From Snow to Sand - Pushing North 39

In this episode Champ and I hit up the King’s Canyon for an epic trail run, then we take a much deserved nap and finally fix the black tank or the RV. In the end we turn up at Moon Rocks for some BLM camping.

Music by HHSweater (https://soundcloud.com/hhsweater)

Really appreciate the support, check out the Patreon for more access and perks: https://www.patreon.com/FindingSimon

I’m a Canadian photographer from Ottawa who got rid of everything to travel to world. I make travel vlogs about my Vanlife, sharing vanlife ideas, vanlife tips, and travel diaries.

Instagram: @Finding_Simon
Snapchat: Finding_Simon
Twitter: @FindingSimon

:::::::FAQ:::::::

– How do you afford to travel constantly?
A: I live in a van, which certainly cuts costs down but still I need to make some money in order to afford to continue, currently I make 90% of my income through working as a photographer/videographer. I regularly work for Airbnb as a real estate photographer and I also take on bigger commercial contracts whenever I get the chance.

– How much does it cost?
I spend on average $2000 travelling, most of which is gas, some repairs, food, and on average less than $200 on any eating out, shopping or extra curricular expenditures. I make $200 a month from YouTube and $400 from Patreon. The rest I make from my work.

– What camera do you use?
Sony A7ii, Nikon D810, Sony RX100 iii, DJI Phantom 3 Advanced, Rode Videomic with Deadcat, Zihyun Crane 3 Axis Gimbal, Underwater Housing, tripods and lights.

– What is your van?
1992 Dodge B350 Travelhome with the 5.9L TBI gas engine. I spent $3500 buying it and so far another $9000 in repairs upgrades and maintenance.

– What’re your plans?
Travel forever. The Arctic this summer, Asia next winter, Sailboat the world after. I want to see this whole world, and I’m playing it all by ear.

– How do you find all these cool places?
To gain access to my complete research you need to hit me up on Patreon, but here’s a few sites I frequent: https://freecampsites.net/ https://www.campendium.com/ http://www.atlasobscura.com/ https://www.couchsurfing.com/

– What do you do for Internet?
I use coffeeshops and libraries to upload episodes a few at a time, I also use my wifi antenna (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T9lNM8Mukk&t=2s) and a data package on my phone (10GB)

– How do you live in a van with a dog?
It’s really not as difficult as people seem to think. I spend most of the day with my dog anyways, especially if it’s warm out in the middle of the day. If I have to leave him inside the van I cover the front seats so he can’t climb up and stare out the window and bark. I cover all the windows with reflectix panels I made for insulation, I turn my fantastic sucking air out on max (replaces all the air in the van every 90 seconds). I crack one window in a shaddy lower part of the van to create a consistent airflow. Other than that the fiberglass roof and insulation do a fantastic job of keeping the heat out. In colder climates I set the furnace on at minimum and close down all the windows same as for heat minus venting.

– What happened to the girl?
We decided to go seperate ways (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPgxDIXxCjY&t=4s)

– Are you rich or something?
definitely not. I’ve spent some quality time homeless, I’ve struggled financially most of my life, and although I’m blessed with great friends and family as well as being able bodied white and male, I don’t subscribe to the belief that you need someone footing your bills in order to travel the world. You need to sacrifice comfort, consistency, safety, time with family, and often your career but it is possible.

– Why don’t you have 10x more subscribers?
My channel isn’t that old, many of the bigger channels you can compare mine to started putting out videos a couple years before I began. I could always use your help sharring my videos, spreading the word, and connecting with cross promotional opportunities. Editing and travelling tend to take up all my time.