The first annual BC Overland Rally was a massive success, held June 22-15th 2017 at Sasquatch Mtn Resort. Just two hours north of the US border, and a similar drive time from Vancouver, BC. A crowd of nearly 500 assembled for Canada’s first overland rally, mostly from BC and Alberta, but there were a few travelers from Saskatchewan, a variety of west coast US states and even a few international travelers on their global overland travels. The event was held the weekend after the NWOR, which made it very convenient for others and myself to road trip to both events.
The BC Overland Rally is modeled after the ever growing and successful NW Overland Rally, which means it was action packed with vendors, classes, seminars, round table discussions, driving classes, trail runs and so much more. Besides the normal quality off road driving and recovery classes there were also a wide variety of classes on offer, programs that included action photography, drone photography, navigation, yoga, border crossings and so much more. There were women’s specific classes that covered off road driving and recovery as well as vehicle electronics. Kids weren’t forgotten either, as they had programs like survival skills for kids, which mostly showed them how to start a fire and roast a marshmallow. Essential skills at every campsite!
I personally got to embark on an epic sunrise hike/bushwhack up a sheer mountain, without a trail. The views and adventure were well worth the early start and sore muscles! The huge variety of classes throughout the weekend meant that even a seasoned rally goer like myself got to experience new things, like flying my first drone during the intro to drone photography workshop, thanks Space Hog Graphics, and getting some proper off road time on an electric pedal assist mtn bike from Surface 604.
Happy hours each night, put on by a variety of vendors, are always a good time to meet new people and share adventure stories. The Saturday night regional wine tasting class, put on by Crankshaft Culture, was a huge crowd favorite. The weekend highlight for most has to be the nightly raffle around the campfire. The prizes got bigger each night, culminating with big prizes like a Warn Winch and a CVT RTT at the big raffle Saturday night. I was lucky enough to help MC the raffle each evening, making sure that everyone had fun and as many people as possible walked away with a prize from the many generous vendors.
The BC Overland Rally is a family and dog friendly event that encourages everyone to get out and explore. This first year for the event proved that the BC overland community is strong, the Sasquatch Mtn Resort is a world-class venue for this type of event and that there is always more for us to all learn from each other. There are already big plans in the works for the second installment of the BC Overland Rally in 2018. Be sure to sign up early and come out for the festivities. I’ll see you there!
For all the details on all things BC Overland Rally check out the official website HERE and/or Facebook page HERE.
