Gaia GPS Offroad

Gaia GPS

The Gaia GPS Offroad podcast brings you thrilling stories and top tips from offroad and overlanding experts from around the world. From the best gear reviews to rig modifications, backroads navigation, and trail reports, host Wade May dives deep with each guest to reveal hard-won insights from the dusty trails. This is a Gaia GPS podcast, sponsored by Trails Offroad. 

  1. 07/04/2022

    Overland Lady - Monique Song

    What do you do when you’re unhappy in your corporate job? You hit the road and drive - all the way to Australia., Canada, and northbound to the Arctic. That’s how Monique Song found her way into offroading, eventually becoming the beloved Overland Lady. Monique wields both a wrench and a flatiron (for her hair) and gives wise insights on how each tool has played an important role in her adventures in her 100 series Toyota Landcruiser. Unfortunately, her well-known and loved Landcruiser is no more. Monique joined the rollover club on the the Dempster Highway last fall, totaling her rig and leaving her stranded in the remote Arctic. Tune into the podcast to hear Monique describe what it felt like to experience a crash of this magnitude and walk away with minor injuries. Plus, learn the full details of the recovery efforts and get a sneak peak at the rig she's eyeing next -- this time it's all about the gas mileage. If you want to explore like a boss like Overland Lady does, you’re going to need Gaia GPS Premium. With a Premium membership, you’ll be able to create your own routes, download maps for offline use, and access the entire map catalog, including offroading favorites like MVUM, the mines and minerals layer, satellite imagery, USFS roads and trails, weather maps, and more. If you don’t have Gaia GPS Premium yet, you’re in luck. For a limited time, podcast listeners get a 40 percent discount on Gaia GPS Premium. Sign up now to get the maps for every adventure -- from overlanding to hiking to hunting -- all in one app on Gaia GPS.

    1h 7m
  2. 10/03/2022

    TrailRecon

    The easiest way to get into overlanding is to simply just go. “You need a shelter, you need food and water, and you need some safety gear.” says Brad Kowitz, the creator of TrailRecon, a wildly popular YouTube channel dedicated to all things overlanding. “That’s my advice, just get the basics, get out there, and go have a good time.”   Helping folks get outside and experience the benefits of nature is the whole reason Brad and his wife Regena started TrailRecon. The channel debuted in 2015 with a video that Brad and Regena’s son Jordan made of their trip to the mud caves in California’s Anza Borrego State Park. The video gained an audience and soon the Kowitzs were posting about all their camping trips. The channel went viral. Now, with almost half a million subscribers, TrailRecon covers every aspect of the overland adventure, from camp cooking to vehicle mods to detailed trail reports.   Even though Brad has reached next level YouTube fame, getting on a trip with TrailRecon is not out of reach. Brad is the face of E3 Overland — a nationwide overland community that helps to educate, empower, and entertain folks on the trail. In addition to web-based learning, E3 focuses on in-person events that get members together all across the country. Brad says joining members on E3 events keeps him grounded and connected to people who love the outdoors. You can hear more about how you can join TrailRecon on an overlanding trip in 2022 on episode 13 of the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast. Plus, you won’t want to miss Brad’s take on overlanding with a full-size pickup, the benefits of traveling with an offroad trailer, and Regena’s sage advice for making a reluctant spouse fall in love with roughing it in the great outdoors. If you want to follow in the tread of TrailRecon and plan custom overland trips far away from the crowds, you’re going to need Gaia GPS Premium. With a Premium membership, you’ll be able to create your own routes, download maps for offline use, and access the entire map catalog, including offroading favorites like MVUM, the mines and minerals layer, satellite imagery, USFS roads and trails, weather maps, and more. If you don’t have Gaia GPS Premium yet, you’re in luck. For a limited time, podcast listeners get a 40 percent discount on Gaia GPS Premium. Sign up now to get the maps for every adventure -- from overlanding to hiking to hunting -- all in one app on Gaia GPS.

    59 min
  3. 09/02/2022

    Adventure Riding with Tim and Marisa Notier

    Adventuring with your partner can be challenging to say the least. But don’t give up when tensions run high. Tim and Marisa Notier are living proof that adventuring as a couple can be done — even when you share a seat on a motorcycle for five years. From Illinois to the tip of Argentina, and up and down Africa, the Notiers have explored the natural world and their relationship’s limits. Get their insights on how they make it work and manage to have some fun along the way. Tune in to hear the complete story of how these high school sweethearts rekindled their relationship after an extended hiatus. In this hilarious and honest discussion, the Notiers pull back the curtain on how they got into adventure riding in the first place, why they chose to ride tandem around the world, and how they manage to work as a team on long-distance rides. Learn more about the Notiers on their website. Read about their adventures in Tim’s books that chronicle the couple’s adventure motorcycle journey. Follow them on Instagram to see what they are up to next.   Got your own travel plans? You're going to need Gaia GPS to get your there. For a limited time, podcast listeners get 40 percent off on a Gaia GPS Premium Membership. Premium lets you download maps for offline navigation and access hundreds of maps to get the info you need for the places you're going next! Just go to www.gaiagps,com/offroadpodcast to snag that sweet discount.

