Hey there! My name is Nathan, and Beyond The Treeline is where I hope to share my love for wilderness through my canoeing and backpacking adventures. I enjoy engaging with others over the admiration of wild places; and, in sharing my experiences, I hope is to inspire a love for wilderness.
I love filming in nature because it helps me to slow down and appreciate everything around me in a simple and pure way. I intend to keep my videos authentic to that and independent from brands, sponsorships, and advertisement. If you feel like supporting me in that endeavor, feel free to visit my Buy Me A Coffee page. But more than anything I hope you'll connect with me over this passion for wilderness!
@Beyond_The_Treeline Nathan - what are the make/model of the black pants that you wore with the NRS boots in your Boundary Waters doc? They look like they had some kind of knee reinforcement and paired well with the boots…
The brand is Fjallraven. I think I was mostly using the men’s leggings in that video. Since they dry so fast they make for great paddling pants. But I’ve also really enjoyed just wearing their Vida Pro pants as well. Super durable and they all have those extra reinforcement on the knees which is also great for paddling. The pants are kinda expensive, but they have a lifetime warranty and are just super rugged and well built. And if you wait around for a deal you can usually get a pretty good sale. Check them out for sure if you’re looking for a great pair of outdoor pants! I’ve loved wearing them and they are super comfortable for how rugged they are.
Great video. Some of my best memories are up in the north woods. Moose hunting, fishing trips or just a week of silence, its always such a good time. After seeing this video i'm dreaming about doing the same thing with a kayak. Maybe someday.
Thanks! So true, the north woods are always a good time. So peaceful. Glad the video brought back some memories! I hope you can do that trip someday with the kayak. It’s such a cool area.
@@Beyond_The_Treeline I'm hoping so too, it looks well worth it. The most kayaking I've ever done was a 26 mile trip that lasted from sun up to down. Definitely will need some conditioning to do this! How often did you fellas have to portage?
@@gromp3164 definitely! Yea paddling sunup to sundown is a lot though. 26 miles in a day is no joke! There aren’t too many portages on this route. If I remember correctly, there were only 5. None of them were very long either. I think the one long one was around a half mile. That’s the one from Chamberlain to Eagle Lake. But if you want to skip that portage, you can go a little further south and run a little channel that puts you at the far southern end of Eagle Lake.
@@gromp3164 totally! It’s rare to find a long distance river/lake combo with that few portages. Something you could easily do kayaking too. I would just recommend skipping that long portage with a kayak. Glad to chat about it! I hope you get to do it. Message me anytime if you have questions I can help with!
They definitely are. All those shots were taken outside the BWCA in the Superior National Forest. I just took some creative liberty to sprinkle them in throughout the video. But you’re totally right, no drone photography in the BWCA. I always leave my drone in the car on the actual trip :) Thanks for checking!
I don’t see the point in your comment, but we did both have our own tents if you were paying attention. Not that it would matter if we were using a 2 person tent.
My brother and I to the Allagash River in Maine about 40.years ago and paper companies one I think was Northern TP clear cut both sides of the river for many miles. Needless to say we didn’t expect that but apparently that was a long time ago and where you were seems really beautiful. Awesome trip and I’d love to experience that myself one dap. Great work.
Wow that’s crazy! I bet it looked so different clear cut. Yea the forest seemed very healthy and alive now, though we did drive through many logging areas on our way in. I hope you get to go back and experience it again! It’s a special place. Thanks for watching along!
Well, you can disregard my question. I should have read the comments before posting. Haha. That made total sense to let the rangers transport your gear. I really enjoyed watching your trip through the Allagash. I live in Central Maine and love the beauty of this state, especially the County. You guys work together well as a team. I do have one curious question though. What did you do with your gear while you navigated the rapids below Church Hill dam?
Hey all good! Yea having the rangers transport the gear was great. We weren’t expecting it but it was nice to just focus on the rapids. That area is truly incredible! It’s so beautiful and an amazing part of the country. Thanks! We’ve known each other for a long time and we have been seeing that cooperation coming out well in these trips. We enjoy paddling together for sure!
