We should try as States to buy back some of the lands and get some public lands here in the East it is a big problem...We do have a Heritage Program here that does that but they tend to focus on maintaining the land for only day use, hunters, and no improved roads, hike in, and no camping,
SE & Mid-Atlantic, same. First (re)settled, first "owned." If you've ever watched Ken Burns, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," you'll see how lucky we are to even have those. It all remains "under attack" to this day.
I swear, your videos are like wathching a Nat Geo documentary. The quality is simply amazing, I cant imagine the amount of time you take to do all the post production work...... Bloody awesome 👍
Hi Donald, love the video. Just wanted to let you know that your channel inspired me, during this time of quarantine, to get my '03 Jeep TJ back in working condition. Your 'roo made me realize that I don't need a big investment in a lift, big tires, or re-gearing the axles to get out and explore nature around me. So, I'm working on some long-overdue basic maintenance, and some self-sufficiency items like winch and on-board air compressor. I've got a few projects left to go, but I can't wait to get my rig out into the national forests. Keep doing what you love, and thanks for the inspiration!
That's awesome! Your Jeep without the extra mods is already more capable than my Forester WITH its mods, so you'll be in good shape for some exploring! The more you go, the more you'll gain a feel for what additional mods you do eventually want. Thanks for watching, and best of luck with getting that TJ rolling!
I have a remote cabin in the mountains. In the past 5 years the forest has been very quiet and most times nearly empty of humans. Since the lockdown, there is probably a 500% increase of people out in the forest camping and making dust, noise (and leaving trash) with ATV's buzzing day and night playing while social distancing. This is a double edge problem, I am glad people are finding nature, but I am also sad at loosing the peace and quiet that once drew me here. Awesome videos as always, very inspirational as always!
Man, Don, this was totally awesome...eating breakfast in the world's best restaurant, too! I received my Gazelle T3 and wanted to try it out this weekend but there is so much more traffic. I will wait until the week and it's supposed to rain 30 to 40% each day of the entire week so it will be a good test for the tent. You did a great job on your drawer project.
Thanks Jared! Nice to see people getting into the backcountry. We were out briefly this weekend and the hills were alive with the sound of outdoor recreation, LOL. I had never seen so many cars and so many dispersed campers. With us all encapsulated in our rigs and tucked into random spots here and there, this feels like a pretty safe activity to me.
Michael and I really need to get back to that area and explore some more. At that campsite you stayed I could hear the low woomp, woomp, woomp sound that grouse make. Cool!
Oh man, I would have had some choice words for that coffee boiling over! I love that 12v pump you put in for the water, what a great idea! Makes me want to get out and explore!
Great drone footage and scenery. Love the solo trips, I do the same sometimes. One of the best things about your set-up is you do it on a budget...but you would never know it. Bring on part 2...
"Well, I'm out here...." I've never been more comforted by such a profound statement in our current times. . My mother works for the Mayo clinic, and she has had her hours cut, due to a lack of patients. I hope life can return to normal soon.
Wow! Absolutely breathtaking cinematography! I especially like the slow-mo scenes at dusk 9:00 and 11:03 with the sunset... it looks like a Norman Rockwell painting. That and the drone footage is breathtaking. Great video! Keep up the awesome work!
Thank you! This one was a pleasure to put together. I was pretty cautious with the drone here the first day, but got a little more daring on the following days, more aerial stuff to come! :-)
8:58 mate, that backlighting is absolutely STUNNING !!! Just beautiful champ. As a professional photographer, we dream of soft sunset lighting like that mate and you’ve nailed it - WELL DONE 👍 just me wish I was there sharing a fire and a cold beverage. Cheers bloke
A lot of people griped about restrictions, but the state shut down pretty early on, we had generally good compliance here, and ended up not having the virus run rampant or any sort of hospital crisis as seen elsewhere. Some counties are already undergoing a measured re-opening this weekend. Hopefully people will continue to take precautions and we can prevent any sort of resurgence. I am still staying home except when absolutely necessary and wearing a mask when I do have to be around people outside my household. It's ultimately a very small sacrifice to help keep things under control...which also helps us all get back to normal sooner.
Remember The restrictions also prevent another lockdown. If it spreads like wildfire again they will shut down the economy again to save lives. Not following guidelines risks our income and future.
So great that life is slowly returning to some semblance of normal here in Oregon. Looks like a superb camp site. The boil over is the blessing of the new stove. And, I promise, I won’t tell your cardiologist about your breakfast😃🤫🤞 Can’t wait for part two👏🏻👍🏕🚙
It's a great site, not quite as remote as I prefer but I'd had my eye on camping with that view for so long, plus it was perfect for the first night after getting over there from Eugene without needing to push excessively far into the backcountry. For the record, I ate an apple later in the day, LOL. :-) I'm really looking forward to getting part 2 assembled, it was a good day. Thanks Geoff!
Actually just regular coffee grounds, not instant. I make cowboy coffee when out camping. But it'll boil right over in a heartbeat if there's too much heat. A taller teapot would work certainly be safer for cowboy coffee, but I like this little one as it yields just the right amount of coffee and packs away perfectly inside another one of my pans. :-)
Wonderful video! I almost expected a "THATS MY SPOT" edit from Sheldon. Here the borders are still semi closed, and due to the virus I got loads of work, but the urge to go out with my now almost finished SHS Forester is unbearable at times. Only missing the rooftop tent now, got my trunk equiped with some airline rails and a fridge slider (with a box instead of fridge). Now its sitting here in the garage gathering dust, oof. Cant wait for the next part of your trip, I need this now, haha.
Thanks Jason! It was actually one of your recent videos that reminded me I had been wanting to revisit and camp along there. It was a perfect destination for a first trip back out, getting me into some beautiful central Oregon wilderness without needing to travel too far from Eugene. I know you were off to Hells Canyon when I was there but hopefully our paths can cross here soon!
Loved the attention to detail with leveling the car and the whole kitchen set up. Beautiful spot. You should be an ambassador for Subaru with such quality videos!
