I was able to attend the second annual Coyote Works meetup in north-central Oregon. I was one of a reported 102 vehicles to make the trip.
I went there to meet Casey from the Coyote Works YouTube channel. I stumbled on his channel when he posted this video last year:
The fire happened just days after he had invited subscribers to his channel to meet up with him in the Oregon Desert. To make it to his own event, he quickly acquired a new jeep and the meetup was a huge success. I was really sorry that I couldn’t get away to travel with them because I was anxious to see some of the areas he had filmed.
After the event I emailed him on several occasions over the year and he was always willing to give me recommendations and encouragement. I now had a head start in exploring the Oregon desert.
I’ve been an erstwhile desert explorer since high school; when I bummed rides to Death Valley and the Mono Lake area. When I purchased my first car, one of my first trips was to explore the Sonoran desert in Arizona. I spent a week driving back roads in my little white Carina walking the desert at night and sleeping and driving during the day. After I was discharged from the Army I made another trip to Arizona to test my newly minted desert survival skills.
Over time I shifted my trips to the Mojave, coming to love its silence and the smell of freshly wet creosote. I had explored the hills around the Owen’s valley marveling at the many petroglyphs and I followed the Paiute trails from camp to camp. So it didn’t take much to get me driving to Oregon’s high desert. And when the call came for this year’s meetup I answered right away.
Here is Casey’s video of the trip:
On the away to the site the convoy of 102 vehicles stretched for an estimated 2.5 miles.
The large number of vehicles meant that the camp site chosen for Friday night was too small, so we made our way to the Saturday campsite; a lovely meadow with a small stream running through it at about 4900’ elevation. Casey had us all pull to the sides of the meadow leaving the center open. I selected the west side to get an early sun exposure—I was very glad that I did the next morning when temperatures were measured at 19F. I’m only sorry that I didn’t move to the north end of the line as that turned out to be the quiet side.
Since we had run the trails the day before there was no organized 4-wheeling. Saturday we spent in camp visiting with one another. I walked the surrounding hillsides and came upon an old homestead site—nothing much was left of it. The day was very relaxing and warm. I talked to folks about their overlanding experiences and picked up a couple of interesting destinations.
I have spent that last two years streamlining my camp and now it takes only seconds to set up. I pull the totes from the back, spread my Thermarest, fluff the sleeping bag, hang the water thermos, and setup my chair. It takes only moments, and if necessary, I can shift locations very quickly.
Having the moly panel on the side of the truck bed keeps the recovery gear accessible and out of the way—only one shackle rattled a bit before I tied it down. Last year I was shifting the gear to the driver’s side foot well for the night. Now it just rides there for the entire trip. I plan to relocate the first aid kit to the moly panel next to the fire extinguisher for easier access. The panel worked so well that I’m thinking of adding one to the passenger side.
Casey made sure that he met and visited with everyone in attendance. He is a wonderful person, very friendly and generous. The world needs more people like him in it.
It was a much different experience than I have when travelling alone. But I learned a lot from the many knowledgeable folks in attendance. I will be upgrading some of my equipment this coming year to be ready for some of the experiences related around the campfire—flat tires, broken axles, and quicksand figured in more than a few stories. For those of you thinking of a roof top tent, the FSR with the insulated walls got the nod from many with lesser tents; as did the hard shell Skycamp 2.0. The insulated walls cut down on wind noise and hold the heat.
I am very pleased with the upgrades I completed this summer. The truck rides the trails so much better. The bed rug and flat tailgate plate are awesome—my knees really thanked me. And with the 20+ MPG I had on the trip, coupled with the RotoPax fuel can, I was never wanting for fuel. The only item that let me down was the phone mount. It was unable to stand up to the rigors of off-road driving even glued to the mounting plate; so a new Ram Mount is in the mail.
Oh, on the way to the meetup, I purchased a new fire extinguisher that now rides as an essential part of my kit! Hopefully there will be no burning truck for me.
This was a totally different kind of event for me and I’ll admit that at times I wished to be far away from the crowd. I stuck it out and I’m glad that I did. I’m not sure that I’ll participate next year, much will depend on the timing and location, but I sure am glad that I went this year. Thank you so much Casey!