I came across this neat commercial from Export Development Canada (EDC) featuring Nova Craft canoes. I thought I’d share because the shots were beautiful and the editing and message were great. Stay healthy out there.
Tag: expedition
La Verendrye – Quebec (short film)
Summer solstice 2016, we set out to explore Quebec in La Verendrye Wilderness Reserve. I can’t believe it was 4 years ago. I have finally found some time to piece together all of these ancient clips into a video. Hope it provides some entertainment.
Boreal to Barrenlands “Crossing Labrador” – a video series
I came across this great canoe video series, following the journey of four young men, as they make their way across Newfoundland and Labrador. There appear to be 13 episodes in total. I thought I’ve been in some buggy areas before in my life, but it is a fraction of what these guys endured. Amazing journey. Enjoy!
“On July 12th, 2019, Noah Booth, Alex Traynor, Dave Greene and Chris Giard will embark on a 35-day canoe expedition where they will paddle, portage and track their canoes 700 kms from the Menihek Hydro Dam to the coastal village of Nain, Labrador’s northernmost permanent settlement. The route is designed to traverse Labrador in its entirety where they will travel through three major ecosystems, and cross two heights of lands.
The key objective of the expedition is to gain a cultural and environmental perspective of one of Canada’s last remaining wilderness frontiers and become the first modern day team to connect Labrador City to Nain in one trip. Throughout, the journey will be captured through film to produce a documentary that will be submitted to film festivals, as well as be promoted through their social media platforms and sponsors. In doing so, they will highlight and pay homage to the historic travellers such as the Naskapi and Montagnais Innu people who have used these lands for generations as ancestral hunting grounds as well as the European explorers such as A.P. Low, William Cabot and most recently Herb Pohl who have mapped these lands through extraordinary exploration.”
Lure of the North – short film by Goh Iromoto
In Ontario, when the lakes have frozen and the forests become silent, there are still plenty of outdoor endeavors to pursue. One such activity I’ve never had the chance to experience, is hot tent winter camping. I found this cool short film about a couple who embark on an expedition in the Ontario wilderness in the heart of winter. The company “Lure of the North” organizes such trips for those that are interested. A quick browse on their website shows pricing anywhere from $400 to $3200 dollars CAD.
I’ve been a big fan of Goh and his work. He is a cinematographer based out of Toronto, Ontario. His works revolve mostly around the natural world, and he has done much to help the canoe culture in Ontario. I particular like the way he captures certain sounds to immerse one in the environment. His shots and framing are always stunning to me.
“In the remote wilderness of Ontario, Canada, two travellers endure the repetitive mental hardship of cold winter tripping. This short film captures the experiences and emotions of their expedition. It’s tough. It’s tiring. It’s lonesome. Yet it’s a beautiful and meditative love affair as you persevere one snowshoe step at a time.”
“The Mighty Five” with a Toddler – Utah
My wife and I were finally in a spot where we could take a solid 10 days off (Sep 15-25) together with our 23 month old son for a family vacation before I started my new job. We contemplated several different destinations. We were considering Maine (Acadia National Park), Western Canada to the rockies or even Ireland. We ultimately decided that this was the perfect opportunity to take on the “Mighty 5″ National Parks of Utah (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Arches National Park). I was initially concerned about the amount of car time our toddler would have to put up with. Looking at the map, we would tally over 800 miles of driving broken up over 10 days. He has proven to us however on past trips to Shenandoah, Yellowstone and the Great Smokies that he was a road warrior.
Day 1: Richmond, VA to Las Vegas
Our journey started in Las Vegas, after a long travel day from Richmond, Virginia with a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina, we were exhausted. Minh did surprisingly well on the both legs of the flight. I don’t think we could have done it without “Bob the Train”, his favorite TV show. For the most part, we don’t allow him to watch tv, tablets or phones during the day, we save them for long travel times in the car or plane. As a result, he is able to stay occupied for hours because it is still novel to him. We packed along toys on the plane as well such as cars, bulldozer, play doh and of course plenty of snacks. We arrived in Vegas at midnight eastern time zone, but Minh was wide awake once we stepped into the Venetian, the lights, sounds and bustle of people even at this hour was enough to get him riled up. I’m surprised he was able to fall asleep that night!
Day 2: Las Vegas, Nevada to Springdale, Utah (159 miles)
This leg of the trip was what I called the “HOT” segment. The drive along interstate 15 was easy enough, but it was a scorcher through the desert at 103 F. While the desert is a beautiful place, I find that its desolation and unforgivingness leaves me with a sense of loneliness and unease. At these moments, I compare deserts to forests. While both are magnificent; one of them provides, and the other taketh away….
