Peach Podcast
Two guys and an occasional guest breaking open topics on: Purpose, Energy, Attitude, Commitment and Health through shared experiences.
Peach Podcast
S4EP04: Beer Mules and Surprise Reunions?! Life Unplugged
What happens when carefully laid plans collide with Mother Nature's agenda? Our latest adventure started as two separate backpacking expeditions but transformed into something far more meaningful when severe weather forced an unexpected pivot.
The story begins with our annual tradition at Twin Lakes, marking five years of friendship forged on mountain trails. While our regular crew packed their gear (and an unusually large supply of beer thanks to our designated "beer mule"), Daryl embarked on a challenging expedition with two Eagle Scout veterans planning a 54-mile loop with 10,000 feet of elevation gain. Their meticulous preparation contrasted sharply with our more casual approach—every ounce counted, routes were calculated precisely, and specialized equipment monitored weather conditions hourly.
When threatening thunderstorms with 80% probability made their original route too dangerous, Daryl's group made the difficult decision to abandon months of planning. Their pivot brought them unexpectedly to our campsite, orchestrating a surprise reunion that left everyone speechless. This moment of connection, miles from civilization without cell service or distractions, became the highlight of both journeys.
Beyond the stunning vistas at 9,500 feet and challenging boulder scrambles, these wilderness experiences offer something increasingly rare: genuine reconnection. As one hiker reflected, "We are really an insignificant part of the universal system, and yet what's beautiful about that is we were created in a way to feel like we matter." The mountains strip away pretense, leaving only authentic human connection and a renewed perspective on life's priorities.
Whether you're an experienced backpacker measuring gear by the ounce or someone who still packs "just in case" items, the wilderness has lessons for everyone. Join us for this conversation about adventure, friendship, and finding meaning far beyond cell service range. Where will your next pivot take you?
Hey, hey, hey. Welcome to the Peach Podcast. Just a couple of dudes and an occasional guest breaking open topics from everyday life on purpose, energy, attitude, commitment and health. So, if you're ready, listen in as we live, to learn from our losses, gain from our gratitude and laugh as we level up. Always remember, if you ever feel stuck, all you got to do is just your boys, doug and Daryl man, on our last episode we talked about going backpacking.
Speaker 2:We were going to try to fill in a subject or topic last week but I think Daryl and I Daryl, you might probably agree that we got a little caught up in getting prepared for another epic backpacking weekend and although the weekend started out, or the strategy and the planning started out that we were going to be apart, there were some turns and twists in this trip that I'm excited to hear from you and I want you to kind of lay it out. But before we do that, darrell, let me just tell you about, let me just kind of reflect on what went on with our trip, how it was and some of the highlights, on what went on with our trip, how it was and some of the highlights, and then uh. And then let's talk about uh. Let's talk about when Eric got served out in the woods but um, and we all got surprised. That was. That was hilarious. But anyways, backing up, uh was looking forward to it.
Speaker 2:Uh, eric had gone up a day before and went fishing and camping on his own and spent some, and he kind of wanted it that way. He wanted to spend some one-on-one time with himself and uh, and he enjoyed it, went fishing and got up there a day early, kind of scoped it out and he went to a different spot than we were going to go to on Friday and uh, so he woke up Friday morning early, packed all his gear from the one lake and hiked over to Twin Lakes and picked out a spot for us before everyone else showed up for the weekend, and not that there was a lot of people up there or anything like that, but he reserved us a really cool spot which we ended up dropping and going just a further, a little further around the lake and finding another spot which is just as cool. So then, eric, we find out, you know, on these backpacking trips, you know we each pack maybe one or two beers, you'll pack a couple of non-alcoholic beverages and, and you know, it's our, it's our little celebration after hiking up. We know what. We'll crack open, whatever we have and whatever we have, and it's maybe two beers or something.
Speaker 2:So Dave picks me up or Dave shows up Thursday night and him and I leave Friday morning, and we remembered that Eric is going to meet us down in the parking lot with an empty backpack to help us out. So instead of the one or two beers each. And dave said you know what, grab a 12 pack. We're gonna load up eric. And so this was a a little different scenario than than what we typically do. And eric showed up with the, his backpack, and he didn't realize and he had ice in there and all kinds of stuff from his cooler from the night before and we loaded it up and man, it was, was, uh, it was, it was quite a trip, quite a trip.
Speaker 3:Yeah, eric mentioned to me. He said Daryl, um, you're away and the cats are going to play, right. He said it took a little turn, you know, through text and everything else. And, by the way, doug, you know, like what, about a couple of weeks before you really start talking back and forth big, long texts about what do you bring Right? Cause you know we all are victims of bringing too much right, bringing too much food, bringing too many clothes, bringing too many things, and you're packed really heavy. So all this back and forth, but yours turned into well, eric, is our new beer mule right, Beer mule.
