Painted Hills and Beyond: Solo exploring & camping in rugged Oregon backcountry

[@getwesleysmith]

This channel is a much better Nissan promo than their current Frontier push IMO

[@kennethboatner8611]

I watched this video while camping in my overland trailer in the middle of nowhere . As I sat here watching this very well made video I reflected on how much influence you and Jason have had on me getting back to camping and how it has changed my life. I was so caught up in my work that I was going mad. A few years ago I started watching you and Jason . I found myself longing for a camping adventure to reconnect with nature . Many years working long hours, a divorce and raising two kids had taking its toll. I want to say thank you for what you’ve done through video , more than entertainment it inspired me to start a new chapter camping with my kids . We love your content , thanks so much.

[@BrienWood7.3]

Beautifully done...one of my favorite places.

[@909lilac]

Well done Donald. Always enjoy traveling along with you.

[@trailandtread]

Awesome episode. Voice over, cinematics and background score are on point... thanks for taking us along!

[@MeanOneMeanOne]

When I was young (1990ish) my younger brother and I were walking up the "painted hills" and a truck made in the '40's came out of nowhere and it was a Native American told us to get to heck off and that we weren't supposed to be on there, and once we did his truck had vanashed and my Mother said "what truck? there's no one here except us"..........I'll never forget it

[@jeffreypreiss8191]

Another beautiful video. Thanks again for bringing us along with you. The pics of little Lucie are adorable. Have you ever thought about making prints from your videos? The drone shots along the river are spectacular. Looking forward to next time.

[@mikepierson3097]

Fantastic video, Donald. Next level! 👍

[@vincentsmalley3073]

Donald this was excellent ! Give yourself more credit

[@rathersurf23]

Donald I have been there as well. I was blown away at the pure rugged beauty. Thanks for the video. Love your vision and commentary.

[@gringo3009]

Beautiful country and a "small wood" fire. Can't beat that!

[@chuckrf1502]

Lovely views and relaxing. Well done.

[@billmartin3198]

I've lived in western Washington my whole life but absolutely love the wild beauty of central Oregon. I think this is exactly the kind of content I would put out if had the desire & patience to do so. Good stuff my friend, Cheers.

[@dalecurrier5631]

Thanks Donald another fantastic video !!!!

[@elflordsjourneys]

Love the quiet solitude you experience in your camps.People dont experience nature like that much in our modern world.😊

[@offgridrecon]

Matt Cook’s stuff is outstanding! Cool seeing a shoutout. 👍🏻❤️🇺🇸

[@softroadingthewest]

Agreed, I'm a fan of his work.

[@sagebrushbob2321]

I don't know... If it was me, I might have put off getting to Jason's winter camp for another day just so I could camp in that spot for two nights! Beautiful place!

[@softroadingthewest]

Haha...oh you know me, I'm way too restless to stay in one spot for more than one night. 😆 But this was indeed a very pleasant site, staying here a few days wouldn't be the end of the world at all. 😄

[@tomas5376]

Such beautiful, peaceful country! Gracias for the tour!

[@garyjennyfrost9485]

Wow! that is some phenomenal country there. Been to the painted hills when I was younger, and been to Fossil (via Heppner, Condon) as part of 1990's Cycle Oregon. Beautiful ride. You found some real gems here.

[@allterrain]

The cinematography and music on this one is outstanding, Donald. I got Lord of the Rings vibes a couple of times.

[@primalucephoto]

It's been 20 years since seeing Painted Hills. Glad it still looks the same. Such beautiful country.

[@daneboro6847]

That's some beautiful country, reminds me Utah and Arizona, thanks for taking us on your journey Donald👍

[@raysiebert6758]

On my bucket list. Thank you for sharing.

[@Oregontrailblazin]

I love the Hills !

[@kevinthomson6324]

We have a local formation similar to your painted hills here in Ontario called the Cheltenham Badlands. It’s located close to a bike rail trail I’ve explored on my bicycle. It’s crazy how these types of places just pop out of the local terrain without any indication at all.

[@pleinairbarnettoutdoors]

Good morning ☕️

[@GreysonPlaisance]

I camped in almost this exact spot last summer and did a little cross-country trek to the top of the canyon walls for sunrise. Great area that doesn't get too much attention!

