fbpx
Monthly Archives

April 2022

Heliconia
In Adventure Cities

Adventure Cities Trip Report – Charleston, SC

Jonathan and the Adventures Cities team recently set off to find the best adventures in Charleston, South Carolina – a city often referred to as the ‘holy city’ for its numerous historic churches and known as being the epitome of good ol’ Southern charm and charisma.

While in Charleston, the Adventure Cities team tried to hit par at the Charleston Municipal golf course. More than a superb course, the Charleston Municipal golf course is a community hub where everyone seems to know each other’s name (with apologies to Cheers).

No trip to Charleston would be complete without a sailing adventure. The great team at Keelforce Sailing Charters, Charleston’s only performance sailing yacht charter, had Jonathan sailing across the Charleston Harbor at record speeds in near-perfect conditions.

While in Charleston, Jonathan also tried his luck at surfing on Isle of Palms, explored the beautiful beaches of Seabrook Island by horseback, attended a private ‘shag workshop’ (shag being the ‘swing dance of the South’), visited Firefly Distillery, the largest distillery in the state, went parasailing, and took in a one-of-a-kind crabbing experience with Charleston native and owner of Casual Crabbing with Tia, Tia Clark.

Oh… did we forget to mention ghost hunting?? Teaming up with investigators from Charleston Paranormal, Jonathan and the crew set out to investigate the historic, and notoriously haunted, Dock Street Theatre. Be sure to catch the final episode to see the entire investigation and “special guests” who decided to join the Adventure Cities crew that night!

ABOUT ADVENTURE CITIES: Adventure Cities follows award-winning travel journalist Jonathan Thompson as he searches for outdoor adventure and reveals the wonderful cultures, allures, and attractions of the world’s most fascinating urban centers. Each 30-minute episode is comprised of two, 10+minute Features and is broadcast into more than 130 million US TV households through Discovery Channel and Outside TV. Tourism destinations interested in being featured on Adventure Cities are encouraged to reach out to Stefanie Manton-Ward at stefanie@helipress.com. Learn more about the series at www.heliconia.ca.

Heliconia
In Great Family Adventure

Great Family Adventure – Trip Report: Oklahoma City

On this episode of Great Family Adventure, The Jackson-Troutman family head to the kayaking freestyle championship, hosted at the Riversport facility in Oklahoma City.

Riversport features huge human-made rapids down a cascading river with plenty of unique features including a perfect freestyle wave for the competition.

This year, not only was Emily partaking in and organizing the event, but her father, EJ, also used the competition as a bid to make the US men’s freestyle team. Dane (Emily’s brother and EJ’s son) was last year’s global/American champion. Talk about a power family!

Nick, who had already qualified for the global competition as part of the Canadian team, had the opportunity to “ghost” (be a part of but not actively compete) in this competition. This allowed him to spend some extra time hanging out with Parker and Tucker with their mom and grandfather competed.

The Riversport OKC facility has plenty of on-water activities, but it also has a plethora of off-water activities, including a rope climb/”via Ferrata” style challenge rig where Tucker faced his fears and conquered a huge 80 foot downward slide. It was truly a very memorable moment for all involved!

Oklahoma City also touts a unique canal that zigzags through the heart of “Bricktown”, an old industrial site that has been converted into restaurants and an activity hub. The family also climbed aboard a guided ship tour of the area.

While in Oklahoma City, the family also got to visit an impressive science center, with a huge variety of interactive games for the kids.

Check out all the family’s adventures when the episode premieres later this summer on Bally Sports Network and Outside TV.

About Great Family Adventure: Great Family Adventure is an exciting and inspiring TV series that follows World Champion kayakers, Nick Troutman and Emily Jackson, and their family on a new-age family road trip. Join the family as they learn about new cultures, paddle wild rivers, exploring rad bike trails, swim in the ocean, and camp out under the stars. Each 30-minute TV episode airs on Outside TV and Bally Sports Network. Networks interested in carrying Great Family Adventure are encouraged to reach out to Heliconia’s Vice-President, Brendan Mark, at brendan@helipress.com.

Heliconia
In Epic Trails

Epic Trails – Trip Report: Mexico City

The third film shoot for the upcoming season of Epic Trails took place a couple weeks ago. The team headed over to beautiful Mexico City, where they took in turquoise waters and epic mountain hikes.

Below is an excerpt from Eric’s blog post about his experience:

Are you familiar with Mexico’s hidden gems?

I recently flew to Mexico City to film an episode of Epic Trails. My girlfriend Kristi joined me and we met up with an old friend of hers, photographer Rob Woodcox. Rob has been living in Mexico City for more than four years, and he has become quite enamored with the country. When Kristi and I proposed that he join us on this adventure, he immediately listed off a dozen options for us to explore.

Needless to say, Mexico is a vibrant and beautiful country that is diverse and nuanced. And there is much more than deserts and Dos Equis.

Mexico City is a bustling modern city with verdant green spaces, museums, world-class restaurants, and all the things that make city living attractive. But our adventures were elsewhere.

Five of us, Kristi, Rob, Max (the Director of Photography of Epic Trails), and another friend Michelle, all piled into a car loaded with equipment for filming for a week. It was a bit of a clown-show in there, all of us squeezed in with gear packed to the brim. But it worked!

