Exploring from the Tiniest Creatures to the Mightiest Mountains…- Tom and Solus Ipsa Burkitt

Exploring from the Tiniest Creatures to the Mightiest Mountains, and everything in between

We are a Tom & Solus Ipsa a husband/wife team that strives to showcase the natural beauty, from the tallest mountains to the tiniest creatures and everything in between, of the places we visit.

We both work full time, varying shift patterns, so when we do get time off together, we tend to cram as much adventure into our getaways as possible! And just FYI, as a worry-wart co-pilot often feels the need to remind driver Tom, “Are you sure about this? Remember, we need this vehicle to get us home and you need it to take you to and from work.”

We began our adventures with a ground tent and a stock 2010 Jeep JK called “Buster.” Tom named it that because he says … “I’ll probably bust’er trying.” Buster would later be lifted, upgraded and re-geared. We also upgraded from a ground tent to a rooftop tent that we initially installed on Buster’s roof rack, but then re-located to be mounted on our trailer. We currently venture out with our new-to-us, lifted, 2008 Jeep JK Rubicon with a 5.7 Hemi, called Growler (which Solus Ipsa named, because that Hemi is loud and growly), and a much beefed-up overland trailer with a mounted rooftop.

We never go anywhere without our cameras and Solus Ipsa tends to take pictures of anything and everything! Tom says I see the world through the eyes of a small child, and can be amused and occupied for hours along 20 feet of shoreline. He is not at all wrong! Lol! I even have a “point and shoot” in my daily-driver car because you never know when you might see something cool.

If it is a mountain, waterfall or a fire tower, it is on Tom’s list of places to go. Buster has taken us repeatedly up Canoe Mountain (the highest place you can drive in British Columbia) just out of Valemount, BC (with and without trailer, where we have spent the night with the resident marmots); done the Telkwa Pass near Telkwa, BC (with and without trailer); explored Molybdenite Ridge near Lillooet, BC; and many locations closer to our Prince George, BC home base, including Kenney Dam/Cheslatta, Greer Falls, Sinkut Mountain, Lookout (Vanderhoof, BC); Two Sisters and Yank’s Peak (Wells, BC), as well as a multitude of other close to home places. Buster has taken us on more than many trips to the Okanagan region of BC, and a multitude of places in Alberta. Two of our favorite locations to visit include Farwell Canyon and area near Williams Lake, BC, and Abraham Lake and nearby waterfalls etc., near Nordegg, Alberta.

Our recently acquired (July 2020) Growler has taken us back to the BC Okanagan area (Vernon, Cherryville and Lumby) and, thanks to the power of the 5.7 Hemi engine, enabled Tom to tow our “now built for the bush and beyond” trailer through the Whipsaw Trail (near Princeton, BC)

We carry an intense amount of recovery and first-aid gear (we have rarely needed recovery gear, but have often used first aid gear to help others), always pack extra fuel (LOL! Jeeps are not known for fuel economy), and have travelled over 20,000 km throughout our various BC and Alberta trips over the last three years. We have experienced rolling the utility trailer off the hitch ball at a non-bridged, severely steep, necessary, back roads water crossing, losing a tire and rim coming down a mountain, severe engine overheating (funny, not, how that happens when your rad fan suddenly quits working, especially when you are three-quarters of the way up a mountain to see a fire lookout), having the rooftop tent’s annex zipper freeze shut (we camp year-round, and a propane “Buddy Heater” produces a lot of condensation!), scratches/cuts/ bruises and broken bones while clearing downed trees on the trail or when moving/hooking up the trailer and, the always possible, being lost and without cell service (LOL! More than once. That’s what paper-copy Backroads Map Books are for)

We have gone from a simple cooler for food and a ground tent to a kitchen with slide-out drawers and fridge/freezer in the back of the Jeep. We added an awning over top of this for inclement weather and a large rooftop tent that was previously mounted on the Jeep but currently mounted on the trailer for use as base camp, allowing us use of vehicle for explorations.

On any given adventure, we seem to find cool and interesting places to visit in BC and Alberta. And we love to share whatever information we can to our fellow overlanders! We relish the opportunity to get back to nature and get away from “it all,” and our goal is simply to share with others the beauty of nature available in our own back yard, and to encourage others to get out and explore!

Tom & Solus Ipsa Burkitt Photographer: Solus Ipsa

2BOverlanding

2BOverlanding

2BOverlanding