YouTube turned me into a backpacker. These are my 3 favorite creators

My friends, in the fall of 2021, burnout is real. That October, I decided I needed to quickly break out of my routine, purge myself of everything I thought was normal, and not deal with anything at least for a short period of time. The tool I use to break the chains that tie me to my cable modem and my three LCD screens is a backpack. Four years on, it’s stalled, and it’s all YouTube’s fault.

I grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago, a suburban soul through and through, and my knowledge of the outdoors came from a few park district programs and a 1965 Boy Scout Handbook, which I leafed through on a long car ride. this manual. I also have a terrible sense of direction, which has put me in real danger many times. I now hike, camp, and wander in the woods unsupervised for days, and I can’t imagine life without it.

I am healthier now than I was a year ago, and the desire of my heart demands that I become even healthier. But most of all, I love the solitude of long, multi-day solo hikes with a big, ugly backpack strapped to my waist and one slung over my shoulder. When you’re off the grid and without cell service, the days get longer, and the food—even if it’s half-cooked and floating in a Mylar bag—tastes better. i am indeed calvin’s father Now.

Backpacking has helped me improve both my mental and physical health, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that without these three channels.

Andrew Lin, Bryan Lin, Robby Huang, and Thomas Sinard are the four eccentric goofballs behind Adventure Archives, a website that now has nearly 220,000 subscribers. Their channel does exactly what it advertises: It houses a video archive of their various outdoor adventures, including a two-day hike in the Midwest and an epic trip through some of our nation’s most beautiful scenery. Their latest effort is a hilarious 2 hours and 36 minutes of Teton Canyonwell worth your time, celebrating their 15th year in the great outdoors.

While there are many self-indulgent vanity projects on YouTube doing more or less the same thing, these guys display an unusual humility in their work. they are Not afraid to show your failures in front of the cameraand they never seem condescending. Adventure Archives is also very tolerant of affiliate advertising, which has become a major nuisance for outdoor creators on YouTube recently.

I don’t know what their background was, but I got a sense of a suburban vibe, which tells me they didn’t have a lot of dirt under their fingernails growing up, either. Just by being on my TV, they convinced me that someone like me, who sat behind a computer and rolled dice all day, could backpack alone and make it home when it was all over.

Jessica “Dixie” Hawkins is a Triple Crown hiker, which means she has completed the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail—three of the most daunting trails in the United States trails. National Scenic Trail system. She is also one of the most generous educators I have found about the backpacking hobby. Like the gang at Adventure Archives, she’s also very humble.

While many other outdoor-focused channels on YouTube incorporate a dash of wit into their dozens of videos, Hawkins has kindly packed nearly everything she knows into one video. Nearly four hours of master class Online. She writes and narrates her videos in a style that avoids jargon and makes no assumptions about the expertise of her viewers. That’s the same sound I’m trying to cultivate here. Desktop section of Polygonshe did it skillfully and naturally, shared a wealth of information, and felt relaxed and logical. Before my first solo trip, I completed the entire process in two weeks using a pencil and notebook, and the experience was extremely beneficial.

It’s safe to say that no other creator on YouTube taught me more and in more detail than Hawkins, including the following facts: Know when and how to ask for help In remote areas when you need it.

Miranda Webster is the longtime voice of REI’s own YouTube channel and is the absolute authority on YouTube. Her sense of adventure was contagious, and I spent many evenings watching her bubbly self bounce along the trails, leaving nothing but joy and a sense of belonging in her wake.

Her ever-positive attitude both confuses and inspires me, but it’s her playful spirit that has helped inspire other members of my family to join me on some of my recent wilderness adventures. her three part series looking for The best remote restrooms in the Pacific Northwest It’s – and I’m being 100% real here – absolutely stunning. Suffice to say, this is a woman who truly knows herself, with a small group of dedicated experts/best friends/colleagues to support her.

While there are occasional episodes that are very gear-focused, her channel is also a reliable source of great outdoor vibes and great information. She’s also not afraid to step out of her comfort zone and try new things. Although I can’t cross country or run dry toothpaste block In order to reduce the weight of my backpack as soon as possible, I absolutely support her call for normalization Mixing vintage camping gear with more modern ultra-lightweight kit…if only because none of these new things fit my ridiculously tall frame.

Good luck to you, Miranda, and hope a group of wandering Hall family hikers encounter you on the trails next summer.