I really enjoyed our mini trip together. We will definitely have to do it again sometime. Maybe if you ever come up to far NW Washington by the Canadian border where I live, I can show you some epic spots.

"Every time I bring this back to Earth, I breathe a sigh of relief" Oh man I feel the exact same way. Every flight where the drone comes back home, is a successful flight! Beautiful video. Thanks for posting.

Always making the best out of a bad situation! Thanks for taking us along for the ride! George.

I watch your channel because it gives me Big Bob Ross vibes. Thanks for taking the thoughtful time to share your travels with us.

I was 5 years old and living in Longview, WA when St. Helens blew. We had so much ash for a long time. My dad was a Caterpillar mechanic and spent a lot of time up around the mountain working on heavy equipment used in the recovery and road building after. We had huge pieces of pumice that he would bring home. I’m planning a trip up there with my childhood friend who still lives up there. I haven’t been up to the mountain since I was a kid. Great video!

I'm watching from between Mt Lassen (10,457') and Mt Shasta (14,179'). Mt Lassen was the last volcano to erupt in the United States (1914) until Mt St Helen's blew her top in 1980. Lassen still shows activity with hot springs, bubbling mud pits, and steam vents. I've always been a Subaru guy. My first car was a 1980 gl wagon. I've owned many over the years, my wife currently drives a '17 Outback. I had a '13 Frontier Pro-4x until it burned this summer while fighting the Dixie fire. I replaced it with a Colorado ZR2 similar to your buddies in this video. I love the outdoors and the vehicles that get me there. Your presentation of both is spot on. Thanks for another great adventure Donald. Old Rasputin is one of my favorites. Cheers!

music & production keeps getting better & better, love this channel! thank you so much for sharing

Love seeing these adventures. Thanks for inspiring people to get outside.

I worked on Mt St. Helens the summer before it blew up. A place called Harmony Falls Lodge on the ease side of Spirit Lake. Beautiful area with a great waterfall. The power for the lodge was made from the waterfall using a Pelton wheel and an old generator from a WWII bomber. There was also an old single cylinder engine the size of a small car we used some times. Good memories.

28:38 - Woah. That was a hell of a shot of that sunrise.

It's the very definition of Adventure....Things go wrong, then they turn out for the best! I was 15 when St Helens blew, I was with a church group at Kahneeta in the Warm Springs Res that day.

Loved seeing St Helens! I was born in '80, and we went back in 2020 for my 1st time since high school, and have since climbed it 3 times! Definitely a favorite 🙂. Something very unique about being on the rim of an absolutely active volcano.

Beautiful scenes. Thanks you for bringing me along

Glad to see you cross off another check mark on your bucket list, Donald. Good video. I remember that Sunday morning of May 18, 1980 as if it was yesterday. I watched the whole show from Hillsboro, OR airport about 60 miles away where I had a very good view of the mountain and the scene it was presenting. I had made many flights in the weeks and months previously to watch the evidence build of the big explosion as it got closer. One of those instances in life that you never forget.

#softroadingthewest Donald, If you ever want to take a flight around St Helens and get a closer look, PM me and I'll take you up. I fly out of Hillsboro. There is a grass airstrip at Rimrock lake we could camp at if you like. I fly in there a couple times a year.

I have been watching your channel for a couple years now. Watching your setup evolve from the Forester to now has been truly inspirational. Thank you for all that you do!

Thank you for making this video. Good travels, good food, beautiful sunrise.

Welcome to my world of road closures. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been able to get down the Clackamas River corridor and the Callowash River. I camp often in the Blue Mountains and the Idaho panhandle. Avery, Idaho and St. Joe River is amazing, also.

looks like it was an awesome trip after all! Luke was super a good sport!

Thanks for the shout out… your chili idea has got me wanting to make more stew type meals this winter! I’m still working on a way to make it back out there for NYE patreon camp… hope to see you guys again then if so! Great video!

Looks like such a time! I can’t wait to get out!

Oh Donald, this makes me smile so big! A lifelong dream fulfilled in such an epic way is just awesome! Good for you! It really is incredible that we had an active volcano in our lifetime so close to our homes! I was fortunate to have experienced Mt St Helens before the explosion and then again multiple times after. I've flown around the mountain very shortly after it blew and have also been in a helicopter down in the crater. It was amazing to see the devastation so close up and yet within 3 months after the eruption, we saw a herd of elk back in the area. In some ways nature recovers very quickly. It was really fun to see the dry side of Washington state as well as the wet side! Thank you so much for your hard work in making this happen and thanks for bringing us along. You're the best!

Thank you Donald!

Great video! We have been to the Mt St Helen’s visitor center but haven’t ventured much more than that. You’ve inspired us to put it on our list! As always, we enjoyed watching!

I grew up outside of Sandy down on the river. My grandparents lived up in Hood River. I've never been that close to mountain that I remember, but except the 8mm movie of my mom holding me with the explosion in the background.

