Below are the accessories that make the travel depicted, and subsequent blog creation, possible.

Transportation:  My vehicle of choice is a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited, combined with an off-road capable trailer when camping.

Navigation and Mapping:  I use a combination of an iPhone 6S Plus, an iPad 3, and a Garmin Nuvi 550, strategically attached to my dash using a Vector Off-Road JKE Dock.

My favorite off-highway maps for Southern California are those from californiatrailmap.com , which I have loaded on my iPhone and iPad, combined with navigation apps from Galileo, Gaia, and PDF Maps.  The detail is amazing and they are used offline so no cell signal is required.   I mainly use Google Maps for on-highway navigation.

Common sense also dictates that one carry the appropriate paper maps for the area in question, along with a good compass.

Camera Equipment:  My current “go-to” camera is a Panasonic Lumix FZ1000, which is a “bridge” camera between a DSLR and a point-and-shoot.  It sports a non-removable 25mm-400mm zoom lens (F2.8-4.0) which can be pushed digitally to 800mm with minimal loss of quality.   My second camera is a Canon Rebel 2Ti with both 18-135mm and 70-300mm lenses.  And of course, I sometimes use the camera on my iPhone 6S Plus.

Computer Equipment:   Photo editing and blog creation is done on a MacBook Pro equipped with Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC.

Resource Books:

Backcountry Adventures: Northern California and Backcountry Adventures: Southern California, both by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson

Guide to California Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails by Charles A. Wells and Matt Peterson

The Anza-Borrego Desert Region by Lowell & Diana Lindsay

Death Valley SUV Trails by Roger Mitchell

Lonely Planet’s California’s Best Trips