I was only five weeks post-surgery on my knee (ACL reconstruction) at the time of the second annual Rendezvous, so it was a game time decision if I would be going or not. With everything going according to plan with the healing and recovery, I felt like I would be good enough to limp around camp and see all that I could see at the event. Some of my friends from the Land Cruiser forum ih8mud.com were planning on going already, so I figured I would tag along with them.
Part of the fun of the event was that the location of the event was not disclosed. Clues were given for the general area of Anza-Borrego State Park, and GPS coordinates were posted up just before the day of the event for the location of the first checkpoint, to where exact camp coordinates would be then given. There were all kinds of guesses and speculation of where exactly the camp location would be, but there was just one way to find out. I met up with the fellow Land Cruiser crew in Borrego Springs, and then we set out to find the first checkpoint. We found a couple guys manning the first checkpoint near the trailhead to Fish Creek Wash. But instead of heading southwest into the wash area, the coordinates for camp took us east instead. We followed the train tracks east for several miles, and then the sand starting getting soft and conditions started to worsen. The fine sand silt made it hard to see, but the soft sand made you keep your speed up in order to not bog down. Everyone was taking different lines and a couple guys even came close to dumping over their trailers. Finally, we made it to a clearing where the camp designation was. Since we were one of the earlier groups to arrive, that allowed us to stake out a section that we called 80's Row (since we were representing the 80-series Land Cruisers quite well).
It was great watching all of the overland vehicles roll into camp throughout the day. There was everything from Land Cruisers, Jeeps, Land Rovers, Tacomas, FJ Cruisers, Sportsmobiles, and even an M109 military truck conversion. My son helped us set up camp, and we spent the rest of the day relaxing around camp, catching up with old friends, and getting to know new ones. The nice thing about the overlanding community, is that everyone shares a common love of camping and remote exploration via various vehicle-based platforms, so there are almost infinite variations of how one accomplishes that goal. So this event is a great opportunity to bring everyone together, to see what others are doing in their setups, and to talk about past and upcoming adventures.
As nightfall approached, we started up the camp dutch oven and prepared dinner. On the menu that first night was a pot roast tenderloin with some potatoes, onions, and carrots. Since the dutch oven was still relatively new to me, and I was still learning what all it was capable of cooking, I tried out making brownies in it. It sounded like something fun and different, and it actually turned out pretty good. Only thing missing to make them better would have been some vanilla ice cream. Full and happy from our meal and dessert, we cleaned up and turned in for the night. The weather was great that night, and we slept well in the roof top tent.
The next morning, we awoke, made breakfast, and then got ready to see what the day had in store for us. The organizers of this event had plans for an overlanding skills contest to test how one would react to scenarios that could potentially happen out on the trail or along one's travels. Knowing that I was pretty limited after major knee surgery, we chose to just watch. Some of the simulated challenges included timed setup of one's tent (assuming a rain downpour upon arriving at camp), reseating a tire that had come off the rim bead, making a makeshift splint assuming someone had a broken arm, safe vehicle recovery and tire change assuming a flat tire that had also dropped into a rut/hole to the extent a hi-lift jack was not able to be used due to the scenario. It was fun to watch the different techniques and improvisations that people made to solve these potential real-world challenges. Being remote and away from civilization means AAA isn't usually a realistic option, so being able to problem solve with what you have with you becomes critical.
We had worked up an appetite for lunch, so I had a little more fun with the dutch oven. I went a little overboard with some gourmet burgers and some sliced rosemary red potatoes. The burgers went on some grilled french bread, topped with feta, arugala, and some red bell peppers. I always enjoy eating well when camping, and its fun too. My son had found another friend in camp, and they set out to climb up any rock or dirt wall they could find. I'm glad they are always easily entertained by their surroundings. After playing all day in the dirt, my son was filthy. This was when I was glad I brought my Cabela's camp shower enclosure. After he cleaned up, I jumped in there and it felt so refreshing to get a warm shower after a couple days in the desert.
Later that evening, the guys from Overland Gourmet provided dinner. The fired up their grills and cooked for everyone in camp. And it was amazing. They served up several variations of gourmet hot dogs and sausages. It was awesome of them to generously cook for everyone in camp and everyone really enjoyed it. There was a raffle after dinner for products brought by many of the event's sponsors, and I ended up winning a tool bag that I now use on some of our trips. After the raffle, they started a huge bonfire for everyone to hang around for the night, but we retired early to bed as it was starting to get breezy.
Well, this night's rest wasn't nearly as nice as the night before. The wind in the desert can sometimes be extreme, and this was no exception. The wind ripped all night, and I didn't sleep well at all. I kept waiting for the rainfly on my roof top tent to tear at some point, but all it did was flap and make noise all night. It seemed like the windstorm lasted all night, but it finally calmed down and I think I got a couple hours of sleep. When I came out of the tent to survey the damage, my shower enclosure was a little tweaked from the winds. That was surprising to me, since I had seen this same enclosure take some of the strongest winds I had ever endured in Death Valley on a prior trip. But it was a beautiful morning and the winds were no more. We got a good breakfast in with some eggs, sausage, and hash browns. We broke down camp slowly and said goodbye to everyone and watched as camp emptied after a great weekend. We headed back out to the trailhead and aired back up to get back on the road again.
I figured since we were already in the Anza-Borrego desert, I wanted to go see Fonts Point, which I had heard good things about, but had never seen. We found the turnoff for the sandy wash to the viewpoint and parked and walked up to the overlook. It was awesome! It's an amazing overlook over the badlands of the Anza-Borrego desert. The textures and colors are really quite spectacular. You are high enough up and the dropoff is extreme enough to really get the adrenaline going too. We also were in luck to see some of the beautiful Ocotillo plants to be in full bloom as well. After seeing the stunning viewpoint of Fonts Point, we were ready to head home. I was really glad that we made it out for the Desert Rendezvous event, as it was a great weekend.
Expedition Portal Thread for SoCal Desert Rendezvous 2012 Event
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