EP1 Return to Alaska // X Overland's The Last Frontier Series

so it has been years since i have traveled to alaska  and every year since i've had the desire to return but like many significant things in life the  timing needs to be right so i had to wait i had to wait for the right moment  the right reasons and the right crew alaska is a powerful place   your age doesn't matter and your experience  level doesn't matter everyone walks away changed out of all the different methods  of travel in this world there is   something uniquely special to  traveling in your own vehicle especially when it's built to  take you further than you expect   and allows you to thrive in the journey but a vehicle will only get you so far  it's really your adventurous spirit   that'll allow for all of this to happen this group is made of young and the young at heart my years of traveling now have taught me  that the best teams are made up of people   who are willing to be stretched the idea on this trip is that we all  have something to offer and to learn and even though some of us are  more seasoned than the other   we are still looking to learn new  things no matter how big or small my dad brought me to alaska when i was a young  man he handed me his old real estate camera   and 10 rolls of film to document our trip  and he unknowingly changed my life forever now hopefully this adventure will  provide the opportunity to reciprocate   that to a new generation of adventure  travelers i don't know what will happen   but what i can guarantee is that none  of us will walk out of this one the same expedition overlands the last frontier is  presented by general tire and the grabber   x3 anywhere is possible and toyota the  official vehicle provider of ex-overland   and in association with patriot campers and pecor  systems after four days traveling north through   the inside passage on the marine vessel kennecott  we are coming into port in whittier alaska   the starting point of our month-long journey  in the 49th state of alaska over the next   month we'll be traveling all over this great  state we'll be trying to soak in all the great   experiences that we can our first objective  is to ready the trucks for a day of travel after seven months of planning our tires  finally reach the shores of mainland alaska   after we make it through the whittier  train tunnel we will briefly split ways   to establish camp and pick up our last two  team members flying into anchorage tonight we as a team immediately  start to work within our roles dan van stralin is 17 and he  will be our main navigator my son cyrus will be his understudy   now 16 he needs to get some serious drive time  as he's working towards his driver's license peter van stralin is 19 and will be a lead  driver and expedition leader in training ryan connolly is a mentor and  lead on maintaining the condor i am expedition leader at least for a little while   after we make it through the whittier train tunnel  we will briefly split ways to establish camp   and pick up our last two team members flying into  anchorage tonight run right down the train tracks   here's the trd exhaust like i said some of us are still young at heart dan finds a camp spot at the southern edge of  the cook inlet just south of anchorage okay   ryan good luck get those other guys we will  see you later in camp dan take us to camp we will link up with the other  guys in a couple of hours the first camp of any trip is  always a bit of a slower process   it takes a bit to get the gears turning but camp  is designed to be very efficient and comfortable   and within a night or two this  camp will take 10 minutes to pitch a little less than two weeks ago i had  an emergency appendectomy i have made   this inconvenient setback as my main excuse to  have the best bed in camp inside the x3 trailer with my appendix out i'm not supposed to  lift more than 15 pounds for six weeks   good thing my doctor isn't here yet we have brought two boats on this trip to help  us explore beyond the trucks one is packed   inside the other and we will have to load and  unload them almost every day from here on out it's dinner time and my night to cook   my goal is to have it ready right as the  other guys arrive and they're not far behind so so ryan delivers the next two old guys of the crew tanner johnson a seasoned  expedition overland member   and our main photographer and mechanic  my good friend dr john solberg   this is the first time some of these guys have  met and the team chemistry is looking good already dr john and i have spent weeks together in  arctic trucks as we crossed the greenland   ice sheet on the expedition 7 trip in  2018 but that story is for another time he has never seen my cooking skills   and he doesn't seem impressed matter of fact no one seems impressed   except ryan who for as long as i've known  him will eat anything without complaint i think it's going to be important to  hit a grocery store sooner than later we have a new fleet for this trip two brand  new tacomas and a 5th gen 4runner towing   our x3 patriot camper trailer the lead truck is  atigan a 2021 trd off-road tacoma equipped with   factory rear locker and the high-end traction  controls from toyota the biggest modification   to the driveline would be the tire size we have  equipped this tacoma and the other vehicles with   a reduced gearing ratio to accommodate  35 inch general grabber x3s the x3s are   the perfect choice for the abusive muddy rocky  alaskan roads the very environment these tires   are designed for icon vehicle dynamics new cdev  shocks allow for optimal compression adjustments   through intelligent feedback while in