Overlanding with PaleoMarine

In the Army, we have procedures we follow prior to engaging in movements, missions, etc: they’re called PCC/PCI, or pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections. The idea is that before you head out and do something using equipment upon which your life may depend, you want to check it’s functionality and inspect to make sure you have everything you will need.

PCC’s are done by the individual Soldier, while PCI’s usually are either peer inspections or conducted by your next immediate leader. The term “PCC/PCI” is often used almost as a single phrase, but while they’re related, they are not the same thing nor are they interchangeable. They are, however, also often conducted together, especially before important missions.

Ever since Sherry and I got involved with overlanding, we’ve adopted many of my military habits, and one that has ensured our success time and time again has been PCC/PCI’s.

Step 1: Planning

Checklists, checklists, checklists. We make lists for everything: individual packing lists, vehicle packing list, vehicle inspection checklist, trip plan (campsite listing), meal plans, and grocery list. I also make a T-2, T-1, and D-Day checklist to ensure I’m not missing anything. I can’t stress enough how much this not only helps, but keeps us from finding out too late in a trip that we left something important (or even trivial) back at home. In all our trips so far, we’ve never found that we left something behind. We may have not immediately remembered where we packed something causing us to mistakenly think we left something behind only to find it later, but our track record so far has been solid.

Excel or Google Sheets are great for making these lists as they have tabs you can use for each different list. My wife uses a standard document for her checklists, and I’ve also used my personal Wiki to keep track of these lists. Whatever works best for you, and whichever method you will actually use will be best.

Step 2: Packing and Preparation

Since we start our logistics planning weeks or months in advance, it makes it easy to start putting things together and getting them ready for the trip. About a week before we depart, we begin staging our gear. That means we put it into a reserved place in our home so that we can track what’s ready to go, and what’s missing.

The benefit of this staging is that it allows us to begin the pre-loading process and to ensure we get everything on the list not only ready to be loaded, but we also take the time to inspect and check everything.

Step 3: Checks and Inspections

One major step in preparation is trying or testing everything before we go. The last place to try something new is at a campsite in bad weather. We learned this lesson the hard way when we tried to put the anteroom onto our rooftop tent. We didn’t test it prior to going on our big trip last year, and we found out in the 24 degree cold that it wouldn’t fit due to the awning we had mounted to the side of the roof rack. We lugged that anteroom around for two weeks, unable to use it. It took up a lot of space and was heavy, too.

I also take the time to ensure every pice of gear I’m taking is functional, appears to be in good working order, and if I find something not quite up to par, I replace it. That’s why starting the checks and inspections a week before departure ensures we have everything we need, when we need it: D-Day. This year, we discovered a few things were missing and we were able to get them either locally or online in time for our trip.

I also begin charging all the batteries of everything we will use that requires them. For my Power Tank, I go and get it refilled even if it feels full. I like to know that it’s at 100% capacity before heading out. We check our propane tanks and I refill our small 5 lbs tank as well. Everything that can sit for a week is topped off.

Step 4: Final Preparations/Pre-Departure

Like I mentioned earlier, I have T-2 and T-1 checklists I follow. Our T-1 checklist, for example, has us turning on our Dometic refrigerator so that it will be cold and ready to have food put in it on D-Day. On D-Day, I have final vehicle inspections that I perform as well as filling our water containers and topping off the vehicle with fuel.

We perform one last sanity check just before departure and go over checklists and mentally make note of everything we’ve packed, loaded, and prepped. Once we are confident we have everything, we leave and don’t look back. One thing we’ve learned is that if something unexpected happens (like the extreme cold last year) that we didn’t prepare for, money will typically solve those problems. We bought cold-weather gloves that we never thought we’d need. I will be taking these along this time… just in case.

Final Thoughts

Our lists aren’t set in stone, and we are constantly evolving our pack-out gear and lists. For example, we replaced our Biolite fire pit with a Snow Peak Takibi fire pit and grill, and we replaced one of our Iron Boxes with two RUX boxes. It’s all about evolving your gear to make your life as easy and comfortable as possible while roughing it.

Everyone has their own methods for planning and preparing for a trip. I recommend finding a way that keeps you organized and allows you to be as prepared for your trips as possible. The above is how we get it done, but there are many variations on our method that I’m sure will work for you. Just make sure whatever you take works, and make sure you pack what you will need.

This year, our trip will take us to some familiar places, but also to more new locations we’ve never visited before. This year will also see my son, Brendon (along with his girlfriend) coming with us in his 4Runner.

We will start by staying near Amarillo before heading up to Colorado where we will go on the Medano Pass in Sand Dunes National Forest. I enjoyed our visit there last year, despite bending a knuckle on the front-right suspension of the Gunship. It was my first real trail, and only our second true overlanding experience (primitive/disbursed camping site).

We will then go West toward Utah where we will visit some National Forests and do a lot more off-roading and primitive/disbursed camping. Next up will be Forestry Service trails and a visit to the Grand Canyon where we will have our refit/reset stay at a hotel.

Then, it’s back on the road with visits to more National Forests in Arizona and New Mexico before heading back home to Texas. Our first and last days are long drives, but we’ve done that before, and we prefer spending more time outside the state of Texas than in it as there are surprisingly few good sites along our path coupled with the general discomfort of camping in heat.

