My wife and I were so excited when your video showed up in our subscription list! We're enjoying watching this one together. We're in our early 60s. I'm an avid hiker and camper, and she's an avid watcher of hiking and camping videos. 😊
Passaconaway was mountain #2 on my NH48. Just wrapped up the list on top of Adams. Took me 14 months, and I have to thank you for providing alot of inspiration through your videos. They're always such a treat.
That's awesome! Congrats on completing it! A nice finish with Adams :) That's my personal favorite summit. As tall as you can get in the Whites without a road and a snack shop up top.
@@GoTakeADrive I had a blast on Moosilauke in the dead of February! Super windy summit. I have a video on it. Every mountain and trip presented its own challenges and rewards. Mt Washington in winter was wild, a sunset on West Bond, Tripyramids was a thrill. I think going up Caps Ridge at night for sunrise on Jefferson is a memorable one, as is making coffee on Guyot watching the sun rise over Washington is another. So many times to remember.
Don't ask me why, haha. It really is just a giant 5,793 foot pile of jumbled rocks, haha. Heck, it doesn't even really need trail markers in decent weather - you just kind of kind of keep an eye on the top and scramble over whatever route you want. But it was also the first summit I had ever done on a solo trip, and with a *ridiculously* overweight pack as well. The feeling of achievement was amazing and the 360 views of the surrounding, still snow capped, April summits were mind blowing to me at the time. Little did I know that I had just become addicted, and a great many of those seemingly impossible to reach distant peaks would be stood upon in the years to come. ...Ironically, years later I descended Mt Adams via the Star Lake trail, without hiking poles, to finish off the end of a 3 day, 15,000 foot loop and that may have been the *least* favorite trail I've ever done 😅
I collected a few summits in the early 1980s, including a loop from the Kankamagus Highway that included Passaconaway, Whiteface, Tripyramid, Tecumseh, and Osceola, all with an external frame pack from the 1970s, 7 pound tent, 3 pound synthetic filled bag, and urethane coated poncho, full MSR Alpine cookset, and a Primus Grasshopper stove with a heavy propane tank! BOOTS, too! I haven't hiked in them since 2006, except in the winter months. My, things have changed! I'm in much better (relative to age) health than I was in my early 30s! I got serious about my diet at age 50 something, and have always been relatively active. Last year, at age 67, I hiked 275 miles of Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain to Hot Springs, NC. This spring I hiked from there to Grayson Highlands in Virginia, exiting there after a fall injured my shoulder 6 miles before being forced to quit. This week I am completing the AT with a short, 42 mile hike. Stay active, my friends! (From one of the LEAST interesting men in the world 😁). Tinker, AT - 1980 something to 2022. Thruhike next year? Would be a GREAT way to celebrate turning 70! 🤔
I could feel your pain struggling up and down over the obstacles because I realised you had do do it twice to recover the camera. Glad you made it through safely just to entertain us. Thanks for an awesome adventure. Bushyboy Oz.
We just did this hike after watching your video. We camped at both tent sites and they were amazing! We took Square Ledge trail to Oliverian Brook on the way out. We love all your videos, you are a great inspiration! We look forward to more greatness from you! - The Hiking Henrys -
Another great video! I bought the zpacks duplex tent this year to get some tent practice with my wife for a future long hike. I still do love my hammock! We are starting to feel a little more pain since we are getting older. 😬 Now it's time to do some fall hiking. 👍
Thanks for sharing. I admire the dedication considering the tweaked back with the action shots specifically on the upslope slippery conditions throwing the poles up and then knowing the you have to recover the camera...more power to you! Get well.
AWSOME vid dude!! That looked like a great route. I still haven’t ventured out by myself yet for a 3 dayer. At some point I need to put my big boy panties on and do it. I’m just terrified about the night. And whats out there while I’m in the most vulnerable position as a living being. Laying down sleeping😬😬. You really captured the trip well with the camera in different places and doubling back yo pick it up. Thank you for doing all of that on a sore back. I threw my back out couple years ago and i was feeling it for a good month after. I was shoveling compost for a lawn seeding project we were doing at work which is basically the same exact motion as shoveling snow. I was feeling really good and I started shoveling faster and faster until I felt a pop and that was that for a good month month and a half. It’s still pretty sensitive so I do a lot of hamstring stretching and trunk rotations to keep things loose. It seems to help. Hope this helps man and I hope to see ya some day out there. Take care and say hi to denali😊. NQU
The full ridge loop from Ferncroft (13mi) was one of the more challenging 1 day hikes I've done and I loved every minute of it. (Ferncroft> Blueberry Ledge Tr.> Whiteface > Rollins Tr. > Dicey's Mill> Passaconaway> Walden Tr. > Wolancet Ridge Tr.> Ferncroft). I have to try some of the Sandwich peaks from the Kanc side maybe the Tripyramids next time. Love your vids. Keep'm comin. 😎
Your hikes are so real....amazing how you pull it off....even the back spadisms i can feel...plan a trip and crap happens.....I do find it funny anyone who enjoys the Whites as you do lives far away.....you were meant to live in Northern NH. ..love the new Tent....
I feel your pain I strained my lower left back about two months ago bad spasms had to see the doctor, she told me it could take up to two months to heal it did. Love the hike beautiful scenery love being out on trail by myself. Looking forward to the winter snow camps stay safe brother.
Sorry to hear that. It definitely sucks. Mine cleared up a few days after returning home. It was a bummer to not do the full loop, but making the decision to stay in a relatively small area ended up being a pretty fun change of pace compared to what I usually do in the Whites. Plus, I'm pretty sure I would have wrecked it pretty bad if I pushed on over the rest of the range.
Dude you are a crazy man for sleeping on that pad with back spasms. I'd be packing it in and going home. Hammocks help my back recover. I can't imagine going up and down those climbs TWICE for the camera. Love the vids but you always seem to live on the edge.
