Join me for some outdoor adventure, photography and natural history in Washington State, the Pacific Northwest and beyond! Let's explore together by sea kayak, packraft, canoe, hiking boot and car camper. We'll explore all the coasts, forests, mountain ranges and wildlife we can find along the way.
Brad is a stock photographer and writer based in Washington State specializing in outdoor adventure, travel and natural history. His images appear worldwide in hundreds of publications by Falcon, Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Insight Guides, Mountaineers Books, MSNBC, National Geographic, Seattle Magazine, Travel+Leisure and many others.
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What a beautiful place canada is...
I have to agree that gas stoves are more practical, but twig stoves have ONE advantage that gas can't rival with, extreme cold. Most gas canisters can't function at -10 celsius, and even the best and most expensive ones that are meant to work in the cold can't handle more than -30 at the absolute best, while twigs will burn at any temeprature so long that it's dry enough that you can find decent wood, even wind is not really and issue since they're usually closed so the fire isn't blown out (well unless you're in the middle of a storm but if you're actually trying to light anything in the middle of a tornado instead of seeking shelkter then I think it's a you issue rather than the stove's fault).
Brad, good explanation. I also have a Subaru Outback (2012) that I want to set up for car camping with a platform system similar to yours. Have you figured a way to secure the heavy components in the event of an accident?
Hi there. This is a good question, but I don't want to provide specific answers because you must weigh your own risks and I don't want to be liable for your decisions. But here were my thoughts for myself. First, I have moved from camping in my Subaru to camping in an old Mitsubishi Delica van, which I camperized myself (kzread.info/dash/bejne/oGejzKquity-hKg.html). In thinking about "crashworthiness" in regard to my van, I did make some provisions for this. I took out 3 rear seats, which made several seat mounting points available (3/8-inch threaded holes). I left seat belts installed for these removed seats, which also have strong attach points (3/8-inch threaded bolts). And so I took advantage of these strong threaded attach points in my van. Many of the wood structures in my van are connected to these strong attach points with metal brackets, which I made. When attaching a metal bracket to a wood structure, I tried to use a "larger" quantity (more than 1 or 2) of through bolts backed up by fender washers on the opposite side of the wood, which should be much stronger than just wood screws that could more easily tear out of the wood. In my van, I ran a heavy duty cargo strap over the top of my sleeping platform to seat attach points on the rear wheel wells and floor, which will hopefully hold it and everything under it down in place. Also, in my van build, I have a large steel storage box bolted to the floor (two 3/8" threaded seat attach points backed up with aluminum plates inside the box), and some of my interior wooden structures are bolted to the sides of this box. I also have some straps set up for strapping down loose cargo that are not inside cabinets. Anyway, what I basically did was to look at what strong attach points are available in my van, think about which directions might experience large forces in various crash scenarios (head-on crash, rollover crash) and think about how to strap stuff down or attach structures to those attach points in ways that secure them against those crash force directions. In a severe crash, I think things will be flying around everywhere ... as would also happen to loose camping gear without an installed sleeping platform or cabinets. But hopefully my provisions will contain cargo, my sleeping platform and cabinets in a minor or intermediate crash. I contemplated installing a barrier behind the front driver and passenger seats to separate driver and passenger from cargo area, but have not yet found a good solution for that for my old van. But anyway, what you do is all up to you.
@@BradMitchellPhoto Thank you, Brad. I haven't removed seats so I have not seen the mounts yet. But now I understand at least conceptually. Thank you again.
exactly what I am looking for - for my trip to Death Valley in September, an I also want to visit the Eureka Sand Dunes. I will drive there with a rental SUV. Do you think, it's possible to drive there with this car, also as someone who got not much experience with driving on such dirt roads. But I drove a lot of dirt roads in Terlingua, TX with a van. What do you think? And sorry - btw nice photos!
Hi there. The condition of the road when I drove it should be easily passable for any 4WD or AWD SUV having some reasonable amount of clearance if you watch your speed. But you should check current road conditions at www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/conditions.htm. See road 18 on this map: www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/upload/508-Backcountry-and-Wilderness-Access-map_.pdf Note that I drove into Eureka Dunes from the north. Also note that the road has deep sand not too far beyond the Eureka Dunes campground (east and south of campground), and I would not recommend driving past the campground. Also, note that your car rental company may not allow for driving off paved roads. Also note that AAA towing will not retrieve cars off paved roads. Also, there is no cellphone reception, so I would suggest taking a satellite messaging device for emergency support, such as an inReach. Also, make sure the car has a full-size spare tire, not just some little donut tire or can of fix-a-flat. I aired down my tires to 20psi when driving the road. This isn't necessary, but provided a more comfortable drive down and back this long road. Have a great trip!
Thx for these details Infos - I will give it a try in September. My rental car will be a Ford F150 Supercrew - I think this should work
Sometimes u can use it during a fire ban, with BBQ briquettes, and use ubiquitous hand sanitizer to start 😅
Looks like a fun trip!
