BC OVERLAND RALLY
The Canadian overland tribe finally has a place to call home! The first annual BC Overland Rally was held at British Columbia’s Sasquatch Mountain Resort June 22nd-25th. The event was a huge success, by all accounts, and is sure to have at least a second installment in 2018.
Around 500 people gathered for Canada’s first overland rally. The crowd was mostly from BC and Alberta, but there were a few travelers from Saskatchewan, a variety of west coast US states and even a few international travelers on their global overland adventures.
The Rally was action-packed with vendors, classes, seminars, roundtable discussions, driving classes, trail runs and so much more. There were amazing happy hours to enjoy each night, put on by a variety of vendors. The Saturday night wine tasting class, put on by Crankshaft Culture, had to be a crowd favourite. The highlight for many was the nightly raffle around the campfire. The prizes got bigger each night, culminating with big prizes like a Warn Winch and a CVT RTT at the big raffle Saturday night.
You’d expect a gathering like this to offer up a ton of off-road specific learning opportunities, and the BC Overland did just that. Participants got some top-notch instruction from Camel Trophy competitors, Land Rover instructors and off-road training experts. Besides hands-on workshops about topics like winching, non-winching vehicle recovery, tire repair, vehicle electronics and trailside welding, there were also a lot of opportunities to get behind the wheel and tackle the onsite off-road course. Getting out and exploring the local trails was also encouraged, with trail runs running throughout each day of the event.
The BC Overland Rally is a family and dog-friendly event that encourages everyone to get out and explore. There were classes for action photography, drone photography, navigation, yoga, border crossings and more. There were women-specific classes that covered off-road driving and recovery, as well as vehicle electronics. The kids were not forgotten either, as they had programs like survival skills for kids, which mostly
showed them how to start a fire and roast a marshmallow. There was even a class that covered tips and tricks for traveling with your dog.
The Rally concluded on Sunday morning with the first-ever BC Overland Challenge. The Challenge was made up of two separate events, with winners of each and an overall winner crowned. The first challenge was called the “Goldilocks
Challenge.” It consisted of going around an off-road course while trying to hit a target, without using any timing devices or going over the target time. The second challenge is always a crowd favourite, called the “Embarrassing Wetness
Challenge.” This year it consisted of driving backwards through a short offroad course with a cup full of water taped to the hood. The idea was that you had to reverse through the course in the fastest time, without going outside the course, and keep the most water in your cup. Time penalties were given for both infractions.
The Challenges saw a wide variety of vehicles and participants, with everyone having a good time before packing up and heading home.
There are already big plans in the works for the second installment of the BC Overland Rally in 2018. Be sure to sign up early and come out for the festivities. The Overland Tribe is a welcoming bunch, and always stoked to meet new faces.