Thanks so much for sharing the beautiful outdoors, that is on your doorstep. As a volcanologist it would be sweet to remote camp under the shadow of those mountains. Glad to hear the situation is improving there, we are still told to stay home and certainly no distant travel our out of country exploring. Having just got a rig to head out, I’m looking forward to soft off-roading in a similar way, once we can. Also hope one day to make it to Oregon and those trails and sweet camp spots. All the best and take care from north of the 49th
Yes, I have done that one time, staked out the windward hub to keep it from popping inward. When it's windy I do like staking down to the ground just on the side facing the wind, because the wind gets underneath the floor, which can be noisy and annoying. :-) But yeah totally agreed...absolutely love this tent.
As always another stunning beautiful video. We. We’re going to put up our tent in the backyard and camp put we’ve have been getting too much rain here and it’s been flooding.
Another great video thank you. I was in eastern Oregon a few weeks ago south south east of Pine Mtn. Super windy then the weather blew in. Still a great weeekend. Keep the great videos coming. Cheers.
I'm in Portland and am REALLY missing camping and hiking. It's been a long 10 weeks of staying at home and this video has me hankering for a camping trip! Looking forward to part two.
I always love watching your adventures and I appreciate the time in both pre and post production that you put in. So much dedication and love for what you're doing. And it shows, keep it up buddy! Would love to link up and explore someday.
Thanks for sharing! I've driven through that area twice in the past few weeks only in reverse (east to west). Lovely drive though the second time I drove it I brought my wife and some friends who were in a separate vehicle. It was cloudy over the mountains so we didn't get the nice views you showed in the first part of the video. Also scoped out campsites along that same ridge and took some photos. I can understand a lot of people up there. Especially if it was last weekend when the weather was very nice. I also suspect that there are a few who are escaping The Valley for longer than a night or two and staking out their claim for a couple of weeks. We did not have time to drive down towards the bottom so I look forward to your next video to see what you find.
Yes, it was a gorgeous weekend - almost TOO hot really, at least for early May. After a winter of seeing nobody on the trails, I was not mentally prepared for the crowds, LOL. Thanks for watching!
Enjoyed your presentation. I'm on the Oregon Coast *Newport). I like the term "soft roading" which is more my style as well. Just subscribed to your channel as the information looks valuable for what I want to do when camping. Thanks and best of luck.
Wow, looking at that vista, we have some serious competition:). Great video Donald, really enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one. Cowboy coffee can be tricky. Keep healthy and be kind. Mick.
Haha, I learned that the hard way when I first started making cowboy coffee, and I hadn't had a boil over since through countless pots (I often make it at home too). Momentary distraction of a truck passing by was just enough to take my mind off what I was doing I guess. :-) Well, the stove is baptized now for sure. Thanks for watching!
Great video; Content, photography, story telling........ Yes........ I subscribed. From Tigard... Nice work! Building my Jeep; this is the first year for me to get out there...... dang virus lol
Hey that is pretty close to me. That spot that was taken is often taken even when there seems to be very few other campers. I would've imagined as Crazy packed as the Camp Sherman area is that Green Ridge would be busy(it's not normally) as well. check out the balancing rocks while you are there.
I came in via Camp Sherman actually and was stunned by all the people down along the Metolius. I did hit the balancing rocks when I explored this area a year ago (it's in the "Spectacular Central Oregon" video I linked) - a definite highlight for me, always excited by geological features. Thanks for watching!
I think this was a totally reasonable way to respond to the crisis, show caution and when things start to settle, no reason you can’t enjoy some camping. What better isolation is there?
One thing I would love to see is a video on how you keep your dishes and cookware clean. I always see you cooking in videos and find myself wondering what you do once all of your gear has been dirtied and how its stored, etc. What cleaning solutions do you use, if any? Just an idea! Thanks for another great video.
I will perhaps do a video on that, once I figure it out myself. It is a weak link at the moment. Currently, I try to plan my meals around which pans will have gotten dirty when, and then I just wash everything when I get home. That's not going to work for some of the longer trips I'm hoping to take this year. I've got a rough plan brewing, hopefully will have that in place in the next few weeks. :-)
Same thing happening here in AZ... the campgrounds are closed, so everyone is piling into the forest and dry camping at any spot they can find. We still have fire bans in place (campfire and charcoal grill, but gas stoves are ok). Fantastic views and hope the temps were nice and cool for you. Looked like the Gazelle held up to the breezes just fine. Enjoyed the video and will look for part 2 soon. Take care! Pete - KI7LIL
I thought I had filmed more about the Gazelle with the wind but apparently I only thought about it, LOL. I did stake down the windward hub with a guy line just to be safe. I don't know if it was necessary or not but I got through the night with no issue. I need to give it a shot in an exposed site on the coast to really see how it handles. Thanks for watching!
Great video man! I was supposed to go backpacking the TFJ in late February when suddenly the put the lockdown on. My winter backpack is still close by my desk in my basement at home lol! Hope to go out there soon.
It's another used drone, but new to me!! I was SO happy to finally get some real drone footage on an excursion. Even better shots coming in parts 2 and 3! Thanks for watching!
5:27 am early morn from Perth,Western Australia...by the way just homing in on a 2010 foz(non turbo XT) with just 52k on the clock at a mazda dealer.Getting there..
Who else hits that Thumbs up before the video even plays? 🙋 If what we see in these videos was all there was to the PNW, I'd be packing up my family and heading NW.. Sadly, this only represents a small fraction of what life is like out West.
Great to see you back out in the wilderness again and that Oregon is doing so well with Covid19, bit the same here in Western Australia its basically non-existent. Have you ever tried to get as high up those mountains you named in this video as you can in the Forester? Maybe i should check your previous videos because you probably have but just cant recall. Cheers keep up the good work.
While I don't specifically talk about it, in many of my videos I am actually on the nearest possible roads to a given peak (not the case in this video however). For the most part, there aren't roads that go up these mountains beyond the treeline (and oftentimes, the roads don't even go as high as the treeline). I don't know if that's just because the roads were originally built for logging, but that's probably the case...there would have been no profitable reason to spend resources on road building beyond the trees. To get any higher, you have to set out on foot. Which many people do. There is one "mountain" here in Oregon (it looks more like a ridge than a mountain but it's one of our highest peaks at over 9,000') that has a road very nearly to the top, but last time I was in that area it was closed due to snow. I'll get up it one day though! Thanks for watching!
