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Some good lessons for overlanding solo

Geronimo

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If any of you are like my Wife and I and enjoy going off into the back country solo, this video has some very good information and even some precautionary advice. I believe it could be valuable to those who are fairly new to these activities.

Worth watching to the end.

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American Jeeper

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I would say be prepared or over-prepared and don’t go anywhere solo you can’t get yourself out of. When your Jeep burns to the ground, all bets are off though.
 
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Geronimo

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I would say be prepared or over-prepared and don’t go anywhere solo you can’t get yourself out of. When your Jeep burns to the ground, all bets are off though.
We advise folks not to do the solo thing. We have for years and have never considered ourselves as being over prepared. Not sure you can over prepare , but I know exactly what you meant. Yea the burning jeep would be a new one on us. That is when a SAT phone would really shine.....
 

American Jeeper

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We advise folks not to do the solo thing. We have for years and have never considered ourselves as being over prepared. Not sure you can over prepare , but I know exactly what you meant. Yea the burning jeep would be a new one on us. That is when a SAT phone would really shine.....
100% agree on not going solo whenever possible, but sometimes you have to just go. It won’t stop me from taking a trip, but definitely changes the plan. Redundencies in systems are especially important here. Satellite phones have gotten more reasonable for sure, and one is on my Christmas list. That said, it’s a pretty long list and I don’t know if Santa will make it that far down, but one can hope!
 

old8tora

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100% agree on not going solo whenever possible, but sometimes you have to just go.
If you go to Churchill on Hudson Bay to photograph the polar bears , you will have to go solo , because no one else will go along , lol .
 

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American Jeeper

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If you go to Churchill on Hudson Bay to photograph the polar bears , you will have to go solo , because no one else will go along , lol .
Sounds like a blast! Cold, but I can handle that.
 

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There are also devices like Garmin's Inreach handheld units that can send text messages over the Iridium satellite system. That would not have helped much in the situation above, but he would have been able to contact help a little sooner.
 

47Jeepster

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There are also devices like Garmin's Inreach handheld units that can send text messages over the Iridium satellite system. That would not have helped much in the situation above, but he would have been able to contact help a little sooner.
I would reiterate what XJ-99 says. We're retired, and thus, have time to go off-road when others aren't available. Since much of the back country here in Arizona is without cell phone coverage, we bought a Garmin inReach unit and an annual subscription. I drop a .gpx file on my dropbox account and e-mail the kids about our plans for the next day. Once at the trail head I activate the inReach unit and send a text (via the inReach unit) to our kids that we're now going off road. They can easily check on us during the day to see where we're currently located. If they have any questions - and the cell phones aren't working - they can text us.

If we have a breakdown, a quick text will alert them to our problems. Both kids have off-road set up JKs, so one or both can come to our rescue. If it's a medical emergency, then the SOS can be activated to summon higher level assistance. Not as good as a satellite phone, but much cheaper. $450 for the unit and about $25/month for the tracking option.
 
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If any of you are like my Wife and I and enjoy going off into the back country solo, this video has some very good information and even some precautionary advice. I believe it could be valuable to those who are fairly new to these activities.

Worth watching to the end.

Hey buddy. I watch you on you tube. I have to say thank you . I called insurance company and wasn’t covered for extras. Now I am. Thank you so much. I have invested over 18 thousand in extras so thanks again!
 

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Poseidon

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If any of you are like my Wife and I and enjoy going off into the back country solo, this video has some very good information and even some precautionary advice. I believe it could be valuable to those who are fairly new to these activities.

Worth watching to the end.

Are you shopping for new Jeep?
 

fat_head

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I go solo all the time overlanding. However I also have a Garmin inReach which I would highly recommend to anyone considering doing the same. In my honest opinion, solid comms are the most important thing in solo overlanding.
 

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There are also devices like Garmin's Inreach handheld units that can send text messages over the Iridium satellite system. That would not have helped much in the situation above, but he would have been able to contact help a little sooner.
I picked one up for backpacking and will carry it in the car on long road trips, you never know when you’ll find yourself in a surprising dead spot foe cell service, and that will be the place you break down or run across an emergency.
 

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Going alone is entirely doable, IMO. With all the cautions here considered.

One critical thing to pay attention to if you do go alone, are how you make choices.

It’s one thing to attempt an obstacle on a trail ride with others around. Worst case, you drive out to find replacement parts for whatever you broke on the trail. Not an option while alone.

I tend to be much more conservative when going offroad alone. I actively avoid difficult obstacles that might otherwise be fun to conquer. And I try to plan the day so setting up camp (if that’s part of the plan) happens in daylight.

I’m just as happy exploring dirt backroads as I am on rated trails, sometimes more happy, so taking it easy and avoiding getting stuck worse, farther from home, is usually manageable.
 

jmcdtucson

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Lots of good advice here.
It took me a while to learn what this new word "overlanding" means. Now I know it's what we referred to as "camping" when I was a kid. :LOL:
Of course there were no cell phones, no satellite phones and we never went to established campgrounds - just took off for days into backwoods Arizona in my dad's Bronco.
I went backpacking with my dad and brother one time in Canada and the park rangers asked what it was like because no one had gone back where we went in their memory. We didn't see another human for 5 days and supplemented the freeze dried food with blueberries, wild onions, trout, and grouse.
Of course that's nothing compared to my grandparents who had to fight off grizzly bears with their bare hands while walking to school.
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