There's something about the back woods and waters of Maine - not certain what it is, but it's like nothing else on earth. It is a mysterious and beckoning quality that can only be found if we're open and welcoming to it. What a place... 🥾
One thing that came to my mind is the fact that the push for internal frame backpacks started exploding in the mid to late 80s and then suddenly everybody’s dumping their tiogas and picking up north face and lowe mountaineering packs which for most trail hikes, you really don’t need something meant for going up mt. Shasta in winter. This was a great info vid. I love your style dude.
My first BWCA trip was 10 days in and out of E16. Funny coincidence that you stayed in the exact same bunkhouse and used the same campsite as I did the first night after entering. Great video!
Whoa that is quite the coincidence! Haha I love seeing places on RU-vid that I’ve been before. It brings back all the memories. What a great first trip too, that’s been one of my favorite BWCA trips yet. The area is so pretty! Thanks for watching!
Hey! Thanks for the sub and I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos! No all good, this is my good friend Chase that I grew up with. You’ll probably see him in several of the videos. I have a few people who come with me on these trips but he’s normally on the big ones.
Great video! Me and two other guys made a very similar trip to yours just a month after you guys did yours. Our original plan was to make it to Lac La Croix, however we ended up scooting over to Oyster Lake and basecamping there for a day. We had thought about taking the Oyster River down to the Nina Moose River on our way back, but heard it was almost impassable, so it was interesting to see you guys make it through.
Wow that’s great! So you went in October? I’ve been dreaming of another October trip up there. It’s my favorite time of year in the BW. That area is gorgeous! I want to spend more time in the Lac La Croix area. Yea that river was a beast haha. Was fun in retrospect and was definitely an adventure, but in the moment it was pretty rough.
Beautiful trip guys. Really enjoyed watching it. Spending that much time on the water can really change your perspective. Brought back some wonderful memories of a trip I did with my 3 young sons about 25 years ago in Algonquin Provincial Park . Thanks for posting and taking us along with you. Hope you get to do many many more!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed watching. You are so right, it really does change your perspective. I love that our trip brought back some of your trip memories! I enjoy connecting with others over these shared paddling memories. Thanks for the comment! Have a few trips in the works for this year, so I’ll definitely be sharing them as well :)
Did truchas peak with a colleague from LANL on a one-day hike to the top. This is where I learned the hard lesson of not using sneakers with basketball shorts when hiking NM. It was a hard hike.
Oh man! Yea I bet. That terrain is no joke! I bet it was worth it at the top though. The views out there are incredible! That’s also a long day! Where did you hike in from?
Good question! The rangers at Churchill Dam offered to shuttle our gear past the rapids for us for $10. We originally weren’t planning to, but figured it gave us a bit of the peace of mind and allowed us to just focus more on running the rapids. Don’t get that option too often! Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
It really is a beautiful place! We went the last week of September into the first week of October. Great time of year if you’re up for some cooler temps. We hardly saw anyone at all. Felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
Terrific video, thanks. Nice job lining your way through the trouble spots. I’m curious what you wear, if anything, for wet/dry suit (pants, top), when wading. I notice you paddled some of the heavier rapids, below Churchill Dam without your gear loaded. - smart. How did you get your gear sync’d back with you? Is there a portage path along side that stretch? We’re planning an Allagash trip for early Fall.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! Ah man, I want to go back, it’s so beautiful in fall! You’ll have an amazing trip. Are you planning to start at Johnson Pond or Chamberlain Lake, or somewhere else? I honestly don’t have anything in the way of dry suits yet. I’ve really been eyeing some but haven’t decided to drop the money on one yet. Typically I wear neoprene socks and shoes so my feet stay warm. I usually just wear something quick dry for pants since I tend to plan on being in and out of the water during lining. I don’t typically mind if my legs are wet during the day, unless it’s really cold out then I’m more cautious about being in and out of the water. But as long as I keep my core dry it doesn’t bother me to be wet during the day. I guess I’ve just kinda gotten used to it haha.
