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6/04/2018 7:06 am  #1


Solo Kayak Camping: High Falls and St. Francis (Days 4&5 - Video)

With the Clover/Tarn loop over with and Drew heading for the exit (was it something I said?), it was time to start the solo part of my trip. While I wanted to do nothing but lie around my Stratton campsite and recover from that Tarn - St. Andrew's portage, I decided I shouldn't pass up the chance to check out High Falls. The next day I headed for St. Francis and its lone low-maintenance campsite. 

For anyone curious about St. Francis who hasn't been: I really liked the lake and the campsite. The site's only drawback is a serious shortage of level ground for setting up tents.

Hope you enjoy the video!




Edited to add: RCShevalier, your post in Drew's trip report thread   "After growing impatient for Bob to upload the third video of his trip" was the sole reason I sat down and worked on this video, by the way.  I had had the video editing equivalent of writer's block with this one. Every time I opened this video to work on it I'd just kind of sit there for a few minutes and then close it again. So... thanks for the nudge to get it done!
 

Last edited by Uppa (6/04/2018 7:26 am)

 

6/04/2018 1:28 pm  #2


Re: Solo Kayak Camping: High Falls and St. Francis (Days 4&5 - Video)

Very Nice!!
You're in my favourite part of the park!!

And seriously increasing my itch!! Unfortunately I'm still a new employee and can't come up until the fall; can't (but have to) wait!

Thanks!! Love your videos

 

6/04/2018 2:22 pm  #3


Re: Solo Kayak Camping: High Falls and St. Francis (Days 4&5 - Video)

The eastern access points of the park are new to me. Mostly it's a driving distance thing, but while I always wanted to check out High Falls and the Barron Canyon, they're the exact opposite of what I'm looking for in a camping trip - which is to say, seclusion. So I figured if there were ever a good time to go there, shortly after ice-out was a good bet. And as luck would have it, I had High Falls all to myself. And two days later I repeated that experience in the Barron Canyon. So - score!

Glad you enjoyed the video. One to go and then I can start thinking about my next trip!

 

     Thread Starter
 

6/04/2018 5:32 pm  #4


Re: Solo Kayak Camping: High Falls and St. Francis (Days 4&5 - Video)

Bob, I'm glad my idle comment provided the nudge needed to complete the video. My phone alerted me that it was uploaded this morning so it gave me something to look forward to for when I got home from work. Great video as normal, though it's not often we see you taking things so leisurely. That sunset campfire scene at 11:30 was absolutely beautiful. I was all inspired to go there until I saw how many sites are on Stratton. You certainly had the right idea about going in the shoulder season. 

I also saw your comment on YouTube about intentionally making your videos shorter. I'm not sure if it counts for anything but I will add my vote to those who quite enjoy long camping videos. 

 

6/04/2018 8:52 pm  #5


Re: Solo Kayak Camping: High Falls and St. Francis (Days 4&5 - Video)

I’m glad you enjoyed it! Stratton wasn’t part of my trip plan at all. The two nights I spent there were supposed to be on Tarn, but that’s just how it went. Since Drew was leaving before me he’d booked his own trip, which (since he couldn’t also book Tarn) had those two nights on Stratton - so I knew for sure I/we weren’t poaching someone else’s reservation.

On the video length front, I’m mostly just trying to avoid too much of me talking (and talking... and talking). It’s fine in small doses but when I realize I have like 5+ mins straight that’s nothing but me yammering at the camera,
I start trimming. I filmed a bunch on that Stratton site pointing out all the camper abuse of live trees in the name of firewood (even cutting out pieces of tree root), then going off site to find and cut my own wood. I ripped out all of it because it just went on and on and it was boring.

What do you like to see more of in longer trip vids?

Last edited by Uppa (6/04/2018 8:53 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

6/05/2018 9:16 am  #6


Re: Solo Kayak Camping: High Falls and St. Francis (Days 4&5 - Video)

Uppa wrote:

The eastern access points of the park are new to me. Mostly it's a driving distance thing, but while I always wanted to check out High Falls and the Barron Canyon, they're the exact opposite of what I'm looking for in a camping trip - which is to say, seclusion. So I figured if there were ever a good time to go there, shortly after ice-out was a good bet. And as luck would have it, I had High Falls all to myself. And two days later I repeated that experience in the Barron Canyon. So - score!

Glad you enjoyed the video. One to go and then I can start thinking about my next trip!

 

I couldn't agree more about the seclusion issue. The first time I went to High Falls and the waterslide was Labour Day long weekend and it was like a water park! Way too many people. The next time I went it was the second week after Labour Day and we had the whole area to ourselves. We had lunch there and basked in the sun for a couple of hours without seeing a soul!! We also had the Barron Canyon to ourselves; it was amazing!
 

 

6/06/2018 8:16 am  #7


Re: Solo Kayak Camping: High Falls and St. Francis (Days 4&5 - Video)

Uppa wrote:

What do you like to see more of in longer trip vids?

The longer videos definitely require the right content. If someone is just having a lazy day around camp then it is probably best for the video to be shorter.

I'm always interested in both watching and hearing about the route taken. I've only been to the park a handful of times, so I love getting to see new lakes through other's videos and planning my own future trips around that. It's also great to see the route planned out on the map (which you already do). 

Animal sightings or interesting events are also interesting to hear about. Even if you didn't capture it on camera that is the stuff that is still interesting to have a person talk through.

I'm also a bit of a gear junkie, so I always love seeing what gear people are using. In your last video you had a scene where you tore down your tent. I like scenes like that because even though you didn't make any comments about it I can go and do my own google search. (I always have a bookmarked folder of potential future gear purchases). From some of the comments it sounds like you took a Ursack out for the first time. I've been thinking about buying one of those so I would have loved to see how you used it, whether you liked it, and how it compared to your regular food storage method. Whenever a new peace of gear goes into the bush I don't think it would be a bad idea to make a comment towards it.

Campfires and loons are never amiss either. 

 

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