We are really looking forward to the trip, and while I likely will be unable to post during the trip, I will be keeping a record of all the places we stay with photos (also from our drone) and I will post a recap here.

In the meantime, we are in the process of making final preparations and doing gear-checks (known as PCC/PCI’s in the Army). My wife thought I was silly for doing these checks until we skipped testing the awning for our tent before going on our last trip and finding out too late that it didn’t fit our setup. That was a big piece of gear to haul around and have to unload and load into the vehicle every day.

All vehicle modifications have been done on the Gunship (with one exception below), and while I do have a TJM snorkel arriving today, it’s uncertain as to whether this will go on my vehicle or my son’s. My wife seems to think we don’t need it. While I disagree, it will also come down to whether it will fit with my Sherpa Equipment Co. Crestone roof rack.

Also for my son’s vehicle, we need to mount the Apex Overland recovery points which were removed from the Gunship when we put the Shrockworks Ultralight bumper on (the new bumper takes the place of the Apex recovery points).

I’ll be doing a final going-over of the vehicle this weekend to ensure all nuts, bolts, and add-ons are firmly attached. My son and I are also going to add ARB diff breathers to both of our 4Runners as we will be doing a few water crossings and we’re not sure how deep the water will be. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Otherwise, we are prepped for the trip. My wife and I are ready to go now and joke all the time that we can always just leave a little early. There’s just this matter of our jobs getting in the way.

I was asked online (on Facebook, if you must know) whether I put the mods onto the Gunship because I actually use the mods, or because I just like how they look.

Sigh.

I get it. There are people out there who build up these huge rigs, spending tens of thousands of dollars, only to drive it to the mall or to the soccer games on the weekends. There are people whose idea of wheeling/off-roading is a gravel road on their way to grandma’s house. I can certainly say that I’m not one of those people.

I love to go wheeling, I love going off-road, I love overlanding, and I love camping. I also love mountain biking, hiking, and kayaking. The Gunship has been purpose-built for all the things my wife and I like to do. Everything has a function, and in some cases, when we’ve found something was superfluous or unneccessary, we’ve gotten rid of it.

Do I go mudding? No. I’m not into mudding. My preference with wheeling/off-roading is sand, rock, dirt, and trails. That’s about it. If I have to do a stream crossing or go through mud, I’ll do it, but I don’t go looking for mud holes to go through. It’s just not my thing (and I have nothing against anyone who loves mudding).

So, everything on my list of mods and supplies are things we actively use and have tested extensively. If we don’t use it, or find it’s no longer something we need or we find a better alternative, it comes off the list.

Our most recent camping trip took us to Martin Dies Jr. State Park. It’s located about two hours East-North Est of Houston near Jasper, Texas on the shores of Steinhagen Reservoir. The area is wooded, and there is lots of wildlife at this park.

We were able to check in very easily with what was probably the quickest and easiest check-in we’ve had at any state park. The map directed us to our spot which Sherry picked for us and was right on the lake. Although it was cool and windy the weekend we went, the tall trees helped mitigate some of that wind.

The campsite we had reserved was spacious and could easily accommidate two tents and two vehicles. We parked the Gunship on the provided space and pitched the Tuff Stuff Alpha roof top tent.

It was also our first time using the Joolca Hottap water heater. While we didn’t use it for showers, it was very nice to have hot water to do the dishes after meals. The campsite we were at did not have electricity, but it did have water (directly over my shoulder in the photo above).

The reservoir is very large and people into boating, kayaking, and canoeing could easily find days worth of exploring around the park. I did see a lot of people fishing from their boats as well. We brought our kayaks with us, but it was too windy to be safe, and we didn’t want to risk it. Besides, we had Buddy, our Shihtzu with us, and we didn’t want his first kayak ride to be scary.

Speaking of pets, the park is pet-friendly, and there were lots of dogs at the campsites around us. The dogs are required to be leashed at all times, however, so if you do bring your dogs, make sure you have a leash.

We were able to get some hiking in, and while the trails aren’t very long, they are very well maintained and it’s a very pretty trail and area. We haven’t ever hiked in an area like this, and the trees and plants were very interesting to look at.

There are alligators in the area, so that is something to be aware of, but we didn’t see or hear any. We did see some oppossums and squirrels, though, as well as many birds. The people at the campsite next to us were bird watchers, and they were having a great time looking at all the winged wildlife.

All in all, it’s a really nice park. It’s spacious, the campsites are well-maintained and clean, and the interactions I had with the staff were all positive. The fire wood was a bit on the pricey side ($1/stick) which made me glad I brought some purchased locally outside the park.

Of all the parks we’ve been to so far, I’d put this one on-par with Fairfield State Park which is rated a 7/10. However, this park has larger campsites, a much larger body of water, and it just felt more secluded. Therefore, I rate this park at 8/10. It is a very-well laid out park in a very nice location with lots to do as long as you’re into kayaking, canoeing, boating, hiking, and/or biking.

I recommend using the Reserve America website to secure a campsite well in advance. One of the realities of the world in COVID-19 is that more people are visiting parks and forests than ever, and unless you have a reservation, you will likely be unable to camp at a standard campground. We have been using Reserve America with great success since last year. It makes the reservation process easy and reduces the wait during check-in.