Join me on my journey off road. Equipment, travels, experiences and the people that are part of my exciting life filled with learning, traveling and getting tires dirty.
I’d like this website to reflect the variety of inspiration and respect for the outdoors.
Keep Driving
NadiaM
I signed up for a 6 month subscription to Nomadik.
Nomadik sends you a box of camping accessories once a month. For me a6 month subscription lasts 6 months- but not according to this company.
When I saw a second charge on my credit card that I didn’t authorize or was given notification of I contacted the company via email.
They sustained that I signed the agreement of a re maccurring 6 month subscription. When I told them I wasn’t notified of the upcoming charge- standard practice for companies these days. Their response was- well to signed.
I can no longer recommend this company because of their aggressive marketing practices.
I had a fantastic day on Burns Canyon trail, CA with friends. We went up and on trails that a Subaru doesn’t venture on. The car did great and I logged in experience on narly trails. Burns Canyon was especially rugged, deeper ruts and lots of exposed. The rain was welcome, and the trails more challenging.
A friend spotted me in especially rough areas. Trusting your spotter in these situations is paramount. If you don’t trust their eye and judgement crashes are going to happen.
I was impressed with what my Outback Wilderness accomplished and my friends who were all driving Jeeps were also. Looking forward to more off road miles.
About the trail- the name? Pontiac Sluice?
The name the trail goes by- well once you get through the rocky uphill trail that you pass by former mines, it opens to a beautiful clearing we’re the remains of an old Pontiac lays. The rusted cassis is beat down, no seats just a steering wheel. No one in our group knew how the car go there in the first place. If you do please post a comment. here is a photo of the group with the Pontiac
This is the fun part. Getting out there on the dirt and sand and feelings how tires grip and move.
This was the first time I drove this car off road. I went to Borrego Springs National Park, CA and had great fun throwing up some dirt. I was impressed with how easily the car handled these conditions, and I didn’t even use the dirt/snow mode.
Tons of fun.
Keep Driving
NadiaM
Fonts Point A ranch were iron animal live Lookin’ good dirty
A group of patient friends and I did the Bee Canyon Run. It is an off road trip from Hemet, to Idyllwild. I narrow dirt, deep rut climb from Hemet to the town of Idyllwild, CA.
I want to thank Kathryn Robinson for this incredible day. She arranged this off road trip with, Greg and Lisa Robinson, and her friend Dona Rose for a great day of off roading and good company.
The Idyllwild -Bee Canyon Run is 15.5 miles long and an off roaders dream. Blind turns, uphill climb, ruts and narrow passages. The trail is used by motorcyclist and Razors, along with other 4×4 and a few brave AWD vehicles.
The weather was perfect, bushes in bloom and plenty of good company. My impressions of my first time run were, well excited, and challenging.
The unexpected unnerving sensation was going off canter. Especially in a tight turn, wow. I am grateful to have such helpful and pleasant people with me. I learned the capabilities of my Outback Wilderness were far beyond my imagination and going slow through ruts does keep your bumped attached to your car. Enjoy the photos.
Keep Driving
NadiaM
Getting the radios in sync Water crossing Scenery Follow the leader The tail Looks good dirty
The first equipment I looked into for my vehicle is recovery.
The choices are many. Not all, exactly work. So this is what I have learned. If your vehicle has recovery points check the manufacturer for weight limits. A rule of thumb for recovery points is: it should be able to handle 4 times the weight of the vehicle. Clamping on a shackle that can take 10,000 on a tow point with a 4,000 limit will not increase the capacity. A recovery point is only as strong as it’s weakest link to the frame.
Tie down points are not recovery points so if you choose to use them keep that in mind.
For my Outback Wilderness I chose to use the tow points. They are the only option and I will need to keep their limitations in mind when in use. As for the tow hooks, I purchased Rally rated Tow hooks because the ones that come with the vehicle have been known to break during recovery.
That all being said, I’m excited to receive them later this week. And as a additional point, leaving the tow hooks in place can interfere with your airbag system so I’m opting to keep them in my recovery gear box. More on that next post.
I’m sharing pieces of equipment that I have purchased as I go along. This will not be a complete list of what you need but a journal of the items that I’ve purchased and why. There are very experienced and knowledgeable people out there and if you have suggestions please leave a comment. As always be respectful of others as you would want to be respected.
I live in a community that has strong ‘off-roading culture’. There are local businesses that create off road equipment and YouTubers that rate trails that are in my zip code. I believe in supporting local businesses whenever possible, this guides my choices of where I choose to buy equipment. This is not a sponsored blog.
Everything from Motocross, Rock Crawling and Over-landing are and have been, popular in my part of Southern California for many years. We are blessed with large areas of wild land that is easily accessible and many spend their weekend on two or four wheels off road.
Off road driving is crazy fun until you get stuck. As a responsible drivers we need to have recovery equipment and not exclusively rely on others, and we my be in the position to help someone else that finds themselves in a pinch.
Unless you have unlimited funds a recovery kit will be tailored to your vehicle and where you plan to drive. Knowing your vehicle ( weight, towing capacity etc) is fundamental. For example, my vehicle weights just under 4,000 pounds and it’s towing capacity is 3,500 pounds. Knowing how much you can load on the roof is important if you plan on using a roof rack for carrying equipment or a roof top tent. I live in a very dry area where sand is common.
