I'm in the middle ground with a Subaru manual AWD with dual-range. I love the Subaru dual-range, but it doesn't have the same aggressive reduction ratio a traditional truck transfer case has.
I highly recommend you do an off-road course. You’ll be amazed what your vehicle is capable of. It will build your confidence and confidence in your truck.
@@JC-tn8zh I’m in Australia but I would start with Google and if no luck there a local 4WD supply outlet like ARB should be able to steer you in the right direction
I agree 100%, testing at an OHV park at a 4×4 course will provide proper training with far less risk of being stuck with no help. So when difficult obstacles are encountered in the wild, it won't be the first time to tackle difficult terrain.
I hear coyotes on a regular basis but can almost never capture the audio on camera, they're usually just too far away. This by far the closest I'd ever heard them, and the way it reverberated through the trees was just unreal. Little moments like these are highlights of these trips. :-)
I have a simple off-roading hack recommendation for you, Donald. It sounds like your key chain is bashing your dash when you drive over bumpy terrain. This used to drive me nuts, so I separated my vehicle key from my house keys. Makes a world of difference.
The more I see your contractor topper the more I’m thinking I need to trade my Tacoma up to a Tundra and equip it with a contractor topper. Thanks for the four part adventure.
Overall I'm quite happy with how this is working out. I'm hoping to get a comprehensive review of the topper itself put together soon to talk about the plusses and minuses.
This is the first time I’ve commented, but had to when I recognized the old cabin and then the campground. We built a small offgrid cabin nearby and while building it a few summers back we used to drive up every afternoon and cool off by sitting in the creek in the exact spot you did! A very peaceful place to spend on a hot afternoon.
Good on you for calling in the fire! With as much exploring as you do alone and outside cell coverage, it's good to hear you have the Garmin for communication when needed.
The earlier the better. Looking at the Dixie fire in NE California right now.... 240,000+ acres. 24% contained. One of my favorite camping/fishing spots is gone. I was just there in early June. Will never be the same....
@@scottmacdonald1877 Sorry to hear about that. Lost one of my favorite camping/shooting spots last year. Very thankful we didn't lose our house too, it was a near thing. Definitely jump on fires as soon as possible. Lots of times a 10 man crew, right in the beginning, can get it handled.
Talking about how hot it is with a black shirt on made me hot in may air conditioned house! Yes, I usually cease travel during July and August here. Just too hot to enjoy yourself. Looks like you had fun anyways though. Thanks for bringing us along! George.
Haha, that was just the next clean t-shirt in the stack. :-) I would not have gone out on this trip in late June like this, except for the cousins reunion that we were unable to get everyone's schedules to line up for any sooner. And once I had driven that far, well, I definitely wanted to take the opportunity to see more of what was up there. I've pretty much stayed planted at home since then though, haha.
@@softroadingthewest Yes, Sometimes it is unavoidable. Last year I did a July trip because the area we were going to was at 8500 feet. Had to make sure the passes we were going over and the area we were going to were clear of snow. In the low lands it was pretty hot and now fun though.
Donald , a tip from a former fire lookout for the State of Oregon in the Klamath-Lake district., The lat and long (if using a GPS, Even if it close) and/or township and range if you have the correct maps, makes a huge difference when reporting a fire. You can check with the local ODF office and the local Forest Service district office and (sometimes) the maps are free. My 2 cents. Enjoying the videos as always (even if its nor Forester).
Another excellent video to complete the trip,good too see that the setbacks didn’t dampen your motivation for the trip. The wild horses and deer were fantastic too see, but the howling coyotes in the morning were truly epic to listen too, glad you kept safe from the forest fire and hope they’ve not stopped you from getting out in the wilds
I want you to know that this video was the one that finally made me pull the trigger on a Garmin InReach. After having an encounter with coyotes Friday night and then seeing this, I immediately headed down to my local sporting goods store and snatched up the last Explorer+. You're truly an inspiration and by far my favorite overlanding channel. Thank you!
That's awesome. With all the solo stuff I do, I really should have got one much much sooner, but kept spending the money on other gear. It's hugely reassuring having this in my truck now. I feel like whatever happens, at least I probably won't die. :-) I'm a little curious about your coyote encounter...was it scary? Every time I've seen them up close, it's always been a solitary coyote and not a pack, and the coyote is just doing everything it can to get away from me. I hear packs regularly, but never ever see them. I imagine they probably are a lot less shy when there are a bunch of them...
Good one Donald! Horse 🐴 poop 💩 has been called “Road Apples” in my neck of the wood. Nice job reporting the forest fire. Has been hot dry summer for many in western states. Your journey continues.
Yeah, I grew up in a rural area and we called them road apples too. But these are more than just a random horse having pooped there, the stud piles can become huuuge accumulations. Copy/pasted from a website: "Stud piles are mounds of manure left by rival stallions in the wild. Poo is used to mark territory and so when rivals come along - just as you see dogs doing with urine - they poo on top of the existing manure to leave their own mark." I've encountered piles on the road so tall that I didn't have enough ground clearance to not shear the top right off...LOL. :-)
Fun series to follow Donald. I'm afraid if I had taken a shot each time I wouldn't be able to type....lol! It has been an extremely long and hot summer. Keep the shiny side up and keep smiling.
DONALD THE LITTLE GASOLINE CONTAINERS YOU CAN SPREAD THE WEIGHT OUT TOO ! THE KINKS IN THE GASOLINE CONTAINERS ARE FROM THE GETTING HOT & COLD . BREATHTAKING BEAUTY VIEWS COLORS SCENERY VIDEO WEATHER LANDSCAPE WILDLIFE & DRONE FOOTAGE TOO! THE STREAM LOOKED VERY INVITING ON A HOT SWEATY DAY ! BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON 🙏 YOUR JOURNEYS / TRAVELS ! ENJOYED 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨
That truck cap setup you have is so cool. One of the few things about my Forester I dont like is how small it is. I sleep in the back. I would have went with a bigger vehicle, but mpgs influenced my pick. Now I see that Frontiers are getting pretty good mpgs... Youve got me thinking! I will still probably drive my 2010 Forester, Penny, until she dies.
