Today on THE ROCK FIGHT Colin & Justin kick off the show with the Outdoor Sports Draft where they take turns assembling a roster of their favorite outdoor activities that you get you to vote on! Check out Rock Fight's Instagram & LinkedIn feeds to vote or if you're listening on Spotify you can vote in the Spotify app.
Then they run through some of the latest headlines to come out of the outdoor adventure community including seasonal job cuts at the National Forest Service, a climbing mishap on Mt. Whitney and proposed thru hike through Texas.
The end the show with their Parting Shots! Colin has it in for 30-somethings while Justin would prefer his sports not be spoiled!
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to the Rock Fight
02:18 - Outdoor Sports Draft!
11:54 - Budget Cuts for the National Forest Service
18:16 - Mt. Whitney Climbers Rescued
24:47 - Proposed Texas Long-Distance Trail
29:00 - The Parting Shot!
Hurricane Helene Relief Links:
Head to www.rockfight.co and sign up for News From the Front, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter!
Please follow and subscribe to THE ROCK FIGHT and give us a 5 star rating and written review wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen to and follow Gear & Beer! The newest show on the Rock Fight Podcast Network.
Have a question or comment for a future mailbag episode? Send it to myrockfight@gmail.com or send a message on Instagram or Threads.
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Episode Transcript
Chris DeMakes
00:00:00.120 - 00:00:07.490
Rock fight rock. Fight rock fight rock fight rock fight rock flight.
Colin
00:00:08.470 - 00:00:27.810
Welcome to the rock fight, where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows, and sometimes agree to disagree. This is an outdoor podcast that aims for the head.
I'm Colin true, and joining me today, he completely endorses Dodger fans throwing stuff at the San Diego Padres in its obscene and horrible, and he should be ashamed of himself. It's Justin Housman.
Justin
00:00:28.550 - 00:00:43.094
I mean, don't defend him. I it's really easy to hate Tatis junior and Jurassic and profar. I'll just say that it's very easy to hate them.
Colin
00:00:43.182 - 00:01:24.664
All right, so later on, we're gonna be going through some interesting headlines come out of the outdoor community. But before we get to that, we got a few housekeeping items for you and programming reminders.
So, like, we ask you all the time, guys, but you know what? It works because you guys are really responding to our asking you to do this. So I'm going to continue to ask.
Please follow and rate the rock fight wherever you're listening on any podcast app. It really helps the show grow. Getting those subscribers and followers is a big deal, and getting that five star rating equally a big deal.
And you should really listen. Be listening also to gear and beer, our other podcast here on the Rock Fight podcast network. Last week, we did an episode with Shanta Saliber.
Got a lot of really good feedback on that one. Talk about her favorite backpacking items. A lot of poop talk. So if you're into poop talk, it's a kind of a good podcast.
Justin
00:01:24.712 - 00:01:26.900
Listen to my toddler. Loved that episode.
Colin
00:01:28.400 - 00:01:35.024
And now, Justin, if people want to reach out to us after they listen to all this amazing content we're making for them, what should they do?
Justin
00:01:35.192 - 00:02:03.164
Well, they should email us@myrockfightmail.com and also not or but. And head over to instagram. Follow us there at Rock Fight Co. And sign up for our newsletter on our website, Rockfight Co.
You just click right there on join the mailing list. It's a. It's a big, bright, shiny button. You can't possibly miss it. And then that means that once a week, you get Colin's bon mots.
Bon bon, bon, bon, bon mots. Bon mots. How do you say that, Colin?
Colin
00:02:03.252 - 00:02:05.140
I don't even know what you're trying to say. Is this french?
Justin
00:02:05.260 - 00:02:18.052
Yeah. You don't know? You don't. I guess it's a little. Well, you're older than me. It's an old school thing. Like thoughts, basically.
Colin's like weekly sort of thoughts, those little bone marts. I think it means, like, a little bit like, little treats.
Colin
00:02:18.156 - 00:02:56.080
Well, since we started the show talking about sports, I thought we'd have a little draft today, and I think you and I should draft a roster. Each have a team at the end of what we deem to be. I don't know if it's the best outdoor sports draft or our favorite outdoor sports.
I guess we'll just. We'll decide as we're going here, but I want to each. We're going to go back and forth, and we're going to.
We're going to draft from the categories of snow wheeled, water, trail, camping, climbing, and then wild card. And wild card can really be anything. And so it's.
We each have to pick one activity in each of those categories, and then we'll see what we have at the end, and then our listeners can vote on who has the best roster of the best outdoor sports teams.
Justin
00:02:56.160 - 00:02:58.340
Colin, there's only seven categories here.
Colin
00:02:58.520 - 00:02:59.140
Yeah.
Justin
00:02:59.260 - 00:03:01.880
So one of us is gonna have four. One of us is gonna have three.
Colin
00:03:02.340 - 00:03:05.380
Why? We're each gonna take two. We each get one in each category.
Justin
00:03:05.540 - 00:03:07.588
Oh, in each category? Yeah.
Colin
00:03:07.644 - 00:03:12.060
You have to draw. You have to draft from each one. So if you take. If you take skiing. I can't take skiing now.
Justin
00:03:12.100 - 00:03:21.516
I'm so sorry. Yeah, I understood. Where's Christian McCaffrey on this list? Justin Jefferson. On here.
Colin
00:03:21.588 - 00:03:26.140
Spin the wheel. I gotta. I gotta do a little wind spiel thing. Spin here. Thing. Like, so we can determine who drafts.
Justin
00:03:26.180 - 00:03:39.816
I was gonna ask. Yeah. How are we gonna do this? So what? So. So. Okay, so, listeners gonna determine who has best roster by voting on Instagram?
This based on things they like to do, or is this, like, what's. What's our. What's the. Let's give me some parameters for, like. Like, in theory of Victoria's team.