We made a short detour to the Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada’s oldest state park). The park is named after red sandstone which were formed from shifting sandstone formations 150 million years ago. Under the harsh sunlight, these formations give the illusion that they are literally on fire. Stare long enough, and the rock formations started to look like faces trapped in stone….creepy. We wanted to go on a decent hike of 2 miles however the extreme heat cautioned against this idea. Thankfully, Valley of Fire is a driver friendly park and we were able to hop from point of interest to the next.
Hat and sunscreen….absolutely crucial for kids. Don’t forget sunglasses too.
103 F
Valley of Fire
We arrived in the town of Springdale, Utah (pop 529) that night, all of us were pretty exhausted. We stayed at a peaceful air bnb with an unexpectedly green and lush backyard for our son to run around. It was clear that the owners worked diligently to keep the garden and lawn flourishing. Water barrels and a irrigation systems seemed to be all placed carefully. It was odd to see so much green in the desert, but it was certainly welcoming. I made a trip to the general store that night to pay an arm and a leg for milk and breakfast items for our crew the next day. On the way back, I saw that there was a grocery store, “Sol foods”, that was open late…..awesome. I didn’t really care at this point. We were in Zion and we had the next two full days to explore it.
Day 3: Zion National Park
The next morning, a combination of the climate, altitude change and allergies seemed to hit us all at once. We were congested and drowsy to say the least. We decided that we were going to take it easy and spend the day on short hikes and get a good idea of the layout of Zion. For those that wish to drive into the park, be warned that even in shoulder season, parking spaces in Zion are pretty much full by 8-9am! Instead, an excellent shuttle bus system runs through the town of Springdale (every 15 minutes or so) and will take you directly into the park. We hitched a ride in front of our street, along with many other hikers in one of the shuttles. Minh really seemed to like the bus system and he proceeded to sing “the wheels on the bus go round and round” for all to hear.
Virgin River in Zion National Park
Zion views
Happy for ice cream
We started our adventure at the visitor center to discuss trail conditions, special highlights, get maps and hear recommendations. When traveling with a toddler, I am not ambitious about what we attempt to accomplish. My main concern out here was safety and letting him have a good time. We took on the Kayenta trail, a mild hiking trail that wasn’t heavily populated. We later went back for ice cream and lunch in front of Zion National Park Lodge. Minh was getting used to the hiking. We had our bearings, and we were ready for the Narrows the next day.
Day 4: Zion National Park (The Narrows) and travel to Bryce Canyon City (87 miles)
Temperature High: 70 F, Low 57
We needed to get an early start today. Sarah and I woke up at 5:30am to pack all of our belongings and load the car and prepare breakfast while Minh slept. Once he awoke, we all eat a hearty breakfast and drove into the park at 7:30am. It was cold and dark. Sunrise was at 7:07am although we were heading to the bottom of the canyon and I didn’t expect sunlight to reach us until noon. At this early part of the day, parking was still available. We made our first stop, just outside outside the park at Zion Outfitter, a canyoneering and camping equipment store to rent canyoneering boots and socks for the hike in the narrows.
“The Narrows” is Zion’s most popular attraction and hike. It is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon where the North Fork of the Virgin River flows. There are two ways to approach “the Narrows”.
1. 3.6 mile bottom-up hike from Temple of Sinawava to Big Springs. This is the most popular approach and the easiest. This is what we would be attempting.
2. You could also hike the Narrows from top-down. A 16 mile hike from Chamberlain’s Ranch back to the Temple of Sinawava. This approach requires a permit, as well as careful planning because it is a 2 day excursion.
Breakfast before the narrows
Wading in the water
Asleep in the narrows
Narrows
Careful weather planning is needed before attempting the Narrows. As you can imagine, the area is incredibly dangerous during times of rain as it is susceptible to flash flooding.
This hike was one of the main reasons we wanted to come to Utah. It lived up to the hype and every step of the way was gorgeous. The water is clear and the light reflecting from the canyon walls spectacular. Minh enjoyed this segment greatly! We decided not to hike the whole 3.6 miles mostly for safety reasons. On all of these hikes, I carried Minh in a Deuter Comfort Active pack that we purchased specifically for this trip. I love this pack. It is comfortably for the passenger as well as the carrier. It is lightweight and the passenger sits closely to your back to prevent that torsional force on the spine. I saw a few others with kids on their back. It is very important to practice extreme caution when hiking with a toddler. Always 3 points of contact for me, and also making sure I had firm footing. Trekking poles are a must. We finished our hiking at approximately noon and head back to the parking lot to return all of our gear. Minh was tired and thankfully slept all the way to Bryce Canyon town.
Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park
We awoke in the town of Bryce Canyon to clear skies and cool temperatures in another air bnb. This was probably my favorite place that we stayed at because we had a beautiful backyard all to ourselves with a small playground and trucks to play with. Behind us was a wooded area where plenty of deer roamed. They even crossed through the backyard to welcome us. Similar to Zion, a bus shuttle system takes visitors throughout the park. I have heard from many visitors that Bryce was their favorite park of the mighty 5. I could easily see why. The views are unlikely any other. The canyons are filled with thousands of hoodoos (a tall thin spire of rock that protrudes from the ground). Many of the locations are drive up views, but the hiking trails into the canyons are amazing. We took on the Queens Garden trail that meets up with the Navajo Loop trail to get back to the top, the purpose was to see Wall Street and Thor’s Hammer. Bryce did not disappoint.
Whoa……
Fam
The wolves of wall street
Day 6: Bryce Canyon City to Capitol Reef National Park (109 miles)
We head out the next morning to the town of Torrey, Utah (population 243). We arrived at approximately noon and head straight out to see Capitol Reef National Park only a short drive away. Out of the might five national parks, Capitol Reef is considered by many to be “in the middle of nowhere” as it is far from the interstate. This park is definitely the least visited of the mighty five although I actually preferred the peace and quiet out there. This was our easy day. The Fruita valley is where we spent a good portion of our time, exploring the beautiful apple, apricot, pear orchards. Minh loved picking fruit from the tree, I think the idea of it was still novel and amazing to him. We stopped by the Gifford house and enjoyed some berry pie on the picnic tables outside. We head back to Capitol Reef resort to settle for the night. Surprisingly, the view outside our door was one of the best we had during our tripping.
Pie!
Hickman Bridge
Karate in Capitol Reef
Day 7: Capitol Reef to Moab, Utah (136 miles)
We woke up this morning to complete a hike in Capitol Reef, our goal this morning was to see Hickman bridge before we made the drive to Moab. The Hickman bridge trail is an easy 1.7 mile hike out to the natural bridge and back. Overall the hike is very pleasant and moderate in difficulty. One thing we noticed on these trails, were the “beware of aggressive wasps” signs. As we approached the bridge, Sarah actually got bit by one! These were certainly aggressive and they went after her for sure. Interestingly enough, no one else nearby including Minh and I were being swarmed by these wasps. Aside from the wasp incident, this trail was awesome. We packed up into the car and made the 2.5 hour drive to Moab, Utah. Thankfully Minh slept for most of this leg. We arrived in the town of Moab to reunite with Minh’s grandparents for the last few days of the trip. He was certainly thrilled to see them. I also believe that he was more cooperative as he is surrounded by more adults. 4 to 1, he didn’t stand a chance. Moab was the biggest town by far, that we’ve been in for several days. Population greater than 5000. Amazingly, 3 million visitors come to Moab each year to engage in every outdoor activity possible.
Day 8: Canyonlands National Park
The next morning, we head out to explore Canyonlands National Park, the fourth of the might five on our list. I was amazed at just how different each of the parks could be, even though they were in the same geographic region. Canyonlands made me feel the smallest. The awesome thing about Canyonlands is the fact that you are able to get up close and personal with alot of these canyons. Just outside, the national park is Dead Horse Point State Park which actually boasts some of the most impressive views on the entire trip an absolute must detour. We also allotted some time at the end of the day to go to Moab Giants, a dinosaur park for kids that features full sized dinosuars along a 0.5 mile trail through the desert, a 3D prehistoric aquarium that Minh loved, and dinosaur playground. As a giant dinosaur fan, this was also a must visit for us.
Utahraptor
Canyonlands
Shafer Canyon Overlook
Day 9: Arches National Park
One of the most popular of the mighty five is Arches. It is only 1 mile north of Moab and bordered by the Colorado River in the Southeast. It is home to over 2000 natural sandstone arches. The most famous of which is probably the “Delicate Arch” which is featured on probably every postcard and tshirt. We were actually able to get in some good hiking at Arches to see the thin Landscape Arch and Minh had the opportunity to play in a giant sandbox. If you only had an hour in Arches, I would go to the “The Windows”. From this parking lot, you are able to access several arches all in one spot. Including the famous “windows”, “turret” arch and the “double arch”. All of which are within sight of each other.
