Intro & EDC (Every Day Carry)

Where to Start...

Where to Start...

I often find myself gazing at the mountains while at work. I know that the mountains are close enough for easy accessibility, but with as many hours as I am stuck at work, I simply do not have enough daylight to get in even a day hike. So then, what am I to do?
When I arrive home after a long day at work, I like to unwind like anyone else.Whether it be spending time with my girlfriend, watching YouTube videos for hours on end, trying to research as much as possible, as many things as possible, or sleep. I do not have the energy I know that I need in order to complete a hike, or even drive to the trail for that matter. But, what can I do to prepare myself for upcoming treks?
Often while watching YouTube videos, I will watch recordings of hikers full trips, to get a sense of what they do while on their trip. How to pack my pack the most efficient way possible, how to pace myself while on my trip, what types of trails to look for, weather forecasting, layering: the list goes on. My top two favorite YouTube channels belong to Mr. Sean "Shug" Emery, handle shugemery, and Luke from theoutdoorgearreview. These two channels alone have endowed me with so much more knowledge about the outdoors, survival tactics, camping advice, etc. then I had ever thought I'd know.
While watching these videos, my drive to get my own channel up and running keeps pushing to the forefront of my mind. I have obtained video recording gear, reintroduced myself to Windows Movie Maker, I hated this program while in high school and still don't care for it, developed my intro video, and all but created the videos for my channel.
The biggest problem I am facing right now, is I simply don't know how to start. I want to start my channel, and I want to help people with my videos, but I just can't start. I'm not sure if I'm afraid of what people may think of my videos, myself, my devotion to the video categories or what may be holding me back. There is a personal sense of satisfaction from creating something new for the world, and maybe I'm afraid that I'm just duplicating videos already published because I lack any original ideas. What I do know, is there's a wall in front of me right now, that I need to overcome.

Hiking, Hammock Hanging, and the Rocky Mountains

Hiking, Hammock Hanging, and the Rocky Mountains

Since the Fall of 2012, I have been addicted to hiking. I had been on trails prior, and always liked going out for a trek around the lakes up in Estes Park, but as soon as I was introduced to bushwhacking, I knew that I would never have the same experiences as those that I make myself.

In my search for personal growth, I have found, that being out in the wilderness, whether it be on trails or climbing over rocks to get to a peak, was where I wanted, and needed to be. Near the town of Nederland, CO, there is a small parking area where many rock climbers will congregate and scale a massive rock formation. These people have my utmost respect, as I would never be able to overcome my fear of heights. The way they transcend the wall is absolutely amazing. At the point however, is where I was first introduced to bushwhacking. At the time, I referred to it as "adventure hiking," as I had no idea what it was exactly that I was doing. After a two-mile hike up the mountain, I was in love with nature, even more so than before. Being an avid snowboarder, I already had an appreciation for nature and the outdoors. Standing at the peak of the mountain I had just accomplished one of the most meaningful things I have ever done for myself.

After that point, I made a valiant effort to research as much as possible, about everything that there is to bushwhacking, hiking and camping.

While researching, I stumbled upon the YouTube video posts of Mr. Sean "Shug" Emery. These videos introduced me to a style of camping, I had never even thought as an option; hammock camping. I had purchased a hammock prior to watching these videos, but as a way to relax when out on a long hike, not as a way of protection and shelter. After watching these videos, I had decided that I wanted to be a hammock camper. Tents are nice and all, but packing so much extra supplies seemed like a waste of effort to me.

My next few hikes were at the same location, and while on one of these trips, I had the thought, "Why am I exploring the same areas I've already been on? Why am I not traversing the entire state of Colorado? We have countless mountain range trails, and I'm staying in the same place!" After this epiphany, I decided to research Colorado trails, and decided to make the Chautauqua Trail my next target. I knew that I had enough experience to be able to do a more difficult and strenuous hike, so I decided to challenge myself and hike to Bear Peak, connected to the Bear Canyon trail, round-trip of 12.7 miles. I was geared up and ready to go, however I got to the trail much later than I had anticipated. I arrived at the Chautauqua trail-head at about 11 o'clock, and began my trip.

The trail starts out steep and continues it's grade for about 3/4 of a mile. There was not a cloud in the sky, and I had decided to do this trip on, what seemed like, the hottest day of August. Temperatures were pushing 97 that day, and with no cloud coverage, I was burning through my water. I had thought that I had packed enough, 64 oz. plus what I had drank prior to starting, but I was sorely mistaken. I was able to make it to the Bear Canyon split in the trail where I would be able to continue to Bear Peak, but realized that I would not have enough water to make it to the peak and back to base. So, my better judgement kicked in, and I decided to turn around. While disappointed that I didn't make it to the peak, I was happy with my accomplishment.

Since my last trek, I have been devoting all of my time to obtaining new gear to review, start a YouTube page of my own to document my upcoming hikes and camps, and create this blog, which I hope to be able to contribute to daily.