Big South Fork NRRA (Tennessee) Backpacking - May 2019
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
- The dogs and I teamed up with Carl and Travis for the 3rd trip of the 2019 backpacking season, and headed down to Tennessee for a return trip to Big South Fork National River Recreation Area. In 2015 I’d done what amounted to a ‘recon’ trip to Big South Fork, where I discovered the amazing Charit Creek Lodge. I’d always wanted to return to the area, and Charit Creek Lodge. After mentioning the gourmet food that was included in the price, real beds, and even hot showers, it didn’t take much convincing to get Carl and Travis onboard with the plan to spend the last night at the Lodge. It was only later that we discovered they’d added beer and wine to their offerings since my last stay - bonus!
We agreed upon a 3-day, 25-mile point-to-point hike starting near the Big Creek Trailhead and ending at the Charit Creek Trailhead. Travis and I ended up staying at the same luxurious Super 8 motel in Caryville, TN, while Carl came up from down south. With three of us driving separately there were plenty of cars for various shuttle options, which is a nice thing to have in a place like Big South Fork where multi-day loop hike options are limited.
Keeping with the ‘good weather’ theme I’ve been fortunate to have in 2019, the weather for our hike was forecast to be near perfect - weather in the 70’s and little chance of rain. The forecast was particularly fortuitous because in the weeks before our trip the weather had been in the 90’s and humid, and hot/humid weather moved in right after our hike. Lucky!
But all was not nirvana for us. We discovered early on in day #1 that the woods were crawling (literally) with ticks in numbers that vastly exceeded anything any of us had ever experienced. In addition, we discovered that established backcountry campsites were few and far between on our route, which made for an extra mile or two of hiking on day #1 as we hiked around an area of ‘known campsites’ looking for one of them. Finally, as we sat at Charit Creek Lodge sipping our cold microbrews all of us found small bug-bites in the hundreds covering any area of skin that had been exposed. We’re still debating what caused those - Carl votes for chiggers, but I’m convinced it was No-See-Ums (since none of us ever saw ‘Um). Bring, and use, your bug stuff if you head to Big South Fork!
The hike itself was a ‘deep woods Off’ sort of experience, with the trees fully leafed out and few views to be had. But we did get one fantastic view at the John Muir Overlook, along with the heart-racing sheer clffs. The route we chose spent much of its length running right beside streams and the Big South Fork River, but we discovered the trail was far enough away from the water, and the vegetation thick enough, that there were few views. However, the trails themselves were fairly easy and generally well-maintained which made for an enjoyable three days of hiking together.
The experience at the Lodge was just what I remembered - a relaxing throwback in time, with no electricity and no connection to the outside world. But you did get a gourmet breakfast and dinner, comfortable room and bed, hot showers, and cold beer. It was certainly the highlight of the hike, and a must-stay place if you’re ever hiking in the area.
For those who have watched my other videos this one is done in the same style - about 45 minutes in length, intended to bring the audience along for the 'ride', and with a still picture slide show with music at the end. If you just have a few minutes skip to the end and enjoy the pictures.
Equipment / Gear List:
Still and Video Camera: Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 20mm f1.8 lens and FTZ Adapter
Video Editing Software: Vegas Pro 16
Pack: ZPacks Arc Blast 52L
Shelter: Nemo Meta2P
Slide show music - Acoustic Guitar 1 and Fold Bed by Jason Shaw, AudioNautix. www.audionautix.com
Premetherin sprayed on all clothing, tents and any cloth gear and the ticks will fall off instead of crawling on you.
Same here. I'm in Central Florida and the ticks use to love me , I would hit the woods and they considered me a dinner bell. Now I treat everything with the Sawyers Permethrin. Exposed skin is treated with their Fisherman's formula and any tick getting on me or my gear is dead.
I watch these videos when I need something to make me happy
Good to see the pups on another outing. Your footage with the Nikon is coming out great! Thanks for the enjoyable trip report.
Totally addicted to your series. Look forward to each video.
I found the notification for a new video as I was sitting by the campfire having my morning coffee 🙂. I so enjoy your videos. Thank you for sharing!
