Podcasts about trout creek

This week northerners reaction to the inauguration and early policies of Donald Trump, a Sudbury paralyzed from a rare disease speaks out on accessibility, Trout Creek vies to become Hockeyville, and quilters in Sault Ste. Marie reach a milestone in making quilts for people in need.

Mike Livingston specializes in the cultural heritage of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. His background makes him uniquely qualified for this position. He grew up in Cold Bay, Alaska, located on the Aleutians, and his family homesteaded where Trout Creek flows into Cold Bay. He says they didn't have much money, so they lived a subsistence lifestyle and built their home using remnants left on the island from World War II.   At 21, he moved to Unalaska and worked as a police officer for three years, then he moved to Anchorage and was an officer for the Anchorage Police Department for 20 years. In that time, he worked in a number of different departments: burglary, theft, felony assaults, the crimes against children unit, and the major crimes unit. His work in law enforcement and his research into the Unangax̂ region — in addition to a local murder he remembers from when he was 16 — eventually led him to his work with Murdered and Missing Indigenous Persons. More recently, Mike's been focused on ways to integrate ancient sod housing design into the construction of modern houses. Traditional sod houses were used in the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula for at least 10,000 years. They were so energy efficient that their carbon footprint was virtually non-existent.  He's also been working on correcting historical inaccuracies of Benny Benson, the boy who designed the Alaska flag in 1927. The research he's involved in found that Benny was not of Alutiiq heritage, like it's been believed for decades, but of Unangax̂ heritage.

Mike Livingston specializes in the cultural heritage of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. His background makes him uniquely qualified for this position. He grew up in Cold Bay, Alaska, located on the Aleutians, and his family homesteaded where Trout Creek flows into Cold Bay. He says they didn't have much money, so they lived a subsistence lifestyle and built their home using remnants left on the island from World War II.   At 21, he moved to Unalaska and worked as a police officer for three years, then he moved to Anchorage and was an officer for the Anchorage Police Department for 20 years. In that time, he worked in a number of different departments: burglary, theft, felony assaults, the crimes against children unit, and the major crimes unit. His work in law enforcement and his research into the Unangax̂ region — in addition to a local murder he remembers from when he was 16 — eventually led him to his work with Murdered and Missing Indigenous Persons. More recently, Mike's been focused on ways to integrate ancient sod housing design into the construction of modern houses. Traditional sod houses were used in the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula for at least 10,000 years. They were so energy efficient that their carbon footprint was virtually non-existent.  He's also been working on correcting historical inaccuracies of Benny Benson, the boy who designed the Alaska flag in 1927. The research he's involved in found that Benny was not of Alutiiq heritage, like it's been believed for decades, but of Unangax̂ heritage.

