Thanks Layne! Anybody else reading this, if you have a trip in NC (and beyond) you're thinking about going on, Layne's channel probably has an informative trip report on it. Yes! We don't get lost, we just sometimes go the wrong way without knowing it. Lol
Great video. Curious though, you said that the Pine Cliff parking area was close but when you arrived after walking there were cars there? I'm considering doing an in and out of the northern half of the trail this weekend and trying to figure out the parking logistics.
Thanks! Yes it was closed officially, but I guess it didn't stop people from parking there. We just parked a little ways inland at an even bigger parking lot that will be on your left.
earth.google.com/web/search/Croatan+National+Forest,+Havelock,+NC/@34.92842697,-76.82378195,5.01856373a,5519.20534217d,35y,0.00000007h,0.23165358t,-0r/data=CigiJgokCUUl_KGegUJAEZOnafkssUBAGXwtHyvNOFLAIanR_3mhHFTA This parking lot that looks like a kidney is the one we parked at in the video.
@@madmaxhiking6455 I was thinking one night out there until seeing your video. I love to explore and record videos as well, and yeah that’ll slow you down. Not to mention the terrain in some places! 😅
@@pleasantfiction Oh yeah, so much to see out there in those 20 miles. We could have used a 3rd night ourselves. The camera gear is the bane of our existence! lol. I never realized how munch work filming is until I did it myself. Looking forward to your video on it!
This trail is so funny because it's so deceptive. On paper it's 20 miles of flat hiking with nicely spaced-out shelters and water pumps and road crossings for caches, but in reality the boardwalks are slippery, the pumps at the shelters are a crapshoot and have more iron than a steel mill, and the swamp portion in the last third is ridiculous. I found that the first half of the trail was a lot better than the second half, which was really more of a challenge than a nice hiking trip. There used to be a Neusiok Trail website with a lot of information that probably would have helped you guys, but it looks like it's down. I got the impression talking to my shuttle driver, who was a member of the Carteret County Wildlife Club, that they were being somewhat discouraged to keep up the trail by the USFS. It doesn't help that hurricanes and assholes trash shelters and water pumps. Good on you for daring to drink that swamp water. The water from the pumps wasn't appetizing, but after seeing a member of the CCWC drink it without filtering, I felt more comfortable with that than with the swamp water.
Thanks for the thoughtful response! You're right, the trial does sound easier on paper than it actually is. There's significantly less easy water on-trail once you discount the reality of the pumps at shelters. The sawyer was very effective at treating the stream water though - as long as obviously, the water has no salt in it. After filtration, even with no activated carbon, the water was tasteless and only had a small amount of tannins. With how dense the vegetation is, good luck finding a decent tent site not at a shelter or without having to put your tent down on a spiky yucca plant. The south half looks like a cakewalk, but it had not rained in a week before we got there, and still, 3+ miles were flooded. All of this and both of us did not mention the bugs in the summer! Even so, I do love the Neusiok Trail. This was my second time of many that I will re-hike - great when it's winter and you're over turning into a popsicle at camp while in our N.C. mountains. Happy Trails!
@@madmaxhiking6455 yes, it's a great winter hike! Your comment on my video got marked as spam, I think, because I can't reply to it, but I use a Nikon Coolpix W300 for my video and a ProSonus Audiobox USB96 for my voiceovers and music recording. I like the picture of the Nikon, but it does not have an external microphone input. I find it has a lot of electronic noise, but I put it through one or two filters of noise reduction to try to make the audio a little better in the final product.
@@OneMansOdyssey Weird, I have a hunch it's because this is a new account. Oh nice, the Coolpix is weatherproofed - wish the zv-1 had that. I'm worried some trips it won't be able to even come out of its bag. Guessing a GoPro is in my near future. The audio is very clear, deff doesn't sound like it's coming out of a waterproof mic.
Nice video. You guys did well hitting some highlights of the trail. Cables on the bridges help secure it from moving after a heavy rain. I believe the Forrest service removed the shallow wells. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the support Everyone! This is my first video on a new camera setup. If anybody has any suggestions about how I can make this content more viewable on your device, put them here. For example, video too dark, audio too quiet, etc. Also say what device you're watching on. Thanks so much.
Definitely no bears. There are some signs that say gators are possible, but we've never seen any and people who've talked to from the area said that they've never seen gators there, either.
I hiked the trail year round from about ten years when I lived there and never saw any gators or bears. Did see bear scat on trail. There are gators and bears in the area regardless of people claiming there are none.
Sincerely, thanks so much for the watch and the comment. North Carolina is an absolute gold mine for East Coast hiking - I want to write you a list of the best places to visit here, but it would be a full page long. Check out the west side of NC on AllTrails.
Loved it! I’ve added many miles by going the wrong way for a bit. Lookin forward to a collab one day.
Thanks Layne! Anybody else reading this, if you have a trip in NC (and beyond) you're thinking about going on, Layne's channel probably has an informative trip report on it.