motion  providing the best ride our trucks have ever had   for protection cbi built a concept aluminum armor  system including a front bumper wider sliders for   cameramen and full skid plate systems striking  the perfect balance between weight and protection   within the front bumper a warren xeon 10 winch has  been installed with the all new spydura nightline   for safer technical extractions in low light  conditions if we should need it the rear of that   again is where the real work has been put in this  is the first tacoma p core tray and canopy system   in the world and it's our job to put it to the  test i absolutely love pecor systems and believe   they increase a truck's functionality beyond  any other work truck bed alternative they are   simply incredible and the pcor accommodates a  redarc manager 30 power system which manages our   battery systems that feed our camera gear  lights pumps and integrated refrigerator   in addition the pcore has storage side drawers  an interior drawer and a rear pull out tool   drawer under slung is an integrated 20 gallon  water tank to keep the truck's crew hydrated starting from the front of the tacoma the roof  line is upfitted with a princeton roof rack   over the cab accommodating a light bar max tracks  alley boxes and a cell phone booster antenna   on the p core roof the k9 load  bars provide mounting options   for two big sky rod boxes for our fly fishing  rods and a redarc 180 watt solar panel to keep   the truck's lithium house battery charging  through the manager 30. pecor's new awning   is positioned on the passenger side to provide  massive 270 degree protection from the elements the convoy's second position is held  by the forerunner known as the clone   it is equipped with 35-inch grabbers icon compass  wheels and ev shocks as well front-end protection   is similar to the tacomas with all aluminum  protection in a worn winch the canine roof   rack accommodates the alu boxes and easy on  rooftop tent where tanner and peter sleep   the interior is equipped with a goose  gear drawer and sleep system for cyrus the x3 trailer is our main galley system it  has our primary fridge 40 gallons of water   a hot water heater and a grill in the front box  dr john and i will sleep in the live-in camper   the galley side peacore awning will keep  us protected from the alaskan rainy season raven is the brother tacoma to atigan all primary  upfits are the same as far as general tires wheels   protection and accessories however raven retains  its factory rear bed where we have installed a   go fast camper for its topper intent combination  which is now dan and ryan's quarters the truck bed   is organized with a decked drawer system making  it easy to grab group gear an arb fridge freezer   provided by overlander.com is set to zero  degrees and will store our frozen food items all of the power is managed  by redarc red vision system   and maintained by the 150  watt solar panel on the roof all the campers functions are controlled from the  red vision lights refrigerator power usb ports etc   are all allocated within the system draw and  charge the rear of the truck features a cbi   dual swing out that allows us to carry additional  fuel and relocate the underslung spare to the rear   inside our trucks are communication  systems and they consist of icom radios   a garmin inreach mini satellite system that are  paired to our main overland navigation devices   mounted on each of the vehicle's dashes with  these systems we're able to communicate across   the fleet with radios and over the  horizon with satellite communications this place is fantastic and being at the start of  the trip is the greatest because it's all ahead   of you it's the thing i am the most excited about  that i've been anticipating for a long time is to   spend time with my son on a big trip special to be  here that he's old enough to be a part of the team   and i really look forward to sharing some of my  experiences of alaska with the guys i think i'll   learn is a lot of new bushcrafting stuff i've  already learned how to make a face in a log so   in a little stick and i love driving i've been  excited to drive like ever since i was young   and just waiting to get my license  i just got my learner's permit   i'm working towards my driver's license  and my dad's making me drive a lot so you can't spend a month in the out of doors  and come back the same person it doesn't   matter how many times you've done it i think being  outside helps us discover things about ourselves   it can sometimes maybe highlight some of our own  character flaws when we work in a group like this   and uh but it always provides an opportunity  to make yourself a little bit better   and to learn from your mistakes learn from  the knowledge of others and uh hopefully   come back from the outdoors a better human  i've been an er doctor for 15 years and uh   you know i want everybody to come home safely  and it's a it's a personal responsibility to make   sure that everybody is safe and cared for and  anytime you go outside and you're working with   vehicles or winches sharp objects firearms  there's the chance for somebody to get injured   and i just want everybody to  be safe and come home unscathed all right so i'm one of the younger members of  this group and i'm just really excited to learn   we got a very experienced crew this time all with  a wealth of knowledge and i hope i can tap into   a little bit of that on this trip also as one  of the younger members i'm really working on   making sure i'm pulling my weight being a valuable  team member because like i said the group of guys   we're with are very experienced and