When I turned twenty-one in 1994, I embarked on a 500 mile solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail across the state of Washington.  The Tread of My Soul is a memoir-meets-travelogue written from the trail.  Originally self published and shared with only a handful of family and friends, I recently dusted off the manuscript with the intention of sharing it with a new generation, on the 30th anniversary of its completion. Among black bears, ravens and Indian paintbrush, I grappled with the meaning of life while traversing the spine of the Cascade range with a handful of pocket edition classics in tow. Quotes from sacred texts, poets, and naturalists punctuate a coming of age tale contemplated in the wilderness.What follows is Part 1 of the book, squared off into four long Substack posts. For this first post, I'm also exclusively including Pacific Crest Trail Soundwalk, featuring a binaural field recording captured while hiking the first few miles on the Pacific Crest Trail up out of the Columbia Gorge in Washington. (If you haven't already, feel free to tap that play button at the top of the post.) The 26-minute composition cycles a triad of parts inspired by the letters PCT: part one in Phrygian mode (in E), part two in the key of C, and part three with Tritone substitutions. The instrumentation is outlined with Pianet electric piano, and colored in with synthesizer and intriguing pads built with a vaguely Appalachian mood in mind. It's on the quieter side, in terms of wildlife, but all in all, I think it compliments the reading. It concludes with a pretty frog chorus so, like the book, I'm making it unrestricted, in the hope of enticing some readers to stick with it to the end. If you prefer, you can find The Tread of My Soul in ebook format available for free right now on Apple Books or Amazon Kindle Store (free with Kindle Unlimited, points, or $2.99). If you read it and like it, please feel free to leave a review to help others find it. Thank you. So, without further ado, here we go:The Tread of My SoulComing of Age on the Pacific Crest Trailby Chad CrouchACT 1(AT RISE we see TEACHER and STUDENTS in an art studio. It is fall term; the sun is just beginning to set when class begins. Warm light washes the profiles of eight classmates. The wood floors are splashed with technicolor constellations of paint.)TEACHERHello. Welcome to class. I find role taking a tiresome practice so we'll skip over that and get to the assignment. Here I have a two-inch square of paper for you. I would like you to put your soul on it. The assignment is due in five minutes. No further explanations will be given.STUDENT #1(makes eye contact with a STUDENT #4, a young woman. She wears a perplexed smile on her face.)TEACHERHere you go.                                    (hands out squares of paper.)(People begin to work. Restlessness gives way to an almost reverence, except STUDENT #5 is scribbling to no end. The Students' awareness of others fades imperceptibly inward.  Five minutes pass quickly.)TEACHERTeacher: Are you ready? I'm interested to see what you've come up with.                                    (scuffle of some stools; the sound of a classroom reclaiming itself.)TEACHERWhat have you got there?STUDENT #1Well, I used half of the time just thinking. I was looking at my pencil and I thought…                                    (taps pencil on his knee, you see it is a mechanical model)this will never do the trick. The idea of soul seemed too intense to be grasped with only graphite. So 1 poked a pin sized hole in the paper and wrote:                                    (reading voice)“Hold paper up to sun, look into hole for soul.” That's all the further I got.TEACHER                                    (looking at student #2)And you?STUDENT #2                                    (smiles)Um, I didn't know what to do so all I have is a few specks where I was tapping my pen while I was thinking. This one…                                    (she points to a dot)is all, um, all fuzzy because I was ready to draw something and I hesitated so the ink just ran…(Students nod sympathetically. Attention goes to STUDENT #3)STUDENT #3I couldn't deal with just one little blank square.                                    (holds paper up and flaps it around, listlessly)So I started dividing.                                    (steadies and turns paper to reveal a graph.)Now, I have lots of squares in which to put my soul in. I think of a soul as being multifaceted.TEACHEROkay.  Thank you.  Next…                                    (looking at student #4)STUDENT #4                                    (without hesitation)I just stepped on it.(holds paper up to reveal the tread of a shoe sole in a multicolor print.)The tread of my soul.•     •     •            The writing that follows seems to have many of the same attributes as the students' responses to the problem posed in the preceding scene. While I have a lot more paper to work with, the problem remains the same: how do I express myself?  How do I express the intangible and essential part of me that people call a soul?  What is it wrapped up in?  What doctrines, ideologies and memories help give it a shape?            I guess I identify mostly with Student #4. Her shoe-print “Tread of My Soul” alludes to my own process: walking over 500 miles on The Pacific Crest Trail from Oregon To Canada in the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington. In trying to describe my soul I found that useful to be literal. Where my narrative dips into memoir or philosophy I tried not to hesitate or overthink things.  I tried to lay it all out.            Student #1's solution was evident in my own problem solving in how I constantly had to look elsewhere; into nature, into literature, and into symbology to even begin to bring out the depth of what I was thinking and feeling. Often the words of spiritual classics and of poetry are seen through my writing as if looking through a hole. I can only claim originality in where I poke the holes.            As for Student #2, I am afraid that my own problem solving doesn't evoke enough of her charm. For as much as I wanted to be thoughtful, I wanted also to be open and unstudied, tapping my pen. What I see has emerged, however, is at times argumentative. In retrospect I see that I had no recourse, really. My thoughts on God and Jesus were molded in a throng of letters, dialogues, experiences, and personal studies prior to writing this.Finally, in the winter of my twenty-first year, as I set down to transcribe this book, I realize how necessary it was to hike. Student #3 had the same problem. The soul is complex and cannot fit into a box. Hiking gave me a cadence to begin to answer the question what is my soul? The trail made me mindful. There was the unceasing metaphor of the journey: I could only reach my goal incrementally. This tamed my writing sometimes. It wandered sometimes and I was at ease to let it. I had more than five minutes and a scrap of paper. I had each step.•     •     •            The Bridge of the Gods looks like a behemoth Erector set project over the Columbia River spanning the natural border of Washington and Oregon. My question: what sort of Gods use Erector sets?  Its namesake actually descends from an event in space and time; a landslide. The regional natives likely witnessed, in the last millennium, a landslide that temporarily dammed the Columbia effectually creating a bridge—The Bridge of the Gods. I just finished reading about why geologists think landslides are frequent in the gorge. Didn't say anything about Gods. How we name things, as humankind, has something to do with space and time doesn't it? Where once we call something The Bridge of the Gods it has been contemporarily reduced to landslide. We have new Gods now, and they compel us to do the work with erector sets. Or perhaps I mistook the name: It doesn't necessarily mean Gods made it. Perhaps Gods dwell there or frequent it. Or maybe it is a passageway that goes where the Gods go. It seems to me that if the Gods wanted to migrate from, say, Mt. Rainier in Washington to Mt. Hood in Oregon, they would probably follow the Cascade Ridge down to the Bridge of the Gods and cross there.            If so, I think I should like to see one, or maybe a whole herd of them like the caribou I saw in Alaska earlier this summer, strewn across the snow field like mahogany tables. Gods, I tend to think are more likely to be seen in the high places or thereabouts, after all,The patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament behold the Lord face to face in the high places. For Moses it was Mount Sinai and Mount Nebo; in the New Testament it is the Mount of Olives and Golgotha. I went so far as to discover this ancient symbol of the mountain in the pyramid constructions of Egypt and Chaldea. Turning to the Aryans, I recalled those obscure legends of the Vedas in which the Soma—the 'nectar' that is in the 'seed of immortality' is said to reside in its luminous and subtle form 'within the mountain.' In India the Himalayas are the dwelling place of the Siva, of his spouse 'the Daughter of the Mountain,' and the 'Mothers' of all worlds, just as in Greece the king of the gods held court on Mt Olympus.- Rene Daumal, Mount Analogue            These days Gods don't go around making landslides every time they want to cross a river, much less perform a Jesus walking on the water miracle. That would be far too suspicious. Gods like to conceal themselves. A popular saying is "God helps those who help themselves." I think if Moses were alive today, Jehovah would have him build a bridge rather than part the waters.            Someone said, "Miracles take a lot of hard work." This is true.•     •     •Day 1.Bridge of the Gods.Exhausted, I pitch my tent on the side of the trail in the hot afternoon and crawl into to take a nap to avoid the annoying bugs.My sweat leaves a dead person stamp on the taffeta floor.Heavy pack.  A vertical climb of 3200 ft.Twelve miles. I heaved dry tears and wanted to vomit.Dinner and camp on a saddle.Food hard to stomach.View of Adams and gorge.            Perhaps I am a naive pilgrim as I cross over that bridge embarking on what I suppose will be a forty day and night journey on the Pacific Crest Trail with the terminus in Canada. My mother gave me a box of animal crackers before my departure so I could leave “a trail of crumbs to return by.” The familiar classic Barnum's red, yellow and blue box dangles from a carabineer of my expedition backpack            As I cross over the bridge I feel small, the pack bearing down on my hips, legs, knees, feet. I look past my feet, beyond the steel grid decking of the bridge, at the water below.  Its green surface swirls. I wonder how many gallons are framed in each metal square and how many flow by in the instant I look?How does the sea become the king of all streams?Because it is lower than they!Hence it is the king of all streams.-Lao-tzu, Tao Teh Ching            On the Bridge of the Gods I begin my quest, gazing at my feet superimposed on the Columbia's waters flowing toward the ocean. Our paths are divergent. Why is it that the water knows without a doubt where to go; to its humble Ocean King that embraces our planet in blue? I know no such path of least resistance to and feel at one with humankind. To the contrary, when we follow our paths of least resistance—following our family trees of religion, learning cultural norms—we end up worshipping different Gods. It is much easier for an Indian to revere Brahman than it is for I. It is much easier for me to worship Christ than it is for an Indian. These paths are determined geographically and socially.             It's not without trepidation that I begin my journey. I want to turn from society and turn to what I believe to be impartial: the sweeping landscape.            With me I bring a small collection of pocket books representing different ideas of the soul. (Dhammapada, Duino Elegies, Tao Teh Ching, Song of Myself, Walden, Mount Analogue, and the Bible.) It isn't that I want to renounce my faith.  I turn to the wilderness, to see if I can't make sense of it all.            I hike north. This is a fitting metaphor. The sun rises in the east and arcs over the south to the west. To the north is darkness. To the north my shadow is cast. Instinctively I want to probe this.•     •     •Day 2.Hiked fourteen miles.Three miles on a ridge and five descending brought me to Rock Creek.I bathed in the pool. Shelves of fern on a wet rock wall.Swaths of sunlight penetrating the leafy canopy.Met one person.Read and wrote and slept on a bed of moss.Little appetite.Began another ascent.Fatigued, I cried and cursed out at the forest.I saw a black bear descending through the brushBefore reaching a dark campsite.            I am setting records of fatigue for myself. I am a novice at hiking. Here is the situation: I have 150 miles to walk. Simple arithmetic agrees that if I average 15 miles a day it will take me 10 days to get to the post office in White Pass where I have mailed myself more food. I think I am carrying a sufficient amount of food to sustain my journey, although I'm uncertain because I have never backpacked for more than three consecutive days. The greatest contingency, it seems, is my strength: can I actually walk 15 miles a day with 60 pounds on my back in the mountains? Moreover, can I continue to rise and fall as much as I have? I have climbed a vertical distance of over 6000 feet in the first two days.            I begin to quantify my movement in terms of Sears Towers. I reason that if the Sears Tower is 1000 feet, I walked the stairs of it up and down almost 5 times. I am developing a language of abstract symbols to articulate my pain.            I dwell on my condition. I ask myself, are these thoughts intensified by my weakness or am I feeding my weakness with my thoughts?            I begin to think about God. Many saints believed by impoverishing their physical self, often by fasting, their spiritual self would increase as a result. Will my spirit awake as my body suffers?            I feet the lactic acid burning my muscle tissue. I begin to moan aloud. I do this for some time until, like a thunderclap, I unleash voice in the forest.            I say, "I CAN'T do this,” and "I CAN do this," in turn. I curse and call out "Where are you God? I've come to find you." Then I see the futility of my words. Scanning the forest: all is lush, verdant, solemn, still. My complaint is not registered here.And all things conspire to keep silent about us, half out of shame perhaps, half as unutterable hope.- Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies            I unstrap my pack and collapse into heap on the trail floor, curled up. I want to be still like the forest.            The forest makes a noise: Crack, crack, crack.            I think a deer must be traversing through the brush. I turn slowly to look in the direction of the sound. It's close. Not twenty yards off judging from the noise.            