Good video, Donald. I've done much of that country and some from south to north on the OBDR from Cali border to Wash. Fun trips through the Blues and Ochocos, always great vistas...
thank you for posting the music - you always have such great music but this episode was especially nice. my favorite was when you encountered the wild horses )
Amazing scenery! I've been a bit busy outdoors myself in the last couple of weeks and I was able to finally settle in long enough to enjoy this video. I did like the one suggestion in the comments of taking the drone up if you can't tell where the roads are going. Especially if you can launch it and stay in the comfortable AC of the cab to fly. One last thing, I'm so glad that you have the Garmin device. That's an amazing safety net and useful tool for sure!
Yeah, my drone is a bit of a headache to put into the air, and it doesn't have much range, but in that largely treeless area, I think it could have been helpful and I wish I had thought of it. I just completely stop thinking clearly when it's that hot, LOL.
Another great video. Really interested in seeing the changes you find that need done after this trip. Extra fuel is always been a concern of mine on long trips. Would be nice if North America would catch up with Australia in the world of long range tanks. We just seem to rely on jerry cans too much here.
I believe there actually is a long range tank available here for the Frontier, and it's definitely something I'd like to do. The spare tire will have to go from its stock location so a rear bumper with a tire swingout has to come first. :-)
Awesome video as usual. Just a thought though, you may look into getting some ceramic window tint for the truck, does wonders for blocking out the heat regardless of darkness. It will block out major amounts of heat even in light tint form. Could be helpful.
For sure, that may be something I pursue eventually. I had put ceramic tint on my Forester and the difference it made in terms of heat accumulation was *very* perceptible.
Casey and I crossed paths briefly about a year ago. We've kicked around doing some kind of collab but just hasn't quite worked out so far. Super nice guy though, really enjoyed chatting with him. I'm a huuuuge Venture4wd fan, have watched all of his videos from the very beginning and keep hoping I'll run into him one day. He doesn't seem super keen on collabs but would be nice to sit around the campfire and talk shop for an evening. :-)
LOL the excessive swearing @ the trees blocking the road 😁 I know the emotion! Nice to see, that after a couple of hiccups You finally found a way to almost follow the original plan though. Epic landscape with the horses!
Haha, it's SO easy for me to laugh about it now, but I was SO...displeased...at the time, LOL. And the heat - which I just have no tolerance for - made things three times more frustrating. Had I been on a better route, I would not have encountered all those horses, so I can't complain. :-)
Great video. It always humbles me to think, that on a trek as this, we are prevented to travel farther than Pioneers in months. Getting ready to go out in the fall on a trip or two, myself.
the more people (within reason) that call a fire in the better they can locate it and get crews out..... and yes, it is HAWT AS HELLLLLLLLL OUT !! Soobie is out of shop, next week, I'm goin FISHING !!!
What a great adventure here. Are you able to share that route you finally took? So we here could make the same travels without the side tracks to nowhere, that camp area was awesome
Generally it's pretty cumbersome to get everything set up to fly the drone and I can't see THAT well on the screen what the drone is seeing, so I have never bothered to try. That said, in this case it might've actually been worth it, if I had been thinking clearly enough to think of that. :-) It's like I lose 20 IQ points when the heat hits, haha.
I didn't get any ticks on me out there, but then, I never have found ticks on me, ever, even after strolling through countless supposedly tick-ridden places. I don't know if I just smell bad to them or what.
Another great one Donald! The meadows you found were just incredible! Everything still seemed so green on this trip. What is the small antenna that we see on your dash some times? What plan did you end up going with on your satellite communicator? Thanks for putting together another wonderful video! It was great to hear you say it was time to air up and head home. It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve heard that!
Thanks Dan! The little antenna is for my GMRS radio. It's supposed to go on top of the vehicle outside, but I just haven't got around to running wires of any sort to the roof and the radio works well enough for convoy comms with the antenna on the dash. It will go up top eventually, whenever I also run wiring for lights up there. I'm on the least expensive InReach plan. Sending preset messages is unlimited, and I figure if I'm in trouble and need to text back and forth beyond the included 10 custom messages per month, the 50 cents per message will be the least of my worries. :-)
Another great video! Have you seen those little steps that hook in the door post? Helps accessing roof stuff. Id also wrap those gas cans in duct tap and abuse them until they pop. Love the brush marks on the truck!
I have seen those but forgot all about them! I should give that a try. Standing on the door sill mostly gets me there but I could certainly use some extra height on numerous occasions.
Well, a real 4x4 is different than a AWD with a CVT. Not that the Forrester is a bad vehicle for this, far from it. A real 4x4 just makes those odd spots a lot easier. I tow a small trailer and there's that pass out of Grand Tetons that's really steep. That was before I changed the gearing in my diffs and the trailer really weighed on the engine. Going to 4H solved the torque problem instantly. I had to pull over to let others pass and the only way to get the trailer going on that kind of slope was to go to 4L just to for the first 50 feet - not sure how that goes in a Nissan, but in a Jeep you can shift the transfer case while moving, so that got me going again and once I was back home the first thing on the list was to switch the gearing of the diffs to something more off-roady. Bad idea trying to tow with diffs made for fuel economy, not for torque. Of course that comes at a cost - your mpg goes down, but your ability to slowly crawl up a hill goes up. If I had an extra house worth of money sit around I'd be driving a Unimog - those things make all those trails - Moab or not - look easy. They have a transmission and transfer case that does 600something to 1 - you barely move but with an incredible amount of power. Some of them have 32 gears all possibilities considered forward and reverse. Heck, I'd go for something 50 years old and it would still outperform most modern 4x4's with as little as 36 horsepower. Gearing is the game - and 40+ inch tires. But then, I'm happy with what I have and it will take me almost anywhere I want to go.
