, 2021
Messages
6
Thanks Ben: burn pretty extensive everywhere I've been up there but not quite as bad on M61. I've camped a couple times on Horse Creek the last few weeks and once on Boardman Ridge (in the snow) when I could not get over Hull. I'll keep post here what it's like up there.
 

genesis712

Trail Grom
Joined
May 5, 2021
Messages
11
Hello Everyone! I am Karthik Natarajan. I live in Portland, Oregon with my wife and a polar bear dog. I am relatively new to off-roading but have been camping/backpacking for a while! I have a 2016 4runner which I have built over the past few years..now I need to equip myself to properly tackle various terrains!
Looking forward to the Lost Coast trail and making new friends in the off-road community!

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godzillavsmountain

Trail Grom
Joined
May 3, 2021
Messages
6
Hey Keith @godzillavsmountain Welcome to the OTG community and nice rig! I haven't done much exploring in MNF since the big fire hit last year. One of my favorite locations is Skunk Rock off of m1 that is closer to Black Butte River Ranch. Skunk Rock has a great view overlooking round valley and the surrounding mountains. It's fantastic for sunsets and sunrises, and gets enough protection from the wind as well. There's also some great camping off of M61, but not sure how hard that area got hit with the fire.
Thanks Ben, is there a hiking trail to Skunk Rock? Where is the trail head? I found Skunk Rock on Gaia but I don't see a road or trail.
 

godzillavsmountain

Trail Grom
Joined
May 3, 2021
Messages
6
Hello Everyone! I am Karthik Natarajan. I live in Portland, Oregon with my wife and a polar bear dog. I am relatively new to off-roading but have been camping/backpacking for a while! I have a 2016 4runner which I have built over the past few years..now I need to equip myself to properly tackle various terrains!
Looking forward to the Lost Coast trail and making new friends in the off-road community!

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Hello Everyone! I am Karthik Natarajan. I live in Portland, Oregon with my wife and a polar bear dog. I am relatively new to off-roading but have been camping/backpacking for a while! I have a 2016 4runner which I have built over the past few years..now I need to equip myself to properly tackle various terrains!
Looking forward to the Lost Coast trail and making new friends in the off-road community!

View attachment 20View attachment 21
Hey Karthik, nice shades! (Nice rig too.) I don't know about 40 days, but we could use some rain!
 

OTG Ben

OTG Principal Explorer
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Apr 24, 2021
Messages
469
Location
NorCal
Hey @genesis712 , you might need to add the Lost Coast Trail (hiking trail) to your list of future backpacking adventures. You'll get a taste of the Lost Coast in a few weeks, but the hiking trail goes to some really fantastic places/beaches where vehicles are prohibited. Will your trail partner be joining you-- great pyrenees?
 

CAchief

Weekend Warrior
Joined
May 12, 2021
Messages
44
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
Hi Everyone!

My name is Ryan and I reside in San Luis Obispo county (CA) with my wife and two children (4 y.o. daughter / 6 y.o. son).

I drive a 2005 Nissan Xterra off-road which I've owned since 2009. The vehicle is equipped with some aftermarket skids, aftermarket rear bumper, rear locker, sliders, suspension lift, etc...

I've done several trails in Northern California and the Sierras since I've purchased the vehicle. I learned about many of these trails through the Back Country Adventures: Northern California (Massey) and FunTreks (Wells) books. I have to say, OTG is my go-to source now. Such a wealth of information displayed in a wonderful presentation. Ben you have done a great job.

Hope to hit the trail with you guys soon. I can't make the Lost Coast, but may be going there in early June so will be very interested to hear about the trip.
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OTG Ben

OTG Principal Explorer
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Apr 24, 2021
Messages
469
Location
NorCal
Hey Ryan @CAchief welcome aboard, and thanks for the kind words about OTG! I own several trail books including those by Backcountry Adventures and Fun Treks, they're still great resources to have. I gotta say, I'm a bit disappointed with Nissan's 4x4 models in the states over the last few years. First they get rid of the Xterra, and then they turned the very capable Pathfinder into a unibody crossover. I don't get it, but your rig looks sweet!
 

bayrunner

Trail Grom
Joined
May 12, 2021
Messages
3
Hi everyone,

My name is Alex, and I live in San Carlos with my wife, two teenage kids, and a high-energy pit mix dog. I've been camping and hiking for many years, and about three years ago, I was bitten by the Overlanding bug. I figured it was time to stop watching all the Youtube Overlanding content and actually get out there and try it. Since then, I've taken my 4Runner on many adventures all over CA and feel I've only scratched the surface of places to see. I just returned from an epic trip to Mojave and Anza Borrego.

I can't make the Lost Coast trip, but I hope to join upcoming adventures.


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