My COVID work schedule is three days on and four days off. I’ve been taking advantage of four days off in a row by social distancing in the Mark Twain National Forest here in Missouri. Most nights it’s been cool enough i opt to sleep in my 4Runner, but one night I slept in my hammock. I’m going to miss this work schedule when things get back to normal.
You have inspired me to head out today and explore (safely). And now that you’re a big celebrity, maybe you should start travelling with a publicist to help with those fan encounters.
Glad to hear it! I have total respect for the need to keep people at home - and am still doing so myself, and wearing a mask when interacting with people outside my household - but I feel if there is no current strain on first responders and hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients, a solo zero-contact excursion into the nearest wilderness is not creating any danger or exacerbating the crisis. If anything, relieving some of the cabin fever has made it that much easier to stay home the rest of the time and not be tempted to be out and about in town. Have a great day out there! :-)
Enjoying your vids..Will be getting a Forester in the near future..thanks for the equipment links.. How about posting your music list for each vid? What song @ 07:44 ? tnx
All the music is via a dedicated (paid) subscription service for video creators...they're not conventionally published songs like you'd find on iTunes (although, perhaps some of these artists have their stuff on iTunes, I don't know actually). Music use gets tricky when you're generating ad revenue with the video, I can't just use whatever I want, so I have to choose from what my licensing service has available. The song at 7:44 is called Take Me On Down by Jay Denton, licensed via artlist.io. Thanks for watching and have fun with the Forester build!
Yes, for sure, I didn't encounter anything truly challenging out here. Any AWD with reasonable clearance such as a CRV or RAV4 could easily handle anything I encountered on this excursion. A fully stock RAV4 with no lift and street tires showed up in my campsite at one point.
I noticed you were cutting up some of those sausages to have sausage in the scrambled egg. Maybe you could try cutting the casing open and removing it before cooking so you can have just ground/loose sausage to mix in your eggs instead of a cut up sausage link. Little tip I learned from an ex-gf. Then again, sometimes it just isn't worth the trouble. Great video as always!
Haha, I'm gonna go with, isn't worth the trouble. :-) I actually like the chunky bites in my eggs, and also generally try to minimize my handling of raw meat when I'm camping. I might have to give that try sometime though just to see how it is in the eggs, might find that I like it even more. Thanks for watching!
Nicely shot, sir! Sure makes me miss the PNW. That's a lovely spot - do you suppose someone would be able to navigate those roads with a front wheel drive SUV?
Yes. It was all easy roads to this point. I could get to this campsite in my mom's Toyota Camry. I pushed further into the backcountry and hit some gnarlier stuff later on in the weekend, but every national forest I visit, there are are always enough good roads that nearly anyone could get in and do some dispersed camping if they wanted.
I really enjoyed your overlanding adventure. I am ready to get back out there and overland/camp! How do you like your tent? I overland and use a standard tent, what are the floor dimensions? Mine is 7'x9' and I would like a little more. Keep the videos coming.
I love the Gazelle. My T3 is about 6' x 6' on the inside, so smaller than yours. I'm not super tall and use it solo 95% of the time so I'm quite happy with the size. Gazelle has a larger model, the T4, I think it's a little over 7'x7'. Thanks for watching!
Dude it was only fresh water... park vehicle in sun for a couple o hours windows cloaed, open windows n doors letting a breeze blow thru and it will all have evaporated. You freaked out over fresh water. It probably eavaporated before your next night. I would have freaked out same but on salt water. ( I did when a freak wave hit while on beach. )’Anyway, enjoyed video n views. your music is the best as well as the vistas you video. Enjoy it all...
Yes it was just fresh water, but it was a number of gallons, and I envisioned it trapped and rusting stuff out and needing to tear the interior apart. It took a number of hot days at home with a fan running 24/7 to get it dried out, but yes, it was fine. At the time, it shook me up probably more than it needed to.
SECOND! Good to get out again I am sure! I was suppose to go out for a 4 day trip this Memorial weekend, but the Jeep is still down. Luckily the person (another well known UA-camr) had to postpone the trip due to the virus issue. Till then I will have to just settle with your adventures. Be safe! George.
Aww dang, bummer about the Jeep and the trip. I hope you're able to get it rolling soon! I think I might lay low on Memorial Day weekend and put in extra work so I can maybe take an extra long trip when it's NOT Memorial Day weekend. Possibly to far-eastern Oregon and into Idaho actually. I'll touch base with you directly if I do manage to work that out.
@@softroadingthewest Sounds good. Not sure if it will work with your plans, but I do have a 5 day trip into Northern Nevada in July. I think the planned route should be doable in a Subaru.
Not instant coffee, actual regular coffee grounds. Boil the water. Remove from heat. Pour in the grounds. Bring to a boil (carefully, LOL). I usually let it boil around 2 minutes, then let it stand for a couple more minutes so the grounds settle to the bottom. Some people (including guru Kent Rollins that Phil referred to) advocate pouring in some cold water which is supposed to help the grounds drop, but I have experimented extensively with the cold water and without and am not convinced it makes any significant difference. I just make it with some extra volume of water from the beginning. As long as you don't get to the bottom of the pot, it pours pretty clean. I love the simplicity of this approach when camping, and ultimately it actually makes such a good cup of coffee that I sometimes do it at home too.
Really sweet little set-up you have with the Forrester,sure do love central Oregon,camped there a lot when I was youger.Do you drink Pendleton too...like your buddy on the other channel?
I usually opt for bourbon, but I've admittedly never even tasted Pendleton or any other Canadian whiskey as far as I can remember. I'm guessing I'd probably like it if I tried.
Another great video mate, well done. And good to see someone actually abiding by the rules and no going out unnecessarily while corona was on. Just one thing I was wondering though - around the 2:00 mark you shooting along pretty quickly and you don’t have a seat belt on - any reason in particular you’re not wearing one ? And from one fellow adventurer to another in a non-monster truck style vehicle, well done for getting out and getting into it in a ‘soft roader’, they deserve far more respect and recognition than they receive. Keep it up mate 👍 Cheers from Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺
Because of the filming, I get in and out of the car a LOT and so I generally keep my seat belt off when I'm on the trail. I'm generally going ~5 to 15mph. Whenever I'm driving along dropoffs where the car could possibly roll over if I made a mistake, I attach my seatbelt, as well as when I'm on larger, faster roads where there is the possibility of oncoming traffic with any amount of speed. In an upcoming episode I will actually be talking about a situation where I - as usual - didn't have my seat belt on, but I should have.