I realize I probably didn't phrase that quite clearly enough, as you are not the only one to make that comment. What I actually said there was "It's the kind of trail that would require maintaining some speed and momentum in the Subaru, but I've shifted the truck into low range to see if I can just slowly crawl up." :-)
I see a bumper and a winch in your future. Nothing more fun than moving downed trees with the winch in 100 degree weather 😂 Any chance that howling could have been from a pack of wolves, and not coyotes? Coyotes usually sound a lot wimpier.
I suppose it's possible! Oregon has very few wolves in general, less than 200 in the entire state - there are more wild horses than that just in that little area I went through - so I just assumed it must've been coyotes. That said, apparently the bulk of the wolf population does live in northeastern Oregon, so you may well be right!
Looked like a good trip. Been there when the road conditions suddenly deteriorate. No fun and then you need to figure out how and where to turn around. The roads you picked looked a whole lot more open than many of the forest roads here in Virginia. Electric razor for your head? Shave my head every day too. Don’t know about using an electric razor.
It's an old one I had from when I used to be clean-shaven...I've found it works great on my head, as long as I stay on it every 2-3 days. I've seen there are now dedicated head shavers that are essentially the same mechanism as this rotary shaver, just with a different handle better suited to doing your head...I think I'll get one whenever my old shaver kicks the bucket. I've had it for probably almost 20 years and it's definitely on its last legs. :-)
Once I followed the map to a little town turned out to be a ghost town and I was nearly out of gas. Lucky I slowly crept thru one more ghost town and found a real town...in TX
Oh man, I can't even imagine. If it continues getting hotter and hotter in Oregon, I'm gonna have to just move further north or something. Apparently my Norwegian heritage leaves me utterly incapacitated in the heat, haha.
@@softroadingthewest The trade off is Eight months of incredible weather and no shoveling snow, scrapping snow off of windows and dealing with people driving in the snow. ha!
re those gas cans: the size and practicality does seem good. will be curious about quality ..I had a smaller cheap can in the past ..ended up with gas all over the place due to leakey cap.
Yeah, of these three, one of them has a slightly leaky cap. It was so hot that the gas was evaporating before it could even run down the can, but that's not an ideal situation. I'm sure I'll end up replacing these eventually.
You may not know, but do you think a Manual Transmission Forester in a low gear would do alright in the spot where you said your Forester would need some momentum?
I could put my automatic Forester in first gear and keep it there, but I think this particular trail would've been a struggle based on my past experience with steep rutted loose dirt climbs. I don't know how the gearing compares between the 4EAT and the manual transmission, but nearly everything I've heard indicates this kind of thing is easier in an auto than a manual (with no low-range transfer case).
Oh gosh, sorry about that. I've fixed it. That's purely a case of my fingers acting on their own...I do that all the time with certain words, I'm thinking one thing but muscle memory makes my fingers type a more common word that's very close. :-) Sorry for the wild goose chase there! Wonderful piece of music!
I have a real question. How do you deal with transporting food and camping in bear country while overlanding. Do you keep it in the car? Do you use coolers that are certified bear resistant? I am working on my first overlanding setup with an outback and am concerned with being able to safely camp in bear country.
I know they're out there, but dispersed camping in remote places, you might be camping someplace where no one has camped for weeks...unlike the popular state and national parks that are constantly full of people and food. When you get away from those areas, the bears simply aren't accustomed to people and don't learn that there's food to be found at campsites. That's my theory anyway. I've never once had an issue with bears while dispersed camping, and no one I know has ever had an issue with bears while dispersed camping (and most of those people also carry their trash in Trasheroos on the outside of their rigs). I've only ever laid eyes on one bear in Oregon ever, and it was just doing all it could to get away from me. To answer your question though...I always keep all my food inside...no food ever stays outside overnight. My cold food is in my fridge in the cab of my pickup and my dry goods are in bins in the canopy. If you plan to camp in areas that are notorious for bear issues even in the backcountry, I'm probably not the guy to ask for advice. While there are definitely bear in woods where I go, I don't think of it as bear country because they don't seem to be problematic like they can be in other areas. 2-legged predators are my biggest concern, followed by rattlesnakes and cougar. I suppose I would put bear in the #4 spot but I honestly never really think about them when I'm out there.
@@softroadingthewest thanks for the reply. I have explored my options and opted for a bear resistant cooler (an RTIC rotomolded unit) with padlocks for food storage. It should prevent a scent while it is closed up, deny the bear entry if it is found and allow me to haul the volume of food I need. I intend to not sleep with the cooler inside the car with me and to cook away from the vehicle. I will say this seems to be a seriously overlooked topic in the overland community with no clear solutions. All I see in these videos are folks cooking bacon and steaks out of their campers and proceeding to sleep. I understand that they may be at lower risk than most of being found by a bear for the reasons you stated but it seems to be a major consideration that isn't talked about.
hey bud, why is your overdrive off on an open stretch of road. pause vid at 15:31, I saw your light was on. This is for educational purposes as I have a frontier as well.
