December 22, 2025 • 47 mins
Joy to the wild! And to the simpler ways to get outside and into nature. In this episode, Brad and Holly talk about holiday plans, movies, books, and of course--where to go and what to do for getting a soulful dose of wonder and discovery around California, and points beyond. From national parks to hidden treasures, even a bit of outdoors trivia, tune in for some festive conversation and tips based on Weekend Sherpa's Top 10 adventure stories of the year.
Show Notes:
Top 10 Outdoor Stories of 2025 SF/Northern California
Top 10 Outdoor Stories of 2025 LA/Southern California
Lab Mice in Nature
Holiday Reads
The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories
Show Notes:
Top 10 Outdoor Stories of 2025 SF/Northern California
Top 10 Outdoor Stories of 2025 LA/Southern California
Lab Mice in Nature
Holiday Reads
The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Welcome to the Weekend schrip Of podcast. Take it Outside.
I'm Brad Day, I'm Holly Koolak, and happy holidays to you.
Hollidays holidays. Yes, you know, it's been kind of dreary December,
isn't it. I think I saw that. I can count
on one hand the number of times I saw the
sun in December. It's just been cold, gray and not
(00:44):
not super super nice. Sometimes you get those California nice,
you know, winter seasons, but December has been brutal.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Brad, that's not very holly jolly.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I know, sorry to start off on the wrong foot.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, I mean, if you're in the valleys, I think
there's been these strange like what is it an inversion
or something? Basically it just if you're in a valley,
I don't know, the cloud sits over you and fog
forever and then eventually maybe it goes away. I mean, yeah,
let's hope that came exactly.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I can't figure out what to wear because first of all,
I was freezing. I was so cold, and then now
I'm out there and it's like Pineapple Express, so it's gray.
But maybe that's a Christmas movie, is Pineapple Express a
Christmas movie.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
No, but you can make it one.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I guess you could.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
But then I'm kind of hot because it's you know,
it's more I don't know, it's warmer, it's moisture.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Yeah, that keeps the heating.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I mean, regardless of the weather. How is your holiday season?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
It's going good. I'm right now.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You can't see me because we're not on YouTube yet.
We should put ourselves on YouTube, but I'm glad we're
not right now because I look like a holiday mess.
Like I have do you Christmas socks? Yeah, some kind
of cute I guess red Sox. But then I have
slippers on that have bulldogs on them because I have
a bulldog, Gus. I mean, I just I look kind
of ridiculous. Spirit from the ankle.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
I like your little Santa mug.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Oh thank you, Yes, I have that.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I have tea.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I was practically or it's a snowman mug.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Snowman, kind of a snowman Santa.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I was breaking Like when I was sipping this, I
was going, and that's the tea because of we're going
to have a podcast. But I was like saying, I
don't know anymore. It used to be. It used to
be like kind of people would sort of do like
a gossip. I think it came like out of the
UK or something. People that's the tea or spill.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
The tea, right, Yeah, for that one.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's not cool anymore.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Maybe I don't know, but yeah, it's in this cool
little mug. How's your holiday season going?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
You know, it's pretty good. Like I got some of
the holiday shopping done kind of early. I mean, hosting
the holidays this year, hosting Christmas. So I'm going to
be making some pizzas in our portable pizza oven.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Oh very nice.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Yeah. And so I've been like tinker with like dough
recipes for the pizza dough for a very long time
and I finally kind of like landed on one that
I think works pretty well. But you have to make
the dough a few days ahead of time to just
kind of let it do its thing and ferment or
whatever the pizza dough does over it. Yeah, And so
(03:19):
I got to get on that probably tonight when watching
some Monday night football and maybe do some pizza dough preparation.
But then also got to get all the ingredients and
all the things. And it's like it's actually it's pretty fun,
you know when you have people over and you're doing
the pizzas in the pizza oven. But it's kind of
an old school one where you have to fill it
(03:40):
with little bits of like five inch pieces of wood
in the back and you have to continually feed the
oven that that heat source, so it's kind of the
heat isn't very consistent. It kind of moves around a
little bit, and you're trying to make like maybe seven
or eight different types of pizzas. It becomes you know,
you really have to kind of get in the zone,
(04:01):
you know, and you got to get your game face on,
and then you're just slinging pizzas for like an hour
and a half.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Oh wow, I.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Mean depends on how many people I guess come over
for that, right, But so.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
How do you keep the pizzas more?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
You just like fire up the oven in the kitchen
and then put all exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah. Yeah, so I've done it before where it's just
like I'll cook the pizza for the person. So the
way I do it is like people can, you know,
make their own pizza. They put whatever they want on it,
but then I'll do the thing with the with the pizza,
put it in the oven, and you know, I've given
it to them after it's after it's done and it's ready.