Yes! Well, I got it used off eBay, like the first one, but yes, I am flying again. With an abundance of caution and after carefully practicing emergency procedures in a safe, controlled environment, LOL. :-) It was a pleasure finally getting some aerial footage on this trip. Thanks for watching!
All told, it takes me about 3 minutes to get it set up. I recently released a video specifically about the tent and included real-time footage of setting up it leisurely (i.e. not hurrying to set a speed record or anything) and clocked in at 2:55 including installing the rain fly. I spend about 40 hours a week operating this channel. The ads make it possible for me to devote time and money to producing videos, since viewers get to watch them for free. The ads are always skippable if they are unbearable, though creators don't get paid when viewers skip ads. FWIW, if I allow UA-cam to automatically insert ads, it puts in twice as many. I actually take extra time with every upload to manually reduce the number of ad breaks in the videos.
You can easily haul a 20' trailer on the road I was camped along. Whether or not you could maneuver it around some of these campsites, I honestly have no idea. I've never hauled a trailer and can't quite visualize how that would work. There are larger sites here and there that I've seen populated with large camp trailers...not always the epic view sites, but certainly possible to find someplace to camp.
Great video once again 😍 Is there a way to purchase a flexfit cap and a tshirt and a maybe a mug to support your channel? I'd love to get some stuff like that 😊
Adventure Idea.. have you ever been to the 500 year old, giant 327' tall "Doerner Fir" tree in Oregon? It's the tallest non-redwood tree in the world. That would make an amazing video!
Yes. It *just* fits in the factory spare tire well (with the center foam piece removed). I'm running only slightly oversize tires (215/75R15). A 235/75R15 would not fit.
Thank you! So the higher model just means longer/more charging capabilities? How long does yours last? If I’m just charging camera, goPro and DJI batteries, along with the phone - I’m wondering if the 100 or 200 models is sufficient for a weekend trip?
Sorry for the delayed reply. UA-cam has stopped sending me notifications when people reply to my replies, so I'm always missing follow-up questions. I believe there is both an overall capacity factor and a wattage output factor. I believe they make a 160, 240, 500, and 1000 models, and I believe those numbers correspond to the wattage output they're capable of. I don't have firsthand experience with the smaller units, but I would think that either of the smaller ones is probably ample for keeping cameras & mobile devices charged...I doubt any of these chargers draws very much power.
@@softroadingthewest gotcha..Thank you! oh btw, and off topic...thanks for your Gazelle Tents review. I bought one right away after seeing your video when they had the flash sale. And it was a big hit at camp that my friends are interested in purchasing their own now.
Just stumbled across your channel a couple of days ago looking up some Forrester rigs, as I've been looking to purchase one for the past couple months. Really love your rig setup, very simple, very effective, and seems very much affordable. I'm currently a resident of Southern California but I frequently visit Portland, I've never been to the Oregon backcountry before and these videos are really making me want to go out there and explore! BTW love the B Roll, you captured a very nice sunrise. What kind of camera setup are you running if you don't mind me asking? keep up the good work man!
Mostly shot on a Fuji X-Pro2 (great still camera, can't recommend for video), supplemented with a GoPro Hero 7 Black and for now I'm just flying a DJI Spark for aerial shots. Yeah, definitely check out some Oregon wilderness when you can, there's a really wide variety of interesting terrain and ecosystems and countless miles of dirt roads through public lands to explore. Thanks for watching!
The one you see me wearing is a one off, it was a prototype but I wasn't satisfied enough with the quality to offer them for sale, and have just never got back around to finding another vendor who can make them on-demand. I need to though, I'd kinda like a different hat to wear myself! If I get something set up, I'll definitely talk about it in a video.
I'm always so amazed at how much open space is freely available. I'm so used to the North East, everything is privately owned.
We should try as States to buy back some of the lands and get some public lands here in the East it is a big problem...We do have a Heritage Program here that does that but they tend to focus on maintaining the land for only day use, hunters, and no improved roads, hike in, and no camping,
SE & Mid-Atlantic, same. First (re)settled, first "owned." If you've ever watched Ken Burns, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," you'll see how lucky we are to even have those. It all remains "under attack" to this day.
I swear, your videos are like wathching a Nat Geo documentary. The quality is simply amazing, I cant imagine the amount of time you take to do all the post production work...... Bloody awesome 👍
Thanks for the cooking parts, I'm hungry now 😂
I'm always amazed by how beautiful the landscape is !
I know I say it a lot, but we really are lucky here with so much amazing scenery just up the road. Thanks Jordan!
Hi Donald, love the video. Just wanted to let you know that your channel inspired me, during this time of quarantine, to get my '03 Jeep TJ back in working condition. Your 'roo made me realize that I don't need a big investment in a lift, big tires, or re-gearing the axles to get out and explore nature around me. So, I'm working on some long-overdue basic maintenance, and some self-sufficiency items like winch and on-board air compressor. I've got a few projects left to go, but I can't wait to get my rig out into the national forests. Keep doing what you love, and thanks for the inspiration!
That's awesome! Your Jeep without the extra mods is already more capable than my Forester WITH its mods, so you'll be in good shape for some exploring! The more you go, the more you'll gain a feel for what additional mods you do eventually want. Thanks for watching, and best of luck with getting that TJ rolling!
Sweet! That campsite really gave me the feels. 100% appreciate the production.
I have a remote cabin in the mountains. In the past 5 years the forest has been very quiet and most times nearly empty of humans. Since the lockdown, there is probably a 500% increase of people out in the forest camping and making dust, noise (and leaving trash) with ATV's buzzing day and night playing while social distancing. This is a double edge problem, I am glad people are finding nature, but I am also sad at loosing the peace and quiet that once drew me here. Awesome videos as always, very inspirational as always!
Looking forward to more post lockdown adventures. Safe travels
Man, Don, this was totally awesome...eating breakfast in the world's best restaurant, too! I received my Gazelle T3 and wanted to try it out this weekend but there is so much more traffic. I will wait until the week and it's supposed to rain 30 to 40% each day of the entire week so it will be a good test for the tent. You did a great job on your drawer project.