I pick myself up to view the creature, and look breathlessly. It's just below me in the ravine. Its shadowy black body dilates subtly as it breathes. What light falls on it seems to be soaked up, like a hole cut in the forest in the shape of an animal. It turns and looks at me with glassy eyes. It claims all my senses—I see, hear, feel, smell, taste nothing else--as I focus on the bear.And so I hold myself back to swallow the call note of my dark sobbing.Ah, whom can we ever turn to in our need?Not angels, not humans and already the knowing animals are aware that we are really not at home in our interpreted world.- Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies            Remembering what I read to do when encountering a bear, I raise my arms, making myself bigger. "Hello bear," I say, "Go away!"            With the rhythm of cracking branches, it does.•     •     •Day 3.Hiked thirteen miles.Descended to Trout Creek, thirsty.Met a couple en route to Lake Tahoe.Bathed in Panther Creek.Saw the wind brushing the lower canopy of leaves on a hillside.A fly landed on the hairs of my forearm and I,Complacent,Dreamt.            I awake in an unusual bed: a stream bed. A trickle of clear water ran over stones beneath me, down my center, as if to bisect me. And yet I was not wet. What, I wonder, is the significance of this dream?            The August sun had been relentless thus far on my journey. The heat combined with the effort involved in getting from one source of water to the next makes an arrival quite thrilling. If the water is deep enough for my body, even more so:I undress... hurry me out of sight of land, cushion me soft... rock me in billowy drowse Dash me with amorous wet...- Walt Whitman, Song of Myself            There is something electrifying and intensely renewing about swimming naked in a cold creek pool or mountain lake.I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things I did. They say that characters were engraven on the bathing tub of King Tching-thang to this effect; "renew thyself completely each day; do it again and again and forever again."- Henry David Thoreau, Walden            Is bathing, then, a spiritual exercise?            When I was baptized on June 15, 1985 in the tiled pool of our chapel in the Portland suburbs, I thought surely as I was submerged something extraordinary would happen, such as the face of Jesus would appear to me in the water. And I did do it—I opened my eyes under water— but saw only the blur of my pastor's white torso and the hanging ferns that framed the pool. I wondered: shouldn't a ceremony as significant as this feel more than just wet? I'm guessing that most children with exposure to religion often keep their eyes open for some sort of spectacular encounter with God, be it to punish or affirm them. (As a child, I remember sitting in front of the television thinking God could put a commercial on for heaven if he wanted to.)            Now, only ten years after I was baptized, I still keep my eyes open for God, though not contextually the same, not within a religion, not literally.            And when I swim in a clear creek pool, I feel communion, pure and alive. The small rounded stones are reminders of the ceaseless touch of water. Their blurry shapes embrace me in a way that the symbols and rites of the church fail to.I hear and behold God in every objectYet I understand God not in the least.-Walt Whitman, Song of Myself            And unlike the doctrines and precepts of organized religion, I have never doubted my intrinsic bond to water.And more-For greater than all the joysOf heaven and earthGreater still than dominionOver all worlds,Is the joy of reaching the stream.- Dhammapada, Sayings of the Buddha•     •     •Day 4.Hiked fourteen miles. Climbed to a beautiful ridge.Signs, yellow and black posted every 50 feet: "Experimental Forest"Wound down to a campground where I met three peopleAs I stopped for lunch."Where does this trail go to?" he says. "Mexico," I say."Ha Ha," says he.Camped at small Green Lake.            My body continues to evolve. My hair and fingernails grow and grow, and right now I've got four new teeth trying to find a seat in my mouth.            I turned twenty-one on August sixth. On August sixth, 1945 a bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The world lost more people than it made that day. When I was born, I suspect we gained a few.            I'm an adult now, and I'm not sure where it happened or why. I wonder if someone had to stamp something somewhere because of it? A big red stamp that says "ADULT".  It was a blind passage for me—just like those persons who evaporated at ground zero on August sixth, 49 years ago.            I do feel like I just evaporated into adulthood. I am aware of the traditional ceremony of turning twenty-one. Drinking. Contemporary society commemorates becoming an adult with this token privilege. Do you have any idea how fast alcohol evaporates? I am suggesting this: One's response to this rite rarely affords any resolution or insight into growth. Our society commemorates the passage from child to adult with a fermented beverage.            I wanted to more deliberate about becoming an adult. Hence the second reason (behind a spiritual search) for this sojourn into the wilderness. I took my lead from the scriptures:And he was in the desert forty days... He was with the wild animal and the angels attended him.- Mark 1:13            Something about those forty days prepared Jesus for what we know of his adult life.I also took my lead from Native Americans. Their rite of passage is called a vision quest, wherein the youth goes alone into the depth of nature for a few days to receive some sort of insight into being.            I look around me. I am alone here in the woods a few days after my birthday. Why? To discover those parts of me that want to be liberated. To draw the fragrant air into my lungs. To feel my place in nature.…beneath each footfall with resolution.I want to own every atom of myself in the present and be able to say:Look I am living. On what? NeitherChildhood nor future grows any smaller....Superabundant being wells up in my heart.- Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies•     •     •Day 5.Hiked to Bear Lake and swam.Saw over a dozen people. Eighteen miles.Watched raven fly from tree and listened.Found frogs as little as my thumbnail.Left Indian Heaven.            Surprise.  My body is becoming acclimated to long distance hiking. I know because when I rest it is a luxury rather than a necessity.            The light is warmer and comes through the forest canopy at an acute angle from the west, illuminating the trunks of this relatively sparse old growth stand. I am laying on my back watching a raven at his common perch aloft in a dead Douglas fir.            It leaps into its court and flap its wings slowly, effortlessly navigating through the old wood pillars. The most spectacular sense of this, however, is the sound: a loud, slow, hollow thrum: Whoosh whoosh, whoosh....  It's as if the interstices between each pulse are too long, too vacant to keep the creature airborne. Unlike its kind, this raven does not speak: there are no loud guttural croaks to be heard.            Northwest coastal tribes such as the Kwakiutl thought the croaks of a raven were prophetic and whoever could interpret them was a seer. Indeed, the mythic perception of ravens to be invested with knowledge and power is somewhat universal.           My raven is silent. And this is apt, for I tend to think the most authentic prophecies are silent, or near to it.Great sound is silent.- Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching            The contour of that sound and silence leaves a sublime impression on me.•     •     •Day 6.Hiked twelve miles.Many uphill, but not most.Met several people.One group looked like they were enjoying themselves—two families.I spent the afternoon reading my natural history book on a bridge.Voles (forest mice) relentlessly made efforts to infiltrate my food bag during the night.            I am reading about how to call a tree a “Pacific Silver Fir” or an “Engelmann Spruce” or “Western Larch” and so on. If something arouses my curiosity on my walk, I look in my natural history book to see if it has anything to say.            Jung said, "Sometimes a tree can teach you more than a book can."            Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha was enlightened beneath a fig tree.            I read that a 316-year-old Ponderosa Pine east of Mt. Jefferson bears scars from 18 forest fires. Surely that tree taught us one thing a book couldn't.  All things are clues. Everything is part of a complex tapestry of causality.            The grand design behind these mountains has something to do with plate tectonics. Beneath me the oceanic plate is diving beneath the continental at twenty to sixty degrees putting it well under the coastline to where it partially melts and forms magma. This has been happening for millions of years. Every once and a while this magma channels its way up to the surface, cools and turns into igneous rock. Again and again, this happens. Again and again, and yet again until a mountain is made; a stratovolcano.            Meanwhile, on top, water, glaciers, wind, and sun are trying to carry the mountains away grain by grain. Geologic time is as incomprehensible as it would be to imagine someone's life by looking at his or her gravestone. These mountains are gravestones.            Plants fight to keep the hillsides together. Plants and trees do. But every summer some of those trees, somewhere, are going to burn. Nature will not tolerate too much fuel. New trees will grow to replace those lost. Again and again. Eighteen times over and there we find our tree, a scarred Ponderosa Pine in the tapestry.            And every summer the flowers will bloom. The bees will come to pollinate them and cross-pollinate them: next year a new color will emerge.            And every summer the mammals named homo-sapiens-sapiens will come to the mountains to cut down trees, hike trails, and to put up yellow and black signs that read Boundary Experimental Forest U.S.F.S. placed evenly 100 yards apart so hikers are kept excessively informed about boundaries.            Here I am in the midst of this slow-motion interplay of nature. I walk by thousands of trees daily. Sometimes I see just one, sometimes the blur of thousands. It is not so much that a tree teaches me more than a book; rather it conjures up in me the copious leagues of books unwritten. And, I know somewhere inside that I participate. What more hope could a tree offer?  What more hope could you find in a gravestone?•     •     •Day 7.Hiked twenty miles in Alpine country near Mt Adams.More flowers—fields of them. Saw owl. Saw elk.Wrote near cascading creek.Enjoyed walking. Appetite is robust.Camped at Lave Spring.Saw six to ten folks.Didn't talk too much.            Before I was baptized, during the announcements, there was a tremendous screech culminating in a loud cumbf! This is a sound which can be translated here as metal and glass crumpling and shattering in an instant to absorb the forces of automobiles colliding.            In the subsequent prayer, the pastor made mention of the crash, which happened on the very same corner of the chapel, and prayed to God that He might spare those people of injury.            As it turns the peculiarly memorable sound was that of our family automobile folding into itself, and it was either through prayer or her seat belt that no harm came to my sister who was driving it.            Poor thing. She just was going to get some donuts. Do you know why? Because I missed my appointment with baptism. There is time in most church services when people go to the front to (1.) confess their sin, (2.) confess their faith in Christ as their only personal savior, and (3.) to receive Him. This is what is known as the “Altar Call”. To the embarrassment of my parents (for I recall the plan was for one of them to escort me to the front) the Alter Call cue—a specific prayer and hymn—was missed and I sat expectant till the service end. The solution was to attend the subsequent service and try harder.            I don't recall my entire understanding of God and Jesus then, at age eleven, but I do remember arriving at a version of Pascal's reductive decision tree that there are four possibilities regarding my death and salvation:1. Jesus is truly the savior of mankind and I claim him and I go to heaven, or2. Jesus is truly the savior of mankind and I don't claim him and I end up in hell, or3. Jesus isn't the savior of mankind and I die having lived a somewhat virtuous life in trying to model myself after him, or4. Jesus isn't the savior of mankind and I didn't believe it anyhow.            My sister, fresh with an Oregon drivers license, thought one dose of church was enough for her and, being hungry, went out for donuts and failed to yield.Cumbf!            Someone came into the chapel to inform us. We all went out to the accident. The cars were smashed and askew, and my sister was a bawling, rocking little lump on the side of the street. We attended to her, calmed her, and realized there was yet time for me to get baptized. We went into the church and waited patiently for the hymn we had mentally earmarked and then I was baptized. I look back on the calamities of that day affectionately.Prize calamities as your own body.- Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching            Those events that surrounded the ritual decry a ceremony so commonplace one often misses the extraordinariness of it; of humanity; the embarrassment of my parents; the frustration and impetuous flight of my sister; and the sympathy and furrowed brow of our pastor. These events unwind in my head like a black and white silent film of Keystone Cops with a church organ revival hymn for the soundtrack.  There was something almost slapstick about how that morning unfolded, and once the dust had settled and the family was relating the story to my grandmother later that day, we began to find the humor in it. Hitting things and missing things and this is sacred. All of it.Because our body is the very source of our calamities,If we have no body, what calamities can we have?- Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching            Most religions see the body as temporal and the soul as eternal. Hence, 13th century monks cloistered themselves up denying their bodies space and interaction that their souls might be enhanced.            I see it this way: No one denies their bodily existence, do they? Look, your own hand holds this book. Why do you exist? You exist right now, inherently, to hold a book, and to feel the manifold sensations of the moment.            If this isn't enough of a reason, adjust.            I've heard it said, "Stop living in the way of the world, live in the way of God."            My reply: "Before I was baptized, I heard a cumbf, and it was in the world and I couldn't ignore it.  I'm not convinced we would have a world if we weren't supposed to live in the way of it."Thanks for reading Soundwalk! This is Part One of my 1994 travelogue-meets-memoir The Tread of My Soul. This post is public so feel free to share it.Read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Or find the eBook at Apple Books or Amazon Kindle Store. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chadcrouch.substack.com/subscribe