Day 10 Arches National Park to Salt Lake City (233 miles)
On our last morning, Sarah and I rose early to get in Arches National Park to see the sunrise. We decided to go the “windows”, a popular spot that opens up to several fantastic arches. I was surprised when there were actually far less people who were willing to wake up at this hour than expected. In retrospect, the hours between 6:30am and 8:30am are probably the golden hours of the park. The trails are empty and the colors spectacular. The cool temperatures also allow for optimal hiking conditions. We were both surprised that even at 8:30am, we were able to get some prime locations all to ourselves. We head back to back up the cars and then made the long drive to Salt Lake City for our flight home the next day.
Looking back on this trip, I was amazed at the distance we were able to travel with our little boy. It actually didn’t feel tiring at all, because we were fueled by the thrill of new sights and we had clear objectives each day. Above all else, I am grateful that we were able to travel safely without any accidents or injuries. There are certainly risks involved when traveling with a child on a road trip like this through the desert. Medical centers are few and far between so make sure that you are prepared. I’ve compiled a list of essentials that I think anyone going on such a trip such strongly consider bringing.
Airplanes
Going home!
Also, for anyone considering making the “mighty five” road trip, I would also highly recommend allocating time to seeing some of the state parks. Many of these parks in the area offer spectacular views and are less crowded than the national parks.
Essentials:
– medical kit with “epi pen”
– abundant supply of water (national park services recommend drinking 1 gallon of water per day, this is actually twice the amount recommended during a typical day in the city).
– sun protection (sunblock, sunglasses!)
– satellite messenger if hiking in remote areas
– hard copy maps or GPS (signal strengths are variable out in the desert)
– multi purpose tool (ex. swiss army knife)
– carry two sets of car keys! (we helped a couple at canyonlands when they locked themselves out of the car)
Torres Del Paine National Park and Patagonia Camp
In March 2017, we took a trip to the southern most tip of South America to explore Chilean Patagonia. This was over 2 years ago, but I finally found some time to put together a video! It was filmed on my sony a6000 which I purchased in 2015, it amazes me how well this camera has held up over the years. It’s not 4K video, but the colors and image quality are still awesome in my opinion. It has been on a lot of trips in all types of weather conditions and survived. It is also a tiny camera so you can actually use it when the moment calls. Enjoy!
40 years later, a family revisits their epic canoe trip
I found this cool short video of a family’s canoe journey on the Inside Passage from Washington to Alaska. It was featured in National Geographic’s Showcase Spotlight. Pretty amazing trip! Would you ever go on a trip like this with family?
“In 1974, filmmaker Nate Dappen’s 20-year-old parents and uncle Andy built their own canoes to travel up the Inside Passage from Washington to Alaska. The voyage took them all the way to Ketchikan and became an epic journey that would later be retold to Nate and his brother. Determined to reinvigorate the legend, Nate convinced his father, uncle, and brother to embark on another trip. In the summer of 2017, the Dappens renovated those original canoes and continued their expedition on to Juneau.”
“Showcase spotlights exceptional short videos created by filmmakers from around the web and selected by National Geographic editors. We look for work that affirms National Geographic’s belief in the power of science, exploration, and storytelling to change the world. The filmmakers created the content presented, and the opinions expressed are their own, not those of National Geographic Partners.
Know of a great short film that should be part of our Showcase? Email sfs@natgeo.com to submit a video for consideration. See more from National Geographic’s Short Film Showcase at http://documentary.com Get More National Geographic: Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSite Facebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeo Twitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitter Instagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInsta “
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Sevierville, Tennessee
I normally wouldn’t log this trip as an expedition, but with a 19 month with us, it sure felt that way. My friend was getting married in Nasheville and he suggested that I head out a week early to explore the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as the surrounding Gaitlinburg area before the wedding. Gaitlinburg is listed at 6 hours and 41 minutes from Richmond, and I have always been looking for an excuse to go to the smokies. We felt like the distance might have been quite a stretch for our 19 month old son, but he has always been quite a good lil traveler so we decided to brave the roads instead of the airplane. He had never travelled such a distance by car before and I had no idea how he would tolerate it. So we ended up allotting a 12 hour travel window for us with scheduled 2 hour breaks in between so he could run and stretch his legs.