I have one of those pole tents and instead of carrying poles, I just string it up between two trees. I need my 4" air pad though. I'm a big guy and slide sleeper. A foam pad would kill me. I once tried a 1.5 or 2" slim air pad and my hips were so sore the next day. Never did that again. I'm not a thru-hiker so I carry WAY more weight than you when backpacking but I sleep just as good as at home and it's so worth it.
If you haven't tried it before, you can cool off your stove almost instantly by sloshing the alcohol left in it around. It evaporates super fast and super cools the stove within seconds. You will lose a tiny amount of fuel, but the time savings are worth it to me
Been doing more trips out west, so we bought a lightweight tent set up, and some good inflatable pad. After 3 trips, and many nights with that set up, I've come to the conclusion that sleeping on the ground sucks! We miss our hammocks for sure.
You have the best backpacking / trekking videos on UA-cam by far. As a beginner I kinda feel like I'm right there walking besides you, learning new things.
Thanks, I'm happy to here you're getting some entertainment out of it while learning a few things along the way! I only really do feature length videos now days, but if you check out my channel page there are some playlists with shorter videos on specific topics related to getting started, different gear options, and route planning ideas as well.
What gorgeous camp spot's epic views of the landscape, nice evening's, awesome hike Id love it there. sounds like you need a chiropractor for sciatic issues in your lower back I've seen one for the same it helped a great deal. what a lovely video Thank you for bringing us .
Camped there back in the early nineties while doing the 48 , shelter was still there ,heard voices of other people coming ,yelled out hello and they ran away !!!
Enjoyed your video as always. Sorry about your back. I know what that is like. Try to take it easy a while now and let it heal. Next week I leave for the UK, with a week in Scotland. Hopefully I'll get a little hiking in, but nothing like what you do! I'll leave that up to you, and enjoy it vicariously!
@@sintax77 I will. I've been there a few times before, but never to Abbotsford, the home of the author Sir Walter Scott. This time I'm going there. It's in the border country.
@@barbararobbins5309 have a great trip Babs. That's a smart move to visit the border lands. An often neglected and under-appreciated area compared to the Highlands. Scotland has so much to offer all the way from the borders to the far north and the incomparably magical west coast and the Hebrides. It will win your heart for evermore. Enjoy every minute, stay safe and God bless you girl.
@@arthurrsaker8893 Thanks. It was wonderful. We did both the border and the Western Highlands. One never gets enough of Scotland. I had been several times before, but never to Abbotsford, so it was a bucket list item for me,
My experience in the White's is that black bears will frequent areas that are often used for camping. A few years ago we had an encounter with a bear while camping at Black Pond which has several established camping areas around its shores. I had just cooked dinner over a fire and the bear came dangerously close to camp while we were eating. Chased it off and a few minutes later it came back from a different direction. Chased it off again and relocated camp miles away. I suspect this bear had either been fed in the past by campers not knowing any better or the bear had success in raiding camps for food in the past and learned to associate active camps with food. Any time I have wild camped in the White's in areas where few, if any, campers had been I've not had any bear encounters, but still practice proper food storage to avoid creating nuisance bear issues.
Yeah, I'm typically not worried about coming upon black bears, but one that returns after the initial encounter? That's a whole other situation that I would not want to mess with. Good decision on re-locating!
My school dumped us out on the Kancamangus Hwy w😅hen we were 16. We spent the next 10 days backpacking in the mts, four of them solo. It was winter in NH. Our first peak was Chacoroah.
IT WOULD BE GREAT TO DO TWO VIDEOS OF THE SAME PATH. ONE IN SUMMER AND ONE IN WINTER IN THE WHITES. MAYBE BENCHMARK SOME PLACES TO GIVE US AN IDEA FOR THE DEPTH OF SNOW & CHANGE IN PATH VISUALS AND CHALLENGES
Not sure if this was already mentioned, but that 0.3 mile “View” spur is part of the (mostly) abandoned Downes Brook Slide Trail, which used to split off of Downes Brook Trail about a half mile from the trailhead on the Kanc.
Not sure when in September you were up there, but I went up and hit the Pemi Loop on September 15. Very windy up there and really windy on Lafayette late that afternoon. Gusts were somewhere between 50 and 70mph. Had me spinning at times and strong enough to blow my trekking poles sideways in the my hands at times.
I was actually up there September 14th - 16th. I had a feeling that those winds I were hearing must have been pretty intense up on the ridges above treeline. Glad you made it out alright!
@@sintax77 Excellent! I was supposed to be there from 15th to 18th in hopes of completing the Pemi, which, btw, you inspired me to attempt. After finishing Flume, Liberty, Little Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette on the 15th I tackled Garfield on the 16th. Took me a good part of the day to manage it. After getting up and down Garfield and learning that rain was in the forecast for the 18th I made the decision to redirect as I had concerns that I would be navigating Bond and Bondcliff in the rain due to my lack of speed in getting up and down what lay ahead I was certain I'd be doing the Bonds in the rain. I'm in my 60s now with arthritic knees and this was my second hike with any distance in the mountains. Those rock ledges and boulder scrambles are nothing to trifle with even when dry! Hitting them in the rain?? No thanks! I ended up getting on the Franconia brook trail while en route towards the hut. I spent the night on the opposite bank of the brook about half mile above 13 Falls campsite. It was great! Out of the wind and listening to that brook all night! Love that sound! Slept like a log that night. Hopefully, next year I'll return and come in from the opposite direction and finish the parts I missed. The upshot though is I discovered that Franconia Brook trail is more in line with the type of hiking I'm accustomed to and I was able to maintain a decent pace. Covered 8.5 miles between 7AM and 12:45PM on the 17th and got to chat with someone I met on the trail (very few people on that trail) and learned that she was doing what she called the mini Pemi which is Franconia Brook trail to Lincoln Brook trail? According to her, that route makes a loop of about 20 miles? Anyways, thank you for responding and thank you for inspiring me to get out there and hike the Whites! Now that I'm retired, I have plans to check out some other hikes that you have featured on your channel. Love your videos! Keep up the great work and stay safe!
