With all the "really keen" gear in the backpacking world and all the interesting trips folks take it seems to me a backpacking/outings show would be a natural for a once a week TV series.

It could run on the same days and back to back with one of the survival shows.

I mean c'mon, it could be a classic Sierra Nevada route one week, a Florida Everglades sea kayak trip show another, a winter backcountry trip another, sea kayaking New Zealand, a "light and fast" (but camping) JMT trip, a Minnesota canoe trip or a Canadian dogsled trip, pack rafting some remote south western river, etc, etc. And then there are all the cool trade shows. Just as interesting as a car show - for us, at least.

And hey, with the dimunitive size of decent digital movie cameras why couldn't there be a once monthly amatuer show of a trip that somebody took of their AT hike, for ex.? Two or three of those could fill an hour.

Then we could have a 5 minute segment on the latest gear or some poor gearhead in a 12 step program to wean him/her away from shopping. The opportuiities are endless.


If hunting channels can show kids hunting or women's hunting or the latest huntin' gear why can't there be enough of a market population for OUR outdoor hobbies?

Edited by Danepacker on 10/28/2009 19:13:11 MDT.

This is the pilot for the upcoming series. All we need is a sponsor...
http://www.yart.com.au/pa/page.aspx?ID=131
Franco
Can't wait for the uncensored version to come out

"If hunting channels can show kids hunting or women's hunting or the latest huntin' gear why can't there be enough of a market population for OUR outdoor hobbies?"

Probably because they think nothing of dropping two grand on a rifle or shotgun and wear $500.00 worth of clothes and take $10,000.00 guided trips while we make stoves out of cat food cans and look for deals on T-shirts, and carpool to the trailhead. Who will advertise, Fancy Feast? ;-)

I am with you though, I would love to see a program like that.

Wow, I am going to get your autograph when I am in Australia, Franco. You are a celebrity.

Paris Hilton has proven that you can be famous and have no talent whatsoever. She is my role model.
Franco

There used to be a PBS show called Trailside: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailside
It was pretty good. Art Wolfe's show is pretty good as well. It isn't geared specifically towards backpacking (and sometimes skips hiking all together) but he goes to really interesting places and takes great pictures of wildlife (as you might imagine).

Outdoor Network used to have a lot more laid back outdoor shows (hiking, climbing, along with their bread and butter, hunting and fishing) but they have gone the way of the Discovery Network: Trying to make everything dramatic with MTV style quick cut-aways and suspenseful previews before the commercial break. Maybe a backpacking show should do the same "John and Jim get into a battle over where to hang the food". Of course, when you get back John says "how about that tree instead" and Jim says, "Oh, OK, cool".

Oh, and if it's the Discovery Network, they have to work in the animated dinosaurs somehow ("Yosemite Valley, a land once teaming with dinosaurs...").

Surely you guys have tuned in to "On The Trail" with yours truly. :)

http://www.suluk46.com/videos.html

I'm not making the million per episode that I had planned, but I'm working on it. ;)