Smoke Season (Bikepacking In a Burned Landscape)
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
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We lived in Idaho from 2000 to 2019. Smoke season became a regular thing in the early 2010s from memory. It seems that most of that smoke was from fires in the coastal states and BC, while the intermountain areas had some wetter years and less fires. I took a trip to see a friend in Bend in late summer 2014 and went from coolish rain to crispy desert like forest.
I love all your videos! Thank you so much.
Thank you!
All of the stopping to film, going back and forth, and editing and everything else that most of us do not realize/consider does not go without appreciation. Thank you for what you do to share your adventures. Keep adventuring, even if you one day decide to end your channel. Also, the education that you provide is so worthwhile and valuable. Thank you from a fellow cyclist and adventure lover.
Thank you tons! It is a lot of work, but we really like it (usually… when we stop enjoying it, we put the camera away!)
Glad you liked it!
Your appreciation and respect for your local environment is so good to see, what a beautiful place to live.
Thank you!
Considering the fires that are burning in California and other places its good to hear someone with the unique perspective of appreciation for the wildfires that Mother Nature provides. Many are due to human carelessness and sometimes even intentional. But maintaining that perspective and expressing it as you have done in this video is very much appreciated at least for myself. Thank you
Thank you, it was important to us to show that nuance. The best thing to hear is a positive comment like this that shows you noticed it.
Just wow. Beautiful, intimate, thought provoking, inspirational.
Thank you! Glad people like this one as much as we liked making it.
@@slow_spokes Your editing, transitions, photography, dialogue, narration, create poetry. You zoom between intimate, macro details to huge expanses across mountains, which is one of the gifts of biking. You really have created a unique storytelling voice. What a gift to us all!
I just discovered you today and I love this episode. 💚
I'll go check the older ones now.
New subscriber! 😊
Thank you for subscribing! :)
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Smoke season is real, but not all destinations and routes are impacted equally. Camping on an app and deciding to tour a location based on algorithms is a smart first step for planning. But do your cabin-fever-afflicted, adventure-seeking self a big favor and check local intel on conditions, then get out there and ride! Thank you for showcasing the rugged beauty of our region. While riding a section of the GDMBR last summer I was struck by the beauty of some of the areas affected by fire in the past. It's all part of the wonderful experience. Thank you for all you do! We hope to see you in Mitchell again someday.
Hi, Spoke'n Hostel friends! Oh my gosh, thank you for this comment. It's so nice to see your name on here! Hope you're having a good winter.
@slow_spokes longtime viewer, first time commenter... Jalét and I enjoy watching your videos and following your travels. Good work.
Great vid!
Hey thanks! That means a lot.
I found your channel a few weeks ago. You guys are great. You can tell you put a lot of work into these videos. Trying to talk my wife into some bike touring adventures…
Hillary’s suggestion for getting your wife into bikepacking: Don’t overdo the miles on the first trip and make somewhere with a tasty treat your destination! Good luck!
Lovely video! Very upbeat and positive, very INFORMATIVE, and excellent film-making all 'round. Thanks for making the effort, and giving us "mere mortals" the inspiration to get out there and ride our bikes.
Haha hope you're not implying that we're anything other than mere mortals ourselves. :) And thank you! We appreciate it!
@@slow_spokes Oh no, we understand that you too are mortal and don't care about the competitive aspect of cycling. My wife and I met on a "supported" bike tour across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. She was from Oz, I was from Colorado. A year later I had moved to Oz and we married shortly thereafter. That was 13 years ago and we've since done MANY unsupported bike tours (of the "credit card variety") and will do parts of N. Italy in a few months.
@@denverman6161963 haha yes! For some reason racing is not interesting to me (Hillary), though Chris is a little more open to it. I hope you enjoy your time in Italy!
Excellent video. Great content and thoughtful perspective on the area. Thanks for including the history as well.
Thank you so much!
