What I’m Watching: Justin Barbour
It’s not often for me to find a series of adventures that really captures my attention these days, as many of the popular trips we find on the internet are road trips or rather mundane adventures that never enter into truly remote territory. Recently, while playing around on Google Maps, I was thinking how it would be interesting to attempt to cross the enormous peninsula formed by Northern Québec and Labrador by kayak or canoe, thus connecting the Hudson Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. By map, we can see roughly that there are rivers which descend in both direction from the large lakes in the center of this area, and thus it should be possibile. It was thus with glee that I found that Justin Barbour had already set out on this exact adventure and had put together a compelling series of videos covering his trip.
The first thing that I like about Justin is that he labels himself “Newfoundland Explorer”, advertising his roots in the wild Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I finished my ECT hike in Newfoundland and got a glimpse of Labrador across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. I loved the wild feeling of emptiness and the raw beauty of that land, and was always interested to see more of it.
Justin and his trusty sidekick Saku the dog have done several adventures in Newfoundland and Labrador. Besides the aforementioned undertaking to take a canoe up the Red Wine River from Labrador and then make it all the way to Kuujjuarapik on the shores of the Hudson Bay, he also trekked by foot and packraft across Southern Newfoundland, and just recently put out trailers for a new series in Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula. Justin travels by a variety of methods in his various adventures, most often by foot and canoe, though he often has to adapt these means to the conditions, such as snowshoeing or pulling a sled in winter.
The nature of the content that he puts out makes Justin Barbour an adventurer slightly different from others that I have watched in the past. Usually, I’m interested in a series in which we cover a sizeable distance each day and during the entire trip, but several of the adventures that Justin does are in more of a wilderness survival style, in which there is a defined goal and route to achieve that, but each day he takes time to fish, take care of Saku, and enjoy the land at a slower pace than a simple dash to the finish.
Perhaps more enjoyable is Justin’s attitude throughout his time in the wild. He never appears stressed or anxious, instead choosing to tackle imposing challenges with an eager attitude. The trip across Labrador struck me as a particularly tiring adventure, as Justin dragged his canoe upriver for weeks on end. Having conquered the mental aspect of life out in the wild, Justin can really enjoy the wilderness and make the viewer feel that they are on a simple camping trip, briefly forgetting that the surroundings are completely uninhabited and rarely visited by people, and that Justin is often far from any town or person.
This enjoyable difference in Justin’s attitude is what makes his camping-style videos so enjoyable. Whereas most camping doesn’t interest me, seeing Justin and Saku camping out on a North Atlantic island for a long period is actually one of the more interesting video series, because of the atmosphere. These types of videos make survival camping seem convivial, as Justin takes care of his daily business out in the bush with a smile. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Justin Barbour and Saku, as they inevitably become more popular and take on grander adventures.