Speaker 2:That's perfect. That's exactly what he was. He was our beer mule. I want to call it out. This is our fifth year that we've been backpacking there. It started off with Paul. Paul has done this a lot and then Paul and I think this is your third or fourth yeah, I think it was my third.
Speaker 3:It would have been my fourth, but I had to miss out last year. It would have been my fourth, but I had to miss out last year, so we've been pretty consistent.
Speaker 1:This is really. I mean, we look forward to this.
Speaker 3:This is a great weekend, and every time we go, we're already planning the next one, and this is a great tradition. So, five years in or about, between all of us, and it's just an amazing, amazing weekend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know what's really cool Daryl is, paul last year started bringing his son Jackson who I believe this year he's 12 years old. Last year he was 11. And I missed it last year when he went on Jackson's first trip and I was really bummed about that. And to be, you know, just to be with a 12-year-old who is present, who's in the moment and just having fun. And he's out there playing with us adults and Dave was giving him swim lessons and diving off of rock lessons and Eric was helping him out carrying his bag, and I was just playing around being my silly, goofy self with him and, you know, huge shout out to Jackson because he, man, he's, he's one of the guys, man, he, he was just as silly and just as fun and just as gauging, without any of the alcohol, of course, um, but he, he hung in there with us and he, he's, what a great sport, what a great sport. It was just great. I look forward to having him along and him being a staple for years to come. So, and it kind of inspired and encouraged us to me. Anyways, like you know what I want to bring my son Now, my son's not 12, you know he's mid to end of his twenties. But it's just really cool. Just to get that, it's such a cool experience you want to share with the people you love. Anyways, we, you know we camped. We set up camp right next to the lake we're next to twin lakes got our burners out, had food we had food for days. It was cool. We kind of did it hors d'oeuvre style. Everybody heated up something and you know we just pass it around and share and it was really cool, which we kind of typically do shared our snacks, shared our dinners, our breakfast, all that stuff. Shared our snacks, shared our dinners, our breakfast, all that stuff.
Speaker 2:Went on an epic hike on saturday, just a day hike. We, we scaled I don't want to say we hiked, we scaled the side of a mountain with a bunch of boulders. We did some bouldering, because you had to do some bouldering to get there. And then when you get towards the tops, it's a lot of this loose shale rock and you got to climb up that stuff. But then you get to the other, you get to the top and I mean it's way up there. I think we were at about 9,500 feet and uh, you just look at these other epic views on the other side of this wall and you're just like holy smokes, man. It's just amazing, it's absolutely beautiful. It's like you're in the clouds and just seeing things that 0.0001% of the world will ever see, especially from that point. I mean where we were camping maybe a few more people get to see, but to where to hike up to to that 9,500, over the bouldering and the shale stuff, because that's a little dangerous. I'm going to be honest with you, but we're adventurous. So we did it, we took it and had a great time, came back, had a little, didn't eat dinner, but then went on our little sunset hike, our usual sunset hike we do up there and watch the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful and it was just really cool, man. It was just really cool Just preparing for the trip, getting to the trip, hiking the trip.
Speaker 2:Our packs were a little. Last year, I mean, or the last time I backpacked, I think I got my backpack around 35, 38 pounds. This year it was about somewhere between 45 and 50 pounds. So I didn't learn a lesson there. I don't know what the hell's going on and I think it was just as heavy coming back. I don't know. I don't know what the hell happened this year.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to take note from you because I know you learned a few things. You didn't come, you didn't start out with us on this trip but, uh, you hiked with Michael and his brother, matthew, who are seasoned MacGyver type backpackers who weigh every ounce, who are very meticulous, who are very regimented, very scheduled. But they get shit done, man. And then when Mike was telling me his pack is going to be 25 pounds, I'm like holy crap. And he was hiking for more days than us, like six days.
Speaker 2:But why don't we segue into?
Speaker 2:Because I'm really interested and curious about what you learned and what you experienced.
Speaker 2:You shared a little bit, but I'd like to use this podcast right now to kind of peel back some layers there, because you know, typically when we go on our backpacking trips, you're the animal, you're the beast, you're the instigator, like let's go on another big hike, let's go on. And we're all like, dude, just chill out, just chill out. And so now you're paired up with a couple of guys who are like a whole, you know, three or four levels above what, what we typically do, and uh, which I thought was a great fit for you with your energy level and all that stuff. But uh, you know, when you sent a, you sent us a photo with you literally passed out on a rock and I'm looking at that going man, if Daryl's sleeping and it's still daytime out like he had his ass handed to him and I'm so glad because now he knows how we feel. So why don't we segue into that, daryl? What was that like preparing for that trip and being on it? Let's share some of the highlights, some of the struggles and anything.
