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One of the most amazing aspects of overland life is getting to know other like-minded adventurers. There are so many of you out there doing incredible things on the road, and we here at Overlander want to highlight travelers that have inspired you. As always, thank you for your nominations, and for helping to keep the inspiration in our traveling community on full boil.
See you out there on the road!
Beck Marshall
Like for many of us, the global travel shut-downs in 2020 put 17 year old Beck Marshall’s (@beck_to_the_future) ambitious plans to reach the Arctic Ocean on hold. But adaptability is a watchword for overlanders, so Beck and his friends turned their Tacoma south instead and completed a grand tour of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. Super impressive for a bunch of high schoolers! That’s why Beck is our Overlander of the Month for September.
Beck was nominated by his father, Kevin (@kevinlmarshall), who said that Beck grew up hiking, backpacking, climbing, and overlanding with the family from a young age. So when Beck announced his high school senior project was going to be an overland research trip studying changes in permafrost in the Arctic, Kevin barely blinked. When crossing the border into Canada proved an impossibility, the 17-year-old pivoted to a month long trek across the American southwest.
Completely unsupported and without adult supervision, Beck and his friends completed the journey in April of 2021, just under the deadline for graduation. According to Kevin, "[it just shows] that with proper preparation and planning, and respect for the terrain, the people, and the environments these kids can pull off some pretty amazing overlanding trips like us old people can!" Documenting their journey along the way on film and video, Beck and his friends learned the ins and outs of life on the road first hand.
I'd go on to say maybe even more ambitiously than most adults. We really respect Beck's spirit of exploration at such a young age, as well as Kevin's encouragement and confidence to send him down the road totally on his own. Truly an inspiring trip, the first we're sure in a lifetime of adventure.
Let's keep the positivity going - we're now taking nominations for August! Both the winner and nominator will receive a $100 gift card to Overlander.com
Who will you nominate? Enter here.
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