Good YouTube bushwalking channels ?

[Hallu]

Hi there,
Weirdly enough, there aren't many (good) bushwalking/hiking channels out there. I'm now getting serious about nature photography, and I feel like I can more easily find landscape photography channels (people showing their craft in wild places) than hiking channels. Recently I found a little gem I thought sharing with you, a channel called "My Own Frontier" https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2u9cX ... dJr6Ha0aqg , a bloke hiking all over the US, and delivery quality footage and info. His only quirk that makes me irk : he keeps calling a valley a "drainage" for some reason. But otherwise he does some pretty serious stuff, always 5-12 days, doesn't have to be a national park, he can be alone or with friends, doesn't care much about the elements and does it on quite a tight budget. He visits Utah, California, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming... I know some of you love armchair traveling, well this one is pretty great, there are some insane landscapes and he often looks for solitude, which gives him some nice opportunities for wildlife viewing. He films with a DSLR camera, that he recharges with solar panels attached to his backpack.

The last video I checked, on the Wind River range of Wyoming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTKMWi5AyKY , saw him hiking for 9 days with maybe one day of sunny weather, the rest was snow, storms, rain or strong winds. And he and his friends finished the last 3 days on 3000 calories (1000 per day), always staying positive. It's funny to hear him say he hates most of his gear, and goes out for the adventure, finding a route to bypass hurdles thrown at him by the elements or the landscape. He shoots a lot of b-roll footage, just to show a cohesive story, it's a lot of work, and everyday he shows his progress on the map, his plan etc... Do you know something similar to this for Australia ? This one looks promising : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqTqNd ... 8GP23S3e7Q but that's all I could find.

[racca]

There is a few aussie channels on bushcraft with elements of bushwalking in there, but, I agree, I can't recall any solely focused on bushwalking. Tons of yanks.

[michael_p]

Lots of good bushcraft channels but little actual walking channels. Maybe we are too busy enjoying the walk than take the time to do the filming.

It is worth noting that it can take a lot of work to put together a decent video.

[CBee]

This is probably a little off-topic, but since we're talking about vids, I should add here that "The New River Project" on youtube, is by far the most spectacular video I ever seen on the net.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3mVL780Jp8

[crollsurf]

A couple of Aussie ones I like are:
Graham Heathcoat https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFIJ65RBriWsIMQEX9ZnGGg
As already mentioned, Scotty's Gone Walkabout https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqTqNdCd5eibr8GP23S3e7Q
Wagging Tails https://www.youtube.com/user/blu112233/videos although they seem to have spread their wings and do a lot more OS stuff these days

[rcaffin]

The trouble with YouTube channels is that while you might get 1 - 2 good vids, you WILL get hundreds of screaming idiots boasting of their prowess (they got 100 m from their car).
Who, me, biased?
</rant>
Cheers
Roger

[Bill P]

Mark Oates has done some beautiful videos. His Mt Anne in winter one is sublime.

[Hallu]

Mark Oates has done some beautiful videos. His Mt Anne in winter one is sublime.

Just watched it, thanks for that. He's got some serious skills I had no idea you could do that up Mt Anne. Beautiful stuff.

[CasualNerd]

The Mt Anne video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf95-jwXEiE

Quick link for the lazy, I've watched this a number of times, pretty inspiring.

[Moocattle]

Not a fan of bushcraft (habitat destroyers) and videos with music over the top, and that seems to be the majority
I've found I really enjoy the longer videos of Brett from Roaming the Outback, although it is more of a mix between walking and 4x4 touring. Brett really manages to capture the essence of the National parks he visits and includes a lot of great information.

In my opinion the ideal video would include: Route information/planning and decisions, flora and fauna knowledge, local history, atmospheric sounds and lots of still shots

[Hallu]

I've never owned a 4x4 but if I did I'd do exactly what Brett is doing. Great channel, thanks for the tip.

[Lotsafreshair]

There is a few aussie channels on bushcraft with elements of bushwalking in there, but, I agree, I can't recall any solely focused on bushwalking. Tons of yanks.

Mine is solely bushwalking... but I'm curious to know what you think makes for a good channel? What do you look for?

[Lotsafreshair]

Lots of good bushcraft channels but little actual walking channels. Maybe we are too busy enjoying the walk than take the time to do the filming.

It is worth noting that it can take a lot of work to put together a decent video.

Yay! Someone who knows the hours spent pouring over the edit!!