Speaker 3:So, uh, as I got to know Michael Cox and his brother Matthew uh, relatives of ours, really great people Um, they both grew up in a boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts their whole life, right, they went through the and you were the whole thing, right? Uh, mike, also in his job as a, is a very, very detailed, very important person. He's the exact kind of person you want at that job he double checks things multiple different times there and his brother, matthew, got to know him.
Speaker 3:Really great guy They've been, I found out, been doing these hikes since about 2017. And you know so it's not like their whole life they've been doing this, but they've been very consistent and we do two to three day hikes, they do more five to seven right there, and so they've been going on these about once or twice a year. Uh, and they've they've done some pretty long things up in Tahoe and other places. Uh, they did scale and make it up to the top of Whitney this year, um, which is very, very 14,000 feet. So one Doug had kind of got in contact with Michael because we were talking about doing a hiking and we talked about last time because your injury just didn't feel like that was right, the appropriate time this year for you to go on that long. So I kind of took one for the team. I said I'd join them and then, from the moment I said yes, I felt like I had signed up for a mission.
Speaker 3:This was no social event, no Plan this out in detail. He had multiple different options. I got a clear one page itinerary, followed literally by packing list, and everything was we're doing nine miles We'll leave at this time in the morning. We'll summit at this time, we'll be down here. Nine miles We'll leave at this time in the morning, we'll summit at this time, we'll be down here. Weather dependent, we'll do here and so multiple different things.
Speaker 3:And he had planned it out to the T, so I was a little overwhelmed. It worked out because of different situations. They were going to go between six to seven days and I was going to go there about three to four. I ended up doing four and part of it I was going to have to hike out myself. It was called Evolution Loop, which is called in the Eastern Sierras. So for people that are listening, in California you go out from like Tahoe Arena to 395 and it's about two hours down. You you pass um Mono Lake and um uh Mammoth and you go down to a Bishop and then you go up into these places. Uh, we started at about 9,200 feet. That's where our original camp was.
Speaker 2:That's where you start, wow.
Speaker 3:And then you do a loop, a John Muir loop, and it's a very thing. It's 54 miles, takes between five to seven days and about 10,000 elevation gain. So I got up at one o'clock in the morning and drove down. Took me about five hours. I got there and I had I was the scout to go be make sure we get a get a camping spot at Sabrina Lake. We did that. They showed up a couple hours later and basically the first day we were acclimating to the altitude. So acclimating sounds like rest. Well, that's not rest. In Michael's world, acclimating is you leave your big backpack, you take the smaller backpack and we went on about a 10-mile hike and basically and basically went over um one of the summits and went back down. We uh I got out on my watch we were at about 11.5. So we made up to 11,000 feet.
Speaker 2:Wow, did you notice the uh like when you're breathing and stuff, when you were that that that high at 11,000, cause you've been close to nine before, but I don't think you've been close to 11.
Speaker 3:I didn't at 11. The first because when we go cycle Doug, what is it about that first 30 minutes we really feel it right. Yeah, I felt it for about an hour at the beginning like a big time. The first hour of hiking, my heart rate was about 10 degrees elevated For the first time in a long time. I was struggling catching my breath, right.
Speaker 3:You know that feeling where you're like man, I just can't like like I was like, oh my goodness, and we were going and these are very up and over. And the big thing is, when you make these summits or you get to the very top, oftentimes, as you know, even where you were, it's very exposed right. So you kind of you start hiking kind of in the forest and then you get very high it's mainly rock and others. So once we get to the top of the summit, they're very conscious about weather. Michael and Matthew both wear these little walkie talkies. They're actually Garmin little things. They get like weather reports every hour really text to them about things.
Speaker 3:And the big thing is that you need to get off the mountain. You have to get off the mountain or you have to get down to cover. You don't want to be at the top exposed when there's some big, huge storm. Michael sent and we'll put it in the picture and I sent it to you the five-day forecast had four days of just crazy thunderstorm rains. And that really was, because in Sacramento, in California, remember, we had the heat wave that week, so it really pushed a lot of the storms.
Speaker 3:So we got to the first top and they looked at me and said let's get down. We started to get down and about a half hour into it, um, big drops happened and then the the world just unloaded on us and, um, there was lightning on both sides and it was stormy and they started running down the mountain. Right, doug, I've not, I'm not running down the mountain. So they took off and we got down to the bottom. We were completely soaked, had a good time, but the reality is that first day we got dumped on three or four times. There was lightning all over the place.
