Tag: Yeti

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2019 Socal Desert Rendezvous

Location: Somewhere in the California Desert

With the coordinates dispatched to those who were in the know, the stage was set for the 9th Annual Desert Rendezvous presented by American Adventurist.

Day 00:

Local weather reports had been giving out mixed readings regarding rain, and our team needed to meet early at the Rendezvous site in the desert and get set up for the large gathering to come during the weekend. Staff members Cris Mateski, Doug Robertson, and Stuart Mc Williams headed down Wednesday afternoon amidst a mixture of weather. It was a constant on and off rain, with peeks of sunshine and then more rain. Rain in the desert is always amazing. And messy. In the meantime, Brett and I would arrive to meet them the next day.

Day 01:

On Thursday camp was setup by the time Brett and I arrived on site. The weather we encountered was a steady on/off rain all the way from Los Angeles to Anza Borrego State Park. The roads were wet and so was the fire road on the way in. It was a bit muddy but nothing to deter us from getting to where we needed to go. American Adventurist had provided a cord of wood on site again this year, and there were a few Adventurists already setup around the main fire ring getting settled in. The spotty rain continued throughout the day, but the reports stated the rest of the weekend would be clear and cool. This was definitely something we had not had for quite sometime at Desert Rendezvous as we were used to heat, wind and dryness.

This day was an arrival day for Adventurists, so we kicked back and relaxed the entire day as there was nothing scheduled. It was perfect.

At American Adventurist we have an enduring commitment to give back to the local community at every Rendezvous event we host, and in previous years we’ve conducted a desert cleanup with the Bureau of Land Management where we removed about 4 tons of trash from public lands each year at Desert Rendezvous. This changed in 2019 with the government shutdown and it’s effects on the Bureau of Land Management.

This year we shifted gears to support CORVA, the California Off Road Vehicle Association with some of the proceeds from this event. They’ve been working at all levels of government for off-road interests since 1969, and CORVA was the first organization to file for intervenor status in the lawsuit filed against off road recreation at Ocotillo Wells SVRA in California. It took 4 years, and despite the odds they prevailed in court and kept Ocotillo Wells open. Take a moment to pause and think about your OHV land access and consider supporting CORVA.

“We advocate on behalf of our membership to promote, protect and preserve off-road recreation and automotive access on public lands throughout California. CORVA’s main purpose is to work with the land managers for responsible off-highway vehicular access and recreation opportunities. Secondarily, we educate our membership on the constantly changing rules and regulations and promote clean-up and trail maintenance projects.”

Day 02:

Friday morning we awoke to a brisk and cool morning with partly cloudy skies and no rain. The sun was barely peering over the horizon so I was able to snag a few photos of our campground before the hustle & bustle of the morning’s happenings. The increasing brightness revealed a number of new, very muddy rigs that had arrived the previous night, plowing through the muddy desert in 4WD to get here. Daylight also revealed a stunning view of snow covered mountains off in the distance. If you’ve never been to the desert in California, you really must go.

As the sun began to warm our campsite, the rest of us began to rise and prepare for the day’s events, starting with coffee and breakfast. Or at least coffee. Looking around, it’s always nice to see the smiling faces and wagging tails at a Rendezvous event. These are the ones who made it, escaping the grind and the “real world” to get outside and do what they dream about all day while they’re slaving away at their day jobs. Time to Travel. Time to Explore. Time to Live.

The main event on Friday was a trail run to Superstition Mountain OHV area, which was to be led by one of our Adventurists: @Yumafolks. Those who wanted to partake in the trail run prepped and arrived at the main fire pit at 0830 for a driver’s safety brief, map reconnaissance, comm check, and planning. It was a great turn out for this trail run as experience levels ranged from first-timers to very experienced drivers. Thanks to Yumafolks and everyone who made this run such a great success! Although I wasn’t able to join in on the run, we did hear that the group were able to get front row seats for the Navy’s Blue Angels, who were flying around our area all weekend long. From camp, we were able to see the demos from a distance and hear the roar of the Navy’s F-18’s engines.

The remainder of the day on Friday was left for check-ins, relaxing, and socializing. The weather was fully cooperative and everyone was enjoying themselves out in the desert. As the day progressed, other Adventurists began to arrive and our campsite soon began to resemble a small town.

