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This episode of the Outside podcast is brought to you by Arkansas the Natural State. The thing that separates an adventure from just a standard issue outing outside is surprise. And there may not be a more surprising outdoor locale than Arkansas. A temperate climate means playing outside year round. And let me tell you, can you ever play from kayaking at Two Rivers park in Little Rock to the famed mountain biking in Bentonville or afloat on the Caddo river or the Buffalo National River. Oh, by the way, was America's first national river. To tromping around Mount Nebo State park for unbelievable views of the Arkansas River Valley. In the natural state, you're never far away from fun. Lakes, rivers, mountains, woods, trails, canoeing, boating, mountain biking, hiking, fishing. Whatever you want, whatever your skill level. Your next surprise outside is in Arkansas. Plan your next adventure@arkansas.com. This is the Outside podcast with Patio. Oh, God, that's terrible sound. That is a terrible, terrible sound, sir.
B
All right, let's just do that. We're gonna do. We're doing it live. We're doing. We're doing it live.
A
We're doing it live. We're doing it live. This is going to be our cold open. Is just going to be the venetian blinds going up and down. Howdy, pals. We are changing things up today. A few months back, we asked you to send us questions about the pod. Anything and everything that you've been wondering goes into making a weekly show about the surprising impacts of a life outside. And you sent in some doozies. We also planned this in advance of me being away from my desk to check off a bucket list. Adventure boating through the Grand Canyon. Chances are that when you listen to this, I'll be somewhere whooping and hollering at the bottom of the big ditch. But you'll hear about that in a few weeks. Today, our dear, sweet, lovable curmudgeon co producer Micah Biz. This thing on. Abrams is flipping on his microphone to interview me about podcastery and outdoor adventuring. Thanks for sending in the questions and enjoy the show.
B
As the executive producer of the show, I maintain the ability to bury this in a closet full of dirty laundry shoes that I don't wear. Okay, but it's important that there's some sort of introduction so that the audience understands why there's no guest today. I know the reason for why there's no guest today.
A
Okay.
B
My recollection is you dislike it when I honestly state the reason why there's no guest today. So why don't you do it?
A
Because we're doing A mailbag episode.
B
And why are we doing a mailbag episode?
A
I'm a. I'm a guest.
B
And why are you the guest?
A
Because we wanted to try something new and different.
B
No, Patty, it's because you didn't want to do the work of preparing and conducting another interview. And so, due to your lack of rigor, your lack of devotion and dedication, I have been forced onto this awkward video recording platform.
A
Do you think this is going to magically appear in our unusual position to edit this thing of interviewers?
B
Okay, so that, dear listener, is why you are hearing my voice talking to our host, Patty o'. Connell.
A
Well, it's because when this airs, I'm going to be crawling out of the
B
Grand Canyon inaugural mailbag, in which we field the most thoughtful, amusing or insightful questions from our legion of listeners.
A
Correct.
B
Turn the tables on 1 Patty O'. Connell. The student has become the master.
A
It feels weird.
B
The hare has become the tortoise.
A
The meat has become the bun. Does that work? Maybe.
B
I don't think so. Okay, so as always, these are real questions from real readers listeners.
A
Aren't we starting with burnt toast? We talked about this.
B
This is my show, Patty. I'll decide when we're starting with what we're starting with, when we're starting with it. Okay, first things first. Burnt toast.
A
Yeah.
B
What's your last humbling and or hilarious experience?
A
Side phrasing was a little off there, but it's okay. We'll let you slide on that. So this is not the last, but it is the one that is burned into my mind and body. So, as you'll recall, a couple summers ago, I trained for and ran the Grand Traverse, which is a 40 mile ultramarathon from Crested Butte to Aspen, Colorado. And prior to the start of the race, I crewed for my friend Maddie for the Leadville 100. She was running it. She's a total boss. Like, she's run won the Grand Traverse before. So I'm crewing for in the middle of the night. I see that she pulls out this thing called Deep Blue. It's like a tube of, like, Icy Hot that's on steroids. And she's like, putting it on her quads. And I was like, oh, my God, what is that? She's like, this stuff is keeping me going. And she's running like a gazelle for 100 miles, which is 60 miles longer than I have to run. And so I think to myself, I gotta get that for my race and I'm gonna carry it with me. So I Do that. And at the first aid station, which is like eight or nine miles into the Grand Traverse, I cover my quads and my knees with deep blue. And I'm also like, ah, that pesky low back. Better cover the low back. Right after the first aid station though, is the first creek crossing. And whilst crossing said creek, a lot of water splashed upwards onto my quads, but most notably onto my back, causing a waterfall of deep blue into the Grand Canyon of my back porch. And let's just say that I was running with the speed of a wintergreen scope esque situation back there. And things. Things got a little spicy. Things got a little spicy.
