Josh and Steve as they are leaving customs.

Over the past eighteen months much planning has gone into my Iceland adventure. Gear lists have been made, various items purchased, cars reserved, hotels secured, reservations changed and paid for again. It really has been a long and detailed process. Well, twelve days ago (July 1, 2010) all the planning and preparation finally paid off as my friends (Steve, Josh and Paul) and I landed in the Land of Fire and Ice, thus beginning the trip of a lifetime.

Our first day “in country” was largely spent securing provisions;  mainly things we couldn’t bring with us. Our eyes were quickly opened to just how expensive this trip was going to be when we hit the grocery store and left an hour later with a bill of over twenty thousand kroner (roughly a hundred and fifty bucks American) and about five days worth of food. We also picked up a cheap little cooler for two thousand kroner and a couple chairs for two thousand more.

The one item we had trouble finding was an affordable twenty liter (five gallon) gas can. We spent hours, yes HOURS, looking for one and were amazed at how expensive they were once we found one. The one we found was close to fifty dollars American. Come to find out, that wasn’t such a bad price considering we paid almost as much for two one and a half gallon containers.

After taking care of all our errands, I contacted my friend Klaus who lives here in Iceland and we made plans to meet outside the Hotel Floki between 21:30 and 22:00 that evening (that’s 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM for those of you who can’t tell 24 hour time.) Klaus was right on time and after a round of introductions we headed down to the Reykjavik Strip which was conveniently located a couple blocks down from the Floki.

On the way to our destination Klaus explained that driving the strip is what everyone does on a Friday and Saturday night. They cruise the strip looking for friends to go to bars with or to just stop and talk. We made one pass before finding a spot in a parking garage and from there we hoofed

Klaus listens in as Sebastian and Josh discuss routes.

it to the Danish bar a few blocks away.

Shortly after arriving at the bar we were joined by another friend, Sebastian. Sebastian is another avid off-roader so his arrival spurred much conversation about trails to take and the sights that we must see. Klaus and Sebastian had both been very helpful in the planning stages so the first few rounds were on me.

As the night progressed the beers flowed more and more freely, the bands grew louder and louder, conversation became more and more difficult and someone (ok, it was me) ordered a round (or three) of shots. How could I resist sampling an Icelandic distilled “schnapps” that the locals referred to as “the black death???”

The shots were pretty good and had a subtle hint of cumin on the finish. I must admit though that beyond that point things get a little fuzzy…

I vaguely remember another round or two of shots, one of which tasted just like cough syrup and I have a distinct memory of Spert kicking me squarely in the nuts not once, but twice and then hitting them again just for good measure. I just stood there with a dumbfounded look upon my face as I turned to Helgrid (the bartender) and stated “He just kicked me in the nuts!”

At some point we left the bar in search of sandwiches. I quickly lost interest in the search and found a nice set of steps that I thought looked lonely so upon them I sat doing my best to keep them company. Just then, a funny thing happened – I became the most popular tourist attraction in all of Reykjavik! People lined up to have their picture taken with me and all I really cared about was holding the steps down while my world kept spinning around me.

Eventually Paul and Josh managed to get me to leave my perch and got me back to the hotel. After a short six or seven hour nap I was ready to hit the trail and tackle the fabled F26, the Sprengisandur Road.

The Cobb Grill comes with a nice cordura carrying case.

My first experience cooking on a Cobb Premier Grill was last summer when Radrod and I took off on the Radrod and Kokopeli Can-Alaskan Adventure. The Cobb belonged to Luke (Radrod) and I had seen him use it on a few other off-road trips that we had been on, but never sampled the food prepared on it. Well, when Luke and I did our 2500+ mile road trip last summer, that quickly changed.

On that particular trip we cooked a variety of meats, including steaks, some delicious pork chops and a couple trout. Everything came out perfectly, even though I had never cooked on the grill before.

Skip forward ten months. There’s another trip quickly approaching and this one is to Iceland for two weeks of off-roading and camping fun. Because of the flights involved, we are limited to what kind of equipment we can bring along. I have a good camp stove, but we can’t bring propane canisters on the plane and quite honestly, I have no idea if European propane canisters use the same fitting. I’m not going to waste the space and valuable poundage gambling. Worst case scenario, we just buy something there and either leave it when we are done or bring it home.