But then you have one person eating and everybody else
(04:40):
is just kind of watching. So I think it's a
good idea to just like get the kitchen oven like
on a warm temperature and put it in there, and
then everybody can eat together.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
But then also you have to limit the amount of
eggnog and RUMs you can have.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, yeah, I mean you don't want to be uh,
you want to be drinking and slinging.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
No, that's because that's a lot of like organization giving
everybody in check. What I like about that pizza idea
is that people nowadays have very particular food meats, right,
some people are vegetarians, some people don't want cheese, all
kinds of things. So then and you can find gluten
free dough.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Too, gluten free. So if prenny.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Meets everyone's like and it's fun, right, it keeps it
nice and casual and fun. You can have other side
dishes like salads and horse desserts.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
That's really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Now I know you're your pseudonym is the angry baker.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I'm the angry baker.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So what is on tap for the angry baker this
holiday season?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Well, I already made this.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Uh these Oreo I think they're called Orio Little Cuties,
so they're Orio cupcake or they're cheesecake cupcakes with Oreo bass.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So delicious.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, they are really good.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
It comes from a recipe called Juniors and Juniors is
uh bakery deli in New York that's like very famous.
It's cheesecake. And somebody I know gave me the Juniors
recipe because a gift more of a gift, that's more
of a hint. And so I've been making cheesecake from
(06:06):
that recipe book and it turns out really good. It
takes almost all day because of like preparing it and
then letting it stuff from scratch, right, everything is from scratch,
and it's really rewarding what it's done. And it turns out. Yeah,
and the cool thing is that it makes a lot.
So I made twenty four Thanksgiving and then you can
freeze them for over a month.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Like that's a lot of cupcakes.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, So then I now have twelve left, but I'll
I'll probably do one other dessert. I'm not sure what yet.
I like to do the mule Logel, the Bouche Noel,
and I add Bailey's to the crazy.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I mean, I was not going to do it boozy
exact the boozy one.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
This comes from the Great British Banking Show. I don't
use their recipe. I had to simplify mine, but they
talk a lot on that the recent episode that I
watched about boozy the boozy, boozy yulog. Okay, so that
just means you add a lot of Bailey's day. Well okay,
I mean just to your taste.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Sure, that sounds delicious. And then you wrap it and
it's just kind of like a cake that's wrapped like
that looks like a log.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
But the key component is you have to wrap it well,
like you have to roll that log.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
It doesn't crack.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, that's that's the whole thing. That's that's stressful, stressful Christmas,
and that's.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Why I am the angry Baker.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Indeed. Well, look, I look forward to hearing how that goes.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I know. But let's get to a little bit of news.
And the first one is did you know that we
are a top three? So there was feed Spot did
top fifteen outdoor podcasts in California. And weekend Sherpa came
in at number three.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
WHOA, what do you think of that? That's very cool.
I know it's on the podium.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
That's on the podium. Yeah, I'm I'm really pleased with that.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
I think it's been a lot of funding the podcast
and we really appreciate the listeners and the feedback we get.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
But I thought that was kind of cool.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
And it's for outdoors and we've been, you know, talking
for the last several minutes, haven't even mentioned the outdoors.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
People like outdoors, well, speaking of the outdoors, so we
are going to get to that because we're going to
talk about our top ten. But related to that is
really how good the outdoors is for for all of
us mental health wise, physical health wise, just overall wellness,
which we've we talk about a lot and everybody knows that.
