We just arrived back last Sunday evening from a weekend with our favorite Northeast Overlanders—the Vermont Overland Club (VOC). The VOC held their annual Overland Rally in Reading, VT and like a fine wine; VOR continues to improve with age! With over 160 participants, a couple dozen vendors, great fall weather, and a collection of overland rigs of all makes and models—VOR sets the bar as one of the premiere overlanding events for the mid-Atlantic and northeast.
What one can appreciate about VOR is the focus on navigating the Class IV roads, visiting the many small villages in central Vermont, taking in the fall colors, and the camaraderie amongst the participants. Note: Class IV roads are defined as recognized ancient roads by the State of Vermont; most of which are essentially dirt roads that are minimally maintained. With this being the first VOR held at the Reading location, Peter Vollers promoted the centralized location and he didn’t disappoint. From camp, we easily reached most of the Class IV roads within 30 minutes and could easily be in Woodstock, VT within 15 minutes. We were provided color-coded, GPS enabled maps of dozens of Class IV roads—this helped our team determine what “short cuts” and routes we wanted to take.
Over the 3 days of VOR, #TeamDRT (Tony D., Hugo, Tony S. and myself) navigated approximately a dozen Class IV road systems of varying difficulty. We also had the chance to mix it up with Tyler and Christine from OverlandKwest—Tyler did an amazing job of spotting a number of trucks through some tight sections and Christine showed some intense prowess behind the wheel. We experienced two issues on the trails on Saturday- 1) We ran into a group of 4 vehicles coming the opposite direction on Vomit Mountain (Plymouth Map) at the most inopportune time. 2) Hugo’s Fox Shocks on his Tacoma literally just pulled apart after only 10,000 miles of use (more on this in a later post).
Back at the VOR property, I have to admit the grounds were laid out in a manner that really allowed folks to spread out and not encroach on each other’s camp sites. I also like the fact that we were able to have controlled campfires at each of the sites–this is usually prohibited at other large gatherings. To out do all others at VOR, Tony D whipped out a gas fire pit that screamed “glamping”….it was sorta embarrassing but a luxury at the same time. For me, being in Vermont at this time of year was a bucket list item–the weather was ideal with overall lows down into the 40s each nights, some rain and sun—all accentuating the fall foliage, which was incredible.
If you’re thinking of making a trip to Vermont, you’re in luck, Vermont Overland announced this morning (10/10) that VOR 2017 will be held Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2017! In the mean time, if you’re feeling the itch, take some time to look at the VTrans site for map information or reach out to our team and we’ll provide some suggestions!
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