Hey guys how you doing you got a little bit different video for you today I got some friends some visitors at the fort they have Joe and Scott so these guys here today to interview me a little bit we're gonna get a fire going some coffee hey everyone Scott here with Swift canoe and kayak and we are back filming another episode of kouddous my campfire.

Having coffee and we're here with the one only children net air tripper who's gonna make a cameo with us here today we are in the great white north Joe drove us out here I honestly don't know where we are we took a long drive out here but it's a beautiful day winters here tripperz.

Having a good time so we're gonna jump into some questions and learn a little bit more about Joe dog didn't bite me so basically Joe you know I know a lot of your viewers know a lot about your history I know a fair bit of it as well I mean known you for several years through Smith in your kayak what I wanted to get from you is a kind of a.

Broad strokes thing just for anyone who's a new viewer who may not know you know the key points to your story and one of the things that I always find fascinating that I always want to ask people that when I do things like this is how did how did it start how did you you know get to becoming the quote-unquote youtuber so I know you had.

No tourist upbringing you know where did you start experiencing the outdoors when did you start camping when did you when did that become a significant part of your life I um actually young early in life I didn't I I did I had no experience at all I had no nobody just show me really I grew up without a father my mom tried her best to be car.

Camping a few times here in there and so I really enjoyed it but my main exposure to it my dog's gonna knock the camera over my main exposure to it was watching his television like Little House on the Prairie Grizzly Adams type things like that right I grew up in a city I grew up in Windsor which is a very very.

Urbanized city big city actually Detroit Canada and there's no wilderness around there was no not even like nothing now nothing at all my name is something that we close to that so I was always very foreign to me so seeing it on TV and thing fred penner what he crawls through the wall it was very like watched every episode right exactly it's cool so that.

Kind of thing started it all off for me and I didn't really get into camping until I was maybe in high school really so okay so that's when you started so I mean obviously you're pretty well known for doing the solo camping stuff what was your first solo trip hey where did what was that all about you know how ambitious was the first one.

I thought it wasn't very ambitious at all it was probably with the Scout my previous dog who bunch people know in a bush you know in a farm bush near Windsor with my dog and I would lie and I set up like a tarp and that was probably my first solo overnight solo quote-unquote because with the dog and then put the one from the top and just.

Sit in there and you ever stay out here overnight not since I've got it looking like it does now it'll be much more comfortable now I finished up my bed in there sheet of plastic and just into a super show yeah thank you for the coffee by the way pleasure thank you for having us so yeah so your first trip which you.

Know you said it wasn't that ambitious right I would say doing a tarp instead of a tent for your first time is pretty ambitious most people wouldn't be willing to be exposed to the elements so what was the that's you have to go with you yes let's go yeah we just set up cook the snake surprise surprise I mean Chuck had a.

Little long fire oh yeah that's I had a long fire in front as well from for well for the night I had it had a blanket yeah it was good times and I have recreated that same trip over over and over and those are some of my best videos they do the best for and I've actually got I gotta start doing it with this guy no I did what did one what come.

In today yeah I didn't really well yeah I mean it sounds to me though you obviously were you were into it before you when did it I mean for me and I think for most people who grew up with baby as much hairier kids for the world you know the first trip you wouldn't think to you know build the shelter do the tarp you know that it sounds like.

You were already pretty interested in the outdoors and bushcrafter by the time you went you had a plan I mean he didn't exactly go park the car you know and in a car camping spot right bring a barbecue I had been to when I first started getting into this stuff before camping alone or anything I had camped obviously but I I joined up on a forum.

Called bushcraft USA and it really like minded people it was it was just a very refreshing to be able to talk to people both the word bushcraft understood you know I mean and we had the same kind of interest so I ended up going for a couple meetups and loops in class is over there in Iowa in Missouri in in Ohio Indiana all over the Midwest so I.

Had gotten pretty used to camping and setting up tarps and things like that so when it did come time for me to do my first solo I you're right I was I was pretty prepared I had a head camp before in that style cool so at that point I mean you know I bought I want to kind of hear how you know the the YouTube and the content creator thing developed you.

Know you start doing these trips you're anything he said like a late teenager you're getting into early 20s here you know and when did you start filming this stuff because I know I did four years you did it you know before yeah you were a a personality if you will regain track all right at what point when you started going on these trips and it sounds like.

You're doing mostly Cilla when did you decide to bring here I originally started making videos so that I thought I could post my responses to challenges and things like that on that bushcraft USA forum so people in my mind in a lot of people's minds you can fake pictures right you can you can say that you did something when you really didn't do it.

Here's the finished product however I got there I got there but video is a little bit different and I really wanted to fit in and I really wanted to to be someone that people thought was the real deal because I really looked up to a lot of people on that forum and one person in particular Terry Barney Iowa woodsman who was a sere instructor previously who.

Was putting on these courses Bush Bush class it was free free Bush online bushcraft courses so I really wanted to get in good you know and so I started making videos and posted them on there through that and do try my best Adam it was so rudimentary all right so I got my fire going my rice in the Billy can it's a four size 14.

Billy can and I'm gonna go cut some wood so that I can make a hanger at the beginning because like they weren't stories it wasn't me showing my experience I was out there doing like a skill and sort of skill yeah like my lighting a fire five different ways take things yes these challenges well guys that a part of this forum just a certain.

Such a small part of it in all honesty it's a very consumer-driven form it's a lot about buying things and but that's not why I was there and that's why not my friends were there like group of people that I hung out with the Ohio group for sure everybody likes to buy a night you know it's a fun thing but we were there for skills too so it was such.

