Truck Camping Photo Thread

...We'd covered 30 of the 80 miles on our westward journey when we hit what would turn out to be our sketchiest mud patch of the day. As we powered through it and finally out, I stopped the truck to take a look at the map before continuing on. And then, I looked back the way we'd come. And no, I hadn't been drinking.

Check out the full story at Torrential Rain Sends us to Gold Butte - Mojave East #2









Check out the full story at Torrential Rain Sends us to Gold Butte - Mojave East #2​

 

just some random old pics

 

...It is of course unknown what the story of the Falling Man truly represents. Perhaps a memorial to a friend or family member who suffered a tragic accident; or perhaps a simple warning about being careful on the ledge...

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Falling Man, Kohta Circus, Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs - Mojave East #3









Falling Man, Kohta Circus, Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs - Mojave East #3​

 

Is this at Laurel lakes? Looks just like it. Awesome spot.

 

...But wow, the Fire Wave itself was extremely cool. Set on the edge of a sandstone monolith that rose out of the surrounding landscape, the pattern was discernable and nothing special from above. But, by moving just a few dozen feet down, into the wave itself, the perspective changed into a magical swoosh that we sat and enjoyed for longer than I think either of us planned...

Read all about it in From Valley of Fire to a Flooding Buffington Pockets - Mojave East #4







Read all about it in From Valley of Fire to a Flooding Buffington Pockets - Mojave East #4​

 

......As we both looked down at the carcass, I realized what was going on. I looked at @mrs.turbodb, who was of course curious about the goofy grin that had spread across my face. "We're in the wrong spot," I said....

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Hidden Valley's Secret Tinaja - Mojave East #5​

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Hidden Valley's Secret Tinaja - Mojave East #5​

 

Big Bear Lake, Ca

 

Is that the full size skycamp? It looks too big to be a mini. What’s your overall height with this setup?

 

Yes it is is the full size Skycamp. Idk the overall height, too tall for my garage

 

...Our plan - at least at the beginning - was to hit up the Owyhee Uplands Backcountry Byway, a ~100 mile journey from Grand View, Idaho to Jordan Valley, Oregon, exploring several areas along the way. From there, we'd find our way to places we'd been before - finally (hopefully) getting to soak in Three Forks Hot Springs and see the south side of Jordan Craters. And then we'd head even further west and south - out of Owyhee - to the Alvord Desert and Pueblo Mountains, in search of a B-24 Liberator crash site from 1945....

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Owyhee Uplands Backcountry Byway - Owyhee #1​

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Owyhee Uplands Backcountry Byway - Owyhee #1​

 

Social Distancing recently out in the desert, tried out the new Slumberjack truck tarp - game changer.

 

any big water puddles in the morning? from the Slumberjack tarp?

 

Too dry to tell, it didn't rain when we were out there. I can imagine it pooling in the middle right behind the topper glass, but you can also set it up with a single pole in the middle which would be best for wet weather, in my opinion. Then the sides would be lower for wind/rain protection and the water would definitely run off the sides. The two pole mode I had it in works wonders in the desert - it gave more square footage for more shade.

But it was also pretty stout, it held up to 25-30mph gusts of wind.

 

How does it fold it? pretty compact?

 

Compact enough, around the size of a rolled up single Thermarest mattress, poles and all, if that makes sense.

 

How long does that tarp take to setup and takedown?

 

Longer than I thought it would...strapping it to the truck was pretty easy, just strap to one wheel and pull around and over to the other wheel and tighten/adjust. It took me a a little longer to figure out the pole/guyout situation. Took me probably a good 15-20 minutes for the very first time out of the box, but once you get it up and figure it out, you can easily half that or more with practice. Having to use guyouts isn't my favorite, but once it's up its pretty nice and sturdy.

Takedown is quicker, break down the poles and roll/bunch/wind everything up.

It's definitely not a quickie shade like an overland-style truck mounted unit (I assume those are quick, I've never had one), it's more of a base camp setup than a fast-moving setup, but it's good surface area bang for the buck and doesn't need a rack to use. I camp out of the back of my shell when going solo, and it shades and weather protects my whole camp kitchen/doorstep area.

 

Scroll up. He described the process.

 

...Thirty minutes later, we approached the spot I'd marked to camp. On the satellite imagery, it'd looked like a finger of land that reached into the lava flow - my hope being that the lava had left a "room" in which we could camp, sheltered from the wind. In reality, there was a finger of land that rose up onto the lava flow - a fantastical camp site... for a calm night....

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Camping at a Lake in a Lava Flow - Owyhee #2​

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Keep reading the rest here
Camping at a Lake in a Lava Flow - Owyhee #2​