With the sun setting and evening just around the corner, Erika LeFiell began prepping a big round of S’mores for the kids, and even the adults. The menu was provided by American Adventurist (thanks Erika!) and consisted of a variety of different types of S’mores, so customization could be done to your hearts content. While the S’mores were happening, the fire pit was being prepped to accommodate the large group. This turned out to be a delicious hit, and we even caught Brett stealing them from the kids and eating them so the peanuts came out. If you know you know.

Right after the S’mores roasting, the BBQ Social would commence, which was graciously sponsored this year by Goose Gear. BIG THANKS to Brian at Goose Gear for hosting this year’s BBQ Social! The team quickly started cooking up the burger patties on Tembo Tusk Skottles (headlamp time!), and folks soon began lining up to fill their plates. One thing we know how to do right at a Rendezvous is cook, and Friday night with Goose Gear was another great example of teamwork making the dream work.

Once our bellies were full, we all convened around the warmth of the fire and socialized until the moon rose and the fire burned down to a smolder.

Day 03

Saturday would typically be our morning desert cleanup but this time around, we mostly had the day to ourselves. There were a number of activities planned, including a few trail runs of 4×4’s and ADV moto’s, the kids scavenger hunt, and the famous American Adventurist Camp Cooking Competition hosted by Tembo Tusk. Other than those milestones, the day was for yourself and whatever you wanted to do, or not do. Sitting back and enjoying your time here is always nice with so many amazing vehicles to see and so much awesome gear on display. You can learn a lot at a Rendezvous just by seeing how others travel.

 

The first event on Saturday was the morning trail run to Canyon Sin Nombre and Arroyo Seco Del Diablo. Thank you to Adventurist @Sage Bromax for organizing and leading this run. This run was a little more advanced than the previous mornings’ run to the Superstition Mountains, but that didn’t stop this even larger group from going. New people are always welcome at a Rendezvous event, and runs like this help the new people learn from our experienced “old hats”.

 

Once the trail run group headed off into the hills, it was business as usual around camp. Kicking tires, telling stories, playing with toys, taking naps.

At around mid-morning, a small group of adventure moto riders had assembled to coordinate a trail ride. Clearly, they were having fun and one of these days I’ll have to join them.

 

The afternoon sun marked the start of the Camp Cooking Competition sponsored by Tembo Tusk.  Whether you decided to cook with coals on a Dutch Oven, or over your camp stove, whatever the modality, it must be cooked within the confines of camp. Dishes must be completed and presented on the serving table to be qualified for the competition, Those who weren’t participating in the competition were welcomed to participate in the Community Potluck, which we highly encourage. This year, we received a large variety of delicious dishes, ranging from salads to main dishes and desserts. A big thank you to all the Adventurists who participated in this feast; YOU who make this event what it is!

The tables were set for the dish arrivals as the competitors and potluck participants began finishing their dishes. The fire pit was cleaned out and an even larger fire pit was created to make room for the many hungry people to come! Once the cutoff time was hit, dishes began arriving and the tables quickly became crowded from all the food. Another delicious sight to see with many smiling and hungry faces.

 

We all gathered around the campfire, with plates full and beverages in hand. This is a classic part of any Rendezvous event and is what really makes it special. You can see everyone interacting with each other whether it’s their first event or if they are long time members. The whole scene unfolding before me would give any outsider a warm, welcoming feeling like it’s one big extended family reunion. With the temperature dropping, the fire was expanded to Viking Longfire status which made more room for chairs and really kept everyone around it nice and toasty. Winners of the Camp Cooking Competition were announced, prizes were handed out by Tembo Tusk, and the socializing continued further into another clear and crisp night.

Winners of the Camp Cook-off Competition:

Congratulations and a HUGE thank you to all those that cooked and competed in our 9th Annual Camp Cookoff sponsored by TEMBO TUSK!!! The community voted, and the competitive spirit was great. After much deliberation (and seconds just to be sure) the winners were decided:

1st Place – Bald Taco winning a Tembo Tusk Adventure Skottle Kit w/burner and Tembo Tusk apron.

2nd Place – Tim R. winning a Tembo Tusk prize pack with Wine Tote, official Cookbook, and Buzzy Wax

3rd Place – Dave Pike winning a Tembo Tusk prize pack with official Cookbook and Buzzy Wax

Day 04:

Sunday was the last day of the 2019 SoCal Desert Rendezvous. A few Adventurists had left early in the morning with long road trips home in front of them, but many had remained for the last event of the weekend. Although it was the last day, this was what many were waiting for, their big chance to win at the raffle. While everyone packed up their campsites, the American Adventurist staff began organizing the enormous amount of prizes and gathering everyone in the camp for one last hurrah.