B
So how long did the discomfort last for?
A
Significant enough to remember it. But then once, just like the pain of grinding out 40 miles in the mountains took over, I kind of forgot about it. So much so that I just continued to do it for the rest of the race. I came through the finish line and I smelled like a thousand pounds of toothpaste.
B
Were you sufficient acclimated to the feeling that it's now something you do when you're not running 60 miles?
A
I haven't tried it since. No. I'm smarter about my application location. Yeah, things got awkward. Things got awkward.
B
That's a decent burnt toast. It's a great segue, your burnt toast into our.
A
No, but what do you have to say though, first?
B
About what?
A
What happens after burnt toast every time.
B
Gets led into it.
A
Gets led into it.
B
I'm not using your Patty isms. I'm gonna make my own. I'm gonna make mica isms.
A
All right, that's the last time then. I'll. I'll do that. Then. Do the. Do your thing. You're good at this. You know how to talk.
B
Okay, let me see. I haven't actually thought about this piece of it. Okay. And now the interview shall commence. So, speaking of the Grand Traverse, this is a letter from Steve in Sacramento. We love alliteration. And he wants to know, Patty, you once ran an ultramarathon from Crested Butte to Aspen. The aforementioned Grand Traverse truth, which is like 100 million miles and 6 gazillion feet of vertical climbing. This seem weird to me because your main interest in the outdoors seems to be all about having a good time.
A
Yeah.
B
Why did you do that to yourself?
A
I think it's because my propensity for stubbornness is only outweighed by my propensity for stupidity. And I was gearing up for my 40th birthday and I didn't like the sound of that. Number. And I was like, I feel like I want to make sure that I'm still tough, that I can still do hard things. And my wife, who is a runner, is like, you know, know, the Grand Traverse is 40 miles. Why don't you run 40 miles for your 40th birthday? And I was like, that sounds great. Love that. Love how meaningful that sounds. And I signed up in, like, you know, January or something, and then the end of ski season hit, and I was like, oh, dear God, this thing's in August. I gotta get going. My wife designed a training block for me, and I just got after it for five months. And, yeah, I don't know. I mean, I do enjoy fun, and I do enjoy giggles outside. I also like challenges challenging myself. And I do believe that type 2 fun is real fun, and running an ultramarathon is type two fun. It might be, like type six fun for a guy like me. But was it, like, fun fun? No. Am I glad I did it and am I proud of myself? Yes, very much so.
B
But by the logic that you just laid out on the o' Connell hierarchy of needs.
A
Yeah.
B
What you're saying is that fun is below stubbornness, which is below stupidity. Is that accurate?
A
No, because I think it's snack fun and then stupidity and stubbornness. But I don't know, every once in a while, you got to just sign up for an audacious goal and challenge yourself. At least I do. And it was a physical representation of an emotional task that I did in my 20s to get sober and stay in recovery until today and continue to do that every day. So that was meaningful. And I'm all about something meaningful, you know? So, yeah, it was air quotes fun. It's not as fun as skiing powder, that's for damn sure.
B
This is wild because you're actually segueing into our next question. But really quick, before we. Yeah, but before we leave the topic, what was the longest you had run prior to that?
A
What's funny about this is that when I was first getting into trail running, it was. It was because I was turning 33, and I was like, I need to do something hard and tough. And my neighbor was like, you should sign up for this ultra that I signed up for. And at that point, I had done, like, only turkey trots. And so I was like, yeah, totally. Like, I'll do this ultra. And it was the Dead Horse Ultra, which is a 50 miler in Mohr. And two weeks before the actual event, I exploded my knee and wasn't able to run it. But during that training block, I had run like a marathon for the first time, and then I had run 30. Like a 33 mile run was my longest run.
B
What's the longest you've run since?