Speaker 1:So, we.
Speaker 3:So we slept, we spent a lot of time in the truck literally just sitting there looking at each other because the next day we were taking off, we weren't coming back for four to five days, right, and um and uh. So the next morning we get up and pack and I'll tell you I got to admit their discipline, doug and you talked about it is just phenomenal. The night before they spend 30 to 45 minutes getting everything outlined for the next day. They have everything planned out. They wake up in the morning, they eat, they get everything ready and we go, hit the trailhead and we're there exactly the right time and we get out and we start to look and they're looking up and the skies are turning dark and coming in, and Michael just got the weather report, sabrina, his wife, got the weather report.
Speaker 3:There was a kind of like danger, do not, do not hike, or you should be very cautious there. Right, and we had to make a decision and I didn't think there were, I didn't, I don't know what decisions they, you know they. Literally. Michael said and he's very seasoned and very particular and he says hey, we got three choices. We can go and we'll do our best and we'll try to get over the summit, but the reality is there's some pretty big danger and we're probably going to be facing it all day long and probably for the next couple of days. It's some of the worst weather he's seen. Secondly, we can go into Bishop and talk to the ranger station.
Speaker 3:Maybe we could pick a couple other mountains around here. That might be a little bit better or worst case scenario. We could. We could go up to Tahoe and do desolation where it's. We already knew the weather was pretty good up where you were Right. And um, they said, what do you think? And I said hey, you know, guys, this is your trip, right? You guys invited me. You're the experts. I said I'll go. You know I'm fine to go forward. And they looked at each other and they they came to a very simple decision. They're like it's not worth the risk. Wow, and, by the way, doug, you were on all those texts. Michael spent three to four months planning this.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, from day one at least he has everything and he is the one that says it's not worth the risk. And I was like shit. If he says that it's not worth it, it's definitely not worth it.
Speaker 2:You know it's funny. Uh, matthew, I was talking to Matthew and he mentioned the first day that you guys hit the storms and they were running down from the lightning and all that stuff. He said that day was 35% chance of bad weather and he said the rest of the days were marked 80% chance of bad weather. He goes if that was 35%, then he didn't want to deal with 80%.
Speaker 3:No, no, and so we pivoted. It was about a five-minute conversation. We got in our cars and we went down to the Bishop Ranger Station. It actually was closed, but we got some information and we also have no cell coverage. So you know, you got to get the permits and within an hour I got to give Michael and Matthew a credit. We kind of made a decision that it's not worth in the area because we probably face a lot of the same issues at Mammoth and others.
Speaker 3:We literally calculated three hours drive to Tahoe we can be on the trail. By this we can still get eight miles. I mean, like they had this thing. And for people to pivot that fast, doug, yeah, and literally. And Michael even said it took him two hours where he flushed all the Oak shit. He was pissed at you know and everything else. He just flushed it and said pivoted, new adventure. So when they said Tahoe, I said I know where to go in Tahoe. I got some boys up at Twin Lakes and in the whole way up we were in two different cars. They looked online, they figured out how to get us a permit for Twin Lakes. We went in there and then they said to me Daryl, you can find them, can't you? And I was like I think I can find them and uh, so all of a sudden we just pivoted and we drove three hours back up and pulled into tahoe, put on our pack and we're like, let's go, let's go. Surprise team peach yeah, so that was the plan.
Speaker 3:So, uh, so it was. Uh, it was cool, it was a redirect and, like michael said, he's got all the planning in place. We're still going to go do that trip. It's still on his bucket list, but I got to give you guys a lot of credit, right? Talk about attitude and talk about you know, we talk about purpose and everything else, and I was telling them the day before do you remember the comfort crisis? Yes, one of the items. They were in Alaska and they were out in the middle of the tundra and they were talking about.
Speaker 3:What are people worried about? People were about oh, a bear is going to eat me or I'm going to fall and get a disease. The single biggest cause of death that one of the people said in the book was people. Not when the weather hits you in mother nature, that's, you know, like a bear is probably not going to come out of the way and, you know, try and maul you. That does happen from time to time, but more people die because they get caught in weather. So, um, a big shout out to michael and them.
Speaker 2:Wow yeah, that that was what an amazing story of just pivoting and letting go of the garbage. Because, yeah, you know what, like you said, michael was very meticulous, from January all the way to August, very detail oriented, and he was constantly sending updates and lists and uh suggested where and and food, and, like he was on it, man, the boy was dialed in and I, I, I look forward to after I get surgery on my foot, to actually doing a hike with him. Um, and now I know if it kicks your butt, I now I know I'm going to double up my training for damn sure, cause, uh, uh, cause you're a beast and uh, you know, and you were, you, were, you, you were definitely feeling it. But I want to just kind of uh, cut this part of the story, daryl, into little pieces here. So you meet us at Twin Lakes and I'm just going to share the story.
