Winter Hiking in the Snowy Forest - Making a Fire

I hike up and into the snowy forest on a cold winter day and find myself a nice camp spot for the evening. I collect firewood and make a warming fire using the Bushcraft Essentials stove. I make a cup of hot chocolate and warm my hands on the remains of the fire.
Hiking in the forest is one of my favorite ways of spending time outdoors, perhaps because there’s not much of it where I live. There’s just so much to see and hear if you stay present. The sounds nature produce in a forest and in weather like this is truly special. The sound of stepping on the crusty snow or the frozen grass is almost like nature is providing you with a free ASMR experience. Soon enough more snow will come and there will be a new sound to the forest.
As the astute might have noticed this was not filmed in Lofoten. I was back home in Bergen during the holidays to spend time with family and friends, and I grabbed the opportunity to get some time in nature and to get some much needed sunlight.
Location: Herresåsen, Voss in Norway
Time of year: Winter - December 26th 2020
Website and blog: www.kristianpletten.com/
Camera gear used in this video (affiliate links):
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Lens: amzn.to/2Ylekbj
Lens: amzn.to/2IqEi8M
Variable ND-filter: amzn.to/3gczoH7
Tripod: amzn.to/2LDPmx1
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Attachment: amzn.to/30z310v
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Other gear used in this video (affiliate links):
Jacket: www.klattermusen.com/en/men/j...
Pants: www.klattermusen.com/en/men/p...
Knife: amzn.to/3d3j7n0
Backpack: amzn.to/2WNSbCp
Wood stove: amzn.to/3cJgwyw
Headlamp: amzn.to/2XEbXPW
Collapsible water bottle: amzn.to/2AmhbrQ
Watch: amzn.to/3eIaDmb
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Packing cubes: www.tombihn.com/collections/a...
Navigation and safety: amzn.to/3eeB9UV
Pocket knife: amzn.to/34O7KOp
Hat: amzn.to/37XsQM8

[@Grimmster10]

These videos help me sleep at night I’m surprised there isn’t more people that watch these videos

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@BushcraftHakankarahan]

great video, i'm waiting for more😎👍

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you Hakan! 😊🙏🏻

[@Milk-coffee-1001]

The bright sun, a dry winter snow scene. Coffee which enjoys a sound to walk, and is hot in a forest of the quiettness. I appreciate fire! December 26th 2020👍

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you Madoka! Yes, even though the sun was only visible for a few minutes it was delightful and much needed!

[@niklashl]

So many beautiful and amazing scenes. It’s so relaxing - just as it is in real life 😊🏕

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you Niklas! 😊🙏🏻

[@eugenebatstone5658]

Nice to see and watch this again. Do enjoy your work and hoping that you’ll have new material to share soon! 😊

[@KristianPletten]

Thanks Eugene! 🙏🏻

[@stevec-b6214]

exactly what I need right now, tak

[@walkingwithouttalking]

The „out of focus fire“ at 10:00 is a great idea! A very beautiful video.

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@user-nd9ki9ge4f]

Очень красивое видео!

[@KristianPletten]

Спасибо!

[@NatureBoy711]

first vid of the year, and i must say it's so inviting as usual..... tranquility , ..........and yet it speaks loudly with full volume of intense "calmness"....... ... such is irony as i love ....snowy days .... are so beautiful...... ^.~ and if i may, .... again, ......i am incline to hold my quill pen.... at last, the path is open.... despite the previous , harsh and brutal bombardments this time, i can walk without any hardship finally, she has pity on this poor soul and invited me to her enchanting abode here, .... i stay for brief moment of rapture and captivation and,.. i am forever grateful for her ...... forgiveness and kindness......~~. this time. i rest .. and ..i build a fire to warm myself ..... watching those soft, life-giving, enchanting flames how they dance to night's rhythm of gentle breeze..... as the flames flicker, they invite me join in to their glowing hypnotism of mother's lullaby.... ahhhhhhh........ so soooooothing ....... and so comforting...... mmmmm ...... but soon i am reminded ..... her jealousy begins as she lets me know it's time to move on ..slowly and calmly..... the snow falls .....and as i look up ... it meets my lip.... gently kissing me but assuring me ........ it's a long way, but i know she is besides me ....... nudging me with her gentle whispers of companionship.. ~~ well.... i wish you the very best of new year. may the year of ox usher in health, wealth, and happiness to you and all of your loved ones. happy new year !!! ^.^

[@KristianPletten]

Wow, the year hasn't even started and you can take home the price for the most creative comment of the year! Well done, sir! 👏🏻 Thank you, and thanks for the support! 🙏🏻 Happy new year!

[@raymondlogister6828]

Nice trip Kristian. Thank you for share.

