[Bill Burke, an internationally known off-road expert and instructor, has extensive training in Emergency Response. He addresses backcountry first aid this issue because off-roading and safety go hand-in-hand. This article cannot replace proper first-aid training; only professional training from qualified agencies will give you the skills and mindset required to render responsible and quality emergency care. – Ed.]
Backcountry First-Aid
I am often asked: “What would you do if someone broke an arm or something on the trail?” My answer comes in two parts: first, keep that from happening by controlling risk and maintaining safe practices; and second, take proper action to render quality first aid. Then I must decide if the person stays on the trip or goes for advanced care.
My first memory of a treatment for an injury comes from the time when I closed the car door on my fingers. (…)

Story & Photos by: Josh Williams | Land Rover Experience
Let me say right off, there was a time when I favored the Discovery. After graduating from Montreat College in North Carolina in 2004, I started working for The Land Rover Experience at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. There my vehicle of choice was the Discovery. We also used Range Rovers and Freelanders - but I preferred the Discovery.

The Discovery proved itself a great vehicle to learn the “ins” and “outs” of Land Rover. It taught me how to bleed green in more ways than one! At tremendous driving locations like the Greenbrier [VA] and Biltmore Estate I learned to hear and to feel the vehicle. From the driver’s seat of the Discovery I feel like I’m on top of the world and there is nothing like the sound of the V8 - to this day I hear a Discovery well before I see it.

By Denise McCluggage
As a rally driver for the Rover factory in the early 60s (3-liter Rover sedan) I met the man who created the first Land Rover. At dinner one night he told the story of how they took some GI Jeep discards, lengthened the wheel base and built the prototype.

Time masks his name, but memory and imagination plays back bright star bursts from a cutting tool chopping the frame of an olive drab Jeep some departing Yank left in a Sussex lane before dashing home to a rusted basketball hoop on an Indiana barn. I see the Brits welding in a length of steel, standing back and saying: “That looks about right.”

Story & Photos by Louise Orlando and Andrew Barbour

[Louise Orlando and Andrew Barbour, Cape Charles, VA, took their 1960 Series II from London to Capetown 16 years ago. This is the final chapter in their remarkable trip –ed.]

When the Ugandan border guard stamped our passports to make our escape from Zaire complete, we kissed the ground - literally. Freed from the mud, bugs, and cloying jungle of the Ituri rainforest, our spirits took wing again. Ahead lay the fabled Mountains of the Moon and Uganda, once described by Winston Churchill as the “Pearl of Africa.”
After a month in Zaire, we were physically and mentally exhausted. We decided to recharge our batteries at Lake Mburo, one of Uganda’s lesser-known national parks. It consists of classic African grassland, dotted with thorn trees and thickets of scrub. At its center lies Lake Mburo itself, home to crocodiles, a large hippo population, and myriad birds. (…)

Story by Hallie Vail / Photos by Michael L. Palmieri Photography
[Hallie Vail, Springfield, MA, mixes graduate studies in education with Land Rover studies in off-roading. She took to the woods this fall and had a ball –ed.]
Graduate studies can tie you to the library and really sap your energy. A few New England events, alongside group trail riding in late summer, jerked me back on track to living and breathing Land Rover.
Rewind several months - I hadn’t done much “rovering” since Winter Romp 2008 in February. At that event, I made it 30-feet along the trail when I shattered the rear differential of my Range Rover Classic. Not to worry, it was a quality learning experience scooping shards of metal out from the pig and we always find ways to thoroughly enjoy Winter Romp.
Fast forward to late summer – still not much to tell. (…)