A small part of that that it had its own little subform but lots of lots of traction on there so things like making an improvised cooking implement or cooking with a rock or cooking underground just very very solid skills how to improvise a shelter out of like garbage bags and stuff like that solid skills very real-world useful things not.

Not fantasy not like into the world type stuff yeah so yeah that's why I started doing that it and and I gained a little bit of traction on the forum people start to recognize me and I really like that and I like I like to getting the attaboys it felt good and then on YouTube it started to slowly pick up there too I never did it for youtube I.

Never did it for an audience on YouTube or anything like that my audience was bushcraft USA the u2 was just the the means of getting it there the platform and this was like you know before YouTube and this I mean this was early days this is early days you and I are the same age so you know this is before you know when the a lot of internet.

Usage for topics like this was about using forums as opposed to watching 100 video content 1% like this is way before monetization this is like this was me doing this because I wanted to because it was fun like 11 years I want to say 11 years ago Wow so you met up with all these guys you said Ohio Iowa and it just seems like it.

That's where the American contingents of them were based you know so he just kind of befriended them and you decided you know you're gonna go down to Ohio and that's where it all started just meeting guys mostly in the u.s. exactly like the main core group of guys that I really enjoyed hanging out with or speaking to.

Associating with on the forum they're from Missouri Iowa and Ohio and so go to Missouri and Iowa was a little bit far there I flew a couple times but the Ohio guys and the Michigan guys that we became the guys I looked up to her over there the guys I became friends with were closer so it was easy to go over for meetups all the time and it would be.

Special when I could go over to the classes and those are in the far other places cool so tell me about like a bushcraft meetup that's not something I'm super familiar with but you know from what I've always followed you and similar personalities you know what goes on in a bushcraft meetup I mean there's everyone go there and like see who.

Builds the best shelter and sleeps for the night look not at all no it's a lot of talking it's a lot of showing off it's a lot of showing off your gear it's not much of doing anything but there are certain people who do like a lot of time to be a again a core group of people who would cut the wood who would go on hikes who would who.

Cut the wood for the whole group and I'm talking winter camping like telephone poles like we play around with making the bow drill fires or setting up tarps differently and stuff but the majority of the time was just there for socializing and like again that was after the fact after the fact that I was already used to it and doing these.

Things but the majority the people go there set up a tent and set up a chair and sit down and talk very cool what you get is cool it's a lot of fun it's a very especially for this type of thing when it's hard to find like-minded people around or was actually in the past to go hunts use me to meet up with all these people yeah you know they have.

The opportunities okay I mean necessarily but it's a pretty specific skill set and it's kind of jug geographically found in a lot of ways you mentioned the ears is from aware it's popular up here as well so you know for all of you people to to be willing to travel that far and go and discuss it all the stuff I mean you know before.

People were watching videos where else would you learn those kind of skills from other people in in real time you know then just sitting around the same campfire and discuss all that what's the state of bushcraft USA now he's still I don't know no leave it Eddie of the original people I don't.

Know I don't know I haven't um I haven't been on there a long time I think I went on maybe a couple months ago for the first time forever just to see what I didn't know recognize any of the names or faces or anything like that I really don't have anything to do with them I'm still very I still talk to Terry who owns a bar my mentor who I think took.

Over one of the ownership of it or the store at least and I talked to a few people from there I met Doug from it definitely yeah we got together from that we kind of we lived near each other and the rest is history Kyle I mean CARLMAN each other but buddy Coyle I had my job forever for I worked at the University of Windsor.

Nobody can I met him through the forum and I got a job for five years one of the best jobs our best job other than YouTube that I've ever had it was it was I worked at the University winds are in the viola viola biology department I was a attacked a fuel tech and then I was also I would run extractions and stuff in the lab so we would go out and we.

Would take sediment samples of sediment underneath the river or lakes and stuff so we'd send down a big claw grab it come back and do experiments on or fish or I've done on snapping turtle eggs bear blood otter scat everything so a lot of times we go out and set traps for these things fish mainly get them and then come back and do the work on them.

No you went to school for something similar to that um somewhere I want to sue college for our natural resources program so I took feel Park operations so I learned tree identification which is the best thing I could have got out of it I still remember it to this day I had the best teacher yeah animal tracking or an oenophile.

Sorry orientation yeah between your education and that time working at University of Windsor and in bushcraft USA I mean you really had a strong foundation of outdoor skills than you were you know being taught and learning in the classroom on stuff I mean it sounds like that gave you a base that allows.

You to feel more confident doing the stuff you're doing tell me about your mentors Terry so when you say mentorship I mean obviously it's you were relatively young you were getting into stuff you're very passionate about it Terry taking under his wing and then show you a lot and give you the skills that you were seeking or didn't you know.

How did the dynamic work yeah it was um it wasn't like he took me under his wing by any means it wasn't like a special like relationship we had with each other or anything like that it's just that everybody likes Terry you the life of the party very knowledgeable guy and then I got the opportunity to camp with him.

Multiple times and he respected me and my skills and not really like my relationship with men has always been weird for me because of not having a father and like someone in that position who is older so whenever I got like get some respect from someone like that I really admire like who was a big feather of my Catholic I felt like I could do.

Anything like it really solidified yeah what you were doing oh yeah that you're on the right track you know doing what you wanted to do exactly good yeah we're rolling so let's pick up from there Joe so we talked about you know you're you're working at the University here you're obviously applying a lot of the skills and picked up from your you type.