I wouldn't call it an open stretch of road...it was a dirt road, and as you can see in the display, I had the truck in 2nd gear and was doing about 15 mph. The overdrive is irrelevant in that scenario...the OD-Off button basically just prevents the truck from shifting from 4th to its 5th gear. I tend to leave it in the OD-Off position because I find it shifts up to 5th far too quickly when trying to accelerate up to 60 mph; it also shifts into 5th/OD on 35 mph roads but then isn't nearly responsive enough with downshifting and has a tendency to lug the engine. In fact this is probably my biggest gripe about the Frontier...I do *not* like the way it shifts. I now tend to manually put it in the gear I want, and I leave that OD-Off switch engaged virtually all the time. I click it once I reach my desired speed on a highway or freeway so the truck can then shift into 5th/OD, and I click it again to shift out of 5th when I exit the freeway or enter a lower speed area on a highway. I really like having an automatic transmission, I think it's better for the kind of driving I do, but I got spoiled by the automatic in my Forester which had a sport-shift mode that let me completely run the gears myself with a quick little nudge up or down to the gearshift...I pretty much drove it that way full time. :-)
I have the saw, it's always in the truck. But even if I had a winch, I wouldn't have attempted to clear this road. There were downed trees as far as the eye could see and I had no desire to spend the next two days moving logs around, especially in that heat. I do regularly clear roads when there aren't 30 trees to get through and it's not 100° outside. :-)
My friend I have just heard you say about a dozen times that it’s hot! Please stop complaining about been hot! Man Up! Don’t forget your supposed to be an Overlander I can’t imagine you traveling through Death Valley like some of us do in Southern California on a warm day.
Well how would we know how hot it was if he didnt talk about it and describe the intensity. Some folk think just mentioning weather is complaining. Where did this dumb idea ever originate??
It's Leer's DCC line. There is not a specific model, each one is custom-built to order. You have to work with a local Leer dealer to get it ordered. I had a good experience working with my local Leer dealer.
Hey Donald, maybe you should bring out a chainsaw and clear these roads to keep the adventure going and maybe for others too! Either way I love your content and the music with this one seemed so fitting, well done!
I had a chainsaw in the truck, but there were way too many trees here...I would've been at it for days. Too hot for that anyway. I do regularly clear roads when there aren't 30 downed trees and it's not 100° out. :-)
Donald, would you do a review on your Garmin sometime? Happy to kick some funds into your Patreon account if that would help move such a thing up the priority list.
@@softroadingthewest Thank you sir! Not really interested in an actual Patreon membership, do you have a way to make donations directly? PayPal or something?
![เขามัทรี - เอ็กซ์ ศุภกฤต - จอนนี่มิวสิค [ Official MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AS9ufKuQIVs/mqdefault.jpg)
New drinking game: Take a shot every time this doofus complains about the heat. Such a wuss.
Brilliant idea 🤣
I’d pass out at the fourth shot.
30 years of roofing, me no likey the heat either, but a cold frosty anytime.
I got a little pissed until I realized you called yourself a doofus!
🤣🤙
Subaru's might be nice, but a good truck with 4WD and low range is a beautiful thing!
👍💯💯💯
I'm in the middle ground with a Subaru manual AWD with dual-range.
I love the Subaru dual-range, but it doesn't have the same aggressive reduction ratio a traditional truck transfer case has.
I highly recommend you do an off-road course. You’ll be amazed what your vehicle is capable of. It will build your confidence and confidence in your truck.
Do you know where to look?
@@JC-tn8zh I’m in Australia but I would start with Google and if no luck there a local 4WD supply outlet like ARB should be able to steer you in the right direction
That's a great idea!
I agree 100%, testing at an OHV park at a 4×4 course will provide proper training with far less risk of being stuck with no help. So when difficult obstacles are encountered in the wild, it won't be the first time to tackle difficult terrain.
Nice trip. Gorgeous countryside. Thanks for sharing.
That's the best part of exploring. You never know where the roads might take you. Look like you still enjoyed yourself out and about.
Neil from cruising the cut wasn’t wrong , simply stunning thanks for taking us with you
The music was perfect for this journey, thanks for sharing your adventures. Stay cool my friend!
Those coyotes at 5 o'clock in the morning is a beautiful sound....that's a real call of nature. This video is great.
Like
I hear coyotes on a regular basis but can almost never capture the audio on camera, they're usually just too far away. This by far the closest I'd ever heard them, and the way it reverberated through the trees was just unreal. Little moments like these are highlights of these trips. :-)
Fantastic! Can't wait for the epilogue.
I haven’t heard you say “It’s time to air up and head home” in a long time!
I have a simple off-roading hack recommendation for you, Donald. It sounds like your key chain is bashing your dash when you drive over bumpy terrain. This used to drive me nuts, so I separated my vehicle key from my house keys. Makes a world of difference.
I feel that. Once you notice it on longer, bumpy roads it can be hard to ignore it.
Also, huge, heavy key rings will ruin ignition switches.
@@garyg5000 My old Cobalt would cut the engine if the key ring was to heavy 😬
The more I see your contractor topper the more I’m thinking I need to trade my Tacoma up to a Tundra and equip it with a contractor topper. Thanks for the four part adventure.
Overall I'm quite happy with how this is working out. I'm hoping to get a comprehensive review of the topper itself put together soon to talk about the plusses and minuses.
This is the first time I’ve commented, but had to when I recognized the old cabin and then the campground. We built a small offgrid cabin nearby and while building it a few summers back we used to drive up every afternoon and cool off by sitting in the creek in the exact spot you did! A very peaceful place to spend on a hot afternoon.
That's awesome! What a sweet little oasis that is...so happy I stumbled on it at the right moment!
Great to see the new rig / setup working out so well!
Thanks Kristopher! Hope you guys are having a nice summer!
What a trip dude!!! I only dream of a trip like that! Congrats!!
Very beautiful country. Bet you can’t wait for that hovercraft upgrade.
Good on you for calling in the fire! With as much exploring as you do alone and outside cell coverage, it's good to hear you have the Garmin for communication when needed.
The earlier the better. Looking at the Dixie fire in NE California right now.... 240,000+ acres. 24% contained. One of my favorite camping/fishing spots is gone. I was just there in early June. Will never be the same....
