< more recent | 19-25 September 2016 | older >
25 September 2016: Out in the forest searching for “CPs” this weekend during an Orienteering USA match on eastern Long Island. The event course requires participants to locate these small orange and white “controls” hidden off-trail deep within the woods using only a map and compass — a format very similar to what we will face during the rally, except here we do it all on foot with very detailed topo maps. Was great to test skills on a micro level, and felt good to find all the CPs with relative ease. Now, back to the desert…
22 September 2016: Got out Team Engage t-shirt shipment today and they look great. Excitement is building daily now, as we start checking items off our lists…
20 September 2016: A sneak peek at Sable, our Barlow Adventures Jeep for the Rebelle Rally, getting her new suspension fine tuned. Like all the Barlow Jeeps, she started as a standard Jeep Rubicon, already one of the most capable off-road vehicles ever produced. The Rubicon provides lower gearing than other models, with a 4:1 heavy-duty transfer case and 4.10 gears in heavy-duty front and rear Dana 44 axles. Equipped with a push-button sway bar disconnect, it’s axle can better flex to the contours of the terrain and with front and rear lockers it can crawl over most anything. Barlow Jeeps typically get some basic modifications, including a small lift and bigger tires, but Sable is being prepped for the rally with a few “extras.” We are looking forward to getting her out on the dirt in just a few weeks. …
19 September 2016: Using the last few hours in Arizona to get in some more practice with identifying terrain features on the map and triangulating a position based on them. Took the route through the mountains and down to Prescott where the terrain was less familiar…
THIS WEEK:
More navigational practice. This time on foot, searching for small CPs in the middle of the woods via an Orienteering USA sponsored meet at Caumsett State Park on September 25th …
COMING UP SOON:
Heading back to Reno, NV for some final training, acclimation and preparation for the rally …
Competing as Team #124 in the inaugural edition of the Rebelle Rally 13-22 October 2016 …
ABOUT THE REBELLE RALLY
The Rebelle Rally is an off-road navigation rally raid across 2000 km of desert in the southwestern United States. A new kind of competition, it blends the love of driving with the challenge of precision navigation…
ABOUT BARLOW ADVENTURES
Barlow Adventures provides professional 4×4 driving instruction and training in Sedona, AZ, as well as fully outfitted multi-day trips in Moab and on California’s famous Rubicon Trail. In Moab, the undisputed Jeeping capitol of the world, the Barlow team guides drivers over iconic trails, and helps build 4-wheeling skills in the context of a fun adventure through the rugged high desert landscape….
TEAM ENGAGE
Team Engage is JoMarie Fecci of USnomads and Tracey Ristow driving “Sable,” a Barlow Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, across the American southwest in the inaugural edition of the Rebelle Rally, 13-22 October 2016. The team, hailing from opposite coasts of the USA, came together to compete in the Rebelle with a shared commitment to humanitarian ideals in addition to a love of overland exploration. During the rally Team Engage will be showing its support for the Blue Heart Campaign to raise awareness and help victims of human trafficking through the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking…
THE BLUE HEART CAMPAIGN
Team Engage supports the UN’s Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking and the Blue Heart Campaign as their platform to raise awareness about global human trafficking— an issue which disproportionately effects women. Human trafficking is modern day slavery and includes sex trafficking (forced prostitution and forced marriage), labor trafficking (domestic servitude, sweatshops and fraudulent bonded labor contracts), child soldiers and organ trafficking. According to the International Labor Organization, nearly 21 million people or 3 out of every 1,000 people worldwide are victims of human trafficking. The UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking was established in 2010 and provides direct humanitarian, legal and financial aid to human trafficking victims. They provide grants to small grassroot NGOs that directly assist victims with housing, food, legal aid, access to justice, psychosocial support, medical care and training. Click here to donate directly to the Fund…
Nesconset | Sedona | Tahoe | Reno | Glamis | San Diego
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
12-18 Sep – Yuma and Glamis
5-11 Sep – Sedona
29 Aug – 4 Sep – Long Island
23-28 August – Rod Hall Drive Training
15-22 August – Reno Rebelle Training
8-14 August – TFT8
1-7 August – Serbia overland
July – Serbia, Rally planning
June – Mongolia
16-31 May – Overland Expo, Mongolia
1-15 May – Paris
April – training desert prep
March – Long Island
February – California deserts
January – El Camino del Diablo
December – Long Island
November – New York
15-31 October – Moab
1-14 October – Vermont
Archive
SPECIAL REPORT
Detailed series on a solo scouting journey into some of the remotest backcountry around Moab. The six day 450-mile off-pavement trip into the Maze district of the Canyonlands National Park offers insight into the challenges of expedition planning… [read]
MORE INFO:
About US Nomads
Training
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In Our Words
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SPECIAL REPORT
SCOUTING THE SAHARA IN MAURITANIA: WAYPOINT NOUAKCHOTT
The first in a series of reports from our scouting trip in Mauritania takes and indepth look at the capital city of Nouakchott, and its fishing port… [read]
FLASHBACK: GAZELLE RALLY
ON BECOMING A GAZELLE: THE DESERT’S FIRST CHALLENGE
Personal reflections on USnomads’ experience in the Rallye Aiche des Gazelles–Putting our skills to the test in Morocco on the first day out in the desert, known as the “Prologue,” there are a few surprises… [read]
SPECIAL REPORT
Details the epic journey into the timeless landscapes of the Gobi desert and beyond as JoMarie Fecci, of USnomads, joined a small international team for a 1,400 mile working expedition in support of The Mongolian Bankhar Dog Project (MBDP)… [read]
