EXPLORING ELEMENTS

travel through an adventure sports lens

EVENT: WA Overland Rally 2013

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Ray Hyland, of Overland International, enjoying the event he organized with his wife Marianne.

June 27-30, 2013

WA Overland Rally 2013 was a blast! It was so fun to catch up with so many overlander’s from around the PNW and the world. This year Touratech also held their dual sport/adventure motorcycle rally at the same time, bringing in lots of 2 wheeled adventure travelers. It’s a great experience to share travel stories with fellow adventurers, learn overland skills from experts, get great deals on some of the best gear out there and explore the local trails. A huge thanks to the many sponsors, especially the title sponsor ExOfficio, and to Northwest Overland for organizing all the trail runs. These regional rallies are all about local people and environment. Plain, WA is a cute little mountain town a few miles up the road from Leavenworth, and great host to the event. This year the Rally finished with the Overland Rally Challenge, a fun little competition that had 3 individual challenges; navigate an obstacle course without spilling water from a cup on your hood, blindfold drive a Land Rover LR2 through a hay bale obstacle course with direction from your spotter and drive across a “log bridge” without falling off. The long weekend was a great way to get immersed with the local overland community and explore the local landscape. It is well worth your time to check out an Overland Rally near you.

-Exploring Elements 2012 WA Overland Rally Coverage can be found HERE

-Exploring Elements 2012 VT Overland Rally Coverage can be found HERE

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All overland travelers are welcome, whether you have an RV, 4×4 van or tricked out 4×4, at Overland Rallies.
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There was a solid turn out this year at the WA Overland Rally.
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The nightly campfire/swag raffle always draws a crowd.
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Everyone loves free schwag!!!
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WA Overland Rally tradition: “BURN IT!” Steve, MC extraordinaire from Mtn Khaki, burns raffle tickets that are called but not claimed.
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Pablo uses the fire pits to cook up some grub.
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Pablo and Anna, of Viajeros4x4x4, talk about 13 years on the road together.
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It was a HOT summer weekend and most classes/seminars were held in the shade of this tarp setup at the center of camp.
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Andy, from Warn, shows the proper way to pull a 10,000+lb van with an 8,000lb winch attached to a Suzuki Sidekick:)
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It’s the little pointers that you learn and save in the back of your mind for later that really make classes at events like this worth while. Here Ray shows how to utilize a recovery strap to comfortably and easily carry a log.
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I think this is brilliant! If you are worried about crossing a sketchy log bridge hang logs under your vehicle with recovery straps so that if a tire slips off the bridge you have something to catch you before the vehicle falls into the ravine. Thanks for the tip Ray Hyland!
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Mountain Kahki offered up some smokin deals on their clothes at the Rally, and showed off the new Grand Cherokee from a local dealer.
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Ben from Outback Proven rolled in from Vegas to show off all his sweet Australian made overland goodies.
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Warn came up from Portland to show off the variety of products that they offer and their new Zeon winch.
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Jason from PRG showed off all kinds of awesome adventure goodies, including these sweet Hilleberg tents.
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The rally is for sure a family affair and rock crawler RC cars kept the kids and adults alike entertained.
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High speed offroad RC car jumping at night was entertaining for all. Only when the battery was dead was the fun over:)
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Touratech made sure that LOTS of motos showed up this year!
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There were a HUGE variety of guided rides for the motos.
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All types of moto classes were offered, including maintenance and repair.
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The locals came out of the woodwork to see all the awesome, and brought more awesome! Shazam!!!
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The moto skills course got a little more advanced in the evenings when a bunch of riders decided to jump their big dual sports.
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Gaila, of Overland Now, enjoying a trail ride with the ladies in the woods of WA.
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Trail runs are good fun, especially when you have a WIDE variety of vehicles.
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The views in WA are spectacular.
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The Raptor looks mean against the cloudy sky.
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Very sweet Land Cruiser 60 Series high in the WA backcountry.
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Fellow overlanders making sure the trail is “Sportsmobile Safe.” My kayaks and roof rack appreciate the hard work boys:)
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Sarah Blessington enjoying some offroad Sportsmobile driving action.
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The Cockroach tacking the Overland Rally Challenge, trying to keep the water in the little white cup on their front tire.
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Log bridge challenge was way harder than it first looks. Big issue was that the logs rolled side to side!
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Just my luck, the “log bridge” was EXACTLY the length between the Sportsmobile wheels. Still completed the challenge though:)
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That’s right, the team Exploring Elements Sportsmobile won the timed driving course keeping the water in the cup challenge. Stoked!
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Words of wisdom from Viajeros4x4x4.

 

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