It has been a while since I last posted. I have been speaking non-stop at camps for the past three weeks, but finally, I could carve out some time to record a podcast while speaking at Trout Creek in Oregon. This week's episode is a sad one. Ananias and Saphira are found lying to God and paying the ultimate price with their lives. But we also meet a new character in the story of Acts, a character introduced for the first time, but one that will play a significant role in the story of the growth of the church moving forward. His name is Barnabas. Hear his story and that of Ananias and Saphira in this week's podcast.

Overnight, the Town of Sussex, NB was flooded after heavy rain. The banks of Trout Creek breached their banks. We talk with Mayor Marc Thorne who describes it as the worst flooding the town has ever seen. Robbie Burt on PEI has to halt his charity walk due to bad weather and an injured foot. And on the phone-in: Silvia Jay answers your questions on dog behaviour.

The More We Listen, The More We Understand.  Thank you for supporting Ambisonic Spaces.  Discover more and download binaural, ambisonic, and surround assets at AmbisonicSpaces.org Twitter/X Instagram LinkedIn YouTube

Summary: Fresh off a five-week period of deep work, including guiding three, back-to-back-to-back retreats your cohosts reflect on marriage, "the work" and what's needed to shift our cultural consciousness. Mentioned on this episode:Wild Within Support this podcast:Discount link to purchase organic, raw ceremonial-grade cacao ethically sourced in Guatemala (a portion of proceeds support this podcast)Become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/thefaroutcoupleMake one-time donation with PayPal (our account is aplambeck22@gmail.com)Leave a review on iTunes!Share this episode with a friend! :DConnect with us:Website: www.thefarout.lifeEmail us at info@thefarout.lifeWild Within @ www.thewildwithin.orgCredits:Intro music: "Complicate ya" by Otis McDonaldOutro music: "Running with wise fools" written & performed by Krackatoa (www.krackatoa.com)

A podcast designed to keep you connected to camp, to each other, and of course the word of God! In this episode, we get to hear a devotional from Little Joe, Interview legendary counselor Wheezy, play a game, and hear some announcements about staff applications and camper registration. Camp store: https://www.tcbc.com/camp-store/ Looking to serve at TCBC this summer: https://www.tcbc.com/serve/summerstaff/ Find out more information at www.tcbc.com

The Trout Creek Bible Cast is back! We are so excited to be kicking off a new season of the Bible Cast with you. Stay tuned for a new episode on October 18th, 2022!

Recoding just after Dawn in Pike National Forest Colorado. The dense brush near a quiet creek is a perfect haven for spring birds. Recorded with Spatial Audio's Spatial mic - 2nd Order Ambisonics Decoded to Binaural Thank you for supporting Sonic Conservation by listening to Ambisonic Spaces. Discover more and consider donating https://twitter.com/DavidWoje (Twitter) https://www.instagram.com/davidwoje/ (Instagram) https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-woje-5a5551175/ (LinkedIn) https://ambisonicspaces.org/ (AmbisonicSpaces.org) If you're a sound designer, field recording enthusiast, or just want to support this podcast, check out subscribing to the Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/SpatialSpaces?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator (Spatial Spaces) There you will be able to not only support this podcast, but also gain access to listen to episodes in spatial, 3D, ambisonic audio, as well as download ambisonic assets to use for your game audio projects, sound beds, commercials, and anything related in adherence to the very modest https://ambisonicspaces.org/license-agreement (license agreement. ) Thanks for listening -David Mentioned in this episode: Patreon Ad If you're a sound designer, field recording enthusiast, or just want to support this podcast, check out subscribing to the Patreon page: Spatial Spaces. There you will be able to gain access to listen to episodes in spatial audio. Yes, all you need is some AirPods that support head tracking and the Patreon app or safari. Just connect your AirPods to your device, turn on head tracking and listen through Patreon. The sounds dynamically changing around you as you move your head…it's super cool and a super immersive experience. You will also have access to download assets to use for your game audio projects in engines like Unreal and Unity, or use them for sound beds for any project in adherence to the very modest license agreement.  And finally as a patron, you will have access to the private feed ad free and dialogue free to listen to wherever you go. You can find out more at ambisonicspaces.org

Summary: Fresh off leading back-to-back retreats, Alasdair and Julie-Roxane reflect on the energetic workout retreats offer, why they are so powerful, the demands of holding alchemical containers, and the ways they see their work evolving.  Mentioned on this episode:The Secret Teachings of Plants: The Intelligence of the Heart in the Direct Perception of Nature by Stephen Harrod BuhnerUpcoming Offerings:July 5-12: Wild Within Yosemite: InitiationJuly 19-26: Wild Within Yosemite: AdvancedOct 6-9: Pennsylvania: CommunitasSupport this podcast:Discount link to purchase organic, raw ceremonial-grade cacao ethically sourced in Guatemala (a portion of proceeds support this podcast)Become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/thefaroutcoupleMake one-time donation with PayPal (our account is aplambeck22@gmail.com)Leave a review on iTunes!Share this episode with a friend! :DConnect with us:Website: www.thefarout.lifeEmail us at info@thefarout.lifeWild Within @ www.thewildwithin.orgCredits:Intro music: "Complicate ya" by Otis McDonaldOutro music: "Running with wise fools" written & performed by Krackatoa (www.krackatoa.com)Podcast photo taken during Wild Within's recent Oregon retreat

This original audio drama is our Christmas card to the entire Trout Creek family! From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Listen and explore:Why Ian hasn't cut his beard for 10 yearsThe origin of the unicornFascinating facts about Narwhals you will want to knowWhy Inuits rely on Narwhals for survival and how the oil industry threatens bothIan's journey working to conserve a region of old growth forest along the Molalla river in Oregon"I just kept burning" - what Burning Man has taught Ian about lifeMentioned on this episode:Trailer for Ian's documentary on NarwhalsTrout Creek Wilderness LodgeGrounded: A Fierce, Feminine Guide to Connecting with the Soil and Healing from the Ground Up by Erin Yu-Juin McMorrowConnect with us:Website: www.thefarout.lifeEmail us at info@thefarout.lifeWild Within @ www.thewildwithin.orgSupport this podcast:Discount link to purchase organic, raw ceremonial-grade cacao ethically sourced in Guatemala (a portion of proceeds support this podcast)Become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/thefaroutcoupleMake one-time donation with PayPal (our account is aplambeck22@gmail.com)Leave a review on iTunes!Share this episode with a friend! :DCredits:Intro music: "Complicate ya" by Otis McDonaldOutro music: "Running with wise fools" written & performed by Krackatoa (www.krackatoa.com)