I think out of all your special guest Travis is my favorite. All of the guests have unique qualities but Travis has a very calm demeanor that definitely goes right along with all of your videos.
You've nailed Travis's demeanor. What you see on the videos is what you get with Travis. Nothing rattles him and he is always positive. Great guy!
Excited for this one! I gave you a shout out in my Q&A video I did a couple weeks back!! Love the channel!!!
Thanks Dan. I'll check out your Q&A video (and others). I've been buried with editing the last few weeks getting this one done because we're heading out to Yellowstone NP in three days (I hate working on two simultaneously!). I made the bonehead mistake of not putting a new battery in my external microphone before this one and, you guessed it, the thing chose the midway point on this trip to start dying on me - the resulting sound glitches caused some serious editing time to try to 'fix' as best I could. Got lucky and found a new battery at Charit Creek Lodge. We need to get together for a trip!
David Gray Absolutely! Please shoot me an email when you get time. I’d love to set something up!!! danbeckeroutdoors@gmail.com.
Those of us who follow BOTH of you on CZcams would love it if you did a joint hike!
Another good video. Enjoy watching them. Keep them coming😀
Really enjoyed this! Great trip with friends and the dogs! Jaden - your are an amazing, wonderful dog - such a trooper! Bailey - your great too! Thanks for sharing!
Great video David! Thanks for all the great content over the years.
Hey Thanks for another great video looking forward to the next one
I’m an avid hiker and lover of labs. Recovering from a major abdominal surgery this week - with a David Gray marathon binge watch. :). Your calming videos with breathtaking scenery are just what the doctor ordered, especially this one with the dogs. Missing my dearly departed chocolate and yellow labs as I recover. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us, David - hike on!
Thank you very much. I agree that Labs are the best - loyal, love the woods and trails, and perfect hiking companions. I also wanted to let you know that Travis and I just returned from another January 2020 trip to Big South Fork and I did take the dogs along on this one too - working on the video now and it should be out in a couple weeks.
@@davidgrayinhope you had a great trip - will definitely look forward to watching! I'm sure you have some very happy (and tired) labs. :)
Thanks for another video! Glad both dogs are still cruising with you!
Welcome back to the BSF! I’m always so pleased to see you in my hometown!
David, it is so good to see your adventures and hear your commentary. All the best to you.
David, we love your trips especially with the dogs. I'm always excited when I see your video hitting. I hope one day I could hike with you.
Excellent always excited about your trips....looks like Bailey was able to make it again...glad to see
Love tour videos the best. That area is my backyard and it's perfect for backpacking!
Indeed another great one. The geek in me is dying to get a breakdown of the differences in gear. Thanks again!
Just back from my camping trip and as soon as I turn on CZcams, I saw your video. What a great way to relax and enjoy your video. Thanks for sharing your trip. Yes, I have tick collar on my dog but still see many ticks from his body.
Your dogs are so adorable
Another great video. Thanks for Filming.
Great hike except for the ticks. Love watching your adventures. Packit Gourmet’s Good Morning Sunshine breakfast is awesome. I take it on all my trips
Thanks for stopping at Caryville and posting views of Cove lake park. Thumbs up.
Post work entertainment! Thanks David, can't wait to watch it tonight.
I get way too excited when I see you release a new video.
Josh Ebersole me too on god
Nice little trek you guys had. Thanks for sharing! Been to the lodge several times, once on a chilly 12 degree night where my wife and I had the whole facilities to ourselves. Heading to BSF this coming weekend. Hope to have as enjoyable of a time as you guys did. Minus the ticks.
Thanks again!
Awesome video as always Dave,, Except for those pesky bugs, looked like a great hike.....................Stay Safe and God Bless............
David still saying Ta-patio instead of Tap-a-tio. Haha. Awesome content sir. So entertaining and so awesome you brought the dogs along!
Yeah, I know. Can't get my midwestern Hoosier tongue to work properly. I hate to say it but I don't think I did much better on the just-about-to-be-published Yellowstone NP video, though I do think I sneaked in one Tap-a-tio as I was fumbling through different pronunciations at some point. The Yellowstone video should be published tonight - all finished, but just waiting for the CZcams HD processing to complete.