Thanks for all of the videos you post. Perhaps you have answered this before, but where do you sleep when you make these late night drives to the North country for an early morning start? I find myself in the same situation as I drive from NY to NH and research showed that sleeping at the trailhead was a no no. I've tried Walmart - - very noisy - - and I've stayed at some of the campgrounds on the Kancamagus Highway - - very nice - - $25 a night isn't bad, but it starts to add up. You've mentioned that you often sleep in your car, so I was just wondering what type of places you are finding. Thanks.
I've successfully slept in the back of my car, or with the passenger seat reclined at trailheads many times without issues in the past. Now days I usually just get a super low budget $50 motel within an hour or less of the trailhead. Its certainly not the most luxurious option, but it's practically club med compared to sleeping at a trailhead. I prefer motels with an "accessibility" option on the first floor, so I can park at ground level right in front of the room and roll out quickly in the AM.
The White Mountains often lull me into a false sense of security - things are going fine and then suddenly I snap to attention and realize that I'm halfway up a rock slide that isn't the trail.
Haha, so glad to hear I'm not the only one. It's certainly happened more than I'd like to admit. My worst occasion was in winter on Franconia Range, perhaps on Liberty, but can't remember which one, - I was just plugging along, cruising uphill with hands contacting in front of me. Then I turned around and realized I was nowhere near the trail or any established broken path. I was basically standing on solid rime ice, which stretched downhill a couple hundred yards towards a precipice of some kind. I could barely stand still or turn around without sliding, let alone go back down without the advantage of having my hands in front of me anymore. If I remember correctly, I managed to get up there in microspikes, which where basically useless now and my crampons where in the back compartment of my backpack, which I _really_ didn't want to try getting off at that point. I don't even remember what I did to get out of there without sliding off the edge of some pretty steep stuff, but I do know I sat there for quite some time, before slowly butt-scooting the remainder of the way out until I was clear of the ledge. One of the few times that I was too pre-occupied with safety to bother filming at all. I was pretty disappointed about that, lol.
@@sintax77 It's funny that you mention Liberty - the last time this happened to me was in June on a loop of Mt. Flume and Mt. Liberty, on the Flume Slide Trail specifically. That feeling when you realize that you can't go back down, but you can't really keep going up either, is quite an experience!
I have been catching up on your videos and really enjoyed this one! Love the tent. What one is it? Please? By the way, cold is not good for back pain. I know because I have a bad disc and it hates the cold. I keep catching up. Not getting notifications from you tube so I went to your website and started coming to the party.
That's actually my digital scanner. It's an SDS100. I usually bring a cheap $20 Baofeng UV-5r as a makeshift conventional "scanner", so I don't have to worry about losing it or messing it up, but it's fun to nerd out and see what I can get from the mountain tops with the SDS sometimes.
Awesome video as always, Sintax! I'm sure you've answered this question a bunch of times, but what's the name of the green digital thermometer you're using?
Thanks, IZ. It's called a ThermoDrop. A viewer actually sent it as a gift. It's pretty awesome and basically weightless. www.thermoworks.com/thermodrop/
Thanks for such an interesting adventure! I’ve been looking at perfect pyramid-shaped Passaconaway from camp on Ossipee Lake every summer my whole life and have always wanted to get up there one day for a day-hike. Maybe next August. Where’d you finally reward yourself with a cheeseburger?!😅
I’m probably wrong about this but isn’t the pyramid looking thing you’re seeing from your camp on ossipee lake mt chocura? Again, I’m probably wrong but im trying to know my mts better. Can you help a brother out here?😅
@@notquiteultralight1701 you are wrong 😅…..but not completely…yes, Chocorua is quite the pyramid as well, just a bit more jagged close to the summit, whereas Passaconaway forms a nearly perfect pyramid. At least in my perspective from Ossipee Lake. In between Passaconaway and Chocorua is Mt Paugus. The ridge line that forms to the left of Passa is Mt Whiteface. Further SW of that is Sandwich Mt.
@@drrmdjr ok got it. Ya ive done chocura a couple times. I’m sure most people have who like nh mts.. i wish I had actual time to go up there and hime again. Got a lot of family hardships here at home which consume our time. Maybe in a few years. Hey thanks for getting back to me. ✌🏻
I hope it's not a dissapointment, but this time I was starving and just hit the first McDonalds I saw for the two cheeseburger combo meal. Not quite the same as Delaney's Hole in the Wall, but it still hit the spot after 3 days of rehydrated meals!
I found the day 1 campsite purely by happenstance. The day two site wasn't listed on any of my current paper maps, but it was on one of the digital map overlays on my Gaia app. It should also point out that I don't believe I found the true sight of the previously removed shelter site, but there are a plenty of nice open areas around there (perhaps the old tent platform spots), but it was super conveniently close to the nearby water source on the adjacent trail.
@@sintax77 Thank you. I have the Gaia app. I have a local suggestion if you have about 5-6 days for a 52-mile thru-hike from Monadnock to Sunpee mountains. Look up the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail. You would enjoy it. I did it for the first time this year and going to do it every year until I can't. The only HUGE planning thing is that you need someone to either pick you up or drop you off.
Alright, was thinking u were due for another video. Sorry to see your back made for a less than desirable trip. Still beautiful though! Good thing you didnt go over Sleepeers and Tripyramids, that would have been a slow tough trip and STEEP. Good call.
Yeah, I really wanted to make a loop with those as the center point, but it probably would have either taken me 7 days or my back would still be hurting even worse now, lol. It did get back to normal a couple days after the trip though, thankfully.
I love the Whites and living vicariously through you between my own trips. I have the Ventus and love it what is your opinion on the Tushar now that you have some use? Something that is odd to me is you're what I consider to be an experienced backpacker, yet you don't know how to properly use Trekking poles. They're a great tool if you use them properly. It's hard to explain in writing but a lot of good videos on how to use Trekking poles properly. Your knees will thank you one day.
