Expedition trip to create awareness for Disabled Veterans.

[Arctic Cat]

I’m a disabled veteran, and every year I venture into the roads and visit different states. I don’t have an RV or something fancy. I traveled o my 2004 Jeep Wrangler, and small trailer and camp and tent and prepare my own food all the way, of course I’m more prepared than the average weekenders as my trips usually last 2 to 3 months and I do a lot of travel thru different terrains including deserts. Last year I travelled thru Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska South Dakota and Colorado it took me all three months. This year my trip will be less ambitious, as I will be leaving Texas, New Mexico and Utah and I may venture into either Colorado or Nevada and I will stay out there for a couple of months. I will be alone so my wife and my daughter will help me with my daily medication routine and medical needs thru cell phone and email when available. I don’t have any sponsors so all the equipment that I have is either old military surplus equipment or things that the average person purchased at a regular store (including the little trailer that I got a Lowe’s (yes I did get my 10% Disabled Vet Discount). But I feel something missing from my trips and I believe I will like to use my yearly trips to create awareness about disabled veterans in some way. What do you guys think? Any input? I will begin my trip on June 3rd.

[1leglance]

Thanks for posting and good on you for getting out there, and really good of your family to be supportive.
I look forward to your trip report with lots of pics of course and it would be great to put up anything from past adventures as we all like to travel vicariously through others

If I can be so bold it would be very helpful to know what your disability is, the reason for that is so that others who are searching the web with a similar injury can see what is possible and have some inspiration.

Thanks again for posting and if you ever want some company out there or need help just post up the details so we can join you.

enjoy
Lance

[Arctic Cat]

On top of having PTSD (I know that is dirty word this days) I suffer from a physical disabilities that impaired my walking and performing other activities. To me my disabilities are just barriers and I was taught in the service that barrier are just obstacles and while barrier are sometimes difficult to overcome, there is always a way to jump over or bypass those barriers. After my military service I worked for a while but my condition deteriorated until the point that I locked myself in my house and withdrew myself from society. A couple years ago I decided to all take all the negatives in my life and try to find something positive out of it. To give you an example while I’m not good at crowds, I did not usually even venture to the stores, so I found a way around that, go to the store late at night or very early in the morning when there is a lot of less people. While I enjoy being alone and by myself instead of locking myself in the house I decided to venture out into the desert or to places that are lonely in nature. Also I found that even that I’m not able to walk at a fast pace I’m still able to walk slow with assistance of a cane or my braces. I don’t have fancy equipment like some of the other guys as a matter of fact I still use my old military sleeping bag and a military wool blanket. I used military mortar cans to store my food and I have a 26 year old Coleman 425F camp stove that still serve me well. I actually used a tent that I purchased at Wal-Mart. That I used as my “house” nothing fancy. Eventually I will like to upgrade some things one day, but I can only do so much with my income. Here is the thing last year I was going to Alaska and of course I don’t have an RV and I was penny pinching all the way up to stretch my money. A lot people came to me and they were pretty amazed as to how I was just going there with just my little stock Jeep and sleeping outside with just a tent, so I figured let’s turn that into something positive. I want to raise some awareness for my fellow disabled veterans, for those that are not able to come out of their house because of physical or emotional problems. I’m going to create a Face book page and to be honest while I know what to do and survive I don’t know where this will take me. Maybe I will raise awareness toward my fellow disabled veterans, maybe I motivate other veterans that are housebound as I was to do something, and maybe I help another veteran or any person for that matter to see a better outlook on life.

[Arctic Cat]

I'm will begin my trip on June 3rd, first stop Lincoln national Forest NM, Free campground.

[Arctic Cat]

Here are so pics of my preparations so far. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3&l=942901bee0

[x32792]

Eddie,

I'm a minimalist too.

Went to your FB page and enjoyed photos and narrative on your preparation. Do you feel the need for taller tires on your 3.5x5 trailer?

And can you tell us more about your navigation hardware/software and recovery equipment?

John

[Arctic Cat]

Eddie,

Went to your FB page and enjoyed photos and narrative on your preparation. Do you feel the need for taller tires on your 3.5x5 trailer?

