A Beginner's Backpacking Journey Along the Mountains to Sea Trail

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 Yeah, I'm a first-time backpacker and just wondering what I need. Super. I've got all kinds of ideas. Let's get started Well footwear is 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 boots 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 going to get more comfortable over time as it conforms to your foot So much like footwear finding the right fit and backpack is just a critical importance This is the the Osprey pack sizer Connect the buckle there in the front grab a hold of the tail of both of these pieces of webbing you're moving 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 Feels really good ready to do 30 miles. How many miles are we doing? Many miles now it's time for us to think about your your home on the road your tent So we'll probably be looking more so at a two-person tent 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 and a high-quality tent like this 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 bivy to safely drink water in the backcountry 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 good always important thing is some sort of a med kit 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 the trail. That sounds good to me We are at the trailhead now with my new friend Jim Grody 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 Clingman's 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 outlook We're super lucky. You're going to be joining us for the first few miles 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 see 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. I Think I'm gonna turn around here, but I've really enjoyed hiking with you I hope you have a great trip really appreciate all the advice and putting forward to updating you on how the rest of it goes That tastes good. It's cold We came from All the way down there We're gonna set up our tent make some dinner and get some sleep It tastes perfect after today 838 we are in bed and we are ready to go After perfect weather yesterday It's raining this morning, but 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 realized 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 Thanks to selling me on these waterproof pants. They're coming in handy right now and the rain is really Picking up again a lot You got water in your shoe Yesterday it was uphill that kicked our butts and today is the downhill Just taking a nice little rest mile 10 ish Got an exciting obstacle ahead of us Unfortunately, I didn't bring water shoes So I'll be doing this barefoot. It doesn't look too deep Are you okay? Oh my gosh We crossed that it was a rainy day, but it's a beautiful evening now. We're just gonna enjoy it our final morning last climb I think we made it to the top 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 Great outdoor provision company has stores in Chapel Hill Charlotte Greensboro Greenville Raleigh Wilmington and Winston-Salem find them online at great outdoor provision Calm and to learn more about the mountains to the sea trail go to mountain to sea trail org