has anyone here done a van conversion? i know two people who have done them; one was super low budget and another mid/upper tier and is probably trying to be some sort of influencer (and is up to 8k instagram followers). it's so expensive now but curious what others have done. i often dream about having a nice van and just renting out my portland condo for 3-4 months at a time.
I have a buddy in CA that's a partner in a van conversion business. He says a good chunk of their work is either finishing vans that folks couldn't finish or taking a half-converted van as at trade-in after people say fuck it and just buy one outright. But it'd be awesome. We're thinking about renting an Escape Campervan for a few months in late 2022/early 2023 -- their rates are pretty damn good.
I have a buddy based out of Denver who makes a killing doing what you’ve described. He bought a van in about 2017. He’s now on his 2nd or 3rd van (one was stolen) and, I believe, third house. Guy also got involved in Oklahoma weed soon after legalization and he makes a killing off that too. Nothing else to add but that it may be worth a shot.
I did a quick hike up Icicle Creek a few weeks ago, snow is around. Didn't have time to get up to anything too interesting but area looks like a lot of fun.
Done that one a few times. Leavenworth is one of the more beautiful places I've been in WA, if not the United States. Just think the Bavarian thing is campy as hell. It's going to be cold, wet, and snowy -- opting for both crampons and snowshoes. Last week snow was at about 4,500 ft, probably around 5,000 while we're up there. Not sure if we'll be able to get all the way to the top of the Enchantments at 8,000, but we're gonna try.
Got back last night, was an awesome time but it absolutely poured for about half the trip. Thursday it rained from the second we woke up until about midnight, just unloaded. Hanging food, pumping water, setting up camp in freezing rain was absolutely miserable. Every possible campsite was completely flooded, so we had to camp on pretty uneven ground and both tents partially flooded. Easily the worst night of camping I've ever had. Thankfully it was sunny the next morning so we could dry all of our shit. Next night it rained again from about 5 PM - midnight. Lots of huddling in the tent for nights two and three. Thankfully got amazing weather on the first day and last two days. Didn't make it all the way to the Enchantments, had to stop about 300 ft below when it got too mushy and dangerous in about 5-6 ft of snow. Days 2-4 we did about 5-6 miles each day in snowshoes, with 50 lb packs, which was fucking brutal. Overall stayed at about 6,500 - 7,000 ft of elevation for most of the trip. But, 5 days in the backcountry is never a bad time. Could go back out tomorrow. Spoiler Campsite first night: Tents drying after second night: Morning after third night: Campsite for last night: Had to cross a dam in freezing rain with about 3-4 inches of water. Wore snowshoes to not get our feet wet, was sketchy as shit but the only way up: The few people we saw said they've seen 2 bears, but we didn't see any. When we woke up after the 3rd morning this was on the trail about 200 yards away from our campsite: Spoiler Also -- I'm a convert on poles now. They helped a ton in the snow and on the way out.
Got converted to pole life after my golden retriever almost pulled me to my death a handful of times traversing down some mountains.
No more. It went from fun to a grind real quick when they told me they don’t need any floor coverage (my ideal area would be helping people in camp/hike and footwear) and I was assigned to move boxes and hang/stock clothing for 8 hours a day for the next few weeks. Cashiering also sucked. Trying to close new memberships at $30 ain’t me.
Got permits for Lake Constance in Olympic National Park next weekend, "Considered the hardest hike in Olympic National Park:" https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/lake-constance 4 miles along a flat trail, then you gain 3,600 ft over 1.8 miles. Really just a scramble. We're gonna camp at the lake on Sat night, which is only at 4,600 ft. Clear skies, highs in the 80s. Can't freaking wait.
Olympic is amazing, and for good reason is the most popular NP in Washington. Def try and get out on the west coast towards Forks and the beaches instead of just the north side towards Port Angeles/Hurricane Ridge.
Going to Iceland in August, it’s going to be 45deg and raining the whole time, plus waterfalls. Am I going to regret my Danners not being water proof? I could buy a pair of waterproof boots, but I don’t think I’d get a ton of wear out of them outside of this trip.