@@scottmacdonald1877 Sorry to hear about that. Lost one of my favorite camping/shooting spots last year. Very thankful we didn't lose our house too, it was a near thing. Definitely jump on fires as soon as possible. Lots of times a 10 man crew, right in the beginning, can get it handled.
Talking about how hot it is with a black shirt on made me hot in may air conditioned house!
Yes, I usually cease travel during July and August here. Just too hot to enjoy yourself. Looks like you had fun anyways though.
Thanks for bringing us along! George.
Haha, that was just the next clean t-shirt in the stack. :-) I would not have gone out on this trip in late June like this, except for the cousins reunion that we were unable to get everyone's schedules to line up for any sooner. And once I had driven that far, well, I definitely wanted to take the opportunity to see more of what was up there. I've pretty much stayed planted at home since then though, haha.
@@softroadingthewest Yes, Sometimes it is unavoidable. Last year I did a July trip because the area we were going to was at 8500 feet. Had to make sure the passes we were going over and the area we were going to were clear of snow. In the low lands it was pretty hot and now fun though.
Also, thanks for showing everyone you don’t have to suck on the hose end to start a siphon transfer of gasoline! 👍
Donald , a tip from a former fire lookout for the State of Oregon in the Klamath-Lake district., The lat and long (if using a GPS, Even if it close) and/or township and range if you have the correct maps, makes a huge difference when reporting a fire. You can check with the local ODF office and the local Forest Service district office and (sometimes) the maps are free. My 2 cents. Enjoying the videos as always (even if its nor Forester).
I send them GPS coordinates of my position and told them the direction and approximate distance from me to where the fire was.
Awesome four-part trip Donald! Really enjoyed this one…
Great series. Thanks Donald.
Another excellent video to complete the trip,good too see that the setbacks didn’t dampen your motivation for the trip. The wild horses and deer were fantastic too see, but the howling coyotes in the morning were truly epic to listen too, glad you kept safe from the forest fire and hope they’ve not stopped you from getting out in the wilds
I want you to know that this video was the one that finally made me pull the trigger on a Garmin InReach. After having an encounter with coyotes Friday night and then seeing this, I immediately headed down to my local sporting goods store and snatched up the last Explorer+. You're truly an inspiration and by far my favorite overlanding channel. Thank you!
That's awesome. With all the solo stuff I do, I really should have got one much much sooner, but kept spending the money on other gear. It's hugely reassuring having this in my truck now. I feel like whatever happens, at least I probably won't die. :-) I'm a little curious about your coyote encounter...was it scary? Every time I've seen them up close, it's always been a solitary coyote and not a pack, and the coyote is just doing everything it can to get away from me. I hear packs regularly, but never ever see them. I imagine they probably are a lot less shy when there are a bunch of them...
Man when we went through we had quite a few roads that should be there but weren’t. Must be the area in general. Great episode!
Thanks Jaren!
Good one Donald! Horse 🐴 poop 💩 has been called “Road Apples” in my neck of the wood. Nice job reporting the forest fire. Has been hot dry summer for many in western states. Your journey continues.
Yeah, I grew up in a rural area and we called them road apples too. But these are more than just a random horse having pooped there, the stud piles can become huuuge accumulations.
Copy/pasted from a website: "Stud piles are mounds of manure left by rival stallions in the wild. Poo is used to mark territory and so when rivals come along - just as you see dogs doing with urine - they poo on top of the existing manure to leave their own mark."
I've encountered piles on the road so tall that I didn't have enough ground clearance to not shear the top right off...LOL. :-)
@@softroadingthewest Donald first time I heard that. Wow. Thought maybe they marked their territory with urine. Learn something new. 👍🏻🐎💩
Fun series to follow Donald. I'm afraid if I had taken a shot each time I wouldn't be able to type....lol! It has been an extremely long and hot summer. Keep the shiny side up and keep smiling.
Thanks Stacy!
Super video, Donald. May very well be one of the best yet! Thanks!
Love the sound of the coyotes. Nice way to wake up and have some coffee to.
Another great video in the bag 👌
That really is some beautiful country out there!
that is the road less traveled ! still so green even with little rain thanks for the ride along
Quite enjoyed this. I’m catching up now. TH-cam did something odd and wasn’t showing me your videos for awhile. Time to binge watch 😇
Welcome back, thanks for watching! :-)
DONALD THE LITTLE GASOLINE CONTAINERS YOU CAN SPREAD THE WEIGHT OUT TOO ! THE KINKS IN THE GASOLINE CONTAINERS ARE FROM THE GETTING HOT & COLD .
BREATHTAKING BEAUTY VIEWS COLORS SCENERY VIDEO WEATHER LANDSCAPE WILDLIFE & DRONE FOOTAGE TOO! THE STREAM LOOKED VERY INVITING ON A HOT SWEATY DAY ! BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON 🙏 YOUR JOURNEYS / TRAVELS ! ENJOYED
🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨 🍨
That truck cap setup you have is so cool. One of the few things about my Forester I dont like is how small it is. I sleep in the back. I would have went with a bigger vehicle, but mpgs influenced my pick. Now I see that Frontiers are getting pretty good mpgs... Youve got me thinking!
I will still probably drive my 2010 Forester, Penny, until she dies.
Excellent adventure,loved the music at the end,thank you
Another EXCELLENT video thru beautiful country! Thanks!
I loved the coyote calls!
Sweet trip. Way to make it interesting despite the crazy heat.
Thanks Rob!
This was a very enjoyable video . Thank you
Thanks for watching!
Really enjoyed this one!!!! OR seems really dry! Some sweet finds on this trip!
Thanks! Some interesting country I definitely want to explore further when it's not summer! :-)
With those cicadas singing, I can hear the heat lol.