Of college bushcraft USA you're certain to your own videos you know was that the last job you've told me before how many years it took you to build that audience and reach a certain level what was that like how did it happen where was the Bauman's when you were kind of like you know I could do this as a life yeah we struck.

Him in I didn't know if I should do it or not I was worried I have a family to support so I was working at the University I went on alone a lot of people thought that alone helped me but it really didn't it hindered me I lost a lot of people subscribers and respect from that anyways oh that's my job there after a loan I.

Got my job back for another let's say like another year or so I was probably gone for three weeks and then so you come back you've got that to deal with he died right back back on the job right away I have to do it anyway um here goes by and I start and I and I make a decision in my head that like while I was gone.

And I had to shot videos for a long time because I was under contract with those guys and I was getting ready to go out on this show for like at least half a year yeah thought it was a big it again kept eating push back and stuff so I wasn't making videos I was spending as much time as I could my family and just trying to get ready for this huge like.

Painting thing which was supposed to be I thought so I ain't his time now I get back off after a loan and I see in this time that I've taken off from YouTube people who are no one channels that weren't even around have surpassed me and I'm like what's going on like I've been around for a hot minute here oh yeah big time yeah and I was right sorry.

I got fire lit under my ass house there I'm coming back I want to be the man I remember mcq bushcraft back in name was the man I wanna be I want to take over his spot and so I just started pouring everything into YouTube and things started going good I got a one video got shared on reddit and that blew up and now I'm on so now I start to monetize.

Right I want i monetize one video and I mean like 50 bucks a month right and a 50 bucks to that month ago that's great next month I hit monetize all videos I made like 200 bucks that next month and I was like oh SAP something can be this can be something right palm toe and I also wanted to reclaim my place I wanted to be I wanted to be the man were you.

Familiar with the potential no lucrative major youtuber that's this you're like you're literally figuring out like oh my gosh now that I'm doing this like you're telling me the money comes back on me for doing this wow so you don't even know the potential not just no no it's you're enjoying it and you wonder boy yes exactly and our.

Thoughts on are so small you know I just never thought I never heard of anybody making any money in that doing that but figured it out pour it all my time effort money everything into it you know I mean and then finally I got to this spot where I was making like I want to say just a little bit more than I would be making if I was working full-time.

Maybe double maybe double died and I'm like well if I quit my job I can dedicate all my fun to this and that make a really good go of it so it was like it was this - I was about to get laid off I was gonna have that job for a while anymore so it's like that it kind of pushed me to gold everything's kind of led you down that road right so I did.

It and never look back everything kept getting better and better and better and better once I had 127 years to hit 100,000 subscribers and once I hit a hundred thousand the next year I think I hit four or five hundred thousand so I was like seven years for a hundred thousand and in one more year the exponential.

Growth we just stole it was crazy yeah my wife was able to quit her job finally spend some time at home with the kids we had the second we always had emerald you know we had the second came now because of this because we're doing well and yeah we okay well I want to talk more about your family and the dynamics of doing this because it's it's a.

Relatively it's a unique situation you know and I would be very curious to know what was that that like with the family I mean I was with that when you are kind of at that point where saying like I don't have to go to work anymore and I can do this full-time but I can also be around the house more and I can spend more time with the kids was there there.

Had to be fear there no was there how confident were you in the the success of that you know maintaining you know monetarily you know how much right I was confident enough that I was willing to bet my family's little hood on I didn't know the duration and I still don't know the duration it can it can be taken away.

From me whatever and I know that but I always thought Trevor stop buddy I always thought okay if I was able to buy my family a house with with my youtube earnings then I would be happy then everything would be fine and that and that would be enough even if it got taken away from me and I had to go work a 9 to 5 job for the rest of my life at.

Least I got that house out of it I've bought two hoses now that said my first one was a house that I lived in for eight years beforehand it was in my family my whole life so I got a I just had to pay off the mortgage from my uncle type thing but now we're in our dream yeah yeah there's not a great place but that was when you're in the.

Game when you get into that to be able to afford that and then know that you have security for the family and all that so let's carry on for that so seven years you get to 100k and then you you blow up and then you boot I would have Windsor you end up here what's got to be your utopia do you think your your youth had something to do with your conference.

About diving in Douglas now because I mean you know you and I are similar age you know and I I'm not gonna say this I'm an age window I'm doing bushcraft but being young and educated and having some work experience you think it's made a little bit easier to say you know what I could take a few years off and try this I can always come back to that if.

It doesn't work oh yeah I always said that if it didn't work out I'll go back and do whatever I will always do no matter what I will always do what I have to do to provide for my family I don't care what it is in that is the god-honest truth and I'm going to just I knew that I would run I knew that could run with this for a little while I felt.

Fairly confident about that and if it didn't work I was just ready to go gold halo and applications right away too and in that said my wife was working at the time still so I did have a little bit of a she's been great like she's the been solid rock well my whole life we've been together for like 18 years been married.

For like I don't know five or six but like all even before this like she has supported me you know I mean and there's been times where I've supported her she supported me she never gave me grief about going camping even when I wasn't getting paid for it she always knew like I was trying to she know she knew I loved it she knew was something I always.

Had passion for and she just was it was fine with being home with the kid or all by herself for the longest time and then now she's reaping every single benefit ever like and I'm happy to be able to give it to her yeah we met no we know we were what I would have been in grade 12 when we met she would have been grade 13 or if there's a grade 13 she's a great.

Older than I am but no we've been uh hood her place was the pervert yeah her place was the place you met young and getting through those first years you know as a young married couple eggs it's always the hardest I think and if you guys get through that you know and then you start to see some success there's some some rewards to be reaped from all.

