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EVENT: 2013 SoCal Mountain Rendezvous

November 25, 2013 By Bryon Dorr 2 Comments

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Big crew at this year’s Mtn Rendezvous!

My inaugural trip to the 2013 SoCal Desert Rendezvous, put on by the American Adventurist, started in Vegas picking up the awesome Maxtrax Toyota FJ from Ben at Outback Proven. Ben couldn’t make the trip this year, but graciously let me fly in and borrow the FJ for the event. Rendezvous is held at a Boy Scout camp high in the mountains just outside Big Bear in southern California. Just like it’s sister event Desert Rendezvous it is a relatively loose gathering of passionate overlanders who want to get together to share stories around the campfire, explore the local offroad trails and eat amazing food. Mountain Rendezvous was a success at all of the above and had the added benefit of a HUGE free raffle where many people won many cool overland products from the many industry supporters of the event. I’ll let the pictures below reveal the whole story, but I suggest you sign up early next year, as this event fills up quickly! Big shout out to TacoDoc and the whole crew at American Adventurist for hosting another quality overland gathering.

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I drove the Maxtrax FJ down from Vegas, courtesy of Outback Proven, and made the obligatory Zzyzx Rd photo stop on the way.
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The event was held at the upper campground in Boy Scout Camp Tahquitz.
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Chilly nights in the mountains around Big Bear!
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Rendezvous is dog friendly, as Marc from XP Camper demonstrates with his canine companion.
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Van Life was STRONG at this yr’s Rendezvous. Was missing the comforts of mine for sure!
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The first big trip for Gianni & Raquel’s Jeep project, as they came down representing for Triple Aught Design.
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David & Toyotie from Backroads Navigator cooking in style.
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American Adventurist‘s fearless leader Dave, aka TacoDoc, hard at work as the sun rises through the Fall leaves.
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Not a common setup, but I like it! Hummer T3 with RTT and lots of Peli cases.
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Brent Haywood’s van was decorated in the Halloween spirit.
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LOTS of very trick and well-appointed AT Overland Equipment trailers in attendance.
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A variety of rigs lined up for the big intermediate trail run on Saturday. This orange Sportsmobile looks like it’s about to eat the stock Jeep!
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Lots of fun trails around Big Bear in SoCal!
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The little stock Jeep just didn’t have the clearance or power to get up this hill. The trail leader in the stock Power Wagon just backed down and pulled the little Jeep up.
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The Maxtrax FJ was such a fun rig to wheel. The way this thing is set up makes it VERY capable!
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Autolocking front hub decided to stop working, and 3ish wheel drive wasn’t going to get the big orange Sportsmobile up the hill. Field repair didn’t quite work, so the Power Wagon backed back down for another tow.
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Winding steep desert terrain was the order for the day.
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The views were pretty spectacular!
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Mario, from AT Overland Equipment, came out with his VERY well-appointed Jeep JK.
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The dutch oven cook off competition was serious business!
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Brent Haywood Photography always gets the shot.
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Some hungry overlanders anxiously awaiting the dutch oven judging before they dig into the hot goodness.
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Fall sunsets in SoCal are pretty spectacular!
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Group campfire with fresh dutch oven grub might be the best way to enjoy the sunset 🙂
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Lots of generous sponsors throw down for the HUGE raffle on Saturday night.
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The raffle might be the only time all weekend when EVERYONE gathers together.
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My bivy sac accommodations in stark contrast to the Uberlanding awesome that is the XPCamper V1.
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ARB‘s Tacoma bumper on the XPCamper V2 works great as a recycling depository.
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Overlanding comes in all shapes and styles. I assure you that these guys got a good night’s rest.
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Awesome old-school overland rig.
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My new friends Richard & Ashley are driving the PanAm. Check out the awesome at: Desk to Glory.
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An Outside Van Sprinter masterpiece. Such a sweet luxury overland rig!
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Rendezvous was good fun for the whole family.
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Tembo Tusk showing the Land Cruiser love.
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Ummm…YES Please! RTW Land Crusier 70 series overland awesome.
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Yes that is an overland equipped Isuzu VehiCross.
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Equipt‘s 4Runner project is coming along nicely. Lookin’ good Paul!

You can read and see more pics from this year’s Mtn Rendezvous at these links:

Backroads Navigator Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Brent Haywood Photography

Desk to Glory

Song of the Road

-Click on the thumbnails below to see bigger images from the gallery-

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Filed Under: ADVENTURE, Event, Overland Travel, Photo, Sportsmobile Tagged With: 4x4 van, Agile Offroad, American Adventurist, AT Equipment, AT Overland Equipment, Backroads Navigator, Brent Haywood Photography, Desk to Glory, Equipt, MaxTrax, Mountain Rendezvous, Outback Proven, Outside Van, Overland, socal mountain rendezvous, SoCal Mtn Rendezvous, Song of the Road, Sportsmobile, Triple Aught Design, Van Life, XPCamper

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