Within a few hours of Mexico City is a sight that I never thought I’d see in the middle of an arid landscape. Grutas Tolontango is an oasis of hot springs that pour forth from canyon walls for as far as the eye can see.

Grutas Tolongtango is an unheralded gem that is mostly filled with local vacationers enjoying their own country. But even though we were visiting on a holiday and there were many people here, the hot springs are so extensive we were able to find grottos all to ourselves.

After a long drive from Grutas Tolontongo, we arrived at Tamul, a wonderful river known for its green blue waters and a stunning waterfall. During the summer monsoon season, the waterfall is so thunderous that it cannot be seen without a long hike in. The flooding canyon is simply too dangerous. However, during the dry springtime, visitors can paddle long wooden boats upstream and see the waterfall firsthand.

While the waterfall is certainly the main attraction, it wasn’t, in my eyes, the most interesting thing we would find this day. That distinction lies with my dream of swimming in a cenote. Cenotes are caverns or sinkholes where water has eroded or eaten away at the limestone. They are prevalent across Mexico, but I wasn’t expecting to get to swim in one on this trip.

So when the guides stopped the boat and let us go for a wander, I was thrilled with what we found. – Eric Hanson

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE!

About Epic Trails: Epic Trails is an exciting and inspiring adventure travel media series that follows host, Eric Hanson, as he explores the people, places, and adventures surrounding the world’s top hiking destinations. Each 30-minute TV episode airs on Outside TV, 27 regional networks, and internationally through National Geographic Channel—Asia and Extreme Sports Channel across Europe. Episodes of Epic Trails aired over 2,200 times in 2020. Learn more about the series at www.heliconia.ca. Networks interested in carrying Epic Trails are encouraged to reach out to Heliconia’s Vice-President, Brendan Mark, at brendan@helipress.com.

Heliconia
In Epic Trails

Trip Report – Packrafting Lake Powell, Utah

Filming for episode 2 of Epic Trails, Season 5 is underway, and recently host Eric Hanson and crew returned from a packrafting trip in Lake Powell, Utah.

Below is an excerpt from Eric’s blog post about his experience:

The Grand Staircase Escalante region is one of the most beautiful areas in the country. It’s so rugged and remote that was the last area in the lower 48 to be mapped. It also happens to be a stone’s throw from my home.

Lake Powell, a man-made lake, is a strange place. It is undeniably beautiful and is amazing for recreation. But it also submerged one of the nation’s most beautiful canyon networks, not to mention a vast amount of cultural history (cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, kivas, and more). Many people in the Southwest have a strained relationship with the place.

Newsworthy for more than just conservationists, Lake Powell is now at its lowest point since the dam that flooded the cherished Glen Canyon was constructed in the 60’s. Severe drought, along with some poor planning in the first place, has left Lake Powell’s future in limbo, as water seeps into the sandstone bed, and its massive surface area combined with the hot environment make it a poor water retention area.

With lake levels dropping massively over the last year, it has meant there is a new opportunity for exploring the canyons as they emerge out of the muddy bottom of the lake. In January, I organized an expedition with three of my friends to explore two canyons that lead in and out of Lake Powell. What we experienced was truly incredible! I was so enthralled, I decided to return a month later with Epic Trails in order to film an episode.

Joined by my friend Jesse Weber and Max Stussi, the Director of Photography for this episode of Epic Trails, we set off for the Escalante area of Utah to film these canyons that, up until a year ago, were under water.

We planned our trip with packrafts in mind, in order to fully explore these canyons. Packrafts are small boats that pack down into a backpack and weigh just a few pounds. They’re incredible tools for adventurers to explore some of the most challenging and inaccessible areas.

The three of us loaded up with four days’ worth of gear, food, and packrafting kit. It doesn’t make for a small pack, and our entry point was a notoriously narrow canyon. These two factors do not play well together.

On day one, we slogged and scraped and crawled our way through a long slot canyon. It was painfully slow, and a delightful adventure. At many points the canyon was far too narrow to walk through with our packs on our backs. Sometimes we’d hoist them over our heads, or carry them sideways. Once, we even had to break down our packs entirely to get them to fit through the narrowest of spaces.

It was slow and arduous work. But we were happy. It was a proper adventure.

After a full day in the canyon, we had managed to hike only two miles! As night was descending, we finally emerged from the narrowness of the canyon and into the wider box canyon that allowed us to hike, more naturally, through the deep sand.

Quickly into day two, we learned the canyon would throw another challenge our way; a network of overgrown tamarisk and willow that were nearly impossible to hike through. The canyon was choked out and, yet again, we made impossibly slow progress. We hiked all day, encountering massive canyon walls with the biggest alcoves I’ve ever seen. At no point did the canyon allow for easy passage.

That night we camped under the roof of one of these alcoves, where a bend in the canyon gave us a stunning view. – Eric Hanson

Click here to read the full article!

About Epic Trails: Epic Trails is an exciting and inspiring adventure travel media series that follows host, Eric Hanson, as he explores the people, places, and adventures surrounding the world’s top hiking destinations. Each 30-minute TV episode airs on Outside TV, 27 regional networks, and internationally through National Geographic Channel—Asia and Extreme Sports Channel across Europe. Episodes of Epic Trails aired over 2,200 times in 2020. Learn more about the series at www.heliconia.ca. Networks interested in carrying Epic Trails are encouraged to reach out to Heliconia’s Vice-President, Brendan Mark, at brendan@helipress.com.