Photo is of Trout Creek running through the forest we are currently living in. Listen and explore:Our upcoming international trips and eventsThe turning point Alasdair and Julie-Roxane have recently experienced in their workBuilding momentum in business: getting the fly wheel goingThe trap of perfectionism and how it's shown up in the past for Julie-RoxaneThe economy of gift-giving and work as a practice in giving our giftsThe infinite game: business as a "going concern"The 1,000 day rule when starting a new businessWhy the obstacles and challenges you face are actually your biggest business opportunityThe reward of good work is the chance to work on bigger problems or: don't work on problems you don't care aboutMentioned on this episode:Wild Within's book clubWild Within's Guatemala New Year's RetreatWild Within's Kambo Retreat in GuatemalaFAR OUT #61 ~ What Does Work Mean to Us?Trout Creek Wilderness LodgeFinite & Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility by James Carse (Alasdair mistakenly referenced this book as The Infinite Game)Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim CollinsSecrets of the Talking Jaguar: Memoirs from the Living Heart of a Mayan Village by Martin PrechtelSeth GodinTMBA565: The Origins of the 1,000 Day PrincipleThe Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection by Michael A. SingerMarshall Goldsmith (the executive coach JR mentioned)Connect with us:Website: www.thefarout.lifeEmail us at info@thefarout.lifeWild Within @ www.thewildwithin.orgSupport this podcast:Discount link to purchase organic, raw ceremonial-grade cacao ethically sourced in Guatemala (a portion of proceeds support this podcast)Become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/thefaroutcoupleMake one-time donation with PayPal (our account is aplambeck22@gmail.com)Leave a review on iTunes!Share this episode with a friend! :DCredits:Intro music: "Complicate ya" by Otis McDonaldOutro music: "Running with wise fools" written & performed by Krackatoa (www.krackatoa.com)

Enjoy this Christmasy audio drama adventure at Trout Creek! Featuring the voice talents of some of our amazing summer staff!

This month we finish up chapter 2 of James, share about our new personal retreats opportunity, and update you on all the happenings here at Trout Creek!

Northeast of Trout Creek, the Allen Peak Trail serves up broad vistas of the southern Cabinet Mountains. It’s a steep and steady climb to the top, but the winding trail passes through stands of western red cedar, ponderosa and lodgepole pines, and western larch that offer plenty of shade and lovely spots to catch your breath. And if you want to embrace the northwest Montana experience,don’t forget to stop and gather some of the plentiful huckleberries that line the trail once you climb above 5,000 feet. Photo by Dave Hadden

Jacob is about to meet his family for the first time in years, but that also means meeting his brother Esau. Jacob thinks this will be his hardest challenge yet, but little does he know that he is going to come head to head with an even greater opponent: God Himself.

Trout Creek is located in Hillsborough County. Enjoy the sounds of the Florida Summer wildlife captured on my recent hike. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jmansjournal/message

A day trip from Missoula or Superior, Heart Lake is a popular summer destination in the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness. This 2.5 mile hike follows the South Fork of Trout Creek through dense cedars, patches of huckleberries, and the occasional aspen stand. Hike on to the smaller Pearl, Dalton, or Trio Lakes for more solitude. More info here: https://wildmontana.mapview.io/?trail=3ce9b819-6a78-4410-ab06-a81340663abc. Photo by Brian Christianson.

The final, dreadful plague causes the Pharaoh of Egypt to finally let the people of Israel go. Moses leads the people out of Egypt as they begin to head towards the Promised Land, but sadly, Pharaoh changes his mind and tries to chase them down. Moses sees the approaching chariots of Egypt on one side and the Red Sea on the other. He has nowhere to go. Why would God work in miraculous ways to get Pharaoh to let His people go, only to have them slaughtered in the desert? What will happen? Listen to this weeks episode to find out what happens and how God protects His people and has Moses leads the people through the Red Sea.

In this episode we will see God's call to Moses through the burning bush, Moses performing miracles in front of Pharaoh to confirm his call, and the plagues Moses calls down upon Egypt so that they will let his people go. There is a lot of exciting stories and information to learn about in today's episode, so lets jump right in.

This week we continue the story of Moses. He rises to power in the Egyptian court, but then murders a man to help his Hebrew brothers. Moses is now on the run, but what will become of him? If you have ever made bad choices and wonder where God is in the middle of that, then this weeks story is for you. Be encouraged that even in the middle of grave mistakes, God still moves.

Turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapters 1 & 2 and follow along as we begin a new series on Moses. Imagine yourself as a 4th-6th grade camper at Trout Creek Bible Camp and enjoy this live recording.

This month we chat about Philippians chapter 1, introduce you to some amazing staff people, give you all the updates about camp, and mostly just have fun talking about Jesus, camp life, and the people that make Trout Creek so great! Oh! And we have some pretty sweet background music, too. Enjoy!