    1h 4m
  4. 22/11/2021

    9. Dan Grec's Never-Ending Road Trip.

    Since 2009, Dan Grec has traveled the world in his Jeep Wrangler, searching for connection in local cultures and beauty in wild landscapes. After some 90,000 miles behind the windshield, the author of the popular adventure travel books, The Road Chose Me, finally returns home to Australia. But Grec’s homecoming won’t be filled with the rest and relaxation you’d expect after a decade-long road trip. Grec continues his odyssey to see and experience the world up-close and personal. This time, he returns to his birthplace to tackle Australia’s classic routes and explore unknown trails. His trip to the bush will take at least 12 to 18 months.  Grec sits down with Wade in the days before starting his Australian expedition to explain why the international road chose him. Grec retraces his tracks from Alaska to the tip of South America and hiw 54,000-mile road trip around Africa. Learn Grec's secrets to worldwide travel, including how to masterfully make your dollars go the extra mile so you can prolong your trip. Plus, these trips aren't always sunshine and rainbows, Grec shows us how to avoid bribery at international border crossings and what to do when you get Malaria ... twice. Follow Dan Grec's journey on Instagram. Subscribe to his YouTube channel. Read about his adventures in his books The Road Chose Me, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.  If you want maps for your own journeys, big and small, then don't miss this sweet discount on a Gaia GPS Premium Membership.

    59 min
  5. 11/11/2021

    8. Sat Comm with ZOLEO founder Morris Shawn

    It's your worst nightmare. You're all alone, miles from the trailhead, when you trip over a rock and break your leg. What do you do? If you have a satellite communication device, you press a button and send a message for help. Yes, rescue in the backcountry has become that easy. These palm-sized units allow you to communicate from anywhere in the world, let others track your progress in the backcountry, and provide a direct line to help when you need it. How exactly do satellite communication devices work, and can you trust them? We sat down with Morris Shawn, president of ZOLEO Inc, to give you the inside scoop on how the ZOLEO satellite communicator works. From seamless messaging to remote weather reports and location tracking in the field, Morris explains all the benefits of carrying a satellite communicator in areas beyond cell service. Plus, get the scoop on what actually happens when you press that dreaded SOS button, and hear about some of the most ridiculous calls for help Morris has seen in recent years. And it's good timing, because if you're in the market for a satellite communication device, ZOLEO is having a killer sale from November 12, 2021 to November 30, 2021. You can pick up a ZOLEO two-way satellite messenger for $149, that's 25 percent off the retail price. And if you activate your device by January 30, 2022, you'll get a 6-month Gaia GPS Premium Membership for free if you're not already a member. Nothing pairs better with satellite communication than Gaia GPS's robust collection of maps and offline planning and navigation tools. Get them both today in this special deal. Visit the Gaia GPS blog to save.

    43 min
  6. 27/10/2021

    7. Overland Vanlife with Primal Outdoors

    Van life with its sunset views and cozy living quarters seems like a dream — until you see the price tag on a 4x4 Sprinter. But Jason Darrah, star of the viral YouTube show Primal Outdoors, is here to show you a better way. All it takes is buying - and being happy with - the vehicle that you can afford. Jason started overlanding more than a decade ago in an ancient $350 Ford Explorer. Sure, the old Explorer was oxidized and smelled a little funny on the inside. But the car took him everywhere he wanted to go. When it came time to live full time on the road, Jason knew he was due for an upgrade. He found a 1994 Ford van on Craigslist that cost $2,000. And it was perfect. Of course, like any good overlander, Jason spent tens of thousands of dollars on upgrades. But those modifications came at a pace that his pocketbook could afford and it took years to get the van dialed exactly how Jason wanted it. "People might look at the van at this point and think that it’s crazy,” Jason says. “But if you add up all the stuff I’ve done to it, I’m still under the base price of a Sprinter.” Four wheel drive, a toasty propane heater, and a brand new electrical system are just three upgrades that Jason says were crucial to everyday living in the van. In this episode, Jason goes deep on gear and ultimately admits that backpacking has influenced his philosophy on what makes it into the van and what stays behind. Plus get an inside look at Jason's custom 300-mile Bend to Alvord route in his home state of Oregon. Jason says that the scenic trip is accessible to beginners and experts alike and offers so much more than a challenging off-pavement drive. "It's not just a trudge to the desert. There's an old airplane wreck. There's an old ranch house out there. There's some caves that you can check out. There's the sand dunes if you want to stop and play in the sand for a day," Jason says of the route he created. Learn more about Jason on his Primal Outdoors YouTube channel. Join his Patreon to get his GPX tracks. And follow him on his Primal Outdoors Instagram page for the best photos on living vanlife to the fullest. Don't forget to pick up your discount on a Gaia GPS Premium Membership so you can get on the Bend to Alvord route ASAP!

    53 min

About

The Gaia GPS Offroad podcast brings you thrilling stories and top tips from offroad and overlanding experts from around the world. From the best gear reviews to rig modifications, backroads navigation, and trail reports, host Wade May dives deep with each guest to reveal hard-won insights from the dusty trails. This is a Gaia GPS podcast, sponsored by Trails Offroad.