Is the Spirit of Overlanding dead?

[OTG Ben]

>> Read the complete longform article: "Is the Spirit of Overlanding Dead?"

After a recent conversation with a buddy, I decided to dive a bit deeper into the Spirit of Overlanding, and the many definitions put forth on what overland travel means. The hobby has seen an explosive growth in the past few years, and with so many newcomers, things are bound to evolve and adapt. But where does that leave the Spirit of Overlanding? Is it no more now that folks think you just need to drive five miles down a dirt road to a campsite to overland? Or is it alive an flourishing? We need to define what overlanding is, and by default, what it isn't.

It's a conversation worth having, but one that shouldn't be taken too seriously. Are we really going to ball our fists and stomp around like a toddler based on someone else's definition? I hope not! If you'd like to read the entire article on the topic, you can find it HERE.

My Question to You
What defines overlanding? Has the Spirit of Overlanding died since the masses have come for off roading and adventure travel?

You'll find the TL/DR version below

Is the Spirit of Overlanding Dead?
Overlanding has evolved from epic, globe-trotting expeditions to more accessible adventures that don’t always require crossing continents. The traditional definition often excluded those who couldn't commit to long, costly trips, but today, overlanding can be as much about weekend getaways to remote locations as it is about extended journeys. What matters most isn't the miles covered but the spirit of exploration, self-reliance, and connection with nature and cultures along the way.

Despite the rise of consumer culture and flashy gear, the essence of overlanding isn’t about owning the latest equipment—it’s about the adventure and the journey. Whether you’re heading out for a few days or a few months, if you’re immersing yourself in the experience and pushing your boundaries, you’re a true overlander. The spirit of overlanding isn’t dead; it’s simply evolving to include a broader range of adventurers. Long live overlanding!

A modern definition of overland travel:

"Overlanding is a form of vehicle-assisted adventure travel to explore remote and less-traveled regions. It's a multi-day journey that emphasizes adventure and self-reliance, connection with nature, and cultural immersion. While it often involves off-roading or traveling through rugged terrain, the central theme is around exploration and discovery, rather than the distance covered."

 

[Maranatha Adventures]

My wife & I are in our mid 60's age, we've always considered ourselves offroad adventurist instead of the "O" word. I agree on your post OTG Ben, it isn't about the new fangled gear & highly outfitted vehicles it's the adventure & the opportunities we experience. I'm talking about the pre-trip planning stages & research, vehicle checks (in our case the truck & small squaredrop camper we pull), planning the meals. It's the real experience of self reliant offroad adventure travels to remote destinations on public lands, the adventure starts way before the trip itself, it's relying solely on your own preparation & resources.
You need that mindset of confidence & judgement to deal with difficult offroad terrain, possible problems that you will encounter in your journey. You will have to deal with everything that the trip could & will throw at you: recent trail closures, figuring out detours or re-routing, the changing of weather, to sudden vehicle or camper break downs. You will have to deal with obstacles: washed out roads, fallen trees, low hanging limbs, swollen creek or river crossings, the list is endless. The journey can have its challenge's but it also offers rewards.

What is sad though, is some of the encounters we've seen @ rally's & rendezvous is the negativity towards vehicles & how they are gear up. That ego mindset of that certain gear, vehicle, to specific geographical areas explored is what some think or call "overlanding" can be a turn off to those who want or just starting out. But I don't just find that in the Overland Community, it's everywhere in society. Lastly, not everyone is mindful of the affect that they have on the environment, leaving the areas that they explore damaged, litter, vandalism on public lands have increase. Many people do not take responsibility for the garbage that they bring in leaving it for another person. This why we are seeing more closures to our public lands. The wife & I haul out more of other peoples garbage than what we make for ourselves.

My wife & I are nomads when we travel, we like the routes we choose, we have NO set time limit in one spot, just as we were in Oklahoma doing part of the Backcountry Discovery Route called Sandy Sanders Route, if we want to stay longer in camp before moving on we can, we do, if we want to stop & get pictures of a historic sites & have lunch by it we can, we are not @ the mercy of anyone or group. Being a nomad can & will have it's down falls too. But our travels are what we enjoy & gives us the memories. I agree with you on your post

 

[Craigoh]

Some might say overlanding is essentially mechanized backpacking into remote wilderness areas, including for gearheads (guys who vocally obsess about overlanding gear), families with little kids, drivers who enjoy mastering the challenges of long, rough dirt tracks, and those who are unfit for the physical challenges of backpacking. The latter two characterisations pertain to me, as due to multiple major injuries and age-related arthritic decrepitude, my joints cannot endure carrying the weight of a backpack. And I do enjoy driving challenging routes using my Jeep and 4wd truck camper to access wilderness car camping and day hiking opportunities. While the overlanding drive action may indeed be thrilling, I do wish I could still backpack to realize true serenity and beauty in nature, but that’s history for me. What’s your story?