Donald what a great trip. It wasn’t as planned but you found a nice spot and right in my backyard. I can’t wait for the roads to open back up so that I can get out there.

Congrats on 50K + subscribers, Donald!

Yes! Mt. St. Helens - great save!

Thank David!

What a way to salvage your trip! And first time at Mount St. Helens!

Man that was awesome, at the end there that shadow on Rainier was super cool.

Beautiful area ,great video...diggin' the truck setup now that you're settling in!

Very nice. Sorry to see this one end!

I lived on the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey as a child when Mount St. Helen's erupted. We awoke to a layer of ash on our cars the week after it blew.

I absolutely love your videos!! Thank you so much for sharing and letting us tag along with ya!! Happy Holidays and safe travels!!

Wow. Some stunning views!

Got lucky on the drone! I’m a big fan of eastern Washington and Idaho panhandle. Thanks for sharing your adventures 🤙

That’s nice. Unexpected detours usually result in me going home at 1:00 a.m.

Glad you got to see Mt St. Helens. That chili looked delicious.

Always relaxing to watch your trips Donald!

I got to go to Sprit Lake and to Mt St Helens when I was a kid a couple of months before the eruption. It was so beautiful. I wish I had a camera at the time. I lived in Delano Ca. We even got ash in Central California for the eruption.

Now we're cooking! Love the knife skills...

Love what you do, thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us!

Hey thanks for using my song in your video! It’s very cool to see one of my favorite pieces accompany your journey.

Washington State really is beautiful.

I was 27 when St. Helens blew. I was a mechanic in Grants Pass and we had ash down there too. My first trip to Rainer and St. Helens was in 2005, what a treat! Indescribable was my first glimpse of Rainier towering overhead as the low clouds parted as I was standing in the Paradise parking lot. Windy Ridge has a well earned name as you found out, but some of the best views of St. Helens. Glad you finally got to experience it too.

Interesting to see how the country sid ehas both recovered and still show signs of St Helens eruption, At the time thought it was the end of a Years long planning. But in 1981, we walked the pacific crest trail Mexico to Canada, so 40 years ago this year. Your video and trips into the mountains brings back lots of great memories. Cheers and keep at it...

Thanks for sharing Donald.....nice job on the video!

Excellent video. I love Mt St Helens, climbed it back in 2018. The wilderness that surrounds is a great place to explore too. We have some great places here to explore on the WA side and definitely blessed to have such lands to recreate on! I moved here from Scotland back in 2008 and honestly I couldn’t have landed in a better place. If you haven’t already I’d suggest exploring the Mt Adams wilderness also, you won’t be disappointed. Also the video length is great. I think that sweet spot for most is between 35-50 minutes, well at least for myself. Cheers.

Great content, thank you!

I saw a recent documentary on Mt. Saint Helens. There still is a lot of seismic activity happening in the crater. Apparently there is a large glacier forming in the crater under the northwest rim. Small earthquakes keep sliding debris over it which keeps it from melting. The more it accumulates, the bigger the chance of a major pyroclastic event if it erupts again.

What a great video of Washington hope on your way home you stop a beacon rock State Park It is a cool place to see one thing is great is on a nice day I get to see MT Rainer Have a safe trip home

The Gifford Pinchot forest has some fire lookouts with amazing views. If anyone is in the area I recommend them as destinations.

A good chili always burns twice. 😂

St. Helens is such a cool place! I've been to the top 6 or 7 times now, such an amazing experience. Anyway, great video, thanks!

You and I both with St. Helens... Always wanted to go, of course the wife and kids made a trip when I was working.... But it's high on my list to see up close

I had that same beer tonight! Cheers!

Good stuff!

WOW! Thanks for sharing spectacular trip indeed! I remember St Helens eruption, as it sprayed ash allover and lost my Dad's Vega to it... :( All the BEST to you and safe travels! Cheers ! :)

For a minute I thought you bought a new snowpeak fire pit but I guess that was your buddies! I know they are very expensive but they are well made and worth it for me! By once and cry once😢 great video as always!

Yay!

I enjoy your travels. Your shots are beautiful. Stay safe and healthy. Happy holidays.

Loved the longer video keep up the great content

Every Saturday morning I enjoy a cup of coffee while watching your latest video. It’s a nice routine! Poor battery retention is a known issue for the DJI Spark. If you google around, I believe there are some workarounds or tricks. My brother has one and this happened to him too

Great video yet again👍 I to have always had a fascination with St Helens, as a kid I always wanted to go there, I definitely need to make it happen. Remember it blowing it's top like yesterday. My grandparents lived in Tumwater and going there after the eruption was like another world.

Great video! Washington has some beautiful mountains and terrain!

I knew it!!! I passed you on the road! I’ve been monitoring your channel to confirm if that was you or not. What a small world haha!