It was a real treat to watch your Smoke Season video. Especially since in Pennsylvania (where we are) there is snow on the ground, temperatures are in the mid twenties, and wind gusts are approaching 30mph. Your photography and video journaling skills are excellent. Thanks for giving us a vicarious vacation and sharing your adventure.
Thank you! We so appreciate the kind comment :)
Very nice. We love coming out west to bike pack. It is getting hard to avoid heat and smoke. We came earlier last year trying to avoid it and ended up with black flies and mosquitoes.
Yeah, the best time is often May or early October lately, though late summer can be nice if you don’t get smoke. This summer smoke season was short, so it wasn’t too bad.
This is you guys best video yet. Brilliantly edited. Well done.
Thank you, we really love this one and glad you like it too!
@@slow_spokes What is the prayer to rim biddon / bike bottle called? I love it
@ it’s from Whisky Parts Co :)
@@slow_spokes Thanks, spending all my money hahah
🤣
I was working the fires just north of you guys this summer. The smokey air certainly didn't make me want to be riding a bike! But that looked fun, i'm still jealous ;D
Thanks for your work up there! Hope you got a good paycheck :)
Awesome video, i love how you integrated some history of items on your routes while biking. Looking forward to seeing more videos!
Thanks so much!
Love seeing your adventures. We are still dreaming about a bike trip on the Cape this summer!
I hope you get to do it!
Just realized that thanks to the UA-cam algorithm I’ve completely missed your Alps trip. Even though I’m subscribed. Well at least now I can binge watch the whole trip.
Haha silver lining. And thanks!
Apparently the subscribe button doesn’t mean people you subscribe to will show up in your feed anymore… I end up checking the “subscribed” tab in UA-cam so I can find my people.
@@slow_spokes I even have notifications turned on. But it seems these days half my notifications are for stuff I don’t even subscribe to. Just suggestions.
As always, great job & thank you for sharing 👌🏼‼️ Similar experiences and issues with massive seasonal fires out here near Clear Lake, California. It’s really hard on those who just get by. But fantastic video regardless, Thanks Again 👏
Thanks! Glad you liked it and it resonated a little bit
Haha, I also forgot my helmet on a weekend trip once!🤣🤣🤣 And that swimming hole was awesome!
Thanks for this video. I travel often to the Canadian west coast and have seen the smoke impact. Back in 2018 the smoke was so dense from interior fires you couldn’t see Grouse Mountain from Kitsilano Beach Vancouver. I’m curious with new trees growing where you rode when did fire burn through that area?
Btw as a real amateur UA-camr I know the effort it takes to produce videos. Thank you for posting your adventures. Very enjoyable.
Thank you! The place we rode through has burned multiple times, anywhere from a couple years ago to ten years ago. Also depending on how hot the fire was and what kind of trees grew there it will grow back at different rates.
Nice video! Around 19:27 I see his trainers are Merrell. What model are these as they look great 😊 please
Trail gloves!
Well done. Keep sharing the good vibes!
Thanks for watching!
Great video and thanks for the information about the fires and impact etc it was really interesting! I was under the misconception that the increase in fires would be all about global warming! Thankfully, it's not something we have to think about in the uk!
It definitely has a lot to do with it, but it isn’t the only cause. I’m glad it was interesting! We are always wondering if people will be as interested in the informational parts as we are, but this information was close to our heart and we wanted to share!
We used to own some mountain property that had been burned (the whole mountain) in a wildfire. The first year we lived on the property, we had three raging wildfires that we could watch. One became the largest in the country. My work was in the evacuate zone but we still had to go to work because of the nature of our work so the cops would move their road block for us as we drove. It was pretty scary that summer. Thankfully, it hasn’t been the same since. Q
Face close ups are always fantastic!
My favorite parts:
"I don't know, man. Maybe we can find something better." - Hillary as she rolls up to a perfect flat campsite.
"It's all down then back up then down then back up then downhill from here." - Chris
:)
Hi Greg!
Best wishes for 2025!
To you as well!