 

[ScottN]

I will admit the phrase "overlanding" still conjures the idea of long-term, self-reliant travel to remote (or at least less-travelled to) destinations where the journey is equally if not more important than the eventual destination. But I am not sure it really matters. Does it matter, for instance, that the Australians were probably the first to use the term to refer to their travels across large swaths of the Outback such as the Canning Stock Route? Or that others around the world eventually adopted the word to refer to the certainly more exotic trips of people like Tim Slessor and friends (First Overland) and much later people like Dan Greco and Scott Brady and countless others who have gone farther and for longer and to literally every corner of the World in vehicles or on motorcycles? I don't really think so. I don't tend to refer to my own and so far much more modest multi-week trips to relatively remote locations in Western North America as "overlanding" because of the historical definition that populates my brain. But call my travels what you will, they are my own attempt to travel to remote locations and engage with and experience local cultures and environments and to attempt to learn what I can about them...and me. Probably still not "overlanding" to my mind, but still my (to date) preferred form of travel. Oh, and great article, by the way. Very much enjoyed it.

 

[OTG Ben]

Some might say overlanding is essentially mechanized backpacking into remote wilderness areas, including for gearheads (guys who vocally obsess about overlanding gear), families with little kids, drivers who enjoy mastering the challenges of long, rough dirt tracks, and those who are unfit for the physical challenges of backpacking. The latter two characterisations pertain to me, as due to multiple major injuries and age-related arthritic decrepitude, my joints cannot endure carrying the weight of a backpack. And I do enjoy driving challenging routes using my Jeep and 4wd truck camper to access wilderness car camping and day hiking opportunities. While the overlanding drive action may indeed be thrilling, I do wish I could still backpack to realize true serenity and beauty in nature, but that’s history for me. What’s your story?

This is one of the reasons I really love reading AdventureTaco's blog. Not only is Dan fantastic with his camera, he's got a personable and unpretentious way to telling his stories. I love the remote places he visits in his vehicle, but he also goes on some pretty big hikes. While they may not by week-long treks along the Sierra Crest, he does get out to some pretty remote locations during his adventures.

I'd love to do more of that, but it's always a tradeoff. Usually, leading a group of folks, most people aren't typically interested in doing a 5+ mile hike. A couple miles sure, but nothing that's going to take up more than a few hours.

 

[OTG Ben]

I will admit the phrase "overlanding" still conjures the idea of long-term, self-reliant travel to remote (or at least less-travelled to) destinations where the journey is equally if not more important than the eventual destination. But I am not sure it really matters. Does it matter, for instance, that the Australians were probably the first to use the term to refer to their travels across large swaths of the Outback such as the Canning Stock Route? Or that others around the world eventually adopted the word to refer to the certainly more exotic trips of people like Tim Slessor and friends (First Overland) and much later people like Dan Greco and Scott Brady and countless others who have gone farther and for longer and to literally every corner of the World in vehicles or on motorcycles? I don't really think so. I don't tend to refer to my own and so far much more modest multi-week trips to relatively remote locations in Western North America as "overlanding" because of the historical definition that populates my brain. But call my travels what you will, they are my own attempt to travel to remote locations and engage with and experience local cultures and environments and to attempt to learn what I can about them...and me. Probably still not "overlanding" to my mind, but still my (to date) preferred form of travel. Oh, and great article, by the way. Very much enjoyed it.

Well, I think it does matter, but it's also important that the topic should remain unpretentious. The last thing we want it someone just getting into camping and adventure travel is to be turned off, because they aren't deemed worthy of being part of the tribe. At the same time, I think it is important to define what overlanding is, and by default, is not. Most of us likely began our journey to overlanding through camping trips, and likely at some later point in time, some degree of off roading. Both are certainly essential to the overlanding experience, but just doing those two things together doesn't necessarily qualify as overlanding (at least the definition I set forth).