Can’t wait to watch it!
Nice loop, just got back from Knoxville for a graduation and my first thought was....looks like a lot of ticks. Thanks for sharing David
Another great outing, thanks for keeping it real. The ticks... ugh 😜
Ticks I hate more than snakes lol. Had a rocky mountain spotted on me in last hike. Luckily not latched on. You do such an amazing job looking after your pups. As always a very well done video.
Thanks for sharing another great adventure, David! If you ever find yourself on a hike in Oklahoma let me know, I'd love to join! Take care.
Nice a new video from you !!
Thanks for taking us along on another great adventure! Love that the dogs got to go along, too. Hope you managed to find all of the ticks before they hung on. Ick.
A few of them managed to get attached to all of us. I think we all found about 6 on us when we took showers at the Charit Creek Lodge. I know I've been keeping a close eye out for the classic Lyme disease bulls-eye rash pattern, and symptoms. So far I'm ok, but always something to worry about with ticks like that.
@@davidgrayin Good to hear you're ok so far. Scary things, those nasty little bugs.
Great Video!
Another wonderful video, minus tick-issues. However, it is always a great day when there is an upload video from David Gray!!
NIce job, I think you have quickly mastered that new camera. The shots were gorgeous, the higher resolution is really noticeable. Also, I liked the audio very much. The birds chirping in the morning made me feel like I was there, you captured the peacefulness very well.
Thank you. The new camera has definitely been a 'work in progress' but I think I'm getting it dialed in. I had some audio issues on this one starting on night #1 that were no fault of the camera - bonehead move on my part not to replace the microphone battery and it chose that night to start dying on me (that won't happen again!). There was also a little of that annoying lens focus motor noise that you can pick up on in a few clips (though not nearly as bad as the first video with it). I finally got to the point where I controlled everything manually and the results were very nice - everything starting at the Charit Creek Lodge onward I felt quite please with (that was after I found a new battery for the microphone at the Lodge). I'm leaving for Yellowstone NP in two days and I'm hoping to dial up the quality even more - can't wait for that one!
Looks like someone forgot to soak their clothes in permethrin. Ooops.... Once again great video. Beautiful scenery.
Hay Dave love the video. Ya we didn't go to south arapaho they still had 40+ plus inch of snow on the peak so we did plan B goose creek to brookside mcurdy up to mcurdy and back. Thanks for the tip earlier in season about the snow. Thank u again for videos and happy hiking.
P.S. could use a gear run down of the new stuff
Awesome video
This is a nice Saturday surprise, gonna get the cheese spread ready.
Great video David! I live just outside the BSF and hike there often. To see the park portrayed in such a positive fashion is very welcomed. On your second day after crossing the bridge over No Business Creek and climbing the uphill you thought the trail turned right but it stayed left. The right led to Maude's Crack in about 40 yards and an awesome overlook at the top. Why the trail maps don't show that is beyond me. I was almost talking to my laptop screen to get you to go to the right. Please come back soon!
If you like this terrain, the Cumberland Trail from Snoopers Rock to Signal Point is a good trail. It'll take two days or more depending on how you hike it. I enjoy it. Steep stairs at Signal Point to finish or you could go the other way. Love your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Section hiking the CT
love hiking BSF! there's a few good campsites along twin arches loop if you cross over the river and jakes place is good camping. enjoyed the video thanks!
Great Video as always David. Jaden looks awesome for 14! These wilderness treks are treating her right. Are you going to put out a video about the rest of your 2019 plans? I always love seeing your trips, especially the trips out west. Hike on and thanks for taking us along!
I didn't do a 2019 'trip agenda' video this year because much of my late season hikes were up in the air (still are to some extent). The reason for that is it was a bad year for permit applications. I again tried for a Wonderland Trail permit, as well as Glacier NP - and I also added the Enchantment Wilderness (Washington) as well. But I went 0 for 3! (First time getting a complete rejection from Glacier). On the plus side, I did just return yesterday from a hike in Yellowstone NP - awesome! The video for that one should be very good, and published in three weeks or so. After that I have a family vacation to Colorado in late July that I'm hoping to combine with a short backpacking trip with the dogs, and then in early September I'm planning to return to the Wind River Range to do the original hike we had planned in 2018 (Titcomb Basin, Island Lake area).