It's always a pleasure to watch your videos, Donald! I'm glad you're able to get back out there to enjoy the wilderness. Take care!
Blown away by the cinematography in this episode absolutely stunning. Things here are similar everyone is getting out and enjoying the wilderness.
Thanks Jared! Nice to see people getting into the backcountry. We were out briefly this weekend and the hills were alive with the sound of outdoor recreation, LOL. I had never seen so many cars and so many dispersed campers. With us all encapsulated in our rigs and tucked into random spots here and there, this feels like a pretty safe activity to me.
Michael and I really need to get back to that area and explore some more. At that campsite you stayed I could hear the low woomp, woomp, woomp sound that grouse make. Cool!
Thank you so much for the archive viewing Danita!
Thanks, even thou I cant get out much any way, these videos give me a chance to participate and relax in the great outdoors you have there.
Oh man, I would have had some choice words for that coffee boiling over! I love that 12v pump you put in for the water, what a great idea! Makes me want to get out and explore!
Those sunset and campfire shots...wow!!!
Great drone footage and scenery. Love the solo trips, I do the same sometimes. One of the best things about your set-up is you do it on a budget...but you would never know it. Bring on part 2...
"Well, I'm out here...." I've never been more comforted by such a profound statement in our current times.
.
My mother works for the Mayo clinic, and she has had her hours cut, due to a lack of patients. I hope life can return to normal soon.
Wow! Absolutely breathtaking cinematography!
I especially like the slow-mo scenes at dusk 9:00 and 11:03 with the sunset... it looks like a Norman Rockwell painting. That and the drone footage is breathtaking.
Great video! Keep up the awesome work!
Thank you! This one was a pleasure to put together. I was pretty cautious with the drone here the first day, but got a little more daring on the following days, more aerial stuff to come! :-)
8:58 mate, that backlighting is absolutely STUNNING !!! Just beautiful champ.
As a professional photographer, we dream of soft sunset lighting like that mate and you’ve nailed it - WELL DONE 👍 just me wish I was there sharing a fire and a cold beverage. Cheers bloke
Glad to hear things are calming down in Oregon. Out here in Wisconsin it's still getting worse by the day 😞
Stay safe everyone!
So crazy here in WI; as of this week, my city, county, and state all have different regs in place for 'safer at home'. 😣 Be well!
A lot of people griped about restrictions, but the state shut down pretty early on, we had generally good compliance here, and ended up not having the virus run rampant or any sort of hospital crisis as seen elsewhere. Some counties are already undergoing a measured re-opening this weekend. Hopefully people will continue to take precautions and we can prevent any sort of resurgence. I am still staying home except when absolutely necessary and wearing a mask when I do have to be around people outside my household. It's ultimately a very small sacrifice to help keep things under control...which also helps us all get back to normal sooner.
@@TheTinManTJ where are you at?
@@softroadingthewest Agreed. Wish I could say the same about here.
Remember The restrictions also prevent another lockdown. If it spreads like wildfire again they will shut down the economy again to save lives. Not following guidelines risks our income and future.
Looking good, as always.
A stunning campsite, a great adventure. Great to see you out enjoying nature again!
Love the Rock Leveling Jack Stand ! 05:30 Good time to look under the car and see that everything is ok.
So great that life is slowly returning to some semblance of normal here in Oregon. Looks like a superb camp site. The boil over is the blessing of the new stove. And, I promise, I won’t tell your cardiologist about your breakfast😃🤫🤞 Can’t wait for part two👏🏻👍🏕🚙
It's a great site, not quite as remote as I prefer but I'd had my eye on camping with that view for so long, plus it was perfect for the first night after getting over there from Eugene without needing to push excessively far into the backcountry. For the record, I ate an apple later in the day, LOL. :-) I'm really looking forward to getting part 2 assembled, it was a good day. Thanks Geoff!
Ahhh, the benefits of instant coffee. Love the view!
Actually just regular coffee grounds, not instant. I make cowboy coffee when out camping. But it'll boil right over in a heartbeat if there's too much heat. A taller teapot would work certainly be safer for cowboy coffee, but I like this little one as it yields just the right amount of coffee and packs away perfectly inside another one of my pans. :-)
Wonderful video! I almost expected a "THATS MY SPOT" edit from Sheldon. Here the borders are still semi closed, and due to the virus I got loads of work, but the urge to go out with my now almost finished SHS Forester is unbearable at times. Only missing the rooftop tent now, got my trunk equiped with some airline rails and a fridge slider (with a box instead of fridge). Now its sitting here in the garage gathering dust, oof. Cant wait for the next part of your trip, I need this now, haha.
Glad to see you back out there. We are still in home her in Illinois. So this was fun to watch!
So glad to see you out again! And thanks for taking us along! We’ve all been waiting to get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Thank you!
Thanks Dan! I was glad to see me out again too! :-)
that was a great video and you were right across from a campsite that I really enjoy
Thanks Jason! It was actually one of your recent videos that reminded me I had been wanting to revisit and camp along there. It was a perfect destination for a first trip back out, getting me into some beautiful central Oregon wilderness without needing to travel too far from Eugene. I know you were off to Hells Canyon when I was there but hopefully our paths can cross here soon!
Loved the attention to detail with leveling the car and the whole kitchen set up. Beautiful spot. You should be an ambassador for Subaru with such quality videos!
That road going over the ridge from camp Sherman is the way to go!
Thanks so much for sharing the beautiful outdoors, that is on your doorstep. As a volcanologist it would be sweet to remote camp under the shadow of those mountains. Glad to hear the situation is improving there, we are still told to stay home and certainly no distant travel our out of country exploring. Having just got a rig to head out, I’m looking forward to soft off-roading in a similar way, once we can. Also hope one day to make it to Oregon and those trails and sweet camp spots. All the best and take care from north of the 49th
In high winds, tie the hubs of the Gazelle to stakes, rocks or trees. Forget the bottom. It will hold up very well. We love ours.
Yes, I have done that one time, staked out the windward hub to keep it from popping inward. When it's windy I do like staking down to the ground just on the side facing the wind, because the wind gets underneath the floor, which can be noisy and annoying. :-) But yeah totally agreed...absolutely love this tent.
As always another stunning beautiful video. We. We’re going to put up our tent in the backyard and camp put we’ve have been getting too much rain here and it’s been flooding.