Looks like a great place to visit! I could spend months and months in the southwest and not tired of exploring!
Agreed! There is more than one lifetime of exploring to do down there.
Столик очень удобный. Меня семья ещё просит в угол поставить маленький унитаз.... Удобно...
Шикарно!! Надо это показать инженерам в Японии - что б они так на поток поставили...
Вери Вери гуд Каспер мэшин Митсубышы Дэлыка.
It's flat when you fold the seats?
No, when I fold the passenger seat forward, it is not flat. It's maybe a 10 degree angle. So I profiled the wood beams supporting my platform in this area so that my sleeping platform is flat.
@@BradMitchellPhoto thank you
Which is better solo stove campfire or this one?
My doctor prescribed Bentonite hills for depression. Instructions are weird: Take 2 meals a day in the Bentonite hills for 3 days.
Beautiful photos, thank you!
Great scenery. Would be nice to drive through there. Love the van too, my family used to own the same model with a manual transmission years ago.
Thanks for watching. Those manual L400s are rare nowadays.
@@BradMitchellPhoto Yeah. If I had one today, I would never sell it.
Amazing trip! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Brad, Great video thanks. Is it a must that you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to the dunes or would a two wheel drive pickup be okay ? You said it was about a 2 1/2 mile trek from your parking spot to the dunes is that correct ? How is the hike in the sand to the dunes from the parking ? Also the dunes look pretty easy to find is that a fair assumption ? Even though you thought it was flat lighting I think your photo came out great . I'll look for more of your work. Thanks again.
Hi Brad, I’m in Australia trying to fit out my second Delica. I’m new to CAD but learning and wondered if you would be prepared to share your base plan? Thanks, Jan
Hi Jan. Yes, I can provide CAD models for my interior build. Please send email to my email address, which you can find on my website www.bradmitchellphoto.com. Cheers!
Great video, Brad! Always fighting humidity up here in the PNW! You skill at making instructional videos is really excellent, by the way!
Enjoying the road trip and photograhy Brad, thanks for taking us along for the ride.
Thanks for watching! Some really spectacular places down there in Utah.
I use an alcohol stove and use a twig burners at the pot stand. Best of both worlds
Yep. A Solo alcohol burner fits perfectly in my twig stove.
Careful in shopping mall parking garages now with the rack... My delica barely fits in some places with no rack. I wish more accessories were available for the L400 but Japan doesn't hold on to older vehicle models for long and there aren't enough in Canada for retailers to provide parts. (I am in Nova Scotia, far away from BC!). 🙂
Yes, my L400 high roof is 7ft 1in / 216cm tall with roof rack and side-mounted awning, and 8 ft / 244 cm tall with roof box. I haven't hit anything with it yet, but have had two close calls.
Hello Brad, I hope you are fit and fine. Your content is really good.
Thank you. These Utah canyons are really amazing places.
Breathtakingly gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing🙏✨
Thanks for your comment. It is an amazing place. Very nearby Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons are also quite fun, but a bit tight for photography.
I was just going to ask if you did Peekaboo. Did you stop at Devil's Garden?@@BradMitchellPhoto
Yes, I've done Peekaboo and Spooky in the past. Very fun. Have not checked out Brimstone yet. I also did Egypt 3 a couple years ago kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y6J-vKSiYtGyj7A.htmlsi=60WCXmPbAUAJ0Obf I also dropped by Devil's Garden, but did not have a chance to photograph there. Looks really good for some night sky photography.
Awesome place, love the images you took.
Thanks. Yes, it is quite a spectacular place. Amazing how jewels like this are scattered and hidden all over the desert.
Great stuff. You are inspiring me to get to the southwest again. I'm on the east coast ☹
You should do it! It is an amazing place ... so much to see and discover! And a great place to spend some time in the winter.
One of the best stove designs ever - no need to carry any fuel. The secondary burn does not only give a cleaner burn, it saves a lot of fuel too. In my experience you just need around half the amount of wood. To my knowledge, a fire-ban prohibits the use of all stoves, that provide an open flame, so no advantage with white spirit or propane burners either. Most of your twigs are way too big for this stove - to work properly, the top air vents have to be above the fuel. The proper way to operate these stoves is to fill them tightly to the top air vents and fire them up from above - should have read the manual first or watched some of the hundreds of YT-videos that are out there. If everything is wet, a spoonful of wood pellets put on top before igniting would help - that's the smart thing about upside-down fires, the actual flame dries out the next top layer of wood by its radiant heat, but doesn't produce enough steam to effect the burn. You can always cut some bigger dead limbs and split them in quarts, the dry inside will readily catch, just need a bit more kindling than usual (not, if you're using fatwood for kindling). Why do you bother with the boil time, what do you achieve in those 3-5 minutes you can save with one of the other stoves? And why do you bother about cooling time? If you are in such a hurry, toss it in a creek or pond to cool instantly (try that with one of the other stoves and see what happens). Notice: if a wood gasifier stove produces gray or black smoke after 30 seconds in, you didn't operate it the way it should be ! IMHO not a fair comparison.