Great video David. I don't know but this seems like the worse tick season then I have seen in a few years.
Another great video from our favorite You Tuber. I think you have that new camera figured out! The ticks were nasty, but love the hike and lodge scenes! We are ready to go to Red River Gorge with you in October!
Thank you! I feel I'm about 85% dialed in on the new Nikon Z6, and I'm heading to Yellowstone NP in two days for the next 'trial' with it. I actually bought the 35mm Nikkor Z-lens for this trip, and I think that's going to take the quality to the next level. It's really a remarkable camera when you get it tuned just right. I'm all in for an October trip in RRG, especially if you can clue me in to how to handle the backcountry campsites with so many seeming to be 'closed for restoration'.
@@davidgrayin Have a safe trip. I'll message you on Facebook (Kevin Fry).
Hey David, check your Facebook messages. Trying to plan for Oct. Call Travis, Carl, & Jayden!
I love you videos......... especially this one with the dogs. I am soooo happy you are taking them with you - especially Bailey (??)...... maybe one of his last full on hikes? I did that with my Cooper - did not know it WAS to be his last......... but one last camping trip we had........
I love going with them too, and I'm three-for-three so far this year! Jaden is the old guy, and though he's really slowing down he wills himself to make it through the backpacking trips. I'll keep taking him as long as I can.
@@davidgrayin I originally put the name Ja(y)den in - but then saw someone else say Bailey.... so thought I was wrong! Please give those mates of yours a HUGE HUG from me. And enjoy every second you have with them on the trails/camps.
Hey bro great videos I live here in the big south fork would love to hike with you next time your back this way
When I saw that Packit Gourmet was having a 10% off sale starting this week with the coupon code FEEDME, I immediately thought of you. I still think you should be their sponsored spokesperson for Cheddar Cheese spread!
They're having a sale?! Whoa... time to stock up! Thanks for the heads-up. Not sure about being a spokesperson for them, but I wouldn't mind a free package or two!
Nice job David!!! Ticks suck. Thirst trip of the season? Did I miss one?
I just got home from my second trip to the Manistee National Forest. It was an awesome weekend. Nice and dry, great weather for sleeping. I love the pine forests. It’s the closest thing to Colorado writhing driving distance for a weekend trip. About a 6 hour drive from Fishers. It measured about 20 miles for the loop. Two weeks ago I started from the campground on the north end and got off trail 4 miles. Wound up with 31.5 miles that day.
Can’t wait to see the next trip video!!!
You live well 👍
Just did the soddy gorge segment on the CT... The ticks were crazy. Bad season for them
👍👍
All those chiggers, ticks & no-see-ums, plus the snakes, is why I stay out of the southern woods in the summer
I’ve been on hundreds of camping and back packing trips. Never seen any tics. Most of our trips were up north , Canada, Maine Pennsylvania NY.
You're lucky -- they're creepy and sneaky - like dry land leaches. Yech. You rarely ever feel them as they crawl up inside your clothing from your ankles. The first time I ever had a tick on me was actually after traipsing around a field in Gettysburg National Battlefield (Pennsylvania) - now living in Indiana I see them all the time (mainly on the dogs). I don't know that their habitat range is but they're terrible in the south and probably only slightly better in the midwest - worst during the late spring and summer.
I'm a hiker too buddy. And a lab guy. Had to put my lab down last July and haven't hiked since. I guess I need to move on and get busy again. Did I see you a couple years ago hunting on crosley fish and wildlife area? I swear it looked like you. Keep posting I love the vids. Love the labs
I'm sorry to hear about your Lab - I'm afraid that day isn't too far down the trail for my old guy, Jaden, so I can certainly relate to how gut wrenching that must have been for you. I'm dreading that day, but for now we'll just keep on hiking while we still can. No, that wasn't me at Crosley - I've never really been into hunting, though I did do a tiny bit of small game hunting while growing up in Michigan.