My goal with this conversation is to get folks who are doing some mild off roading and camping, to think about pushing their limits. Maybe starting with a multi-day adventure, working their way up to something much grander (think trip to the Arctic Sea, the Baja Divide, Pacific Crest, etc). Also, I really hope folks realize that overlanding is not just about traveling dirt roads through the forest/desert/mountains. If you're going to immerse yourself in local culture, you've gotta meet the locals! We shouldn't shy away from opportunities to turn back onto the pavement to explore local culture. I'd like to see more folks get inspired to head into the small villages, hamlets, towns, heck, even cities to see how the locals live, talk, and eat. Sure it's nice to have a campsite with a view all to yourself, but there's more to this hobby than just getting lost in the bush

 

[joeray]

I've often pondered the exact situation you've described regarding the use of the term overlanding. I wasn't aware that it originally referred to Australians moving cattle across the outback or someone on safari in Africa or the like. At least for me, it always meant a long, very long epic journey where someone was pushing the limits of endurance, of both their body and their vehicle. I never really considered the cultural aspects, it just came with the territory. When I was a kid we went off-roading and camping from our vehicles, and sometimes we went to remote places and got stuck. Was it overlanding in the true sense of the term? Hardly. And so, ever since the term overlanding reached its current popularity I've had a disdain for it. I blame it on the industry, and people's self-righteous ego. I'm probably admitting that I'm resistant to change, which is not one of my better qualities. But the change to its meaning is certainly happening, hence the discussion we're having here.

One thing to consider is that before this term overlanding became so popular, we didn't have vehicles with the same capabilities we have today. So if pushing the limits of where we can go contributes to the popularity of the name, then we're certainly much closer to its meaning today than we were in the '70s. For lack of a better term for our current activities, I'll accept your definition, for now. But I still consider myself an adventurer and not an overlander.

 

[PDXFred]

Is Overlanding dead?

I'm technically, by some measure, new to Overlanding, so it's startling to see it declared dead already. I just got here! But, I don't think I'm new to the spirit of Overlanding. I (mis-) spent much of my youth living in my car (known, at the time, as "dirt-bagging"). It's true that the "#subie-lyfe" I lived at the time was at the service of other adventures. I took my bone-stock, 1987 4WD Subaru GL Wagon all over the West —Utah, Colorado, California, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Baja-- in search of climbing and backpacking and rafting and mountaineering and mountain biking and general fun hogging. I lived in that car for a full year, plus, I dunno, six or seven summers? I found new towns and made new friends. It drove the White Rim trail in fall, ploughed through a blizzard in the Eastern Sierra, and much more and it was always a reliable shelter and base-camp. So, call it what you will, but I think that's a pretty fair definition of Overlanding, though we never called it that.

No matter what the adventure goal was, the car camping part was always an intrinsic part of the whole endeavor. A huge part of going climbing is sitting around the fire after dinner in a campsite you found down off a dirt road, off another dirt road, then off another, crappier , dir† road. Going through the day's foolishness, giving your mates the business while you cool your shredded fingertips on a cold can of shit beer... it's just not a proper climbing trip without the camping. Or a rafting trip, or cycling, or hunting, or whatever the hell you do to keep sane.

I'm old now and can't really climb (or raft or cycle) much anymore. But, I can sure still go car camping and sit around a fire BS'ing about the old days and trying to learn up the young 'uns, so that's why I took up Overlanding. I'm confident I'm not alone in that spirit. As long as folk want to spend time outside challenging and discovering themselves, the landscape and our country, Overlanding's spirit will always be part of the experience.

So I reckon, long after $150k Sprinters and $80 trash bags are gone, people heading outside—their town and their comfort zone—will still be Overlanding. And, God willing, a previous generation will be there to teach them how to read a paper map or start a fire. As long as that keeps cycle keeps repeating, "Overlanding" will stay alive.

 

[Barefoot Overlander]

Well, I think it does matter, but it's also important that the topic should remain unpretentious. The last thing we want it someone just getting into camping and adventure travel is to be turned off, because they aren't deemed worthy of being part of the tribe. At the same time, I think it is important to define what overlanding is, and by default, is not. Most of us likely began our journey to overlanding through camping trips, and likely at some later point in time, some degree of off roading. Both are certainly essential to the overlanding experience, but just doing those two things together doesn't necessarily qualify as overlanding (at least the definition I set forth).

