Overlanding 101
Planning
When it comes to camping or overlanding, different people value different things. This varies greatly when it comes to planning a trip. Some people love to be spontaneous and have no plan. Just “fly by the seat of our pants” is part of the excitement that some want. Not knowing where to lay our heads is a great way to get the true feel of this vagabond style of living. We have done that. It does give you a rush when it comes down to just a few hours of daylight and your search for that place to land becomes priority. Others cannot and will not live that way. It would drive them crazy to have to deal with the unknown. Months before departure they are glued to the maps laid out on the table. Months before they set out on their adventure they have sought out and downloaded every mapping app available for planning routes, stops and camping spots, all the way down to places to stop and eat. Others are between the two previously mentioned. They are somewhere in the middle of the planning spectrum in love with both worlds. They have a general plan for a route for the trip, but are open to making changes as the days will come. The attitude of “we can always come back” is in their minds and always part of the plan. I am not sure in which category you fit, but at some point, you will want to check out certain places, check off places on your bucket list, or just point your rig in some direction and go, and that might require some form of planning. Let us take a look at the resources that we have available to us that will help this make it easier on us to get this done.
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Paper Maps and Books Some of us old school people love maps. We love the National Geographic maps that have detailed images, routes and trails highlighted for ease of use. We love the fact that they have all of the national forests, national parks and other places available so that we can see where we are going at any point in time and do not have to rely on any electronic device that may or may not work wherever we are. No matter where in the world you go, you can find a map showing where each road will lead you. You can also stop by any of the national forest ranger stations all over the United States and pick up a paper map. There has been legislation passed that as long as there are regulations on forest roads and inside national forests, maps must be provided to the public. Although I feel that there is a move to make all of these maps electronic in the near future, they are available free of charge if available. Books are becoming a more prevalent way of planning and also include detailed maps as well as GPS locations and coordinates, trail ratings, pictures and more to give you a better idea of what you are getting into when you enter a certain area. These books are usually only for certain popular areas of the United States, but if you are planning to venture here, these books are well worth the price you will pay for them. Funtreks (www.funtreks.com) is a great source if you are heading out west to Arizona, Colorado, Utah and California. Their books are very detailed
and useful when determining places and trail of interest, level of difficulty that you want to try, and everything in a general area. We love these books and use them every time we plan a trip out west. The Colorado Trails Guidebooks also are a great source of information when you are planning on exploring the multitude of trails there. They are invaluable when you have extra time and want to detour off and explore places you have never been. There are other guidebooks and trail books available out there for purchase. Just do an internet search and a vast number of resources will be spring forth. Just make sure you plan enough ahead of time to receive them before you leave.
Apps It is exciting to see the quality of mapping and planning apps available out there for purchase. There are so many options that there is something for everyone. Gaia maps is probably the most popular app for tracking, planning and discovering new areas. They offer a great app for all devices and also provide a website whereby everything you save is uploaded and stored for future use. You can create layers and set up your map to look like what you want and see what you want, which is great if you are looking for certain terrain, roads or satellite imagery. It seems like it is limitless to what you can do on this app. You can share what you save with others you choose and always return if you want to do a route multiple time. The cost is around $20 a year and