Speaker 2:Michael and Matthew asked Daryl if he could find us and he knew where we were at. He knew where we were at. Whether we were going to be there or out hiking, he didn't know. So we had just finished a five-hour hike climbing. Like I was saying, we climbed to the top of this mountain at 9,500 feet and saw beautiful views, came back. So round trip it took us about five hours. And so we're, we're kicking back, we're tired, we're hungry, we put on our swim trunks, we're jumping the lake, we get our little chairs, our camping chairs. We're sitting on this rock and we're just chilling out. We're just chilling out. Oh, by the way, we had a couple of little flasks with us too, so we had a couple of sips of whatever was in grandpappy's flask. And so we're feeling good sitting on this rock, jumping in the lake and taking in some sunshine, and it's kind of like you know, it's your camping spot.
Speaker 2:And then all of a sudden, this dude because I know what Michael looks like and I know what Daryl looks like Michael's my niece's husband, so you know, I know him very well, but I've never met his brother this, like freaking, uh magazine cover outfit, uh, backpacking outfit comes walking up looking like jean-claude, uh, leaf, you know, hiking out with his sticks and his glasses and his hat, and he walks right through our campsite and I said, hey, what's up, brother? He doesn't even acknowledge me and we, we kind of look at each other like what's this dude's like? What's his chair? Why is he walking into our camp spot like this and then just hanging out. Then he walks to the edge of the rock and he's just looking out over the lake and then uh, we're just keeping an eye on him and watching him and stuff like that, and uh, all of a sudden he turns around and he says, uh, somebody here named eric, and we're like yeah, yeah, there's eric here.
Speaker 2:And then all of a sudden he pulls out a piece of paper and uh, we're just watching this dude, like who is this dude? Like what is eric? What? So he pulls out a piece of paper and he goes, uh, eric salgado. We're like yeah, and so I'm, and eric was happened to be back at the tents right behind us and I said, eric, get over here, somebody's looking for you, man, I, you know what I thought it was. To be honest, Darrell was. I thought Eric might have dropped his. You know, we have to have those pieces of paper.
Speaker 3:If a ranger pulls you over.
Speaker 2:You got to say, hey, we have, yeah, the permit exactly, and I thought maybe Eric dropped it with his name on it and I'm like I don't think they have their names on them. But you know, I was a little buzzed, like I said, and I'm like Eric, come over here. So this guy has a piece of paper and Eric's coming over the rock and Matthew's walking towards him. We again, we have no idea who the hell Matthew is and he hands Eric this paper and I looked at Eric. I said, eric, you just been served.
Speaker 2:And I was just joking, man, I didn't know what the hell it was, what was going on. So it was what was going on. So it was hilarious. We started cracking up and laughing. And then Eric opens up this piece of paper and I can't remember verbatim what you wrote. Maybe you can share what that said, but it was something about hey, cool, moon, motherfucker, or something like that, or something like that, like that. And then, all of a sudden, you and michael came walking out of the side. You guys were watching this whole show going on, probably just losing it back there. You come, skies, come walking out of the trees and we're like holy, because, daryl, you were at least three, three and a half hours away from us.
Speaker 2:we had no idea you were going on this massive trip. We were all tripping, we were talking about it going. Oh, daryl's gonna's going to leave me, he's going, you know, he's going on a big trip and blah, blah, blah, blah. And you know, never did it cross our mind, um, that you would just pop up out of nowhere. All of a sudden, daryl from the other side of the of California shows up with Michael and Matthew, because we didn't know the story about the storm and all that stuff. And we're just like Holy crap, man. And so it was cool, man. We had a great time hanging out, um, it was awesome, sitting around the, the, the campsite, with you guys, having dinner with you guys and and just, uh, just chilling it was. It was so cool, man, so cool.
Speaker 3:And in the moment that they said, hey, maybe we'll do Tahoe, I was thinking okay. And then, when we had the idea we'd go see you, and then all of a sudden I was like how cool is that.
Speaker 3:Right, Um, to come out of nowhere and we had a wonderful time with you guys. Um, I can tell you right now, we had about a about two hour hike to you guys. Um, uh, there, I, we, we talked, how are we going to surprise them? We had all these different ideas and, uh, the same thing. We knew that it would have to be Matthew because you'd recognize us. And uh, Matthew told me later he's the biggest introvert, right, Right, Right. And um, I said, okay, Matthew, here's what you're going to do. You're going to go and you're going to walk uncomfortably close to them and you're going to stand there and I said I want you to take a drink of water and count to 10. He's like I can't do this, I can't do. This guy is going to go to LA and be the next actor because he pulled this off Like nobody did man, now Doug.