I went to Iceland in late June, so I don't know how that compares to August, but it never rained really hard when I was there. There was just always a chance of rain. So I think you could get by without waterproof boots. That being said I wore waterproof boots most of the time. I also really don't like wearing boots period. I just got back from the Azores and used a pair of waterproof trail runners that worked really well for me. It's a similar situation to Iceland where there was always a chance of rain, sometimes you would be in a downpour and five miles down the road were blue skies. My biggest tip for Iceland, if you want to beat crowds at tourist hot spots is to do them late at night. You have as much sun at 10 or 11 pm as you do at 6 or 7 here. For photos you can have some of the major waterfalls to yourself.
I went to Iceland last August and the weather was great, didn’t have hardly any rain and it was closer to 60 everyday than 45
Sounds like Lackawanna Peak here in Colorado. It's basically a stairmaster scramble. As someone who hates descending, it was my nightmare. "Lackawanna" (13,823') Starting Point: North Lake Creek (10,300') Route: South ridge RT Distance: 4.0 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 3,750 feet My wife and I are planning for Olympic now for hopefully next year, so looking forward to your pics. Took the plunge on a new pack - retiring my really old Dana Designs pack. Thought a little about ultralight, but said fuck that, hard to fit a few beers in those packs. Sleeping bag storage is a little tight, but Mystery Ranch (same people as Dana Design) has really upgraded their storage pockets since my old Dana pack. Converting it to a daypack was kind of a pain in the ass the first time in camp with no instructions, but should be easy with some more practice:
That was awesome, and probably one of the hardest hikes I've ever done. Trailhead to lake was 8 miles and 4,000 ft of vert, the climb itself was only 1.8 miles but 3,500 ft. Just straight up thru Olympic National Park with full packs. Like this the whole way, for almost 4 hours: Spoiler Lake was breathtaking. Spoiler
My buddy brought a flyrod, tons of trout up there. We caught a bunch. Spoiler Probably top 3 most beautiful place I've seen in WA. Love the Olympics
Did a very similar hike up to a lake in Olympic in 2018. Shorter than that one but similar alt. Think the hike there was 5 or 6 miles, very steep. And almost pitch black during the bc we were in the north side of the mountain climbing up. Absolutely kicked my ass.
Hike out to the beach at La Push. Easy hike out there, very cool fauna. We camped on the beach, the Milky Way was stunning. Ho Rainforest is very cool and easy hiking Hurricane Ridge can get you to altitude in your car Think Deer Lake was the lake we hiked to, wouldn’t recommend, Nug’s hike looks way better, though tough Would also recommend a day at Rainer at least if you can swing it
Only thing I would change from Mr. Bean 's recs is going to Rialto Beach instead of First Beach (in La Push), probably less crowded, but more of a hike. If you're in Forks, the best part is the Olympic Coast -- it's amazing. Try to time it so you're visiting during low tide, that way you can walk out into the tidepools a few hundred feet offshore and see tons of sea life. Hoh Rainforest is also near Forks, really cool. Hurricane Ridge is probably the most popular hike in the park, but that's all Port Angeles, which is about 1.5-2 hours away from Forks. Could possibly hit up Hurricane Ridge on your way to/from Forks, if you're catching the ferry.
BayouMafia or anyone else thats been to Kalispell. anyone Hike Mt Aenas from Jewel Basin Rd? if so how difficult and how long did it take?
All of our hiking was within the park so I’m not familiar with anything in that area. bertwing would probably know about a place named Mt Anus but probably not much help here. Alltrails says it’s Hard and has good reviews. I sent you a link to the trail info on WhatsApp
Leave in exactly one week for 4 days/3 nights through the Glacier Peak Wilderness outside of Leavenworth. Leave in exactly three weeks for a summit attempt of Dragontail Peak in the Enchantments. Leave in exactly 30 days for Section K of the PCT. 106 miles ending in Stehekin. Leave in a little over 3 months for Nepal and three weeks doing Everest Three Passes. September is a little open, but will certainly be outside more than inside.