I was talking about the cooking situation with one of my FJ amigos when he looked at me and said “Well Brian, what about the Cobb?” THE COBB!! Why didn’t I think about that sooner?? It was almost perfect for what we needed. It was light weight (weighing in at around ten pounds) and reasonably compact. I could even purchase accessories for the grill that made it even more versatile. Things like a wok / skillet, a frying pan, a grill surface and a roasting rack. With the addition of the different cook tops it was clear to me that the Cobb was the solution I had been looking for.

With an MSRP of $149.95  some would consider it a bit pricey. I was able to find it at Amazon.com for $129.95 with free shipping to boot. Considering its all stainless steel construction, ease of use, cool to the touch exterior,  and how little charcoal it uses (more on that later) I think the price is more than fair. You can also get the Cobb Pro Grill for around $100. It isn’t all stainless though, but it shares all the other features with the Premier.

Cobb Premier Grill

I’m sure you are wondering what makes the Cobb cooking system so special. For starters, the design allows you to cook using circulating hot air, or convection currents. The food is never exposed to direct flame and all the drippings are routed to the moat thus creating a nearly smokeless grilling experience. The design also gives you the added bonus of a grill who’s lower half stays cool to the touch during the entire cooking process. The lid, however, does not so please don’t touch! The benefits to the cool lower half are huge though. You can cook on virtually any surface. You can even pick the grill up and MOVE it if necessary! The first time I cooked on my Cobb, I did so on a roll of paper just to demonstrate how cool the exterior stays.

Using only eight to ten briquettes, the Cobb can reach temperatures of 500 degrees.

Here’s what really sets the Cobb Grill away from its competitors – it only takes between eight and ten briquettes to reach cooking temps around 500 degrees for up to three hours. That’s right boys and girls. You heard correctly!

Because of the high temps and the convection currents achieved by the Cobb’s design, the grill can be used also as an oven. Admittedly, I have yet to try this, but I promise to in the near future.

When ordering, I had the grill shipped to my office and since it arrived a little before noon, I thought it would be cool to show it off a bit and cook my lunch on it. Off to the local carniceria (Mexican meat market) I went to see what meats they had to offer that day. I had an idea that I’d be bringing some carne

After a quick spritz of oil on the cook surface, the ribs were grilling!

asada back to the office, but when I walked up to the meat counter I spied some great looking pork spare ribs and I knew that they would be a great test for the new Cobb. With the meat purchased, along with a couple plump jalapeno peppers and a bag of charcoal, it was back to the office for me.

Upon arriving back at the office, I didn’t waste any time counting out my eight briquettes and placing them in the fire basket. Flame was applied and within fifteen minutes, the charcoal had a nice, even gray coat of ash on the outside. The fire was ready. The grill was hot. And after a quick spritz of oil on the cook surface, the ribs were grilling and the immediate area was quickly filling with scent of cooking meat.

Being the first time in over a year that I had cooked on a Cobb, I really wasn’t sure about how long I should go before turning the ribs. I decided on waiting twenty mouth-watering minutes. Upon flipping that first rib, I realized that I may have let it go a little long so I shortened the time between the following turns to around fifteen minutes. I also opted to add the jalapenos to the grill at that time so that their flesh would be nice and tender by the time the ribs were done.

By this time, the aromas of the grilling ribs and chile peppers was being carried out of my warehouse and down the alley behind the offices. People were beginning to come out and look around in an attempt to find the source of the scintillating smells.

From firing up the charcoal to plating the finished product took roughly eighty-five minutes. Not too bad considering true slow-cooked ribs take a minimum of three hours. I, and everyone else within a quarter mile, knew they smelled delicious, but how did they taste? Were they going to be tender and juicy? I was kind and shared the ribs with a few people in the office and they all agreed that they were fan-damn-tastic!

All in all, I am very happy with the Cobb Grill. It is a great grill suited to cooking for a small group of three or four. It will have a place in my gear line-up on all trips from here on out. Whether it be an outing to the beach or a two week off-roading adventure, the Cobb will be along for the ride!