I typically can bring 2 cups of water to a boil with 1 fluid ounce. Most backpacking meals require 12 - 14 oz of water, so for example - if I had 2 dinners, 2 lunch soups and 2 morning coffees, I would bring like 4ish oz fuel + an extra 2 oz or so as back up, or to help start a fire (you can soak a small chunk of wood in alcohol for a bit and it makes an great fire starter for wet conditions)
You remind me of Brutus on the Popeye cartoon that lived on Burger's, lol.I love them to but I prefer just a Hamburg, no cheese.I like lettuce, tomatoes, pickle chips,mayo and black pepper on my burger.and sometimes bacon.
Syntax (Shawn), why must there always be an established "fire ring" for a camper to have a fire ? I'm curious as to why it's okay for someone else to choose a location for a fire in the past but not okay for someone to choose a new location in the present .
I was at this trailhead back in 2018 for a solo hammock camping trip, but I believe the trip you're referring to was the one with Mike and I where we started at the Davis trailhead and snow trench camped on the side of Mt Crawford. That was actually my coldest winter trip ever and about 25 below zero. We really did pick a great time to purposefully not bring a tent or hammock with us, lol.
@@sintax77 Yes, that was the one! The topography of the closed fire road beyond the gate looked very similar to me. I love watching those temperatures on my phone 🤪. Great new video. Thank you for all you do and share. It gets me out there knowing what can be done. I’m an Adirondack guy, so any future travels there would be great to view but I love it all.
@@sintax77 I've never had it, I'm 31 and have smoked tons of meat but have never tried lamb yet. Living on a cattle farm, we've always had tons of cottage pie but no need for lamb.
Emergency measure - Do you have a frozen pizza? If so, it must be sacrificed under these conditions. Scrape that cheese off before it thaws and do what you have to do!
@@sintax77 Two best Tents on the Market by a mile is the Lanshan 2 pro (but you have to seam seal it yourself) or the Durston X mid but the waiting list is like 2023 March! I got the Lanshan 4 season can cope with anything and is very light, no poles just take two hiking poles! Bit of mucking about seam sealing it, but it is fantastic!
That's my Bearcat SDS100 digital trunking scanner from home that I brought along for fun, but it's way overkill if you would just like weather band updates. For that I would recommend a Sangean DT-400W amzn.to/3fWjE0C. If you would like something programmable with local frequencies, such as the AMC or forest service, etc as well, I would go with a Baofeng UV-5R. It has two way talk capabilities for emergency situations on public civilian bands as well. Small, light and only $22. amzn.to/3T90OS1
I picked up a UV-5R on Amazon with all the bells and whistles for like thirty bucks...I never used a radio out in the backcountry before but I thought hell, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks!
You'll have plenty of radio purist nerds telling you that the UV-5R is "not a real scanner", yada yada yada, Haha, no it's not, it's intended for use as a two way licensed ham radio, and it's incredibly slow compared to a "real" scanner running 2,000 channels at a clip, but for programming 20 or so local channels, along with wx bands (use the free chirp software) it is 100% useful and entertaining for specific locals out in the woods. Plus if you lose it or damage it you're only out 20 bucks.
Yeah, I really had no problems at all following any of those trails. It's pretty well maintained, especially considering it's a federal wilderness area.
I really enjoy these videos because my knees are so shot I could never go down these trails, but I can still see them here. I appreciate it.
My wife and I were so excited when your video showed up in our subscription list! We're enjoying watching this one together. We're in our early 60s. I'm an avid hiker and camper, and she's an avid watcher of hiking and camping videos. 😊
Passaconaway was mountain #2 on my NH48. Just wrapped up the list on top of Adams. Took me 14 months, and I have to thank you for providing alot of inspiration through your videos. They're always such a treat.
That's awesome! Congrats on completing it! A nice finish with Adams :) That's my personal favorite summit. As tall as you can get in the Whites without a road and a snack shop up top.
What was your favorite? I've always been partial to Moosilauke
@@GoTakeADrive I had a blast on Moosilauke in the dead of February! Super windy summit. I have a video on it. Every mountain and trip presented its own challenges and rewards. Mt Washington in winter was wild, a sunset on West Bond, Tripyramids was a thrill. I think going up Caps Ridge at night for sunrise on Jefferson is a memorable one, as is making coffee on Guyot watching the sun rise over Washington is another. So many times to remember.
Don't ask me why, haha. It really is just a giant 5,793 foot pile of jumbled rocks, haha. Heck, it doesn't even really need trail markers in decent weather - you just kind of kind of keep an eye on the top and scramble over whatever route you want.
But it was also the first summit I had ever done on a solo trip, and with a *ridiculously* overweight pack as well. The feeling of achievement was amazing and the 360 views of the surrounding, still snow capped, April summits were mind blowing to me at the time. Little did I know that I had just become addicted, and a great many of those seemingly impossible to reach distant peaks would be stood upon in the years to come.
...Ironically, years later I descended Mt Adams via the Star Lake trail, without hiking poles, to finish off the end of a 3 day, 15,000 foot loop and that may have been the *least* favorite trail I've ever done 😅
I collected a few summits in the early 1980s, including a loop from the Kankamagus Highway that included Passaconaway, Whiteface, Tripyramid, Tecumseh, and Osceola, all with an external frame pack from the 1970s, 7 pound tent, 3 pound synthetic filled bag, and urethane coated poncho, full MSR Alpine cookset, and a Primus Grasshopper stove with a heavy propane tank! BOOTS, too! I haven't hiked in them since 2006, except in the winter months.
My, things have changed! I'm in much better (relative to age) health than I was in my early 30s! I got serious about my diet at age 50 something, and have always been relatively active. Last year, at age 67, I hiked 275 miles of Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain to Hot Springs, NC. This spring I hiked from there to Grayson Highlands in Virginia, exiting there after a fall injured my shoulder 6 miles before being forced to quit. This week I am completing the AT with a short, 42 mile hike.
Stay active, my friends! (From one of the LEAST interesting men in the world 😁). Tinker, AT - 1980 something to 2022.
Thruhike next year? Would be a GREAT way to celebrate turning 70! 🤔
That sound of the water was so clear. Seemed like we were right there. About an hour recording of that would be wonderful. So relaxing.