John

Well originally I purchased a military trailer M101A2 to tow with my Jeep. But after reviewing the modification to either the trailer or the Jeep I scratch the project. Now the tires on the little trailer are very small (12), but based on the results from another friend of mine who own small trailer like mine and he tow his behind his Jeep I will take off with the current tires. Of course there are some limitations as to the routes and the speed. I’m planning to use the trailer to set a base camp and that will free the Jeep for exploration. The speed in my case is not a problem as usually the Jeeps are gas hogs and the only way I can get a better gas mileage is at speed between 45 and 60 MPH. When I get back from this trip I will try to upgrade to at least 13 inch tires or something bigger. As far as the larger trailer I will be purchasing a military vehicle that matches that trailer. (The Military CUCV series match the trailer to the teeth)

[Dirtytires]

Eddie,

I wish you much fun on this trip..good luck and God bless..

Craig

[Arctic Cat]

Eddie,

I'm a minimalist too.

Went to your FB page and enjoyed photos and narrative on your preparation. Do you feel the need for taller tires on your 3.5x5 trailer?

And can you tell us more about your navigation hardware/software and recovery equipment?

John

Sorry I did not see the rest of your comments and I did not fully answer your questions As far as GPS navigation system I’m using a Garmin Nuvi and I’m updating the maps as I write this post. But I was a soldier and I love to use all fashioned maps. I have a standard Rand McNally atlas as reference and I always obtained maps from the state tourism itself as they like showcase their state and more detailed than the atlases. But to me the best thing to have and I rely a lot on is the Delorme Gazetteers (http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELi...?section=10096 ,I love those things as they are very detailed. I love reading maps. As far as recovery equipment I have tow straps and hooks I take some spare parts with me and I have a full mechanic tool bag with me. I love been a minimalist and I believe and to me the part of the fun is to be able to do more with less. I just don’t see the fun in having all the latest gadget, satellite TV, or a vehicle with air conditioned (I have A/C on my Jeep but don’t use while traveling on my trips) or leather seat. I learned to do other things while I was in the service in order to survived, that I won’t mentioned in here so I don’t gross people out, but to drop a hint I was a paratrooper and we are not known to be the most refined individuals in the world, I learned to do thing to get the job at hand done, with the basics.

[Hill, Bill E.]

... After my military service I worked for a while but my condition deteriorated until the point that I locked myself in my house and withdrew myself from society. A couple years ago I decided to all take all the negatives in my life and try to find something positive out of it. To give you an example while I’m not good at crowds, I did not usually even venture to the stores, so I found a way around that, go to the store late at night or very early in the morning when there is a lot of less people. While I enjoy being alone and by myself instead of locking myself in the house I decided to venture out into the desert or to places that are lonely in nature. Also I found that even that I’m not able to walk at a fast pace I’m still able to walk slow with assistance of a cane .......

Wow! For a minute there, I thought you were writing my biography!

I'm also a disabled Vet, and understand much of what you are going through. Kudos to you for getting out there! And to your family for their support!

My wife has been my rock, without her, I'm not sure where I would be in my life right now. She supports my 2 or 3 trips a year, knowing that is something I need, that 'getting away' is great therapy for me, even if it does take a toll.

I have always loved the deserts (which is weird, having grown up in MN) I love them even more now, for the same reasons as you. Solitude, beauty, and the dry air helps too!

I envy you in being able to go for months at a time, instead of weeks.

Exposure is good, using FB, writing trip reports, maybe a blog?

Anything that gets the word out to other Vets would be great. Depression and anxiety can be hard to deal with for anyone, sometimes all a person needs is a push in the right direction.

One of your trip reports could be just the thing they need.

Last fall, I went on a grouse hunting/fishing trip with another disabled Vet, we had such a great week, that we are doing a fishing trip this June, and are planning on going hunting again this fall.

It's nice, because I have a hard time keeping up with the guys I used to hunt and fish with.

Safe travels! And give a holler if you ever get up to Northern MN!