Colin
00:03:39.888 - 00:03:54.472
Yeah. I guess it'd be like, you know what? I'm gonna start draft, which I think are probably the sports that people actually. I don't know.
Am I gonna vote on? Yeah, I think that's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna vote based off of what I think people would be deemed to be the best, the best mix of these activities.
Justin
00:03:54.576 - 00:03:58.240
Like, if you were doing all these things, this would be the most fun. Yeah.
Colin
00:03:58.280 - 00:03:59.078
There you go.
Justin
00:03:59.224 - 00:04:03.034
Okay, so you made a little wheel, like, you took the wheel out of, like, candy Land, and you.
Colin
00:04:03.082 - 00:04:03.818
Yeah, exactly.
Justin
00:04:03.874 - 00:04:07.434
You're still playing candy land, like, once a week. Colin, you're a big. You're so big. Into that.
Colin
00:04:07.482 - 00:04:09.026
Let's go back from my candy land draft.
Justin
00:04:09.058 - 00:04:11.590
That's why we're just moderating those Reddit forums.
Colin
00:04:12.170 - 00:04:14.930
Okay. Okay. So I got a little wheel of fortune there.
Justin
00:04:14.970 - 00:04:17.170
Oh, it's on your phone. Okay. Okay, that's you.
Colin
00:04:17.290 - 00:04:18.882
No, you get first pick.
Justin
00:04:18.946 - 00:04:21.538
Oh, wow. Just eked in there. Okay. So.
Colin
00:04:21.554 - 00:04:25.730
And you can pick. You don't have to go in the order I have it. And you can pick whatever category you want to pick first.
Justin
00:04:25.810 - 00:04:48.280
Okay, so I guess I'll go water. Well, I was gonna. Yeah, surfing. I'm going surfing. I mean, it's the coolest one whole plan. Well, you fucked it up. You should have won this.
You should have won this. You, you know, should have got. Should've gone first. Colin, that.
That wheel that you spun on your phone, I don't know if you saw, but there was a little dis, like a little asterisk at the bottom, so it actually bases that on handsomeness of the people looking at the screen.
Colin
00:04:48.820 - 00:04:51.228
It looked. It saw you. It's like, oh, my God. Well, that guy, obviously.
Justin
00:04:51.284 - 00:04:52.440
Yeah, that guy goes first.
Colin
00:04:52.990 - 00:04:56.170
All right, all right. Well, now I've got to rethink everything here.
Justin
00:04:56.910 - 00:04:59.686
This is like the real NFL war room. It's a big deal.
Colin
00:04:59.758 - 00:05:05.150
Despite what I was gonna do, I will go wheeled, and I will take mountain biking.
Justin
00:05:05.190 - 00:05:06.182
All right. All right.
Colin
00:05:06.286 - 00:05:17.270
I had a real crazy one there just to kind of, like, spice up my list, but now I feel like. I feel like I need that sort of anchor. Like, look, everybody, mountain bikes. You could go gravel if you want, but I think I'm going mountain biking.
Justin
00:05:17.310 - 00:05:18.908
Okay, that's good. That's good.
Colin
00:05:19.094 - 00:05:19.552
Yeah.
Justin
00:05:19.616 - 00:05:30.848
All right, I guess I'll go. Gosh, is this boring? You know what? Okay. All right. I'm going to go, like, out of crazy left field. Ready?
Colin
00:05:30.944 - 00:05:31.736
Okay. Yeah.
Justin
00:05:31.768 - 00:05:32.700
Wild card.
Colin
00:05:34.520 - 00:05:38.016
You're just. You're good at this already. I'm nervous now. Go ahead.
Justin
00:05:38.088 - 00:05:39.104
Base jumping.
Colin
00:05:39.272 - 00:05:41.728
Oh, did not see that coming.
Justin
00:05:41.784 - 00:05:46.820
That's why it's a wild card. I'm going for the point break enthusiast roster.
Colin
00:05:48.640 - 00:05:56.024
You know? But here's the thing, like, so you know this, by taking a wild card early, that.
That allows me to kind of slot in here and just continue to, you know.
Justin
00:05:56.072 - 00:05:56.624
That's true.
Colin
00:05:56.712 - 00:05:56.912
That's.
Justin
00:05:56.936 - 00:05:57.360
Okay.
Colin
00:05:57.440 - 00:06:01.768
I got excited, and. And in camping, I'm gonna take backpacking.
Justin
00:06:01.864 - 00:06:12.330
You put that as. Okay, interesting. I was sure. I was curious if that was gonna be trail or camping. Okay, that's. I. That's what I was gonna pick.
That's why I was like, is this boring, but yeah.
Colin
00:06:12.410 - 00:06:15.370
My goal was to get backpacking and surfing and have you get all my.
Justin
00:06:15.410 - 00:06:17.466
Fun things, all the things I like to do.
Colin
00:06:17.578 - 00:06:17.962
Yeah.
Justin
00:06:18.026 - 00:06:25.470
Okay. All right, my turn. Yeah. Okay. Wheeled. And this is obvious. This is obvious. What do you think I'm gonna pick?
Colin
00:06:25.930 - 00:06:26.986
I would assume gravel.
Justin
00:06:27.058 - 00:06:28.818
No. Well, okay.
Colin
00:06:28.914 - 00:06:29.602
Inline skating.
Justin
00:06:29.666 - 00:06:31.754
No, overlanding.
Colin
00:06:31.802 - 00:06:32.530
Not inline skating.
Justin
00:06:32.570 - 00:06:33.738
One wheel over landing.
Colin
00:06:33.794 - 00:06:34.754
Oh, that's really good.
Justin
00:06:34.802 - 00:06:39.302
Yeah, really. Or just off roading in general, but I guess over landing is gonna take that.
Colin
00:06:39.386 - 00:06:41.358
All right. In trail. I'm going to take trail running.