Thanks, that makes sense regarding quick-dry pants; will likely do the same. We have an AWW guidebook arriving in the mail today. We initially thought we’d start at Chamberlain Lake, but we really enjoyed your route, so we’re unsure. We’ll likely have our little Chocolate Lab (65 lbs) along with us, which affects canoe choice. Old Town Discovery 158 (heavy tank) if Lab comes along; or Old Town Hunter (much lighter) if Lab stays home. (Funny; our Lab, Stella, watched portions of your video when she heard familiar sounds, like geese)
@@rcote1234 you got it! If you have any other questions I can help with I’d be happy to share anything I learned from our trip. The guide books are super helpful! I did love doing Johnson pond and Allagash Lake. The creek was beautiful and it just felt really remote and secluded. From a canoe standpoint, I have a Nova Craft Prospector and it’s 85lbs. It did great and wasn’t too bad for portaging since none of them are that long. It’ll be fun having a dog along! I love that Stella watches part of it! I have two little Westies and they will watch some of the canoeing videos I watch and love all the sounds too. It’s funny!
That’s not entirely true. There are some frequently used, undesignated sites, and when we found those we stayed at them. But I spoke with the BLM and outfitters in the area and all of them said you can camp wherever as long as you are abiding by the regulations for LNT. They actually recommend camping on gravel bars when they are exposed partly for that reason. But there actually aren’t any designated campsites in Labyrinth Canyon.
I got to bust your balls. None of you guys wearing PFDs and then posting this to YT. I know I'm sure the water is warm. It would make you look more professional and like somebody the larger segment of the paddling community would want to prop up. Think about the example you would want to set for the generation coming up behind you. But I liked vid.
Yea completely aware of the laws for drones. No shots were taken in the BWCA, all in the SNF and I don’t even take the drone into the BWCA. I just take creative liberty for storytelling to intersperse the shots throughout the video. But I put that disclaimer in the description for anyone who’s curious :) Thanks for checking though!
That’s amazing! I got to take my dad up for the first time last year and it was such a great time. Lots of good memories come each trip up there! Glad you enjoyed the video!
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I love sharing these stories and connect with people over them, and I’m glad it’s inspiring! Thanks for the comment!
That’s awesome! You’ll love it. It’s probably my favorite area in the Pecos Wilderness I’ve been to yet. So glad the video helped with that motivation :) Thank you!
Great Video, I'm from the town of Truchas . My friends and I would go backpacking in the peaks during the summer. Have lived in Texas for over 30 years now, how I miss the beauty of the Truchas Peaks and Northern New Mexico.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Wow, how special to have grown up there. It truly is a gem of a place. I find myself continuing to go back to that area. It’s so beautiful and the peaks are so dynamic. Do you ever get to go back to visit?
"In our attempt to make life easy we have also made it complicated, we have lost touch with simplicity and awe" - beyondthetreeline. I appreciate the night sky shots
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it. The night sky was truly incredible out there! A few of those nights I sat up late just watching it all. Thanks for joining along!
Thank you for the memories. Fort Kent is my hometown. I have been just about everywhere you were on this trip. I recognized a few places not mentioned in your narrative. My most memorable trips were in the winter by snowmobile. We then stayed at the Maine Game Warden camp on Big Eagle.
That’s amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching along! I love connecting with people through these memories and hearing their experiences. You have a beautiful hometown! I loved all of northern Maine! I bet winter is a very special experience in the north woods. Thanks for connecting!
It’s called Bannock. Super easy to make. It’s just flour (1 cup), baking powder (1 tsp), salt (1/4 tsp), powdered milk (1/4 cup), and shortening (1 tbs). Then you can mix anything else in it you want like berries or dried fruit. Super good!
@@HonRon211 it is! Especially if you add in some dried fruit and put some butter and jam on it. Have fun with it! Let me know how it turns out! If you have a cast iron, you can fry it too. Lots of options.