BayouMafia was this at North Cascades Lodge? Just scored a reservation for Aug 14 for a lakeside cabin after 10 days on the trail. Hell yes.
yes from the dock right in front of it That pic has been my desktop wallpaper and also my Teams and Zoom backgrounds ever since. My wife needs a bit more action and access to convenience but I could move to Stehekin tomorrow and be happy for the rest of my life
Did the Humphreys Trail just north of town this morning and got to the high point in AZ. Started at 9,200 feet at about 5:45 and got to the top at 12,600 feet at about 9:00. Coming down was killer on my right knee. Still have some forest closures but glad this bad boy is open. You can see Sedona and the Grand Canyon from this trail Spoiler Had pretty much just been doing the Elden Lookout Trail for weeks on end because I can bike there and it's still dope. There are red horned frogs all over that trail from 7,000 feet all the way up 9,500, which I was kinda surprised to see Spoiler
My wife and I were all over the map on selecting an RV but had finally narrowed it down to either a truck camper or van conversion. Actually had a handshake deal with someone a few weeks ago on an older Sportsmobile pop top until the financing fell through. We were pre-approved for well over asking but the credit union laughed at what was being asked when we tried to get the check cut. We sat down, had some frank conversations about what we’d really be getting in a conversion (some cabinets, a sink, toilet, and problems) and decided we’d just upgrade our gear and get a swimming pool instead lol. About to order the Gazelle T4 Plus (been hammock campers for years but have a kid now), get a portable lithium ion + solar panel, Thule cargo or some such, and figure out other stuff. If anyone has any cool recs, I’m looking to buy some stuff
Watching youtube videos of must have camping gear new to 2022 and people are talking about carrying around 5gal propane powered ovens to cook lasagnas wtf
We just got a fancy new dehydrater and I think I'm going to experiment with dehydrating my own meals some this year.
I am volunteering at mile marker 64 of this 100 mile ultra race https://www.highlonesome100.com/ gonna have ramen from a restaurant in downtown denver, local charcuterie, elk burgers, beer, and a tiki theme (so a tropical alcoholic punch drink). Mile 64 is obviously far enough into this race where people will be hurting bad, so it is serious in a way. in another way, we will all just be camping the night before and our shift will go from 6 PM to 10 AM. Will be super fun. Can't wait for the sunrise. My station is called Purgatory https://www.highlonesome100.com/volunteer Named for its mythical role as the place between Heaven and Hell, this aid station marks the last time above treeline (hell)…but there is 3 miles of shit before runners get to Monarch Pass (heaven). Located on the Continental Divide in the Monarch Ski Area, this aid station runs through the middle of the night and is our one of only two aid stations with electricity. Purgatory is known for challenging weather, winds and destroyed runners. It’s a full value volunteering experience! Volunteers typically go up together and break into shifts so everyone gets some sleep. Purgatory is captained by Tim Engle (2017 finisher) - his second year as Purgatory Captain. Purgatory has cell service for most providers and has electricity, but does not have a water source or restrooms. Tim turns Purgatory into a back-country food oasis, cooking tons of INCREDIBLE food for runners (and volunteers) to help keep their spirits up.
Gosh I love this forest and mountain. The fire watch appears so small from the trailhead and watching it get bigger is a nice way to stay motivated Spoiler
4 days/3 nights just north of Leavenworth. Went back to Spider Meadows, one of my favorite places in WA. Had 2 friends join me that weren't quite ready for snow, so we had to call some audibles, but still had an absolute blast. Day 1: hike in 10 miles, 3,500 ft of gain. Got up on top of the valley to sleep Spoiler Snow was a lot more than we had hoped, so decided we would just day-hike to the top and then do day hikes.
Day 2: hiked up Spider Glacier, about 1,110 ft of gain to 7,100 ft. Spoiler Hiked down into the valley the 2nd night because camping on snow isn't too fun. Day 3: hiked up 3,000 ft to another basin, at about 6,500 ft. Awesome views. Walked out day 4 Spoiler