David, still love your video's brother. I had plans this evening, and my close friend text'd me today, David has a new video. Changed my plans. Poured a drink, made some dinner. Watched your video. Freaking love it. It is so wonderful that you do this. Quick question, who does the music at the end of your videos? I'm a musician, you have messaged back and forth last year on one of your video's, but I was wondering if I might be able to compose some music and send it to you, no charge at all. Just think about it......thanks buddy ~ Scooter Hanes
The first two songs of the slideshow for this video were done by Jason Shaw (www.audionautix.com), and the last one was just something I found in CZcams's audio library. In the past I've also included songs from Josh Woodward but when I've tried to use his songs in recent video's CZcams's processing engine flagged them as copywrited - even though Josh indicates in his website that they are free to use as you wish. I'm not sure what's up with that, but I don't even want to mess with it. I would love to listen to your music, and include it in a future video - send me an email at davidgrayin@yahoo.com and we can work out the details. Original music would be awesome - thanks!
David the ticks here in the Chattanooga Valley have been so terrible this year. It makes you resent the great outdoors. ☹️
Love seeing the old guy out there, guess i identify. :}
'Old'...?! Ouch. I'm only 58 years 'young'! :-)
@@davidgrayin is that in dog years?
Another great video David! I've got to get some of that cheese spread. What kind is it?
Thank you! The cheese spread is from Packit Gourmet (www.packitgourmet.com). You can find it in their 'spreads' section. It's expensive ($6.99 per package) but I've never found anything even remotely close to as good. I did three more batches of it during my recently completed Yellowstone NP trip (video coming mid-July 2019), and it never gets old! If you get some I recommend rehydrating it for much longer than the recommended 20 minute time in the instructions - I generally wait at least an hour to avoid it being 'crunchy'. But I did realize on this trip that they recommend warm water in the instructions, which I never do (I always use 'ambient' temperature water from whatever bottles I have handy) so if you do use warm water 20 minutes might be fine.
@@davidgrayin Thank you ! I'll definitely be buying some and thanks for the instructions too! :)
Love your videos! What backpack was Carl using on this trip? Thank you!
Great Video! I know all about the ticks from Saskatchewan, Canada. What is the insulated bag you use for rehydrating your food, and where do you get one?
The insulating bag is a 'Big Sky International Insulite Pouch' that I bought on Amazon a while back ($14.95, and just confirmed on Amazon that you can still buy them there). It's a great little cozy - very light, rolls up small, and keeps food super hot for a long time.
It appears that the Sheltowee Trace should switch there logo from a Turtle to a Tick , easy to do just add 4 more legs. Plus off a free spraying of Sawyers Permethrin on all gear and clothing to kill the ticks.
That's a good suggestion - I was never sure where the turtle blaze came from. We didn't see many turtles but ticks were in abundance! I had actually treated my clothes a while back with permethrin, but it had clearly worn off. I did a thorough soaking with permethrin before the recently completed Yellowstone NP trick and it worked extremely well for the clouds of skeeters we ran into at a couple sites. A re-treatment will be added to my before-hike checklist - well worth it.
Dave my dog is also 14. She still thinks she’s a puppy but only about half the week. She runs around and gets hurt and the next day she’s limping.
Hi David, I enjoy your videos and you’ve been a inspiration but I have to disagree on the millions of years statement. (Old guy from Arkansas)🇺🇸
I think I'd rather see the snakes than the ticks!
I’ve been watching all the PCT hikers for the last few months. Most of them are doing 20 miles per day. I watched a girl, Daisy Hikes do 51 miles in 18 hours. You could do the PCT.
51 miles in 18 hours?! That hurts just to think about it. Amazing. I've always wanted to do the whole PCT (and AT... and CDT...), and at this point I'm still planning to do it when I can find the amount of time I'd need - probably after I end the 'day job' which probably won't be for a few more years yet.
David Gray the video is on CZcams Look at Crunchmaster and Daisy Hikes. They did it.
David Gray six months for most
Nice hike. What gear do you use tent? Backpack? And where do you get your cheddar cheese spread?