Speaker 3:I got to have a discussion with Doug, right, like like, this is like a Jason Bourne movie. If somebody comes up and like an assassin comes up, who's Eric? Cause they don't want to kill the wrong person. And you were like, oh, he's right over there, eric, he's right there. You'd like threw him under the bus, like cause we're in the middle of nowhere, Right.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:And you were like, let's point the stranger to Eric.
Speaker 2:And he knew his first and last name. I'm like he's right there man.
Speaker 3:Okay, let's just make it clear. And we came up, we hugged, we talked, we kind of told the story of this. An hour later, Eric literally says I'm still processing His mind was blown that somebody out of nowhere.
Speaker 3:Hey, great time with you guys. You guys told us all about the epic. I can't believe you made it to those super crazy peaks up there, and I've been, as you know, traveled all over the world, right Like. I still think that spot we go up to every night to look at the sunset is one of the most beautiful areas.
Speaker 3:It is just like you feel like you're on top of the world. Think about five to seven guys every night up there. We go out of our way to go watch the sunset together. Right, it's that. It's, I mean it literally. Is that gorgeous up there, literally?
Speaker 2:is that gorgeous up there it's, it is amazing, it is amazing and and uh, and the and the crew dudes we have, you know, paul, we got Paul, we got Eric, we got Dave. This was, you know, last year was Dave, uh, my cousin, dave's first time and uh, unfortunately I had to miss that, and so it was really cool to do something like this with with him too, Cause they, you know, Dave and I are real close, so, just having that crew there, we knew we were going to miss you, but then all of a sudden we didn't have to miss you, we got to spend. You know, it was really cool, even though you weren't there the whole time with us, that kind of satisfied that, okay, daryl did this with us.
Speaker 2:He was with us and that was so freaking awesome man. That's a trip we will never freaking forget.
Speaker 3:We will never forget that it was so much fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a lot of twists and turns, for sure, man. But, Daryl, let's segue back into your trip with Michael and Matthew, because that was a whole different, like we said already, and you said that Michael and Matthew were very seasoned. Michael's massively meticulous and, from what I gather, so was Matthew, and it was really cool picking their brains. And I mean they talked about ounces of their gear. You know, like, this is this many ounces and this is that many ounces, and like, and, and you know, here we are carrying, you know, 40 pound packs and they've got 25 pound packs, and, and they got everything they need and more, and it's just the bulk of their weight is their food, which lightens up as they eat it, you know. So it's like man, these guys are freaking next level. So it was cool picking their brains. But what did you? You know?
Speaker 2:Let's get back to Daryl's experiences. You're taking a guy who comes up with some guys who are kind of doing it recreationally and having fun and goofing off to a couple of guys who were dialed in. They got the specialized Garmin thing connected to the weather to the Rangers. They're ready for anything and everything. They're meticulous about their routine and their schedule. What was that like and how did you feel? Did you face any fears? Were you uncomfortable? Was it easy to fall into their scheduling and all that stuff? Share a little bit about that experience.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think it was really good for me to get back to being uncomfortable. We've been running, we've been biking, we do a lot of cool adventure stuff together, right, but like this one, I got really uncomfortable and my wife will tell me I had some serious anxiety. You know, um one, you know just not only. Uh, I was going to a new place, never been there, right, I was going with new people that were very advanced and I knew it was going to be really hard, right, and, by the way, the fourth one, which is a little thing I was going to have really hard, right, and by the way, the fourth one, which is a little thing I was going to have to hike out by myself, which I was kind of scared about, right, we'll talk about that in a second.
Speaker 3:And as we kind of got toward it, michael and them excuse me, michael, he would send me texts and, like you know, and recommendations and food and everything else there. But you know, when we have a conversation, it's who's bringing the bear box Right. When I said, michael, what do you think about the bear box, you know he's like well, you know, it really depends. I would probably go with the BV 500, um, or maybe the Trek canister, but really, let's weigh out your stuff and then we can do some calculations on what it. And I'm like what, what? What did you just say? I just thought I was going to bring something right. Do you know what I mean? Like, like, we're talking models and ounces and weights and you know, and I'm like Whoa dude, like this is like for real, right and um, and he gave me a lot of really detailed suggestions and then some common sense suggestions, so, so, so I had that and I did make a couple little changes to my thing. I did buy a new sleeping bag, which has been a wonderful addition because it's a little bit cooler and it's lighter, um, but then I was traveling to a new spot, so, uh, I had a lot of anxiety.