27:30 Near the end of simmering a stew like this, we like to stir in some boxed mash-potato flakes for a nice thickening.

Have an 06 frontier with 285 k on it. Change your fluids regularly and it will run forever.

I don't particularly like Washington and I don't know why. Oregon just seems so much more vibrant to me while Washington seems faded and washed out, I can't explain it. I blame my time living on Long Beach Peninsula. Also, they are even more gate happy up in Washington in my experience. You found some awful nice places though! I had a friend have the same thing happen to the battery with his same drone.

I was 7 and in China when St. Helens blew. My mom was in Corvallis amongst the first few groups of visiting scholars from China. I remember she told us ash looked like snow and covered houses and cars. It was one of those things China do not have and was hard to imagine ash could flow that far. I think my grand parents were more worried than me when they learned from the news.

Wind carried the ash toward Spokane where I was.

Watching weekly from Manila, Philippines. Long time viewer. Love your work and adventures.

Awesome

I'm pretty sure you were camped the second night in my former super secret huckleberry patch. It was great berry picking there until the trees grew up.. I even brushed out that road once. The rock formation on the east side was Kloochman Rock. It is climbable but I chickened out partway up.

Great beer "Old Rasputin" is made in America! It would be interesting to try! Thanks for trip Donald!

Another inspiring adventure. What’s your cleaning routine for cookware after messy entrees like the stewed chili? I don’t recall seeing you use dishpans or scrubbers.

Nothing wrong with some Stagg...until about 4am.

Chili looked good, I was 20 living in medford and we had ash too. Where did 40 years go? 😀😳

I have a dji spark and you are lucky to not have the issues I've had. I had to replace it twice through my warranty because I crashed it and the gimbal broke. Both crashes were pretty bad though.

It was so NW when you said you were so glad it was cold and wet.

Awesome stuff! If you ever plan another trip up north, I'm just south of Tacoma and would love to meet up with ya. Cheers!!!

Beautiful video! I´d rather be on those trails as well but I´m stuck in Germany and it seems I´m trapped here for longer ffs

Awesome video's i hope to meet you one day i have a 2018 pro4x that absolutely love

I assume you were trying to get up to Bethel Ridge? Yeah sadly we had a terrible fire in that area that lasted for months. We were up there in June before it started. It’s definitely worth coming back to see next year.

Loved the waterfall. Mt ST Helens is so beautiful! I hope to see it someday. It has always been my fear to get locked in when I go past an open gate with a lock on it. What type of radio were you using? I have often wondered who take care of your cat when you are gone on the long trips. Thanks for the video I know it is a lot of hard work. Take care and be safe.

Congrats on 1k likes!

Highway 12 white pass my back yard the fire was devastating to the area . I'm down in naches if you ever need some pointers.

Good example of why adventure motorcycle s can be " more accessible " !! ( go around that beauracracy ! )

👍👍

Ok, instead of my spews of comments I am going to sum them all up in one thing lol. I am looking into making my own central deflater/inflater system sorta similar to his but doing all 4 tires together, been stewing on it for awhile and got more inspired after seeing coast to cascades video where they show a system being used, talked with them a little bit in the comments about it as well. It wasn't until about 10 years ago that I got up to the Johnson ridge observatory which is the closest you can get with a car to Mt. St. Helens and it definitely is a trek for sure. Otherwise the closest I ever got was at the dam at spirit lake when I was a kid, btw now it tells me how much older you are from me lol I was 4 when that happened and was living in Germany at the time (air force brat). Good to see spicy stuff coming up more and more as my gf is half Mexican so she cooks on the spicier side of things at times. And then nummy nummy old Rasputin, I didn't stop at walking man brewery in Stevenson like I was planning to last month sadly so no dark cherry stout :(. Then you mentioned stagg chili and not being sponsored by them and I was already thinking of mentioning you should get sponsored by trader Joe's lmao and yes stagg is the go to for me as well lol.

I honestly can’t believe you don’t just break the locks, I live California and if I come across locked public land, it’s public land

a nissan and chevy! love the no Toyota content. its refreshing

Hoorah, adventure! I enjoyed the familiar sights and spots. Is 10:27 the new #4:27? Well done, as always. Thanks for sharing.

😎👍

Luke looks more like a Luke Roadrunner :P

As always great video! Could you make a movie about the post production? How long time it takes to edit, what software you are using, how you edit and basically explain some of the process. I believe some of us viewers takes it for granted the videos you are posting. Thank you so much for sharing!

they close lots of roads during hunting season

Fantastic video as always! I wanted to ask you about any nice friendly going trails or sights I should see around crater lake area? Finally going to make it there in the Crosstrek and would love to explore the area. I don’t mind some mud, water, etc as long as it’s family friendly. Thanks in advance!

Nice to be in my stomping grounds. Great vid When going over your truck vid comes out mention your compressor unit. I’ve never aired down as they say, just curious, thanks buddy