Epiosde links.  SBT GRVL website, Instagram, Facebook    Automagical Transcript Below -- please forgive the typos. All right, mark, thanks for joining us on the podcast this week. I'm really excited to talk to you and learn more about your event. Yeah, thanks for having me. So we all just like starting out on The Gravel Ride, learning a little bit more about your background as a cyclist and how you got into the gravel scene. Sure, yeah, I, um, I've been riding bikes for a while. I'm, you know, I'm, I'm a for context, I'm 50 so I've been, I've been endurance athlete for what I would say a 30 year window for me getting into cycling, really came from having a mountain bike in college and then moving into maybe more triathlon type background and then as I got older and, and running was starting to take its toll on me personally. I really ended up just writing a lot of bikes and so I'm like a lot of folks, I think, you know, your race, road bikes, you want to get off the road, um, uh, exploring new places you have maybe liked the speed of a road bike. So maybe I'm not a. So I started mountain biking. I really don't mountain bike a ton nowadays, um, but I really found gravel which was kinda that, that best of both worlds scenario for me and I'm really, once I started doing that, there was, there was no looking back, I still raised the road, but I think I look forward to gravel rides more than anything else so that, that sort of a, at least my, my, my entry into it. You're located in steamboat springs at this point, is that right? Yeah, I am. I spent the last couple of years in La, um, and I was road racing for the race team if you guys are familiar with, with that crew and Los Angeles and um, but moved back to steamboat this, uh, this August full time and uh, we'll probably be here for good. Nice. Well, I'm eager to learn a little bit more about the terrain you called home around steamboat for the gravel bike and I'm excited to introduce our listeners to the event you're putting on. So why don't you tell us just in broad strokes about the event you just announced. Sure. Well, for, for everybody, um, uh, it's called SBT GRVL. We're fortunate to be presented by Canyon Bikes, which is, as you guys know, is based in California. And um, we, um, we wanted to put together an event, um, I have two partners in the race, a guy named Ken banished and a woman named Amy Charity. Both, um, you know, x or racers, amy, um, was on the US national team. Kenza a former, a really elite cross racer and uh, you know, the three of us all live in steamboat and, and we were really talking really a couple of days this summer saying, Gosh, you know, there's so many great races out there, but none of them are really that close to home. I mean, for us, um, for the larger races that exist. The closest one is the crusher, which is a fantastic event, but it's still a seven hours away from steamboat. And so, um, we either have to drive, you know, The Crusher in June or go out to a BWR or some of these other, um, land run these great races, but they're all pretty far away. So we had been riding gravel in steamboat for a long time. There's this amazing combination of the High Alpine with the ski area, um, and then these endless, endless, connected, um, gravel roads that support ranching and mining and an industry in Colorado and they just saw happen to come together and steamboat. And so the three of us were saying, well, look, why don't we introduced the world to our roads. Um, and so, you know, there were some other preceding a events and great introductions to too many people have the gravel roads in steamboat one in 2016. Rafa did a prestige ride in steamboat which hit 130 miles of gravel for the most part. Um, a lot across many of the same roads that we're going to have into the three courses. Um, the moots ranch rally, which has been going on to support agriculture in, in steamboat and get people out and about has been going on for a decade. And um, you know, some of the same roads are used. And so we had some good insights from some folks from, from prior years. And we started looking at courses and we started looking at what we could accomplish and you know, we came up with this really amazing combination of exploration, uh, where we can see lots of different aspects of our community or a north in the middle and then south is steamboat. Um, and then the beauty of just Colorado. And, and uh, as we got talking more and more, we said let's do it and let's put something together. And so here we are with it with SBT GRVL. That's amazing. And you decide your team decided on three different course. What are they and what was the rationale behind that? Yeah. So the three different courses, um, you know, what, one of the things, you know, I think every race has its own thing, right? And you know, I think a lot of people would would say similar things about what certain races are, what they are or who they appeal to or, or you know, what the feel or vibe was. And, and for us, we're no different. We wanted to, our race to be inviting. We want it to be engaging. We wanted it to be certainly a challenge, but what we really wanted a lot of people to be able to participate. And so, um, we put together courses that are challenging but they're fair. We've got three distances. So if, if you're, if you're new to a gravel racing or even cycling for that matter. And I think that's really important is that we've got a 37 mile course with a couple thousand feet of climbing over rolling terrain that is about 50 slash 50 gravel and road that you can do on any bike. And we saw that as a starting point. That was really, really important. Um, I think one of our jobs, if we're going to be a successful race promoter or an advocate for cycling, I'm not just gravel cycling, but cycling is to get more and more people involved. And so, um, we wanted to have something unique where, um, you know, many gravel races, it's a, it's a gravel race. You need to potentially new gravel bike or at least, uh, you know, a mount bike to participate at any level. And for this course, we wanted to make sure that if you have access to a bicycle and you want to give it a shot, you can and you can be a part of the weekends. And so that 37 mile course, we'll start with the dea with the big group, um, but about, uh, not really, only about six miles into the race, it's going to veer off to the left and the, the other two races are going to go off and hit some more challenging stuff. But we're actually really, really excited about that. That 37 mile course I'm in the middle is what we're calling sbt gravel blue. Um, and that's a 100 mile course. It's got about 6,000 feet of climbing, um, and it mirrors the black course, which is the big one for the first 85 miles. Then it veers off. And, uh, it really cuts out the back 40 miles of the, of the dig course. Um, the way that we're describing sbt gravel blue, it's, it's the best to steamboat in 100 miles. You know, it's something that most cyclists could, um, put on their calendar and, and accomplished, um, but it's not going to wipe somebody out, um, you know, for a long period of time, you know, it's going to be a fair challenge. But, um, we think a lot of people are gonna really be interested in, in that course. Um, and then, you know, the big one, spq gravel, black, um, that's a 141 miles. It's 9,000 feet of climbing and we can get into this course a little deeper. It, um, you know, this is if you really want to see what steamboat and Routt county and the surrounding communities have to offer for cycling and you're going to see it all in, in, in one day. And so, um, uh, we, we're really, really excited about it. We think it's really challenging. Um, but we think it's really fair. Um, and we think that the diversity of the terrain and what you're going to expect there is going to be really, really, really a fun different. Um, all types of variety. And uh, you know, it's all at elevation. So it's going to be really exciting. So. So, um, yeah, we can dig into that course as much as you would like, but it's going to be a, it's going to be a great one. Yeah. One hundred and 41 miles. That seems like a big chunk of work. It's interesting. We often talk with event organizers about the profile of their rides because it really is difficult to compare one type of terrain to another. I was just down doing Peloton scrabble mob in. Oh, hi. A few weeks back and that was 8,000 feet of climbing over 60 miles. I did it last year. Yeah, yeah, it was awesome. Yeah, it's so, it's so interesting to me that you can take a ride that's that much shorter in length and pack that much verdin that's similar to what we experienced here. I was just before this ride I went out for a lunch ride and I realized like, it's pretty difficult for me to do an hour around mill valley without accumulating a thousand feet of climbing. Whereas when I was on the east coast, you know, a thousand feet of climbing might be something I would get over a 60 mile ride. Right. No, totally. No, that, that's a, that's so true. I mean, the Gat gravel mob. Yeah. Going up that second section before you go into the, the really gnarly single track down hill section is, you know, you're questioning why you're still want to be out there, right? Because it, it just doesn't end right. But, um, but yeah, no, they're all different, you know, I think for our course to describe it to, to the audience and the listener, I think, um, it's, it, it, it gets a, what's the best way to put this? It's gonna wear on you. Okay. So we have a lot of climbing, you know, it's 9,000 feet of climbing, but it's not that much relatively speaking. I'm in 141 miles. Um, it's a lot but um, but it, it's spread out and then it's back heavy. So the last, um, 35 miles have about 3000 plus feet of climbing. And so I think the, the key to doing well, um, and defining well, right, whether you're racing, which, that, you know, that 10 percent of the field will be racing and 90 percent is going to be out there having a great time and just a personal accomplishment, which I think is the great thing about gravel in it in its own right. Um, but that lasts 30 miles is, is going to be tough. And so, um, we're gonna have a spg gravel sponsored gravel rides every Saturday and Sunday and steamboats starting in April. And now what we're going to be talking about with people as we dissect sections of the course, um, is that obviously pacing a nutrition are going to really important. I'm finding people that you can ride with, um, and to help you get through the day and certainly the first, um, 100 miles of the course with as much energy possible. I think going to be really important because you, um, you can and as I'm sure you've seen in the races that you've done or are your friends who have done, you can overamped in these things and get going and you know, you see, um, you know, these really fast guys up front and you say, you know what, I want to stay connected and, you know, come mile 90, you might be reconsidering. Right. Um, that whole strategy. So, um, so the lay of the land for the black is, um, you know, it, it basically goes into big circles around the north and south. The steamboat with a parallel section, the middle, that would maybe be the best way I can, I can describe it. And um, but the first 20 miles of that course though, they only have about 1500 feet of climbing, it will feel like there's a lot more. And I'm one of the roughest gravel sections, at least the way the roads were functioning this year. And they always change, you know, depending on how the winter goes. Um, but one of the roughness sections I'm coming out of the gate starts at mile seven and goes to mile 15. Um, it's called fly Gulch and um, it's got some punchy climbs. It's got some loose gravel and then it's got some silt. And so if it rains, that silt gets really mucky. If it doesn't, it gets really dusty. Um, and it causes problems. And so I think, um, there's gonna be opportunities for people to get away right away. I'm in that race, um, you know, it winds around for a little bit after that section and you hit 'em a little bit of a downhill. And then, um, we're fortunate we're going to get the racers on about four miles of private land, um, that no one ever gets to ride. I'm one of the ranchers in the community has been so generous and is offered up that a option for us. So we're gonna ride that it's going to go through his farm, it's going to go past, um, you know, in 19 forties, retired a greyhound bus. It's going to go through some really cool things and then it's going to get to really the first climbing section of the day, which is called steamboat lake. It's going to be a formal climb, um, it'll average in, you know, seven to 10 percent zone. And I think right out of the gate there, Mile Twenty five to 30, you're going to really start remembering that you're at, you know, seven thousand eight thousand feet of racing. I'm in steamboat. So, um, so that's kind of the first section of the course. Once you get to that, through that climb, you ride through some terrain, you do a long road descent, which I think a lot of people will actually appreciate when they can recover from, from, uh, really the first 35 miles will be almost exclusively on gravel. Um, and you'll get to that dissent. You'll retrace a little bit, um, and then you'll get to some really rolling ranch section. Then you'll get back into some climbing than some really fast gravel descending on, um, again, loose rocky terrain, which will, you know, make sure that you pick the right tires and the right equipment, which I think that will come into play a little bit certainly on, for this race or ride. Certainly for the descending. I don't think I'm, the tires are going to be a massive factor for riders. I'm on the flat sections or the climbing. Um, but the descending is where, um, you know, things like that are really gonna come into play. Are the writers mostly on fire roads to begin with? Yeah. Mostly, you know, and it's really, I'm not even, I wouldn't say it's defined as a fire road because you're not going up like the ski area or a big Alpine climbs, but I think it's comparative. Um, road quality to fire roads for sure. They're open gravel roads that are servicing the ranching community for the most part. So, um, vehicles can travel on those and they do, um, you might not see a car for four hours, but, but, um, that's the type of, of road. Yeah, that you would see, and then actually, once you get past this, um, this first, let's say 75 miles that I just described and the terrain shifts because you, you actually do then get out into more of an alpine environment again. Um, you go up a big climb at about mile 90, which is where I think the race is really going to separate, um, it's called Trout Creek. It's going to be about a nine mile climb. Um, it's gradual the first five or six miles and then it gets quite steep the last three and then you have this long sweeping 10 mile descent on fire road, exact description, but with really loose sections and some washboards depending on how, how the the summer goes. And so again, you're going to be tired. You're going to be four or five, six, seven hours into it by then and um, you know, then you're going to really be making, um, decisions on just how you get through that last 40 miles. So, um, so yeah, that's sort of a description of the first hundred, the last 40 miles of that steamboat gravel black. Um, the best way to describe it is that you're just going to get punched in the mouth. Um, by six or seven, one, two, two mile climbs, they're all going to be six to 10 percent. Um, some will be on the road, some will be on gravel. I'm at mile one slash 28. There's a climb called the corkscrew that's about one mile average, about 11 percent, which is going to be tough. Uh, you get outta there. You do two more clients and then need to send back into steamboat. So like I said, it's um, it's going to be challenging towards the end. Um, the, the, the riders that really have done well on nutrition and pacing, um, are going to do great. Um, everybody's going to have a great time, but it, um, it'll wear on you at the end. It sounds like it. I bet a number of my listeners are licking their lips saying this sounds awesome. And another banter shaking in their boots right now. Yeah, I think for those that are those guys that like a big challenge above climbing, they like, I'm back heavy courses, they're going to absolutely love racing it. Um, but I