Justin
00:06:41.414 - 00:06:49.622
Nobody likes trail running, so that's perfect. I mean, just skiing count as just one thing. Skiing.
Colin
00:06:49.726 - 00:06:51.510
Yeah, you could do. Well, that could be your snow pick.
Justin
00:06:51.550 - 00:06:57.966
Well, that's what I mean. But, like, that's like. So, I mean, I like surfing is just surfing. I mean, big wave surfing, I guess, is part of it, but, like, skiing, it's like.
Colin
00:06:57.998 - 00:06:58.646
Right.
Justin
00:06:58.838 - 00:07:02.238
I mean, do I have to pick an aspect of skiing because I want to pick skiing?
Colin
00:07:02.374 - 00:07:05.046
Well, there's a lot of different snow sports, so it could be anything done on snow.
Justin
00:07:05.078 - 00:07:06.410
All right, we'll ski. Ski.
Colin
00:07:06.950 - 00:07:10.702
All right, Justin, to skiing. Any particular form of skiing?
Justin
00:07:10.726 - 00:07:18.662
That's what I'm just asking you about. Like. Like, do I need to have a clarifier? If, so, if you. I'm just gonna. So I'm gonna straight up say just resort skiing because I don't think most.
Colin
00:07:18.686 - 00:07:26.214
People want to go back. Playing to the fans, basically. Yeah. All right, I'll go in water and I'll take sea kayaking.
Justin
00:07:26.302 - 00:07:26.942
Ooh.
Colin
00:07:27.086 - 00:07:30.742
Yeah. I still like sea kayaking. I still would like to get another sea kayak. It's been too long.
Justin
00:07:30.806 - 00:07:38.136
Okay, I still need, you need climbing, climbing, camping, and trail. All right.
Colin
00:07:38.168 - 00:07:38.472
Yep.
Justin
00:07:38.536 - 00:07:51.424
Okay. Um, I've already, already regret my wild card choice, I guess, for. I'll do climbing, and I'm just gonna go full on mountaineering.
Colin
00:07:51.552 - 00:07:54.160
Oh, okay. Damn it. It's like alpinism.
Justin
00:07:54.240 - 00:07:55.624
Yeah, alpinism. Thank you.
Colin
00:07:55.712 - 00:08:04.358
That's what I was gonna do for snow. Well, damn it. I'll stay in climbing, then I'll take bouldering because I would like, I like. I was going to do bouldering anyway.
Justin
00:08:04.534 - 00:08:07.726
Okay. And then I'll do orienteering for trail.
Colin
00:08:07.838 - 00:08:09.502
Ooh, that's a good one.
Justin
00:08:09.566 - 00:08:17.958
Even though that's probably more of an off trail activity. I'm going to put it. I'm going to consider, or, you know, fuck it. You know what? No, no, I'm not, I'm not. I'm sorry. I'm going to take it back.
Can I take it back.
Colin
00:08:18.054 - 00:08:18.446
Yeah, sure.
Justin
00:08:18.478 - 00:08:20.450
Go ahead. Straight up. Straight up. Hiking.
Colin
00:08:20.750 - 00:08:21.206
Hiking.
Justin
00:08:21.238 - 00:08:22.190
Just regular old hiking.
Colin
00:08:22.230 - 00:08:23.334
Gotta peel to the masses there.
Justin
00:08:23.382 - 00:08:24.010
Yeah.
Colin
00:08:24.510 - 00:08:28.054
Wait a minute. I'm missing snow and wildcard. You've got to be missing at least one more thing.
Justin
00:08:28.102 - 00:08:28.566
Climbing.
Colin
00:08:28.638 - 00:08:29.662
No, you did alpinism.
Justin
00:08:29.766 - 00:08:30.334
Camping.
Colin
00:08:30.422 - 00:08:44.230
Camping. That's it. Yep. All right, so, uh. So, all right, so I have two left. I have wild card and snow. For snow. I'll go back. I'll do backcountry skiing.
That way we can pit back country skiing against resort skiing. And then you have camping.
Justin
00:08:44.270 - 00:08:48.718
Camping. I think it's gotta be. It's gotta be wood splitting.
Colin
00:08:48.774 - 00:08:49.134
What?
Justin
00:08:49.222 - 00:08:49.422
Yeah.
Colin
00:08:49.446 - 00:08:50.174
What is that?
Justin
00:08:50.302 - 00:08:51.454
Splitting wood with an axe.
Colin
00:08:51.502 - 00:08:53.414
But that's a form of camping.
Justin
00:08:53.462 - 00:08:56.872
Sure. You gotta make a fire. What else is it gonna. What? I mean, what else can you.
Colin
00:08:56.936 - 00:09:04.960
Oh, I was thinking more like car camping. You know, glamping, sports, sleeping. Well, it's an active. It's out.
Justin
00:09:05.000 - 00:09:07.140
Okay, all right, all right, all right, all right.
Colin
00:09:08.160 - 00:09:09.200
Wood splitting is good, though.
Justin
00:09:09.240 - 00:09:12.976
Yeah. I mean, I already said overlanding, which kind of counts as car camping.
Colin
00:09:13.008 - 00:09:16.016
Yeah, that's really good. That's a good one for wheeled cowboy camping.
Justin
00:09:16.048 - 00:09:21.940
Can't count as a. Some kind of camping. All right, fuck it. You know what? I'll just do that. Actually, no, no, I want to do. I want to do horse packing.
Colin
00:09:22.290 - 00:09:23.346
Oh, that's a good one.
Justin
00:09:23.378 - 00:09:28.714
Yeah, I'm reading. Have we talked about this yet? I'm reading. I'm reading the pony Express book.
Colin
00:09:28.802 - 00:09:29.642
Oh, that's a great book, dude.
Justin
00:09:29.666 - 00:09:31.154
It's great. It's so good.
Colin
00:09:31.202 - 00:09:33.354
He's awesome. He was on the show last year, Will.