That you know it sounds like I mean that that helps grow the bond you know there's there's stability there definitely oh you're providing you know you guys have a little bit of freedom to live and do things and stuff and I saw the video you guys going into canoe trip together you know so she's gotten into a little bit that's I you know I think you.

Should be commended for that in some respect to kids like you said I mean you have to take care of the family and that's number one and YouTube has provided that for you going back a little bit I have to ask cause I'm so curious what did it feel like to hand in the resignation letter when you literally saying I'm going to.

YouTube now I mean is that a smile and a high-five or is that I'm petrified oh it's like a boat it was like this is um this is awesome that that for the time being I don't have to get up at nine o'clock in the morning and an sir to someone and I can go camping I want yeah but again on the other hand it was it was very scary I was scared.

But I again like I said like confident enough where I felt like I had a good shot and it sounds like I mean you you already had a bit of an audience pace growing at that point right yeah yeah yeah I would not have started I would not have done it if I wasn't already making money I wouldn't there's no way I would have like I wouldn't even have.

Started YouTube for that reason like and I think if I did I would never have got to where I am now it was all organic it was all just natural is because I loved it I feel like I put my time in and now I get what I get is anyone should you know a time served and and you've earned that I'm curious you mentioned that video that got shared on reddit hmm was.

It that video is there one particular video or one particular instance that was a noticeable record were you like okay like we just you're now entering the next level yeah it was that it was a overnight bushcraft it's a horrible story at the end but it's an overnight bushcraft camp with my dog and it was again a copy of that first camp that I.

Did with him that I probably never had filmed that first one but there's a copy of that one we went out with the same tarp the same spot I could set foot like a like a wooden frame for my tarp bacon eggs in the morning steak at night just the whole normal Joe I think I woke up the snow too so just I really like awesome really shot well and I was.

Upbeat he's a very very good video people really really from what I understand really enjoyed my dancer with Scott my relationship with the dog so when that one got shared like normally my highest video ever was a hundred thousand views and that was like a few years before that and accumulated to that and then this video I put out and.

It got like a couple hundred thousand views in a couple days and to me like that was just yeah blew me away so I'm trying to find out what happened in like you can do some research and find where it's getting shared and stuff and it got for sure to the front page right and just like just crazy crazy views and then because of.

That crazy subscribers like all new wives just came flying flying and I could just watch the numbers rise it crazy and then that that's that's like when I was on the stretch from a hundred to two to the 500 the next year or whatever YouTube has since then restricted that video that video has been on up for I.

Want to see like four years or something like that and within this last year they've decided that it's restricted well and well that video was always an earner for me I could watch in my analytics the money and the subscribers come in from that thousands of subscribers a month just from this one video always on the up up up then they.

They restrict it and now it's just completely shut off it's not even my highest viewed video anymore it has like 6.5 million views and then they restricted no I have no idea what they never tell me yeah I find that that's so me we were talking about this little bit off-camera and you know we won't go too deep into it for obvious reasons but you.

Know what's the point of going back in that content and it's frustrating about you know with guys like you and Sean and some others about just having to navigate YouTube and quote/unquote play the game yeah a game which kind of brings you to this one cuz you know we talked about that trip with Scouts that you've repeated but not always being a.

Highlight trip it's something that's always a good time is something that you always go back into would you say that that trip or that the repetition of that trip is your best trip or your favorite trip or is there another favorite do you have a favorite trip knows everything you wanted it to be I have a favorite trip because of the memories it was the.

Last trip that scout and I did together it was in the winter time last year and we car camp the I drove my nutria a new to me truck to a squat we got out and I just set up a tent and we just relaxed it was just very like we were just like hanging out the whole time was after we found out he had lymphoma so I kind of knew and I was.

Just very memorable it was it was a nice nice night very slept very comfortable and in it and as Scott was with me and that was my favorite trip because of that reason but I have epic trips that I enjoy for other reasons like my my eight-day trip with caught canoe trip to Algonquin northern Algonquin with pile off.

I said we gonna pick right back up a favorite trip keep on going yeah that's it yeah so we did eight days in an in a tandem boat in northern alone but it was like my mo my first like biggest trip and I felt like very in tune with nature reportage after after a while became second nature I felt very strong a lot of memorable things on that trip yeah.

And and Kyle is always a fun fun guy to go get through the rigors I'm sure because I think a lot of a lot of use you know for the stuff that the Swift is done and I know the you have done is a lot of people in some capacity I almost have to use the term like live vicariously through its they don't really they don't trip a lot or it's.

Something that they don't do it all but a fast the entire living parts of the world where it's not the same as here and I always find it interesting you know people don't know like the the mental and physical both of eight days in the bush or you know that the the speed trips that you do which I want to talk about in a minute is you know.

Covering those distances and doing those Portage's you know the guy like howl would make that fun yeah you know it what is it that after eight days of struggling this is I mean really that's what long no it is no and you're you're tired you're hungry you run down you're sleeping on the grounds you know you're eating that same kind of food where.

What's the join that for you you mentioned that you're in touch with nature you know it does that only come to you after the trip and you look back on it or because you know in my experience you know day 5 day 6 you're still having a bit of boy why did I do this definitely and and I guess using the term in touch of nature probably.

Sounds a little bit romantic or romanticized on what I met I mean like I got my legs under me now well I'm over here type thing I feel strong feel good you know so to answer your question um it's like the grind it's like it's like a very rewarding feeling for me like um the success of the grind yeah like that was an ash but now ashes.