SO MANY WINNERS and so many smiling faces at the end of a long weekend – must be present to win!

And finally, the group photo. We can’t leave without one last shot of the weekend. A huge thank you to all the Adventurists who came down to support CORVA, and for keeping the American Adventurist Desert Rendezvous going year after year!

Also another huge thank you to all our sponsors for your steadfast and continuing support for American Adventurist!

 

We’ll see you all at the next Rendezvous!

A special note from the Editor: These events don’t happen in a vacuum, and at the end of the day 3 groups of people make it happen. The Members (thank you!), the Sponsors (thank you again!) and last but not least, the STAFF at American Adventurist. BIG thanks to Cris, Brett, Stuart, Richard, Doug, and Erika for busting their butts to make this happen way out in the desert! You guys ROCK! – Dave Bennett

 

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DIY: The Ultimate Headlamp (Or Practically Anywhere Lamp)

LIGHTBULB MOMENT:

Inspiration comes at the most random times, and in the most random of places.  At the 2017 SEMA show, I was talking to the crew at Baja Designs when I noticed that one of the guys had built a battery powered Squadron light, and it got me thinking.  What if I could take a small Baja Designs light like the S2 Pro, and 3D-print a mount for it that would make the light work with the GoPro ecosystem of mounts?

This way I could mount the light on my helmet, or any place a GoPro mount could be used, including the magnetic mounts we covered in our meet the maker series of articles.  The S2 Pro’s 2,450 Lumens of light mounted on a helmet, bike, or in any dark place would make a huge difference in visibility and safety (in being able to see further at night), and the compact size and minimal power consumption meant that running the light off a battery would not require lugging a car battery around.  I could power the S2 with some of the dozens of LiPo batteries I have (Drone pilot problems) and any 9-30V DC power source.  With this bright idea in my head, I fired up Solidworks, and started raiding my various parts bins in the shop for materials.  Here’s what I came up with:

First off, I reverse engineered the metal S2 mounting bracket to create a bracket that is GoPro compatible.  Then I pulled the factory WeatherPak connector off of the S2 and swapped in a XT60 connector and added on another foot of wire. This way, the light can be mounted on the top of a helmet and the connector will come to the wearer’s shoulder.  On the wearer’s shoulder I placed a switch so that turning the light on and off is as easy as flicking a switch, as opposed to having to find a connection to pull apart.  From the switch, I made a meter-long XT60 extension cable so that the wearer could carry a battery in the bottom of their backpack.

This system allows the light to be configured minimally as a light and a power source (battery), or with the switch and extension cable for a slick setup that works great for a number of pursuits.  I’ve also found myself using the light while working on vehicles at night, and I’ve even taken the light on a Grand Canyon River Trip – because good light is quite helpful when setting up camp in the dark.  I have no doubt that as time goes on, I’ll continue to find more uses for this light – so without further adieu, here’s how you make your own:

SHOPPING LIST:

  • Baja Designs S2 Pro.  I recommend the Combo lens for dirtbiking, mountain biking and most sports.  If you’re going to build a dedicated camp light, I would get a wide lens instead.
  • XT60 connectors.  I chose to use XT60 because I have so many batteries and power supplies that use this connector, but any quality connector will work.
  • Wire.  A couple of meters of quality multi strand copper wire.  18 gauge is plenty large enough.
  • Wire sleeving.  Helpful for keeping things clean and organized.
  • Switch.  I used these switches since they’re rated for the DC current in this circuit.
  • 3D Printed S2 GoPro Mount.  Download an STL part file here.

TOOLS REQUIRED:

  • Wire cutters
  • Wire strippers
  • Soldering Iron and electrical solder (get the good stuff with silver)
  • Heat Shrink Tubing
  • Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
  • Electrical Tape (Get the good stuff, Super 88)
  • Multimeter (Helpful for figuring out poles on your switch)

DIRECTIONS:

Step one is to obtain a mounting bracket for the S2 Pro.  We’ve posted the file HERE where you can download it, so print it yourself, borrow a buddy’s printer, use a local maker space, or use an online printing service.  The factory hardware will carry over to the new bracket.