Yes! We don't get lost, we just sometimes go the wrong way without knowing it. Lol
Great video. Curious though, you said that the Pine Cliff parking area was close but when you arrived after walking there were cars there? I'm considering doing an in and out of the northern half of the trail this weekend and trying to figure out the parking logistics.
Thanks! Yes it was closed officially, but I guess it didn't stop people from parking there. We just parked a little ways inland at an even bigger parking lot that will be on your left.
earth.google.com/web/search/Croatan+National+Forest,+Havelock,+NC/@34.92842697,-76.82378195,5.01856373a,5519.20534217d,35y,0.00000007h,0.23165358t,-0r/data=CigiJgokCUUl_KGegUJAEZOnafkssUBAGXwtHyvNOFLAIanR_3mhHFTA
This parking lot that looks like a kidney is the one we parked at in the video.
@@madmaxhiking6455 thank you for the info.
Headed there soon! Thanks for the all the helpful details. 👍🏻👍🏻
No problem! Great time of year to avoid the tick and bugs!
@@madmaxhiking6455 I was thinking one night out there until seeing your video. I love to explore and record videos as well, and yeah that’ll slow you down. Not to mention the terrain in some places! 😅
@@pleasantfiction Oh yeah, so much to see out there in those 20 miles. We could have used a 3rd night ourselves.
The camera gear is the bane of our existence! lol. I never realized how munch work filming is until I did it myself.
Looking forward to your video on it!
Wow I love the intro. This video was amazing to watch!
Thanks so much, Fareeha! I was going for something between cinematic like AdventureArchives and the vlog style of sintax77.
This trail is so funny because it's so deceptive. On paper it's 20 miles of flat hiking with nicely spaced-out shelters and water pumps and road crossings for caches, but in reality the boardwalks are slippery, the pumps at the shelters are a crapshoot and have more iron than a steel mill, and the swamp portion in the last third is ridiculous. I found that the first half of the trail was a lot better than the second half, which was really more of a challenge than a nice hiking trip.
There used to be a Neusiok Trail website with a lot of information that probably would have helped you guys, but it looks like it's down. I got the impression talking to my shuttle driver, who was a member of the Carteret County Wildlife Club, that they were being somewhat discouraged to keep up the trail by the USFS. It doesn't help that hurricanes and assholes trash shelters and water pumps.
Good on you for daring to drink that swamp water. The water from the pumps wasn't appetizing, but after seeing a member of the CCWC drink it without filtering, I felt more comfortable with that than with the swamp water.
Thanks for the thoughtful response! You're right, the trial does sound easier on paper than it actually is. There's significantly less easy water on-trail once you discount the reality of the pumps at shelters. The sawyer was very effective at treating the stream water though - as long as obviously, the water has no salt in it. After filtration, even with no activated carbon, the water was tasteless and only had a small amount of tannins. With how dense the vegetation is, good luck finding a decent tent site not at a shelter or without having to put your tent down on a spiky yucca plant. The south half looks like a cakewalk, but it had not rained in a week before we got there, and still, 3+ miles were flooded. All of this and both of us did not mention the bugs in the summer!
Even so, I do love the Neusiok Trail. This was my second time of many that I will re-hike - great when it's winter and you're over turning into a popsicle at camp while in our N.C. mountains. Happy Trails!
@@madmaxhiking6455 yes, it's a great winter hike!
Your comment on my video got marked as spam, I think, because I can't reply to it, but I use a Nikon Coolpix W300 for my video and a ProSonus Audiobox USB96 for my voiceovers and music recording. I like the picture of the Nikon, but it does not have an external microphone input. I find it has a lot of electronic noise, but I put it through one or two filters of noise reduction to try to make the audio a little better in the final product.
@@OneMansOdyssey Weird, I have a hunch it's because this is a new account. Oh nice, the Coolpix is weatherproofed - wish the zv-1 had that. I'm worried some trips it won't be able to even come out of its bag. Guessing a GoPro is in my near future. The audio is very clear, deff doesn't sound like it's coming out of a waterproof mic.
Nice video. You guys did well hitting some highlights of the trail. Cables on the bridges help secure it from moving after a heavy rain.
I believe the Forrest service removed the shallow wells. Thanks for sharing
Hi David, thanks for the tips. Happy trails to you!
Thanks for the support Everyone! This is my first video on a new camera setup. If anybody has any suggestions about how I can make this content more viewable on your device, put them here. For example, video too dark, audio too quiet, etc. Also say what device you're watching on. Thanks so much.
Any gators/bears ?
Definitely no bears. There are some signs that say gators are possible, but we've never seen any and people who've talked to from the area said that they've never seen gators there, either.
I hiked the trail year round from about ten years when I lived there and never saw any gators or bears. Did see bear scat on trail. There are gators and bears in the area regardless of people claiming there are none.
@@otway00 cool. I was going four wheeling
Gotta love those huge pinecones!
Been wanting to head down to the Carolina's at some point for some backpacking. May have to check this trail out. Great vid!
Sincerely, thanks so much for the watch and the comment. North Carolina is an absolute gold mine for East Coast hiking - I want to write you a list of the best places to visit here, but it would be a full page long. Check out the west side of NC on AllTrails.
Great video