Do it for the "Gram": How social media has ruined overlanding

You guys are pretty deep. What the heck is an "Overlander" anyway? Is that just some made up word for going wheeling and camping? Is liquor involved?

Bashing on the wannabees is all fun and games but truth be told, if I could just go out and buy a new 2 door Rubicon with a 6 inch lift to beat up, my little rust bomb would be kicked to the curb. Unfortunately my bank account says "No new jeep for you!!"
 
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You guys have your panties in a wad about nothing. People are buying 4x4s to project an image. The overlanding crowd is just the most visible of the new wheelers. Maybe they aren't hard core. So what.

Besides, adventure isn't about where you sleep. It's about getting there and back.
 
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Besides, this might lead to some decked out used rides hitting the market cheap when they move on to the next shiny thing that catches thier attention!
 
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MallCrawlOnTons said:
Is this forum considered “social media”?
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Sure it is but we discuss deep pithy subjects like tire and lift sizes and winches that Mathew McConaughey thinks about when he’s in his Lincoln, not the silly vapid stuff like who’s hangin at the mall and did you see what she wore at Becky’s party.
 
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One of the biggest points Matt Moghaddam brought up in his post is the lack of knowledge and concern for something most true overlanders and off road enthusiasts take to heart, and that is the idea of "Tread Lightly". As an off road community one of the biggest battles we face is being regulated out of existance by states closing down access to the places we love to go. There are places designated for all different types of recreation, from mudding to rock crawling to trail/overlanding... The problem is this new trend fueled influx of "wanna be" wheelers either doesn't care or just doesn't know any better... No matter what their excuse their ignorance could be very damning to our beloved way of life in the form of closures.

Earlier this summer I saw a post that was shared by the club I used to be a member of in WA. The article was about an area on one of the trails that has/had a beautiful grassy meadow where people liked to stop for lunch and just enjoy the views. Unfortunately some people thought the meadow would be a great place to show off their mud flinging ability, and now that trail is in danger of being closed down because of that!!!

I have been out of the club scene for a number of years now but one of the things I liked most about being in the club outside of the comrodery was the fact that we worked hard to re-open and maintain trails so we had some where we could excersize out love for the lifestyle.
 
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reddvltj said:
One of the biggest points in his post is the lack of knowledge and concern for something most true overlanders and off road enthusiasts take to heart, and that is the idea of "Tread Lightly". As an off road community one of the biggest battles we face is being regulated out of existance by states closing down access to the places we love to go. No matter what their excuse their ignorance could be very damning to our beloved way of life in the form of closures.

Earlier this summer I saw a post that was shared by the club I used to be a member of in WA. The article was about an area on one of the trails that has/had a beautiful grassy meadow where people liked to stop for lunch and just enjoy the views. Unfortunately some people thought the meadow would be a great place to show off their mud flinging ability, and now that trail is in danger of being closed down because of that!!!
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We see this in CO all the time. Most of the time it is someone from out of state (out east) where "mudding" is their form of offroad. We have trails that close in the spring due to "mud season". Ripping thru a meadow or wetland is the quickest way to get a trail shut down. The ecosystem here in the high country is very sensitive, it could take years (20+) for the area to be anywhere near normal again.
 
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andy29847 said:
You guys have your panties in a wad about nothing.
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pot-and-kettle.jpg
 
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tworley said:
We see this in CO all the time. Most of the time it is someone from out of state (out east) where "mudding" is their form of offroad. We have trails that close in the spring due to "mud season". Ripping thru a meadow or wetland is the quickest way to get a trail shut down. The ecosystem here in the high country is very sensitive, it could take years (20+) for the area to be anywhere near normal again.
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I yelled at a dirt biker on Argentine for this, instead of passing the Jeeps coming down he just took off on a straight clip up the hill between switchbacks. There aren't many things that upset me to the level I will yell (especially at a stranger), but trashing trails is on there.

My case is not a consequence of the gram, but a lot of people are ignorant or just straight up jack asses.
 
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Similar but different. Years ago NC had a split bear season. Hunters from the mountains would come east and hunt the eastern season on property where the knew the owner or had some kind of lease. Anyway in the pursuit of bears or their dogs some trashed fields and field roads and when farmers blocked the field roads with equipment their equipment got shot up. This was before the wide spread use of gates everywhere. There was enough hell raised that the NC went to a single bear season which kept the local hunters local and eliminated the problem. A couple of bad apples is all it takes.
 
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The "support me on patreon" crowd with every social media profile they have stuck all over the side of their vehicle make me want to leave an area if they're there. A travelling gear sponsor basically. Crawling around bivouac sites trying to talk you into the latest overlandy gadget.
 
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Shwane said:
The "support me on patreon" crowd with every social media profile they have stuck all over the side of their vehicle make me want to leave an area if they're there. A travelling gear sponsor basically. Crawling around bivouac sites trying to talk you into the latest overlandy gadget.
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I agree. It's like having walking, talking ads or commercials following you around to places you would never expect to find them :ROFLMAO:
 
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