The tent on this trip was my old, reliable Nemo Meta 2P. I bought it back in 2009, and it still looks and performs like its brand new (that is, after a fresh coating of waterproofing spray following some leaking on last year's Red River Gorge trip). My pack is a Zpack Arc Blast 52L (old model - current model is 55L and a slightly different design). I buy the Cheddar Cheese spread from Packit Gourmet (www.packitgourmet.com) - you can find it in their spreads section.
Thanks for the video. I always enjoy your trips. But ... TICKS! I've seen the other comments and I know you have used permethrin-treated clothes on past videos. Is it just that you didn't let them crawl on you enough before they died? Or what would you do differently? Can one even do anything differently? Do you use trekking poles to knock the vegetation before you pass in order to knock off questing ticks? Do you treat the dogs with permethrin as I understand that works for them? Have a great time in Yellowstone!
I'd treated my clothes with Permethrin before but should have put on a fresh coating on everything before the trip. We also should have put bug stuff on, especially around our socks and ankles. The trails were actually very clear of vegetation in most places - we think the ticks were falling on us from the trees above (creepy!). I didn't show much footage of them, and given the reaction in these comments to the little video I did include of them I probably shouldn't have made it any more creepy, but there was one stop we made where I pulled about 20 of them off my pants at one time - and the first time I rolled my pants up a ways there was about five of them crawling up my legs from inside my pants. Yech.
@@davidgrayin I've been checking myself for ticks at every little sensation now that I watched your video. And I haven't even been outside. Thanks!
Always love watching your vids. Where did you print off the maps at 5:36?
Caltopo. (www.caltopo.com). Fantastic program and it's free. And easy to use too (lot's of youtube video tutorials). Travis had been creating the maps of our trips with it and I finally decided to figure it out for myself. I actually created that map Travis is hold (patting myself on the back...! :-) .
@@davidgrayin Thank you very much. Looks good
You must have adjusted the camera settings for a very smooth cinematic quality. 👍🏻👍🏻. YELLOWSTONE!!
Just finished the Yellowstone trip, and I'm waiting at the airport in Denver for my flight back to Indy. The trip went extremely well, and the video looks fantastic. I actually broke down and bought a Nikkor 35mm Z-lens (native lens for Z6 camera) and it performed brilliantly. I also brought along my Nikkor 20mm F-mount lens for stationary tripod mounted shots, and it was perfect when used like that too. I've been watching all the various clips and everything came out very well. Should be a good video. I came home with over 7 hours of raw video so I'm thinking of publishing this one in 2 or 3 different segments - depends on what the final video looks like after editing but I may need to break this one up into pieces. Great trip!
My husband and I just went on vacation to Tennessee and what did we discover The Waffle House. The best food. And the people that work their they are great. Great video as always 👍🏻❤️🔥⛺️🍁
I've been meaning to ask you: What brand/model is your green tent that you use when you take the dogs?
The green tent is a Nemo Meta 2P that I bought back in 2009. It is a 'bomber' tent that has been through a lot of 'living', and still looks and performs like brand new.
Hey David, the video quality is much improved for this trip; great work. How are you liking the Z6 now that you have had some time to play with it? Also, are you using an external monitor or just winging it?
Thank you. I just returned from my latest trip to Yellowstone NP, and I think I dialed in the Z6 quality another couple of notches on the latest trip. I broke down and bought the 'native' Nikkor 35mm Z lens before the trip, and that really helped. The FTZ adapter and F-mount lenses work, but nowhere near as well as the Z lenses do with the Z6 (in all areas - focus, stabilization, and even, it seems, exposure control). I didn't want to buy the 35mm because I'm waiting for the 24mm Z lens to come out later in 2019 (I'm now even more convinced it will be the PERFECT lens for my needs) but I just couldn't fight it any longer, and I'm glad I bought the 35mm as a stopgap 'filler' until the 24mm comes out. The image stabilization still isn't as good as my old Canon Vixia G40, but it was much improved with the native Z lens. Overall, now that I'm getting closer to mastering the Z6 I'm learning that it is truly a 'beast' of a video camera and it doesn't do bad at all with the stills. The one thing I'm still bothered by is that hand-holding it for my 'selfie' shots is much more awkward than my old G40 (because of the shape of the camera vs. the 'box' shape of the G40). I've purchased a number (6) of different 'grips' to try to resolve that but nothing has worked well, and all the grips add unwanted weight and setup time. It would be awesome if someone came out with a small, ultralight carbon-fiber hand grip. Regarding an external monitor, I have always just 'winged it'. In fact, even with the G40, which had a monitor I could turn around to face me, I never used it because it was almost impossible not to look back-and-forth between the lens and the monitor, which looks horrible on the video. Hope that helps. If you have any other Z6 questions, fire away... with three trips in the backcountry with it now I'm starting to get it figured out.
