Nathan and I went on a grand hiking & camping adventure in the back country of Appalachian mountains looking for a hidden waterfall and an abandoned mine. The trail path turned out to be in really rough shape because of washouts and flooding, but Nathan did great and we had a great adventure.
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TravelTranscript
00:00I want your canteen.
00:11Yeah.
00:12Scramble there.
00:13Luke and Nate here with the Outdoor Boys YouTube channel and today we're doing some
00:36exploring and camping and hiking.
00:40I have heard rumors of some remote waterfalls and swimming holes, some caves, and maybe
00:47even some abandoned mines in this valley.
00:50And we're going to see if we can't find them.
00:52And this is Nathan's first real hike and he's only five so we're going to give it a go and
00:58see how he does here.
01:05Well check it out.
01:06Just in case we run into any people on the trail, Nathan is wearing his ninja mask.
01:11Can I see your ninja mask?
01:14One of our neighbors sewed a bunch of camo masks for all the boys.
01:18This is really sweet.
01:20The dabbing ninja.
01:27Looks like the path is kind of flooded.
01:30We need to, we need to find a way around.
01:41Yeah use all your ninja skills.
01:43Okay.
01:44You good?
01:46All right.
01:47I think we found the path again.
01:48All right.
01:49Let's keep going.
01:50You good Nate?
01:54Look how pretty this water is.
02:04The flowers are blooming.
02:05There's little waterfalls everywhere.
02:07It's just gorgeous here.
02:20Uh oh Nathan, check it out.
02:45The trail's flooded.
02:46I think we better bushwhack around.
02:49Yeah.
02:50Isn't that a cool rock?
02:51Yeah.
02:52I think we better bushwhack around a little bit more.
03:21There's the path.
03:34Let's see if we can find another way around.
03:36Oh, there you go.
03:56This is pretty.
03:57Keep going bud.
03:58Nice and easy.
03:59There's the path and you can see it crosses back over again, but we have to get across
04:13this waterfall.
04:14Hold on to that tree.
04:15You good?
04:16Good job buddy.
04:17You got it?
04:18All by yourself.
04:19Woo.
04:20I didn't like that path.
04:21Next time I'm fording the river.
04:22Ugh.
04:23Let's see if daddy can fit through here.
04:24You can fit.
04:25Ugh.
04:26Woo.
04:27Woo.
04:28Woo.
04:29Woo.
04:30Woo.
04:31Woo.
04:32Woo.
04:33Woo.
04:34Woo.
04:35Woo.
04:36Woo.
04:37Woo.
04:38Woo.
04:39Woo.
04:40Woo.
04:41Woo.
04:42Woo.
04:43Woo.
04:44Woo.
04:45Woo.
04:46Woo.
04:47Woo.
04:48Woo.
04:49Woo.
04:50Woo.
04:51Woo.
04:52Woo.
04:53Woo.
04:54Woo.
04:55Woo.
04:56Woo.
04:57Woo.
04:58Hey Nathan, Nathan check this out.
04:59Look at that.
05:00What is that?
05:01That's a spring.
05:02Alright, gotta major landmark, gotta do a little navigation here.
05:06Look at that waterfall.
05:15It's rained on and off for three days and it just barely cleared up this morning so
05:27this river is definitely swollen.
05:29We're high up in the mountains though so it should clear up pretty quickly and I'm hoping
05:34by tomorrow on our way back we'll be able to ford the river instead of having to climb
05:39over all those rocks and cliffs to get back.
05:42Plus it doesn't matter if we get wet on our way back.
05:45We don't want to get wet on our way in.
05:47You having fun Nathan?
05:48Yeah.
05:49Good.
05:50Check it out this pad was brand new when I put it on my back this morning.
05:56Alright.
05:57Alright come on.
05:58Oh.
05:59You almost went in.
06:00That's a ninja move.
06:01That was a ninja move.
06:02Our path is kind of a river here.
06:20Are you ready?
06:21Yeah.
06:22Woo.
06:23Safety first.
06:24Nathan's eating his lunch.
06:25He's eating his lunch.
06:26He's eating his lunch.
06:27Woo.
06:28Safety first.
06:29Woo.
06:30Safety first.
06:31Woo.
06:32Woo.
06:33Woo.
06:34Woo.
06:35Woo.
06:36Woo.
06:37Woo.
06:38Nathan's eating pocket raisins.
06:39I want one.
06:40Oh yeah.
06:41Yogurt covered.
06:42Trail snack.
06:43Nom.
06:44We're going to look around and see if we can find a cave.
06:47I heard that there might be some caves around here.
06:50We're going to see if we can find them.
06:52Not sure we will though.
06:53There's a cave right over there at the bottom of those rocks.
06:56Just go nice and slow.
07:20Look at that.
07:21See the water is going into the rock and it's digging a hole in the rock.
07:34Look at that.
07:35That's absolutely stunning.
07:37Well this sure is a pretty spot and an awesome swimming hole, but this is not the waterfall
07:42we were looking for.
