Did my own delays doom this mission to failure? Recovery trip goes in unplanned directions

I set off on a mission. I knew the chances for success were slim, but what went wrong truly caught me by surprise. Ultimately, nothing went according to plan on this day, but along the way, I did make some interesting discoveries.

[@jeffreypreiss8191]

Too bad you weren't able to locate your drone. Enjoyed the "dramatization" from 6 years ago.😊 Always really enjoy your filming, editing and narration. A day like this not going to plan looks like the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Just wandering around, enjoying the outdoors. See you next time.

[@clifford_overland]

The beginning suspense and music had me on the edge of my seat.😮😂

[@softroadingthewest]

Part of me just wants to be a fictional filmmaker 😂

[@jaystewart9947]

Nice touch there at the end 😊. Thanks for sharing

[@stout_tossme7541]

Alright Donald. Let’s see what you got yourself into. 🙂 One of my favorite places to visit. The Oregon cost. It’s been a few months. Time to make the 14 hour drive back 🙂

[@softroadingthewest]

As much as I love the mountains and the desert, the coast is hands down my favorite place to be in Oregon. There's very little in the way of dispersed camping (and campground camping is highly competitive) so I rarely take filming excursions to the coast, otherwise you'd certainly see a lot more of it on the channel. 😄

[@om617yota8]

I really like the dark cello music in the beginning. Great choice!

[@scottminshall6420]

Great scenery and footage Donald! Glad to see your get back into your normal routine.

[@richardburguillos3118]

Nice. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful shots, well done. Happy New Year, may it be filled with Joy and amazing Adventures.

[@jhbryaniv]

Man that is some great game of thrones style intro music on this video. Love how you are working so much creativity into these videos. Thanks for brining us on your journeys.

[@raysiebert6758]

Reminds me of my first time flying a drone. Practiced in fields, but up on trails, quite different. Almost lost it sending it home. Glad you could turn your unsuccessful adventure into a nice day out. Happy New Year Donald.

[@stphns1737]

Totally unexpected and relaxing video. Thanks for sharing.

[@davidcolinstillman5585]

HI DONALD 👋 ALMOST ANY DAY AWAY FROM THE NORM IS A GOOD DAY DEPENDING UPON THE WEATHER & THE SEASON WHERE YOU ARE . IT WAS A GOOD TRY LOOKING FOR YOUR DRONE . TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING IN A BLINK OF AN EYE 👁 THE ADVENTURE HAD BEAUTIFUL SCENERY . THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME TAG ALONG WITH YOU 🙏 BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! ENJOYED ❤GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON YOUR ADVENTURES 🙏 ❤

[@swidahooverlanding2867]

Looks like a good way to start the New Year to me! Thanks for sharing. George.

[@campoutwestus]

Not surprised you weren't able to find the drone, but surprised the tree was gone! Happy Camping

[@GunPilot3000]

Fantastic chill video, beach in winter is the best especially over here in the Carolinas. Not finding drone was good, it might have been a video titled "2 drones 1 tree" 😊

[@wabashriver4700]

the ending was great!

[@cynthiaramp7440]

The Oregon coast is the best. Love it. I'm from Southern Oregon and I love it. Year-round.

[@pleinairbarnettoutdoors]

First few seconds, I was trying to guess who or what you are recovering. 🎯 Nice different content.

[@FieldingSmith]

Know that you were looking into other heating options, just saw that there is a new gasoline van heater (not diesel), and wanted to know if you had looked into anything like that before? It’s expensive, so hopefully some of the eastern companies come out with a model soon. But thought it would be really cool if it could be ran off of a standard gas tank. Model is the “Eberspacher Airtronic Heater Kit AS3 B2L (Gasoline) 12V”

[@softroadingthewest]

I was familiar with the Webasto gasoline heater but not the Eberspacher. I do like the idea of running off gasoline, but I don't think I can justify that expense. I don't spend a huge amount of time hanging out inside the camper other than sleeping, and when I sleep I just run an electric blanket inside my sleeping bag rather than heating the entire space all night long. If I was traveling full time through the winter, I think something like that would start to become worth considering, but currently I just don't spend enough winter evenings camping for that kind of investment. This is a good alternative for people to know about though...the Webasto gasoline heater seems to be pretty finicky, especially at higher elevations where you'd need it the most. I wonder how the Eberspacher compares.

