Prep Work Part 1-Where are you going?

Overlanding-Prep Work Part 1-Where are you going?

So you are dreaming of an overlanding trip, great!  Where are you going to go?  Well it first is going to depend on how much money and time you have.  After that any trip should start with a general where, like I want to go to Colorado, or Big Ben National Park.  Now we need to do a little research about the location we have chosen for our adventure.

When I decided to do the Oklahoma Adventure Trail, a trail that circles the edges of Oklahoma, I did a lot of searching on the internet.  I would check out videos on YouTube.  To do this I just typed the words Oklahoma Adventure Trail in the search bar and BANG several videos appeared!  I also did a search on FaceBook and found a page built just for the OAT, jackpot!  I was able to find  a ton of important information about the trail.  I discovered updated routes becasue of bridges being washed out.  I also found a few "must sees'  I would not have known about with out doing a little digging.
Although the Facebook page had a map I could pull up in Google Earth and Gaia I still spent a bunch of time zooming in and looking at the trail, I just wanted to get a better idea of what I was getting into.  Now I know some people and even me most of the time like to just pick a spot and go, no plans and no idea of what to expect.  That works great when you go alone or with just one other person that understands what could happen.  I had a time table and  four other vehicles to worry about, and this was the first ever All Over Overland official trip.  The guys on Expedition Overland plan to the T for the trips they take, so why wouldn't I?  We knew where we had to be each night to camp.  All but one night we made it on time, I made a wrong turn and got just a little lost.  We still made it to camp before dark so all was good.

I also reached out to other overlanders that I knew did the same trip.  I got so much great information from people, like when was the best time to go.  A lot of trails can turn into nightmares in the raining seasons so ask around to find out when is the best time to go.  If you don't know anyone that has done the route you plan on taking find some local off-road or overland page on FaceBook and just ask.  Most people want to help you and you will find great resources from local groups.

Another great idea is to find out what is happening in the news for the areas you will be traveling.  There had been several big wildfires in the area where we had planned to go.   Even up to the day we left I was looking to see what direction they were moving and what areas we need to avoid.  Still with our planing we did pass a small fire.  I have seen many trips on YouTube that had to take a several hour reroute because of wildfires.  So keep up with what is going on in world events and weather.  This is super important when traveling to other countries.

This will be a multi part blog on prep work.  Others that I am working on include but are not limited to-Lists, How to Pack, How to Get Everyone on the Same Page, and I'm sure others will come up also.  Thanks again for reading my words and remember GO ALL OVER!