[@bigperm005]

Can you share coordinates?

[@thomasreilly4156]

Beautiful area. Thank you for sharing

[@IronmanV5]

Lost it at little Lucie picking her nose 😂 Thanks for sharing this beautiful scenery with us.

[@robertsmith-zz7ot]

Awesome video, Don. Out of You, Jason & Chad, You're posting the most. Thanks.

[@carolleimbach6407]

Pretty country!

[@jimr5855]

amazing campsite, great video, truly beautiful country. thanks for sharing!

[@juergenaushusum2587]

nice video. glad you are still sitting outside at a crackling fire.

[@johnmoore2510]

Beautiful. We caught the Painted Hills on a sunny day and you're right, it is a mesmerizing display of Oregon's geology.

[@TonyGazzano]

That was nice. Thank you.

[@DMHRC]

Beautiful place!

[@fouglasdir]

Your videos are a work of art. I stopped watching your channel for a while and stumbled back on it and I'm glad I did. Will be tuning in regularly.

[@softroadingthewest]

Thanks for giving it another shot here, and for the kind words!

[@Chesapeake_Frontier]

Another great video!

[@Hazmatt4700]

About 37 years ago I was out to Mitchel with the family. There was a sheep ranch that had been turned into a park. Still remember that being cool to this day.

[@KnittedSchnauzer]

What a truly beautiful area. I have only been up there once and was amazed by the hills and colors. Your drone videography is outstanding.

[@softroadingthewest]

Thanks Bill!

[@nickkunstler3568]

I pulled my trailer down there with a group of friends last spring, was an amazing experience

[@masonstruckadventure9368]

Love and enjoy how you capture some of Oregons magic. Thanks for sharing

[@steveegbert7429]

I've been there several times and in the right light it's a photographers paradise of lines, color and layers.

[@wingchellouis-meus6262]

New subscriber 😊thank you for what you do. I enjoy watching your videos!

[@duceanahalf]

We visited the Painted Hills in 2018, and a panorama i took is still the current background across my three monitors

[@garycloud9631]

I truly love and appreciate your videos and this one is no exception. I have been by those painted hills some timed ago bur have not explored the area, perhaps some day. Thanks for what you do. As a fellow Oregonian I love seeing new places via yours and others vids.

[@johnyx6754]

I think it is your best camping spot... You are getting better. Be safe!

[@johndewolfe9411]

You remind me that I need to get back out to the painted hills and explore all three units, as well as the surrounding area. A beautiful part of Oregon for sure. BTW: thanks so much for adding a month/year stamp at the beginning of video! That really helps with understanding what conditions might be like when planning to visit areas you show. I hope you add something like that to most, if not all, your future videos. The month is most important. I would consider the year optional, though it does help to know how long ago you made the video.

[@richardburguillos3118]

Absolutely beautiful country you found there. What a spot. Thanks for sharing the adventure.

[@benjaminjonholman]

I used to work in that region of Oregon a lot. Had a work site a few miles up that road past the painted hills. Really cool area. There are a bunch of other hillsides in the region that are also vibrant colors. There's one that's bright blue that's out across a farmers field from one of the back roads. Really cool part of the state.

[@pala4833]

Beautiful. The sky shots around the geese were very nice.

[@stevecoscia]

Gorgeous video. Really enjoyed this.

[@TheJimNicholson]

Wife and I did a trip to Painted Hills and Blue Basin a few years back. It's really nice, but you made the right choice doing it in February; we went in July, and it quickly got too hot to be out in the sun.

[@timothyholtjr.8600]

Added to my list of destinations.. Thanks for sharing and love the music when the drone flies.. Well done

[@IdahoLessTraveled]

Very good, Donald, I haven't been into that country for years. Fun area for sure.

[@rellirTnoraa1]

I camp just up river from that spot when the waters lower. sunsets framed in by the two rock formations on either side of the river make for some pretty nice photos.

[@bigperm005]

Mind sharing coordinates?

[@softroadingthewest]

Please, no public sharing of coordinates here. I get enough grief as it is just showing these places. This video is FULL of clues that makes it suuuper simple for anyone willing to do 3 minutes of work in Google Maps to find exactly where I was. Enjoying spots like this is way more rewarding when you do the tiniest bit of research and make your own discoveries. This is public land, anyone can come find these places. I found these spots without anyone giving me coordinates.