A
Probably just like, like a hand handful of miles or something. Unfortunately, last August, I tore my calf and partial Achilles, so I haven't run since. We're coming up on close to like nine months or something like that since I actually run. And I can't even tell you how much I want to run, which is very weird because I feel like my running style is like a vending machine pushed down an escalator. You know, it sounds really terrible and a lot of things are falling apart, but I want to go do it, which is a weird thing because I haven't been able to, so. Oh, shit, am I going to sign up for another goddamn ultra? Oh, no. Oh, no. Micah, your lines of questioning, Damn it.
B
Number one, don't blame me. Blame Steve in Sacramento. Number two, that, that was a little self aggrandizing right there. Just like a little bit of a humble brag. And number three, no, I only run while being chased. So let's move on to something more interesting.
A
You run your mouth is what you do.
B
This is from Holly in Burlington. You've mentioned spending time in Minneapolis when you were in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
A
Yes, segue.
B
Although I kind of ruined your segue by continuing to talk about running.
A
That's all right.
B
What time of year were you in Minneapolis? And did the outdoors factor into your time there at all?
A
Oh, you're gonna make me cry. Burlington. Human. Oh, yes, they did. So I was there in May. I did a 30 day inpatient treatment. It started in May, and I got out in June and then moved into a Sober House in St. Paul. And so I was there in the summer, which, like, if anybody knows, Minnesota in the summer is like the most humid place ever. The state bird is the mosquito. And I have milkshake blood, so they were all over me very, very quickly. I didn't know I was going to rehab. I left to visit my family in Chicago and then go out to a wedding on the East Coast. And then I ended up going back to Chicago for an intervention and going right to the Twin Cities. And so all of my belongings were back in Telluride. So a couple months into living in the sober house, my friends shipped out all of my gear and belongings on a pallet or two. I mean, it was like my skis arrived, my camping gear arrived, and I cried when it showed. Up because I was like, have me back. Or like, the parts of me that are like, what I want to keep from the old version of myself and these new guys that I met who were like, trying to get in recovery, like me. Like, we went up north to, you know, one of the bajillion lakes and we like camped, like, I remember camping for the first time. We like fished off, off this, like, dock in the lake. And like, we're, you know, sleeping in my sleeping bag. I was like, I'm back. And then when it really hit was skiing. You know, I would go to Afton alps was like 20, 20 minute drive from where I lived. And like, you know, it's only like 200ft, but I would bang out lap after lap after lap, and I would just try to do my favorite turn, the right footed Slav, you know, where like your skis come around and it's really fun. Deep turn. And it like, feels like there's a lot of movement. You snap them back underneath you and you keep going. I would get like one of those and like, be down at the bottom of the lift. So. Absolutely. The outdoors played a part of my recovery early on. And it still does. I mean, it's like, it's one of the biggest tools in the toolkit, which is always expanding. So. Wow, Great question. Thank you. Oh, my heart.
B
Okay, next question. What do you look like without a mustache? And would your wife divorce you if you shaved it off? Asking for a friend in Denver.
A
Thanks. Denver. I think I would look bad. I know that my upper lip would be super cold. And I once joked before our wedding to my wonderful bride, my beautiful wife, that I was like, what if. What if I shave my mustache the night before our wedding and like, you like, turn the corner to come down the aisle and you see me shorn lipped. What would you do? She goes, well, you would see me walking towards you and then you would see my back because I would walk right past you and not marry you. So I got to say that, yes, like, my wife loves the mustache. I think it would absolutely freak my daughter out. I mean, I remember the first time my dad shaved his mustache and it scared the bejesus out of me. I'd never seen his upper lip. I was like 12 or 13. It was terrible.
B
My older sister broke. It broke into tears when my dad shaved his mustache for the first time. She was terrified.
A
It was the first time that I said the F word and I didn't get yelled at because I was like, what the. You know, And I was like 12 or 13. And everybody just started laughing. And I was like, oh, there are times when the F word is okay, all right. But it was. It was terrifying to see my dad's upper lip.
B
Yeah. Much in the same way that you and I are opposites of one another, you could say, in terms of our physical stature, tell them you're a lot taller than me, and I'm a lot shorter than you. And also, conversely, if I were to grow a mustache back, my wife would divorce me because I did it one time. I did it one time.
A
Wasn't it a Covid stash?
B
Might.
A
Maybe I have a photo of it somewhere. And you look glorious.
B
It's a great mustache.
A
It's great.