Speaker 3:And then the differences is, when we get there, we kind of set up camp and we just kind of play, right. When they got there, they set up camp and we just kind of play. When they got there, they set up camp and they have very clear routines, right. This is kind of a schedule, right. They definitely have an area of the day where they go play. They go fish you saw Michael fishes, we explore, but that's three to four hours.
Speaker 3:The other time is you're setting up, you're preparing for the next day or you're hiking all day. So I was thrilled that I got that first day under my belt and I'm like I made it. But, doug, you know it was one of those things and you've done a couple of those multi-day rides, remember you used to do that. Second day you wake up, you are sore and you know you got to do it again. So it was there. So they made me feel very, very good. I had a lot of anxiety before I got there. Once I got that first day hike done, I was fine, but I knew that this was a journey and I was gonna it's gonna kick my butt.
Speaker 3:You knew this was something different, something different, but as you talk to them, can you spend a day with them One? They are legit, but also they're full of knowledge. And you know, doug, just observing people is one of the big things. I observed what Michael haven't used and unpacked every single thing in your backpack and something is sitting there that you haven't used. You don't need it next time. Oh wow, you know what?
Speaker 2:I thought about that when I got home. There was a couple clothing items and I was like you know what? Why did I bring these things?
Speaker 3:And the concept is, if it wasn't a necessity for you every day, you don't need it. And so I learned a lot by talking to them but also observing them. Yes, um and uh and everything else, and uh and uh. Then the next day, um and, by the way, we spent about an hour the night before like why we're all hanging out and doing everything else. They are preparing what they do the next morning. They don't wake up and say, hey, let's figure out what I'm doing today, like, like, literally, they, their plan is like, it's like kind of like military. You know they, they have a plan the night before they wake up. In the morning, they wake up at the same time. It takes them at the same time to get ready. And then we go yeah and uh, I was very impressed. I was very impressed.
Speaker 3:And uh and then, and then we go knock it out and, um, you know it's seven to 10 miles a day. Um, after I left them and I came back, uh, I just heard from Michael he just got back uh, one day they just went for it, they did 17 miles in one day.
Speaker 3:No way, yeah, 17 miles in one day because they they didn't have a schedule anymore and so they just did this huge loop and he told me all about it. They went to the Rubicon and they do into Dick's peaks and all this stuff, and he texts me. He said we had this one day where we just decided to keep going and, um, it was so cool but, um, I gotta admit I'm I think, doug, if anything, it was great for me because, like, maybe I'm a, like, I'm an intermediate, some things. I was like the kidney garden again and I was learning from PhD people and hopefully uh, you know, hopefully I learned a lot and everything else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which is.
Speaker 2:You know, daryl, when we started this whole podcast thing, even before that, you know, we were very open and willing to be beginners, and so this is just another thing where you're, you were got back to beginner level and I was really I was I was a little anxious for you when you had to come back on your own, because when we do runs or we do rides, you know, you're the you're, you're a badass, you're always leading the way, but sometimes you're taking the wrong turn or whatever.
Speaker 2:And so I know a lot of times Eric will be the route maker or the direction finder and all that stuff, and sometimes we rely heavily on that, or Dave or whoever's been in the area before, and it's easy to just not, you know, get your sense of direction because you're like, hey, I got my boys, I'm all good. So it was. I think it was really cool that you took that on. And but tell me a little bit about that. Like what, how were you feeling about being on your own, not having you know any, any of your boys with you to come back and do that trail and what, where? What did you learn and how did you grow from that?
Speaker 3:Number one all the things I took for granted. I didn't take for granted. I read the map extensively because I was going out and I was going to have come back that way. I mentioned to Michael and Matthew you know that, hey, guess what? I'm not the best Like on our way out, Every time we had to make a turn or go left or right or we had to read the map, they would stop and say, okay, guess what, here, right in there. And uh, by the way, that night I not only had a map, I had pictures on my phone and I had wrote out my directions by myself. So I did my old school, I, I looked, I observed, I wrote it down and, um, and I was a lot more hypervigilant, because, you know, sometimes it's like when you're writing or running, or you can just put your head down and go. Right now, Dude, my, my dude, I was, my eyes were attuned to it and, um, I had one area because, as you know, in the forest they're pretty good paths, Wouldn't you say?
Speaker 3:Yeah, Um, when you get on the rocks, it's like yeah, like here a little there, you see some, you know what I mean those big long rock boulders and stuff like there. And once I got by like the three big boulders where I was like hypervigilant, I could relax.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. Cause I, cause I was on the path, back on the path, path on the path, path, Um, but you know it's anything.