Better than nothing for sure! :-)
Another great video thank you. I was in eastern Oregon a few weeks ago south south east of Pine Mtn. Super windy then the weather blew in. Still a great weeekend. Keep the great videos coming. Cheers.
I felt like Sasquatch watching you set up the tent from behind a tree with branches in the way. Great site! I love that area.
I'm in Portland and am REALLY missing camping and hiking. It's been a long 10 weeks of staying at home and this video has me hankering for a camping trip! Looking forward to part two.
08:38 Camping Power setup. Good cables too. Awesome.
Great to be out on an adventure with you once again. Beautiful spot.
That was a great campsite. Boil over is made to break in stove. LOL 😆.
Man this is shot and edited beautifully, the music, and the light at 9:00... amazing!
Thank you! :-)
I always love watching your adventures and I appreciate the time in both pre and post production that you put in. So much dedication and love for what you're doing. And it shows, keep it up buddy! Would love to link up and explore someday.
Thanks for sharing! I've driven through that area twice in the past few weeks only in reverse (east to west). Lovely drive though the second time I drove it I brought my wife and some friends who were in a separate vehicle. It was cloudy over the mountains so we didn't get the nice views you showed in the first part of the video. Also scoped out campsites along that same ridge and took some photos. I can understand a lot of people up there. Especially if it was last weekend when the weather was very nice. I also suspect that there are a few who are escaping The Valley for longer than a night or two and staking out their claim for a couple of weeks. We did not have time to drive down towards the bottom so I look forward to your next video to see what you find.
Yes, it was a gorgeous weekend - almost TOO hot really, at least for early May. After a winter of seeing nobody on the trails, I was not mentally prepared for the crowds, LOL. Thanks for watching!
Gorgeous view from your campsite as that sun set and rose again👌. We're living vicariously through your vids mate until 13 June here in Qld, Aus...
Enjoyed your presentation. I'm on the Oregon Coast *Newport). I like the term "soft roading" which is more my style as well. Just subscribed to your channel as the information looks valuable for what I want to do when camping. Thanks and best of luck.
Wow, looking at that vista, we have some serious competition:). Great video Donald, really enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one. Cowboy coffee can be tricky. Keep healthy and be kind. Mick.
Haha, I learned that the hard way when I first started making cowboy coffee, and I hadn't had a boil over since through countless pots (I often make it at home too). Momentary distraction of a truck passing by was just enough to take my mind off what I was doing I guess. :-) Well, the stove is baptized now for sure. Thanks for watching!
I like all your videos ! Doesn’t matter what it is
Man, your editing and production skills are great. Really enjoyed the content as well as the presentation. Keep it up!
Thank you!
Awesome video! That view is amazing! Looks like a perfect camp site
Great video; Content, photography, story telling........ Yes........ I subscribed. From Tigard... Nice work! Building my Jeep; this is the first year for me to get out there...... dang virus lol
Hey that is pretty close to me. That spot that was taken is often taken even when there seems to be very few other campers. I would've imagined as Crazy packed as the Camp Sherman area is that Green Ridge would be busy(it's not normally) as well. check out the balancing rocks while you are there.
I came in via Camp Sherman actually and was stunned by all the people down along the Metolius. I did hit the balancing rocks when I explored this area a year ago (it's in the "Spectacular Central Oregon" video I linked) - a definite highlight for me, always excited by geological features. Thanks for watching!
I think this was a totally reasonable way to respond to the crisis, show caution and when things start to settle, no reason you can’t enjoy some camping. What better isolation is there?
One thing I would love to see is a video on how you keep your dishes and cookware clean. I always see you cooking in videos and find myself wondering what you do once all of your gear has been dirtied and how its stored, etc. What cleaning solutions do you use, if any? Just an idea! Thanks for another great video.
I will perhaps do a video on that, once I figure it out myself. It is a weak link at the moment. Currently, I try to plan my meals around which pans will have gotten dirty when, and then I just wash everything when I get home. That's not going to work for some of the longer trips I'm hoping to take this year. I've got a rough plan brewing, hopefully will have that in place in the next few weeks. :-)
Same thing happening here in AZ... the campgrounds are closed, so everyone is piling into the forest and dry camping at any spot they can find. We still have fire bans in place (campfire and charcoal grill, but gas stoves are ok). Fantastic views and hope the temps were nice and cool for you. Looked like the Gazelle held up to the breezes just fine. Enjoyed the video and will look for part 2 soon. Take care! Pete - KI7LIL
I thought I had filmed more about the Gazelle with the wind but apparently I only thought about it, LOL. I did stake down the windward hub with a guy line just to be safe. I don't know if it was necessary or not but I got through the night with no issue. I need to give it a shot in an exposed site on the coast to really see how it handles. Thanks for watching!
great stuff, Just found your page from a guy yesterday out on some trails.
Great video man! I was supposed to go backpacking the TFJ in late February when suddenly the put the lockdown on. My winter backpack is still close by my desk in my basement at home lol! Hope to go out there soon.
Another great video. And a new drone! Glad to see you back out there and being safe.
It's another used drone, but new to me!! I was SO happy to finally get some real drone footage on an excursion. Even better shots coming in parts 2 and 3! Thanks for watching!
Awesome video! I can’t wait to get back to the cinder dirt roads! If the Subaru can get me back across the country with a leaking head gasket lol
Safe travels, and hopefully we can hit a trail together when you get back!
I picked up a Dewalt e chainsaw looking forward to overland with it
5:27 am early morn from Perth,Western Australia...by the way just homing in on a 2010 foz(non turbo XT) with just 52k on the clock at a mazda dealer.Getting there..
Nice!
Who else hits that Thumbs up before the video even plays? 🙋
If what we see in these videos was all there was to the PNW, I'd be packing up my family and heading NW.. Sadly, this only represents a small fraction of what life is like out West.
I've had the same coffee spill on my camp stove many times. Great video.
Do you ever post the locations of where these off-road excursions are? And possibly wear these great campsites are?
Great to see you back out in the wilderness again and that Oregon is doing so well with Covid19, bit the same here in Western Australia its basically non-existent. Have you ever tried to get as high up those mountains you named in this video as you can in the Forester? Maybe i should check your previous videos because you probably have but just cant recall. Cheers keep up the good work.
