Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

I wish everybody happy holidays and a safe, healthy and prosperous new year.

Lets say that you are out on an off-road adventure with a group of other people and the vehicle in front (or back) slides into you and causes damage to your vehicle. What is the right thing to do? Should the person who slides into you pay for the damage? Should you take the responsibility because you should have recognized the situation and waited for the other vehicle to clear the obstacle? Do you call it even and move on?

What are your thoughts? Join the discussion on the forum at Accident Protocol.

You’ve seen it on all the TV survival shows, people using their watch to find the points on a compass. Usually, its only a brief explanation and it’s always left me wondering (I can be a little slow sometimes). In case you’re like me, I found a good explanation on how this works on the Survival Topics site. From the article, it details the differences between the Northern and Southern hemisphere, as well as techniques to do the same even if you only know the time of say (ie; you only have a digital watch). This is excellent knowledge to have when your GPS batteries go dead and you realized that you left your compass elsewhere.

You can read the article at Using Time as a Compass.

Everybody has their own definition of these words. This is what the Merrian-Webster dictionary defines the meaning of these words that are used throughout this site.

Overland: by, on, or across land

Exploration: the act or an instance of exploring

Explore: to travel over (new territory) for adventure or discovery

Adventure: an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks; the encountering of risks; an exciting or remarkable experience

Expedition: journey or excursion undertaken for a specific purpose; the group of persons making such a journey

What is your definition of these terms?

The 2008 JPFreek Gear Guide issue has just been released and is available for download at www.jpfreek.com

In this issue, in addition to the 2008 Gear Guide that has reviews on jeep stuff, recovery gear, camping gear, outdoor clothing, etc., there are some great adventure travel articles including Planning Your Menu, Planning Your Shelter, Trail Winching Techniques and much more. It’s a excellent read even if you don’t drive a Jeep.

There is a new discussion started on the forum about the definition of “overland travel” and “exploration” This subject should provide for some good dialogue.

Join in or read the discussion at What is Overland Travel?

PORT ANGELES/December 10, 2007 – At a public meeting here Friday, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a package of new rules for public conduct on lands managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and deferred action on others.

The proposed rules, developed by WDFW after an extensive public-input process, addressed dumping, camping, commercial use, fire-building, firearm use and other activities on WDFW wildlife areas and water-access sites around the state. The rules will go into effect by Jan. 31, 2008.

The nine-member commission, which sets policy for WDFW, deferred action on three rules dealing with livestock grazing, resource removal and vehicle use. The commission requested initiation of a new rule-making process to further revise those rules and gather additional public input.

In the interim, the current state regulations pertaining to livestock grazing, resource removal and vehicle use on department lands remain in effect.

The complete public-conduct rule package is available on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wac232/.

Read more at http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/release.php?id=dec1007a

Many people make the mistake of traveling through winter conditions without proper preparations. How will you survive if your car is caught in a blizzard and there is nowhere else to go? Sitting there and freezing to death is not an option because here is what you do…

Read more at How to Make a Survival Heater for Your Car

Even though we never found that perfect Christmas tree, we had a great time with some great people under beautiful blue skies on this year’s Christmas Tree run to the Cle Elum, Washington area.

We all met for breakfast at the Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum. Already seated upon our arrival were Jerry (aka soggymountain) and Evelyn from Yakima, Brian (aka Photog) and Cindy from Gig Harbor, Valerie and her mother Ellen from Bothell and Kent, and friends of Ellen’s (whom I did not get their names). Of course I can’t forget to mention my wife Martha, daughter Korinne and our dog Tareva.

After breakfast, we headed out of town to the Roslyn Cyclery in Roslyn to purchase our tree permits. We were the only family on the hunt for a Christmas tree, everybody was out for the fun of it. After getting the permit, we headed out of town, past Ronald towards Salmon la Sac.
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LAS VEGAS, Nov 14, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Columbus Geographic Systems (GIS) Ltd. (”Columbus”) (OTC Pink Sheets: CGSE) today unveiled Ranger - its latest off-road navigation application. This is a robust navigation system aimed at the fast-growing market for recreational, off-road and outdoor enthusiasts - whether off-road driver, skier, hiker, mountain biker, or camper.

Ranger is a cutting-edge navigation software providing location-based, Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping, navigation, and information solutions for the off-road environment. Ranger works on a range of devices including Car PC, PDA, and Personal Navigation Devices (PND). Columbus will offer Ranger for cellular phones by the first quarter of 2008.
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