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Hiking Death Valley Part 3 - We Trek Miles Across the Desert Our sleep was short-lived, the wind continuing to pick up as the night wore on. In fact, this chapter technically starts on February 15th, since it was 11:45pm when we awoke to the most violent shaking of the tent I've ever...

...As we made our way into the hills, we eventually turned into a wash and behind down into a hidden valley, simply following tracks from visitors that were few and far between. And before us, the colors were suddenly amazing. I let out an audible "wow," over the CB - Ben and Zane still a ways...

Hiking Death Valley Part 2 - Room Canyon and...Water Crossings? The night passed much more peacefully than the one before and we slept extremely well on our new Exped Megamat Duo 10 - a great fit in the @Cascadia tents Mt. Shasta, and significantly more comfortable than the foam mattress...

Well, that made me smile - thank you! At the risk of just promoting my blog, you're welcome to sign up for emails of new posts... I'm still catching up posting stuff here on ExPo. Like the "work safety" the only thing that comes of entering your email here are notifications of posts; no junk...

Before it even began, the trip was off to a rough start. See, we'd planned - if you can call deciding to go on a trip just a few days prior to departure, "planning" - to leave two weeks earlier, but inclement weather caused us to push the trip back. Even so, the weather report was iffy just a...

The Day the Tent Closed...with Us Inside Before it even began, the trip was off to a rough start. See, we'd planned - if you can call deciding to go on a trip just a few days prior to departure, "planning" - to leave two weeks earlier, but inclement weather caused us to push the trip back...

Still some rubbing in the back corner of the wheel well/fender flare due to the 3.5" backspacing on the SCS wheels. I didn't actually expect much change in the rubbing with the UCAs, since my adjustment really just got me back to 0 degrees caster (i.e. back to stock position). The real reason...

I pulled out the OTC 7503 tie rod puller from the OTC 6295 Front End Service Kit and lined everything up. Everything I'd heard suggested that I could be in for an explosive separation when the upper ball joint stud pushed out of the UCA - so I gingerly tightened the screw while squinting behind...

Bye Bye Toytec, New UCA's and ADS Shocks in the Front What can I say? It's the end of an era, sort of. Really, it's the end of a transition period for the Tacoma - a time when it was transitioning from daily driver and home renovation hauler to a more dedicated exploration vehicle. It was...

Thanks, it's something I've known about but never put into the kit.

Well, living in WA, our trails are what I'd like to refer to as "tree tunnels," so yeah, I have plenty of pinstriping from my adventures. Tent does just fine in those situations. Being behind the cab helps to protect it quite a bit, and it's significantly narrower than the truck - like 5" inset...

Thanks! The military cases are ~31x18" and have depths of 7" (small) and 11" (medium). There's also a large size (that I don't have any of) and I think they are ~20" deep.

OSK (Oh ******** Kit) - More Tools and Spare Parts My OSK is still a work in progress. I essentially started only basic tools at the beginning of the year, but longer and more remote trips - as well as prodding from others with more experience - have gotten me to start building out this kit. It's...

First Aid I've been super lucky and never had to use my first aid kits for anything except minor cuts and scrapes, but I always take two kits with me - one for minor stuff, and one that can help in a more serious event. Of course, they both contain some of the basic items, since one kit or the...

Food on trips No trip has exactly the same food - but I do follow a pattern, so it makes sense to explain that pattern and then I'll share some sample food items. Generally, I plan to eat out (fast food) any meals that are on the way to the location of the trip; I eat out of the truck for the...

Gear Roundup - What I Take With Me On Trips (2018 edition) December 29, 2018. I get asked by a lot of folks, some flavor of, "What do you pack when you go on a trip?" So, I thought it'd be a good time to run through what goes into the truck for an adventure. In fact, I think that a post once a...

I've Delayed Long Enough - Changing the Spark Plugs December 20, 2018. I don't know why, but I've been super nervous about changing my spark plugs and wires. So nervous in fact, that I've had the plugs and wires in the for eight months (since April) gathering dust and taunting me to install...

Tacoma Rear Shock Relocation - Scrapping the First Attempt and Trying Again December 17, 2018. I'm generally pretty good at building things with my hands, but in relocating the rear shocks on my first gen Toyota Tacoma, I'd royally screwed up. If you haven't read about that, I'd recommend...

At 60 feet in, the water was quite clearly up over the top of the tires and bottom of the doors on the driver side and I could tell it was even deeper on the passenger side - @mrs.turbodb now much more serious about the crossing than she'd been the afternoon before. And we were still getting...

Mojave Road Part 2 - So Much Adrenaline I'm Shaking The rain did seem to tail off sometime in the middle of the night, and the breeze did definitely continue on into the morning. All of this gave us hope that we'd climb out of the tent to a similar situation as the previous morning - overcast...