I love the ambiance they add!
@@softroadingthewest try Greece. They are ludicrously loud!
@@softroadingthewest Donald, love the videos! But please no complaints about the heat or anything when you are literally...living the dream!!!
I like the Nissan truck and canopy more than the Subaru which was great!!
There are things I miss about the Forester, but I have to agree, I like the truck & canopy better too. :-)
I've enjoyed this series but really enjoyed this installment! I also dig your Frontier and am seriously thinking about buying one.
Good video, Donald. I've done much of that country and some from south to north on the OBDR from Cali border to Wash. Fun trips through the Blues and Ochocos, always great vistas...
Brilliant!.... A trip isn't that memorable until the plans fall apart😂
Lookin forward to the next one👍🏻
Haha, that's for sure!
Great as always. Looking forward to the epilogue!
Thanks! :-)
thank you for posting the music - you always have such great music but this episode was especially nice. my favorite was when you encountered the wild horses )
Jason turned me into your channel. Great video! Definitely learned something I didn’t know about refueling. Thank you!!
Thanks for coming over from Primal Outdoors!
Nice to see the frontier keep up with the obstacles of mother nature. Heat being the most concerning.
Amazing scenery! I've been a bit busy outdoors myself in the last couple of weeks and I was able to finally settle in long enough to enjoy this video. I did like the one suggestion in the comments of taking the drone up if you can't tell where the roads are going. Especially if you can launch it and stay in the comfortable AC of the cab to fly. One last thing, I'm so glad that you have the Garmin device. That's an amazing safety net and useful tool for sure!
Yeah, my drone is a bit of a headache to put into the air, and it doesn't have much range, but in that largely treeless area, I think it could have been helpful and I wish I had thought of it. I just completely stop thinking clearly when it's that hot, LOL.
@@softroadingthewest again with the heat! Time for a shot!
@@samoverlockme LOLOL
Another great video. Really interested in seeing the changes you find that need done after this trip. Extra fuel is always been a concern of mine on long trips. Would be nice if North America would catch up with Australia in the world of long range tanks. We just seem to rely on jerry cans too much here.
I believe there actually is a long range tank available here for the Frontier, and it's definitely something I'd like to do. The spare tire will have to go from its stock location so a rear bumper with a tire swingout has to come first. :-)
Awesome video as usual. Just a thought though, you may look into getting some ceramic window tint for the truck, does wonders for blocking out the heat regardless of darkness. It will block out major amounts of heat even in light tint form. Could be helpful.
For sure, that may be something I pursue eventually. I had put ceramic tint on my Forester and the difference it made in terms of heat accumulation was *very* perceptible.
Nice series, gives mi chills :)
Have you ever collaborated with Coyote works? Seems like you guys would hit it off
They have been on at least one adventure together.
Its time also to go with Living The Van Life, Trailrecon, and maybe Venture4wd?
Casey and I crossed paths briefly about a year ago. We've kicked around doing some kind of collab but just hasn't quite worked out so far. Super nice guy though, really enjoyed chatting with him.
I'm a huuuuge Venture4wd fan, have watched all of his videos from the very beginning and keep hoping I'll run into him one day. He doesn't seem super keen on collabs but would be nice to sit around the campfire and talk shop for an evening. :-)
@@softroadingthewest Yes, I really enjoy Venture4wd, and your video's
LOL the excessive swearing @ the trees blocking the road 😁 I know the emotion! Nice to see, that after a couple of hiccups You finally found a way to almost follow the original plan though. Epic landscape with the horses!
Haha, it's SO easy for me to laugh about it now, but I was SO...displeased...at the time, LOL. And the heat - which I just have no tolerance for - made things three times more frustrating. Had I been on a better route, I would not have encountered all those horses, so I can't complain. :-)
Great video. It always humbles me to think, that on a trek as this, we are prevented to travel farther than Pioneers in months. Getting ready to go out in the fall on a trip or two, myself.
the more people (within reason) that call a fire in the better they can locate it and get crews out..... and yes, it is HAWT AS HELLLLLLLLL OUT !! Soobie is out of shop, next week, I'm goin FISHING !!!
get a metal detector and work the outhouse pits on those old homesteads, its crazy the amount of coins you can find in the outhouses..
Check out scepter fuel cans. They come in those smaller sizes. Military use them. Plastic and very strong
What a great adventure here. Are you able to share that route you finally took? So we here could make the same travels without the side tracks to nowhere, that camp area was awesome
14:12 DRONE... can be used to scout the trail ahead and save yourself some time?
Good video 👍
Generally it's pretty cumbersome to get everything set up to fly the drone and I can't see THAT well on the screen what the drone is seeing, so I have never bothered to try. That said, in this case it might've actually been worth it, if I had been thinking clearly enough to think of that. :-) It's like I lose 20 IQ points when the heat hits, haha.
How are the ticks out there? That tall grass looks ripe for them. Have fun!
I didn't get any ticks on me out there, but then, I never have found ticks on me, ever, even after strolling through countless supposedly tick-ridden places. I don't know if I just smell bad to them or what.
Another great one Donald! The meadows you found were just incredible! Everything still seemed so green on this trip. What is the small antenna that we see on your dash some times? What plan did you end up going with on your satellite communicator? Thanks for putting together another wonderful video! It was great to hear you say it was time to air up and head home. It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve heard that!
Thanks Dan! The little antenna is for my GMRS radio. It's supposed to go on top of the vehicle outside, but I just haven't got around to running wires of any sort to the roof and the radio works well enough for convoy comms with the antenna on the dash. It will go up top eventually, whenever I also run wiring for lights up there.