B
What I lack in height, I make up for in facial hair. And so I can actually grow a robust mustache. But she. I mean, she let it ride for about three days, and then she laid down the law and was like, get rid of that thing right now.
A
Well, rumor has it it also, when it grows in, it smells of fresh cinnamon. So I think that you should absolutely grow it back.
B
When's the last time your upper lips saw the light of day?
A
Oh, it was when I was down in Bariloche, Argentina. We were there to film a web series about skiing and a pro skier, my buddy Garrett Russell. And, you know, we had this huge shot list, and we. To make all, like, a handful of episodes in the two weeks that we were there. And it was probably the worst weather for skiing of all time. Low snow year, super foggy, rainy. Like, it was just. We were really limping things along, and so I thought, I must sacrifice something to the gods of snow. So I shaved my mustache, and the weather got worse. And so. And so. So that was 2415. Yeah, I don't. I don't think it's ever going to see the. The light of day again.
B
That's a good story. I've never heard that story. The next question is from Alan in Austin. If you could drop everything and spend all the time necessary, what outdoor pursuit would you choose to master? And why?
A
Skiing. Absolutely. Skiing.
B
But you already ski. That's a dumb answer.
A
Yeah, but there's no such thing as mastery in skiing. And so I would want to push myself probably as. As far as I could. And it's the most fun thing that I do outside with the people that I love. It is the absolute greatest thing. As a new dad, I don't have the ability to do the same type of, like, big, giant days in the backcountry in the Mountains as if I were 20 years old and ski patrolling. I was in ski boots for 140 plus days a year. It was pretty incredible.
B
So hold on. You're saying you've been bopped on the head by the independent, wealthy fairy?
A
Yeah.
B
You've been granted the ability to pursue any goal in life, and what you're going to do is try to go.
A
You said outdoor pursuit.
B
You're going to go back to the thing that you already had once in your life?
A
No, I'm not going to go back to ski patrolling, but I'm going to go to spending the most amount of time I can in ski boots.
B
But the distinction here is not meaningful. I asked how would it differ from.
A
I answered. You're telling me that my opinion was. Opinion is wrong?
B
Yes.
A
As an author, this is the most Micah thing ever. Well, it's either that or I would become a Grand Canyon dory captain. That would be sick.
B
Okay, now this is a better answer. Let's talk about this a little bit more. Thank you very much. We all you ever do is talk about skiing. Well, I believe that I do love skin. I'm speaking for Alan here. Okay, my earbuds are falling out.
A
It's because you're. You're getting hyphy and you're shaking.
B
I'm not a big person, and that means I have small ear holes. I don't know. It's embarrassing. I'm guessing that this is what Alan meant when he asked the question is, what is the thing that you don't do or haven't done that you. You aspire to do? Not a thing that you've done that you used to do well, that you want to get back to doing well.
A
Well, thank you for telling me that my opinion is wrong. I'm still gonna say my answer is 1A is skiing as much as possible with the people I love as much as possible, including my wife and child. And then one B would be. I mean, the Grand Canyon. Boating. The Grand Canyon has been on my list for years. So that. Yeah, being a commercial guide in the Grand Canyon, a dory captain specifically, would be pretty far up there. And some people might. Well, why would you want to work. I would want to guide new humans down the grand and expose people.
B
So, like babies.
A
No, not like new to the world. New humans to the Grand. You know, I would want to guide humans to the. Maybe babies, too. Sure.
B
That would be an interesting outfitter. An outfitter devoted to taking infants.
A
Baby onlys. Gnar Nursery.
B
The nursery.
A
The nursery. Yeah. There you Go. This is a great idea. More mailbag with Micah and patio after the break.
B
The guests on the show come from such diverse backgrounds and outdoor experiences. Is there anything that you found that they all share? That was from Becca in Salt Lake City.
A
I mean, the easy thing is. Yeah, devotion to the outdoors, that's kind of on the nose, but that's, like, the easiest, quickest answer for sure.
B
Is there a harder, slower answer? H. I think he's frozen.
A
No, I'm just. I like to thing. I. Nobody has been a proponent of the do it yourself solo adventure. You know, like, even the folks who are, you know, like Monet, Isabeth going to the bottom of the earth to be by herself for 57 days. She still named, you know, her sleds and her tent, and we're talking to them as if they were her friends. Like, nobody says, this is always more fun by myself. Everybody, I think, is a proponent or believer in what I have believed for a long time, which is the difference between comedy and tragedy, is community perspective. Everything is always more fun, more manageable, better with pals.
