I know…It Wasn’t Truly Overlanding, But You Gotta Start Somewhere!
So, I decided to take my vehicle out on its first adventure. It wasn’t a truly overlanding experience I know, but it was a starting point. Meaning, we drove to the mountains, stayed on a friend’s property down by the Androscoggin River in Milan, New Hampshire, and took day trips to hike four, make that, three different mountains.
The ultimate goal was to get way up north to hit a few 4,000-footers that are hard to access from southern New Hampshire. This way, we saved gas and time and checked off a few mountains on our list.
Here is the overview of the trip and what I would change for next time. For a reference point, our trip took place in Mid-August and the build started in June.
The Overland Build, Version 1 Complete
There are three parts to the overland build that I completed before the trip up north. They included fixing and lining the truck bed, restoring a camper top, and building the sleeping quarters.
Part 1: Truck Bed Liner
The truck bed liner was a fun project (see Dave’s Truck Mod: Raptor Liner Part 1 and Part 2 here). It took lots of man-hours and elbow grease to prep the truck bed. We had to fix the rusted out wheel-wells and sand and prep the truck bed. Then I sprayed in the Raptor Liner to create a clean and durable surface to start the truck build.
Part 2: The Truck Cap
After that, I found a used cap that was the perfect size for my truck. It only cost $60 on Facebook Marketplace! The cap required a bunch of attention but soon I was able to restore it with a two-tone paint job. See our article on my truck cap restoration here: Dave’s Truck Mod: Truck Cap.
Part 3: The Camping Setup
And finally, my friend Vince and I created the truck bed camping compartment. We salvaged his first bed from his van build-out and reconfigured it for my truck. Then we added a shelf unit from scrap wood from one of my previous house projects. And finally, created a flat floor to hold everything together. See Dave’s Mod: The Camping Setup here.
The Inaugural Trip
My hiking buddies and I live in southern New Hampshire so it is hard to get to some of the more northern NH and Maine mountains for a day trip. So, I decided to hit a few of them in a row.
I had been planning this trip for a couple of months and so I was somewhat rushed to get the truck set up for this inaugural trip. I barely finished the truck bed and storage the night before the trip and set it up in the dark…6 hours before heading to work for a 1/2 day.
When work ended I headed up to my friend’s house and we were off.
We headed to Milan, New Hampshire where we headed to the Oxbow Inn Bed and Breakfast. Our friends, Brian and Maria Chamberlain own the Oxbow Inn Bed and Breakfast and were happy to host us on their property. Maria came up with a ‘camp and breakfast’ rate so we didn’t have to cook in the morning. This allowed us to just drive up the hill to the B and B, have breakfast, and hit the road.
The Agenda: Hiking 4,000 Footers
Our primary agenda was to hike some 4,000-footers and have a getaway weekend. So, we kept it simple. Camp, hike, eat, hang out and repeat! The mountains that we decided on were the following:
- Mount Cabot via the Bunnell Notch Trail
- Mount Isolation via the Rocky Branch Trail
- Old Speck Mountain via the Appalachian Trail
- Mount Moriah via the Carter Moriah Trail (we bailed on this one as you will see)
Each hike had its own level of difficulty. Mount Cabot was closest to where we were staying so we hit that first. My thoughts were to hike the hardest first then put in an easier mountain before hitting the last one, Mount Moriah on the way home from camp.
Mount Cabot…Uneventful Summit
As it turned out, Cabot went as planned and we had really good weather for this one. It was about 70 degrees and stayed warm all day. We summited, which was uneventful as you can see in the pic above. We did get some views along the way but the top was below the tree line without a view.
Mount Isolation…The Long Slog
The second day was on Mount Isolation. If you are from New Hampshire, you will understand why this is one of the last 4,000-footers in NH that you do. It was an easy hike other than the billions of rocks. The grade was shallow for the majority of the hike but it was just looooong. We finally reached the summit and were greeted with a beautiful view of Mount Washington and Boot Spur from the back side. You can see Mount Washington in the background of my pic.
While descending this hike, my knee started to bother me and it really slowed my pace. As a physical therapist, I am quite familiar with injuries so, after a while, I figured it was a tight Iliotibial Band (ITB) and wouldn’t worsen with hiking…other than the pain down and across my knee.
After a while, I thought running fast could increase my adrenaline and reduce my pain naturally. So, I hobbled down the mountain as fast as I could. My pack bounced around and I limped crazily. It worked! I couldn’t believe it but the pain subsided. But just as I suspected as my adrenaline dropped after the hike, my knee pain returned. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.
Old Speck…And the Appalachian Trail Hikers
The third day was on Old Speck in Maine. It is one of Maine’s fourteen 4,000-footers. While this wasn’t as long as the others it was a bit steeper in parts. We also had a scramble section near the summit.
One of the nice things about Old Speck was that it is on the Appalachian Trail (AT). While hiking we met a number of people who were hiking the AT. Some northbound and some southbound. It was a joy getting to hear about some of their adventures along the trail. One hiker specifically we hiked with for about a mile was Preacher. He was heading southbound so as I recap my trip, I am sure he is probably in Pennsylvania by now.
After hiking these three hikes and wearing out our legs, we decided to bail on the Moriah hike. This would have added another 10 miles to our weekend total but it wasn’t in the cards. My legs were spent and I continued to nurse my knee on the way down Old Speck.
What Did I Learn On My First “Overlanding” Trip?
To put it bluntly…I learned A Lot!
If I were to sum it up, I learned in three categories. Sleeping setup, self-reliance, and portability.
Sleeping Setup
My sleeping setup was comfortable enough. I used two three-inch memory foam pads, two sleeping bags, and a wool blanket. Because it was August, the temps remained high at night so I really didn’t need so many blankets. I also brought a pillow so it wasn’t much different from sleeping at home.
Unfortunately, I built the bed frame fairly high and didn’t have much headroom. I had to stoop really low when getting out of bed and hit my head several times when getting into our out of bed.
The storage was pretty useless as I had the ‘cubbies’ facing out without anything to stop items from falling out. If I were to go on a longer trip it would have been a real mess. Additionally, I kept pushing my cooler to the cab side of the truck bed and had to crawl into the truck to retrieve it.
Finally, I had trouble getting into the camper because the tailgate is high, covered in Raptor Liner, and has grooves. This was pretty tough on my knees after a day of hiking.
It is back to the drawing board on the setup.
Self-Reliance
I would give myself a C grade for self-reliance. While the main objective of the trip was to hike a bunch of mountains, we were not without creature comforts. We had breakfast cooked for us, went out to a bar one night, and had dinner after the last hike. Our friends also had a big campfire for us one night. So, while we did cook dinner on the tailgate one time, it was more of a glorified camp trip.
I knew this going in but it gave me a good start to build on.
Portability
One thing that I wouldn’t change was portability. By having my truck act as a camper, I easily got out of bed, got dressed, and was ready to leave the campsite. One of my friends had a tent so required setting up and breakdown. Which wasn’t bad with one setup and breakdown. If we had been traveling every day it would have been a hassle if we were stressed for time.
Final Thoughts and Overall Grade
As a first trip, it was more for reconnaissance. A way to get to know my vehicle, gain a better understanding of truck camping and overlanding, and enjoy the journey. So, I give it an “A”.
As far as ‘overlanding’ it is more of a ‘C’. It was more of a truck glamping trip.
The most enjoyable part was sharing this with friends and getting to know them a little better. We had a bunch of laughs and hiked a few mountains. You can’t beat that.
