Car Camping / Trip Reports / Photos / Buildouts / “Overland” / Expedition Rigs Area (homeless?)

Yeah, I'll take wildlife over people any day.

I encountered poachers once and was unarmed. They made sure I knew they were.

Worst people encounter was camping with my wife and kid in a remote area on the coast. Long story short, some guy waited till me and my son were out of eyesight and earshot and made his way into our camp after my wife. He encountered our normally friendly black lab and golden retriever who as soon as they saw him, went into attack mode. My wife is a very buff, extremely strong woman and had a sidearm handy. He got the fuck out of the area and I couldn't find him when I heard what went down.

 

I was like most of you for years. I have pictures of me feeding a wild bear out of my hand (not near any campground or humans) when I was a kid. Most bears you can holler at and they will squirt up a tree, and they would rather avoid you. Lately, I have met a couple of bears who displayed very different behavior that dramatically changed my mindset of black bears. In Oregon, their numbers have swelled (you can get two tags a year, I always buy at least one) and I think that competition for resources forces them to be much more aggressive. I don't think anything I can type would change your mind, but hearing those incisors clack together at close range certainly will.

 

Pretty sure I've said it before, but you're a fuckin' stud man. @username

 

Here ya go... 21 1/2" black bear and 28" brown bear

 

^Nice. I measured mine at 20", ten year old bear according to fish and game. Nothing like that Brown bear though! I wish we still had them down here sometimes. My rancher friends don't, but it would be cool to see them return. The last one was killed in 1930 in this state, and now there are 35,000 black bears. There isn't much "wild" Oregon left, so that's a god damn lot of bears in a small amount of real estate. You can't piss in the woods without hitting bear sign. Well, who am I talking to, you know what it's like when they get thick during salmon runs.

 

I use to see them thick when I lived in Southeast Ak, not so much anymore. I didn't realize you guys had that many bears down there! You shot that one with a bow?

 

Ya. In 1996 they banned hound hunting of bears and cougars here. Their population went from 20,000 to 35,000 bears since then. Oregon sells 60,000 tags a year, and about 1500 tags get punched. I could fill ten a year if I wanted to, but I don't shoot them unless they leave me no other choice. We also had a record 2.3 million salmon and steelhead push up the Columbia River last year, and I think the bear population is growing with the larger fish returns. More accurately, bears have a higher survival rate with good fish to eat.

 

I do not and have never had any desire to feed wildlife like I'm at the freaking zoo. That's where the problem begins.

 

I was ten. Maybe younger. I made friends with the little feller like any good redneck kid would do. I also had a pet racoon, a flying squirrel, a hawk (was hit by a car, when it healed it was free to go), and a pet bat.

 

It works!

 

So i am like 2-3 pages late...but i just have to say after seeing some of the packing and gear hauling going on..

To me it looks like many of you are packing way too much stuff.

Id suggest going through what you usually pack and really look at it all and see if its actually worth it. The amount of stuff you can cut will surprise you. This will make packing and unpacking easier, plus you won't be hauling as much so the truck will perform better.

Its a common mistake for people getting into overland stuff to over pack and try and bring everything. While "Glamping" (Glamor Camping ) is great and all, roughing it a bit more in certain areas will pay off. I wheel with a couple back packer guys and they bring almost nothing compared to me. Made me really look at what i was bringing and what i was using. Cut out a lot of extra shit and i am much happier with the truck now.


Just something to consider in the world of packing.

 

A good way to do that is top make a list of the stuff you use each trip. Age 2 or 3 trips go through and look at all the stuff you didn't use and most likely leave it next time. The exceptions are safety stuff (fak, rain/cold weather gear etc.) and tools.

 

Less crap is always good.

For me anyways, the #1 things to pack are tools and spare parts and the OSK. Those NEVER leave and ALWAYS come with. After that, food, water, basic clothes(very little, as little as possible), minimal "personal items" like camera, cellphone and stuff.

It really makes the trip nicer not having to move shit around all the time

 

Oh shit kit

 

x2. Family if four here. They each have their own duffle bags, pillows, bedding, toys, etc. We have gotten really good at traveling and tent camping now after 4 years together. We are very committed to the Tacoma platform. Doing trips regularly really helps keep it fresh in the mind too, and for continuously improving.

 

Bingo!

The Oh Shit Kit is the most essential box of any avid offroader.

Its called that for 2 reasons,

1) Oh shit I broke X and need part Y

2) Oh shit i have to dig out that heavy ass box...

 

Didnt mean to steal your thunder i need to put one together. I want to find a box like the one you have but everybody wants crazy $ for them. I have 3 50 cal ammo cans that i might be able to make work for most of the tools and stuff

 

I had a toolbox in my last truck but i dont really want to bolt another huge box down in this truck.

 

Gotcha. I don't have a tailgate and don't plan in having a platform so I need some theft protection and I need ti be able to bolt or strap it down well

 

Really not even pretending to be "expo" I just like camping and exploring. So this thread is cool too check out