@@davidgrayin Thanks you for the response; it sounds like you are enjoying the camera and it is producing the results that you wanted. The video quality looks great from my perspective and the auto focus seems on point. That is especially helpful when you can't see yourself isn't it? Also, the pictures at the end looked great too; less HDR.
You mentioned the issue with handholding, I personally use a carbon fiber travel tripod from Sirui, it's the T-025SK; around 2lbs, tall enough for trips like this and it offers you good support when handholding. Might even help with stabilizing while walking.
I'm still kicking around the idea of trying out the Z6; the AF looks to be solid and it can track, the 4k looks excellent (wish it was 60p) and the right lenses are beginning to hit the market. If I go the Z6 route, I'm looking at the Z 14-30mm f/4 S. I wish that it was faster but there isn't the perfect lens nor camera is there? Unfortunately for my needs, I would have to get a monitor/external recorder; no real way around that.
With the XQD cards, what sort of record times are you getting from the card(s) that you are using?
Thanks
By the way, you seem like a nice guy and you should see if Luke from the Outdoor Gear Review would do a trip with you. He's got a big channel but he's also a really nice guy and it seems like you two would get along.
I've actually been using the Sirui T-025X for quite a few years now, and love it - carbon fiber and a little under 2 pounds, and perfect for my needs. I did plan on using it for a lot more of the hand-held shots, and had practiced with it quite a bit before the Yellowstone trip. Unfortunately, I left it on my car seat at the airport (yep, sure did...! Duh), and had to buy a less-than-Sirui tripod in West Yellowstone. It served it's purpose on the trip but it certainly wasn't as good as my Sirui. I did use the replacement for some of the handheld shots and the results were ok. For the XQD cards it works out to almost exactly 1GB per minute of video (wow!), so for a 240GB card I can capture right around 4 hours of video.
@@davidgrayin I hate to hear about the lost Sirui; we all have moments like that. Thanks for the info on the XQD card; that's essentially the record time that I am getting with my current camera and bitrate. The price of those things....ouch!
Make to do trail walk front and too the trail shed of the hiking? Does it want to be fun on them with it. Okay I do thanks you while the movie is super on here
Did you get a better camera? Video seems better... good work as usual!!
I did get a new camera (Nikon Z6) that I think is superior to my old Canon Vixia G40, but let's just say it's been a steep learning curve! This was my second trip with it, and I feel I'm about 85% of the way there towards mastering the new camera. I was about 50% there on my first trip with it (Tecumseh Trail in April 2019), and I'm hoping to be near-100% for my next trip to Yellowstone NP (I leave tomorrow - yay!).
David Gray that sounds fun man. Good luck! And remember- “tah pah tee o”
Hello David, I’m only up to 11:54 and you’re talking about ticks. I wonder about the Dogs. How were they with the Ticks?
They never seem to mind them. I'm the one that has to pick them off! I think they get a little bit itchier than normal, but they just always seem to be having a blast in the woods, regardless of how many critters are crawling on them. I had applied Frontline on them not too long before the trip, and then immediately afterwards, so any ticks on them weren't there for long. The worst part was that first night in the tent - both dogs had literally dozens of ticks crawling on top of their fur (I know because I turned on my headlamp about five different times up-close-and-personal on their fur and picked off dozens of ticks of each dog).
Jayden. ❤️
Hello sir. Sorry to bother but do you or anybody else know what site was used to print those map pages? (not the actual map itself of course) it looked high quality. 😎
The maps were done on CalTopo (www.caltopo.com). Free, and awesome!