[@rellirTnoraa1]

@@bigperm005where’s the fun in that? Isn’t the adventure about exploring and finding it yourself?

[@paularmost8671]

@@bigperm005get out of here with that crap. Go beg somewhere else

[@bigperm005]

@@paularmost8671 why are you so upset today?

[@swidahooverlanding2867]

I figured out this camp spot but not the one on your last video. Looks like a great place! Well back to the maps! Thanks! George.

[@frankansley7941]

So beautiful!! Thanks for taking us along.

[@dlansburg2673]

Cool shirt,thanks for taking us along

[@edwincors]

Nice video Donald

[@redhillsoverland]

This is a great video! Also one of our favorite parts of Oregon that we return to often!

[@oddballcreations2491]

I’ve camped many many times in the spot on that river ,great fishing spot to although I usually camp by the tree. If you explore further and drive a real roundabout way you will end up driving by the old rajneeshees property

[@softroadingthewest]

Ha! I'm just old enough to remember that whole thing as it happened. 😏 I need to spend more time out in this little pocket and connect the dots...I had no idea this area was so dramatically interesting and beautiful.

[@oddballcreations2491]

@@softroadingthewest there’s a lot of rockhounding places out there I also want to explore and bring home some goodies

[@richardvalitalo3670]

That's time well spent.

[@johndej]

Wonderful video! That looks like a great place to camp. I visited the Painted Hills a couple of years ago with a Mini Cooper club that I'm in. Unfortunately it was raining hard that day. But it did seem to intensify the colors of the hills. I need to get back there!

[@AdventureJason_]

Looks like a real nice camp spot

[@NorthwestBronco]

Looks like a great adventure. Thank you for sharing it with us!

[@eo8513]

Amazing content!!! Love every minute of it.

[@shaunmoller2997]

Great content drone footage epic the morning after epic

[@susang994]

Beautiful country.

[@cartermoses4136]

Really well done, I watch your videos to learn and create some videos myself. How are you doing such great voiceover sound?

[@softroadingthewest]

I record voiceovers at my desk via a decent but not super expensive condenser mic dating back from my music days. I record directly into Adobe Audition on my computer where I do a minimal amount of cleanup/processing.

[@charbvin]

Donald, your video are amayzing

[@davebenn4526]

Awesome video ! Thx

[@softroadingthewest]

Thanks for watching!

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Spectacular !.

[@OregonOutdoorsChris]

The fishing at that campsite would be amazing come summer time. July/August, you wouldn't be able to keep the bass off your lure, and it wouldn't surprise me if there were some decent catfish in that hole too.

[@noneya61]

Good reason to get an inflatable kayak or canoe. Get across that river in no time.

[@stevehicks9374]

Always awesome

[@pj-bo3kh]

Great video! Always informative 👍

[@skyepilotte11]

Beutiful camping...thx

[@louiskudlak2241]

Beautiful buddy

[@conniewaite1371]

I think thats your best spot yet

[@wandermt4315]

thanks Donald

[@brianknapp2747]

This is my favorite new channel. Just subbed.

[@softroadingthewest]

Thanks for watching & subscribing!

[@bajasoobnut]

Still need to go to the painted hills, there is google street view of those trails

[@gobybike99]

Beautiful places. Do you think you would have to have a 4wd to get there?

[@softroadingthewest]

Anyone can get to the Painted Hills sites. Most of the places I ventured beyond are _probably_ accessible without 4WD, depending on the weather (I think I was in 2WD nearly all of the day except when I needed to climb back up that rutted bit you saw me drive down at 9:33). In winter I wouldn't want to be out here without some kind of AWD or 4WD...mud or snow can change the dynamic quite a bit.

[@tch432]

If you look at the history of Mitchell, the town was washed away twice by floods on Bridge Creek (you were driving by). After the second flood the townsite was moved to its current location. Some of the “ruins” you saw were from those floods.

[@softroadingthewest]

Interesting! Mitchell seems so old already, haha! Thanks for watching!

[@stark808]

I watch all your videos as they come out, and I'm not sure if I missed it... but what is with the antenna on your front bumper? Did you explain that at some point? Would love to know, it has me very curious. Great vid, thanks for the content.