Need To Know Info:

• Price: $129.95 to $149.95
• Website: Cobb America
• Rating:

Finally, the Iceland Adventure is almost upon us! I can’t believe it my last Iceland update was back in March. Soooo much has happened since I posted last.

For starters, there has been a volcano erupting for the past three months. Its emissions have wreaked havoc on flights going to and leaving from western Europe. Airports in many nations were unable to get planes in the air for over a week due to the ash cloud spewing from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. It has also caused some problems for those on the island as well and one of those affects us directly. One of the vents from which the volcano’s expressing itself just happens to be located directly under a glacier. The heat and lava flowing forth caused some serious melt-off and in turn the local streams turned into raging rivers. In an effort to save the bridges in their path, the Icelandic government decided to cut three large sections out of the southeastern portion of the Ring Road, the main road that runs around the island’s perimeter. Our first week of the trip had us returning to Reykjavik along that stretch of the road. Looks like we will have to reroute once we get in country. Hopefully there will be options.

This is the actual Korando we will be renting.

Another change that has occurred is that we decided against going with the Suzuki Jimnies. Instead we went with a more built up Korean job called a SsangYong Korando (or something like that.) Should be interesting. The ones we have reserved are actual 4x4s with 31″ to 33″ tires and I am assuming that they have been lifted to some degree. Can’t wait to find out just how capable these things are.

For months now, cooking has been a concern of mine. I didn’t necessarily want to get there and buy a stove, and at the same time, I don’t want to haul a stove there only to find out that the European propane canisters won’t have the same fittings as the American made. Well, thanks to one of my FJ amigos (GSFJ aka Garrett) who reminded me about the grill Luke and I used on our Can-Alaska trip last summer I found our solution..

Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce to you the Cobb Grill!
This little grill, along with the four different cooking attachments I bought too, will create a complete cooking system that should suit our needs for the trip and will become a fixture in my normal camping / off roading gear as well. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to cooking many meals on my new Cobb.

Wondering what other equipment I am taking? That’s OK, I am too! lol

In all seriousness, I have been putting together a generic “gear” bag to take on the trip. In it I will have what I consider the essentials; tent, sleeping bag, yank strap, the Cobb.. This is basically what I will be taking…
Top Row: A Modular Sleep System (This is the same multiple layered sleeping bag system our military uses and is good to roughly 50 below zero), Battery operated lantern.
2nd Row: Self-inflating insulite mattress, MSR Groundhog tent stakes, yank strap.
3rd Row: DryDucks rain gear, Ultra-lite camp towel
Bottom Row: Spare blanket, Eureka Spitfire one man tent, 20 liter kitchen sink / bucket.
All of this stuff weighs in at 33 pounds. Add in 10 more pounds for my Cobb Grill and probably another 7 for the grill accessories and the bag *should* top out right at 50 pounds.

What else is there to tell…

Oh yeah… It looks as if Luke is back on the “Not Attending” list. No one has really heard from him since the last posting. It really is a shame. I think he is missing the trip of a life time.

Just two more weeks…

Over the weekend of May 14 Spert (aka Steve Garcia, aka the Greasy Spaniard) and I headed out to Lone Pine for a weekend of wheeling the local trails and putting together some fun and scenic runs for the big Memorial Day party happening two weeks later. I will get into the meat and potatoes of the weekend in a following post, but for now I want to share a short video of a nasty little stretch of trail.

The forty to fifty foot stretch was extremely narrow, allowing only three or four inches of ‘road’ beyond the footprint of the FJ with a ten to fifteen foot drop into a creek off the driver’s side. It was also a fairly steep grade with a sharp, ninety-five degree turn at the bottom. To add to the fun, just before the turn into the creek, there was an eight to ten inch drop down a slick rock on the driver’s side only. Oh, did I mention that the last third of the slope was off camber, or tilted, and trying to slide vehicles into the drink below? Well, it was.

Steve and I looked over the stretch before driving it. He voiced his concerns about the trail and stated that it wasn’t suitable for a large group consisting of drivers with varying levels of experience. I was a little more optimistic, noting that if we hugged the hillside and placed our driver’s side front wheel between the two small boulders at the bottom (the spot with the eight inch drop) we should be fine.

