The Shorts — The Dirtbag Ministry Co-Op
The Dirtbag Ministry Co-Op
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“The days and months on the road had unspooled before us and we’d simply followed the thread. But the bobbin was empty now,” writes Dave McAllister. “Fine Jade would be the last cumulative “now” we shared, the final adventure we’d have as a group. At least on this trip. Maybe ever.”
Last spring, Dave and his band of dirtbag travelers celebrated their last moments together and helped their friends get hitched in style–atop a desert tower. Today, we bring you a story of gumby ingenuity, spring in the desert, feather boas and a little taste of ‘dirtbag theology’ in motion.
You can find more of Dave’s writing at: Thundercling.com
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach • Sick and Tired by Publish the Quest
Tracks provided by the artists, themselves.
Paul’s Boots — An Update from the Trail
An Update from the Trail
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Maybe they could serve as a reminder for all of us to live our dreams while we can. Maybe they could go one step further and pull someone off the couch and onto the trail.
We asked you, our community, to help us make that dream a reality. More than 400 emails poured in, from seasoned thru-hikers to first-time backpackers. We heard a resounding, ‘Let me know how I can help’. We knew we were part of an incredible community, but damn. We were floored.
Today, we bring you an update on the journey the boots have made over the past nine months, introduce you to some of the hikers who carried Paul’s boots and hear M’Lynn’s reaction.
Listen to the first Paul’s Boots episode. Learn more about the Paul’s Boots Project.
None of this would have been possible without the help of our friends at REI.
Music: Original Scores by Amy Stolzenbach • Wake Me Up by Publish the Quest
Tracks provided with permission from the artists.
Mothers Have it Hardest — Kyle Dempster Tribute
Mothers Have it Hardest — Kyle Dempster Tribute
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On August 22nd, 2016, our friend Kyle Dempster and his climbing partner Scott Adamson went missing on Pakistan’s Ogre II. After days of bad weather, friends and family, with incredible help from the Pakistani government, were able to conduct a search, but found no trace of the two climbers.
Our hearts go out to Terry and to all of Kyle’s friends and loved ones. We know that he understood the risks involved in the activities he did, and we know that still doesn’t make the hole he’s left in the lives of the people close to him any easier to live with. Kyle was one in a billion.
We originally aired a version of this episode in 2014–a story from Kyle and his mother, Terry, about the struggle of loving an adventurer. The struggle between loving them so much that you don’t want to see them hurt, and loving them so much that you want to support them in pursuing their dreams and doing the things that make them tick.
Last year, we reworked the piece to submit to Third Coast Audio Festival. We have never aired this version publicly before. It seemed like the right moment.
Music: Original Scores by Amy Stolzenbach • Shadowlark by The King in Yellow • Last Chance for Love by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club • Around the Bend by woodrowgerber • Yucca by Dokapi • Pay My Dues by Battery Life • Hard Right by Drop Top Lincoln
Tracks provided by Amy Stolzenbach and Mevio’s Music Alley.
No Way Around It
No Way Around It
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Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbulic are the expedition kayakers. Over the past decade, the duo have made first descents of over 120 rivers in wildly remote locations across 36 countries and 6 continents. In 2016, Ben and Chris traveled to Myanmar to complete a source to sea descent of the Irrawaddy River.
They both say it was the first time they failed completely to accomplish their objective–and also one of the richest experiences they’ve ever had.
“Had we have floated freely down the Irrawaddy, I don’t know that we would’ve learned nearly as much about what actually was going on,” says Ben. “The corruption that’s occurring in that area stopped us from running the river. It wasn’t just a side note. It was directly in front of us.”
Today, we bring you a story about the intersection of politics and adventure, and about the richness in failure.
You can read more about Chris and Ben’s trip to Myanmar here.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • The Return by nisei23 • The Departure by nisei23 • The Undefeated by Vienna Ditto • Sunset by Kai Engel • hope! by The Fucked Up Beat • Desert Castles by Little Glass Men • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
Mileposts — Calling Home
Calling Home
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/278831528?secret_token=s-xqZyv” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“I think all of us – dad, me, my brother – recognized a window of opportunity in which our flexibility as freelancers overlapped with dad’s entrance into the golden years of being both retired and fit,” says David Hanson. “Plus, it felt like dad and I had some things to figure out. Our differences weren’t just that he liked park lodges and I preferred remote bivy sites.”
For the past five years, David’s father, Scott, has visited a cluster of National Parks. And every year, David and his brother take turns accompanying him. Today, we travel with David and his father to Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend in search of two of the greatest gifts our public lands give us: family time and common ground.
You can find David’s writing, photos and video at: davidhanson3.com
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • On the Road by Amy Stolzenbach • Cowgirls by Ken Christianson • Kelp Grooves by Little Glass Men • Circuit Rider by Fog Lake
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
