The second hike of the 2020 backpacking season, and my second ever winter trip, kicked off in late January. Two hikes in January 2020...?! If I keep this up I may just get accused of actually liking winter backpacking trips! (No... not yet, anyway).

For this trip I once again got together with Travis, and we joined up with the Andy and Kevin Schill from the Youtube channel ‘Schill Brothers Outdoors’, to do a relatively lowmileage hike in the Red River Gorge Geological Area southeast of Lexington, Kentucky.

The Schill Brothers also put together a video of our hike. You can view it here:    • Backpacking & Bourbon: Battling Cold ...  . You can also check out their ‘Schill Brothers Outdoors’ YouTube channel at:    / @schillbrothersoutdoors  

The trip was a 3day, 2night trip covering about 10 miles total. Our plan was to meet up the afternoon of the first day at the Gray’s Arch Trail trailhead, and then hike in about a mile to set up camp somewhere near Gray’s Arch. Then on day 2 we would check out the Gray’s Arch area, hike about 5 miles on the Rough Trail over to an unofficial trail that goes out to Hanson’s Point, and set up our 2nd night’s camp somewhere near Hanson’s Point. On the third day we would finish the hike following the Sheltowee Trace back to the cars.

Unlike the relatively balmy weather we had for the season’s first earlyJanuary hike at Big South Fork, this hike definitely had a more winterlike feel to it. Highs were in the low 40’s with wind and a bone chilling rain, and the morning of the third day it got down into the mid20’s. That’s ‘brrrr’ conditions for this reluctant winter hiker!

But to ward off the chills, or perhaps simply make us not be as concerned about it, there was plenty of good Kentucky bourbon to be had. Travis and the Schill Brothers had made a stop at the historic Buffalo Trace Distillery on the trip down, and stocked up on plenty of ‘goodies’ from the BT gift shop. As you'll probably notice the subtitle for this video could certainly have been ‘The Backpacking and Bourbon Tour’!

For those who have watched my other videos this one is done in the same style about 45 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