B
That was a much better answer, but I actually don't think it's true. Naming your sled is not the same as bringing a companion.
A
That's true, but the first thing she did when she got to the South Pole was hug and talk to people
B
because she regretted the fact that she just spent all that time by herself.
A
No, she understood the importance of it. This right here, this could not exemplify the difference between I just ensnared you
B
in a rhetorical trap.
A
See, everybody, this is what I deal with. I'm a happy, go lucky plush toy, and Micah is a cynical ashtray.
B
What about Craig Mod? Craig Mod's outdoor experience were important because of the solitude.
A
Yeah, but he's always doing it in service of community.
B
How is Craig Maude doing it in service of community?
A
Because he's not a hermit. Because he go. He's always staying somewhere, breaking up his long walks by staying somewhere in a town, and then he reports back to us. So it's always in service of community. There's always a community aspect to all of these things.
B
Interesting.
A
Yeah, well, I'm interesting.
B
So. Okay.
A
All right.
B
Marcus in Nashua. Two New Englanders in the mix here. Actually, weirdly, their questions are somewhat connected. Is there anything about your commitment to a life outdoors that you regret? Has it ever kept you away from family or friends at a time when you wished you were there? Or have you ever pushed yourself to a limit that had negative consequences? That you ultimately wish you hadn't done.
A
There are trade offs for living where we live, you know, and some of them are kind of goofy and funny. Like, I can't believe buy pants where I live. I have to. I have to like, online shop, you know, like, that is annoying.
B
I don't believe that's what Marcus was getting at with.
A
No, but. But, you know, like, I live far away from. I live very far away from my family, and I love my family very much. And, you know, it's very difficult to see them. It's costly or it costs time. And that's tough. That's tough. That's really tough. And something that I've had to do a lot further and further into living here in this valley is be very purposeful about trying to connect with friends, especially male friends, on something deeper than. Hey, what'd you ski this day? Where'd you bike? What run did you go have? Like, I've set up a men's book club specifically designed to talk about what it means to be a man. And we don't talk about our outdoor pursuits or if we do, we talk about them in depth of like, you know, why did we do it and what did it come to mean for us afterwards? I've had to be, like, very purposeful in that if you're not, then you wake up one day and you find that really you're connecting only about physicality. And I just don't want to live a life like that.
B
What is the best post ski, bike, hike, run, meal that you have ever had? Oh, sorry. That was from Paulie in Chicago.
A
Ooh, my guy. Well. Oh, dude, this is hottie favorite. This is where I break. This is where I can't.
B
This is where you're gonna start crying.
A
This is where I can't answer. I mean, because it's like Paulie from Chicago, I gotta say, like, well, you know, guy, anytime I've been back home and like, ended a run and gone to Johnny's for a combo, that's an Italian sausage laid on top. A bed of Italian beef with the fresh giardiniera, no dip, because I like to have bread with fortitude. That is the best. But like, oh, man. Up at Blanket glacier chalet in B.C. so it's in the middle of nowhere in the Monashes. It's this cabin on the glacier and you just skin all day long. In three and a half days, we did 40 miles and like 22,000ft of vertical climbing. And there was a day where Heidi Schaefer, who Is the cook there, the chef, I should say, made a. Like, think of the longest table you've ever seen. Now think of the entire table covered in nachos from tip to tail. But here's the thing that I have been saying, and a lot of people would probably agree with me on the Internet, nachos stop going up and start going out, because there's a middle layer of chip that is nude, and that is rude, dude. And so it was just a thin layer of nacho, and every chip was covered in chicken and beef and cheese and olives and the. All the goodness of nachos. And it was the longest plate of nachos that anyone has ever seen. That was pretty great. And we just had absolutely destroyed ourselves. They'd, like, quad destruction. And so you're sitting there all, like, dried sweat, and you're just, like, totally crushed, and you crack a cold bubble water that I had been just. I planted in the wall of snow, got it out of the wall of note, cracked that sucker, and just chomped a mile's worth of nachos. That was great. I want some nachos, dude. That was good.
B
I think it's. It's fitting that the end of our first ever mailbag manages to elicit the most passionate and poetic response of all the questions. And it was about nachos.