Waking up at 5am and falling back asleep until 8am is my superpower when it comes to backpacking
Your commitment to your channel and hiking is truly inspiring. Thanks for sharing!
I could feel your pain struggling up and down over the obstacles because I realised you had do do it twice to recover the camera. Glad you made it through safely just to entertain us. Thanks for an awesome adventure. Bushyboy Oz.
I love the Sandwich Range! Man you're making me miss the Whites
arnt you in south carolina with doreen by now you mrdd?
I'll be your new dad
For five seconds I was like HECK YES!!!!! When you said "If you want to come with me....." lol
Great Video!
I hope your back is feeling ok now Shawn. Back troubles are no joke. Great video once again. Thanks for sharing your adventure. John
Thanks, John! It got back to normal a few days later :)
Another fantastic video thanks for bringing me along
We just did this hike after watching your video. We camped at both tent sites and they were amazing! We took Square Ledge trail to Oliverian Brook on the way out. We love all your videos, you are a great inspiration! We look forward to more greatness from you! - The Hiking Henrys -
Another great video! I bought the zpacks duplex tent this year to get some tent practice with my wife for a future long hike. I still do love my hammock! We are starting to feel a little more pain since we are getting older. 😬 Now it's time to do some fall hiking. 👍
That thing looks pretty cool and 18oz for a two person tent sounds nice. Hope it works out well for you this fall!
Awesome
I love northeastern PA.for camping and hiking, its beautiful forest.
Glad your back issue was temporary. Great late season trek and (as always) a fun and interesting video. Thanks!
Thanks! Happy to hear you enjoyed the video :D
Thanks for sharing. I admire the dedication considering the tweaked back with the action shots specifically on the upslope slippery conditions throwing the poles up and then knowing the you have to recover the camera...more power to you! Get well.
Thanks for the video 👍👊 get some rest..
Gotta admit, I'm way more invested when you're here in my home state! I can see the sandwich range from my town 40 miles south.
What a great place.
AWSOME vid dude!! That looked like a great route. I still haven’t ventured out by myself yet for a 3 dayer. At some point I need to put my big boy panties on and do it. I’m just terrified about the night. And whats out there while I’m in the most vulnerable position as a living being. Laying down sleeping😬😬. You really captured the trip well with the camera in different places and doubling back yo pick it up. Thank you for doing all of that on a sore back. I threw my back out couple years ago and i was feeling it for a good month after. I was shoveling compost for a lawn seeding project we were doing at work which is basically the same exact motion as shoveling snow. I was feeling really good and I started shoveling faster and faster until I felt a pop and that was that for a good month month and a half. It’s still pretty sensitive so I do a lot of hamstring stretching and trunk rotations to keep things loose. It seems to help. Hope this helps man and I hope to see ya some day out there. Take care and say hi to denali😊. NQU
You find the most interesting places to camp I really enjoy your videos and I hope your back’s feeling much better by now
Great video.Hope the back is feeling better.
Thanks, all better now :)
Hope your back gets better.
Thanks for the video
The full ridge loop from Ferncroft (13mi) was one of the more challenging 1 day hikes I've done and I loved every minute of it. (Ferncroft> Blueberry Ledge Tr.> Whiteface > Rollins Tr. > Dicey's Mill> Passaconaway> Walden Tr. > Wolancet Ridge Tr.> Ferncroft). I have to try some of the Sandwich peaks from the Kanc side maybe the Tripyramids next time. Love your vids. Keep'm comin. 😎
Your hikes are so real....amazing how you pull it off....even the back spadisms i can feel...plan a trip and crap happens.....I do find it funny anyone who enjoys the Whites as you do lives far away.....you were meant to live in Northern NH. ..love the new Tent....
I feel your pain I strained my lower left back about two months ago bad spasms had to see the doctor, she told me it could take up to two months to heal it did. Love the hike beautiful scenery love being out on trail by myself. Looking forward to the winter snow camps stay safe brother.
Sorry to hear that. It definitely sucks. Mine cleared up a few days after returning home. It was a bummer to not do the full loop, but making the decision to stay in a relatively small area ended up being a pretty fun change of pace compared to what I usually do in the Whites. Plus, I'm pretty sure I would have wrecked it pretty bad if I pushed on over the rest of the range.
@@sintax77 Believe me, you would have. Taking it easier was a wise decision!
I will be watching this on our way to grayson highlands, following your route down there also.
Awesome - enjoy the trip!
I hope your back is healed. Thank you for the video.
Omg dude keep them coming denver colorado vlogs kool stuff
Another great adventure! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, CJ! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Thank you Shawn 👊 always great to hear from you man! Appreciate you my friend 🙏 stay safe and take care ✌️👋
Thanks, same to you!
Someone somewhere needs to name a cheeseburger after you 👍That would be so cool ! 😎 Hope you're feeling better my friend 🤞👍
Awesome as always!
Thank you for sharing your adventure 😊 PRETTY COOL
KEEP ADVENTURING
GOD BLESS YOU
🤗HUGS🤗
Dude you are a crazy man for sleeping on that pad with back spasms. I'd be packing it in and going home. Hammocks help my back recover. I can't imagine going up and down those climbs TWICE for the camera. Love the vids but you always seem to live on the edge.
Nice vid, thanks for sharing, planning this hike in October
Excellent adventure!!
I have one of those pole tents and instead of carrying poles, I just string it up between two trees. I need my 4" air pad though. I'm a big guy and slide sleeper. A foam pad would kill me. I once tried a 1.5 or 2" slim air pad and my hips were so sore the next day. Never did that again. I'm not a thru-hiker so I carry WAY more weight than you when backpacking but I sleep just as good as at home and it's so worth it.
Silver side up for the Z ! .. great video
We always love watching your videos. We did drive through the White Mts in September.
Thanks, Cody and Nicole!
If you haven't tried it before, you can cool off your stove almost instantly by sloshing the alcohol left in it around. It evaporates super fast and super cools the stove within seconds. You will lose a tiny amount of fuel, but the time savings are worth it to me
Dope vid!! Being from the west coast love to see the difference in the east
Been doing more trips out west, so we bought a lightweight tent set up, and some good inflatable pad. After 3 trips, and many nights with that set up, I've come to the conclusion that sleeping on the ground sucks! We miss our hammocks for sure.