do think that everyone hopefully listening saying, wow, I'm going to get to see an incredible amount of steamboat and the terrain around there. It's all kinds of varied options. Um, you know, you're going to see Sam silt, rocky glass, fire roads, you know, as perfect as you can possibly get where you can make up some time or at least recover and eat and take care of yourself. And I'm the one thing that I think that we can really agree on, at least the of the steamboat residents. It's just going to be beautiful. Um, it's going to be really well supported. We're going to have the course heavily marked. Um, you're not going to get lost. You're going to have all the things that you need to get you through the day and, um, we're going to have a ton of volunteers out there. So, um, I, I think from that aspect it's going to be really, really fun. And, you know, the rider is going to be able to focus on writing, um, they're not going to have to worry about, um, a lot of those things that caused me stress. I know I always really get worried about making a wrong turn, you know, I just don't, I don't want to burn those attention units on that. Um, and we're going to do our best to make sure that doesn't happen. Everyone will have the gps of course, but um, we'll have it well marked. Um, you, we will have a ton of nutrition. You know, Google is going to be a partner for us. Um, we'll have maverick oncourse with neutral and um, and uh, it's going to be really, really fun. Now that the course distance, I've spoken about this on a number of occasions as well. It seems like you've got one camp of race organizers that are sort of tending towards this ultra distance type racing, which 140 miles I think we'd categorize there. And then the other side of it, it's a shorter, the shorter, faster races. Were there some races or types of races that you were modeling this around and said you're yourself, you know, five years from now we'd like people to be thinking of us in the category of this type of race? Yeah, yeah. Maybe I think, I think, as I said, maybe earlier that each of the races that, that we really liked doing. And I mean my, you know, my partner amy came in sixth dirty Kanza, um, this summer. My partner Ken was, I think 11th at the crusher. Um, you know, we all love dwr and are going to all race that, um, this, this spring. Um, and really love what Michael is doing there. So I think we were maybe inspired by all of those races. Just the ones that we do. The gravel mob was, was fantastic. I really had fun with that. Um, as an example. And honestly I think for us it was, we wanted something that was challenging. We didn't want something necessarily that people. I'm just bucket listed. Maybe we're, wow, I'm going to do that once and I'm never coming back. You know, we, and, and maybe some people will think that for sure, but, but we, we were more interested in having a variety of options for the racer and then maybe even, I think hopefully seeing some people say, well, this year I did a 37 mile course, next year I'll do the 100 and, and they have this big aspiration for the SBT gravel, black. But, um, I think, I think all the races are so different and their terrain so different. I think that's what makes them great. And they have these different profiles. Um, you know, if you talked with Michael Marks, he doesn't even like to have his race called a gravel race, right. You know, it's a spring classic. Um, and so, um, I think we, we tried to look at, um, the type of race that may be the three of us would want to do, right, well, you know, do we want to have our own navigation or do we want to have people telling us where to go? We all said we'd like to take that out of the equation. Right. Tell us where to go. Right. So, um, you know, do we want to have a bunch of people supporting us or not? Right. And, you know, we made a decision that we would like to, to have at least most of what you would need available oncourse and um, that's great. And you know, everybody has different versions of that. So, um, I think that the real delineation for us is that we really wanted us back in the racer, um, whether you're racing for prize money, which, you know, a lot of people have have debated if prize money should be a part of the gravel community. Um, you know, we see both sides, but we're looking at it. I'm not in changing gravel or changing the dynamic, which, you know, maybe it will do, maybe it won't, I don't, we'll have to see when our race goes, but, but we're looking at that more as investing back in eraser. We want people that are looking at doing this for a living or doing this as a, as a really, um, significant hobby, um, to potentially be rewarded for that. And so, um, you know, that was in, that was a decision that we had to make, you know what I mean. So I think for us, I'm investing back in the racer introducing people to the beauty of, of the region and then having a really strong option for people to race in the rocky mountains that had something for everybody. But those were probably, um, you know, the big motivators and you know, we'll see, you know, registration opens next week and we'll hope that a bunch of people want to want to be a part of it. And um, you know, we hope that we can come through as organizers and have a great experience for them. Yeah. I liked one of the things you said earlier, which was just you and your partner is just wanted to showcase how great a gravel riding destination steamboat is. And I think with, with that or would that origin the course is going to speak volumes, right? Because you guys live there. These are the roads do you are choosing to share with your community, which should be really excited citing for anybody from out of town to come in and participate in. Yeah, totally. And I think it's, it's really gonna be fun. I think this spring, um, you know, we hope and, and uh, are really anticipating a bunch of people once they register and are planning their calendar and how they're going to train and all of that. Um, to come and visit, you know, steamboat once or twice, you know, for, as you said, this is a, it's a long race if you're going to do the, the, the black horse and um, you know, I know for sure back to any race I've ever done. If I have familiarity with the course, I've just so much more confidence. Right? And how my day's going to go and how I plan, how I manage. And so we're hoping that on these weekends, spt gravel sponsored rides, that's a lot of people will come up, whether they're, you know, just from the front range of Denver, Boulder, um, they drive over from Salt Lake or, or they make a weekend or a week of training out of it. Um, the beauty of it is that you can get to any part of this course from downtown steamboat in about an hour and a half ride time, you know, so you can bite off, for example, if you want to come for three days and, and hit the three primary sections of spt, grab a black. You can do 3:50 mile rides from steamboat and see it all and, you know, not totally wipe yourself out, right? A couple of sections multiple times. Really get an understanding of, you know, maybe where you'll be at this point in your day and how to plan for it. And, you know, we'll have a bunch of support for those rides. I'm Amy Ken and I will be on them every weekend. Um, I think, I think for us, we think that's really, really important that, you know, the, the organizers, um, understand what's going on with the race and the course. And so, um, we're excited to have a bunch of people visit, show them around and go have a beer, have dinner with them, talk about the course and talk about steamboat. I, we, we, um, in every sense of the word. I think we want this to be an ambassador type event for our community and um, you know, really bring, um, this aspect of it. Speaking of which, what else should we expect during the weekend if we come to steamboat? Yeah, no, great question. We have a lot planned and we're racing on Sunday. Um, and that was really on purpose. We wanted people to be able to come to steamboat with their families. We didn't want to. Maybe this is the road racer in me personally, but I didn't want to have people show up late Friday, you know, get up, get your race number it on, do your race Saturday morning and go home, which is, you know, the majority of the road races I've ever done personally have gone that way. And um, we wanted people to have the ability to bring their families or bring their friends, race with their friends, um, and enjoy the weekend because there is so much to do for your family member, your spouse, your significant other, your kids in steamboat in the middle of August. It's just amazing. It's an amazing time to be, to be in this part of the country. And so, um, we've got all these things. You know, the steamboat is famous for its hot springs. It's famous for its ski area. I'm hiking, fishing, mountain biking. We're going to have an expo on Saturday. We're going to have a group ride Saturday morning, um, before that. Um, but the expo and registration or check in for the race is going to be held in conjunction with the steamboat farmer's markets. So you're going to have 150, um, food and, and other types of vendors. I'm part of our race expo where all of our sponsors and other folks that want to hang out with us and ride bikes and talk about their products and businesses are going to be, um, we're going to have, um, a symposium on a variety of topics, uh, sponsored by some folks. You know, one of the things that, um, you know, aspirationally we have is, is the parody angle of, of cycling in general. Um, and so with our race, you know, we have big goals. I'm certainly of having 50 slash 50 participation men and women. Um, we're certainly having a with our prize purses, you know, we're paying five deep to the men's and women's pro field, equal prize money. Um, we think that's really, really important. So think we're going to have some partners talking about women in sport, women in cycling. There's some other topics that are really, um, important to us that we may get to, talking to around potentially a Tbi, mental health, things of that nature. Um, at this symposium. And then certainly having a lot of our elite athletes hopefully be interviewed and, and be able to engage and talk with some of the other racers. So we'll have that all going on on Saturday. And then Sunday 6:30 sharp, we'll get off and race and you know, hopefully last finisher will come in around 9:00 PM. We'll um, we'll have a great support for people all weekend and they want to keep making it an annual thing. That's, that's really, um, at the end of the day, that's the goal is to have people come with their families and, and have a great time and then maybe come back even in the winter and now we're even linking up some winter ski benefits for all the racers that they enter. So it, uh, it's a, it's a big, it's a big a rallying cry for our community. But I think people are going to have a great time. That's great. You touched on it a little bit earlier in passing, but just just to nail it home from an equipment perspective on the black roots, you, you've mentioned sort of on some of the descents that was going to be where tire choice may come into play versus on the climbs you might be able to get away with something fairly narrow. Yeah. Yeah. I, I mean, I, I absolutely, and we say this on our website and our race or guide right now. I mean, you could get through this course on a bwr style with a, you know, a robot in 28. Um, I think it'd be very challenging to win. I'm a, or get through it as fast versus being on a road bike, you know, um, our race, it's 140, one miles, 125 of those are on grass, you know, Michael's race, which is amazing, but it's 100 miles on the road, you know, and so his, his race is certainly way more complicated from an equipment standpoint. You know, it's, I mean, I, I, I bet you, I think about his tire choice for his race most days, right? Because I just don't, there's so many different, different options and um, but for our race, you know, I think, you know, what we're recommending is, is um, you know, panel racers sponsor, so we, we think that, you know, the gravel king that they have in a 38 or the gravel King Ski, a 35 are, are probably the best ways to go, but that with, regardless of the brand that you, you know, you select, do you want a ride? Um, we think is probably right. Um, you know, there are some pretty rough desense, um, there's some really fast corners where, you know, that that sk or a Knob I'm a or tread pattern is going to really help you around those corners. Um, you know, it, it's just going to be, I think important and especially if it gets washboard, which we've seen. So, um, and there are some pretty long descents on, on gravel, so, so that's sort of the thinking there. Yeah. It's always an interesting conundrum going into a new event, trying to figure out what tire is optimized for the course that sits in front of me. Yeah. And we, you know, all of my partners and I, everyone in steamboat that rides a lot of gravel has written all these roads. I'm on 28. Um, I can tell you all of the Klms and all of the KLM is on defense and fastest times today have been on gravel tires and those are just going same exact rider, same fitness. I'm against the road bike with 28. So, um, so I, that would be our recommendation for sure. But um, you know, we'll see every, it's always interesting to see what people show up with and um, you know, the, the only thing that we're saying that, um, we, we really aren't going to want his arrow bars because there's just so much time on, on a, a mountain up and down. Um, and, and you're going to need your breaks a lot. And Man, I hope if you show up on a road bike, at least have disc brakes. That's really cool. Really. It's not mandatory, but, but man, it would be highly recommended. Well, this is a lot of great information, mark. I appreciate you joining us on the show. I think it's a great adventure. The website. Super Informative and I'll post a note to that in the show notes so everybody can go check it out. And remind me again what the url is and when the exact date of entries open up. Yeah, the url you can find us@sbtgravel.com. And a registration for general entry opens December fourth, but if you go to sbt gravel.com before the weekend, um, you can guarantee entry and get 20 percent off by opting into our email. So we're going to send, um, a, an entry code basically out, um, for everyone to get in. And then that registration for people with code is going to be actually on Monday, 7:00 AM mountain time, December third. So, um, we, we, uh, we have no idea on how fast the race has kind of fill up, but we have had a lot of interests. So we hope that people take advantage of, um, you know, the discount and get guaranteed under the race on December third. Great. And once we've got our entry, are there some social channels that we should follow to get a little sneak peeks of the course and some of the training rides if we're not local to Colorado? Yeah, absolutely. I mean we've got everything is at SBT GRVL for twitter, facebook, instagram and youtube. And um, there's actually a couple of really good videos out on the course already. Um, uh, Jason O from Gravel cyclists was out and did a really cool review of the course. He was able to prewrite it and so he put a video up on gravel cyclists.com. That's pretty cool. And um, we've got, uh, and we'll have a full analysis of every section of the course monthly, um, on our sbt gravel youtube channel. So, um, I would highly recommend checking those out. They're going to be anywhere from two to three minutes, you know, nothing too big from a time commitment standpoint, but we'll really dive into going through that course section. Talk about really what you should be thinking when you're in that section where you might be in a proximity to aid stations, the sense other support and things of that nature. So we'll really dissect the course, I think, um, some other races have done a great job. Leadville with their podcast talks about sections and we really thought that was a good idea. So we'll add some video elements to that, but it should be pretty cool. That's great. I think sharing all that information will be awesome for anybody preparing for the event. So mark, thanks again. I'll let you go. You have a good evening and you know, we look forward to talking to you again soon. No, thanks a lot. I really appreciate you having me on.