[@softroadingthewest]

I haven't talked about it in a video. It's simply an upgraded antenna for my GMRS radio, made by Alamosa Antenna.

[@dansfablab8104]

Nice video

[@TacoSyndicate]

What is that antenna on the front of your truck for?

[@softroadingthewest]

GMRS radio

[@mikelabree]

How does the topper do in the wind?

[@softroadingthewest]

Quite well...better than I expected actually. The tent walls are very thick, heavy canvas, and as each panel is secured to metal top and bottom, it can't really flap in any significant way. In my one year of ownership, I have been through a surprising number of storms (including one confirmed 70+ mph winds that demolished numerous freeway signs just down the hill from me) and I rode them all out with no problem...never felt the need to close down the camper and hunker downstairs or in the cab of the truck. In high winds clearly the fabric does move and make noise, but it's more of a low-frequency whumping than the annoying flapping I've experienced with ground tents.

[@mikelabree]

@@softroadingthewest Thank you for your detailed answer and your channel. You sure make it tempting to buy one.

[@softroadingthewest]

@@mikelabree I'm going to try and get a 1-year review put together soon, to talk about the ups and downs. It's not 100% perfect, but being one of the most affordable pop-up campers on the market, I'm extremely pleased and it is by far my favorite way I've ever camped. This setup works perfectly for the way I explore & camp. 🙂

[@LoveTribeOverland]

I may have missed it, but what time of year was this trip? I'm looking for something to do end of March first part of April

[@softroadingthewest]

Early February, but this area can potentially get snow easily into May.

[@Oregontrailblazin]

Yeah Matt Cook hookup !

[@softroadingthewest]

Matt's the man!

[@dave_in_az]

Nice. I have to say, I enjoyed your last video way more than this one. Wish you showed more content on the actual camping, cooking, and use of your Topo badlander. In 17 min video, about 12 min was just footage of driving along roads, and 2 seconds pouring water for coffee. After watching all your videos on trying to make a useful camper, sleeping area, cooking area, electrical, I'd much rather see you USING that stuff than just driving along roads...

[@softroadingthewest]

I hear you. That said, for every viewer that wants more campsite content, there's another viewer that doesn't care to see the same camp process yet again. 🙂 I have plenty of videos that show various aspects of all my gear in camp and I try not to repeat myself too too much. The thing is, I don't go driving out on these trails for the sake of camping, I camp for the sake of being able to drive further on these trails and see more new country. What drives me - and my filming - IS the drive, what I see along the way. And if I've seen a lot during the day and felt compelled to film a lot of what I saw, by the time I am in camp, I'm often a little tired of filming and just want to chill and enjoy my campsite. On the flip side, when I don't capture much over the day's travels, that usually results in a video with a lot more camp content. I know there are channels that kinda sorta just do the same camp drill over and over and their viewers clearly love it. I mostly don't watch those channels and don't feel particularly drawn to producing that type of content. For me, the interesting part of any new trip is the new scenery I'm discovering, and my videos largely reflect that. In previous videos, I have shown every aspect of using every bit of my camp gear. In future videos, I will certainly show various elements of it again. 🙂

[@dave_in_az]

@softroadingthewest great reply, thx. I should note that your "drive past camera" and drone footage ARE pretty amazing, I often think how much time you must spend setting up and then retrieving the camera for these drive past scenes. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the videos:)

[@brandonroach2097]

Nice

[@feminazislayer]

I don't think I'd leave honestly

[@stanbyme7874]

Love that area. Watch out for rattlers! Went to step out & heard a loud hisssss🐍. Decided to move to another spot. It was down past Painted Hills, on same road, by river. There’s an outhouse & usually really nice people. *Priest Hole* Free

[@softroadingthewest]

That was my target area and I did poke around there, but the river was so high, much of it was flooded or just wet & messy. Neat area for sure.

[@thomasquigley7040]

Hmm. The water shouldn't be that high, this early in the year. Not a lot of water lingering around as snowpack this winter. It's going to be a drought summer this summer.

[@feminazislayer]

That rock sure looks like a tree stump to me

[@MattCookOregon]

Ask my daughter what I should say, she said "I love you'

[@softroadingthewest]

😄

[@feminazislayer]

Looks like mud floods

[@jeepguy04]

Maybe a man made pond to hold water