Gathered around the campfire with his friends eating quesadillas, math teacher Andrew Chen relishes his company among the stunning lake, mountains and shining stars of his favorite place to camp: Lake Leavitt in Lassen County, Calif.
The camping trips Chen takes do not follow an ordinary campsite or RV-style outing. Instead, Chen partakes in overlanding, which involves using an off-roading vehicle for the trip and prioritizing the journey over the destination. To get to his stay for the night, Chen will off-road, or drive his car across unpaved and unfamiliar territory, until he gets to a desirable spot with lots of space, sometimes hiking over rough terrain including rocks. He will either sleep in a tent he pitches, stay on a friend’s rooftop tent or sleep in his own car. His trips consist of no power or running water, meaning he has to pack his own necessities.
“You need a lift kit to change the shocks and springs because [your car] needs higher clearance. I also was able to modify my [Toyota 4Runner] so I can sleep comfortably. I’ve done some custom work in the back so I could sleep flat,” Chen said. “I’ve learned how to do multiple things in the wilderness, like cook well with wind. I learned a lot about off-roading, so I learned a lot about my car and what it’s capable of.”
Chen travels to different areas of California and sometimes even out of state to states such as Utah. His trips usually range from one to three days, where he will spend quality time with his friends or absorb his peaceful surroundings.
“[I like] just sitting around the campfire and enjoying nature, my friends and I getting away from the city. [It’s] like resetting your life from work and that busy lifestyle of city life,” Chen said. “In nature, we don’t have the internet. You can’t really use your phone except for taking pictures, so that’s kind of the beauty of going camping.”
As a husband and father of a 9-year-old boy working as a teacher, it has become more difficult for Chen to find space in his schedule to camp with his friends because of conflicts with work and plans with family. He will camp anywhere from five to 10 times a year, and every trip he is able to make feels worth it.
“You’re in the wilderness. There’s beautiful scenery around you,” Chen said. “I’m not grading calculus tests, and it’s just wonderful. I would love to camp every single vacation we have during every single break.”
Instead of camping only with his friends, Chen has involved his family in camping before, though it can often be hard to camp with them because of a lack of running water. However, he plans on camping with his son when he is older as a way to bond.
“I do tend to have a lot of hobbies and it’s always great if I can share my hobbies with friends or a loved one, in my case that would be my son,” Chen said. “Right now he’s a bit young, but it’d be great if he can grow up and have the same interest as me so I could spend more time with him, doing the stuff I love with someone I love.”
Other teachers around Walnut High School have noticed Chen’s passion for camping. Chen often tells math teacher Tiffany Redcher about his latest off-roading and camping adventures.
“[Chen] definitely enjoys off-roading. We both have Toyota 4Runners, and I remember I bought mine then he bought his a month later, but he got the better one made for off-roading,” Redcher said. “I’m actually thinking of getting a more off-road vehicle because what he does sounds so fun. It’s influencing me and my family.”
Chen’s interest towards camping sparked during the COVID-19 pandemic, where everything was shut down and he was stuck at home. As an escape from the pandemic, Chen and his friends spontaneously decided to try off-roading, then camping, which he grew to love.
“We figured going outside would be pretty safe and enjoyable, and we just didn’t want to be stuck at home. So we all fixed up our cars and camping happened,” Chen said.
Social science teacher Justin Panlilio has tried to make plans to camp with Chen in the future. The two, along with Redcher, share a love for the outdoors and Toyota 4Runners, as Panlilio also does off-roading.
“I brought up [off-roading] with my new 4Runner [car], then he saw it. We were already friends by then, but he had a shared interest, so we got closer after we started talking about cars,” Panlilio said. “He gets really excited [about his hobby].”
Camping is more than a quick vacation for Chen. It has provided him insight on how to enjoy his surroundings and be less reliant on technology.
“You get to appreciate the creation around you,” Chen said. “It’s something most people take for granted, especially if they’re on their phones a lot. It’s beautiful out there, but most people don’t know about it.”
