Prior to 2020 I had never hiked, or had any interest in hiking, a winter backpacking trip. But this video documents my third hike of the 2020 season and my thirdever winter backpacking trip. Unlike my first two 2020 hikes, and winter hikes, this one featured some ‘real’ winter weather.

For this trip I teamed up with All Things Outdoors (@All Things Out Doors), Backpacking with Jason (@Backpacking With Jason), The World According to Goat (@The World According to Goat), Jeremiah Stringer Hikes (@Jeremiah Stringer Hikes), and Matt to do another hike in the Red River Gorge Geological Area southeast of Lexington, Kentucky.

The trip was planned to be a 3day, 2night trip in two parts. The plan for the first day was start with a packless day hike to Copperas Falls followed by a fullpack hike up to the Eagles Nest buttress for the first night of camping. The second day plan was a hike back to the cars and then driving over to the Bison Way trailhead, followed by a hike up the Indian Staircase bypass to the 2nd night’s campsite.

Unfortunately, my old trooper dog Jaden, a veteran of many of these youtube videos over the last ten years, didn’t fare well on this hike. He survived the difficult first day ok, but it was clear by the time we headed to the tent at the end of day #1 that all was not well. By the morning of day #2 he clearly wasn’t feeling well and it was starting to become obvious that this trip would be shortened. When we arrived back at the cars I did decide to bail out. Upon returning home I was fortunately able to get Jaden into the vet immediately and it was found that he had a badly abscessed tooth. The vet extracted it immediately and Jaden is now back to 100% (or at least as close to 100% as a 15yearold Lab can get!).

Even with a shortened trip it was still a great hike. We experienced the spectacular Clifty Falls Wilderness area of the Red River Gorge, featuring Copperas Falls and the Eagles Nest, and that night around the fire with a great group of fellow Youtubers with the snow coming down was one I will remember forever.

For those who have watched my other videos this one is done in the same style about 40 minutes in length, intended to bring the audience along for the 'ride', and with a still picture slide show with music at the end. If you just have a few minutes skip to the end and enjoy the pictures.

Equipment / Gear List:

Still and Video Camera: Nikon Z6 https://amzn.to/3dHJvni
Lens: Nikkor 24mm f1.8 Zmount lens https://amzn.to/2QZqNOo
Tripod: Sirui T025X carbon fiber tripod https://amzn.to/3bH3Rvg
Camera shoulder clip: Peak Designs Capture clip system https://amzn.to/2wRdusp
Video Editing Software: Vegas Pro 16 https://amzn.to/2X5dKyu
Pack: REI Flash 55
Tent: Nemo Meta2P
Sleeping Bag: Zpacks 20degF Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad: ThermARest NeoAir XTherm https://amzn.to/2yjrUlj
Sleeping Pad: ThermARest NeoAir XLite https://amzn.to/39zju6v
Pillow: Exped Air Pillow UL https://amzn.to/2WYE5hZ
Stove: JetBoil Flash https://amzn.to/3azKRi7
Stove: MSR PocketRocket 2 https://amzn.to/3dPtOL5
Pot: MSR Titan titanium 0.9L kettle https://amzn.to/3bF1RDB
Headlamp: Black Diamond Spot https://amzn.to/2R0JvoW
Buff: Merino wool Buff https://amzn.to/3dCYHSC
Recharging Battery: Anker 3500mAH ‘lipstick’ charger https://amzn.to/2URI7G3
Camp Chair: Helonix Chair Zero https://amzn.to/2xzbwgh
Camp Shoes: Xero Shoes ZTrek https://amzn.to/3bA3X7I
Wet Wipes: Survivorware Wet Wipes https://amzn.to/2JwbQ2e

Youtube channel links:

All Things Out Doors:    / jlrodef  
Backpacking with Jason:    / @backpackingwithjason  
Jeremiah Stringer Hikes:    / wkujman  
The World According To Goat: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTn_...