efficient  with how they do stuff so just kind of keeping   up making sure my own stuff is in order well i'm  excited about alaska itself like the place is   you can tell it's a rough and tough place you can  see it in the landscape from the second you step   off the boat in our case or as soon as you step  onto it it's you can almost smell it in the air something i've noticed in myself is taming  my ego a bit because i've i have spent many   years or past six years on the road living  full-time on the road with my own family   i think i've done a lot and i know some  stuff but then you listen to anyone like   dr john or ryan or tanner or clay when  they talk about stuff they're like oh   yeah 10 years ago i was in alaska doing this  or i was you know in this crazy cool place   doing something some cool adventure so longer  than i've been total on the road it's just a   memory and there's they've got a massive wealth  of these of knowledge of true knowledge of   everything that i want to learn so being one of  the younger guys i have to make sure that i'm i'm   really investing myself into what they're  saying listening to everything they're saying   what do i think about being one of the old guys   in fact i think the first time i've ever been the  oldest guy on a trip so that's pretty cool yeah   i don't feel like an old guy i said this last  night around the fire in my brain i'm like 24   28 maybe if i'm really stretching my maturity  level so i don't feel like an old guy and   it's interesting the things that i've  done or seen i don't realize that they are   things other people haven't and so even  last night i connected the dots like oh   that is an experience i've had that no one  else has or has had yet and i can share it   and hopefully have them experience it as well  don't really know what to expect i've never been   to alaska as my first time super excited to be  here always wanted to come since i was a kid but   i can get so caught up in wanting to get the best  shot getting photos getting the video and i really   want to be able to just stop obviously get the  shots that we need for the trip in the series but   i also want to be able to enjoy and savor be in  here because it's an issue i've always had where   i'm always caught up in getting the photos getting  the video and i never enjoy being in the moment by the end of this trip i would love to see a very  cohesive group of guys that can lean on each other   for years to come potentially we've got young guys  experienced guys and older guys i guess i'm one of   the old guys now i hope they learn a lot from  us i know i'm going to learn a lot from them   and i look forward to walking  away from this trip a better guy we are packing up to make our way to  anchorage where we have a plane waiting for us   and with that the training begins cyrus will be behind the wheel today anyone who can't back up a trailer will  be good at it before the end of the trip so we are headed to lake hood the  epicenter for alaskan backcountry access   and it's our takeoff point  to a very special destination the place where i've got my  first big gig as a storyteller wow the most highly concentrated float plane  epicenter of the world wow incredible so we are in at lakehood just outside of  anchorage alaska it's the largest man-made   water airport in the world uh all all of alaska  pretty much hubs out of this little airport here   for all the remote access so today we're going in  i'm going to take off from air head out to rainy   pass lodge which is where i pretty much got all  my skills to start shooting shows so come with us yeah i just can't wait to get  to the lodge and uh check it out   i've been hearing a lot of good  stories so it's gonna be awesome we're loading up into a 1961 de havilland  beaver it's the icon of the northern bush plane   fully designated as the de  havilland canada dhc-2 beaver   the beaver is a single-engine high-wing propeller  driven short take-off in landing aircraft   it was developed by the de havilland canada  corporation shortly after world war ii as the   company made a transition from producing military  aircraft to designing and building aircraft for   civilian applications this plane has an airspeed  of 122 miles an hour and is powered by a 450   horsepower pratt and whitney reciprocating  engine only 1 657 beavers were made in their   20-year production run and fewer and fewer of  them remain air worthy as time takes its toll   however the older they get  the more beautiful they are all right guys here we go we are headed to rainy pass lodge it's  a place that immersed me into alaska   over a decade ago it's just over  an hour's flight to the lake   some 130 air miles to the northwest over a sliver  of alaska's massive and pristine wilderness due   to the lodge's remoteness it warns travelers to be  fully prepared for a survival situation if needed huh our pilot kip has been flying remote lakes  and strips for nine years but he's about   to pursue new adventures and this flight is  one of his last as a commercial beaver pilot   so how do you set this plane up for slow  flight what are we doing we're we're   giving the engine a slow we don't want to shock  cool radio radials they're super sensitive to   jockeying so we're just doing a slow cool down  got a time time in it like power reductions   then we're slowly bringing in a little bit of  flaps i got a couple degrees in now and i kind of   just go back and forth between pulling power out  putting a little bit of flaps in nice and gentle   holding on this altitude around this knob hold on  a little bit of air speed as we kind of scout the   lake checking to make sure