07:43So we got to keep looking and see if we can't find that.
07:52There's another beautiful swimming hole right there.
07:54Look how deep that is.
07:56Well we found the swimming hole.
07:59Now I want to find an abandoned mine.
08:01Apparently there used to be a manganate iron ore mine around here.
08:06It's been all abandoned and there's some ruins.
08:08But I have really sketchy details on where exactly it is.
08:12We're going to have to get a little wet I'm afraid.
08:14I think we're going to have to cross the river.
08:18All right.
08:19I think we need to cross the river.
08:21We're going to get a little wet.
08:38Nice healthy pink color.
08:40Well there we go.
08:41I'm a little damp, but I'm still dry.
08:45Brisk and refreshing that was.
08:48Oh look.
08:51Some leftover structure from the mining operation.
08:54Look there's some concrete over there.
08:58Some footings here.
08:59Look at that.
09:00I wonder if there's more.
09:01Y'all check it out.
09:03Here's more of the mine.
09:04See.
09:05Look at this.
09:07Some old bricks here.
09:08Here's more parts of that old mine.
09:10You can see the rock wall.
09:12Part of a foundation right here.
09:13Probably used to be a house here.
09:15Well so far this is the most we've found from the mine.
09:19I believe they used to mine manganate and iron here.
09:22The caves are over this way.
09:27All right.
09:28Time to get wet again.
09:40You back there Nate?
09:59Check out this plant we're climbing through.
10:00These are rhododendron.
10:02They're native to China and they've been introduced and spread all over the country.
10:07Even out in the middle of nowhere there's tons of them.
10:10See look at them.
10:11All these rhododendron bushes.
10:13When we were in Scotland they were all over there too.
10:15Dang it.
10:17Can't go around there.
10:21We can't get around that.
10:26We are killing ourselves trying to find these caves.
10:29We saw the caves across the river and they're just over this next ridge.
10:35But they're at the base of a cliff and obviously we don't want to approach it from the top
10:39of the cliff.
10:40And around the sides we just can't do it.
10:43It's sheer rock wall and white water.
10:46So I think we're not going to make it on the caves.
10:50Maybe on another day when the water level is lower.
11:02Well half my body has been bathed very thoroughly today.
11:06All right this looks like as good a spot as any to set up camp.
11:10Let's drop our packs and start buying some firewood.
11:14Oh my goodness.
11:15I've had that pack on for six hours now.
11:17I suddenly feel so light.
11:20All right let's take it to the fire.
11:32This is so much lighter than my pack.
11:44This is good and dry.
11:45Look at this.
11:46Snap.
11:47Snap.
11:48Snap.
11:49Oh that snap sounds perfect.
11:50Wait.
11:51David.
11:52Did you find a stick?
11:53Yes.
11:54I'm holding it.
11:55Oh that's a big one.
11:58I brought my Japanese higo no kami knife.
12:01This is a traditional Japanese folding knife.
12:09That's a marshmallow stick.
12:10Hold on to that sucker.
12:17All right so I got some cotton ball soaked in Vaseline.
12:20I put a couple underneath the tinder right there.
12:24And the rest I'm going to put on the end of this stick here.
12:29Then I'm going to take my blast match and make a little torch here.
12:33See.
12:34Easy peasy.
12:35Easy peasy.
13:06If you guys haven't seen this already this is my one-man backpacking tent.
13:12It's a little over three pounds.
13:13It's the Alps mountaineering one-man tent.
13:16It's about 90 bucks.
13:18I got it on Amazon.com.
13:19I'll put a link in the description.
13:20But if you guys want to know more about tents or you're thinking about buying a tent I did
13:25a tent review video that's pretty helpful.
13:27I'll put a link in the description to that as well.
13:29Let's go get some water Nate.
13:33All right so Nate's using the live straw.
13:35You just take the ends off and drink through it like a straw.
13:39I got some water.
13:41I didn't do it that cold.
13:43Yeah.
13:44Go for it.
13:45You drink right there and I'm going to load up your canteen.
13:51Hey Nate.
13:52Would you like me to build you a bench?
13:59Oops.
14:03There you go.
14:21The rocks starting to heat up and you can see it's cracked and broken in a few places.
14:25It'll probably break in a few more places by the time we're done.
14:29But that's really typical.
14:30You just got to be careful with certain types of rocks that don't have good straight cleavage.
14:36They tend to explode on you.
14:38Slate and shale tend to be the best ones.
14:41So what do you want for dinner?
14:43Ramen noodles!
14:44Okay.
14:45Ramen noodles.
14:46And I brought along steak and artisan bread but Nathan wants to eat cup of noodle and
14:51hot chocolate.
14:52That's his jam.
14:53We're going to stick to it.
14:55No, that's cold.
15:01Oh yeah.
15:02We're getting some sizzle on there.
15:14If big old campfire steaks on rocks is kind of your thing, check out my campfire cooking
15:19playlist.