I'm on the least expensive InReach plan. Sending preset messages is unlimited, and I figure if I'm in trouble and need to text back and forth beyond the included 10 custom messages per month, the 50 cents per message will be the least of my worries. :-)
Get youself one of those hood strut kits off of ebay. I got one right away for my Xterra, absolutely worth it.
Wish it could be that way in Oklahoma, we went camping last weekend, it only got down to mid 80s.
Another great video! Have you seen those little steps that hook in the door post? Helps accessing roof stuff. Id also wrap those gas cans in duct tap and abuse them until they pop. Love the brush marks on the truck!
I have seen those but forgot all about them! I should give that a try. Standing on the door sill mostly gets me there but I could certainly use some extra height on numerous occasions.
GREAT JOB KEEP IT UP !
Well, a real 4x4 is different than a AWD with a CVT. Not that the Forrester is a bad vehicle for this, far from it. A real 4x4 just makes those odd spots a lot easier. I tow a small trailer and there's that pass out of Grand Tetons that's really steep. That was before I changed the gearing in my diffs and the trailer really weighed on the engine. Going to 4H solved the torque problem instantly. I had to pull over to let others pass and the only way to get the trailer going on that kind of slope was to go to 4L just to for the first 50 feet - not sure how that goes in a Nissan, but in a Jeep you can shift the transfer case while moving, so that got me going again and once I was back home the first thing on the list was to switch the gearing of the diffs to something more off-roady. Bad idea trying to tow with diffs made for fuel economy, not for torque. Of course that comes at a cost - your mpg goes down, but your ability to slowly crawl up a hill goes up.
If I had an extra house worth of money sit around I'd be driving a Unimog - those things make all those trails - Moab or not - look easy. They have a transmission and transfer case that does 600something to 1 - you barely move but with an incredible amount of power. Some of them have 32 gears all possibilities considered forward and reverse. Heck, I'd go for something 50 years old and it would still outperform most modern 4x4's with as little as 36 horsepower. Gearing is the game - and 40+ inch tires. But then, I'm happy with what I have and it will take me almost anywhere I want to go.
Love Wild Horses. I go out to the west desert and watch them (Utah)
Really cool to see. I've mostly only had tiny glimpses at large distances and was thrilled to keep running into more and more of them up close.
@@softroadingthewest when I see them I can't help but feel positive energy and want to run with them (but I am fat and hairy, so...lol)
Keep traveling to another dirt paths 👍
Awesome video again.. was wondering what that gizmo on your rear view mirror is, and is it available to buy from Amazon? Thanks again..👍
Haha! Cannot forget your Subaru. Still referring to your Nissan as Subaru subconsciously.
I realize I probably didn't phrase that quite clearly enough, as you are not the only one to make that comment. What I actually said there was "It's the kind of trail that would require maintaining some speed and momentum in the Subaru, but I've shifted the truck into low range to see if I can just slowly crawl up." :-)
Nothing worse than hitting a dead end or loosing the road! Been there🤷🏻♂️😬😳
Nice vesicular basalt @17:27
Could you do a video describing your tablet navigation device and functions? Nice work on the vids.
Thanks for watching!
I have wild burros all around me. Big silly lawn mowers.
I see a bumper and a winch in your future. Nothing more fun than moving downed trees with the winch in 100 degree weather 😂
Any chance that howling could have been from a pack of wolves, and not coyotes? Coyotes usually sound a lot wimpier.
I suppose it's possible! Oregon has very few wolves in general, less than 200 in the entire state - there are more wild horses than that just in that little area I went through - so I just assumed it must've been coyotes. That said, apparently the bulk of the wolf population does live in northeastern Oregon, so you may well be right!
come to South Louisiana 100 degrees with humidity.
Looked like a good trip. Been there when the road conditions suddenly deteriorate. No fun and then you need to figure out how and where to turn around. The roads you picked looked a whole lot more open than many of the forest roads here in Virginia. Electric razor for your head? Shave my head every day too. Don’t know about using an electric razor.
It's an old one I had from when I used to be clean-shaven...I've found it works great on my head, as long as I stay on it every 2-3 days. I've seen there are now dedicated head shavers that are essentially the same mechanism as this rotary shaver, just with a different handle better suited to doing your head...I think I'll get one whenever my old shaver kicks the bucket. I've had it for probably almost 20 years and it's definitely on its last legs. :-)
Once I followed the map to a little town turned out to be a ghost town and I was nearly out of gas. Lucky I slowly crept thru one more ghost town and found a real town...in TX
Great video, new subscriber here. Is your canopy 36” or 42”? I want one but I want the dimensions to look as good as yours.
Nice content, could you tell us where you travel and camp or towns near thanks
Sadly, the hottest weekend in Oregon is a standard week in Texas.😔 This is why you see so many Texas plates in Mountain areas during summer months...
Oh man, I can't even imagine. If it continues getting hotter and hotter in Oregon, I'm gonna have to just move further north or something. Apparently my Norwegian heritage leaves me utterly incapacitated in the heat, haha.
@@softroadingthewest The trade off is Eight months of incredible weather and no shoveling snow, scrapping snow off of windows and dealing with people driving in the snow. ha!
Some two gallon Rotopax's to replace your current gas jugs....
re those gas cans: the size and practicality does seem good. will be curious about quality ..I had a smaller cheap can in the past ..ended up with gas all over the place due to leakey cap.
Yeah, of these three, one of them has a slightly leaky cap. It was so hot that the gas was evaporating before it could even run down the can, but that's not an ideal situation. I'm sure I'll end up replacing these eventually.
@ 14:30. Would it be worth getting the drone up to see if you could find the road ?.
You may not know, but do you think a Manual Transmission Forester in a low gear would do alright in the spot where you said your Forester would need some momentum?
