going2sahara » Training

OEX: Training for Mongolia mission…

paristempo — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 14:13:38 +0000

OVERLAND EXPERTS FACILITY, HADLYME, CT — 17 APR 2016. Training at the OEX CT location with the some of the team for the upcoming Mongolia expedition this weekend. Great weather for being out in the woods, and a lot of excitement for the trip. We reviewed basic skills and equipment that we will have available for the mission. We also got to know each other a bit, working together in a team environment out on the trails. It seems like it will be a good group of people and everyone is enthusiastic about the project. Got some good insight into the route and the specifics of the Mongolia Bankhar Dog Project activities. Looking very forward to actually getting out into the field …

Rebelle Training: Getting ready for a new adventure…

paristempo — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 19:11:48 +0000

IMPERIAL SAND DUNES, GLAMIS, CA — 21 FEB 2016. An amazing training weekend out in the sand dunes with women from all over the USA and Canada preparing for the new Rebelle Rally, a week-long desert driving navigational challenge through the southwest. Was so great to be part of this first ad hoc training session that combined work on map and compass skills with driving and terrain assessment in a complex sea of sand. The three-day weekend event was organized and led by Nena Barlow, of Barlow Adventures and Rebelle Rally founder, Emily Miller, and brought experienced Gazelle Rally participants together with new teams to work on their desert skills …

Rubicon Trail: Into the granite bowl…

paristempo — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 09:41:22 +0000

THE RUBICON TRAIL, DAY ONE — 13 JULY 2015. Feels good to be heading back on to the Rubicon Trail! This time we are taking on the trail’s challenges in a shorter time frame — just three days. We will have to move faster and linger less. A more intense pace means more focused concentration. It will be a more intensive test of endurance even though I have become more capable as a driver since the last time.

The trail is crowded today and just getting in has taken longer than expected as we were held up behind two slow moving groups trying to negotiate “Gatekeeper.” After the tight turns in that part of the trail through the woods, it felt good to get into the open of the “Granite Bowl,” which offered up the first glimpse of the amazing landscapes that would frame our journey…

Uwharrie: Driving challenges…

paristempo — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 13:16:37 +0000

UWHARRIE, NC — 14 MAR 2015. The muddy trails were full of twists and turns and little washed out ditches that could be crossed easily or via more challenging lines. Bill Burke, of Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America, encouraged the drivers to experiment with the harder line. The vehicles were capable of it. The drivers just needed encouragement. Burke spotted one of the bigger Jeeps through a section of trail that wanted to push the vehicle sideways. He guided the driver to take control of the situation, putting the Jeep where he wanted it, rather than letting the terrain steer the vehicle. This was an important lesson, and worth reviewing, as it was easier to go “with” the slippery mud than to force a direction…

Uwharrie: On the “tourist loop”…

paristempo — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 11:08:31 +0000

UWHARRIE, NC — 14 MAR 2015. The trails were muddy, turning a fairly straightforward loop into a slippery challenge. As if to drive the point home, we passed a vehicle toppled over on its side — probably just a training aid, but still, given the trail condition it made us pay a bit more attention. Bill Burke, of Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America, called this the “tourist loop.”

The fog rose over the mountains in the distance as we did a few steep hill climbs and a little off camber driving where the slippery mud tended to take control of the vehicle’s trajectory, causing us to slide sideways down parts of the trail. It was hard to know what to do exactly to bring it back under control. The only thing I knew for sure was what NOT to do. And that seemed to be enough, as I made it around the trail without incident …

Uwharrie: The fundamentals…

paristempo — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 10:52:12 +0000

UWHARRIE, NC — 14 MAR 2015. A cold rainy morning at the Eldorado Outpost didn’t dampen the spirits of our small group of 4-Wheeling enthusiasts, as we began a weekend of training with the legendary Bill Burke, of Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America. The two-day hands-on skill development course would cover recovery, driving, spotting, field fixes and a review of basic mechanical principles. We started out with some heavy duty technical briefs on the mechanics of our 4-wheel drive systems. Burke had disassembled differentials, axles, wheels and an assortment of other parts we never usually see in pieces displayed out on the floor in front of us.