My goal with this conversation is to get folks who are doing some mild off roading and camping, to think about pushing their limits. Maybe starting with a multi-day adventure, working their way up to something much grander (think trip to the Arctic Sea, the Baja Divide, Pacific Crest, etc). Also, I really hope folks realize that overlanding is not just about traveling dirt roads through the forest/desert/mountains. If you're going to immerse yourself in local culture, you've gotta meet the locals! We shouldn't shy away from opportunities to turn back onto the pavement to explore local culture. I'd like to see more folks get inspired to head into the small villages, hamlets, towns, heck, even cities to see how the locals live, talk, and eat. Sure it's nice to have a campsite with a view all to yourself, but there's more to this hobby than just getting lost in the bush

Great post Ben, love your goal!

 

[Barefoot Overlander]

Is Overlanding dead?

I'm technically, by some measure, new to Overlanding, so it's startling to see it declared dead already. I just got here! But, I don't think I'm new to the spirit of Overlanding. I (mis-) spent much of my youth living in my car (known, at the time, as "dirt-bagging"). It's true that the "#subie-lyfe" I lived at the time was at the service of other adventures. I took my bone-stock, 1987 4WD Subaru GL Wagon all over the West —Utah, Colorado, California, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Baja-- in search of climbing and backpacking and rafting and mountaineering and mountain biking and general fun hogging. I lived in that car for a full year, plus, I dunno, six or seven summers? I found new towns and made new friends. It drove the White Rim trail in fall, ploughed through a blizzard in the Eastern Sierra, and much more and it was always a reliable shelter and base-camp. So, call it what you will, but I think that's a pretty fair definition of Overlanding, though we never called it that.

No matter what the adventure goal was, the car camping part was always an intrinsic part of the whole endeavor. A huge part of going climbing is sitting around the fire after dinner in a campsite you found down off a dirt road, off another dirt road, then off another, crappier , dir† road. Going through the day's foolishness, giving your mates the business while you cool your shredded fingertips on a cold can of shit beer... it's just not a proper climbing trip without the camping. Or a rafting trip, or cycling, or hunting, or whatever the hell you do to keep sane.

I'm old now and can't really climb (or raft or cycle) much anymore. But, I can sure still go car camping and sit around a fire BS'ing about the old days and trying to learn up the young 'uns, so that's why I took up Overlanding. I'm confident I'm not alone in that spirit. As long as folk want to spend time outside challenging and discovering themselves, the landscape and our country, Overlanding's spirit will always be part of the experience.

So I reckon, long after $150k Sprinters and $80 trash bags are gone, people heading outside—their town and their comfort zone—will still be Overlanding. And, God willing, a previous generation will be there to teach them how to read a paper map or start a fire. As long as that keeps cycle keeps repeating, "Overlanding" will stay alive.

I loved this!

 

[Barefoot Overlander]

Hello all!
I more or less agree with the modern definition of Overlanding. I think the distance covered is a factor though. We have yet to embark on our first expedition. We are still lining up the gear that is necessary, not what is flashy or “in”. So, I am coming from a ”green” perspective. I certainly do not think that Overlanding or the spirit of is dead. If anything, it seems to be growing. Having said that, I can understand why the veteran Overlander may be disturbed when some of the newcomers are abusing the land. I consider myself to be a conservationist, so keeping the ways of respecting the land are paramount to me. We are looking forward to our first trip, possibly the Georgia Traverse. The thought of the challenges and the adventures that we will face is an exciting one. I hope that thought is a positive contribution to the practice of Overlanding.

 

[OTG Ben]

To be fair, there have always been folks who don't have the same level of respect for the land that we have. With Covid, there are just WAAAAY more people going to camp in the bush these days. I think that's probably the biggest factor of what's going on. But the more folks we can educate, especially on the topic of leaving it better than you found it, I'm sure we can make a positive impact

 

[OTG Ben]

@PDXFred Sounds like you are quite the seasoned adventurer/traveler, and what a way to misspend your youth

Don't forget to introduce yourself in the new members post HERE. Welcome to the community! Please share your adventures with our growing community of members.

 

[joeray]

I still think it's the industry that's pushing the misconception of what overlanding is. If something is sold as "camping gear" then it needs to be reasonably priced to compete. But if it's sold as "overlanding gear" then that gives the industry the right to charge 3X what it's worth and pocket huge profits. It's just another get rich scheme, and a lot of people with big egos are buying into it. A good portion of my car camping gear is left over from my backpacking days in the '70s. Nice and compact, just the way I like it! But to try to convince the current crowd that they need all this overpriced gear is misleading at best. Overlanding is certainly not dead, nor is the spirit. It's fun (maybe even inspiring) to think of ourselves as overlanders, but let's be realistic.