Justin
00:09:33.402 - 00:09:35.554
That's right. Really, really good. Yeah, really, really good.
Colin
00:09:35.602 - 00:09:38.498
Yeah, he's in the Kazakhstan doing some crazy thing now or something.
Justin
00:09:38.634 - 00:09:40.990
Is he doing the headless goat?
Colin
00:09:41.290 - 00:09:44.738
Yeah, whatever. That weird sport they all do on horses or. Yeah, yeah.
Justin
00:09:44.794 - 00:09:45.122
Wild.
Colin
00:09:45.186 - 00:09:47.610
All right, for my last pick for wild card, I'm gonna do skimboarding.
Justin
00:09:47.650 - 00:09:49.790
Oh, that's cool. That's good.
Colin
00:09:50.770 - 00:10:08.346
All right, so here's our roster for the outdoor draft picks we got. All right, so for water, you have surfing, wheeled over, landing.
Wild card, you have base jumping for trail hiking, camping, horse packing and snow, resort skiing and climbing. Alpinism.
Justin
00:10:08.498 - 00:10:15.110
I really should have picked fly fishing for wild card. That was stupid. Oh, base jumping just seemed cool.
Colin
00:10:15.450 - 00:10:16.114
It is cool.
Justin
00:10:16.162 - 00:10:18.074
Yeah. I'm never gonna do it, but it.
Colin
00:10:18.082 - 00:10:36.730
Seems cool for mine. And water, I have sea kayaking and wheeled. I have mountain biking, wild card. I did skimboarding, trail trail running, camping, backpacking.
My snow sport was backcountry skiing. And for climbing, I did bouldering. So we'll put that up on Instagram and LinkedIn and people can vote. Who has the best roster of outdoor sport?
That was fun. We gotta do more stuff.
Justin
00:10:36.770 - 00:10:40.642
I love that. I mean, they're both pretty solid. Both teams are pretty solid.
Colin
00:10:40.666 - 00:10:41.210
It was a good list.
Justin
00:10:41.250 - 00:10:41.538
Yeah.
Colin
00:10:41.594 - 00:10:47.430
Yeah, this is good. This is going to lead up to us doing our outdoor town draft. We'll bring a few other people on here to do that with us. That'll be good.
Justin
00:10:47.510 - 00:10:47.934
Love it.
Colin
00:10:47.982 - 00:11:51.968
All right, so before we get into some headlines, we're going to use the time that we typically talk about our friends at Darby communications to check in on Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
Darby is open for business and ready to help with all of our pr needs, but as an Asheville, North Carolina based business like the rest of the Southeast, they are dealing with the impact of this historic storm.
They are also, though, soliciting outdoor writers and media folks to reach out to try and tell more stories about what's happening in the southeast beyond. Just like we talked about here in the show last week. What's happening on the AT.
There's so much that's going to be impacted from a tourism point of view and from an adventure point of view that they would like to hear from you or, or there's other resources out there if you'd like to go a different route.
In the show notes of this episode, you're going to find resources for how you can help out as well as a GoFundMe for Bubba O'Leary's, which is an outdoor specialty shop in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, that was destroyed during the storm.
So if you have the means, please consider giving a little either to that GoFundMe or from the variety of other support relief efforts that you'll find in those links and that are going to be going ongoing for a while. So thanks for your help and thanks for supporting the folks during this trying time.
Justin
00:11:52.024 - 00:11:53.020
Yeah, thanks, guys.
Colin
00:11:54.960 - 00:12:26.864
A couple of headlines. First one which I'm very excited to hear what you have to say about this.
According to NBC News, the National Forest Service says it will not hire seasonal employees in the next year because of expected cuts to its budget. This news comes as summers are getting hotter and the wildfire season is getting longer.
The lack of seasonal hires next year will not affect the agency's ability to respond to wildfires, officials say, but it could affect trail maintenance, fisheries, recreation services, engineering and surveying. I'm just going to step out now and let Justin speak on this.
Justin
00:12:27.032 - 00:12:37.064
So I, I've been kind of vocal about not paying attention to the news for a while. I don't know if I've been, I've.
Colin
00:12:37.072 - 00:12:38.088
Been right there with vocal about it.
Justin
00:12:38.104 - 00:14:13.984
On this show or not. But I used to be a news hound in terms of national news, and I'd be very up to date on whatever gaffe any presidential candidate had said or done.
I'd know exactly what was going on with Israel and Gaza right now. I'd be able to tell you the front lines of the war in Ukraine, all that sort of stuff.
And I just stopped because I'm a much happier person for not knowing these sorts of things or even really thinking about it or caring about. There's nothing I can do. I pay attention to the local weather. I pay attention to local things that actually impact my life on a daily basis.
Point of saying all of that is I am shocked that I didn't know this until, until today.
This seems like a big deal, but when I saw the outline, I looked it up and I was reading into it and I don't know, understand enough about how our government really, truly works to fathom how this is even, like, a possible thing. I don't understand why one pot can't draw from another pot. It doesn't make any sense to me.
But why we would, I mean, we just passed some of the biggest budgets for public land spending ever. How was this a thing? Like, the economy, the stock market's killing it. How is this a thing? Like, where is the money supposed to come?
Where does it normally come from that it's not. I get it if it's like a massive downturn or, like a government shutdown, but, like, what? This just to me is just like, major, major.
I mean, who's going to cut the budget for the forest service and why, you know, and, like, why are they cutting it for things like this? It's bizarre.
Colin
00:14:14.032 - 00:14:27.412
This stuff is typically, like, non partisan. Like, there's bipartisan support, typically for outdoor pursuits, for forest service, for national parks.
All of those things are typically, is the one topic that sort of bridges the divide in Washington.
Justin
00:14:27.476 - 00:15:02.788
I mean, trail maintenance, fisheries, recreational services. I mean, these are like, everybody knows how big of a deal the outdoor industry is to, like, the country's bottom line at this point.