Over there like a three-kilometer port hard as hell but after you're done it's like man I just crushed that thing you know I mean after a while you start to get very very um not comfortable with doing it but like you got you got your stuff down you know you get to the end of poritosh slide that pack board or that yoke on.

And go I think I've been so int in in the rhythm that like it takes me two seconds at the end of a poor Tosh to hop on my boat flip the the yoke on take the pack out put on my back lift the boat up and go you know I mean people have told me like I remember on a on a trip one time I was trying to get out because it was raining the whole time I was done.

And I saw these people on an island I was how far to the to the take up there like five hours I start paddle away they yell something what like three hours if you power like that that type of stuff it sounds like I mean it's adrenaline rush isn't the right word I mean it's like it's a sense of accomplishment war yeah so do you find that it's the the.

Seeking of that reward is what makes you want to go and do those trips because I think a lot of your viewers and myself included you know I get interested when I see that the distance that you're about to do in the timings you know I just talk to you sometimes like I'm literally gonna go to like a 24-hour you know we're gonna paddle X amount of.

Clicks in a day and the Porto's are this long and it's it is ambitious yeah so is it are you what's with the fascination high speed high efficiency so there is it seeking that yeah yes so there's different types of trips I like to do I I did that 10-day solo trip where I I cannot in and I set up a shelter and I fish for my food bein mainly the only.

Time I used the canoe was when I was going out for food or to try not not be bored but I was I was centrally located there's other trips where I'm more focused on fishing but a lot of the times it's like people I'm going with or maybe I don't have as much time or you just have to certain Peter a trip around the time you have there's person you're.

With and what you want to do right so there's a lot of the time a lot of the people that go with to like I used to go with at least Doug and and Kyle and things like that it's like that's just the nature of it like that's that's that's our personalities and that's what we've done already together so that's what we kind of know but I have done.

Also with Kyle we did woodland caribou this spring and we didn't we moved ten clicks a day yeah I mean it wasn't much at all and I've done a two-night stationary you can't without before it's it's just all up in the area of whatever whatever time here what you want to do and if I've done bunch of fishing trips now I feel like.

Going and doing a high-speed trip type thing there one particular style more than the other that you prefer or find yourself seeking out or do you like that variety because you know like I always it's what catches my I'm with you in a lot of cases like you know it's X amount of days so that's the X amount of kilometers and I've always just like and.

Those have their own advantages and disadvantages and trials and tribulations in doing that and then also sometimes it's nice to just really sit out in the woods for a couple of nights and not portage you know thousands of meters and paddle 30 kilometers a day so any preference over one or the other not really I like to mix it up I like to.

Again it's always situational dependent man if I if I know I'm going with so if I'm going with someone that I don't really know their experience I'm definitely not going to go and do a high mileage trip at all just because most people don't do it like that mm-hmm you know it's been not the norm if I want to hang out with some buddies if I.

Want to go we came with a couple buddies or something I'll mainly just do like a stationary thing but when it's by myself or with certain people it's gotta be the - I I just like the mix of it I like to mix it all up and I do so much camping that it's like I need the mix I need to do the mix I would get bored of one why I said that that leads me to the next.

Question which I want to ask everyone when we do things like this is is how do you you do this a lot and obviously you enjoy it but there's burnout in any job yeah when it becomes a job is that a way to avoid that mundaneness you know cuz how many times can you repeat the same trip so are there new challenges for next year.

That you're eyeballing or they're ambitious plans to do an even more efficient trip over a greater distance you guys anything on the docket for tripping season next year yeah there is there's always something new like there's always a well at least one big trip I want to get in in canoeing season and then winter time is totally.

Different to like I couldn't do it I never did it effect trip last winter I'm gonna do on this winter for sure probably spend I don't five days out with the dog or something in a content but yes Kyle and I are talking about going to Norway or somewhere around that maybe like a Sweden area to go canoe tripping probably for a week.

We knew tripping her kayak trippin cuz over there I mean it's a lot of sea kayak mmm are you a coast no we'll be we'll be in try for tires and things I know it's not set up late it's gotta be somewhat similar to Northern Ontario it's I couldn't tell you but I would be very curious to see how that goes is the the.

The adventure of going and doing that like flying to another part that's part of it I mean that's a thrill in itself exactly I wouldn't mind him I wouldn't mind meeting people they're like locals and stuff little meet-and-greet or something like that um that's part of the that I like that a lot that part of the adventure for that type of thing.

Like when we did the the coup cope you think yeah that was a that was a quite an experience to see that many people just kind of literally come out of the woodwork and talking and meet with you and that was a lot of fun whether we can we're talking about that the good trips here's always the bad trips of the bad moment yeah you got to tell me one yeah.

Okay and I know you've got a few I got it I mean if you happen this summer even you know with the stranded series you know tell me about tell you about one of the bad moments tell me though the worst one you know when you're on a trip and nothing's going right yeah the worst one was the like three Springs ago I I had a trip planned in Algonquin for ice out.

For trout fishing and it was gonna be a solo trip and it was gonna be six days catching brookey's in the falls going in a pissing river and the water was so high that year and it rained every single day I was out there I want to say 80 to 90% 90% of the day it raining and this is early spring like look right at I so it it's cold yeah for people who.

Don't know like I said and I'll go up and park literally means I'm guessing you're probably like what mid-april and April beginning okay well even so depending on the season you know like that literally means I say living means that's like eight days after the ice has gone off the lake and it's actually open water there's often so snow on the great.

Oh oh there was so it's it's the tripping time a lot of people go out at that time but yeah I mean that comes with its inherent risk yeah it was very cold like if you go in that water it's not gonna be good yep so I'm I'm paddling I'm fishing my first day I come to my first portage and it's raining and I slam brookie monster.