At 36.02 something fell from your back pocket and rolled down the rocks,it didn't appear to break though.
Accidentally bumped into this campsite last night!
Take care of that back dude...sounds like L5 S1 disc. Love the Sandwhich Wilderness
You have the best backpacking / trekking videos on UA-cam by far.
As a beginner I kinda feel like I'm right there walking besides you, learning new things.
Thanks, I'm happy to here you're getting some entertainment out of it while learning a few things along the way! I only really do feature length videos now days, but if you check out my channel page there are some playlists with shorter videos on specific topics related to getting started, different gear options, and route planning ideas as well.
What gorgeous camp spot's epic views of the landscape, nice evening's, awesome hike Id love it there. sounds like you need a chiropractor for sciatic issues in your lower back I've seen one for the same it helped a great deal. what a lovely video Thank you for bringing us .
Thanks, Sue!
I hope you feel better soon, back pain is no joke,
Syntax de KL0T, when can we expect you to have a callsign? 😊
Man I need a hike like this, would want to go with someone with more experience, I have all the equipment
Camped there back in the early nineties while doing the 48 , shelter was still there ,heard voices of other people coming ,yelled out hello and they ran away !!!
Enjoyed your video as always. Sorry about your back. I know what that is like. Try to take it easy a while now and let it heal. Next week I leave for the UK, with a week in Scotland. Hopefully I'll get a little hiking in, but nothing like what you do! I'll leave that up to you, and enjoy it vicariously!
Ah, Scotland is definitely on my list. That's awesome - Enjoy it!
@@sintax77 I will. I've been there a few times before, but never to Abbotsford, the home of the author Sir Walter Scott. This time I'm going there. It's in the border country.
@@barbararobbins5309 have a great trip Babs. That's a smart move to visit the border lands. An often neglected and under-appreciated area compared to the Highlands. Scotland has so much to offer all the way from the borders to the far north and the incomparably magical west coast and the Hebrides. It will win your heart for evermore. Enjoy every minute, stay safe and God bless you girl.
@@arthurrsaker8893 Thanks. It was wonderful. We did both the border and the Western Highlands. One never gets enough of Scotland. I had been several times before, but never to Abbotsford, so it was a bucket list item for me,
I'm hoping and praying that your back heals completely before any new complications.
I have a bad back to.I always carry some Doans and Extra strength Advil for the back pain relief and it works well.
My experience in the White's is that black bears will frequent areas that are often used for camping. A few years ago we had an encounter with a bear while camping at Black Pond which has several established camping areas around its shores. I had just cooked dinner over a fire and the bear came dangerously close to camp while we were eating. Chased it off and a few minutes later it came back from a different direction. Chased it off again and relocated camp miles away. I suspect this bear had either been fed in the past by campers not knowing any better or the bear had success in raiding camps for food in the past and learned to associate active camps with food. Any time I have wild camped in the White's in areas where few, if any, campers had been I've not had any bear encounters, but still practice proper food storage to avoid creating nuisance bear issues.
Yeah, I'm typically not worried about coming upon black bears, but one that returns after the initial encounter? That's a whole other situation that I would not want to mess with. Good decision on re-locating!
My school dumped us out on the Kancamangus Hwy w😅hen we were 16. We spent the next 10 days backpacking in the mts, four of them solo. It was winter in NH. Our first peak was Chacoroah.
IT WOULD BE GREAT TO DO TWO VIDEOS OF THE SAME PATH. ONE IN SUMMER AND ONE IN WINTER IN THE WHITES. MAYBE BENCHMARK SOME PLACES TO GIVE US AN IDEA FOR THE DEPTH OF SNOW & CHANGE IN PATH VISUALS AND CHALLENGES
Not sure if this was already mentioned, but that 0.3 mile “View” spur is part of the (mostly) abandoned Downes Brook Slide Trail, which used to split off of Downes Brook Trail about a half mile from the trailhead on the Kanc.
I didn't know that, but that's pretty interesting. I'm assuming that it's grown in too much to actually follow the remaining portions anymore?
Nice hike with sparkling brooks along the way. You did seem a bit tired and stiff due to the back pain. Hope it's getting better. Happy trails.
Thanks, Judy. It did start getting better in the week following the trip :)
Not sure when in September you were up there, but I went up and hit the Pemi Loop on September 15. Very windy up there and really windy on Lafayette late that afternoon. Gusts were somewhere between 50 and 70mph. Had me spinning at times and strong enough to blow my trekking poles sideways in the my hands at times.
I was actually up there September 14th - 16th. I had a feeling that those winds I were hearing must have been pretty intense up on the ridges above treeline. Glad you made it out alright!
@@sintax77 Excellent! I was supposed to be there from 15th to 18th in hopes of completing the Pemi, which, btw, you inspired me to attempt. After finishing Flume, Liberty, Little Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette on the 15th I tackled Garfield on the 16th. Took me a good part of the day to manage it. After getting up and down Garfield and learning that rain was in the forecast for the 18th I made the decision to redirect as I had concerns that I would be navigating Bond and Bondcliff in the rain due to my lack of speed in getting up and down what lay ahead I was certain I'd be doing the Bonds in the rain. I'm in my 60s now with arthritic knees and this was my second hike with any distance in the mountains. Those rock ledges and boulder scrambles are nothing to trifle with even when dry! Hitting them in the rain?? No thanks! I ended up getting on the Franconia brook trail while en route towards the hut. I spent the night on the opposite bank of the brook about half mile above 13 Falls campsite. It was great! Out of the wind and listening to that brook all night! Love that sound! Slept like a log that night. Hopefully, next year I'll return and come in from the opposite direction and finish the parts I missed. The upshot though is I discovered that Franconia Brook trail is more in line with the type of hiking I'm accustomed to and I was able to maintain a decent pace. Covered 8.5 miles between 7AM and 12:45PM on the 17th and got to chat with someone I met on the trail (very few people on that trail) and learned that she was doing what she called the mini Pemi which is Franconia Brook trail to Lincoln Brook trail? According to her, that route makes a loop of about 20 miles? Anyways, thank you for responding and thank you for inspiring me to get out there and hike the Whites! Now that I'm retired, I have plans to check out some other hikes that you have featured on your channel. Love your videos! Keep up the great work and stay safe!