I could put my automatic Forester in first gear and keep it there, but I think this particular trail would've been a struggle based on my past experience with steep rutted loose dirt climbs. I don't know how the gearing compares between the 4EAT and the manual transmission, but nearly everything I've heard indicates this kind of thing is easier in an auto than a manual (with no low-range transfer case).
Yay!
Walkabout is by Hans Johnson not hands i kept looking for it until finally
Found it
Oh gosh, sorry about that. I've fixed it. That's purely a case of my fingers acting on their own...I do that all the time with certain words, I'm thinking one thing but muscle memory makes my fingers type a more common word that's very close. :-) Sorry for the wild goose chase there! Wonderful piece of music!
@@softroadingthewest
No problem google kept giving all kinds of hands thank you for the music in your video
I have a real question. How do you deal with transporting food and camping in bear country while overlanding. Do you keep it in the car? Do you use coolers that are certified bear resistant? I am working on my first overlanding setup with an outback and am concerned with being able to safely camp in bear country.
I know they're out there, but dispersed camping in remote places, you might be camping someplace where no one has camped for weeks...unlike the popular state and national parks that are constantly full of people and food. When you get away from those areas, the bears simply aren't accustomed to people and don't learn that there's food to be found at campsites. That's my theory anyway. I've never once had an issue with bears while dispersed camping, and no one I know has ever had an issue with bears while dispersed camping (and most of those people also carry their trash in Trasheroos on the outside of their rigs). I've only ever laid eyes on one bear in Oregon ever, and it was just doing all it could to get away from me.
To answer your question though...I always keep all my food inside...no food ever stays outside overnight. My cold food is in my fridge in the cab of my pickup and my dry goods are in bins in the canopy.
If you plan to camp in areas that are notorious for bear issues even in the backcountry, I'm probably not the guy to ask for advice. While there are definitely bear in woods where I go, I don't think of it as bear country because they don't seem to be problematic like they can be in other areas. 2-legged predators are my biggest concern, followed by rattlesnakes and cougar. I suppose I would put bear in the #4 spot but I honestly never really think about them when I'm out there.
@@softroadingthewest thanks for the reply. I have explored my options and opted for a bear resistant cooler (an RTIC rotomolded unit) with padlocks for food storage. It should prevent a scent while it is closed up, deny the bear entry if it is found and allow me to haul the volume of food I need. I intend to not sleep with the cooler inside the car with me and to cook away from the vehicle.
I will say this seems to be a seriously overlooked topic in the overland community with no clear solutions. All I see in these videos are folks cooking bacon and steaks out of their campers and proceeding to sleep. I understand that they may be at lower risk than most of being found by a bear for the reasons you stated but it seems to be a major consideration that isn't talked about.
Your truck how many miles per gallons? Full tank and hwy city ? Just wondering
hey bud, why is your overdrive off on an open stretch of road. pause vid at 15:31, I saw your light was on. This is for educational purposes as I have a frontier as well.
I wouldn't call it an open stretch of road...it was a dirt road, and as you can see in the display, I had the truck in 2nd gear and was doing about 15 mph. The overdrive is irrelevant in that scenario...the OD-Off button basically just prevents the truck from shifting from 4th to its 5th gear. I tend to leave it in the OD-Off position because I find it shifts up to 5th far too quickly when trying to accelerate up to 60 mph; it also shifts into 5th/OD on 35 mph roads but then isn't nearly responsive enough with downshifting and has a tendency to lug the engine.
In fact this is probably my biggest gripe about the Frontier...I do *not* like the way it shifts. I now tend to manually put it in the gear I want, and I leave that OD-Off switch engaged virtually all the time. I click it once I reach my desired speed on a highway or freeway so the truck can then shift into 5th/OD, and I click it again to shift out of 5th when I exit the freeway or enter a lower speed area on a highway.
I really like having an automatic transmission, I think it's better for the kind of driving I do, but I got spoiled by the automatic in my Forester which had a sport-shift mode that let me completely run the gears myself with a quick little nudge up or down to the gearshift...I pretty much drove it that way full time. :-)
U should get a electric saw and a winch for ur next build on ur truck
I have the saw, it's always in the truck. But even if I had a winch, I wouldn't have attempted to clear this road. There were downed trees as far as the eye could see and I had no desire to spend the next two days moving logs around, especially in that heat. I do regularly clear roads when there aren't 30 trees to get through and it's not 100° outside. :-)
You just HAD to say tree down lol
I know right?? You'd think I'd know better by now than to make statements like that, LOL.
My friend I have just heard you say about a dozen times that it’s hot! Please stop complaining about been hot! Man Up! Don’t forget your supposed to be an Overlander I can’t imagine you traveling through Death Valley like some of us do in Southern California on a warm day.
Hey, I already said it right in the top comment ^ I'm a wuss.
Well how would we know how hot it was if he didnt talk about it and describe the intensity. Some folk think just mentioning weather is complaining. Where did this dumb idea ever originate??
Are you doing anything trips out in Idaho or Washington?
What model is your canopy I want one for my Tacoma
It's Leer's DCC line. There is not a specific model, each one is custom-built to order. You have to work with a local Leer dealer to get it ordered. I had a good experience working with my local Leer dealer.
Adventures of the meandering plumber
Hey Donald, maybe you should bring out a chainsaw and clear these roads to keep the adventure going and maybe for others too! Either way I love your content and the music with this one seemed so fitting, well done!
I had a chainsaw in the truck, but there were way too many trees here...I would've been at it for days. Too hot for that anyway. I do regularly clear roads when there aren't 30 downed trees and it's not 100° out. :-)
Donald, would you do a review on your Garmin sometime? Happy to kick some funds into your Patreon account if that would help move such a thing up the priority list.
Yeah, might be able to squeeze that in. Should be relatively simple to put together.
@@softroadingthewest Thank you sir! Not really interested in an actual Patreon membership, do you have a way to make donations directly? PayPal or something?