Story & Photo by Jim Edson
[Jim Edson, Irving, TX, entered the Land Rover world with a rare ’95 Discovery manual transmission. Once hooked, he upgraded to a 2004 G4 Discovery. He’s a past president of the Texas Rovers and now serves as the webmaster of their site, www.texasrovers.org. Here’s his story on the 2008 South Central Texas Rally –ed.]
Five years ago, the late Ross Mabey and fellow Texas Rovers Club members (texasrovers.org) started an annual event for Rover enthusiasts in the Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas area. Each year, it’s been hosted at Barnwell Mountain, located in northeastern Texas (Four Wheeler Magazine listed it as one of the 101 places to wheel before you die). Each year, it has grown; this year, with over 150 participants and great sponsors, Texas Rovers rented the entire park for the nearly 100 Land Rovers. The vehicles ranged from a 1962 Series II to a 2008 Range Rover Sport – but the majority of trucks were Discoverys. (…)

Story and photos by Louise Orlando and Andrew Barbour
[15 years ago, Louise Orlando and Andrew Barbour, Cape Charles, VA, spent a year driving a 1960 Series II Land Rover from London to Cape Town. Their adventures formed the basis of Andrew’s writing the Fodor’s Guide to South Africa. Part I of their adventure ran in our last issue. Here’s Part II –ed.]
“Mines to the left. Mines to the right. Stick to the piste. Bonne chance!” With these encouraging words, our Moroccan military escort removed a length of chain that hung across the end of the paved highway and waved our convoy of 23 vehicles into the minefield separating Western Sahara and Mauritania. To reach safety, we would have to traverse 50 kilometers of desert sown with anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines. Oh, joy.
The convoy’s engines roared to life and, one by one, our vehicles rolled off the asphalt into the yellow sand that stretched to the horizon. (…)

Story and Photos by Eric Evans
[Eric Evans and his wife, Tessa, and their ’97 Defender 90 SW, live in Naples, FL. The owner of a commercial landscape company, Eric entertained RN News readers when he bought his ex-MOD 109” from Rovers North and drove it to Florida. We’ve read of his explorations of Big Bend, TX, and his 45-day trip to Alaska, too. Here’s his account of a fall ’07 trip to Iceland –ed.]
In describing “The Happiest Places on Earth,” Eric Weiner noted that “Iceland is cold and dark for much of the year. It is isolated and, for goodness sakes, has the word ‘ice’ in its name. Not much happy about that yet these descendants of the Vikings are, statistically, among the planet’s happiest people.” What a challenge – we had to find out why for ourselves.
The internet provided a lot of information about touring Iceland by Land Rover but I also received significant help from Bruce Elfstrom at Overland Experts. (…)

By Tami Sutherland
[Tami Sutherland, an internet software developer, just moved from Clearwater, FL to Grottoes, VA, no doubt inspired by her affection for her LR3 and the famous Mid-Atlantic Rally. Here’s her account of the October 2007 event –ed.]
Now let’s see, what do I have here? My rain jacket, umbrella, a new pair of Wellies, a month-and-a-half worth of clothes; hmmm, maybe I should bring an extra umbrella, just in case.
This was my first trip to the Mid-Atlantic Rally, also known by its acronym, the MAR. I’ve heard plenty about this event in years past, everything from major carnage adventures on the Pearls Pond trails, to odd tales of blow up animals and urinal cakes in the Philly Rovers circus tent (probably best not to ask more about that). The recollections vary from person to person, but one detail remains constant in everyone’s MAR memories: it’s wet, cold, soaking, drenching, rainy, muddy mayhem, and it’s a blast. (…)

Story and photos by Colin Hughes
[Colin Hughes, lives in Cannington, Ontario with his wife, Gaetane, and daughter Nadine. An avid Land Rover fan he’s owned two Range Rover Classics and a Discovery Series I. The Land Rovers help get the family out into the woods where they enjoy mountain biking, canoeing, hiking and camping –ed.]
My 1995 Discovery had 435,000 kms on the clock, and was going to start to need more work than could be recovered if I were to sell it. As an enthusiast I’ve always had a soft spot for the P38 Range Rover and took every opportunity that presented itself to drive one. Thus the search began. With the cost to buy a Range Rover P38A dropping to reasonable levels, does it make sense to purchase one as a daily driver? Would it be reliable on our family camping trips?
kilometers on the clock. High mileage for some but based on my previous Discovery, this truck was just getting broken in. (…)