Brookey and I don't get on film and he gets away from me that was the only good fish I caught the whole trip I caught on like maybe like day three or four the Sun came up for like 20 minutes and I caught a couple little brookey's like this and I said screw it I'm eating these okay so um but I had to actually change my plans completely because the.

Water was so high my plans were to paddle out upstream for the last day to get out because that's the loop I had to take and I met up I met somebody out there who had been out there for like 12 days or something and he said this is this is the most water he's ever seen you know he does that trip every year for like 20 years.

Most water has ever seen horrible fishing for him he did catch fish though and I told him I wrote he said you can't he said you're not making it off that way now how fast the water was flowing out the stream up the tent up the net maybe I couldn't paddle against he said he was like a full day paddles he don't so I had to switch my my route and I had.

To go do these two big black Portage's the black poor charges are unmaintained and the one says like you may have to paddle through it in the spring in the middle because it's so waterlogged or whatever here so I switch it all up and I end up almost I have to paddle upstream a little bit to get to a portage I end up.

Almost slipped my canoe twice and I was so so shooken up by it like I had to get out and just walk what I was so scared I was like three that was three days in and if I would have dumped out up in it I hadn't seen anyone but at that point now I would've been in I think what so tell me a little cuz I wanted to get to that too and I'm glad that it's crazy of.

A story as that is it kind of leads into something that I think a lot of people are interested in knowing about you is dealing with the fear of outdoor tripping and things like that happening and I would think that you know the more experience you get the easier it gets but I mean would that be the the scariest moment you've had that's the.

Scariest moment I've ever had yeah that and then Doug and I almost had a couple trees come down on us so in all honesty my fears in the woods or hypothermia and being smashed by a tree endlessly I'm dead serious really I'm dead sir I don't even think about bears I don't care about animals that means nothing to me at all.

Leave it you know I've camped around bears so often I've never had any a bear do anything other than run away from me except for on a loan when they just looked at me again not a concern being crushed by a tree so Doug and I were sitting in Algonquin last fall around a campfire super super windy we're here we are correct and like what's that it's.

Like almost like 10 feet away these trees all start coming down the Dominos themselves and they're big but we didn't get to see the actual damage until the next morning because it was dark but they were big big trees and they came down I want to say three feet from our heads I ran I was so scared I fell because dark I thought I saw it coming I.

Swear and I ran I fall off this like little cliff like it probably felt like a huge forever but I was much happier to do that thing is crushed by truth but know that um in the canoe when I always tip was my scariest more whatever yeah so that's you said that's day three of six yeah what that happens I got out in five days actually I I booked it out in.

Five days but yeah was that I mean how do you recoup from that you know because I ever watching that video was a few years ago now or I could you know I was done it was raining so much I was done man I was cold I had to keep going but no I stopped I pulled over and I stopped and I just talked the camera for like a good half an hour or whatever I was like.

Let my my nerves calm because yeah I was I was very worked up and then stupidly didn't have a spot with me or any kind of like satellite thing so from then on I started carrying a sports system with me that actually questions I want to ask you today and one thing we always open it up to our viewers to say you know what what types of questions that would.

You ask and I have a list of those but one of the ones that I wanted to ask myself because it always comes up is key pieces of gear hmm and I know you've mentioned this a little bit but and it depends I know you know what he did winter camping or summer tripping what's what's always in the kit I mean you mentioned the spot before.

Blessed words what else I mean you and I had kidney copia we went over your kit there you know what you're the master of ultra-lightweight high efficiency so what's what's your summer tripping kids I gotta have like a super lightweight way to procure water which I like my B free water filter I just dip it and squeeze every minute it's like a Sawyer.

But wait wait wait more efficient I have to have a lightweight cook lightweight way to cook which is normally a titanium pot I like to also use a twig stove my bush buddy because it's super lightweight and it's it's very efficient and I don't have to carry any fuel for it you can find twigs anywhere you got I like my Big Agnes tent it's a super.

Lightweight tent you got a hub shelter like for anytime that there's gonna be bugs I'm definitely having a tent I'm not gonna tarp it I mean you you required that kick is it you and I like I've gone over your kit with you before when we we've gone to shows and stuff like that and those are kind of lessons learned the hard way you know like I've.

Certainly been on trips where I brought something that was heavy you know I could handle it and then Oh way to realize I really probably didn't have to do that it only takes one or two trips to get that yeah any bad experience the thing in particular where you're just like okay like I can I can go leaner if I leave that one at home and get by with.

Something else there something more efficient there is but I don't like I've done that like now I'm on the other side of it where I left my chair at home last time and I was like why did I do that it was a dummy stick I would I did that trip with Mike and he had a chair and I just kept looking at it with the most envied ever lose a paddle for like 40 40.

Kilometers one day I'm not joking 40 kilometers then it's like okay now I'll stand by you know you had a habit but you can't just pull it on up pretty funny of it before we were filming today he showed me his chair which I mean it's literally okay so it's not one x enemy it's about the size of a Nalgene bottle yeah it is you thought.

That was too heavy no about Leicester England see that so that was the that was why I bought that law because I had one double the weight so uh two pounds which is what I thought was too heavy no yeah big tripod will never bring again I like to bring a tiny tripod now it all honesty camera gear is what screws me.

Yeah I got my cake down man I got my kit real lightweight I could go for a long time and just have to change the amount of food but my camera here cuz like it all goes right on top too you need it right and that's just the heaviest spot to keep it just I find it very interesting just in the psychology of doing this I think is something that a.

