Welcome to the North

We are the Backwoods Boys. 

​Whew. Now that the awkward introduction is over, welcome to our personal vlog. We are two brothers who have grown up living offgrid on both a farm and a trapline. Our home is powered by solar and (when necessary) generator, it is heated with a wood stove, and our internet is supplied via a satellite system.
​We have spent nearly every winter since our childhood on a trapline in the boreal forest of Saskatchewan, hours from our nearest neighbour. Once we graduated from highschool, we spent most of our college savings on our own trapline (with our parents' blessing) and have continued to overwinter there ever since.

​I (Dale) am the oldest brother, and have a BSc. (Hons) Environmental Biology, and am currently tackling my masters degree in biology.
​Shane is the middle brother (we have a younger brother, Kole, who is still completing high school), and he has spent the last several years honing his carpentry skills with the plan to one day build his own family home.

​Our family was filmed for Discovery Channel's "Sons of Winter" which ran for eight episodes over one season in 2015. It was produced by the producer of Duck Dynasty, who called this show "the one I've always dreamed of making" because of its mixing of family values with real wilderness living. The outpouring of interest that show earned is what has prompted us to continue the adventure via vlog format. While the editing is not nearly as flawless as Sons of Winter was, we enjoy bringing our wilderness adventures to you while challenging ourselves to come up with creative and exciting episodes. And yes, sometimes this requires climbing seventy feet up a tree to hurl a Go-Pro into the snow for a slow-motion shot.
​These vlogs will focus on various aspects of our life in the forest, from wood-cutting, to hunting and trapping our own food and clothing, to melting snow for water, and trying to find the elusive woodland caribou herd that has made its home on our trapline. We will present offgrid how-tos, tips and tricks, and stories from our life on the 'line, while also creating new and exciting episodes from our every-day life, whether that be ice fishing for supper, searching for old, long lost outpost cabins, or hunting and trapping as our life directs us.

​We are excited to make these videos, and hope that you are equally excited to watch them. Join us as we live life wild and free.
Looking forward to an exciting future with you alongside us,
Dale and Shane Barks
(the Backwoods Boys)

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