[@Scotty1963AZUSA]

Great video Donald!

[@jenb.6440]

Beautiful video, thank you

[@garycloud9631]

Hey Donald. I always enjoy your videos and you do an excellent job of narrating them. Perhaps someone has already mentioned this but why not take a metal detector to the crash sight and poke around some of those downed trees on the off chance you might find it? Thanks for your videos.

[@softroadingthewest]

No one mentioned that. Interesting idea. I don't have a metal detector...yet... 🤔

[@kenuber4014]

I would have been a blast if, in fact you did find the drone!!

[@darrylk808]

It would've been great to find the old drone, but an adventure is an adventure😅. It's still a good video.

[@zackdemundo]

I was thinking… Donald is hunting for a UFO crash site. Something mentioned in an old Coast to Coast AM show with Art Bell. 😂

[@johndej]

Sorry you didn't find your drone, but this turned into a nice adventure anyway.

[@tomas5376]

I love that section of the coast! Sorry you didn’t find the tree/drone. Does Lucie or your son still accompany you on some trips. Haven’t seen them for a long time.

[@softroadingthewest]

They're both pretty busy these days...it's difficult to get our schedules to line up and neither of them are super enthusiastic about camping, so we tend to do other things together when time allows. :-)

[@sagebrushbob2321]

That railroad track is the same line that crosses the big turntable bridge at Cushman, just east of Florence. It was a big undertaking when it was built, as a good portion of the line was built on trestles over the waters of nearly every lake between Florence and Coos Bay. I think it's still owned by the Coos Bay Rail Line.

[@softroadingthewest]

I was really surprised to learn the line is still in use. I'm not a railroad buff by any means but it's always interesting and impressive to see what has gone into getting trains through difficult areas.

[@CoastGord]

Great stuff! I'm curious about your navigation set-up. Cheers from Vancouver Island!

[@softroadingthewest]

It's simply Gaia GPS on an old 3rd-gen iPad mini. I use Gaia to plan out my trips at home and then navigate in the field. I have a video about how I use it that centers more around the planning aspect and finding campsites, but there's a chapter on how I then also navigate: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHu4lJlug75sg6M I do still run my very dated Garmin GPS device on my dash as well. It doesn't get as much active use but comes in handy from time to time; I address that briefly as well in that video.

[@paulspeakman551]

1957 - 1960 International Travelall at 10:47; old school adventure vehicle.

[@scottymac5174]

When Jason zooms his drone over your head.

[@MeanOneMeanOne]

Well done!

[@JCreole]

The music in the beginning was classic theater type stuff…👍

[@BirdPhish]

I figured something was funny when you were taking your sweet time filming drive by shots on the way lol...

[@feminazislayer]

Looks like paradise to me.

[@zdanger2kz]

I love your channel logo, It's similar to the Nissan logo but in an S shape. I love 3d printing, I'd like to see/make your logo in 3d print form to replace the Nissan logos on your frontier!

[@softroadingthewest]

Thanks! Yes, a Nissan-inspired S was the idea. 🙂 And I've actually had a 3D emblem of my logo on the front of my truck for a couple years. I have a blurb about it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHTPonZvnpuZbposi=FswduJkfyjFeMxFq&t=729

[@Kaiser0929]

You know you've been watching Donald's channel a long time when at 2:22 you think "that looks kinda like where he lost his drone that one time"...and then you learn that's the entire point of the video. 😄

[@softroadingthewest]

Despite the years that have passed and countless other places visited, I was surprised by how familiar it felt as I drove up in there. Thanks for sticking with the channel, much appreciated!

[@shaolin224]

Nice recon music👍

[@1crazyphotog]

Did you ever try yelling "here drone, come to papa?"

[@louiskudlak2241]

Oh well RIP❤

[@OutandBackOregon]

I'll go ahead and take credit for inspiring you to search and recover your lost drone. After all, I seem to be a subject matter expert...