Speaker 3:you know what, um, like, you know you can on other people for things, which is awesome, but you know what, sometimes you got to take that so big shout out to you guys, Eric, and everything, and also, um, I felt good and I felt like I accomplished something. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So I felt, dude, that was a congratulations on that Cause I know that's that would have to cause some anxiety and some fear and concern, and you know, but, man, what a what a great experience to really just grow internally, you know, to grow intellectually, to grow emotionally, to grow physically, everything it's just. Uh, I was really excited for you but nervous too, you know cause. Cause I care about you, man, and I wanted to make sure you got back excited for you but nervous too.
Speaker 2:You know cause? Cause, I care about you, man, and I wanted to make sure you got back. But you know, you, you, you were. You were with a couple of good, cool dudes who were going to make sure you were pointed in the right, right, right direction.
Speaker 2:So, daryl, in the um, as we wrap this segment up, on just catching up on the backpacking trip, there's some big takeaways, big life takeaways Like what, what did you learn? Or what'd you experience? What, what, what would you say you came away with most of all from your trip this last, this last week.
Speaker 3:I think one is like we talked about, it was nice to feel those butterflies, and even though we had done something to kind of get uncomfortable. And then, more than anything, and and there's nothing like reconnecting with nature yes, um, the the concept of where you're heading out on something and I'll let you talk about it and everything you need is on your back, and you're going to come back in three to four days and you're literally out there in god's beauty, yes, with no cell coverage and just you, what's on your back and the people you're with. Yeah, it doesn't get much better than that.
Speaker 2:It doesn't, and I think it's a great opportunity in that, in that I love the word reconnect. It's just, you know, and I think it's not just reconnecting with nature. I think if you're with people, you reconnect with the soul of another human being, because we're not distracted by bright lights, by noises, by cell phones, technology. You really are left with that stripped down person. That's who they are, man. They got nothing to lean on, no technology, no TV, no topics, no, nothing. It's just who you are. And then, especially after you've hiked for a while, you're kind of worn down and you're like, hey, this, this is me, grungy, this is me, and uh, so you're reconnecting.
Speaker 2:And I think in that reconnecting process, um, we also experience this sense of what's important in life. You know, all the shit we trip about, all the things we allow to give us anxiety or worry about or stress us out, we realize you know what? It's all okay, man, we are really an insignificant part of the universal system and yet what's beautiful about that is we were created in a way to feel like we matter, like we are significant. So there's this balance of bringing about our significance through this insignificant process and just like reminding us how small we are, but if we choose to, we can have a great impact, you know, by bringing a smile, bringing a hug or listening to someone or just being present, like we get to be when we're out on those trips. So I love the reconnect word for these trips, because that's what it is, man, and there's a lot of reconnecting of, just on all kinds of levels. So any any last words, brother, that you want to, you want to share.
Speaker 3:Well, I got to say one thing. There's only one thing. Paul brings a bag of candy and it's cool, and it's cool You're up there. It's a little treat. You need a little treats up there, paul's bag of candy gets bigger every time.
Speaker 3:And this time he said he weighed it, it was seven pounds, seven pounds of candy. When Michael and them heard it, they carried up seven pounds of candy. They must've talked about that for two days. They thought that was the funniest thing in the world, right? And the biggest connoisseur of that candy is yours. Truly deflex, deflex. That's his one little. He's like I like the hike, I like my candy at the Paul, so I like the sweet tooth man.
Speaker 2:I got the sweet tooth man. It's just that bag and I pick at it.
Speaker 3:No, um, number one, amazing, amazing trip for both of us and we all got back safe, which is very important. It was nice. I got the text from Michael last night that him and his brother made it out from their extended thing, so we're all good and all buzzing texts about the next backing trip, so I'm real excited.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that'll be that. You know it'd be cool if Michael and Matthew were willing to bring all of us. You know we got to convince them. You won't have to babysit, we'll carry our own ways. It'll be good, but that would be. There would probably be some funny stories that come out of something like that. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, good stuff, d Excellent good stuff and I'm glad you had a great time. I'm glad you learned from some new people and had some great new experiences. I'm grateful for being able to hang out with the boys to unplug and just and reconnect and reconnect, and it was great having my cousin Dave there and Jackson and I look forward to many more. I think we're trying to sneak in one in October.
Speaker 2:We'll see if that happens, yeah we'll see if that happens or not, but I know for sure, without a doubt, there'll be something next year, probably this time of year as well. So, without anything else to say, I'm just going to sign off, like we always do, and say God bless and peace out, peace out, we're out.