While I don't specifically talk about it, in many of my videos I am actually on the nearest possible roads to a given peak (not the case in this video however). For the most part, there aren't roads that go up these mountains beyond the treeline (and oftentimes, the roads don't even go as high as the treeline). I don't know if that's just because the roads were originally built for logging, but that's probably the case...there would have been no profitable reason to spend resources on road building beyond the trees. To get any higher, you have to set out on foot. Which many people do. There is one "mountain" here in Oregon (it looks more like a ridge than a mountain but it's one of our highest peaks at over 9,000') that has a road very nearly to the top, but last time I was in that area it was closed due to snow. I'll get up it one day though! Thanks for watching!
Nice video. waiting for part two
My COVID work schedule is three days on and four days off. I’ve been taking advantage of four days off in a row by social distancing in the Mark Twain National Forest here in Missouri. Most nights it’s been cool enough i opt to sleep in my 4Runner, but one night I slept in my hammock. I’m going to miss this work schedule when things get back to normal.
I’m from the northeast so I do not hardly ever get to see a view like that... I wanna move to Oregon now!!
Dig that wildflower/plant montage.
Am missing my Oregon travels. Have yet to really take my Outback out for a grand adventure down there yet. Too bad the borders are still closed :(
You have inspired me to head out today and explore (safely). And now that you’re a big celebrity, maybe you should start travelling with a publicist to help with those fan encounters.
Glad to hear it! I have total respect for the need to keep people at home - and am still doing so myself, and wearing a mask when interacting with people outside my household - but I feel if there is no current strain on first responders and hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients, a solo zero-contact excursion into the nearest wilderness is not creating any danger or exacerbating the crisis. If anything, relieving some of the cabin fever has made it that much easier to stay home the rest of the time and not be tempted to be out and about in town. Have a great day out there! :-)
Pretty!
Enjoying your vids..Will be getting a Forester in the near future..thanks for the equipment links..
How about posting your music list for each vid? What song @ 07:44 ?
tnx
All the music is via a dedicated (paid) subscription service for video creators...they're not conventionally published songs like you'd find on iTunes (although, perhaps some of these artists have their stuff on iTunes, I don't know actually). Music use gets tricky when you're generating ad revenue with the video, I can't just use whatever I want, so I have to choose from what my licensing service has available. The song at 7:44 is called Take Me On Down by Jay Denton, licensed via artlist.io. Thanks for watching and have fun with the Forester build!
Love your videos. Absolutely amazing. Do you think gen4 awd crv could make it through similar road?
Yes, for sure, I didn't encounter anything truly challenging out here. Any AWD with reasonable clearance such as a CRV or RAV4 could easily handle anything I encountered on this excursion. A fully stock RAV4 with no lift and street tires showed up in my campsite at one point.
@@softroadingthewest Thank you so much! Your videos are always inspiring
I noticed you were cutting up some of those sausages to have sausage in the scrambled egg. Maybe you could try cutting the casing open and removing it before cooking so you can have just ground/loose sausage to mix in your eggs instead of a cut up sausage link. Little tip I learned from an ex-gf. Then again, sometimes it just isn't worth the trouble. Great video as always!
Haha, I'm gonna go with, isn't worth the trouble. :-) I actually like the chunky bites in my eggs, and also generally try to minimize my handling of raw meat when I'm camping. I might have to give that try sometime though just to see how it is in the eggs, might find that I like it even more. Thanks for watching!
Nicely shot, sir! Sure makes me miss the PNW. That's a lovely spot - do you suppose someone would be able to navigate those roads with a front wheel drive SUV?
Yes. It was all easy roads to this point. I could get to this campsite in my mom's Toyota Camry. I pushed further into the backcountry and hit some gnarlier stuff later on in the weekend, but every national forest I visit, there are are always enough good roads that nearly anyone could get in and do some dispersed camping if they wanted.
Always like seeing the chainsaw at work impressed with it
Me too, it has been such a great addition to my gear. It gets used nearly every time I go out.
Beautiful!
I really enjoyed your overlanding adventure. I am ready to get back out there and overland/camp! How do you like your tent? I overland and use a standard tent, what are the floor dimensions? Mine is 7'x9' and I would like a little more. Keep the videos coming.
I love the Gazelle. My T3 is about 6' x 6' on the inside, so smaller than yours. I'm not super tall and use it solo 95% of the time so I'm quite happy with the size. Gazelle has a larger model, the T4, I think it's a little over 7'x7'. Thanks for watching!
another great video !!!
Dude it was only fresh water... park vehicle in sun for a couple o hours windows cloaed, open windows n doors letting a breeze blow thru and it will all have evaporated. You freaked out over fresh water. It probably eavaporated before your next night. I would have freaked out same but on salt water. ( I did when a freak wave hit while on beach. )’Anyway, enjoyed video n views. your music is the best as well as the vistas you video. Enjoy it all...
Yes it was just fresh water, but it was a number of gallons, and I envisioned it trapped and rusting stuff out and needing to tear the interior apart. It took a number of hot days at home with a fan running 24/7 to get it dried out, but yes, it was fine. At the time, it shook me up probably more than it needed to.
SECOND! Good to get out again I am sure! I was suppose to go out for a 4 day trip this Memorial weekend, but the Jeep is still down. Luckily the person (another well known UA-camr) had to postpone the trip due to the virus issue. Till then I will have to just settle with your adventures. Be safe! George.
Aww dang, bummer about the Jeep and the trip. I hope you're able to get it rolling soon! I think I might lay low on Memorial Day weekend and put in extra work so I can maybe take an extra long trip when it's NOT Memorial Day weekend. Possibly to far-eastern Oregon and into Idaho actually. I'll touch base with you directly if I do manage to work that out.
@@softroadingthewest Sounds good. Not sure if it will work with your plans, but I do have a 5 day trip into Northern Nevada in July. I think the planned route should be doable in a Subaru.
Love the simple and yummy looking breakfast! Is the cowboy coffee just instant with some boiling water?