there's no debris  on the water checking wind directions that's   the one thing up floats you're playing into  places that don't have a wind sock so you're   just learning to read the water let it tell  you what what direction the wind's out of but   we're going to go around this little dub in this  little mesa of a hill and we'll land down valley so nicely done yeah boys so smooth   put greasers down all day with full  plants nice that was insanely smooth just gonna let the engines uh cool  down for a second we'll get you on   the dock there kick you guys out sounds good hey guys how's good how you all doing  you guys happy to see the green monster it's uh it's there a little snippy yep yeah  it's it's a little sleepy we made it happen how you doing i'm steve yeah good  to meet you you know nice weekend i'm steve excited good to meet you  who's this guy up front there hey clay good to see you man it's been a while it feels great to be back and to see the parents  again is like reuniting with family after years of   being gone that was almost the most epic thing  i've ever been on in my entire life awesome   we were like right underneath the clouds trees  coming up that was unbelievable it was amazing   you like i don't think we ever i never felt like  i was more than 100 feet off the ground like yeah than being on a beaver float plane in alaska i  mean it could have been another plane you know   or like a beaver in another cool place you have  to be on a beaver in alaska yeah it is pinnacle awesome welcome to the lodge kip takes  off leaving us alone at the lodge until   another flight can hopefully make its  way in tomorrow if the weather holds rainy pass lodge is the  oldest hunting lodge in alaska it's steeped in alaskan history hunting  legends gold and the iditarod sled dog race steve and denise parents have made major  sacrifices over the years to make their   dreams of lodge ownership a reality their son  steve jr also carries the passion for the lodge   and is the future of this amazing place a walk-through of the lodge spurs on  stories i haven't thought about in years   this building we call the hunter's lodge this cabin was built in 1973 this is where our hunters stay  when they come out here um   but it's a fun fun hanging out spot  all the hunters can come in here for   social hour and hors d'oeuvres and this  is where all the hunting lies get told and one neat thing in here is that a log tripod up  there it's got a wooden dowel drilled through the   middle of it that was one of the original iditarod  trail tripod markers to mark the trail and bucky   who's an old-timer out here saved that off the  trail before it rotted away um and we were told   there was only one other one that was saved and  the rest just you know eventually rotted away oh yeah i was in this one i slept here  this one's awesome i was laying here   finally getting a nap one afternoon and  it was in the summer and uh i heard this i was like who's weed eating and that's the  thing doesn't sound like it's running good   kind of came to it and i was like no that's  something different that's an airplane i go   running out with the i think there's zach was  with me or something we go out the door right   there and here comes this airplane coming in  right here about as they got about right here   cut up oh edge remember that yeah straight into  the dirt strip yep the european guys that were   flying around the world bunch of british dudes  they're flying around the world and got bad gas   and magadan russia and we're flying over here  like this and they got water in the fuel and   they had problems and they hit the nearest gps you  know landing strip and it was raining past lodge   right for it yeah and it quit  them right here coming in   that was scary low wing planes the guy was  uh like so grateful to land here he like uh   he thought he was gonna die at first was his  engine was quitting and then uh that night he   got really wasted oh yeah they all did and then  disappeared in the brush and like i got woken up   at three in the morning because they couldn't  find him and he was just somewhere i think it   was a couple other guys came in here clay clay  there's a guy one of the british guys is missing   so i'm like oh straight stupid come on like  where was he last seen and fell back to sleep   he's missing i woke up and i was like what color  of clothes does he wear i fell back to sleep   we were just working so hard and then we  eventually we got all up and we're looking   everywhere and you were working on the  septic system at the time we were all like   hope he didn't fall in that thing right hope  it didn't fall into the lake because yeah yeah   that night they had been drinking the yeah  winston churchill's brandy till they were gone   and all of a sudden this guy's like comes up  next to me and we're all looking for stuff   he's like what are we looking for we're like we  look for and it was him i was like we're looking   for you and he's like well i was wondering why  all these torches were swinging about that's what well what are your first impressions   well rainy pass lodge is certainly a historic  place and anybody who knows much of the history of   alaska is familiar with it and it's really pretty  incredible to be here there's so much history   that uh it's just truly a privilege  to be able to be here and see it once you're at rainey pass lodge there really  is only one way of transportation horses um but we we saddle them this way  and then this loop that you made   you're gonna pull that right through  there and that tightens it down tanner how do you feel about getting  that horse oh i'm feeling good   