[Lotsafreshair]

In my opinion the ideal video would include: Route information/planning and decisions, flora and fauna knowledge, local history, atmospheric sounds and lots of still shots

Sounds like a lot of work. If only we could get people to pay for this type of content, I'd happily spend more time to make it.

[Lotsafreshair]

Hi there,
Weirdly enough, there aren't many (good) bushwalking/hiking channels out there.

Love to hear what you think are the elements of a good bushwalking channel??

[Warin]

In my opinion the ideal video would include: Route information/planning and decisions, flora and fauna knowledge, local history, atmospheric sounds and lots of still shots

Sounds like a lot of work. If only we could get people to pay for this type of content, I'd happily spend more time to make it.

I don't do videos.
Planing stuff is fairly well covered with texts and maps ... I don't need video on that.

Nor am I one for flora and fauna - I like looking at it but naming it ... I need lots of googling to find it all..
Then days investigating the history ...

Getting people to pay for it? No hope... so you get what you get.

[Hallu]

Hi there,
Weirdly enough, there aren't many (good) bushwalking/hiking channels out there.

Love to hear what you think are the elements of a good bushwalking channel??

Happy to help, although it's only my opinion. I prefer long videos. Like 30 min to 2h. Usually if it's less than 10 min I don't even bother, unless it's an area I've visited myself and I'm curious about the YouTuber's opinion. I'd rather see a video of a trip in one go, than having to browse between part 1 part 2 and part 3, that's really annoying. I like pretty landscapes, with honest opinions, not over the top fake personas like you find sometimes. A feeling of tranquility, wildness, serenity, vast space. For the latter, it helps if you do a lot of b-roll shots, talk to the camera on a tripod and avoid filming selfies. Wildlife is a plus obviously, but it's hard to film. I know it's a lot of work, especially for multi-day treks, with the solar panels to charge your batteries, the B-roll shots, the shear weight of all that gear, so I respect it. I don't care about fancy editing, and I personally hate upbeat music, it only ruins the video. My idea of a good video is this for example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz_AhG4OXtA . No music, good mates having a blast, great landscape, a good look at the map here and there to explain what they're doing... He also transitioned a few years ago from filming himself handheld to mostly doing b-roll and tripod stuff, that improved it massively in my opinion, although like he says it takes him a lot longer. Local knowledge is always a plus, whether it's wildlife, plants, native people, or history. I don't particularly care about bushcraft, and even less about gear reviews. I feel like by doing long quality videos you get a solid following, and it takes a long time till you pass the 100 k subscribers mark but then it's exponential with word of mouth. People get to know you, like you and respect you. Once you reach that stage, you can open a Patreon account and ask for donations. If you do gear reviews, you'll get more views per video instantly, but people don't really care about you, they just click to see a review and move on.

[CraigVIC]

Hi there,
Weirdly enough, there aren't many (good) bushwalking/hiking channels out there.

Love to hear what you think are the elements of a good bushwalking channel??

Hi lotsafresh, I've watched a few of your vids, inc the one on that weird beer syrup where there was little other info, and thought they were great.

However, I think the nature of youtube just favours preppers/bushcrafters. Apart from tutorials like Skurka's what is there to see? It's not that exciting walking, setting up a tent, rehydrating a meal.

Whereas the bushcraft stuff is ideally suited to youtube with the challenges and whatever. Eg. I'll leave the tent at home and cut down twenty trees instead to build a fort/cubby house.

[Rileyr]

I like nemor and john zahurian (john z?)

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[CasualNerd]

In my opinion the ideal video would include: Route information/planning and decisions, flora and fauna knowledge, local history, atmospheric sounds and lots of still shots

Sounds like a lot of work. If only we could get people to pay for this type of content, I'd happily spend more time to make it.

A lot of people are making enough money using Patreon subscriptions to fund this kind of thing, but Australian Bushwalking might be a bit niche.

[Huntsman247]

I find very few hiking youtubers actually have good experience. Where you can actually learn something. When people unpack their multi-day packs and talk about the items they brought and why, I find myself chuckling usually at the ridiculousness and uselessness of many items. And it's often too staged like the cliched shots of the solo guy taking 2 mins to walk off screen as he walks away from the camera.

I think a series of Russell Coights Aussie Bushwalking Adventures would be rather entertaining... Lol

[vagrom]

For Tassie: the Lucas Chamberlain and Wandering Foxbat series.

