I’ve been focusing a lot on self-care since I took that self-care class by Jonathan Ness. And I realized that I have a few YouTube channels that I always turn to when I need to relax my brain and feel more grounded and connected to nature, even when I can’t be in nature. YouTube isn’t always a place of self-care for me, but there are definitely a few people who make me feel really good with their videos.
1. Isabel Paige
This girl is who I want to be. I’m sure she’s who a lot of people want to be.
She lives in a small cabin (tiny house) and her videos usually consist of things like her making coffee from scratch, working the family garden, doing chores around her house, building things, making the most delicious-looking vegan food ever, going for hikes, spinning around in joy, singing, playing music, and bathing in the river.
She is a mature girl who also has a very silly, giggly, and immature side to her.
She sometimes comes across as a hippie and free spirit, but she also showcases a strong work ethic with structure and goals.
She is one of the most interesting people to watch and her videos (she calls them stories) always make me appreciate the simpler things in life.
If you want to feel more connected to the Earth, watch her videos and soak in the wholesome life and energy that she showcases in her YouTube videos.
2. Steve Wallis
Steve Wallis makes me smile every time I watch him. He is the Bob Ross of stealth and normal camping.
He lives in Alberta, Canada, just like me. He does a lot of stealth camping – where he camps in places you are not supposed to camp. He actually camped in a town near us behind a Home Depot, and now every time we drive by there, I think of him sneaking through the fence and somehow managing to hide out in those bushes for the night.
He also goes west a lot, and there is not a time that I drive out west and don’t think about him.
He keeps his cool no matter what happens. Once his tent blew over in the wind and he kept his cool as he collected it, brought it back, and pinned it down. I would have either been yelling, crying, or laughing my ass off, but he just maintains a sense of calm and structure in everything he does.
He’s got a great sense of humor. His videos mostly consist of him setting up camp, drinking beer, making food (sometimes buying it), and sleeping. He also has some great tips for camping and gear.
It’s always very relaxing to watch Steve Wallis do his thing.
Sometimes he has his ‘crazy neighbor’ in his videos. Sometimes his ‘beautiful wife’ is there, but she never comes on camera. But mostly his videos are just of him camping in a variety of ways, including on his newly acquired bus.
Even in the hot weather, Steve put himself out there to make videos, which I know must have been painful as he’s not a hot weather person.
Update August 26th, 2022: Steve Wallis has just announced that his wife passed away this past weekend. It was a heartbreaking video to watch. As I said, his wife, Jessica, was never on camera in his videos, but you could hear her in the background of his most recent live video and she participated in the comments. He didn’t disclose why his wife passed away. Steve is only 41, so I’m assuming his wife was around that age too. If you want to show someone love, go to Steve’s channel and show HIM the love. Or follow him and show him love on Instagram He deserves it. He and Jessica just celebrated their 5th anniversary together 3 weeks ago. He just celebrated 1 million subscribers 11 days ago, and he was so happy and proud of it. And now after such big highs, he’s dealing with the biggest low. He’s an incredibly honest and nice guy. He’s one of the few YouTubers I’ve come across who just does what he loves in a genuine way and has succeeded because of that very fact. He says his channel will go on, and I hope he can move forward in a positive way.
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3. Foresty Forest
I love the mountains. They are my happy place. But Foresty Forest takes it one step further and climbs them – giving us the most amazing drone shots from above the mountains.
Foresty Forest lives in his van and hikes mountains. That’s pretty much what you can expect from his videos.
Update August 2022 – He now has a Jack Russel Terrier named Rocko that is adorable and can keep up with him.
Similar to Steve, he usually sets up the video by talking about what he’s going to do and showing where he is, then he goes out for his hike (usually hours and hours long), and then when he reaches the top of the mountain, he sets out his drone for some incredible footage that most people would never see otherwise. Then he hikes back down, makes some food, and goes to bed.
Sometimes he paddles down the river to get to a remote spot. Sometimes he cracks open a beer. Sometimes he shows stuff about his van. Lately, he’s met up with some other YouTubers. But no matter what he’s doing, it’s all very wholesome and grounding footage that makes you want to go back to basics.
In one of his latest videos, he talked about how some people want to see the new fancy gadgets on YouTube, but he’s got everything he needs so he doesn’t need to buy these new gadgets. I LOVE that minimalist attitude.
One of the things I find fascinating is that he doesn’t run into wildlife on his mountain hikes. I always picture bears and sasquatches when I look up at the mountains, but you barely see a squirrel in his videos.
His videos take place in Alberta or British Columbia. In fact, not long ago he met up with Steve Wallis, much to my delight!
If you know of any YouTube channels that help you feel connected to nature and grounded like these, please share in the comments below.