Departure: 6:30am. The first leg of the trip went very well. We were able to get in 2.5 hours before our first stop in the town of Roanoake, Virginia. We stopped at Greenhill Park, and it was the absolute perfect pit stop. For a toddler, this park was like an oasis. It had it all, a playground, picnic tables, shaded areas, and even the roanoake river coursed through the park for fishing and cooling off. The bend of river that traveled through the park was very clear and shallow. It was perfect to wade and search for fish and crayfish. Our son loved this spot a little too much and as expected, it was a battle to get him back into the car…fortunately, the weather was merciful and by mid-day it was still surprisingly comfortable.
Soon enough we were on 81 south again, as the interstate rolled gently through the hills towards Tennessee. We covered a couple of hours before we stopped again in Bristol, VA/Tennesee for lunch. We finally finished the leg to our cabin at about 4:30pm (a total travel time of 10 hours) 2 hours ahead of schedule! We actually stayed just outside Gaitlinburg in a town called Sevierville, Tennessee (population 16,716). We were all excited to stretch our legs, jump on the bed a few times, and get outside and take in some of the beautiful views. It did not take us long to get settled into our new home for the next 5 days and 4 nights. Our son instantly fell in love with the place and of course the air hockey table. We all rested easily that night, in a cabin up in the clouds after a long day of travel – we were pretty worn out.
Gaitinburg
Black bear.
smoky mountains
The next morning, we woke up early to head into the national park. The drive was a short and easy 20 minutes into the park. Out of all 60 national parks in the United States, the Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited park with more than 11.6 million visitors in 2016. This is likely due to the fact that it is one of the few parks on the east coast and it is also free admission. I was surprised to see the level of commercialization of the surrounding area. The town of Gaitlinburg is essentially one big tourist trap, with everything from “Ripley’s Believe it or not” to go carting! I personally found this to be off-putting but many people seemed to love it. I guess I always imagined the national parks as one of the few special places on earth protected to bring us closer to the outdoors. They are meant to inspire future generations to learn about the environment and the importance of different ecosystems. Instead, in Gaitlinburg, there are endless shops and stores that sell meaningless t-shirts and merchandise… all of which will likely end up in a landfill within a couple of months. While, Gaitlinburg can be very entertaining for children, it feels out of place so close to a national park.
The park itself is very nice and actually very similar to Shenandoah National Park. We chose our hikes carefully…..something feasible with a 27lb 19 month old on your back. We arrived early in the park and were fortunate enough to get a parking spot at Laurel Falls. It was an easy one with only 314ft elevation gain over 2.4 miles. Our son particularly liked the Sugarlands visitor center where he finally got to meet a black bear (the goal of his trip). He even posed next to it for some pictures. He always seems to enjoy visitor centers at parks, whether they be state or national. They offer a quick run through of the key faun and flora in the park. We later head into Gaitlinburg to tour the town and find some dinner.
fog
on top of clingman’s dome
Now that we knew what we were up against, we wanted to rise early and get to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the park and in Tennessee. It is located in the heart of the park at an altitude of 6643 ft. Fortunately with a child, the parking lot brings you within one mile of the observation deck, where you make a steep ascent to be amongst the clouds. The temperature at this altitude was 52 degrees farenheit, a stark contrast from the 82 degree weather back at our cabin! Visibility fluctuates rapidly at this altitude as well, and we hunkered down in our CRV until the sun started to show. Interestingly, at this altitude, there was an information cabin and gift shop. We bought a sweater and a stuffed bear and hung around the parking lot until the sun came out. We caught our break when we caught a glimpse of Fontana Lake on the North Carolina side over a mile away. The climb up is steep with numerous benches along the way for visitors to take breaks. The landscape is pretty amazing with the distinct douglas fir trees that painted the horizon. The clouds moved fluidly over the mountains and created an ocean of moving shadows over the mountain range.
breakfast views
We would spend the next few days at the cabin, relaxing and taking in the surrounding views and listening to the sounds of the mountain range. We did occasional trips back out to Sevierville for supplies and food, but the pickings were slim. Of course, a trip to Tennessee would be incomplete without a visit to a local distillery for some bourbon. We picked up a couple of bottles from the King’s Family distillery as gifts for friends and family back home. All in all, our lil toddler loved the trip. The Great Smokies itself is a beautiful park. Perhaps one day, we might return to take on the most popular and strenuous hikes like Mt Leconte or Andrews bald, but I seriously doubt that we would be back in this area with so many more National Parks left to visit. I was surprised at how well he did in the car, and this gives me hope for future trips.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park
In May 2018, we took our 7 month old out west to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. I put together this video of our memorable time out west. Enjoy!
WAY NORTH 