Heyooo! Where you been, man? Missed your content, glad to see you here.
Thanks for all of the videos you post. Perhaps you have answered this before, but where do you sleep when you make these late night drives to the North country for an early morning start? I find myself in the same situation as I drive from NY to NH and research showed that sleeping at the trailhead was a no no. I've tried Walmart - - very noisy - - and I've stayed at some of the campgrounds on the Kancamagus Highway - - very nice - - $25 a night isn't bad, but it starts to add up. You've mentioned that you often sleep in your car, so I was just wondering what type of places you are finding. Thanks.
I've successfully slept in the back of my car, or with the passenger seat reclined at trailheads many times without issues in the past. Now days I usually just get a super low budget $50 motel within an hour or less of the trailhead. Its certainly not the most luxurious option, but it's practically club med compared to sleeping at a trailhead. I prefer motels with an "accessibility" option on the first floor, so I can park at ground level right in front of the room and roll out quickly in the AM.
@@sintax77 Ok thanks - - I'll search around for some of those.
The White Mountains often lull me into a false sense of security - things are going fine and then suddenly I snap to attention and realize that I'm halfway up a rock slide that isn't the trail.
Haha, so glad to hear I'm not the only one. It's certainly happened more than I'd like to admit. My worst occasion was in winter on Franconia Range, perhaps on Liberty, but can't remember which one, - I was just plugging along, cruising uphill with hands contacting in front of me. Then I turned around and realized I was nowhere near the trail or any established broken path. I was basically standing on solid rime ice, which stretched downhill a couple hundred yards towards a precipice of some kind.
I could barely stand still or turn around without sliding, let alone go back down without the advantage of having my hands in front of me anymore. If I remember correctly, I managed to get up there in microspikes, which where basically useless now and my crampons where in the back compartment of my backpack, which I _really_ didn't want to try getting off at that point. I don't even remember what I did to get out of there without sliding off the edge of some pretty steep stuff, but I do know I sat there for quite some time, before slowly butt-scooting the remainder of the way out until I was clear of the ledge. One of the few times that I was too pre-occupied with safety to bother filming at all. I was pretty disappointed about that, lol.
@@sintax77 It's funny that you mention Liberty - the last time this happened to me was in June on a loop of Mt. Flume and Mt. Liberty, on the Flume Slide Trail specifically. That feeling when you realize that you can't go back down, but you can't really keep going up either, is quite an experience!
awesome video
When you turkeys do your spring trip you gotta buy Labatt blue in NY. It tastes way better and different than what we know as Labatt
Nice !
Hope all is well!! Haven’t seen you post in awhile… hope you has a good Thanksgiving.
I have been catching up on your videos and really enjoyed this one! Love the tent. What one is it? Please? By the way, cold is not good for back pain. I know because I have a bad disc and it hates the cold. I keep catching up. Not getting notifications from you tube so I went to your website and started coming to the party.
enjoyed the video, what is the ham radio you have, thanks for sharing your trip
That's actually my digital scanner. It's an SDS100. I usually bring a cheap $20 Baofeng UV-5r as a makeshift conventional "scanner", so I don't have to worry about losing it or messing it up, but it's fun to nerd out and see what I can get from the mountain tops with the SDS sometimes.
@@sintax77 thanks for the info. I seen the ham in another video. Thanks for your time. I am disable and appreciate your videos.
Nice treck!
Awesome video as always, Sintax! I'm sure you've answered this question a bunch of times, but what's the name of the green digital thermometer you're using?
Thanks, IZ. It's called a ThermoDrop. A viewer actually sent it as a gift. It's pretty awesome and basically weightless. www.thermoworks.com/thermodrop/
Like u style mate !
Thanks for such an interesting adventure! I’ve been looking at perfect pyramid-shaped Passaconaway from camp on Ossipee Lake every summer my whole life and have always wanted to get up there one day for a day-hike. Maybe next August. Where’d you finally reward yourself with a cheeseburger?!😅
I’m probably wrong about this but isn’t the pyramid looking thing you’re seeing from your camp on ossipee lake mt chocura? Again, I’m probably wrong but im trying to know my mts better. Can you help a brother out here?😅
@@notquiteultralight1701 you are wrong 😅…..but not completely…yes, Chocorua is quite the pyramid as well, just a bit more jagged close to the summit, whereas Passaconaway forms a nearly perfect pyramid. At least in my perspective from Ossipee Lake. In between Passaconaway and Chocorua is Mt Paugus. The ridge line that forms to the left of Passa is Mt Whiteface. Further SW of that is Sandwich Mt.
@@drrmdjr ok got it. Ya ive done chocura a couple times. I’m sure most people have who like nh mts.. i wish I had actual time to go up there and hime again. Got a lot of family hardships here at home which consume our time. Maybe in a few years. Hey thanks for getting back to me. ✌🏻
I hope it's not a dissapointment, but this time I was starving and just hit the first McDonalds I saw for the two cheeseburger combo meal. Not quite the same as Delaney's Hole in the Wall, but it still hit the spot after 3 days of rehydrated meals!
@@sintax77 I can agree. Sometimes Scottish burgers do hit the spot!
Thanks for another great route to follow. What app or map do you use to find campsites? The Day 1 site looks awesome! As well as Day 2 shelter area.
I found the day 1 campsite purely by happenstance. The day two site wasn't listed on any of my current paper maps, but it was on one of the digital map overlays on my Gaia app. It should also point out that I don't believe I found the true sight of the previously removed shelter site, but there are a plenty of nice open areas around there (perhaps the old tent platform spots), but it was super conveniently close to the nearby water source on the adjacent trail.
@@sintax77 Thank you. I have the Gaia app.