Recognized so much of that drive, Brad! Those curves around Lake Crescent are beautiful!
Interesting! I shot some astro for one of my first times on Death Valley a week and half ago with some friends. I was in way over my head! And it seems I'm following you around! Back in Ohio now, but will be in Tucson in a few weeks and I almost always stop by Saguaro National Park when I'm out that way!
Winter is a great time for shooting astro, as you can do it during reasonable hours, and it's not so cold in Tucson. Have a great time in Saguaro!
@@BradMitchellPhoto Thanks! Looking forward to the trip!
I to cold weather camping all the time. I carry a few esbit tablets and fatwood pieces. Then wet wood is no issue. Fill the stove with small twigs on the bottom up to inch diameter at the top, put the esbit tablet or fatwood under the stove & light it. It will dry out the twigs plenty quick & the rest will go. You can find plenty of fatwood in any pihe forest. Or after cooking, you can dry more twigs for your next camp, and pack the dry tinder with you.
I always carry a lightweight cammed bypass pruner with me. Fiskars powegear 2. Makes cutting the tinder much easier.
Been using the heck out if mine. I don't care that it takes a bit longer to boil water. By the time I'm doing that I'm either done for the day or packing up for the morning.
😎 "Promo sm"
Thanks just found your channel. I have been to the Kelso Dunes before a few times love it there. Going to the Death Valley dunes this week.
Up next, Hidden Dunes and Buckwheat Dunes.
No, didn't go to those this time. Up next, Kelso Dunes.
people are so disrespectful and selfish
Beautiful photography and thanks for making this video. Dreaming of doing this trip some year, so really appreciate the beta!
Brad: Love the Ibex dunes, I have been going there for over 30 years. REALLY upsetting to see that some people don't care about wilderness. Driving and OHV into these dunes is really pathetic. What was the date you were there?
Hello Ed. I was at Ibex on Jan 29 or 30. I would say that the tracks looked pretty fresh ... likely 1-2 days old. They were definitely joy-riding all over the dunes. Was definitely a disappointment, but I was able to find some photos anyway. A strange thing also occurred on my way driving back out. A fleet of 5 white pickup trucks and 2 dune buggies was crossing the Amargosa River valley about 1 hour after sunset. I stopped at the turn to Saratoga Spring to let them all pass ... they continued north towards Ibex. I thought about calling the park service to report it, but I think maybe they were the park service, or perhaps military. I didn't notice any NPS/agency symbols on the trucks, but it was dark. They just all looked like some kind of "official" group, not recreational, like there were going out to rescue someone. All same make/model/color open-bed pickup trucks. They didn't have any real camping gear that I could see. A mystery.
@@BradMitchellPhoto Th
@@BradMitchellPhoto The white trucks are associated with Fort Irwin or China Lake, they are not military per se but contractors that work for the military. They are the reason the road going into DV stays plowed. The dune buggies were probably just tag alongs and not official. Thanks for the response and stay healthy out there.
@edn5271 Figured it was something like that. Thanks for the explanation!
What size tarp and what brand do you use. Thank you nice set up
Hi. 9X9 Noah. There is a link in the video description.
top !till next time~ 🤝
Thank you for sharing this. Was it cold enough for you to need dry suits?
I wore a drysuit. My three friends wore wetsuits. I was warm the whole time and rarely hot. My friends seemed comfortable during the mid-day, but were cold in the morning (putting on damp wetsuits) and afternoons. Drysuits are much more expensive than wetsuits and are more easy to damage by abrasion. We did this trip in early-March, when it was not hot. When we do the San Juan River this late April, most of us are taking drysuits, but it may be warm enough that we don't wear them all the time.
I've been to the dunes six times; on my last trip I got some truly epic shots of the dunes but the previous times there was so many footprints it wasn't even worth it. People are so rude, they care only about themselves, how hard is it to walk in-between the dunes and not walking on the dune face ruining it for photographers such as us. I don't know about you, but California is one hell of a road trip for me.
Thank you for such a great video. You got a new subscriber. See you out there!
Great video! I was out at Mesquite almost a year ago and agreed, alternate routes in are super helpful for photographers. Heading out again next week! Can't wait!
Great! Let me know how the Devils Cornfield approach works, if you try it.
@@BradMitchellPhoto That's probably the one I'll use, that was really close to the spot I used last year and it seems to be a good - definitely not a lot of people that route!
You are starting the gasifier wrong. Sorry. Stack the twigs vertically and pack them in. Start the fire from the top because this gasifier burns from the top down .
The images from the Yellowjacket Site are really great - I'm going to put that on the TODO list. Safe travels!
Nice video and photography in a very challenging area. Thanks for taking us along!
Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment!
Thanks for the time saving tips.
As brilliant a build as I've ever seen. Just as complicated as it needs to be but not one bit more than is necessary.
Great video of the Panamint Dunes and my favorite photo was probably the grass in that little valley. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you John. Panamint is very enjoyable, especially in winter when not hot.