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Featured

The Run To The Sun: The nice thing about getting people with common interests together is that you don’t need to know them to know them….that isn’t a typo. The Adventure Portal’s inaugural Run to the Sun 2017 event brought together a group of  like-minded overlanders at Trona Pinnacles this last week-end. There was a wide variety of rigs, a wide range of ages, cultures and lifestyles, yet all of us came together and shared our love of gear, after market components, tales of adventures and mishaps and bucket-lists of gear to get and places to go.

New friendships were made and old friends met up.  Some of our event sponsors shared in the fun and a couple of people dropped in fresh off their Death Valley wanderings. The event was kid and dog friendly.  Trona is a natural playground and at any time of day, you could spot little people climbing around the pinnacles. TAP adheres to the principles of Tread Lightly! and discussed the importance of everyone staying on the designated trails and leaving their areas cleaner than when they arrived.

The Run To The Sun
Check-in area

TAP friend and in-field contributor Bob Wohlers of Off-Road Safety Academy offered free training clinics to all attendees. Bob put on a tire repair clinic, a communication device mini-clinic and a winching class.  All were well attended and included many hands-on exercises. The raffle was epic. The contributors, all of whom are listed below, donated generously to this event and we are very grateful to them.

The following is a photo journal of the event.  Enjoy, join this Gathering of the Tribe next year and TAP into Adventure!

We’ll start with a look at some of the rigs that rolled in….

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Clearly a Beast mobile. (where’s Waldo?)
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Bernard Leitner has a cool set up. The strong winds took his (and others) porta- potty down the first night.
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Owners Smokey and Nancy love their overlanding lifestyle.
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A Baja loving mobile.
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Rebel just slipped in without anyone noticing.
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Todd from Four Points Adventures joins the fun on his way to leading a Death Valley tour.
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Hello beautiful.
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Not sure where they slept.
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Some preferred getting away from the “maddening crowds”.
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Smiles, camping, wheeling…bliss.
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Capable and rugged.
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Early retirement…constant overlanding. Sounded sweet.

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The Tuff Stuff Crew in their wagon (read:rig) circle.
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Roof top tents were the rage.
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The terrain doesn’t get much weirder. That’s the beauty of Trona.
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The area on the way up to the “bowl”.
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Ready for a run around the Pinnacles.

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Staged? I had four parents beside me taking photos.
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EVERYONE signed “Hold Harmless” agreements.

Tire Repair Clinic by Bob Wohlers

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Replacing a torn valve stem.
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Plugging a puncture.

Communication Devices clinic, Bob Wohlers

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Bob discussed many communication devices and the “when, where, how and why” of using them.
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The shade was welcome.

Winching Clinic, Bob Wohlers

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Discussing winching equipment, straps, shackles etc.
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Dual point winching technique.

Once again,TAP would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to all the brands that supported this event by contributing prizes. Here are pictures of some of our winners and below is a full list of supporting brands.

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Icon Alloys: A full set of wheels!
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Off The Grid Rentals: Two day free rental
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Bob Wohlers Training sessions

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Article: Lori Palmer
Photos: David Griffith, Lori Palmer, Andy Palmer

7 COMMENTS

  1. Great event! Had fun, talk to a lot of people, had a great time!

    Thanks Lori and Andy for all the hard work to make Run to the Sun 2017 a reality! Well Done!!!

  2. Awesome weekend. Sincere thanks to Lori, Andy, Bob, the TAP behind the scenes crew and of course the badass sponsors. I hope this event continues and possibly blossoms into more adventures.

  3. A special thank you to Andy Lori and Bob for putting on a great event. The sessions with Bob Wohlers offered great value. Victoria and I had fun and are looking forward to the next event!

  4. Thanks for a great time! The trek from ID was unforgettable for my small sidekick and I. When is the next one!?

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