Leighton’s Blog

This is where I ended up about 12:30 last night...Osceola National Forest in Florida about a mile south of the Georgia border. Took me a couple of trails to find something I was comfortable driving deeper into the Swamp on  cuz my Jeep is all stock with no winch. Swamp mud is a lot thicker than  mountain mud and not as forgiving! :) I never drove in a swap before but I think I got some incredible shots this morning which I will try to do put on my blog tonight if I have Internet. Also did some video which I hope to get something edited from the last few days footage and post on my YouTube. Making my way down to the Everglades today and then to Key West tomorrow. Can’t wait to take the top down and get some sun. It was 42 degrees this morning and a bit colder last night.

Kind of upset. This gas station’s cappuccino machine wasn’t working this morning. #whatabummer

Arrived in Everglades late last night and got up early this morning and found some backcountry trails that weren’t even on the regular maps but were on the satellite map that luckily I download a few weeks ago. Beautiful and remote!! There were barely trails in some spots. I had no business being on them in a stock my stock Jeep but you know me. Saw some gators this morning and a whole lots of birds. Got the top down and I’m on my way to the keys.

My view this morning in the Great Smokey Mts in Virginia. Slept well in the woods. Pretty remote! Heading to Key West to help a friend with a photo project on Saturday. Going to visit Kyle in Orlando on the way down. Stay tuned for more back country stuff the next few days. Can’t wait to take the top off this thing and do some tropical overlanding! 🌴 🚙 🏝 ☀️ On the way home next week I’m going to take my time as well and drive on some beaches on the East Coast. #overlanding #jeeping #camping #jeeps #jeep #sunrise #virginia #va #greatsmokymountains #ajeepthing #willy #since1941 #jeeplife #backcountry

I’ve spent that last four months refining what I pack in my Jeep for overlanding.  It’s kind of funny but my number one goal is the Jeep is packed in a way so I can still take the top down. That means I can’t have gear too high in the cargo area. And I think I have succeeded! :) The gear in the back doesn’t really go much higher than the sides,  I do have a cargo net which goes over everything (including the rear windows) in the back so nothing will blow away when the top is down. The other goal is comfort. But how comfortable can you be driving 200 days in a 2 Door Wrangler?  I listed electronics that I have in an earlier social media post but I’ll try to do re-post here at some point.   Here we go... Coleman 2 burner propane stove Drop down tailgate table w/cutting board  12v Coleman 50 quart cooler & footlocker with breakfast, lunch and dinner for 5 days.  12v 1000ml Tea Kettle (1 of my favorite purchases)  12v Mini Hotlogic for cooking & heating meals  12v Electric blanket