But there was a study and I have to I'll
(08:29):
put it in the show notes. I just took down
notes from it. But lab mice were released into nature
and it was like a rewilding project. So they were
set out. They were like still trapped, but they had
lots of room in nature to run around in rome
and they were able to establish like that these mice
(08:51):
showed far fewer signs of stress and anxiety just from
being able to be out in nature, running around, touching
ground and dirt for the first time. I mean, and
I was like, yeah, that go figure, that makes perfect sense.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Until the farm cat comes up and ruins its day.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Right. Anyway, they're hoping that, you know, the data they
get can sort of help a lab mice live healthier
lives because it's pretty stressful.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I think being a lab mouse would, Yeah, that would
be a stressful.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Be fine existence, Yeah, And then they're going to try
to apply, you know, some of what they learn from
mouse based experiments to you know, how it can help
people more So.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Are you applying what's happening to the mouse and mice
to human experience?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Well, like, just like you know, life could be stressful,
and you know you can have like there's lots of
reasons to be anxious at times in life, and it's
a kind of up and down and up and down,
and just how good it is to get out into nature,
even when you feel like that's just another thing you
have to do, Like Okay, I got to make time
to get out on a hike or something.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
But once you do it.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I have never ever gone out been like I wish, like,
actually I wouldn't have done that. I wish I would
have stayed and like checked off more on my to
do list. I just did that this afternoon because there
was a break and rain and I have a big
to do list for the holidays. I'm like, I'm gonna
take the dog out for a walk around outside to
the park for both of us. But I didn't regret
it when I was thinking. But I have all these
(10:21):
other things I have to do, Like just like some
zen time, you kind of meet other people along the way.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
It's great for everybody.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
The docs from Monotony.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, so speaking of doing, you know, getting out and
doing a hike, Post has their new twenty twenty six
hiking calendar out.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
You should definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Check that out.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Always awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Yeah, it's a hike a month.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
They give you all kinds of great tips, so you
can use that as your inspiration in twenty twenty six.
It's the Post twenty twenty six hiking Calendar. We'll put
it in our show notes on site, and.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It's on our site currently. The story is titled the
twenty twenty six Post Hiking Calendar. Very literal, and I
really like the lead that you wrote here. Ready to
have a happy New year by getting outdoors more, start
with a hike, make that twelve hikes. We've got just
the inspiration with the all new complimentary twenty twenty six
(11:17):
post hiking calendar. Wow, well done, Hollie.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Yeah, and that was not Ai, that was Holly Koulak
pure ho. No. But it's always so fun to try.
And I love looking at the calendar. Gives me great inspiration,
you know, for getting out and about going hiking. Maybe
you should, maybe you should do a biking one. Brad
a biking character, pretty pro biker mister. I won Leadville
(11:43):
for my age category this past year.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Right, yeah, no, it's the uh yeah, it's amateur. I
mean it's it's all amateur stuff. It's it's a hobby
taken very seriously, is what I do.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I like every mail out there from the ages like forty.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
To hey, forty year old, fifty year olds. We take
our hobbies very seriously, especially if it comes to bike riding.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
But it's like very healthy.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I mean, okay, the active is very healthy. I think
getting out and doing the biking is very healthy. Sometimes
I wonder when I go to some of the racism,
I see something and this is not you.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
You're quite measured and I mean you're competitive.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
But you see some people just kind of going to
agro and you're like, calm down, people, this is like,
this is not pro cycling.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Nobody's making a living doing this. This is all just
for fun.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
This is all just ego.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
It's just all ego. No it is. I mean it's
very healthy and I and that's not entirely why I
do it. I mean I like it. I've always been
into kind of endurance stuff. But and you were mentioning
just getting outside and kind of like how good that
is for your mental state, whether that's going on a
walk or just being outside in general, forest, bathing, going
(12:56):
on a walk with your dog, whatever it is, it's great.
And for me it's going on and uh, it's it's
funny because I don't necessarily feel like, oh I need
to do this right now. It becomes a bit of
a habit after a while, you know what I mean.
But I think if you were to just completely stop
cold Turkey, you would begin to kind of see like, wow,
(13:18):
I think I need to get outside and do this.
But once it becomes a bit of your routine and
your habit. I don't know, I think there's it's it's great,
you know, it's it's great. It's a great habit to
try to create.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
What do you like when you're just out on a
training ride?
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Er?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
You know, yeah, because a lot of time you're training
for upcoming races, sure, and what like what do you
most like about that when you're out biking?
Speaker 1 (13:47):
I think it's just you know, sometimes when you're you
hear of this this thing when you're a runner called
you get like a second wind or something like that.
You get something like that when you're riding a bike,
especially if it's kind of a long ride. If you're
out for like three or four hours, five hours, and
and you know it's a long ride, you're you've burned
(14:09):
a lot of calories at this point, but you still
feel good. I think I really love that feeling. And
just like, honestly, when you're just out in nature and
you're looking up, like right now, there's just a ton
of hawks around, Especially on this loop that I do
by my house, there's a ton of redtail hawks and
some of them seem so big that I'm like, is
(14:30):
that like is that a golden eagle? Do we get
golden eagles around here? Like because something? There's one in
particular that just looks enormous. And it's funny because I
do this loop pretty constantly and I see the same hawks.