[Heremeahappy1]

Inspiration comes in many forms and can visit a receptive mind via various media. Seek yours widely. Drones however, remain an irritating imposition that flies in the face of minimum impact walking. Wild places encourage mindfulness and tolerance. So put the drone away and talk into a camera for you next youface clip. Those of us walking hear only buzzing and dont get the hipster acoustic tunes you add post production to cover the aweful noise. BTW Lotsafreshair has been quite empowering and informative for many beginners. Thanks

[Lamont]

TT Notch (not DCF sorry S) in the snow. Five stinking hot days coming up!
A really gentle 12 minutes. Just soak it in....... and listen to the ice talking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSLe_gq2tno

[Hallu]

I just wanted to revive this topic after 3 years. I've found a few really good bushwalking channels.

-In the US, there is https://www.youtube.com/c/AdventureArchives . 4 guys from Ohio doing camping trip mostly in forests. But they also visited the American South West, Hawaï, Japan... Their specificity is that they have a guy that's very knowledgeable about plants and bushtucker in the US. He knows everything about mushrooms, berries, leaves... and will just pick up stuff to cook in the campfire. They're a bunch of young happy guys, not hardcore hikers (they go quite slow and wake up late) but on the other hand they camp year round (some beautiful winter trips in there).

-Again in the US is this insane guy : https://www.youtube.com/c/MediocreAmateur Great sense of humor, he's mostly a trail runner/skier. Very little pure hiking. Some climbing too. But he does these insane trips do very tall mountains, and his friends are just as crazy. One of them even has a pocket helicopter so they can go to even crazier places. A must see... And the work he puts in, filming, is amazing. Some stunning video in Glacier national park, Canada, Switzerland, and his local Utah mountains and canyons.

-A more classic channel, https://www.youtube.com/c/KraigAdams has popularized the silent type of hiking videos. He does mostly long distance solo walking, in the US, Europe and elsewhere. Very relaxing videos. But I think recently I've found even better with this guy : https://www.youtube.com/c/HarmenHoek , a Dutch hiker with STUNNING videos. Compared to Craig, he has a better eye for composition, he must be a photographer or something, and he goes offtrack all the time, often to places that are a bit risky. His South Africa video, or Pyrénées video are just beautiful.

-For Australia, I've recently found this channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/AlainStewart It's a fairly new one, so not many videos. But his trip in the Western Arthurs or Walls of Jerusalem are really great... Very fit guy, not afraid of anything, good spirit.

And of course if you got new suggestions for youtube channels, please post them here...

[rcaffin]

Perhaps it is the combination of the words 'good' and 'Youtube' which causes a serious dissonance?

Cheers
Roger

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Perhaps it is the combination of the words 'good' and 'Youtube' which causes a serious dissonance?

Cheers
Roger

No not really. Some are excellent.

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[peregrinator]

Perhaps it is the combination of the words 'good' and 'Youtube' which causes a serious dissonance?

Cheers
Roger

No not really. Some are excellent.

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It's like most other online forums. Including this one. Dangerous to generalise. Lots of good contributions. Others that are less inspiring.

[Warin]

Perhaps it is the combination of the words 'good' and 'Youtube' which causes a serious dissonance?

Cheers
Roger

No not really. Some are excellent.

It's like most other online forums. Including this one. Dangerous to generalise. Lots of good contributions. Others that are less inspiring.

I like the 'entertaining' Youtube ones.
The internet is full of opinions, picking the ones that suit you and your circumstances is much like selecting bushwalking gear, choosing the good takes thought.

[farefam]

Videography is a funny thing. I usually take some video at certain points along my trips and then later assemble them into a video, but I must admit that most of the time I much prefer to view a slideshow of photographs from the trip instead, as the image quality is much better and viewing photographs is more flexible and requires less commitment of time.

I also tend to think that because a big part of experiencing the wilderness is its silence and the big view, that often doesn't translate well to video.

I suspect that one of the reasons why people often put music as the soundtrack is because wind noise often makes it difficult to get good audio, especially on mountain tops. The trick is to find a selection of music that complements the vision. That or dub in some dialogue afterwards.

Whether it is at the cinema or on youtube, static video images tend to boring as motion pictures inherently need some motion or camera movement (pans or zooms) to maintain dynamic interest. However, I detest shaky point of view video (such as helmet cam) as it makes me motion sick.

If you search on you tube you may find some of Matt Brain's excellent packrafting videos. The 6 rivers trip, Huskisson River and upper Jane River trip videos are especially good.

There are some excellent professional quality Tasmanian wilderness videos by Joe Shemesh that are worth seeking out.