Love that Salsa ❤. Thinking about getting one myself. Please could I ask what width tyres you're using?
They're 2.25" ...unfortunately the Salsa is too big for me. :(
This video was great and I’m glad I found your channel.
As a first time viewer, it appears that both your bike saddles may be too high. If you watch the video back, at the bottom of the pedal stroke, both of your toes point towards the ground. Also both of your hips rock side to side as you pedal. These are usual signs that your saddles are too high. Since you spend so much time cycling, it might be worth getting a bike fit and see if a professional can offer some advice. Depending on your height, you might also benefit from shorter cranks, if you don’t already have them.
Just a passing observation. Keep up the great work.
Thanks! We’ve both gotten a bike fit and Hillary has the shortest cranks she could find… but might be worth revisiting the bike fit!
Hi..it is a shame the forests along the west coast of America from Southern California to Alaska are being destroyed by fires and White Beetles, what will it look like in years to come, is it climate change?.. here in Australia the wild fires in 2020 burnt the whole of the East Coast, but unlike the Pines you have the Gums Trees here mostly recover from fires, we do have Mountain Ash trees at higher altitudes that don’t survive and now the mountains have white dead trunks through them, however the new grow below will eventually renew the forests…..really enjoy your videos, you need to come to Australia Bikepacking you would love it.
Thanks! Where we were was particularly affected by fires, but most land isn’t actually burned. So it’s not everywhere, but it is a lot of places. We actually spent some time in Australia years ago, but without bikes. We definitely want to return!
Lovely filming I want my next video to be more like this
Love your videos!
Thanks!
Little opportunities for wild camping in the Northeast. Our Fifth Season in Vermont is "Mud". A real cycling challenge.
We're familiar with mud season too! Though I heard y'all have Stick Season out there! :)
I have question for my future bike camping .
- if a trip cost u 2 day to finish , why not make it 4 day . And do my hobbies
- read book 15 to 30 min
- Watch anime 2 hour
- exercise my whole body = 1 hour
- eben pagan 30 to 1 hour
- I wish keep reading = Encyclopedia Of Taekwondo 15 Volume , and progress to other martial art book
= 1 hour
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Is the problem u need then extra water to shower or needing toilet .
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Thanks
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bec I think doing these little think will make the difference , and excite the journey .
- It's like playing game and stoping everything else ?
Mostly it’s because that’s all the time we have, and we have to get back to work. We wish we could cycle forever!
@slow_spokes for me actually if I get back to work fast I will not do any then time to cycle fast ? .
- I must do everyday the hobby I want ,
- for me u seem creating long trip , but doing less other hobby while away from work , and I don't know what u do at work .
- and when u get back to work what to expect when u are overwhelmed ,
- nice , but for me work they may kick me out when they want ?
- For food , yes I am used to stuffing my abdomen
- for bicycle trip , yes there's a lot to learn .
- but there's more to life ..... Like exercise , and few small hobby I wish to do I've learnt . Anime , eben pagan , reading martial book ?
Hillary what made you change your handlebar bag?
I was trying to find a way to store the camera more securely. Unfortunately the bag for the hole in the crazy bars isn’t big enough. But I’ve actually put it in a feedbag, which seems to work well, except I wish the bag was a little bigger.
Public Lands. A-Fricken-Men.
Gotta love em
@@slow_spokes Yes. I've toured a few times in Europe but have opted to "credit card" it due to the limited camping options. While I love Europe, you can't beat the camping options in the US, particularly in the western states.
Could you share the route please and thank you
Oh, we’ve been dreading this comment! We aren’t going to share this route, I’m sorry. The reason is that a local friend specifically asked us not to share the location of the swimming hole. That said, with some sleuthing, I think you could puzzle it out!
@@slow_spokestotally get it. I live in western Washington, I will do some researching.
Totally enjoy your videos. Love the format you use. Thank you
Great perspective of traveling and living in the west, I hang out in west Texas and New Mexico, some fires and smoke, can relate. SJ
Thanks!