Go Pro Hero 3: Black Edition Test Ride

Okay loyal followers its time to start testing out the equipment that will be documenting this excursion. What better place to start than with my newest documentary toy...the Go Pro Hero 3: Black Edition. This...thing...is...awesome! I am not going to go into too much explanation of this particular piece of hardware right now because I will be doing a follow up video to this one going over the seemingly endless components available with this story-tellers tool. For now I just want to demonstrate some of its action video capabilities in my inaugural Walkabout Video (this is a repost...please tell me if the video still doesn't work).

In this video, I have mounted the Go Pro on the side of my Motorcycle, which will henceforth be referred to as the Iron Horse. The camera was angled in a way to capture the clutch use, as well as a cool perspective of the road. In the second half of the video, the Go Pro is attached to my body using a chest mount.

The movie itself isn't all that exciting (I mean part of it is just staring at my leg or waiting at stop signs haha) but it was a good test of both the camera's capabilities as well as my introduction to film editing.

Once the Walkabout is afoot, you can expect to see future footage filmed during any number of action sequences...to include: Whitewater Kayaking, Mountain Biking, Rock Climbing, Canyoneering, Downhill Skiing, Caving, SCUBA Diving, Snorkeling, Wake Boarding, Deep Sea Fishing, Hunting, Mountaineering, Ice Climbing, Glacial Water Kayaking, and so so much more.

Oh right! Please pause the Eddie Veder song playing on the right-hand side of your screen before watching the video! Lastly, be sure to watch it in the full 1080p HD version.

So without any further ado, please enjoy the Go Pro Hero 3 Motorcycle Test Ride...

Step Aside Steve McQueen...

 

I haven't even scratched the proverbial surface with the Go Pro mounts. OK so in this clip, I'm using the same motorcycle/handlebar mount as I did in the previous video (will be reposted soon)...BUT...this time I placed it right in front of me, on the handlebars themselves. Alright, before you say anything or start bustin' my chops, yes, I know the video is a little cheesy but everyone wants to at least feel like a badass from time to time. Oh yeah and if you have the mental fortitude to endure the entire video, you will get to see some pretty luckily timed shots with the sun's glare (Particularly at 5:13). Pretty gnarly.

ADDED BONUS: The youngest member of the "Broherim" has graciously offered to let me use his band's song for the backdrop to the video. So thank you, Kevin!

*PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT: You should always wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle.* I was taking a calculated risk, riding at 11am, no traffic, and staying within a one block radius of my apartment.

I schlepped this video together a bit quicker than the previous one...I didn't feel like taking the time to cut more (which is why you now get 8 minutes of me just riding a motorcycle...sorry). The purpose however was to test out the capabilities and find the best places for these mounts come journey-time.

Ok so the mount works great.  A minor oversight on my end...blaming it on user error...I forgot to tighten the pivot arms for the mount and it started to droop because of the bike's vibrations. Over all...so cool!...and with sooooo many places to put it...(TWSS?)

What I really need to do is sit down and study these cameras.  Or better yet...take a class. I have at least 6 months to become as proficient and resourceful with these devices as I can so that I am able to capture the most intimate, lifelike, and jaw dropping scenery and adventure I witness. I will have the memories, but often a picture or film can spark those synapses! Plus I want to share this experience with anyone willing to listen to my stories. Afterall...I would not die in any man's company. That fears his fellowship to die with me. (Not quite sure how that quote - paraphrasing -  applies here...but its one of my favorites...so humor me)

OH! I should probably mention. Iron Horse will not be coming with me on this great adventure. But his cousin, the mountain bike, will be. The handlebar mount works the same on both.

P.s. No one can push Steve McQueen aside...a hardened man, a relic from a time when men were men.

Enjoy the  video! (Don't forget to mute Hard Sun on the right hand side AND turn that 1080 HD on!)

 

The Man and his Map...

“Maps are essential. Planning a journey without a map is like building a house without drawings.”
-Mark Jenkins

Going on Walkabout: A Rite of Passage

This post is intended to go beyond describing my intentions for writing this online journal and to better explain what the "Walkabout" is and why I am setting out on this adventure.

 I have always been a sucker for personal transformations and people and cultures embracing the traditions of "rites of passage." Whether its to gain acceptance into a group, earning your street cred, learning the ropes, passing a test, or just proving something to yourself. The process that someone goes through, where they transform or grow into a more enlightened person, has ALWAYS inspired me. The Australian Aborigines Walkabout is probably one the most recognized rites of passage in the world. In that culture, young males would set off on a journey, for several months, to RETURN to and live in the wilderness so as to reconnect with "the old ways" and to grow as a man. In a sense I plan to seek the same transition.

The idea is for me to spend a year's time traversing the American landscapes of the US National Parks. Spending roughly 4 days to over a week at each park...setting aside at least 2 months solely in the untamed Alaskan wilderness. I'm sure my back will never forgive me for this, but I will spend the entire year sleeping under the stars, in a tent, under a shelter, or in a hammock. Away from the comforts of modern society. My trusty Jeep Wrangler will be my steed between each of the Parks and will be put to the test as I am guaranteed to come across ALL TERRAIN in the truest sense of the term...mud, snow, ice, rocks, grasslands, sand dunes, beaches, rivers, and mountains. Pending an appropriate start date, I will most likely begin by following a northerly head wind towards Acadia National Park in Maine. From there I will follow a course due west across the Unites States' northern limits until I reach the pacific. Henceforth I will go boldly into the country's final frontier...Wild Alaska. Pending survival, I then set my sights on the contrasting royal majesty and fierce barrenness of the West coast Parks. I will then steer east and tackle the bold landscapes of the American mid-West. If the unpredictable weather of the Rockie Mountains hasn't weakened my resolve, I will head southeast towards Big Bend and the remaining parks the make up the southern half of the United States. To only then return back to familiar territory as an unfamiliar man. I might recognize my "home" but, to my home, I will likely be a gritty, unkempt stranger...a blurry reminder of someone it once knew.

