Camping ALONE in the Woods with my Dog (Solo Female)

This isn't a film about extreme camping. Meek, no! It's not a film about me attempting some crazy challenge. Are you a bit tired? Yeah, I'm also a bit tired. And knee-deep in snow. Slowly, I'm coming around to the idea that in life, and on YouTube, not everything needs to be a grand adventure. Sometimes, I just like being alone. Steep, steep, steep. In the woods, with no cell service. This is Wilk's famous ambush pose. He's about to ambush me. The closer I get, look at this. Check this out now. And that's what this video is about. Just a girl and her dog going for a hike in the mountains. You want to carry it? I wish you could, one day. For now, I'm the mule in this relationship. I have to admit, I'm a little bit nervous because this is our first overnight hike together. I mean, not my first overnight hike, but Wilk's. And I have no idea what he's going to make of it. A few days prior to this hike, I found a pioneer cabin on a local trail map and decided that I'd like to go and check it out. But it's high up in the mountains, and it's still early in the season, so I knew there might be a lot of snow up there. The idea today is to try to get as far as I can. Is it a bit too big for you? You don't think so? You're going to bring it? Come on, let's go. Jesus! Even out there in the wild, far from phone calls and to-do lists, I still sometimes find it hard to switch off. And then there's this guy, loving every single moment, so present, just so full of joy. We could probably learn a lot from our fairy friends if only we looked closely enough. You know, over the last couple of years, I've kind of thought of hiking as fun, but not exactly thrilling anymore because I guess I got a little bit used to it. I did a lot of it, and then it stopped being this exciting new thing. But now that I have Wilk, and now that I'm hiking with him, all of a sudden, it's exciting again because he added a whole new level of challenge into hiking. I got to keep him fed and safe and healthy and happy. And in a way, that's kind of rekindled my passion for hiking, which is great. I would imagine this is what happens when, yeah, when you get kids or when you get a pet or when you enter a new relationship, all of a sudden you get a new perspective on things. Let's go. Steep, steep, steep. The snow is too soft. Literally takes like 30 seconds to make a single step. Snowshoes, anyone? Anyone? Snowshoes? There's a rule in the climbing and hiking world, and that rule is turnaround time. I'm tempted to keep going just because of that, you know, that ego telling me that I can make it and that I shouldn't give up. But the snow is so deep. It's just, it's a nightmare. It's a time that you agree to where no matter how close you may be to the summit, if you still haven't made it, you must turn around. This is to avoid getting stuck in the dark or in dangerous conditions. Well, my turnaround time was about to arrive and the storm clouds in the distance, oh yeah, they motivated me to turn around even faster. Bjork is loving it, but I am not and I'm not too sure about it. I mean, it feels a little bit fishy to me. So I think what I'm going to do is I'm not going to go all the way to the end of the trail. I'm going to turn back and we're going to set up camp a little bit lower down where it's not so freaking annoying. No regrets turning around. I watched the YouTube video a few months back where someone was running a race in the mountains. He was disappointed with his performance and found the run too boring to even make into a video. But see, he'd brought his dog along for the run and watching his dog made him realize that not every run needs to be extraordinary and something to write home about. Sometimes you just go for a run or a hike. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we have fun while hiking and we push ourselves a little bit, but not to the point where it becomes dangerous and you just enjoy it in the moment. And that is all that matters. Look at him. This is Bjork's famous ambush pose. He's about to ambush me. Closer I get. Look at this. Chicken style. Hey, you guys. Just wanted to jump on here super, super quick to let you know that there is a new episode of my Director's Commentary series now live over on my Patreon page. In this series, I take you behind the scenes of all of my YouTube videos, including this one. If I do ever move there, I'll probably be spending weekends and various, you know, days and nights camping, trekking, camping, doing overnight trips. So in this specific episode, I kind of give you a bit of the backstory of how this video came about and it came about because of a couple of failures, a couple of things that I really failed to do. So