15:20I've got tons of videos there including one where I made bread from scratch and cooked
15:24it on rocks.
15:25So definitely check it out.
15:26I'll put a link in the description.
15:28Alright I got a loaf of sourdough bread.
15:30We're going to heat this up on the rock as well.
15:32Don't need to cook it.
15:33Just warm it up.
15:51There we go.
15:55That is good.
15:58There's a lot of bears in this area so we're going to have to make sure and clean up our
16:02camp really good before we go to bed.
16:04And get all these greasy rocks far away from us.
16:07If you see a bear, what are you going to do?
16:09Attack it.
16:11You're going to attack it with your survival fork.
16:14My sweet wife packed me one of her homemade coconut mochi bars for dessert.
16:21That's better than the steak sandwich.
16:31Alright buddy, you want to roast marshmallows?
16:33Yeah.
16:34Look at these things.
16:35They're like small planets.
16:37Now that is what I call a perfect marshmallow.
16:41Look at that baby.
16:43That's a good marshmallow but I feel like I'm cheating on my wife.
16:47She loves roasted marshmallows and she should be here to be enjoying this.
16:52Let me see your head.
16:53Oh my goodness.
16:54No, don't get my camera marshmallowy.
16:56Can't see.
16:59Go outside and get changed.
17:03We'll get you right there.
17:07Do you want two or one?
17:08Two.
17:12Alright.
17:13Well the sun has set and it's Nathan's bedtime but I promised I'd go in there and watch some shows with him on the phone.
17:19And we're just going to relax until we go to sleep.
17:43Good night.
18:14Sometime a man wears stretchy pants when he's alone by the fire.
18:20It's for fun.
18:24Good morning.
18:25Good morning.
18:26You having fun?
18:27Yeah.
18:28Good.
18:30There you go.
18:44Well it's only 10am and already it's a much warmer day so me and Nathan need to make a wardrobe change.
19:01Pack feels a little bit heavier today.
19:04I'm a little tender.
19:06Well we found a lot of cool stuff but there was one waterfall that we didn't find.
19:11And so we were poking around and we found this trail here that we didn't check down.
19:16So we're going to go maybe 10-15 minutes down this trail and see if we can't find that waterfall.
19:31Well look at this.
19:32We got a pretty decent trail here.
19:34Look how gorgeous this is.
19:37Look at that gorgeous swimming hole man.
19:40That is so clear.
19:41I bet that's 10 feet deep.
19:43It's so deceptive when it's clear water like that.
19:46Hey look there it is.
19:47We found the waterfall.
19:49That's awesome.
19:51Here let's go down here.
19:55Look at this.
20:02Whoa.
20:07Wee go wee go wee.
20:11Ah we found it.
20:13This is the falls.
20:21Whoa look at this.
20:22This is gorgeous.
20:27It's so cold.
20:28It's so cold.
20:30Oh no.
20:31Nope nope nope nope nope nope.
20:33Man this is a gorgeous spot.
20:35And it looks like a few people have camped right here on top of the falls.
20:39Have you strung a hammock up here?
20:41That would be pretty amazing.
20:44Holy mackerel.
20:45I'm glad we found this.
20:53Is this scary?
20:54Yeah.
20:55Wiggle your toes.
20:56Wiggle wiggle.
20:57Nathan have you had fun?
20:59Yeah.
21:01I'm glad you came along with me.
21:03Are you ready to go home and see mama?
21:05Yeah.
21:09Oh you did it.
21:13That was so cool.
21:14I'm so glad we didn't give up and we found that waterfall.
21:17Man we got to come back here when it's hot in the middle of the summer.
21:21This would be such an awesome place to swim.
21:25We've got a long hike back to the car.
21:28But this time we're not going to go up on the cliffs.
21:31We're going to go and ford the rivers whenever we need to.
21:34I feel a lot more comfortable doing that and getting my feet wet than putting Nathan up on those rocks again.
21:39Well the river has dropped a couple inches overnight.
21:42So hopefully that will mean we have to do a lot less bushwhacking and slogging through flooded trails.
21:48So I'm optimistic our return trip might be a little bit easier.
21:56Looking sketchy huh?
22:02Whoa.
22:04Here hold on.
22:06Is it good?
22:12Like a pro.
22:14Look more washed out trail.
22:16You got that?
22:19You're doing a great job.
22:21Well this trail is terrible but the view is amazing.
22:32Whoa.
22:37Well look how much the water has gone down.
22:45I've seen a few brook trout here and there.
22:48Might have to come back here and go fly fishing.
23:02Whoa.
23:03Well guys I hope you enjoyed this video as much as we enjoyed making this video.
23:07If you want to see more camping videos check out our playlist.
23:09I'll put a link in the description.
23:11We've done survival camping in Scotland, Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and we're going to be doing a lot more.
23:18So don't forget to click subscribe.
23:20We put out new videos every Saturday morning.
23:22Click subscribe!