i've had some bad experiences in the  past so i'm always a little nervous   i uh my wife loves horses she rides with the  bozeman satellites a drill team and so she   grew up with them i grew up with them but she's  had better experiences probably than i have or   she's better with horses so i've always stayed  on the ground and preferred vehicles but mo   sounds like he's a pretty nonchalant  horse so that's who i've been assigned to   so we'll see how it goes i have confidence i once  had to whip mo to motivate him to escape death in   the river as water filled his panniers filled with  our camera gear it's good to see him still kicking our ride will take us to the top of lookout  point where we can get the full lay of the land   i've had a couple of horse experiences  just enough to know that i don't like them it's still mind-boggling to think about  how far away from anything we are now   like it's easy to be up in the woods and  be like oh yeah there's a road over there   town over there no hundreds of miles from anything the number just keeps getting  higher we're at least 5 000 miles brings back great memories learning to film  from a horse which as you can see is not easy   this camera guys we'd have to ride horses too  carry carry our gear plus camping gear and   all that and then you'd run ahead tie up your  horse and hop out get on the trail and film   them go by and get back on your horse and  ride riding ketchup it was a lot of work but man alive was it fun i hope  that it's enough to just give   these guys a taste like maybe they  want to go do this someday you know i think i just hit my stairs climbed  goal hit my step goal earlier   just knocking out the goals right now and my watch is this place is pretty cool  just because it's where my dad   learned how to film and that's  where he like kind of started xo   with his buddies and i spent winters and  summers out here learning how to do things   and i had very many stories so it's just cool to  hear them all and actually be here myself so yeah sit up on this hill and a lot goes through my  mind many ways i never thought i'd ever be back   here i worked here for two summers and a couple  winters uh shooting an old show called our five   sons alaska was based on the parents and their  five boys and we got out here to shoot this   show and we got hired it was kind of our  first big gig to get on a show and make a   a series and nobody knew what they were doing we  all kind of had an idea and this is where out here   and at the lodge we a small team of us  figured out how to make stories into episodic   shows and long story short that's the  origin in a lot of ways many many ways   to expedition overland it started out here  the last summer i worked here i went back   and took an overland trip i had a little bit of  money in my pocket for the first time built my   truck up a little bit took my father-in-law  to moab and a few months later had the idea   you know what maybe we could make a show based  on traveling by vehicle and seeing the world   fast forward 11 years later or more here we are  again thinking back on all of that and it's insane   how much life has been in between and it's  excellent to have my boy with me cyrus and my goal   from coming out here was a little bit of nostalgia  for me but i also know the power of this place   and what it can do for young men young  people in general but i know young men   getting to experience alaska wilderness being  way out here by a float plane only telling   hunting stories killed the black bear over there  saw the greatest wolf i've ever seen over here   how can that not like take hold in them and i hope  it does so that they learn the value of wilderness   the value of being outdoorsmen and this is  probably one of the coolest places on earth for me i'm glad to show all of you a little piece of it i hope the other guys like it they seem to   there's a lot of stoic faces there's  kind of this crew is a stoic crew and uh that doesn't mean there's not  a lot going on in there there's a ton   i can tell they're just soaking things in   it's fun to watch an area like this when you  look out here really kind of reminds you of how   how small you are in the world and sometimes  you think what happens in your own life is   is really important but this terrain reminds you  that we're just a speck you know on the spectrum   of time and in the world and maybe we shouldn't  focus so much on the small little problems in   our daily life and this kind of helps remind  me that i need to not think about those things   and you know just maybe appreciate the  big picture spend more time outside   my my childhood of reading jack london became  real i think call the wild and all those stories   of alaska adventures it it puts it into real  context like okay i get it i see what that means i like that there's that buddy  that feels good natural hat   incredible incredible incredible just incredible we only have one night here but we could spend a  month if we had it our way our alaska experience   is off to a phenomenal start already its  scale and beauty is making an impression   the journey ahead will be  nothing short of remarkable   but for now we'll make our way back to the lodge  where i intend to introduce you and this crew to   an american legend that you have never heard about  so stay tuned for chapter two the last frontier you

Channel: Expedition Overland

Views: 1,975,174

Keywords: xoverland, expedition overland, overlander, overlanding, tacoma build, 4runner, toyota, alaska, road trip, camping

Id: znlYHB63B6A

Length: 45min 38sec (2738 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 20 2022