I kind of did this hike, hoping that it would serve as preparation for a much longer, much bigger adventure also in Idaho. I also talk about some of my worries and anxieties and feelings around doing this adventure and around filming it, especially trekking out there with Wielk. And another thing that I share is a few anecdotes about bears. I have this pack of marshmallows and I don't know what to do with it. If I can't put it next to the tent, what if it attracts the bears? Anyway, I hope that you check it out. Here's the link. And that's it for me. Let's go back to the video. This is our spot for the night. To prepare for this overnight hike, I packed just the basics. One single set of clothes, a two-person tent, some dehydrated food and stuff to cook it with, a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat. And of course, Wielk's food and his sleeping bag and his gear. Priorities. Excuse me? Down! Yes. It's a bit of a change having to carry his stuff as well as mine, but I like to think that he pays me back in, well, positive vibes, love, kisses, laughs. That's definitely payment enough. It is really about to rain. So I have about two minutes to put the tent up. Oh, ----. How the heck does this work? Come on, come on, come on. Oh, ----. Other way. Damn it. Wielk, off! There's something so primal about being outside in a storm. You know, we spend so much of our time indoors, 93% of our lives, according to some studies. And I catch myself getting comfortable, turning up the heat in temperature-controlled apartments, taking the conveniences for granted. It's getting pretty chilly pretty quickly. Can you see that? It's kind of pouring right now, but you know what? It's kind of cozy in here. I mean, Wielk is pretty chill. He is super tired after that hike. And there's just something so romantic about having dehydrated beans in a tent on a meadow in the rain. So getting out there, even for very small adventures, especially when it's cold and wet and stormy out, oh, I don't know. It kind of reconnects me to something deeper inside myself. As fun as that hike was, it left me with wet shoes, wet socks, wet trousers. So I'm really, really looking forward to taking these off and putting on a new fresh pair of socks. So nice. In a world filled with so much virtual noise and mental distraction, I sometimes need to remind myself that this here, this is what will always remain. We could uninstall our social media apps, throw away our phones, and this here, the hills and the mist and the rain, they would still be here. What is it? It's just ducks. It's a duck, buddy. I hope. There's a little break in the rain right now, so I'm going to take this opportunity and go and fill up my water because there's a river right there. Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait. Come on, bubba. Thank you very much. Go inside. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Oh, ----. Oh, that didn't work. Turns out that the hardest thing about camping with a dog might just be keeping the tent clean. Like, once they're inside, you want to keep them inside, you know? Because my tent is currently a mud pit. You know, being here in this tent tonight with a view feels so perfect. It's like I wanted this, exactly this. But when I got him a year ago, I just completely underestimated just how much blood, sweat and tears, time, effort, money it would take to actually bring up a dog that's, you know, protective, but also adventurous and brave, not scared of thunderstorms or deep snow or the forest. It's so much effort. I didn't share that whole journey with you, but it was a lot. I don't regret a single moment of it, nothing. I love this guy to bits and I'm so happy that we are here together tonight. Good morning. Hi, bubba. So nice and warm. Woke up a couple of times. One of you woke up growling at wildlife outside of the tent. The sun has just risen over the mountains, so the day is officially starting. It's getting nice and warm. And this reminds me that every single night that I've ever spent camping has been so much more memorable than any other night that I've spent in a bed. You know, it may be uncomfortable. It may not be as cushy, as warm, but it's a memory that you create. It's an adventure, a small adventure that you make. And that's gotta be worth something. If there's a point, it is uncomfortable. Therefore, you remember it because that makes it special. Well, that's it, I guess. Just a night in a tent. Nothing exploded. Nobody drowned. No wild animals attacked us. Sure, there was a storm and some rain, but nothing dramatic. Hey, buddy, wanna go back? Come on, let's go. Wow. It's like, can this really be a YouTube video? Apparently, yes. Probably because it's just real, regular life. Come on.