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you Raymond! 🙏🏻

[@davemitchell8756]

Great quality video Kristian👍👍

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you Dave! Appreciate it! 🙏🏻

[@denis_bykov]

Awesome video!!

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you!

[@Kflem]

Beautiful video!

[@KristianPletten]

Thanks Kate! 🙏🏻

[@user-or8xc8mw7c]

ธรรมชาติสวยงามมากครับ

[@KristianPletten]

ฉันเห็นด้วย. ขอบคุณที่รับชม.

[@alexmacdonald258]

Friluftsliv!

[@TheoAsmr]

Nice vid

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you!

[@DedicationPhotography]

Ahhh there are the forests again, great video again mate.

[@KristianPletten]

Thanks Arjan! 😊🙏🏻

[@chlorophyll365]

Nice and relaxing video Kristian. I see you use a firebox is that something you can recommend? Been thinkikg about buying one...

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you! Yes, the one I have is one of Bushcraft Essentials called Bushbox LF Titanium. It's fairly similar to the Firebox, but I do enjoy having a larger hole on the side to feed it while the kettle is on top. And yes, I do recommend it! Its main benefits are that it requires less wood to use than a typical campfire and it leaves almost no marks when you are done. The downside is that it's limited in size (depending on which size you get) and the smaller the size the more often you have to feed it, so it does require some attention.

[@chlorophyll365]

@@KristianPletten ok thanks, it seems like a good idea to have one 😊

[@robertlewandowski8491]

Who else was somehow expecting a thumbs up at 8:15? 😁🤔

[@KristianPletten]

😄 Thanks for watching! 🙏🏻

[@ridde911]

Haha, was thinking the same :D

[@iamwanderingby]

Hello from Belarus! I found your channel a few days ago and I should say, that your quality of video and sound is incredible! Nice job. ANd i have a question about sound - doy you record it straight to the camera, or you use recorder? or may be you use noise reduction in post processing? I use rode videomic pro, its cheaper but i heard examples of good sound and decided to buy. But sound is to noisy, and today it record the sound of snow so loud, that i cannot use my footage at all. May be you can help me.

[@KristianPletten]

Hi there! Thank you! Yes, I saw that you subscribed and I've actually seen several of your videos. Great stuff, and beautiful nature where you live! You seem to have spent a lot of time in the outdoors and have great knowledge and skills. So regarding audio I currently record straight into the camera. I have had some noise issues in the past which I've narrowed down to (1) disturbances by bluetooth in the camera (clicking noise at different intervals), (2) moisture on the microphones and (3) improper audio settings leading to general noise if the gain is set too low, or clipping if the gain is set too high. For you it sounds like there might be something regarding the gain setting in the camera. If the sound is too loud is has probably clipped, meaning the audio signal has maxed out which creates distortion (you'll see this in the edit if the audio waveform extends all the way to the top and bottom). Many cameras have poor preamps, so the general advice is to set the gain on the microphone up and the gain on the camera down. So in your case it would mean setting the Videomic Pro to +20 dB and set the audio settings in camera to manual, and then adjust the gain so that the maximum sound for you scene hits around -12 dB. That leaves some room for it be higher than -12 dB. If it's set too low and you need to raise the sound in post you'll add a lot of noise to the recording, so the trick is to record the audio as high as possible without clipping. If you can't dial the camera down enough you should turn the gain on the microphone down to prevent clipping. Which settings did you use when you encountered the problem with noise? If you want you can send a video clip or just the sound recording to my email linked on my KZbin-channel and I'll have a look at it. It's not easy to fix stuff like this, but perhaps there is something to be learned. Hope this helps!

[@iamwanderingby]

@@KristianPletten, thanks a lot for answer. I will send you one video with both problems and describe conditions of recording.

[@treyjohnson7452]

Beautiful video. What did you drop into the fire stove at 11:03? Thanks.

[@KristianPletten]

Thank you Trey! That was a briquette, the same as I added in the start. I always challenge myself not to use briquettes, for example by collecting dry birch bark when I stumble upon it (which in many ways work even better), and try to find dry wood so that when I need it I can get a fire going. Here I was not in Lofoten, but on the west coast of Norway where it rains a lot and all the wood was soaking wet before it froze, something I learned the day before I shot this where I spent three hours trying to get a fire going. 😄

[@tshansen]

You know what... you could probably have ended it at 14:01.... just let us slip into dream mode 👏🏻 another great video Kristian. Really liked the mix of angles in the beginning 🔥 You should get yourself a more sexy kuksa 😁 Cheers and take care.

[@KristianPletten]

Haha, perhaps I should do that! Thank you! 🙏🏻 Haha, yes, I might borrow some inspiration from you and make one myself. 😄 Or buy one from you if you start ramping up that production line you've got going on! 😂

[@tshansen]

@@KristianPletten you never know, maybe there will be a chosen few who get a special edition cup 🤣