What a weird, weird, weird thing to cut. I'd be curious if this trickles over into anything else. Like, is this going to go, is National Park Service also struggling?
Like, is this, is it just a forest service? And, like, I just feel like I've never heard anything like this before. I mean, maybe this happens all the time, but I'm blown away.
And there goes my plan to be like a backcountry, you know, forest service ranger over the winter.
Colin
00:15:02.884 - 00:15:14.640
You know, what if that was, that was my question. Like typically aren't there campgrounds and forest services and aren't they like staffed by folks who manage those?
Is that, does that include folks like that? I mean, like I said, I don't know all the details in this article.
Justin
00:15:15.140 - 00:15:18.064
Does Forest Service manage its own campgrounds?
Colin
00:15:18.212 - 00:15:19.632
No, of course it does.
Justin
00:15:19.656 - 00:16:31.822
Of course it does. Of course it does. But yeah, I don't know.
I mean, like campground hosts aren't paid typically, but a lot of times these things are like farmed off to concessionaires. So, you know, you'll be camping somewhere in like, you know, mid Sierra Limited will like come by to pick up the garbage or whatever.
Cause they've the, you know, the feds have farmed it out. So I don't know about that sort of thing.
But I mean, if it says it's going to impact like fisheries and trail maintenance and stuff, I mean, those are big, that's a big deal. Like that means trail crews, they're not going to be there to help like presumably like, like dig out after winter storms and stuff like that.
So that could mean a lot depending on where, where it is, that can mean a lot of like trails that are either inaccessible or just messed up. That makes it harder to use fisheries stuff.
You know, who knows how that's going to work if that means they're like not going to stock, does that mean they're like laying off fish biologists or not hiring? I mean, I don't know what a seasonal fisheries employee does. Probably does. Maybe they do survey stuff for, I mean, this is all speculation.
Maybe they do survey stuff to see, you know, the health of fisheries in different places. I don't know, but yeah, this really sucks.
I don't really get it and I want to dig more into it and maybe we should try to talk to somebody at the Forest Service exactly what's going on.
Colin
00:16:32.006 - 00:17:27.435
The thing that, to your point about, I don't get it. Right.
Like if you take another issue, like there's so many issues that we talk about in the, in the news cycle and I'm, I, like you tend to not pay as much attention as I used to where I don't condone what's happening, but I understand it, like homelessness, for example. Right? Like we could probably write a check right now and solve homelessness, but we won't do it. Cause it's good political fodder on both sides.
Like, all that stuff. The most cynical way to look at it.
Some things never get solved because we won't let them get solved because it's a way for people to keep getting reelected and all that kind of stuff. I don't understand this. Who benefits from. I mean, not even just the wildfire part, like all the other, even small, the fisheries.
Like, how many fisheries are just visited on annual basis by people? Like, let's go catch some fish. I'm gonna take my kids, go fishing. Like, all these kinds of things that, like, you just. And it just happens.
So to just say, yeah, you know, no seasonal workers next year don't have the money is mind boggling to me.
Justin
00:17:27.467 - 00:17:31.195
I just don't understand. I'm just really curious why the budget's gonna shrink.
Colin
00:17:31.307 - 00:17:44.166
I might reach out to a few folks that we know, maybe the outdoor rec round table or just even some other people connected there who might be able to refer us to somebody to have on, because this is a, this is just, it's a large bummer. Even if there's something that makes sense, it's still a bummer. Well, yeah, I'm curious to know more.
Justin
00:17:44.198 - 00:18:07.694
I mean, it's like, we're all stoked because, like, the, you know, the infrastructure bill, like, put a lot of money toward recreation, that sort of stuff. I think they did. I mean, I'm sure they hired a bunch of people. Maybe they hired too many.
But it's, it's, it's just, it's like, can we just celebrate a win without it having to be, like, two years later? Like, oh, actually, you know, you know, now it's no seasonal hires, and next. Next year it's actual layoffs of, like, rangers and stuff.
Colin
00:18:07.742 - 00:18:11.778
Maybe with this move into a let it burn model, like, honestly, maybe that.
Justin
00:18:11.794 - 00:18:14.626
Was just like, you know what? Just give it back. We're just giving it back.
Colin
00:18:14.738 - 00:18:20.666
All right, well, we'll keep an eye on that one. The next story I had was, per adventure. That's adventure with no e. They couldn't have two.
Justin
00:18:20.698 - 00:18:23.450
You can't have two e's in adventure.com. apparently.
Colin
00:18:23.570 - 00:19:15.762
Right there are. There is an event, another adventure with an e.
Clearly two climbers became stuck while attempting an eleven pitch climb on Mount Whitney here in California in the Sierra and had to wait over 18 hours for a rescue. So the party was 5 hours into their climb, but only three pitches up on September 21 when they decided to call for help.
They felt they were in over their head at that time. They had bailed into a cooler and attempted to descend, with one member of the party left dangling at the end of the rope.
When they called for help after an attempted rappel didn't work out and they couldn't get back up the rope, search and rescue attempted to talk them through getting down on their own, but they weren't comfortable and they just waited for the rescue. You know, I don't know if this is wrong, but given the happy ending, I'm like, this is kind of awesome. Like, this is a great adventure story.
Like, you know, everything's okay. They worked out. They're not hurt. Like, just, they're gonna, like, die in this forever, aren't they?
Justin
00:19:15.826 - 00:19:26.790
I mean, what's interesting about something like this is obviously the outcome is good, right? You don't want people dying if you can help it. But it's also crazy to think about how, you know, 20 years ago, they're dead.
Colin
00:19:27.850 - 00:19:28.490
Yeah.
Justin
00:19:28.610 - 00:19:31.522
You know, most likely no cell phones. Yeah. Like, or not.
Colin
00:19:31.586 - 00:19:32.810
Or at least one of them is. Right.