A
Yeah, just cheese. Great stuff.
B
Speaking of Blanket Glacier, you can. You can see Blanket Glacier in the upcoming Warren Miller skiing snowboard film Patio. Our new host, Katie Burrell, goes to the. The Blanket Glacier and has a remarkable experience. I don't know if there are nachos or not.
A
Well, there should be. Hopefully, there.
B
I'd like to point out yet again at the end here that that was the wrong answer. The correct answer to the question Polly asked is the cheeseburger at the South Park Saloon in Alma, Colorado. That is the correct answer.
A
Oh, wait, wait. Actually, at Portillo Ski Portillo to Bob's. Up on. Up on. There's a.
B
There's the cheeseburger at the South Park Saloon. I think it's got Alma, Colorado, but
A
the cheeseburger at Tio Bob's and Portillo Ski Portillo is also pretty fabulous. See, here's the thing. It's whatever snack is in front of me, really, it's the best meal. That's the thing, you know?
B
All right, let's wrap it up. Thanks, everybody, for joining us for the first ever.
A
Wait, what about the final ramble?
B
Oh, I told you. I'm gonna do this my way, Patty.
A
Okay, all right. Sorry. To interrupt. Go ahead.
B
It is now time for the final ramble.
A
There it is.
B
Did we just talk about the one outdoor snack that you can't live without?
A
No, I thought about this. I have a great answer.
B
Oh, okay. Go on.
A
Well, that's not the. That's the second question. The first question.
B
I'm gonna do this my way, Patty.
A
Okay. All right, fine. Go ahead. Ask the question.
B
What's. So what's your favorite outdoor snack?
A
A smooch from my wife.
B
Yeah.
A
Delicious.
B
You know, there's a. There's a line between sweet and awkward, and that was on the wrong side of it.
A
That's where I like to live.
B
What's the one. What's the one One piece of outdoor gear you can't live without?
A
Well, this one is kind of hard because I am a daily carry guy. Like, I always have a pocket knife with me, no matter what. That's after, like, fending off bears or mountain lions mostly. That's for, like, spreading cream cheese and peanut butter. But the coolest piece of gear that either my W or I have purchased together or on our own in, like, one bajillion years is the ski chariot that we got this winter to get our little baby girl out skiing. And it's a Transformer, so, like, we can put wheels on it and attach it to our bikes, which we're about to do. So I'm super psyched on that. That thing is awesome.
B
Hottest outdoor hot take.
A
Oh. See, here's the thing. As I've been thinking about this, and since you are a surfer, we have to talk about this. The outdoors in general, as a community and as an industry, we don't talk a day enough about the fact that surfers are gross all day long. Doing your outdoor activity, you're just peeing on yourself. You went surfing this weekend, correct?
B
Yeah.
A
Did you pee on yourself?
B
I mean, I don't. I don't log it anymore. It just happens. So probably.
A
There you go. Yep, there you go. All day long. Surfers are the grossest of the gross in the outdoors, and that's saying a lot.
B
No, no, hold on. Number one, Triathletes pee on themselves all the time, and they are not in a rinse cycle machine that immediately removes the waste from their body. They literally marinate in it as they do the thing, which, by the way, isn't even fun. At least when I'm in the ocean peeing on myself, I'm catching waves, which is one of the literally the funnest things that you can do on planet Earth. So I take issue. And number two, Patty. Number two.
A
Number two.
B
Number two. All that you have just described is the life of an astronaut. So I will take my outdoor pursuit, which puts me in league. Puts me in League. Patty O', Connell, with the greatest adventurers of our time.
A
Artemis 2 had its own little bathroom situation. No, you are incorrect.
B
Everybody knows the Apollo astronauts are the greatest generation. And I will take my wetsuit and my physical proximity to the life of a Apollo astronaut over your derision vision of my hygiene as a surfer.
A
Patio, do you know what that sounds like?
B
What?
A
Sounds like a guy who pees on himself a lot. Oh, man. Oh, this was fun. Thanks, Micah.
B
Okay, I think we did it. Do we do it?