[@clifford_overland]

🤣🤣🤣

[@softroadingthewest]

Oh you inspire me in many many ways 😂

[@dalecurrier5631]

Is that Takenitch Lake between Reedsport and Florence ??

[@softroadingthewest]

It's not, but it could be...they all look very similar to me. I think the rail line skirts Takenitch as well.

[@carolleimbach6407]

😮 that outro. 🏆

[@softroadingthewest]

Haha 🚂

[@cousinjeb7116]

An organic cache stash.

[@huppiehater]

Donald did you remember to bring a comb?

[@gringo3009]

Never knew there were nutria here out west. Never too old to learn.

[@thomasquigley7040]

In Vancouver, the rail company ran 1-2 trains per day through the city. It was just a locomotive pulling 1 car and it ran at various times of day. The reason was to maintain their right-of-way. In the end, they lost use of it and couldn't sell it to the transit company for rapid transit. The rails got converted to trails.

[@ThomasSMcNamara]

Edit: Thanks to @ryanjdobbins for letting me know this was an OBD monitor. It looks like Donald is using a ScanGuage 3. Great video as always. Can anyone please tell me what the instrument is that Donald has attached to the left side of his windshield? It has three columns and three rows of numbers on its screen. Is it something for the GPS? I just can't make it out on my screen. Thanks everyone.

[@ryanjdobbins]

Looks like a monitor likely plugged into the OBD port that shows real time data. Coolant temp, batt voltage, trans temp, engine load, fuel flow, speed, fuel level, trip MPG, and instant MPG.

[@ThomasSMcNamara]

@@ryanjdobbins Thank you!

[@softroadingthewest]

Yes, ScanGauge 3. Works great to monitor a wide range of parameters, and also will scan & clear CEL codes. It has help me diagnose & repair minor issues that would've otherwise required being at the mercy of a mechanic.

[@ThomasSMcNamara]

@@softroadingthewest Thanks Donald!

[@brenton1865]

Sorry you couldn’t find er bud

[@idahoverland_208]

One day into the new year and there’s already egrets.

[@softroadingthewest]

LOL 🤣👏👏

[@Alanhighhand]

What is your tires size you have?

[@brackeng1294]

I believe he said they are 285/75r16’s. Roughly 33’s

[@softroadingthewest]

@@brackeng1294 Correct, 285/75R16, which is a bump up from the ~31s that came OEM on the 2nd-gen Pro-4x

[@michaelbattistelli3732]

Do you have a video about your current tires and mods to front and back wheel wells? I have a 2.5 in ADO lift on my 2015 CC long bed. Looking at off-road front bumper for more clearance. Did you have to trim any sheet metal? Any loss of power from the 285's?

[@softroadingthewest]

@@michaelbattistelli3732 No, I haven't made a video about the tires. I got a bit of rub in the front at full lock and had to trim a little plastic and metal inside the rear of the front wheel wells. I did not notice any power issues with the larger tires.

[@michaelbattistelli3732]

t@@softroadingthewest

[@OverlandOverloaded]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@softroadingthewest]

Pretty sure I recognize that...voice...😆

[@scottymac5174]

A crash Site,

[@pala4833]

Crash "dramatization" is a pine tree. Very disturbing.

[@softroadingthewest]

You say conifer, I say conifer. 🌲😆

[@pala4833]

@@softroadingthewest Conifer? I didn't even know her.

[@softroadingthewest]

@@pala4833 LOL 👏👏

[@RVingwithG]

What do people not get it is highly illegal to fly a drone in the national forest No fly zone😮😮😮

[@Kaiser0929]

1) Weirdest poem ever, and 2) how hard would it have been to google that before posting a comment? www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/recreational-drone-tips (Spoiler alert: Not hard at all.)

[@ryanb2182]

You are wrong. It is legal to fly in national forests as long as there is not a TFR in place and you follow their other rules. I believe you’re thinking of flying in a national park. That is illegal to do without a permit.

[@ryanb2182]

www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/recreational-drone-tips

[@comptonassimps]

Starting off the video with the “crash” bait was pretty dumb. Just say you went to the beach.