Mar

A Slosh in the Bucket

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/252715784″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Eric Johnson lives in Sturgis, South Dakota with his wife and three young daughters. He works as a high school English teacher. He’s responsible–well, most of the time.

Half way into his thirties, Eric emptied his retirement account to buy a raft, despite the fact that he lives in a state without any navigable whitewater. Just over a year later, he found something too good to be true: a group of experienced guides advertising an open spot on a pre-season trip down Idaho’s Main Salmon.

Today, we bring you the story of what happens when you ignore the red flags that pop up when something is actually too good to be true and of what it feels like to bob around in the bucket of someone else’s bucket list.

Music: Shine by Publish the Quest • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach • Then What!? by Publish the Quest • Don’t Point That Gun At Me by Publish the Quest • The Introduction by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Right Wing Failure by Deadlinks • You Never Know Who You’re Gonna Meet by Publish the Quest • The Rent is Late by Publish the Quest • Sailor’s Lament by Jason Shaw

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley, Free Music Archive

and our friends Amy Stolzenbach and Jacob Bain.

Mar

The Shorts–Tower Climbing, Baby!

Tower Climbing, Baby!

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The first time Jen tried to climb a desert tower, her and her partner bailed after the third pitch and returned the guidebook. Today, we bring you a story of abrasions, frustrations, failure and an eventual, unlikely love for the peculiar formations of the desert southwest.

Music: Bad Coffee Blues by And Other Things • Bombs and Bruises by Black Pistol Fire • Rachel’s Song by S Punk 7 • Satisfied by Hemmit

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and Free Music Archive.

Summit register top of Otto’s Route, Colorado National Monument.

Feb

Mileposts — Celebrate with a Milkshake

Celebrate with a Milkshake

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/247900378?secret_token=s-FFUZB” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“Sometimes, when I’m hiking somewhere near Moab and chatting with other people, I think about saying something like, ‘You know what’s great about this hike? In about 75-minutes, you can be at Milt’s Stop & Eat’,” says Brendan Leonard. “Milt’s is a 19-mile drive from Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, it’s 55-miles from Indian Creek and 75-miles to Canyonlands’ towering red and white striped sandstone needles. I mean, when you think about it, it’s kind of the nucleus of all that rad stuff.”

In the first episode of our Mileposts series, we explore the National Parks around Moab, Utah–and celebrate with a milkshake.

You can find more of Brendan’s writing at: www.semi-rad.com/

Music: Intro by Angie and the Carwrecks • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach • Junkyard Blues by Angie and the Carwrecks

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and Amy Stolzenbach, a friend of the Diaries.

Feb

Roll The Dice

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But how do you find that kind of serendipity when you only have a week? Fil created a game. Each morning, he and his friend would wake up and roll a single dice. A one meant go north. 2 = east, 3 = south, 4 = west, 5 = stay put and 6 meant to cross the nearest state border. The only rule? No backtracking.

Today, we follow Fil as he and his friend Brian figuratively and literally roll the dice, and see where they land. And which side is facing up.

This episode originally aired as a six-part series on Fil’s awesome podcast, Van Sounds. We cut quite a bit of material to turn it into a single piece. You can listen to the full version of the Dice series as well as other awesome travel stories, like the Freight Train episode, at: http://vansounds.org/

Music: 36th Parallel by Coastwest Unrest • Singular vs Plural by Yclept Insan • Unnamed by Fil Corbitt • Time Bandit by Yclept Insan • Italics by Porteur • Dying Sun by Southnorth (a solo project by Kent Irwin of the band People With Bodies) • Give’er It by Gabriel Graham • Cause I Can’t Find by A Paper Cup Band (a project by Andrew Jansen) • Unnamed by Arthur Howls (aka Kent Irwin of the band People With Bodies) and Andrew Martin of Up is the Down is the • Camelback Blues by A Paper Cup Band (a project by Andrew Jansen)

All tracks were used with direct permission from the artists.

Jan

Paul’s Boots

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/242983999?secret_token=s-8soOq” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]We got a call from Australia. M’Lynn’s husband, Paul, passed away this past July. He left behind three pairs of polished hiking boots and a backpack packed for his dream hike: the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail.

She had an idea for one final gift for her husband. “How good would it be,” she asked, “for his boots to make the journey even if Paul could not?” We want to make it happen. Give a listen. We need your help.

Want to help? To learn more, visit: http://www.ducttapethenbeer.com/paulsboots

Music: Original score by our friend Amy Stolzenbach.