Treading Lightly at the Nomad Rally

The Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally incorporates Tread Lightly’s TREAD Principles directly into the event format in several innovative ways.

The Nomad’s “virtual” format minimizes impact on public lands by spreading the competition out over time and locations, so no single area experiences heavy usage. Competitors are rewarded for following TREAD principles in different ways as they design their routes and then drive them over the course of the rally. They also have specific opportunities to earn points by completing Tread Lightly!-flagged activities and challenges related to land stewardship and responsible motorized recreation. Teams can earn points for up to three Stewardship Activities over the ten weeks of the Rally. 

During first two years, Nomad Overland Rally Teams were involved in cleanups and other stewardship activities all across the USA. And this  year’s Teams were already working on Stewardship projects during Week One of the event. Team 121 Rojas (Team DOGRNR) and Team 117 Lucas both did some spontaneous cleanups as part of their first few Overland Stages this year.

Team 111 Potter, (the Winner of the TreadLightly! Stewardship Award two years in a row), was one of the first teams to submit Stewardship points following an organized Clean Up near Idaho Springs in the Clear Creek Ranger District. Lisa Potter, and 22 other members of her club, the Colorado 4×4 Girls, picked up a truck-bed and a half of trash in an area they “adopted” and installed new Fire Restriction signage. Lisa and the Colorado 4×4 Girls were back in the Clear Creek Ranger District for a second Clean Up sponsored by Tread Lightly! and Quadratec where they were able to remove the dilapidated ruins of an abandoned RV camper that had spread debris across the trail.

Meanwhile in Utah, Team 109 Call was working on a major Clean Up effort of BLM land around the Five Mile Pass area. Codi Call and members of several of the region’s offroad clubs got together to remove remove “big” trash that included things like convertible couches and other abandoned household items from five different trails during the project. 

While some Teams were participating in organized Clean Ups, others were out picking up trash where ever they saw it on the trails. Team 116 Tembreull did a series of spontaneous clean ups, during their multi-day journey across Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Amber and Dave Tembreull filled three 30-gallon trash bags and removed discarded railroad junk and vehicle parts. This year the Tembruells took a break from the Rally, but have been instrumental in organizing a major TreadLightly! cleanup across multiple locations in Michigan this June. Team 121 Hentz and Team 117 Lucas both did ad hoc trash removal in different areas of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. And Team 132 Kienlen picked up garbage and discarded construction materials from the OHV area at Ocean Shores Washington.

The Trail Clean Ups, though an important part of Stewardship, were not the only way Teams got involved in caring for the land. Some Teams engaged in other kinds of Stewardship Activities.

Team 104 Swenson volunteered to help with a trail maintenance project at Nisene Marks State Park in Northern California. Sara Swenson and Dave Hopkins joined with other volunteers clearing downed trees from public access areas. Team 140 Bower did trail maintenance work on BLM land in the Moab area, helping to build a walking path to a Petroglyph site to keep visitors from “busting the crust” (the fragile cryptobiotic soil) in the area nearby. Team 136 Anderson participated in three different types of Stewardship Projects during the Rally, including one on the Walker Hill section of the Rubicon Trail, where Cheryl Anderson and Wendi Norton of Team 122 helped out the Sierra Treasure Hunters “adopt-a-trail” program. Cheryl and Wendi conducted an “early season” assessment to see how past water mitigation projects are holding up and to determine the need for any new projects in that area. The assessment involved conducting a visual inspection and producing geo-tagged photos of the sites in question.

As the 2023 edition of the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally prepares to start on June 5th, Teams will have an opportunity to prepare a new set of Stewardship initiatives — we can’t wait to see how they do their part.

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The Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally encourages everyone participating in the Rally to always practice responsible recreation both during the event and beyond. To learn more about the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally go to the main website. If you are interested in competing go the the Registration page. For other questions or media inquiries, please Contact Us.