“Weather” or Not to Re-Route

Editor’s Note: A special edition from the brand manager of Adventure Rack Systems, Mike Upchurch

Route planning takes into consideration many things which can vary each trip depending on the time of year; weather conditions, road conditions, economic conditions (gas prices for instance), and who knows what other things can throw you a curveball during the planning of a trip.

Recently, my girlfriend and I worked out a great a 12-day trip into the Southwest to visit a few iconic places like Zion, Grand Canyon, Bryce, Cathedral Gorge, Four Corners and a few others. We had it pretty nailed down with a few sites at developed campgrounds reserved and pretty much everything packed and ready to hit the road. We prefer the backroads and dispersed camping as much as possible, but sometimes an established campsite makes sense depending on the destination.

Enter the 2022 heatwave.

The beginning of September brought in a ridge of high pressure and with that, one of the hottest few weeks of the year for the Western States. After tracking the weather in a few of the destinations and knowing that most of our driving would be through desert during the daytime, we made the tough decision at the last minute, to scrap the SW and opt for the NW, specifically the Oregon Coast.

By the time you get this, we’ll be on the road into the cooler air for 12 days, planning to soak up as much as we can and take in some salty air and maybe some fresh fish and chips from the Bow Picker up in Astoria.

So, the takeaway here is that you should try to remain flexible with your plans and make decisions based on a multitude of factors. Just because you made a few reservations doesn’t mean you have to stick to your guns. Do what makes sense for your adventure and roll with the punches. Sometimes a last minute major change to a route or destination can lead to something better and might even be more exciting. The old adage of “enjoy the journey, not the destination” holds pretty true most of the time and you have to adapt, sometimes on a daily basis.

Have a great Labor Day weekend and be sure to squeeze in some adventure!

by Mike Upchurch – ARS Brand Manager