Justin
00:19:32.850 - 00:20:34.542
Yeah. Or like, no, no, you know, no, no, like, in reach or something to send like, an emergency message to somebody. Yeah.
And you do have to, like, is this one of those, you know, is this one of those situations wherever. I mean, if it took him 5 hours to get up three pitches of an eleven pitch climb, like, are they not. They're not.
Are they not technically skilled enough for this?
And, like, if one of them is, I mean, I would assume that, like, dangling at the end of a rope during a rappel probably doesn't happen very often to, like, really good, like, experienced climbers.
So you do kind of wonder if this is what is this one of those situations that people kind of warn about with, like, such, like, easy access to search and rescue communication equipment? Like, is it giving people a false sense of security? You know, like, you're a situation to where, like, again, these people would have been.
Would have at least one of them, but probably both would have died, you know, like, before the advent of this technology, you know, and so, like, is it getting people, is it letting people go in places they probably shouldn't otherwise, they probably, you know, I don't know.
Colin
00:20:34.686 - 00:21:22.492
We don't. Again, we'd like to learn more here. Yeah, we need to learn a little bit more. I think, though, this is one where it seems like it's probably legit.
It was a five seven climb, so, like, relatively speaking, like an easier climb if you're taking something like this on where, you know, you're going up eleven pitches. You must have some level of technical proficiency, right? You have.
You would assume, I think, that the ones that usually get under my skin of what kind of what you're talking about are the people who are like, you know, they hike up. They're the ones with, like, you know, the spring water bottle or whatever. They get plastic bottle, and they're, like, 2 miles in.
Like, oh, man, this is really hard. Can someone come and get me? You know, and they call for a rescue. You know?
Maybe this just maybe they thought they were ready for something like this and they just weren't. I mean, the only thing in the article that made me give me pause, like, oh, that probably wasn't a good idea, was they started at, like, 10:00 a.m.
for an eleven pitch climb.
Justin
00:21:22.556 - 00:21:27.708
Okay, see, I mean, I've been there. I mean, I don't climb.
Colin
00:21:27.804 - 00:21:36.316
But what if we don't even know the ages? If they're, like, 19, I could totally see them doing that. As that, like, ah, we'll be all right. Totally. Just false confidence.
Justin
00:21:36.388 - 00:22:22.440
Yeah. I mean, I don't know. And I also don't even know, like, is it bad to be able to get rescued? Like, it's not. I'm not.
I don't mean to, like, cast judgment on it. Like, maybe it's. Yeah, maybe it's kind of awesome to be able to put yourself in positions. Like, oh, that didn't work.
And you just call for help, you know? Like, maybe. I don't know. It's expensive. I know that much.
You know, I don't think California makes you pay for this yet, but I remember this happened in, like, New Hampshire last year. We probably talked about on the show, like, teenagers or whatever, that, like, got, like, lost or panicked and they.
And they called for help and people were like, well, you gotta pay, or whatever, you know? It's like, I still think. I still think the moment from can I get out of this? To, like, hitting the so's button.
Like, that has gotta be such a heavy thing to do. Like, I'm so.
Colin
00:22:22.600 - 00:22:23.776
Am I really doing this?
Justin
00:22:23.808 - 00:22:38.328
I still think I would probably die because I would be. To me, like, pushing the so's button would be like, admitting that I might die. Like. Like, my brain needs to feel like this is gonna be okay.
I'm overreacting. Like, my brain needs that. And so if I'm like, especially if.
Colin
00:22:38.344 - 00:22:44.892
You'Re, like, fine physical shape at that moment, too, it's not like you have a broken leg. Or something. You're like, well, I definitely need help, right? Yeah.
Justin
00:22:44.916 - 00:23:12.344
Yeah. Like, I'm like, okay. I'm like, I'm hopelessly lost or I'm trapped in this cave or whatever it is.
And, like, there's hitting, so's is basically admitting that I can't do it. And that means that's, like, the worst thing in the world to me. Like, giving up that kind of control where you're just like, oh, shit.
Well, if I don't push this, I'm gonna die.
Like, I think I would die of starvation before I push it, because somehow pushing it would confirm that I might die of starvation, if that makes sense. That would be my struggle.
Colin
00:23:12.432 - 00:23:14.176
Can you imagine, though, they find me.
Justin
00:23:14.288 - 00:23:18.700
With one hand on that in reach and the other hand so closely your finger over the.
Colin
00:23:22.040 - 00:23:46.644
I do think of, and I cannot relate to this. I've only ever top roped outside, so I'm not sure. I've never been in a situation like this, but I have just.
Even when I'm rappelling off the top of a climbing indoor climbing wall, like, wall, and you're like, man, this is really uncomfortable with the harness around your junk, around your legs or whatever. How numb was this person's legs? 18 hours hanging in a harness.
Justin
00:23:46.732 - 00:23:47.760
Oh, my gosh.
Colin
00:23:48.540 - 00:23:50.600
Maybe there is some long term damage there.
Justin
00:23:50.940 - 00:23:56.316
I didn't even think about that. God, that would suck. Just dangling, that would suck. At least it was.
Colin
00:23:56.388 - 00:23:57.836
18 hours is a long time.
Justin
00:23:57.868 - 00:24:14.094
Yeah, I mean, it's been warm lately, so at least it wasn't like, it wasn't like a winter climb. How'd they get that? Yeah, it's all I love. They were able to somehow try and talk them, like, what's. How do you talk someone out of that situation?
Pull up heart. Like, climb that. Like, learn how to climb a rope. Like, be stronger. Like, how are you?
Colin
00:24:14.142 - 00:24:17.894
It's almost like an SNL sketch. Like, they're like, chad, like, listen, just pull up on the rope.
Justin
00:24:17.982 - 00:24:30.578
I told them to pull up on the rope. Oh, man. It would be. It would be kind of fun and chilling to be able to listen to some of these, like, dispatch things, you know?