Lot of people are very interested in but doesn't get talked about a lot I agree and not only having the mindset injury and gaining that experience and becoming comfortable the way you are it still has to come up where there's got to be a lot of those trips where you're thinking you know I gotta make a decision here this and it's important you know this is a.

Difference between being wet or dry this is a difference between sleeping well today and dog sleeping well this stranded trip for example you know for anyone who hasn't viewed that you guys literally were trapped in woodland caribou Park by forest fire I've seen the footage I've seen that some of the talking you did with the camera about.

That walk through that a little bit I mean you're with Kyle did you guys know that this is going on you're not gonna get out for a little while how did you gameplan well I mean what what's the decision-making process when you literally realize you're stranded we we didn't know how long we were gonna be stranded for because first off it was.

The smoke from the forest fire which really sucked and then after that kind of cleared up a big storm system rolled in and the planes couldn't fly we literally got big cane and we saw it and then a big black cloud came and it turned and left us and it was like out of them it was so deflating you was I shouldn't laugh and I've watched that.

Video and I it blows my mind yeah it literally happens like all in one sequence oh yeah just like the plane is coming and the storm is coming so fast at the plane season yep and turns around I mean it walk me through that like I mean that's got to be deflated yeah I was it was the worst it was like we screamed.

Out loud like not at that we understood but just like what is the me I've had to be some off-camera oh so we set up man we didn't know when we were gonna get out right we had a satellite phone and we were able to talk to the outfitter but the el faro didn't know there were so many people out there and and you can't ahead of us that needed it.

Come out and we we knew that we were okay we didn't have who that but we could catch fish you know I mean and he's not gonna like it was like a group of four ladies or us it's like okay I get it yeah but also then the weather just kept changing and getting worse and worse so we had these little windows that we were told to be prepared for.

Every day and we will be prepared and have our bags ready and to go let's stuff and then okay no it's not gonna happen so every single time we thought was gonna happen it got pushed back push back push back push back so we started to just not even have any hope at all and just say okay this is what's going on and we stopped doing everything we.

Stopped like burning any kind of energy we had the option of paddling out it would have been a 50 kilometer paddle out we had no food left and it would have been a lot of portaging to we had no food left I was already on running on empty you had the maps for like you guys could have caught out yeah yeah but then it.

Along do you think that would take probably a half days maybe but and so you heard the food so even longer and through a storm so we don't know what's gonna happen order we end up just posting up and taking it really easily and and sharing our food and just kind of sitting we said under a tarp for probably I want to say the whole day the.

One day well it hailed like hailed and we got delirious to like we're laughing a lot hey leave it we were laughing a lot about it and like at different points we got ups and downs and then we decided to to go out and fish because it was the last day and the time had passed we're like we're not gonna get out of here was like for three we're like it's.

Done we're not getting out of here it's another day spent so I'm like we don't have any food I'm gonna go try and cast off the back of the island I cast twice I got a Pike I come back I'm not even how I got this is it oh great I'll clean it I was like I'm gonna hog this isn't enough for us I'm gonna hop in the canoe and go get a couple more fish to.

Literally go for five minutes get two more walleye come back he cleans them all up we're cooking I was watching planes gonna come now for sure really yeah really yeah did you get to enjoy the fish no oh I got to enjoy the plane ride home after all it was fine oh I guess yeah that's a fair trade-off like that we did leave was there a time.

When it was that bad with you guys we're legitimately scared like we might have to you know paddle over to the middle yeah I can't let this forest fire go by like are we seriously so in a jam here I don't have experience with it because I'm from here but Kyle lives in California now so he's relieved well versed and he's like this can be like a.

Hundred miles away and we can still happy having the residual effects in the video that it was dark the whole day like he was thick thick smoke we were breathing it in the whole time I felt concerned the first night very concerned so much where as to where we left and went to a smaller lake which was the dumbest thing we could have done I later.

Find out that when a forest fire rips through somewhere it sucks all the oxygen out so even if we didn't get burned we would have lost air yeah so on a bigger lake would have been better we went to a smaller lake but again we were we had contact with the satphone and we were told that the fire was like 50 miles north of us or something like that.

So it was okay so at least you're getting a feedback of information definitely assuring Oh Debbie have that lifeline notes you know that you can call that we can call yeah definitely that but yes that part of it was great it was frustrating not being able to know because Haarlem didn't know either he couldn't tell us anything but yeah.

Where the battery is getting low on this after yeah I mean you're running on extra days now else does that certainly yes big time yeah we would just leave we'd leave it off completely and like ya have to call him every like because he was getting called like like off the chain by everybody yeah I'm just trying to like late let leave it and let him.

Call or whatever but man it was it was a adventure it's an adventure and I'm so glad everything everything happened the way it did now I'm so glad I'm praised perfect we didn't get hurt it added to the adventure it was like two different trips at first half the trip was a walk in the park and then that happened you only gave me a lot of content and and.

And a lifetime I'll never forget it I'll never forget that yeah well I mean in the way you filmed it I mean it was amazing to watch I've still gone back and looked at that and I was talking to guys at the office you know that morning I think he was after you guys pretty much overdue I mean it doesn't even look like you're.

Even provincial park-- doesn't look like woodland caribou it looks like you're at a foreign planet yeah like the sky is gray yeah there's this weird yellow yeah you big time you can't see anything like it looked like dusk all day long it was real real weird man one thing I'm curious about it that story and that trip is a good example and in my own.