I have a local suggestion if you have about 5-6 days for a 52-mile thru-hike from Monadnock to Sunpee mountains. Look up the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail. You would enjoy it. I did it for the first time this year and going to do it every year until I can't. The only HUGE planning thing is that you need someone to either pick you up or drop you off.
Thank you, I'm going to look that up and bookmark it :)
Alright, was thinking u were due for another video. Sorry to see your back made for a less than desirable trip. Still beautiful though! Good thing you didnt go over Sleepeers and Tripyramids, that would have been a slow tough trip and STEEP. Good call.
Yeah, I really wanted to make a loop with those as the center point, but it probably would have either taken me 7 days or my back would still be hurting even worse now, lol. It did get back to normal a couple days after the trip though, thankfully.
I love the Whites and living vicariously through you between my own trips.
I have the Ventus and love it what is your opinion on the Tushar now that you have some use?
Something that is odd to me is you're what I consider to be an experienced backpacker, yet you don't know how to properly use Trekking poles. They're a great tool if you use them properly. It's hard to explain in writing but a lot of good videos on how to use Trekking poles properly. Your knees will thank you one day.
He was close to Mt Tripyramid which is beautiful from afar because of the three pointy peaks in a row.
Nice
Great video! How many ounces of fuel to boil the water? Thanks.
I typically can bring 2 cups of water to a boil with 1 fluid ounce. Most backpacking meals require 12 - 14 oz of water, so for example - if I had 2 dinners, 2 lunch soups and 2 morning coffees, I would bring like 4ish oz fuel + an extra 2 oz or so as back up, or to help start a fire (you can soak a small chunk of wood in alcohol for a bit and it makes an great fire starter for wet conditions)
Nice country,deffently steep when you need to use your hands to climb up.
Tools options cool
its called age m'man.... Thems my old stomping' grounds. i lived in Sandwich for 20 years.
Heck ya, it's cheeseburger time!
Double
With bacon.
You remind me of Brutus on the Popeye cartoon that lived on Burger's, lol.I love them to but I prefer just a Hamburg, no cheese.I like lettuce, tomatoes, pickle chips,mayo and black pepper on my burger.and sometimes bacon.
3:48 yikes jeep problems.
Camp in that same spot last year
Syntax (Shawn), why must there always be an established "fire ring" for a camper to have a fire ?
I'm curious as to why it's okay for someone else to choose a location for a fire in the past but not okay for someone to choose a new location in the present .
Nice work, what is your Dad’s channel again?
WhiteRook85 ua-cam.com/users/whiterook85
@@sintax77 👍
Thanks for the video! Were you at this trailhead before in the winter basically burying yourselves in bivvy bags?
I was at this trailhead back in 2018 for a solo hammock camping trip, but I believe the trip you're referring to was the one with Mike and I where we started at the Davis trailhead and snow trench camped on the side of Mt Crawford. That was actually my coldest winter trip ever and about 25 below zero. We really did pick a great time to purposefully not bring a tent or hammock with us, lol.
@@sintax77 Yes, that was the one! The topography of the closed fire road beyond the gate looked very similar to me. I love watching those temperatures on my phone 🤪. Great new video. Thank you for all you do and share. It gets me out there knowing what can be done. I’m an Adirondack guy, so any future travels there would be great to view but I love it all.
Good call - I'd love to get back out to the Adirondacks for a winter trip.
Cottage pie is the same as shepherds pie, the only difference is shepherds pie uses lamb and cottage pie uses beef.
I do love some legit shepherds pie with lamb :)
@@sintax77 I've never had it, I'm 31 and have smoked tons of meat but have never tried lamb yet. Living on a cattle farm, we've always had tons of cottage pie but no need for lamb.
Dammmm non cheese in the fridge. No cheeseburger time for me🤤
Emergency measure - Do you have a frozen pizza? If so, it must be sacrificed under these conditions. Scrape that cheese off before it thaws and do what you have to do!
@@sintax77 also not in the fridge. I had a beer and some Peanuts.
Many Moons ago,Lol,omg,your killing me, Many Moons,lol,LMFAO,omg,stop bro,your to much with the Many moons,Lol ..your a riot dude,lol
Do you sell that temperature component that tells you the temperature . if so how much and what is your websight to buy it.
Lanshan 2 pro is a good trekking pole tent nice and light!
Thanks, I hadn't heard of that one before. I'll have to check it out.
@@sintax77 Two best Tents on the Market by a mile is the Lanshan 2 pro (but you have to seam seal it yourself) or the Durston X mid but the waiting list is like 2023 March! I got the Lanshan 4 season can cope with anything and is very light, no poles just take two hiking poles! Bit of mucking about seam sealing it, but it is fantastic!
The tent you had on this hike looked similar thats what reminded me
😄👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
The old timers referred to low back pain as lumbago.
What, no rain?
You have a radio there with ya? What do you recommend?
That's my Bearcat SDS100 digital trunking scanner from home that I brought along for fun, but it's way overkill if you would just like weather band updates. For that I would recommend a Sangean DT-400W amzn.to/3fWjE0C. If you would like something programmable with local frequencies, such as the AMC or forest service, etc as well, I would go with a Baofeng UV-5R. It has two way talk capabilities for
emergency situations on public civilian bands as well. Small, light and only $22. amzn.to/3T90OS1
I picked up a UV-5R on Amazon with all the bells and whistles for like thirty bucks...I never used a radio out in the backcountry before but I thought hell, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks!
You'll have plenty of radio purist nerds telling you that the UV-5R is "not a real scanner", yada yada yada, Haha, no it's not, it's intended for use as a two way licensed ham radio, and it's incredibly slow compared to a "real" scanner running 2,000 channels at a clip, but for programming 20 or so local channels, along with wx bands (use the free chirp software) it is 100% useful and entertaining for specific locals out in the woods. Plus if you lose it or damage it you're only out 20 bucks.
Is the trail well marked?
Yeah, I really had no problems at all following any of those trails. It's pretty well maintained, especially considering it's a federal wilderness area.