Like, I'm fucking scared. You know?
Colin
00:24:30.634 - 00:24:44.306
Like, I like to believe that, like, these things that the holiday party, they, like, do the silliest things that happened the past year, but, like, they can't actually do that, but, like. Like, oh, yeah. And, bill, I got the call from the person hanging from the rope from 18 hours. Bill, tell us about what happened on that call.
Justin
00:24:44.378 - 00:24:45.610
Oh, yeah, I love that.
Colin
00:24:45.730 - 00:25:38.456
All right, last story we got is.
According to the trek Co, a Texas state representative has proposed a new 1500 miles long distance trailhead that runs from the plains in the east of Texas to the rugged terrain in the west and culminating on Mount Guadalupe, the highest point in the state.
The trails visionary also poses the XTX, which is the name for the trail, as a footpath where users not only test their endurance, but also immerse themselves in Texas culture, from small towns with rich histories to natural wonders like Big Bend National Park. I think this is cool. They kind of had me with the small town piece of it. Like, I don't know much about Texas.
I visited Texas and we're going to go there probably for a trade show in a couple of months.
But, like, the idea of like, starting sort of in that eastern part where it's probably more humid and like, the plains and going the whole way across that massive state. 1500 miles in one state, that sounds really cool and kind of interesting. So I thought this is an interesting.
Justin
00:25:38.528 - 00:27:16.470
I'm a huge fan of anything like this. I mean, I still think that if I could somehow, you know, not. I don't know how long it would take, but if I.
If I could just be like, peace out for like two years, right, and not have to do anything, I would walk across the country. Like, I think that would be so freaky. I would love that. And so, like, this kind of thing to me is awesome. I mean, there's a.
I don't know if it has a formal name for it or not, but there's. There's like a trail that theoretically runs like the beach of California.
And like, you know, half the time you're on a road, you know, and like, because it's, you know, PCH is like on the cliffs, you know, in a lot of southern California. And I love the idea of reclaiming, like, spaces for walking.
That to me is so rad and so, and like, just reconnecting with making a journey that people would have done on foot in the past, I think is really, really cool. I mean, that's one of the reasons I love that pony express book so much, is just like the slow pace of just.
I mean, I don't even like hiking and mountain biking. You get a little taste of that.
Like, if you're hiking around an area that you know fairly well and you're just not on the road, you know, you're like, oh, this is what it looks like in these hills. This is. This is what it feels like to move across the same space but slower. I think something like that is great. I mean, I would.
I would love to do that in California. You know, it was especially. It would be especially cool to have an east west one here. And for all I know, we do, you know, where it's like.
And we might, you know, starts in San Francisco and ends at Yosemite. You know, like, that would be amazing.
You know, you'd burn to death or freeze to death in the valley, depending on when you went and you die of boredom in the valley. But. But that would be awesome. I mean, what a great way to see a place. This is great. Every state should have its own through hike through the.
Across the entire state.
Colin
00:27:16.780 - 00:27:49.382
That's actually. There's the initiative. Right. Because I think that's the.
At this point in my life, like, I put in our outline, would you rather do, like a long trail through hike or something like this? And for me, it's something like this because of that. Like, I. I'd be interested to know more, like, Texas is kind of.
Especially if someone living in California, kind of a divisive state. There's a lot of opinions about Texas.
Like, that'd be interesting to kind of pass through small towns while also getting the hike and do the nature and backcountry aspect of it. But to kind of learn a little bit something about some place that I don't know much about or.
Yeah, to your point about doing it here, I just think, yeah, I hope this goes through. I hope they're able to develop this because that sounds like a. I think a really interesting idea.
Justin
00:27:49.446 - 00:28:09.170
Yeah. I mean, for all. I mean, it's like, this is probably, you know, who's gonna do it. You know, also, you can.
You can sound like you couldn't do this anyway, but presumably it will go through private land and you have to deal with that. It's probably a lot of that in Texas. That could be a huge issue. But, yeah, I think every state, that should be somebody.
That should be some congressperson's thing. Like, every state gets. It gets a through trail.
Colin
00:28:10.690 - 00:29:00.476
This episode of the Rockfit is brought to you by the great Malden Outdoors, an outdoor enablement campaign in the city of Malden, Massachusetts. For far too long, the outdoor industry has struggled with how to address the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
And the great Malden Outdoors is providing concrete action that outdoor brands and retailers can take to make a real difference. Located just outside of Boston, Malden, Massachusetts is culturally diverse with an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities.
And they're seeking the assistance of outdoor brands and retailers.
If you work at an outdoor brand or at a retail shop, they're looking for donations, looking for your product, maybe your time, definitely some of your money. Head to thegreatbaldenoutdoors.com and click contact to reach out and start a partnership today. All right, it's time for the parting shot.
Chris DeMakes
00:29:00.548 - 00:29:06.122
It's time to end. It's time to leave this place that town forgot.
Colin
00:29:06.276 - 00:29:08.930
Take our rock and head on home.
Chris DeMakes
00:29:09.390 - 00:29:11.910
It's time for our party shot.
Colin
00:29:12.070 - 00:29:13.470
So you want me to go first?
Justin
00:29:13.510 - 00:29:14.422
Yeah, you do it.
Colin
00:29:14.566 - 00:29:14.886
Okay.
Justin
00:29:14.918 - 00:29:15.246
Fire away.
Colin
00:29:15.278 - 00:29:18.782
So my parting shot today is for people in their thirties.
Justin
00:29:18.886 - 00:29:19.118
All right?
Colin
00:29:19.134 - 00:29:59.772
I just turned 49. My children are very happy to remind me every day. I'm almost 50 and I'm truly tired of listening to people in their thirties.
And I speak from reflection on myself in my thirties.