Step two is all about wiring.  Disassemble the weatherpak connector on the end of the S2, and solder on an extension to suit your needs.  I used 18-2 security wire, as it’s a multi strand copper wire with two conductors and a second sleeve providing extra durability.  Make sure to note the polarity of the S2, and ensure that you have the polarity correct (!) before soldering on a XT60 connector to the end of your extended wire.

If you want to add a switch to your system you’ll need a male XT60 connector, a female XT60 connector, a few inches of wire, and a switch that can handle at least two Amps at 12V DC.  The switch I used is a single pole switch, so I tied the ground from both XT60 connectors to the ground pole on the switch (silver wire in photos.  I then wired the male XT60 (The male connector has the male gold parts inside the yellow plastic.) to the input on the switch and a female XT60 to the output of the switch.  I designed and printed a simple box to encase all of these parts, but some careful wrapping with electrical tape or any other method you have at your disposal to create a solid switch assembly will work.

Lastly, I created a one meter extension cable to allow me to carry a battery in my backpack, have the switch strapped to my shoulder strap of my pack, and have the light on my helmet.  I used two 1 meter long pieces of “wet noodle” silicone wire I had and soldered a Male XT60 connector to one end of the wires.  I then slid the wires into a length of expandable sleeving to protect the wires and create a single cable.  I covered the end of the sleeving at the connector with a piece of appropriately sized heat-shrink.  I then repeated the process at the other end of the cable, except I used a Female XT60.

The S2 Pro will work with DC current from 9-30 volts, which makes all of the 4 cell Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries that I have great options for powering the light.  To calculate runtime for a given battery simply take the S2’s power consumption of 21 watts at 12V and divide 21/12 to get 1.75Amps of current required to run the light.  I have a few 10,000 miliamp-hour (mAh) 4 cell LiPo batteries that I opted to use, so if we take 80% of the batteries’ capacity (80% is the safe useable capacity of LiPo chemistry batteries) we get 8000 mAh, or 8 Amp Hours.  Divide 8 Amp hours by our Amps (1.75) and we get 4.5 or 4 and a half hours of safe runtime off of a full battery charge.  To determine runtime for a given battery you may have on hand, swap in the capacity and voltage of your battery in place of the numbers in my example. Easy.

The S2 can also be powered from an AC-DC inverter capable of putting out sufficient DC current and DC volts.  This inverter is used to power a small LiPo battery charger, and happens to put out 3A at 12VDC, which makes it a perfect choice for powering the S2 from the grid or a large solar battery pack, like a Goal Zero Yeti.

The S2 Pro can literally be powered by anything outputting the correct voltage and current.  Hard wiring a plug into your dirtbike, UTV, or other powersports machine would be an easy way to give your light a limitless supply of power – so I encourage you to use this article as a starting point to make this light exactly the tool that will suit your needs.

The above two images were taken on a tripod with the same exposure settings.  The shot on the left is the stock headlight on a KTM 300 XC and the shot on the right is with the S2 Pro mounted on the helmet switched on.

If you’ve ever tried to ride your dirtbike at night, chances are you’ve felt like you were outrunning your lights unless you were idling along in first gear.  Never mind the additional challenge that comes from only being able to see where your front tire and headlight are pointed.  Yet, with an S2 on your helmet, you can confidently navigate at night with plenty of light that is always pointed in the same direction that you’re looking.  Having this light is a huge comfort and confidence boost that will help you find your way and safely navigate the trail, road, or wherever you happen to be riding – being able to see is critical if you choose to play outside at night.

When you make it back to your truck, you can swap the S2 over to a different mount in a matter of seconds and have ample light to make the process of loading your bike in the dark as easy as doing it in the daytime.  This GoPro compatable S2 Pro has become something I find myself using constantly – from the obvious uses of sports at night, to working around camp and the shop, having powerful light that I can truly mount anywhere is invaluable. Do yourself a favor a make one of these lights.

Full Disclosure:  Baja Designs provided the S2 Pro used in this article at no charge to American Adventurist or the author.  All other equipment, tools, and parts used to build this light were purchased by the author.

Disclaimer:  You’re responsible for yourself and your actions, so if you blow up a battery, melt your hand with a soldering iron, or do anything bad as a result of reading this article – that’s on you.  American Adventurist, Chad de Alva, and Baja Designs can’t be held responsible.  Only you can prevent stupid.