letters to the editor

inside each large box. For extra storage we clipped some old
German army rucksacks to the roof joints. Worried still about
expedition storage, we ended up buying a trailer from Scotty:
the back-end of an old Series II fitted with a metal top and a
towing mechanism. It was a real brick.
To help us get some off-road experience, Scotty also
introduced us to a Northern California Land Rover club. When
the club members heard of our planned Africa adventure, they
invited us to join them for a weekend camping trip in Nevada.
We agreed nervously. For starters, it was only our second time
camping. We still didn’t own any gear (we rented what we
needed). Secondly, the club’s members all seemed to have odd
names like Bugman and Fire Guy. What were we getting into?
Land Rover enthusiasts are a breed of their own, and this
club was no different. They were an incredibly diverse group,
with one thing in common: They were passionate about
Land Rovers. Suddenly, we found ourselves among people
(all right, all guys) who took parental pride in the Land Rover’s
propensity to leak oil, and who looked fondly upon the
eccentricities of Lucas. They were prepared to embrace
these shortcomings because they had learned through
hard experience that the Land Rover was the best off-road
vehicle in the world, bar none. And these guys liked to test their
vehicles.
They led us into the high desert of western Nevada, where
we didn’t see another soul for three days. Hardly surprising.
Our little convoy sought out the roughest tracks and rocky
trails en route to secluded hot springs, dry lakebeds, and
awe-inspiring grandeur. That weekend, the club members
taught us how to drive off road, when to use high and low range,
and at what angle we could go without tipping. I learned how to
hang off the side of the car to provide extra ballast, clear trails
with a pick axe, and select the best angles of approach. When
one of the Land Rovers pitched sideways down a steep bank,
the guys were almost giddy to see how our PTO-driven
Koenig winch would work (like a champ).
Ours was the oldest Land Rover on the trip—the others
were Series IIIs—and the club members were divided over
our plan to drive it through Africa. Most felt that it was great
to see a Series II being used for its original purpose. In the
eyes of a couple of guys, though, our car was a classic,
something that should be babied and exhibited at car shows.
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