They just kind of hang out, you know, they just
kind of hang out on the same telephone pole. There's
one that's really there's one that like really every time
(14:51):
it sees me, it just like screeches at me, looks
at me directly and screeches at me like it's being
territorial or something. So we have a Yeah, we have
a bit of a relationship there.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
That's such a cool, like what a great feeling to
be going by and being like here.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Is I'm always looking for him.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
He hasn't swooped down.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
No, it hasn't swooped down yet. Yeah. But about you,
like when you, I know you run, you you run
with like headphones on right or AirPods?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Are you listening to music podcasts? What's what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Oh? I listened to podcasts and you know it's really
my just time to myself. I don't listen to music.
I used to do and then I got really big
into podcasts. And you know, I just run and now
you're on a podcast. Yeah, now I'm on a podcast,
but I really enjoy listening to a whole ride. Right now,
I'm listening to Christmas story podcasts.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
You know, I have to put in.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
The show notes this one guy I listened to it.
He's local in the Bay Area, and he's got a
great one. It's like Christmas Past Stories or something. And
there are these like fourteen minutes segments about you know,
just history of Christmas and events that happened during Christmas.
It's very good.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
And of course now.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I'm like bombing on the name of it, but I
think it's just called Christmas past or something.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Anyway, I will put it in the show notes.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I really enjoy that, and you really get into the
Christmas spirit because you also, like you read Christmas books.
You kind of like have them on repeat every year.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
You read England Classics Classic Stories.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It's really great because every year I get like I
just I basically open the book. It's short stories. This
one that I really like, it's paying one classic short
Christmas Stories, and I just like flip open, I go, okay,
I'm going to read this one. And I feel like
every and so I'm rereading stories a lot. I've been
doing this for years, but I always get something new
out of it, Like I don't know if it's just
like I don't know, I just get a new insight,
(16:44):
or I understand the story better, or I.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Pay more attention to the story at the time.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
I'm reading it, not as distracted.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, yeah, so it is.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
I do get.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I really enjoy Christmas. It's a it's time.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It's a good time for me to sort of, I guess,
or try to relax it just like Kenyang and go
to movies.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I love movies.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I saw Avatar yesterday, which I really liked. I know
what's getting mixed reviews, but I think it was so
imagina too.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yeah, it was great. I enjoyed it. It's such a spectacle,
really it is. I mean the storytelling is pretty good too,
but I mean the spectacle of it is like, Wow,
If movie theaters go away in the next ten to
fifteen years, which some people are predicting, movies it's having
this experience go away would be such a bummer because
it's it's great to have to see something that big
(17:31):
and inspiring with a group of people. You know, it's
just a very it's a very unique experience that I
hope doesn't go away.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah, I agree with you. I feel the same way.
It's such a treat to be able to go out
to the movies. Like I loved going to the movies
growing up and I still love it, and so when
there's good movies to see, it's so much fun to
go to the theater.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I watched stuff at home.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
I mean I watched one of my favorite so far
is Train Dreams.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
I really really.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Liked that movie with the guy from Elton John with
the guy.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
So the actor is Joel Edgerton, who I think should
like definitely be a contender for Best Actor, and I
hope he gets a nomination.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
But I confused him.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
People don't. I mean Joe Elderton. He was phenomenal in
Training Dreams, and I confused him.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
With Taron Eagerton.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Taren Eagerton, do not ask me how, who's also a
terrific actor.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Like, wow, that guy looks way different.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
It's like, wow, he really transformed himself.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
He just looks so different.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I don't know, there was some confusion with the names.
Thank you for correcting me.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Did you see Knives Out And what did you think
of that one?
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yeah? I did it was really good. Actually, I you know,
it's a who done it? Murder mystery? And I don't
know the guy that plays the lead, not not the
Daniel Craig guy who sounds like Foghorn Leghorn, but the
guy that was in The Crown.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Josh O'Connor, you know that I would know.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Yeah, he's uh, he's great. He does a really good
job in that movie. And Josh Brolin's in it, who's
also really good. It's kind of like an ensemble cast.
