Inspired by a podcast

When I was in my 20s, I bought a Volkswagen Thing. It was orange, with a removable hardtop, a three-inch body lift and larger than normal tires. It was a fun car, especially in the summer, and I was always working on it.

One day, my boss told me he was living vicariously through me (and that car). At the time, I really didn’t understand it, but now that I have more responsibilities and can’t spend all my time or money on a special-needs car, I understand where he was coming from.

This isn’t a post about old cars, but rather about podcasts, and one podcast in particular. It’s interesting how our media consumption habits change. Podcasts have been around since the very first iPod (and many people will argue that they were around as radio shows before that), but I never really got it. I think it’s because I never really found a podcast that spoke to me.

I don’t remember how, but I stumbled across a podcast called The Dirtbag Diaries. From the name, I thought it was going to be just about rock climbing, but even though I’m not a big climber, from some reason I decided to listen.

I have never come across a series that is so inspiring, and so well produced. Each time I listen to one of the podcasts, I am transported to a new part of the world, I meet new friends, and yes, I live vicariously through them.

The common thread of each episode of the Dirtbag Diaries, is that each participant is an active outdoor recreationalist. Whether it’s climbing, kayaking, surfing, skiing, the people that make up the series are passionate about their sport. But what makes the podcast so intriguing is that it is not just about sports. One episode detailed the struggle a climber had to face when his father committed suicide, another was about conservation, another was about a surfer that went on an ocean journey in a home made boat – these are just great stories, told in an awesome way.

I’m going through and listening to as many as them as I can. Early one morning this weekend, it was snowing out and so the dog and I cuddled on the couch. I loaded an episode called “The Dreamers” on the iPhone and heard a series of stories about people who have a life-long dream and what happened when they reached, or failed to reach that dream.

While I’m not going to spend the next year planning a trip to Pakistan to climb an 8,000-meter peak, this episode made me pine for adventure. As I was thinking about how cool it would be to go on a grand adventure, I remembered talking to a park ranger at a trailhead on the west end of Rocky Mountain National Park. I asked her if it was possible to hike from the west end of the park (near Grand Lake) to the east end (near Estes Park). She said it was definitely possible.

That morning, I printed a large map of Rocky Mountain National park and taped the sheets together. Before I knew it I was planning a grand adventure on a scale that I can accomplish, although it still will be challenging. Sometime next summer I’m going to hike from Grand Lake, over the Continental Divide to Estes Park. 

When I was in my 20s, I bought a Volkswagen Thing. It was orange, with a removable hardtop, a three-inch body lift and larger than normal tires. It was a fun car, especially in the summer, and I was always working on it.

One day, my boss told me he was living vicariously through me (and that car). At the time, I really didn’t understand it, but now that I have more responsibilities and can’t spend all my time or money on a special-needs car, I understand where he was coming from.

This isn’t a post about old cars, but rather about podcasts, and one podcast in particular. It’s interesting how our media consumption habits change. Podcasts have been around since the very first iPod (and many people will argue that they were around as radio shows before that), but I never really got it. I think it’s because I never really found a podcast that spoke to me.

I don’t remember how, but I stumbled across a podcast called The Dirtbag Diaries. From the name, I thought it was going to be just about rock climbing, but even though I’m not a big climber, from some reason I decided to listen.

I have never come across a series that is so inspiring, and so well produced. Each time I listen to one of the podcasts, I am transported to a new part of the world, I meet new friends, and yes, I live vicariously through them.

The common thread of each episode of the Dirtbag Diaries, is that each participant is an active outdoor recreationalist. Whether it’s climbing, kayaking, surfing, skiing, the people that make up the series are passionate about their sport. But what makes the podcast so intriguing is that it is not just about sports. One episode detailed the struggle a climber had to face when his father committed suicide, another was about conservation, another was about a surfer that went on an ocean journey in a home made boat – these are just great stories, told in an awesome way.

I’m going through and listening to as many as them as I can. Early one morning this weekend, it was snowing out and so the dog and I cuddled on the couch. I loaded an episode called “The Dreamers” on the iPhone and heard a series of stories about people who have a life-long dream and what happened when they reached, or failed to reach that dream.

While I’m not going to spend the next year planning a trip to Pakistan to climb an 8,000-meter peak, this episode made me pine for adventure. As I was thinking about how cool it would be to go on a grand adventure, I remembered talking to a park ranger at a trailhead on the west end of Rocky Mountain National Park. I asked her if it was possible to hike from the west end of the park (near Grand Lake) to the east end (near Estes Park). She said it was definitely possible.

That morning, I printed a large map of Rocky Mountain National park and taped the sheets together. Before I knew it I was planning a grand adventure on a scale that I can accomplish, although it still will be challenging. Sometime next summer I’m going to hike from Grand Lake, over the Continental Divide to Estes Park.