The Shorts– Better Than Good Enough
Better Than Good Enough
“It was a life that was narrow in its margins and seemingly under my control,” remembers John Gray. “It wasn’t exactly exciting or fulfilling, but I decided that it was good enough for me.”
After a breakup and a drinking habit sent him in a downward spiral, John decided that he needed something radical to shake him out of his “life avoidance stupor.” He signed up for a semester-long Outward Bound course that would take him from the Appalachians to the Everglades to Costa Rica–and change his outlook in a lasting way.
“I knew that good enough would never again be good enough.”
You can find more of John’s writing at: meetjohngray.com
Music: Transcanada by Fog Lake • Destination by Jason Tyler Burton • Jesus Loves to Watch You Sleep by adcBicycle • Worst Part by Cleod9 • A Thousand Kinds of Gold by Publish the Quest
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive or with direct permission from the artists.
The Elephant in the Boat – Part I
The Elephant in the Boat – Part I
“The definition of kidnapping is moving someone from one point to another point against their will, and that’s exactly what had happened to us,” says Ben Stookesberry. “But, to me, the most noteworthy part of the day was that, for the first time in the entire trip, we were actually all working together as a team and we were all spending an entire day together.”
Ben and Chris Korbulic are the expedition kayakers. The two of them have what is perhaps the longest running, most successful partnership not just in kayaking, but in the world of outdoor adventure. They’ve been at this together for over a decade now.
And, yet, in April of 2017, the two boaters wound up on an expedition on which the interpersonal dynamics grew so strained that being held hostage by an armed rebel group in the remote Amazon didn’t necessarily seem like the worst thing that could have happened.
We’ve broken today’s episode into two parts. Today, for Part I, we’ll follow Ben and Chris down a stretch of Colombia’s remote Apaporis River. In Part II, we’ll get into the history of this epic partnership, what went so wrong, and what happens moving forward.
Music: Fog by Sergey Cheremisinov • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Nogales by Cleod9 • Olympus Mons/ We Are Happy Chemtrails by The F*cked Up Beat • The Undefeated by Vienna Ditto • The Deal by Hopeless Jack • Crow Jane by Hopeless Jack • Brand New World by Kai Engel • Global Warming by Kai Engel • Mercy by Kai Engel • Hollow by Hopeless Jack
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
The Shorts — Spirit B
Spirit B
“In the early stages of my pregnancy, I was intrigued and ready for the changes that would take place,” says Chelsey Magness. “As an athlete, I expected body image and performance challenges. I expected exhaustion. I expected attachment issues to my newborn twins. I never expected what was actually to come.”
Chelsey and her husband Jason have built unique lives as professional adventure racers and partner acrobatics and slacklining instructors–among other things. When unimaginable tragedy struck their family, they came up with a unique way to move through their grief.
Find more of Chelsey’s writing about Max and Spirit at EnduranceMama.com, or take a workshop with Chelsey and Jason.
Music: Chasing Trains by Publish the Quest • Caterpillar by Little Glass Men • I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor by Chris Zabriskie • That Kid in Fourth Grade Who Really Liked the Denver Broncos by Chris Zabriskie • Holy Water by Denise Casey • Wild Wind by John Berry
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
Flyathlon
Flyathlon
There are a lot of serious problems in this world, but the solutions don’t always have to be serious. Fly-fisherman and trail-runner Andrew Todd channeled his concern for Colorado’s native trout and the watersheds that support them into the creation of a joyful, irreverent, event: The Flyathlon.
The rules:
- Run 10-miles
- Catch a fish
- Don’t be a jack-donkey
- No fish in your Camelbak that you brought from somewhere else.
Today, we join producer Cordelia Zars–and a group of Flyathletes–on Gunnison, Colorado’s Lake Fork River.
Learn more and register for a Flyathlon at flyathlon.com or check out Andrew’s non-profit at runningrivers.org
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Candy by Jahzzar • Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area by Doctor Turtle • Goodnight by Jahzzar • Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
The Shorts — The Amazement Meter
The Amazement Meter
Chronic depression and the deaths of a few close friends launched Tyler Dunning on a mission to visit all of the National Parks–to get his head and his heart straight.
He figured out how to support himself by writing for outdoor publications and coordinated logistics to make his way to 53 parks over the course of 8-years. Tyler was on a mission. Until, part way through his project, he lost interest.
“A pang of fear overtook me,” says Tyler, “I’d built an identity around this. I’d turned my outdoor hobby into a makeshift job and into a social expectation. But what happens when the thing you are most known for amongst your cohort—National Park exploration—is no longer rewarding?”
You can find more of Tyler’s work at: tylerdunning.com, or watch his short film about his journey to all the National Parks.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Original Scores by Amy Stolzenbach • Happy Little Dance by Ken Christianson • October Morning by Bradley Carter • Unoriginal Sin by Jason Tyler Burton
Tracks provided with permission from the artists.