Methodically, he walked us through a detailed explanation of how they go together, and showed us the way different scenarios affected the functioning of the gears and connections. This clear visual representation of things we have heard so many times, made it concrete and almost “easy” to understand. Personally, I felt like a “veil” had been lifted exposing the simplicity of what till now had remained a mystery of faith. From that moment, I knew it was going to be an intense weekend…

Glamis: Desert freedom in a sea of sand…

paristempo — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 10:18:51 +0000

IMPERIAL SAND DUNES, GLAMIS, CA — 11 DEC 2014. It was time to start heading back towards the road. A few last moments in the dunes, and Barlow was surfing the sand with perfection. I followed her lead in synch and thought to myself that we had finally mastered the “ballet” of movement she always talked about. I was energized and joyful riding the waves, lost in a kind of ecstasy that I cannot explain. The total freedom of the desert. The mastery of the Jeep. The intensity of time and place. I looked across the sand to Barlow, who was looking back at me, smiling. Not sure what was going through her mind, but I imagined she could finally be quite proud of her work with me — taking me from tentative beginnings with my crazy dream of traversing the Sahara to this point where I was becoming really capable. Then again, maybe she was just smiling because she was happy to be out here.

She took off again, and I followed her lead a little longer. We were stretching out the time. Trying to steal a few more minutes of desert magic. But the clock wouldn’t stop. She radioed me to say we would go back via the wadi, and I should pick up the lead. Confidently, I pulled in front and began the drive as straight as possible given the terrain. Barlow paralleled me, but let me work out the route as I drove.

I drove down into the flatter base of the wadi, zig zagging between the brush, but noticed that she hadn’t followed. She continued to parallel me up on the heights, and I realized that maybe there was a reason. I asked her if she stayed up there because she had a better overview, and she replied in the affirmative. I was really understanding now. I made my way back up to higher ground and took a straight shot in the direction of the road, sure of myself, though saddened that it was time to say “goodbye” to the dunes…

Glamis: Reading the sand…

paristempo — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 09:56:24 +0000

IMPERIAL SAND DUNES, GLAMIS, CA — 11 DEC 2014. We were back in a place we vaguely recognized from a previous trip, and I found it amazing that we could identify something “familiar” in this sea of rolling sand. But it wasn’t the first time. Though it has only been a few trips over the last two years that we had been here, we were already able to see unique details that enabled us to differentiate one area from another. The massive indecipherable desert has little by little become “readable.” And I realized that I have been given a great gift in being one of very few people in my country and my culture who could “read” the desert. Of course I was far from as capable as Barlow, and even less so than so most people in North Africa who grow up in the Sahara’s vastness. But for me, the little bit that I had learned was empowering beyond words…

Glamis: Following the leader…

paristempo — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 09:46:07 +0000

IMPERIAL SAND DUNES, GLAMIS, CA — 11 DEC 2014. As we moved deeper into the bigger dunes, Barlow took the lead again, and she picked up the pace, forcing me to drive faster as I followed. She was giving me a driving “workout” and it felt good. I was able to keep up, moving smoothly over the sand dunes, becoming one with the rhythm of nature’s hand — the very wind that sculpts the sand. We were driving poetically on the lines of the wind in a moment of beauty in the middle of the desert unseen by the world outside. There was something magical in this place, and we had unlocked the key to it. We kept on driving, following the wind to no place in particular…

Glamis: We are not alone…

paristempo — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 08:55:20 +0000

IMPERIAL SAND DUNES, GLAMIS, CA — 11 DEC 2014. Exploring around the area of our campsite I came across the tracks of “someone” else. Not sure “who,” but we had a visitor in the night. Or rather we were probably the visitors to his “back yard.” I was noticing so much more in the desert now. Barlow said it was because I was more comfortable driving, and so was able to focus on the rest. Perhaps. In any case, whatever the reason I was enjoying my newfound enhanced powers of observation. What she calls “situational awareness,” is really just a hyper sense of observation, and paying attention to all our senses, not just the visual. I think maybe the desert brings it out because in its vast emptiness we search for sensory inputs to help us position ourselves in the space. I am seeing all the things I have not been able to see before, and it is like a new discovery…