 

[Maranatha Adventures]

My wife Sally & I got hooked on Backcountry Discovery Adventure Routes some years back, (it's our preferred method of adventures) we done 4 states of the TAT, & several BDR's in various states. We still run many trail in the National Forest in 3 states. What I feel is the abuse & destruction of public land by those who have the destructive mindset will cause closures. We've notice "some" a few of the BDR routes have been changed or closed do to riders & 4x4 causing private landers problems, one example is Oklahoma TAT is one of the routes, that required rerouting from Sam Correro the actual founder of Trans America Trail. What is worrisome is those who have zero consideration & a lack of respect to the route & existing land owners properties that connect to these routes as well as National Forest through out our country. Another example was Oklahoma Sugar Creek Loop, one particular sections of that route Purgatory Road which has a fairly steep climb with a small ledges in the middle of it, with somewhat sandy steep drop off's was trashed by 4x4er's purposely causing enormous ruts in that section. The founder of that route took the route off his Facebook page as well as 4 other routes to do what I described above from complaints of the local land owners.

Common sense & gear preparations tell us to research the routes or trails for what best gear to bring or purchase. When the wife & I ran that route we carry recovery gear (stored underneath the rear seat of the truck) including 2 sets of traction boards, but we also brought was a set of 48" bridging boards. We ran that route pulling a 1,600lb offroad square drop camper, the truck had zero problem, but I used doubled up set of traction boards to bridge the ledges so the trailer could smoothly move upwards over the ledges w\o my truck digging in & spinning the tires causing damage to the route.

I was lucky to get all the Oklahoma Discovery Adventure Routes in GPSX file from founder (he knows my character). My fear is loosing access to all this through out our country do to mistreatment & lack of responsibility to our natural public resources. These irresponsible offroad terriorist are the problem to closures around our country on public lands, with a mindset they do not care about anything but to selfishly disrespect the trails & existing property which only gives the locals (famers & ranchers) bad impression about the mindful responsible offroader. Most of these backroads & nat'l forest roads they have to use also. I have not even touched on the litter problems Sally & I haul out that are left by pervious campers.

The wife & I are excited we planning our 2025 May trip running the Pony Express Trail Route (eastern section) 1st. We've done all what I listed & more in this post with full size 4x4 truck pulling a 1,600 lb small offroad squaredrop camper & leaving it better than we found it.

 

[Mash5]

I hate the term, but I'm not sure why. Maybe it is because it is used too broadly. I've used all kinds of vehicles to access the wilds of the American West, from a Geo metro and a VW bus to a long list of Jeeps and Subarus. If any or all of that has been Overlanding, cool, I guess, but at that point, it just seems like marketing crap. My current adventure rig is a Gladiator with the biggest rooftop tent I could find bolted up top, and we like to take it on long trips, so we are checking a bunch of Overlander boxes. This summer, I got to spend 9 days with my bride, covering almost 2000 miles. We camped a lot but also stayed in some hotels. We were in the dirt a lot, but most of the miles were actually paved. I feel the term touring is more descriptive of that kind of trip. If you call it overlanding, that's fine and all, but it tells me more about who you are than it says anything about me.

 

[OTG Ben]

@Mash5. The term has certainly been beaten to death by corporate marketing departments in the outdoor industry as a way to shake down more $$$ from consumers. For me, it's about the adventure, experiencing new places, meeting new people and learning the local culture and history. You don't need to spend $75k on a brand new Rubicon and another $20k on mods and gear to hit the open road. That was one of the big points I was trying to make-- it's about the spirit of adventure, not the gear.

The other big point I was trying to make was trying to inspire the car camping crowd to go on multi-day adventures. There's nothing wrong with driving up to the Sierras and driving half a dozen miles down a dirt road to your favorite camp spot, but for me, that's somewhere on the far left spectrum of the overland scale. My hope is to inspire these folks that are clearly comfortable with camping and driving down dirt roads to push the envelope just a little bit and embark on a multi-day adventure. Most of the FB groups that I participate in are dominated by car camping adventures, and folks who embark on multi-day/week/month trips are a small minority.

 

[Mash5]

You don't need to spend $75k on a brand new Rubicon and another $20k on mods and gear to hit the open road.

100%! Adventure in whatever you have. I love being way out and running into a cool guy in a beat Camry camping at a beautiful spot.