Overland Trail Guides Podcast

The Flat Tops Adventure Trail is a 298 mile overland route in northern Colorado that was developed by Overland Trail Guides. While lesser known than the San Juan Mountains to the south, the Flat Tops certainly aren't lacking in impressiveness or grandeur. The area gets its name from a series of table-top mountains that dominate the region. These unique geological formations were created by ancient volcanic activity and erosion over millions of years.
For this episode, we chat with Eric Raymond of XplorAdventure who explored the Flat Tops Adventure Trail over the course of two separate trips in the summer of 2023.
The Flat Tops Adventure Trail
The 298 mile long Flat Tops Adventure Trail forms a loop just north of Glenwood Springs in northern CO. Lesser known than the San Juan mountains to the south, the Flat Tops sees a fraction of the trail traffic. For overlanders seeking alpine views, lakeside camping, and more challenging terrain, the Flat Tops Adventure Trail is the perfect track.
To get the GPX File, complete route guide and more, please visit our website.
www.overlandtrailguides.com
XplorAdventure Flat Tops Series on Youtube

Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/Y7RVREC3I_Q?si=gVcirZdY4NItzLDa

Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/mvRrkPaQFzg?si=qMzbM0Hgk9xV9_4p

Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/ubZZh4-Mm14?si=RdaMRuVkPxsyNYJ3

Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/1l61pg3HqG4?si=x3WH6pVxEU69tC4_

For this week's episode, we welcome John Liotti of Big Thumpers back to the show. This past summer, John had the opportunity spend 3 weeks in Pakistan, most of which was spent exploring the highways and backroads with a local guide. The group traveled 1,600 miles through Pakistant visiting locations such as the Silk Road, Islamabad, Lahore, the Hindu Kush, KarakoramTune in to hear about his time traveling through Pakistan, along with a couple of near death experiences.
Different Agenda Motorcyle Tours
Moin Khan grew up in Pakistan and received his bachelors from San Francisco State University. Today Moin leads motorcycle tours through his homecountry, visiting both well known locations, as well as out of the way villages and tracks that only locals know about. If you're interested in a tour, you can find A Different Agenda on Facebook, but they also work closely with the Recylcery Garage in Santa Cruz, CA.

The infamy of the Burning Man festival has brought infamy to the Black Rock Desert. But beyond Burning Man, Black Rock is filled with geological wonders and a wealth of Native American and Pioneer History. The Black Rock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conversation Area (if that ain't a mouthful!) covers 800,000+ acres of protected dry lake beds, mountains, and volcanic canyonlands in Northern Nevada. The Black Rock Desert features the largest salt flat in the lower 48, a number of hot springs, rugged trails, 3 historical emigrant trails, and some of the darkest skies in the contiguous United States.
For this episode, we chat with Joey Grimmer who experienced the Black Rock Desert Adventure Route earlier this summer with the OTG Crew.
The Black Rock Desert Adventure Route
The Route is 200+ miles that hits some of the higlights within the NCA like the Black Rock Playa, Soldier Meadows Hot Springs, High Rock Canyon, the microplayas and more. To learn more about this route and dozens of other routes, be sure to check out www.overlandtrailguides.com

For Episode 017 we chat with two bad ass women about their rookie experience competing in the 2021 Rebelle Rally. Angie Lux (team She-Wave Velocity) and Carey Lando (team Mountain Subi) are both based in Northern California, and spent countless hours training and studying for the 2021 Rebelle Rally. We talk with them about the rally raid format (it's not a timed race), the time spent preparing for the rally, and their experience competing in the 2021 Rebelle.

You can follow both Carey and Angie on Instagram:
@xterra_athena (Angie Lux)
@mtnsubi (Carey Lando)

The Rebelle Rally
The Rebelle Rally is a 2000+ km rally raid competition that typically takes place in the California and Nevada deserts (and sometimes Arizona too!). Unless rally races which are timed competition, the rally raid format is a points compeition, where teams collect points by locating various checkpoints using only a map, a compass, and their intellect. To learn more about the Rebelle Rally, visit https://www.rebellerally.com .
About Overland Trail Guides
Overland Trail Guides features over 20,000 miles of curated overland routes throughout North America. The best way to support us is by buying one of our subscriptions or buying merchandise at www.overlandtrailguides.com

Originally, a favorite among the van life and outdoor recreationalist community (surfers, rock climbers, etc), more and more folks are using their Sprinter 4x4s to explore the dirt roads of the backcountry. And while many Sprinter owner stick to mellow gravel and graded dirt roads, there is a small group of folks pushing deep into the backcountry on trails geared towards 4x4s.
For this episode, we chat with Dan Blanchard, Sprinter Sportsmobile owner, and longtime OTG member. Dan has persistently been in touch with us, touting the capabilities of a Sprinter Van when driven by an experienced off road driver. And we completely agree, an expert driver is capable of pushing the limits of a vehicle far beyond the driving skill and capabilities of your average Joe or Jane. We chat with Dan about his experiences buying his Sportsmobile Sprinter at the start of Covid, and then using it to explore the West and gradually taking on harder and harder trails. If you're wondering about the limits of a Sprinter van, then be sure to tune in!
About Overland Trail Guides
Overland Trail Guides, or simply OTG, features North America's most extensive directory of curated overland routes (90+ routes and growing). You'll get recommendations on appropriate vehicle, technical ratings, best time to visit, places to see and camp, and more.

www.overlandtrailguides.com