When we were satisfied with our proposed line of travel, we called Keith over and let him know the plan and he spotted Spert through the obstacle. Even with the help and taking the correct line, Steve had a brief moment where his FJ slipped towards the edge.

Next was my turn. I had intended for Keith to stay out and spot for me, but he jumped into my passenger’s seat and proceeded to “instruct” me as to where I needed to drive. Hindsight being what it is, I really should have insisted that he get out and spot.

In order to keep an eye on the side of the trail, and the vertical drop just past its edge, I jacked my seat to its highest position. As I reached the off camber stretch, I was still focusing most of my attention on the edge of the road. Knowing that I was approaching the drop towards the bottom, I started to steer into the hillside. Unfortunately it was a little too little, and a little too late. My front driver’s side wheel hit the drop on the outer half of the slick rock and I felt the FJ slide slightly towards the edge. Then the front wheel fully slid down the rock face and I felt the sickening feeling of the FJ slipping again, and this time it felt much worse. No joke, I was less than a half an inch from dumping the FJ on its side so it could play in the brook babbling on by.

I sat there, half frozen, for what seemed like a couple minutes, but based on the video, it was only a few seconds. I knew what I needed to do, but I really dreaded having to make the truck move again. Despite my desire to just stay put I cranked my tires to the right, eased off the clutch and applied the gas. My front end followed directions to a tee, my back end had other plans. I will let you watch the video to see what happens next…

Well, now that I’ve got the whole video thing figured out, what else can you expect to see added in the not to distant future? Yep, you guessed it, a podcast!

I will be playing with podcasting over the next week. Hopefully I will get the hang of it quickly and if I don’t I will be hitting my buddy Jayson Olson from Cocktail Confessions up for some tips!

Now I’m trying out the “All In One Video Pack” by Kaltura. If all goes well, I will embed a video in this post.

This is looking promising..  Time to publish and see if this works!

Sweet!  All went according to plan. The video uploaded and posted beautifully. I will continue playing with this new plugin and see what else it is capable of. I am also interested in seeing if there’s a limit to the maximum file size. If not, I may have found my new video host!

Since you viewed the above video, you can already see that the Kaltura plugin allows you to record video and upload it directly from your webcam. I will test more features and add them to this post later today.

And now I’m going to try to upload video via FTP and insert it into a post…

Test Video – Night

I am going to attempt to upload and add a video to this post..  Wish me luck!

Shot with the Kodak PlaySport waterproof HD video camera I bought for the trip to Iceland. The low light quality isn’t great. I still haven’t tried it in a full light situation.

Attempt 1:

OK so uploading anything over 8mb isn’t going to happen if I use the Upload Video option for the WordPress software… Guess I will have to try using the FTP client.

Attempt 2:

Tried the FTP, but obviously stored it in the wrong folder..  I will try again later.

Attempt 3:

Shot some short vids to upload so that I can see where the files upload to. I will need to use FTP to upload the larger ones… Wish me luck!

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I spent the better part of the afternoon adding functionality to the site. I was able to add a countdown timer for the Iceland trip, add a list of upcoming trips that ties updates automatically when I schedule new events on my calendar and I added some quick links to the right hand sidebar. I also added links to my Flickr, Facebook and Twitter accounts so that you can “follow” or friend me there.

The feature I am most excited about allows me to send notifications to those who subscribe, alerting them to new additions to the site! You don’t need to worry, there will be no spam sent, nor will I sell your email addresses. In fact, the only time you will even receive a notice from me is when I add content. And, if I am correct, only one email will be sent per day and it will catalog the changes made over the last 24 hours.

I have other ideas in mind for the near future as well. I will be adding a couple different review sections to the site. One for camping and wheeling equipment, and another dedicated to restaurant reviews. Most of the reviews will be for places I’ve eaten while on road trips, but I will slip in a few of my favorite restaurants as well.

As always, I appreciate you stopping in. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know you were here. I’m also open to suggestions so if you have some ideas to make the site better or you want me to add or test specific equipment, just drop the suggestions in the comment box.