Offroading to the EPIC 7500ft peak that I wish I had NEVER shared

👋 HighGrounders... Today's video is a slightly shorter one but it has no shortage of cinematic views and epic moments per usual.
This is Day 2 of our mega rally around BC and the second peak in as many days before we continue on for a total of 7 peaks and 18 epic days on the road overlanding across British Columbia 🇨🇦.
Come along as I take you on this thoughtful & complex journey up "Dichotomy Peak". Ive been going to this peak for almost 10 years. It is one of my most favourite peaks in BC. For 9 years i never told anyone about it but now it’s one I wish I never found & shared with anyone at all, since more and more people have now sought it out.
I gave it this code name to memorialize an experience that I had here which taught me a lot about the integrity and virtue that is at the core of my beliefs, my relationship with the great outdoors & also at the heart of the content I seek to create and the people I seek to create it along side. This topic has been on my mind for about a year but going back up to this peak again, brought it all back to the surface for me, and greatly inspired my creative process on this short film.
This topic is a never ending debate in the outdoors community & on social media, as some seek to gate keep locations, while others share them openly knowing the consequences of doing so on social media.
I have taken a lot of grief over the last year from people on social media for documenting my journeys. Some have accused me of “ruining BC” by showing “hidden gems”. Others have leaned to the other end of the spectrum, as if there is some universal right ascribed to them. They attempt to acquire locations I’ve been, with very little courtesy or respect for the process and then share it themselves. Most seem to lean to one or the other extreme in their ideology which always resembles a zero sum game, to an infinite player.
Yes I have taken people places over the years that I wish I had not mostly because of how special an area is contrasted with how they acted during or afterwards. It can be hard to find people who will truly respect & value the process i go through. Whats amazing is how going to places like this will unveil the true character and poise of people. This is the hard reality - a place like this cannot be fooled - a place like this shows you who people really are.
In contrast, it also makes it that much more obvious when you have the right people, just as we did on this unique 18 day expedition with Gord & Ken. These guys are truly incredible explorers.
Ultimately, this is a lesson I believe is an important one to share. I'm definitely not a gatekeeper, nor am I someone who freely gives up beautiful locations like this to just anyone. I guess i dont fit in either of the typical ideologies & thats ok. I believe in a middle ground, where someone must pay to play. It is earned through showing the character & poise required to safely earn the right to enjoy these locations & pass them along responsibly. At the core, I'm trying to be an advocate for responsible recreation & if we do not have those who exercise this responsibility, then we all deserve to lose these places. This is a responsibility i have earned and now take much more seriously.
That said it’s important to remember that ultimately I am not the one who decides this. The mountain ultimately decides if you deserve to be there or not. I'm just someone who wants to inspire more people to put in the work required to develop the character and poise that allows them to achieve these hard things responsibly & respectfully.
These stories I tell, are a reflection of this. Dichotomy Peak will always be a reminder to me of the need to tread most carefully & responsibly when bringing people to extraordinary places.
See you at the top 🫡
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Btw I’ve tried making some changes to the sound mixing that i hope addresses some of the criticism ive gotten in comments, but at this point it seems like its probably more an issue of TV + surround sound, so if you are gonna complain in the comments, at least be helpful and tell me what device you are using or its pointless feedback bc i tested audio on every device and its only TV surround sounds that seem to be less balanced. If you know how to fix it, im all ears but im not in any rush to mix audio for 7.1 surround sound. I got a day job yo. Put on some headphones maybe? 🤣