A
You ever forget you're not in the ocean? Like, how often do you pee the bed? You just heard from podcast producer dear sweet Micah Abrams and me, your host, Patty O, jawing about the show and answering questions from you, our beloved listeners. If you have a question we do answer, well, send it to us. Email your pod reactions, guest nominations, why you think Micah is so spicy all the time, and anything else you'd like to tell and or ask us to outside Podcasts at Outside, Inc. Com. And remember to check out video episodes of the podcast on YouTube at outside podcast one. Watch these words flow out of my lip. Caterpillar in technicolor fanciness. The Outside podcast is hosted and produced by me, Patio o', Connell, but you can call me Patio. The show is also produced by the storytelling wizard, Micah. Please, Mr. Postman, look and see. Is there a letter? A letter for me? Abrams. Music and sound design by Robbie Carver and booking and research by Jeanette Quartz. The Outside podcast is made possible by our Outside plus members. Learn about all the extra rad benefits and become a member yourself@outsideonline.com podplusplus.
In the first-ever Outside Podcast mailbag episode, host Paddy O’Connell takes the hotseat as Micah Abrams turns the tables, asking questions submitted by listeners. The discussion covers outdoor misadventures, the meaning of “fun” in ultrarunning, sobriety and the outdoors, family, mustache loyalty, snack controversies, and what really makes outdoor community. The episode blends humor, heartfelt stories, and the irreverent, bantering chemistry of PaddyO and Micah.
"No, Paddy, it’s because you didn’t want to do the work of preparing and conducting another interview..."
"When this airs, I’m going to be crawling out of the Grand Canyon..."
"Things got a little spicy."
[05:56] "Significant enough to remember it....I just continued to do it for the rest of the race. I came through the finish line and I smelled like a thousand pounds of toothpaste."
"I also like challenging myself. And I do believe that type 2 fun is real fun...It might be like type six fun for a guy like me. But was it, like, fun fun? No. Am I glad I did it and am I proud of myself? Yes. Very much so."
[12:14] "I cried when it showed up because I was like, 'have me back.' ... The outdoors played a part of my recovery early on. And it still does. It’s one of the biggest tools in the toolkit, which is always expanding."
"I think I would look bad ... I once joked before our wedding ... My wife goes, ‘Well, you would see me walking toward you and then you would see my back because I would walk right past you and not marry you.’"
“She let it ride for about three days, and then she laid down the law and was like, get rid of that thing right now.”
[16:34] "But there’s no such thing as mastery in skiing...it’s the most fun thing that I do outside with the people that I love."
[20:09] "The difference between comedy and tragedy is community perspective. Everything is always more fun...better with pals."
[22:04] “I live far away from my family, and I love my family very much…it’s very difficult to see them… I’ve had to be very purposeful about trying to connect with friends...If you’re not, you wake up one day and you find that really you’re connecting only about physicality, and I just don’t want to live a life like that.”
"Up at Blanket Glacier Chalet in B.C...imagine the longest table you’ve ever seen, entirely covered in nachos...a thin layer so every chip was covered....That was pretty great."
"A smooch from my wife."
"There’s a line between sweet and awkward, and that was on the wrong side of it."
"I always have a pocket knife with me, no matter what...but the coolest...the ski chariot that we got this winter to get our little baby girl out skiing..."
"We don’t talk enough about the fact that surfers are gross...all day long...you’re just peeing on yourself."
"I don’t log it anymore. It just happens."
On ultramarathons and meaning:
"It was a physical representation of an emotional task that I did in my 20s to get sober and stay in recovery..." —PaddyO, [08:47]
On community in the outdoors:
“The difference between comedy and tragedy is community perspective. Everything is always more fun, more manageable, better with pals.” —PaddyO, [20:09]
On the best outdoor meal:
“Imagine the longest table you’ve ever seen, now think of the entire table covered in nachos...every chip was covered...It was the longest plate of nachos anyone has ever seen.” —PaddyO, [24:07]
On mustaches and marriage:
“...You would see me walking towards you and then you would see my back, because I would walk right past you and not marry you.” —PaddyO’s wife, [13:40]
On essential gear:
"I always have a pocket knife with me, no matter what...But the coolest piece of gear...is the ski chariot we got this winter to get our little baby girl out skiing." —PaddyO, [27:25]
On outdoor hot takes:
“Surfers are the grossest of the gross in the outdoors, and that’s saying a lot.” —PaddyO, [28:28]
This episode is equal parts comedy, vulnerability, and outdoors wisdom—a perfect listen for anyone who seeks connection, inspiration, and a generous portion of nachos after a big day outside.