But most people out there who are offering advice, whether it's parenting advice, lifestyle advice, health advice, they seem to be in their thirties and think they know enough or they've acquired some wisdom over the course of their life to offer it to other folks. But you really don't have things figured out yet.
In your thirties, you feel like you do because it's the first decade where you actually have some real life knowledge that's coming out of your twenties. When you're twenties, I think you might actually be dumber in your twenties than you probably were when you were, like, a teenager.
Teenager just didn't know for sure. True, right?
Justin
00:29:59.856 - 00:30:00.876
That is for sure true.
Colin
00:30:00.988 - 00:30:43.930
You have bad. You have, like, arrogant knowledge in your 20s. You think you really know something. You know nothing. And the thirties are only slightly better.
Cause you haven't really had to deal with things yet, like health issues or make any really hard parenting decisions yet. You may think that your dog is gonna live forever. Still at that point, it's not. Spoiler warning. Sorry.
And if you're fit and you're offering exercise advice, you probably have have always been fit. So I think the most dangerous part about being in your thirties is you really do think you have it figured out.
Because you can look back on your twenties and know that you're smarter than you were then. But then what you do is you find out. When you get to your forties, you didn't really know a whole lot in your thirties either.
So the people in your thirties, I would tell you to settle down, but you're not gonna listen to me. And that's why my parting shot is for you. I'll go back to my couch now as the old man.
Justin
00:30:44.430 - 00:30:50.054
I mean, who doesn't realize every year that, like, you know, we need to venerate older people a lot more in this country.
Colin
00:30:50.102 - 00:30:57.138
Cause, you know, at this point, through my four, now, I'm in my fifties. Like, God, man, I'll just be even better in my fifties, I guess, for sure.
Justin
00:30:57.214 - 00:31:41.778
So we've already done spoilers, but we haven't done sports spoilers. And Colin. You're Colin. You know how I feel about this. Here's the thing, folks. It's 2024. Not everybody's watching stuff at the same time anymore.
And so, you know, there's especially those of those of us with kids or those of us who pay for these insane streaming services that will only let you watch sports after they're over because of, you know, FCC rules or whoever the hell decides this sort of thing. So, you know, when you send a little text that's like, holy shit, are you watching this rams game? That might seem innocuous to you, but that.
That tells me that something amazing is happening and that, like, it's gonna color me watching it later by myself. Cause now I'm gonna be, like, fast forwarding for some crazy shit to happen or whatever. Not this has happened to me recently, but especially.
Colin
00:31:41.834 - 00:31:42.850
I just wanted to share it with you.
Justin
00:31:42.890 - 00:32:47.582
Especially the baseball playoffs, you know? Like, you just don't know. Also, you don't know what sports mean to people in your life. You don't know.
And so, like, it might not mean much to you or might just be like, a kind of a casual thing. You're like, oh, my friends, a dodger fan. I'll just check it. Just don't.
If it's playoffs, season, or even just the NFL, I don't want to tell you, but you have to just pretend, like every movie or, I'm sorry. Every game is like a brand new movie that everyone wants to see, and you don't know if they've seen it yet. That's just how.
Unfortunately, that's what we're gonna have to do for a while with sports until we figure something out. Maybe we can have a set up on our phone that says, justin has watched the rams and the Dodgers today, and then you can text me whatever you want.
But, yeah, just. Just you never. There's nothing worse than when you're like, I cannot wait till my kids go to bed.
I'm gonna open a beer, I'm gonna sit down and watch this Rams game, and everything's gonna be great. And you get a text, and it's just like, wow, staffordshire the bed today. And you're just like.
Like, you didn't, but, like, you know, you've been looking forward to this all day.
Or, like, if you forget to turn, like, notifications off and NBC decides to tell you for some reason that the Dodgers won, you're just like, even if it's good, you're still just like, fuck. Like, I just wanted to watch this with suspense, so no sports spoilers, please.
Colin
00:32:47.766 - 00:33:05.410
I have a tough time doing the re watch. Like, the not watching and then watching it from scratch later on. If it's. If it's already over, I'll.
I want to know the outcome, and then I might watch it anyway. But I have a tough time just, like, going into a cold, like, 3 hours later. But I. But I. I hear what you're saying now.
In my defense, I will say this might have been the two most exciting Rams game you're going to get all season, the last two weeks.
Justin
00:33:05.490 - 00:33:05.858
Yeah.
Colin
00:33:05.914 - 00:33:08.698
So. So you probably won't hear from me, uh, the rest of the way.
Justin
00:33:08.714 - 00:33:13.578
Okay. Very great. Very good. Until they go on, like, a weird, like, eight and two run just to, like, make. So I have to pay attention.
Colin
00:33:13.714 - 00:33:18.910
Well, the. The Niners did lose to the freaking cardinals.
Justin
00:33:20.860 - 00:33:21.604
But.
Colin
00:33:21.772 - 00:33:41.508
All right. That parting shot was for me. I appreciate it. I'll do better. I'll do better. So. All right, we're gonna wrap it up there.
The rock fights production of Rock fight, llc for Justin Houseman. I'm colin true. Thanks for listening. And here he is to take us out. It's Krista makes. He's gonna sing the rock fight song. We'll see you next time.
Rock fighters.
Chris DeMakes
00:33:41.604 - 00:34:37.450
Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight.
Welcome to the rock fight where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows, and sometimes agree to disagree.
We talk about human powered outdoor activities and pick bites about topics that we find interesting, like pop culture, music, the latest movie reviews, ideas that aim for the. This is where we speak our truth. This is where we speak our truth. Rock side. Rock side. Rock side. Welcome to the rock side. Rock side. Rock side.
Welcome to the rock, rock side. Rock fight. Rock side. Rock fight. Rock side. Welcome to the rock side. Rock fight. Rock fight.
Colin
00:34:39.870 - 00:34:41.130
Rock bite.
Justin
00:34:42.030 - 00:34:42.270
Fight.