David Gray Awesome thank you.
if official camp sites are so few and far between, do they actively enforce not allowing stealth campsites in the area? Seems like if the area is in need of more sites, they'd publicize official sites, post GPS coordinates etc so you wouldn't have so many issues finding them, etc. Or maybe look the other way of you find a good stealth site that fits your needs.
There are no 'official' campsites there - you can camp anywhere you want. But the terrain limits camping locations and the undergrowth and vegetation is so thick that the 'preferred' places to camp are where other people have camped before (and set up fire rings... sitting logs... etc.). Because we were trying to tie a multi-day hike into a night at the Charit Creek Lodge I suspect that we were in an area that doesn't see a lot of hikers - though that seemed a bit strange because we hiked almost entirely on the Sheltowee Trace and John Muir Trails (not the California JMT... there is another JMT in the southeast!). We are still a bit puzzled by the lack of campsites.
What trips do you have left this year?
I'm leaving for Yellowstone National Park in two days. Can't wait for that one - I've been wanting to get there for years and now it's finally going to happen. After that it's a little less clear. I failed in my attempts to get permits for the Wonderland Trail, Enchantment Wilderness, and even Glacier NP (first time I haven't ended up with some sort of permit there). We have a family vacation planned in Colorado in late July - I'll be driving out separately with the dogs and I'm thinking about trying to squeeze in a short backpacking trip before the family vacation starts (Lost Creek Wilderness perhaps?). After that I'm almost locked in on a return trip to the Wind River Range in late August / easrly September to do the same trip we originally had planned for 2018 (Titcomb Basin / Island Lake area).
Another great journey....except for the ticks. I can't stand ticks.
New shelter?
It's actually my old shelter. It's a Nemo Meta 2P that I bought back in 2009, but it still looks like new. I use it anytime I take the dogs because I have an add-on floor (PawPrint) that snaps into the corners to protect the tent floor from the dogs paws. It's heavy (3 pounds) compared to my cuben Zpacks Hexamid Solo (a little over one pound) but it's perfect when I have the dogs.
Was that a vegetarian dinner at the Lodge?
No, it was just the initial dishes that were meat-free. Veggie casseroles with grains/pasta, and very tasty. Greg, the proprietor, brought out an awesome pork tenderloin for the main course a bit later, but by that time I was in full-on feeding frenzy mode and had put the camera aside.
lol! Okay, that's good to know, thanks for the reply David!
David, I'm sure you don't me to tell you, however; I have yet to watch one of your Hiking videos that were not entertaining, educational, and relaxing. Great photographs and good photography. You have a good eye for taking good photos, which many do not. I have one question. Where do I purchase and what is the brand name of the Cheese Spread. My friend owned Dunkin Donuts, so, I've known the goodness of a good cup in the morning. I'm 71 yrs old and my wife and I are traveling to Maine tomorrow. We're going to Hike in Arcadia National Park and rent a canoe to travel around Eagle Lake at the foot of Cadillac Mountain. I'd love to hike Glacier National Park, however; I'm afraid at my age, taking into consideration some of the steep grades, they'd have to bury me along the trail..........ha ha, not funny but unfortunately, no longer a possibility for me. However; there are plenty other locations where I can still hike. Keep on making great videos. God bless you and your family. Happy and safe travels. Best Wishes, Charlie
Thank you very much for watching the videos, and for the kind feedback. The cheese spread is from Packit Gourmet (www.packitgourmet.com), and you can find it in the 'spreads' section of their website. A bit expensive ($6.99 per package) but I've never found anything else that comes close to it. Good luck with your Maine hike - I'd love to get to Acadia to do some hiking of my own there soon. I love Maine!
@@davidgrayin Thank you very much for you're response. I'm sending for the Cheese spread. Just enjoyed your Yellowstone Hike. Great place. My wife and I love it there. We visit AFTER Labor Day, AFTER school begins. No traffic, Blue Skies, 75 Degree weather. Always a great trip. Those wetlands you crossed in the back country was wicked. Best Wishes and Safe Travels . Looking forward to your next trip.
Tap-a-tio :]
first !
I love your videos Willie Oakley Knoxville TN are you on Facebook
Ticks may be the worst part of hiking :( Nasty little creatures