What I’m Watching: Jim and Ted Baird

Now that I’ve finished the first version of the route for the Northern Divide Trail, and have updated all the associated resources, I’ve turned to other things. I’ve always been interested in navigating rivers via canoe and kayak as a form of exploration, which is how I came across Jim Baird’s YouTube channel.

Jim and his brother Ted were on the fourth season of the television show “Alone” on the History Channel. They won the first prize of $500,000 for that season by surviving by themselves for 75 days, longer than the 6 other pairs of contestants. Jim and Ted both have channels which showcase the different adventures that they have been on. Jim is married, Ted is engaged, and the brothers sometimes go on adventures with their significant others.

Adventures that Jim has been on include trekking across the snow and ice from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung with sleds and his faithful dog Buck, who has now sadly passed. Most of Jim and Ted’s adventures are canoeing and kayaking. Often, they will get a bush pilot with a seaplane to fly them out into a very remote section of wilderness, and they will paddle back to an outpost of civilization. That was the case when Jim did the Hess River in the middle of the Yukon territory, and when both brothers and their partners did the Mountain River in the Northwest Territories.

What I like the most about the content that the Baird brothers put out is that it is lengthy. I can get a good sense of the lifestyle they are living when they are out in the bush, because they have over thirty minutes of coverage per day, sometimes almost an hour even. Most other adventure and exploration content that I have seen would put out about 5 minute to 10 minutes maximum per day, and would fit a trip of a week or two into about an hour. Jim and Ted actually have playlists of hours of video for most of their trips. I like this longer content. I can always skip ahead if I really want to, but I never find myself bored by watching an hour of exploration, even if the distance covered is less on average.

In these long videos, Jim and Ted showcase their skills on longer expeditions. They are good fishermen, and often fish just for enjoyment, releasing their catch. They spend a lot of time showing the maintenance of their campsites, complete with the collection of wood for campfires, the cooking process, and all the other tasks which they perform while camping. It is a very different style to an ultralight trip. The Baird brothers bring lots of gear, which can make for difficult hauls in the event of a portage, but also gives them the ability to do a lot more things.

The style of their expeditions is definitely not a fast-based race from beginning to end. It’s more of a slower, canoe camping adventure in which the brothers spend time eating breakfast, packing up camp, and making their way downriver to the next campsite. That’s not a knock on their style, it’s just a big difference in planning compared to my backgrand in ultralight hiking. Watching their adventures has definitely made me think about the difference between the two, and how both styles have validity in certain situations. Certainly, I can see that when out in the deep wilderness, more gear ensures more safety and more ability to deal with unforeseen issues.

It takes time to plan and execute an expedition. There is also a lot of time needed to edit film and publish the content. As such, it was easy for me to watch most of the content Jim and Ted have put on their channels in just a few weeks. I’ll be checking back in regularly to see what they are doing. I’m looking forward to seeing new adventures from them. If you enjoy a realistic look at wilderness adventure, I would definitely recommend checking out their stuff.