Off Road: One more reason to wheel that 4WD truck

There are many good reasons to enjoy four wheel drive adventure in a 4WD truck, van, or SUV: to spend quality time with family and friends, to build and develop teamwork and camaraderie, to get away from the demands of modern life and concrete, to experience and appreciate the great outdoors, to challenge yourself, to hunt, fish, camp, or hike. I could go on.

But whatever your reasons for living a 4WD travel and adventure lifestyle and using your 4WD truck to enjoy off road travel and adventure, it might be time to add another reason: to protect our freedom.

As I've often blogged before, gates are being erected across much of North America at a rate that could embarrass John Holmes. Super highways are cutting across off road lands that were once in the public domain (such as Crown Lands in Canada). Off road recreation areas are being leased or purchased from States and Provinces and turned into subdivisions. Laws are being passed to grant multinational corporations the right to bar entry to what were once national lands. Environmental groups, such as The Land Concervancy, are buying up wilderness areas and locking out all but the most able bodied hikers. None of this bodes well for the future of off road 4WD recreation.

Development is unavoidable and, for most of us, beneficial. It creates jobs. Feeds families. Builds houses. All good things. But with each new gate that is erected, fence that is installed, or trench that is dug, I feel more like we are being caged in rather than kept out. We are being forced, subtly and slowly but surely, to conform to the roads they allow us to travel on and barred from travelling outside this artificial containment boundary. There may be frightening reasons for this.

As four wheel drive and off road enthusiasts, we have vehicles that can help us discover, experience, protect, and enjoy our birthright: open lands from sea to sea to sea. Our 4WD trucks are capable of travelling to and beyond the civilized realm, deep into the wilds. This enables an appreciation and thirst for freedom, travel, open space, and discovery that is unrivalled: regardless of age or health, one can see, smell, taste, and feel the natural environment directly.

There are many groups dedicated to preserving our access to open spaces and off road, off highway vehicle areas, such as Treat Lightly! and the Blue Ribbon Coilotion. If you can, I urge you to donate some time or money to these groups, or at least join them and show your support. It's not a hobby that's at stake, but a way of life and a freedom that should be carried well into the future.

DG Hilton