Experience I find the passage of time very difficult to deal with when things turn so yeah it goes so catastrophic Elise lo yes yeah I mean I got to think that those last couple of days I mean that two days has to feel like a week it was the worst it was like it it sounds so bad saying that because when you just sat on a row you're camping everybody.

That's the mentality like that I could imagine that some people would have but if you not know if you don't the thing is we were done we were done we had been done for days you know we wanted to leave a day early we were done we did what we wanted to do we're done so once you get that in your head you want to leave already but then to be denied your.

Actual leaving time - yes time dragged on dude it was like it was torture yeah yeah that seems so relatable and anyone who's been on a trip I'm sure can probably vote for doing I think so it's one thing to if you're at the end of your trip and you just want to go home and you're you know you're waiting for the train or unload the car or whatever.

To be stranded and then yeah and not like we don't know where we're going yeah we're low on food we're running low you have all those additional fears and pressures bouncing as well and there's a fire behind us like to mention the forest fire bearing down on you see yeah I could only imagine the dealing with the psychology of that trip I was lucky.

That I had Carl with me or someone with me I'm glad I was table I'm really glad I had someone with me you know I mean like you would have really really really been a time of reflection cause a funny guy I need a nice outgoing and you guys keep it so light I mean it was was that a keel man I mean you wretches look you guys are literally almost borderline.

Delirious and laughing was that a huge helper yeah just to have someone to bounce off the ropes off 100% like there have been times where I was down and he was up and he was down and I was up in a really help like one when I want to get the fish something to do and now that too something to do is always like okay and I'll stretch this little.

Chore out for three hours if I can because I have nothing else to you know he sticks I picked up and went like this with will the 1% 1 million 1 million well and people always say to you I mean dimension literally sitting under a tarp and and just sitting there and I think for anyone who's ever done that on a trip like even when it's so these really.

Trip if you're like killing time in a rainstorm you know an hour long 10 sitting in a in a rainstorm in a tent you know an hour to me always felt like for me and I'm always shocked at how little time has gone right did you find your your friendship with Kyle was strengthened having gone through something like that together I mean you.

Guys joke about now reminisce or is it still a touchy subject of light of having to it's not true although no it's not a touchy subject anymore as soon as we got in the plane we were both fine there was a point where we were both like I'm done like this sucks I am done like next year let's go to Hawaii let's go let's go to a resort on the beach.

Yeah let's take it you let's have some fun this isn't fun you know I mean it was fun I just didn't know it at the time it's take big tight be fun tug huge type to fun maybe take five fun but yeah Colin I've been through some and we always um like he's let me stick my foot in his armpit before so I didn't get frostbite always you know I mean yeah.

There's a good guy yeah I don't use a friend for sure let go let go we get into it I wanna one more out there actually scream at each other just because we're both so like why are you doing this man it's like manly but like we always get over it we were always really good the heat I find it's better when you can do that with someone what.

As opposed to avoiding things as opposed to like not being your real self if you get to an argument with someone named hit by it like I think that's that's right that in itself strengthens the friendship yeah oh yeah and I would agree for sure it's it's such a whole there's so much involved in it and all of a trip like that and you mentioned.

Almost kind of like the burnout or the feeling of being done I mean considering that you do so much of this have you ever literally taken out a break or been like you know what I just in light of the you know the last couple of difficult camping trips I'm just I'm not gonna do that for a couple of weeks or you know if you need to kind of do a.

Mental reset on that I yeah I've been burnt out definitely before and like I think it was when I was chasing like was after my peak and I was trying to change what I thought that people wanted to see as opposed to doing what I wanted to do and I think that's the problem because I in doing what I want to do people are already all about it people.

Want to see it I'm enjoying it I'm having fun it's exciting for me it comes through in the video for me trying to like search out something that maybe a I don't necessarily really want to do or care about too much I think it really shows yeah yeah so I I don't really take breaks I have gone on hiatus is a little bit here and there mostly because of.

Health reasons or or whatever the case may be but never never I never took an extended break from YouTube and I you can't really yeah which and I've heard that to it and I know from knowing you person a little bit you this is this is something like you say even if you weren't doing YouTube you would still camp.

Oh do all this stuff so kind of bringing a full circle and looking at tripping with tripper in the future and all that that's going to entail we talked a little bit about several year in the future playing the stuff and I know you do a lot of winter bushcraft so you know what's what's what's the next year with.

Joe Robinette well this winter I would be Oh as much as I can probably buy myself in with the dog I'm gonna I'm gonna build a portable super shelter I want to do a hot tent trip I have a brand-new hot tent coming in the middle still nylon one so I can do a little bit of a winter backpacking type thing then.

Come spring I want to definitely do a spring fishing trip but I probably will go somewhere crazy in the summer maybe the Yukon and Norway or warm one or the other I want to do a Yukon River trip yeah I also want to do a big backpacking trip with him in the fall I want to do the little collage trail a silhouette trail in the fall I wanted to do it this.

Year but it got too late and it started to snow already and it's kind of sketchy oh he's hi out there yeah it is yeah so I really want to do a lot with him and wear him I want to burn that's it I wanna burn for this yeah burning tripperz energy that's what my plan is I wish you luck doing spent the afternoon.

With him I think you have your hands I don't have any more questions for you man I really want to just say thank you for spending the time of doing this and bringing out to this bringing us out to the spot yeah I know we're all gonna see it on film but I really can't tell anyone watching this enough just how cool of a place that is I had to.

Experience and enjoy so thanks for having a cup of coffee with us I really appreciate the time yeah and I look forward to everyone check it out and giving us some feedback thanks guys