- Hey, we're Brian and MJ.
We've been married for the last eight years,
and we are full-time filmmakers,
which means we're typically behind the camera,
but for this story,
we thought it would be fun to take you along with us.
I grew up backpacking with my family
in the mountains of Oregon my whole life,
but Brian has never been backpacking before.
So, we thought it would be fun to take you along
on his first backpacking trip.
- Before we get on the trail,
we had to learn about the gear we need while we're out here.
We visited our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Company,
and learned about all the gear that is available.
- Welcome.
- Hi, I'm Brian.
- Good to meet you, I'm Chad.
I manage Great Outdoor Provision Company's
Chapel Hill, North Carolina location.
We're a local outfitter with nine outlets
in North Carolina and Virginia.
I understand you need some gear.
- [Brian] Yeah, I'm a first time backpacker,
and just wondering what I need.
- [Chad] Super.
I've got all kinds of ideas,
let's get started.
Well footwear's where it all starts,
it's where the rubber meets the road.
People think that the height of a boot
is what determines its ankle support.
In fact, it's the midsole
that determines a boot's ankle support largely.
Start your lacing at your toes,
and cinch firm tension all the way up.
A leather boot should start off comfortable.
You should know that
it's gonna get more comfortable over time,
as it conforms to your foot.
[upbeat music]
So, much like footwear,
finding the right fit and backpack
is just of critical importance.
This is the the Osprey Packsizer.
Connect the buckle there in the front.
Grab a hold of the tail of both of these pieces of webbing.
You're gonna move 'em forward and backwards.
It's gonna allow your hip crest
to find the the window here on the side.
What I'm gonna do is read the back of this,
to find where that bump in your neck is,
that C7 vertebra,
and that'll that'll help us determine
what pack size to go with.
It's a 50-liter pack,
take your heaviest stuff,
like maybe your water,
and you're gonna try and keep that
as close to your body as you can.
Your camping mattress can strap to the outside.
You've also got
a place where you can put your water bottles,
or you can put tent poles here.
[mellow music]
- Feels really good.
Ready to do 30 miles,
how many miles are we doing?
- [MJ] I haven't decided yet.
- Many miles.
- Now it's time for us to think about your,
your home on the road,
your tent.
- [Brian] So we'll probably be looking
more so at a two-person tent.
- [Chad] Sure.
And a two-person tent can still feel plenty spacious.
There's a rain fly that goes over this as well,
that makes it fully sealed.
So even the biggest storm,
you're not gonna get any water in.
In a high-quality tent like this,
it doesn't have prominent seams on the floor,
and the ones that are there,
actually have seam tape over them,
so you're not gonna have
water oozing its way up from the ground.
Some people have called these essentials for the trail.
We've got some sunscreen,
and some insect repellent.
You need a way to navigate
that doesn't rely on batteries and technology.
A knife is a great thing,
a folding knife is good,
some people use multi-tools.
Headlamps give you light around camp.
You need some way to start a fire.
You need either an extra layer,
or an emergency shelter,
like we have in the Super Bivvy.
To safely drink water in the back country,
you need to filter it.
Food has evolved.
Really high-quality foods,
they just take five minutes,
and you're eating on the trail.
We've moved more and more to butane isopropane.
You open the valve,
you light a match and you're cooking.
Always important thing is some sort of a med kit.
And Adventure Medical Kits
has been a provider of these for many years,
and they do a great job of picking out
the most essential items.
- I think we're ready to go on a trail.
- That sounds good to me.
- We are at the trail head now,
with my new friend, Jim Grode.
And Jim,
can you tell us a little bit about what the MST is?
- Sure.
The MST,
Mountains-to-Sea Trail,
is North Carolina's flagship state trail.
It stretches from Clingmans Dome,
in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks.
It's a beautiful trail,
and a great way to learn more about North Carolina.
So we're big advocates for Leave No Trace principles.
First of those is plan and prepare.
Second is,
stick to trails,
and overnight right.
And that means stay in established places.
Third, trash your trash.
If you bring it in,
take it back out with you.
Similar to that is,
leave it as you find it.
Not only should you not leave what you brought in,
but you shouldn't take things out that were already there.
Be careful with fire.
Use a campfire ring if you can,
keep it small.
Keep wildlife wild.
Don't feed the bears.
Don't feed the deer.
And last,
be considerate of others and share the outdoors.
- [Brian] We're super lucky
you're going to be joining us for the first few miles.
- [Jim] I am really excited
to get to hike with you for a little while,
so let's get going.
So this white dot here,
is the symbol of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
This means that there's a turn coming up.
The two dots are angled
in the way that shows you which way to go.
One of the things that I love about hiking and backpacking
is stopping to see what's around.
You can hear the sounds around you,
better build in time to stop,
and just soak in what you're doing.
Well, I think I'm gonna turn around here,
but I've really enjoyed hiking with you.
I hope you have a great trip.
- [Brian] I really appreciate all the advice,
and looking forward to updating you
on how the rest of it goes.
[light music]
♪
- That tastes good.
It's cold.
We came from
all the way down there.
That was tough.
- We're gonna set up our tent,
make some dinner,
and get some sleep.
Give it a try.
It tastes perfect after today.
- [MJ] 8:38,
we are in bed.
- And we are ready to go to sleep.
- [MJ] Yeah. All right.
Good night.
- Good night.
- After
perfect weather yesterday.
- It's raining this morning.
So we got coffee,
we got packed up,
feeling better than last night,
and we're ready to knock off some more miles.
- We're hoping that the rain will let up at some point,
it's gonna be a bit of a soggy day.
We realize that we forgot
a waterproof covering for Brian's bag.
Inside his backpack,
are a few dry bags,
that will help keep his clothing dry.
- [Brian] Thanks to selling me on these waterproof pants,
they're coming in handy right now.
- [MJ] And the rain is really picking up again a lot.
Oh, you got water in your shoe.
Yesterday, it was the uphill that kicked our butts,
and today is the downhill.
- Just taking a nice little rest.
- [MJ] And mile 10-ish.
Got an exciting obstacle ahead of us.
- I unfortunately didn't bring water shoes,
so I'll be doing this barefoot.
It doesn't look too deep.
- Wow, it's cold.
Are you okay?
- Yeah.
- [MJ] Oh my gosh!
We crossed that!
- [Brian] It was a rainy day,
but it's a beautiful evening now,
we're just gonna enjoy it.
[light music]
- Our final morning.
- Last climb.
[uplifting music]
- [MJ] I think we made it to the top.
- [Brian] It was hard.
It's beautiful up here.
Now we're gonna hike back,
to where we dropped off our car at the end,
and go home.
- [MJ] Yeah.
[light music]
♪
We made it!
And it's something that
I've dreamed of doing for a long time,
and I'm really proud of you.
I think I would cry,
so, good job.
- [Deborah] Great Outdoor Provision Company
has stores in Chapel Hill,
Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville,
Raleigh, Wilmington,
and Winston Salem.
Find them online,
at greatoutdoorprovision.com.
And to learn more about the Mountains-to-the-Sea Trail,
go to mountaintoseatrail.org.