Look up Kent Rollins Cowboy Coffee. That is very definitive
Not instant coffee, actual regular coffee grounds. Boil the water. Remove from heat. Pour in the grounds. Bring to a boil (carefully, LOL). I usually let it boil around 2 minutes, then let it stand for a couple more minutes so the grounds settle to the bottom. Some people (including guru Kent Rollins that Phil referred to) advocate pouring in some cold water which is supposed to help the grounds drop, but I have experimented extensively with the cold water and without and am not convinced it makes any significant difference. I just make it with some extra volume of water from the beginning. As long as you don't get to the bottom of the pot, it pours pretty clean. I love the simplicity of this approach when camping, and ultimately it actually makes such a good cup of coffee that I sometimes do it at home too.
Great Video Don!
Really sweet little set-up you have with the Forrester,sure do love central Oregon,camped there a lot when I was youger.Do you drink Pendleton too...like your buddy on the other channel?
I usually opt for bourbon, but I've admittedly never even tasted Pendleton or any other Canadian whiskey as far as I can remember. I'm guessing I'd probably like it if I tried.
What a wonderful life, huh?
Another great video mate, well done. And good to see someone actually abiding by the rules and no going out unnecessarily while corona was on.
Just one thing I was wondering though - around the 2:00 mark you shooting along pretty quickly and you don’t have a seat belt on - any reason in particular you’re not wearing one ?
And from one fellow adventurer to another in a non-monster truck style vehicle, well done for getting out and getting into it in a ‘soft roader’, they deserve far more respect and recognition than they receive. Keep it up mate 👍
Cheers from Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺
Because of the filming, I get in and out of the car a LOT and so I generally keep my seat belt off when I'm on the trail. I'm generally going ~5 to 15mph. Whenever I'm driving along dropoffs where the car could possibly roll over if I made a mistake, I attach my seatbelt, as well as when I'm on larger, faster roads where there is the possibility of oncoming traffic with any amount of speed.
In an upcoming episode I will actually be talking about a situation where I - as usual - didn't have my seat belt on, but I should have.
softroadingthewest fair enough .... keep on SoftRoading champ 👍
Awesome stuff! Get a new drone in the aftermath of the Terrible Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day?
Yes! Well, I got it used off eBay, like the first one, but yes, I am flying again. With an abundance of caution and after carefully practicing emergency procedures in a safe, controlled environment, LOL. :-) It was a pleasure finally getting some aerial footage on this trip. Thanks for watching!
One good thing about Covid in Orygun is self service gas. West side of Mt Hood was been packed.
how long did it take to get the tent up? Good video but it had one commercial too many. Worse than local antennae TV
All told, it takes me about 3 minutes to get it set up. I recently released a video specifically about the tent and included real-time footage of setting up it leisurely (i.e. not hurrying to set a speed record or anything) and clocked in at 2:55 including installing the rain fly.
I spend about 40 hours a week operating this channel. The ads make it possible for me to devote time and money to producing videos, since viewers get to watch them for free. The ads are always skippable if they are unbearable, though creators don't get paid when viewers skip ads.
FWIW, if I allow UA-cam to automatically insert ads, it puts in twice as many. I actually take extra time with every upload to manually reduce the number of ad breaks in the videos.
Could you get a 20foot trailer in this location
You can easily haul a 20' trailer on the road I was camped along. Whether or not you could maneuver it around some of these campsites, I honestly have no idea. I've never hauled a trailer and can't quite visualize how that would work. There are larger sites here and there that I've seen populated with large camp trailers...not always the epic view sites, but certainly possible to find someplace to camp.
Great video once again 😍
Is there a way to purchase a flexfit cap and a tshirt and a maybe a mug to support your channel? I'd love to get some stuff like that 😊
Adventure Idea.. have you ever been to the 500 year old, giant 327' tall "Doerner Fir" tree in Oregon? It's the tallest non-redwood tree in the world.
That would make an amazing video!
Have never been but have definitely thought about checking it out one day for sure!
Do you have a full size spare? If so, where do you keep it?
Yes. It *just* fits in the factory spare tire well (with the center foam piece removed). I'm running only slightly oversize tires (215/75R15). A 235/75R15 would not fit.
Which tire inflator do you use?
Viaiar 88p
Which Jackery power bank do you own?
Explorer 500
Thank you! So the higher model just means longer/more charging capabilities? How long does yours last? If I’m just charging camera, goPro and DJI batteries, along with the phone - I’m wondering if the 100 or 200 models is sufficient for a weekend trip?
Sorry for the delayed reply. UA-cam has stopped sending me notifications when people reply to my replies, so I'm always missing follow-up questions. I believe there is both an overall capacity factor and a wattage output factor. I believe they make a 160, 240, 500, and 1000 models, and I believe those numbers correspond to the wattage output they're capable of. I don't have firsthand experience with the smaller units, but I would think that either of the smaller ones is probably ample for keeping cameras & mobile devices charged...I doubt any of these chargers draws very much power.
@@softroadingthewest gotcha..Thank you! oh btw, and off topic...thanks for your Gazelle Tents review. I bought one right away after seeing your video when they had the flash sale. And it was a big hit at camp that my friends are interested in purchasing their own now.
Hi, what engine is in that forester?
2.5L naturally-aspirated
Just stumbled across your channel a couple of days ago looking up some Forrester rigs, as I've been looking to purchase one for the past couple months. Really love your rig setup, very simple, very effective, and seems very much affordable. I'm currently a resident of Southern California but I frequently visit Portland, I've never been to the Oregon backcountry before and these videos are really making me want to go out there and explore! BTW love the B Roll, you captured a very nice sunrise. What kind of camera setup are you running if you don't mind me asking?
keep up the good work man!
Mostly shot on a Fuji X-Pro2 (great still camera, can't recommend for video), supplemented with a GoPro Hero 7 Black and for now I'm just flying a DJI Spark for aerial shots. Yeah, definitely check out some Oregon wilderness when you can, there's a really wide variety of interesting terrain and ecosystems and countless miles of dirt roads through public lands to explore. Thanks for watching!
Instant like.
Soooooooo nice😍😍😍😍😍
Whats the name of that place 😓
This is in central Oregon.
Most common phrase of 2020 - "Damn. Someone is already here."
Donald, what's a guy gotta do to purchase one of your hats?
The one you see me wearing is a one off, it was a prototype but I wasn't satisfied enough with the quality to offer them for sale, and have just never got back around to finding another vendor who can make them on-demand. I need to though, I'd kinda like a different hat to wear myself! If I get something set up, I'll definitely talk about it in a video.