My body might make it back but my mind is certain never to return. It will forever belong to the adventures...to the strangers...to the sights...to the solitude...to the dangers...to the stories...

I've spent the last few days thinking about writing this post but realized I couldn't put the answer to paper.  In this post I wanted to describe What and Why. I've vaguely described what this Walkabout will entail but I still need to reflect on the full essence of WHY I am doing this...What I DO know is this... I have to do it. Jack London said it best....its the Call of the Wild.

"Be Prepared" to Do "Whatever"

So The Walkabout isn't scheduled for several months now. This may sound like a long time, but for a personal journey of this magnitude and breadth, there is MUCH to be done on the side of planning and preparation.

As a wise old broad once said, "how often is happiness destroyed by preparation?" Most of the time I'd heed to Miss Austen's infinite wisdom and throw caution to the wind,  let myself get swept up in spontaneity, and for all intensive purposes I intend to do just that. BUT to go into the lion's den ill-equipped and without some blueprint, I will be soon singing songs of missed opportunities and being felled by unnecessary harms. Whats more...by completely ignoring the words of Lord Baden Powell, "Be Prepared," I might as well remove the Eagle Scout Badge off of my, annually shrinking, Boy Scout uniform. So a healthy balance of "Well thought out improvisation" it is.

Like I said before, I soon will be posting pictures, details, and reviews of the gear I, thus far, intend to bring along with me.  I will post these on the main page but will also label them into their own separate folder where folks can access them based on specific interests. (Similar to how I will handle the posts per National Park). Additionally, as far as this blog goes...I would like to also make separate pages for "Support" where folks can post general comments, advice, concerns, and if I'm savvy enough....$pon$or$hip$. I also plan to add a page dedicated to the people I meet on this journey. The leaders, the followers, the inspired, the down-trodden, the lost, the found, and everyone else who impacts this experience. This blog is a work in progress, and aside from my occasional musings and ramble-fests, will continue to be so for a while.

This journey may sound crazy...but if that is the case then I have no business being normal.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost...

The beginning...a pretty good place to start. I should lead off by saying, nay, warning you that I am/was probably the last person in the world anyone would think to be starting a blog. I still have a dumb phone and have been on, what some may call, a mini-crusade against our over dependence on technology. "Now having said that" (Inside joke), if we could keep this between you and me (if anyone is actually reading this), I'd appreciate that!

Alright enough of that...lets get down to brass tacks. What is this blog, or as I like to call it, My Virtual Tome (*cough...weirdo...cough),  all about? Well, starting next summer I hope to embark on a year's long journey, traversing the American roadways and calling port at each of the continental National Parks (sorry Hawaii, American Samoa, Virgin Islands $$), and I hope to use this forum as a way to chronicle my quest. From Washington D.C. to the Gates of the Arctic and everything in between. Testing myself across all forms of physical terrain this great country has to offer; from hiking in the Shenandoah, canyoneering in the...Canyonlands, kayaking the Kenai Fjords, rock climbing in Yosemite, skiing down the Rockies, rafting through Big Bend, ice climbing in Glacier Bay, SCUBA diving off Biscayne, mountaineering to the top of Mt. Ranier, and of course backpacking through the endless Wilderness in untamed America...(etc). Alone, with nothing but my Jeep (the Kodiak), my gear, and my intuition...

This past year I have been exposed to both the "limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind," and while it may seem I am running away from society, I like to view it as more of a return to nature. That being said, I cannot wait to meet the characters I will inevitably run into on this quest. I might share a campsite with a complete stranger for a whole week, or hike 5 miles with another, or even spend the day climbing with a group...no matter how long our paths are crossed, these would-be strangers will have a lasting impact on how this story is told...for better or for worse.

Also, I have recently grown more and more disappointed by what is "expected" of us and would like to re-write that definition for myself. We are getting too soft and settling for the easy way out of everything. Anyway...I don't want to get too preachy....but GO OUTSIDE...EXPLORE... GET LOST...PUSH YOURSELF!

I'm sure I am leaving out a lot  but I consider this a living document and will always update accordingly. I suppose that what these "blogs" are for anyway.

I'll wrap things up here. Once I get a proper camera I will be taking an inventory of all my adventure gear and post it here...so stay tuned! Meanwhile...take a look at the current course I have laid out for this adventure. Comments and critiques are all welcome. BUT remember! Its not about the destination...its how you get there...

To Start...Words from the man who started it all

"Love of pure unblemished Nature seems to overmaster and blur out of sight all other objects and considerations. I know that I could under ordinary circumstances accumulate wealth and obtain a fair position in society, and I am arrived at an age that requires that I should choose some definite course for life. But I am sure that the mind of no truant schoolboy is more free and disengaged from all the grave plans and purposes and pursuits of ordinary orthodox life than mine."

-John Muir