The towering limestone walls of Trout Creek Canyon make this family-friendly hike outside of Helena a must.

I am incredibly excited to bring you this week's episode with Colorado mountain athlete Justin Simoni. Last summer, Justin created a challenge he dubbed the "Tour De Highest Hundred" which was a self powered journey to and up the 100 tallest mountains in Colorado. Over 60 days he did something no one else has even attempted as he biked to trailheads, summited the mountains, ate an astonishing amount of food, and slept in the wilderness. It truly was an extraordinary feat of human endurance! In this episode we hear the tale of the Tour de Highest Hundred. What is it like to take on an adventure of this magnitude? What sort of misadventures did he have along the way? How does one train for something this intense? Justin also shares the story of his first known traverse of the Mosquito to Ten Mile Range from Trout Creek to Mt Royal. That's a total of 91 hours, 87 miles, and 30,000’+ of elevation (which are numbers that my brain can barely comprehend!!) I really hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did! I'm an absolute Colorado mountain geek and am so grateful I got to nerd out with such an accomplished mountain athlete! MORE FROM JUSTIN SIMONI: Read more about his adventures on his Blog: http://longranger.justinsimoni.com "Climbing" Article: https://www.climbing.com/news/justin-simoni-summits-colorados-100-highest-peaks-in-60-days-self-powered/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/longrangerjustin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/longrangerjustin/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/justinsimoni MORE LIKE A BIGFOOT: Subscribe and Review on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/like-a-bigfoot/id1160773293?mt=2 Soundcloud Archives: https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/likeabigfoot/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/likeabigfoot/

Wreck at Trout Creek The Story of Skeeter and Bill The Wreck at Trout Creek with Skeeter and Bill by Bill Mooney. Bill Mooney buckaroo'd on the Spanish Ranch for 4 years, I believe, in the 1970's.  The Spanish Ranch, part of the Ellison, was a big outfit, running to a million and a half acres.  Being a buckaroo can be tough work.  You ride many different horses and there is a wide variety of work to do.  Most days are spent horseback.  As a matter of fact, Bill once wrote that he mounted a horse 320 days one year.  To learn more about Bill's career as a cowboy, listen to our first podcast with him. As with many cowboys, there is a favorite horse, or a favorite story, or even a favorite boss.  Bill Mooney had all these and a whole lot more.  In the episode of Tales from the Moon Man (My nickname for this series - I just made it up right now.  Pretty quick aren't I?), Bill tells the story of the Wreck at Trout Creek with Skeeter and Bill. Long-time listeners will notice I've added a little music for dramatic effect.  It would be great to have your input on how you feel it adds or detracts from the story. If you enjoyed this story and want to read more from Bill Mooney, follow him on Facebook.  I guarantee it's a good read. Tell Us Your Problems Have a problem with your horse?  Do you have a favorite trainer you would like to hear from?  Send us your question and the name of your favorite trainer and we'll see if we can contact them and get you an answer.  Email John@whoapodcast.com or call on our message line (661) 368-5530 (toll charges may apply).

Tommie Turvey Equine Extremist Repodcast Tommie Turvey is an equine extremist.  During this Thanksgiving week, we're off enjoying time with family and working on the next podcast with buckaroo Bill Mooney.  Bill has a great story to tell about the wreck at Trout Creek.  But you'll have to wait for that great story.  I went back into the archives for a repodcast of my interview way back in 2014.  Tommie has had a fascinating life working at a bunch of different places.  He was generous with his time and I love this story.  Tommie's life and work with horses have grown since this interview.  He's been working on commercials, TV shows, and performing live.  You can check out the latest stuff at TommieTurvey.com We hope you enjoy this repodcast with equine extremist Tommie Turvey.  Be sure to check out Tommie's Facebook Page here. Tell Us Your Problems Have a problem with your horse?  Do you have a favorite trainer you would like to hear from?  Send us your question and the name of your favorite trainer and we'll see if we can contact them and get you an answer.  Email John@whoapodcast.com or call on our message line (661) 368-5530 (toll charges may apply).