My first piece of equipment I purchased was a shovel. I wanted a sturdy, compact one that I could store easily. I found just that at RhinoUSA.
RhinoUSA compact shovel with case
This tough little shovel arrived with a sturdy case. This picture shows the shovel fully extended but the best part is how compact it is when folded up.
Folded shovel with case
The great design and the thickness of the metal impressed me. I easily slipped this into my recovery box leaving plenty of room for other necessities.
When completely unfolded there is the option of making it into a pick too. Duel use for one piece of equipment is a big star for me.
Shovel and pick
RhinoUSA is located in Murrieta, California. Your order arrives with a coupon for your next purchase and stickers. They also sell on Amazon. I’m very happy with this purchase and will be ordering other equipment from them.
I’ve taken photos of the shovel in steps of unfolding.
How to store and carry essentials are important questions. Once you know and have your recovery gear deciding where to store it and how are big issues when the amount of space you have is limited and accessibility is key. When your in a pinch you want to have the equipment easily accessible.
I decided that I want to store the majority of my recovery equipment on my roof. Why? The tools that I will keep up there will be the larger ones and the ones that will most likely get really dirty. It’s easier to get mud off the outside then inside a car, in my opinion.
An issue that came to my mind about storing equipment on a roof rack was drag. I kept that I’m mind when choosing a rack and a recovery box.
I wanted a low profile recovery box that was study enough to hold the bulky recovery tools. A YouTuber who uses a Subaru Forester for off road used a rifle case, and I grab that idea. To see the Forester build watch this : https://youtu.be/hZflNuJWNm4
I found an inexpensive and sturdy rifle case on Amazon and so far I have most of my recovery tools in it. It’s low profile but thick enough to hold tools and a hand winch, is padded inside easy to carry. What do you use as a recovery box?
I ordered the Thule crossbars for my 2022 Outback Wilderness from the Subaru dealership where I bought my car. They had them in stock and I picked them up the same day.
At first I thought to install them at the points already on the rails. I researched where others installed them and no one used the copper colored points on the rails to mount the crossbars so I went with the exposed sites.
Thule has a good video on YouTube that clearly demonstrates the installation. Getting the crossbars equally positioned was the most involved part of the installation. fixing them was easy. Inserting the locks were frustrating. The locks wouldn’t slip right in and I had to work it to insert them.
They look good on the car. There is a whispering noise when driving when the sunroof is open, but not too bad. Once the cargo rack is on I think the noise level will go up.
The crossbars are rugged and extend about 2 and a half inches out from the rails but not enough to bother when you get in the car or pass by.
When you off road or overland there are some supplies that you just don’t want in the vehicle with you, and others just take up limited valuable space. That’s why I chose to get a cargo basket. An added perk is that they look awesome.
The choices in roof racks and cargo baskets are mind boggling. Having tons of options is nice but can be confusing. Prioritizing is key. What you choose to prioritize is custom to you budget, needs, and vehicle.
Most roof racks and cargo baskets need rails and crossbars to be on your vehicle. Mine came stock with crossbars, and knowing how much weight your vehicle can carry is important also.
I liked the no drill concept for crossbars/cargo basket installation. For Subaru’s there are two company’s that I know of that created a no drill rails and crossbar system. One is Spider and the other is Prinsu. Before choosing this system I suggest that you look up the install process, it is involved and the interior of the car is dismantled.
For crossbars I chose the Thule heavy duty crossbars that Subaru recommends for the Outback Wilderness.
The cargo basket wasn’t as easy to select. I wanted a cargo system that was easy to install and that complemented the top line of my vehicle. I bought the Off Grid Yakima cargo rack in large, and I love it.
I purchased it off Amazon and assembled it in my living room. it is heavy, 50 pounds. The pamphlet was clear and assembly straight forward. Getting it on the roof- was a different story.
The weight coupled with the length of the cargo basket made it impossible fir me to do it myself. I’m 5’9” the reach wasn’t the problem. Hauling up a wide 50 pound rack was. My son gave me a hand d and the rest of the install was easy.
While assembling the basket one of the push bolts was broken. The seller on Amazon gave me a $10 rebate. I contacted Yakima and they sent me one that arrived within a week.
Finished look. Thule Crossbars with a Yakima Off Grid Cargo basket
I ordered the Thule crossbars for my 2022 Outback Wilderness from the Subaru dealership where I bought my car. They had them in stock and I picked them up the same day.
At first I thought to install them at the points already on the rails. I researched where others installed them and no one used the copper colored points on the rails to mount the crossbars so I went with the exposed sites.
Thule has a good video on YouTube that clearly demonstrates the installation. Getting the crossbars equally positioned was the most involved part of the installation. fixing them was easy. Inserting the locks were frustrating. The locks wouldn’t slip right in and I had to work it to insert them.
They look good on the car. There is a whispering noise when driving when the sunroof is open, but not too bad. Once the cargo rack is on I think the noise level will go up.
The crossbars are rugged and extend about 2 and a half inches out from the rails but not enough to bother when you get in the car or pass by.