Me Lacunas is in it, Glen Close, right, Yeah, No,
it was really good. It's uh, you don't. It's the
thing that I kind of got a little bit bothered
by is that you couldn't guess exactly what would like
(19:21):
how it went down. They kind of like did all
these reveals at the very end, and you're like, oh, okay, well,
I mean I wanted to I guess that. So it
felt a little cute like that way, because I kind
of like little nuggets of like, oh, if you were
paying attention, you may have noticed this this, you know, like,
but they didn't really necessarily do that it's just like
this Easter eggs.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Is that what they're calling, Yeah, Easter eggs?
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, no, but still it was entertaining and uh yeah,
it was good. That's a good franchise. I think they're
probably gonna milk it and there's gonna be some more
knives out.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I'm sure it's like Clue the game only brought to right, well,
revamped and reimagined. Well, we should get to are our
end of year compilation that we do every year. It
is the top ten issues for both the San Francisco
and Los Angeles. There was some crossover in some of
the stories. Yeah, and you know, we do this. We've
(20:15):
been doing this since since we started in two thousand
and when six six, Yeah, and it is it's how
we end the year, and it's always fun to put together.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
How do we It's very scientific, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Read very very scientific?
Speaker 2 (20:33):
No?
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I mean it's really kind of like, you know, the
writers and us talking about what stands out of the
stories that you did over the last year. What were
some of the ones that you thought really kind of
like rose above. Yeah, and that's and we try to
also keep it geographically diverse, making sure that we're not
just focusing on one general area and also a little
(20:55):
bit kind of activity diverse, so it's not entirely hiking.
Make sure you're getting some camping in there, some bike riding,
maybe some other types of activities. Fly fishing I saw
made the top ten, which is very cool. That was
a really great story in Reno, going fly fishing out there.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
In beautiful Reno.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Yeah, it's true, Like you know, we ask our writers
because we kind of put together stuff and then we
and but they when you ask the writers, they immediately
come back with their answers. They know immediately like these
are the ones that just were they just were cut
above because our writers go out and do everything that
gets written about and published a weekend sharp, so they're
vetting it. So it's really cool when you see like
(21:35):
the list, and we've also often that it's like yep,
that's exactly our sentiment on it too, and oftentimes we've
done it as well. Yeah, and then you can just
I mean, there's stories that simply stand out and you
can see it in the data, you know, in trending
stories and what gets a lot of cloaks and as popular.
So why don't we get to like a couple of them.
What what do you see on the top ten San Francisco.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
You know, one of my favorite places to go car camping,
in fact, went car camping here on my birthday in
early September is Salt Point State Park. Such a i mean,
such a great place to go camping if you happen
to live in the Bay Area. Not super far away,
but it feels like you're far away, and the car
(22:17):
camping isn't just kind of everybody's like sandwich next to
each other. It's kind of spread out nicely, and you're
in the trees and you can just walk down to
to the coast catch a sunset out there. The BirdLife
is amazing right at that sunset hour, that golden hour.
You can just hang out. There's great hiking around there
too on that that kind of northern Sonoma coast and
(22:39):
just great rugged beaches to just chill out at for
the day. Or you can even go up to Stuart's Point.
They have a little bakery up there that's like five
minutes away. Oh yeah, in the Delhi and the Sea
Ranch Lodge is not too much further away. So if
you want it to be bougie and you know, get
a nice What do they have at the hippie salad
(23:00):
for eighteen?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I've got a hippie salad for Yeah, it's a salad
to go in the area with a lot of pumpkin seats.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, you pay extra for that. So yeah, you can
go to Sea Ranch and get a cocktail there or
whatever if you wanted to make it glamping. But I
mean just the camp site itself is is great. So yes,
that that made the top ten. What about you? What
what stands out for you in the in the top ten?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
I mean I would say what we just well, I
I didn't do this story. It was done by Heather
who did Lake Aaloha and Eldorada National Forest hiking and camping,
and I have not been there.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
It looks fantastic.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
I was I backpacked in that area. I cannot remember
the lake that I d half Moon Lake, which was
also really cool. Yeah, the wind whip through that night though,
like I couldn't believe it was quite something. But you
know what was it night? Safe in our tent?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Desolation wilderness, deslation wilderness.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
And so I've I always hear people talk about Lake
Looha and it's very intriguing to me. So it was
great to see Heather do it. It was definitely one
of her standouts in Elderada National Forest. And yeah, you're
saying aloha without leaving California. It's seven mile out and
back taking a matter, so it's manageable. So I feel like,
I feel like that could be a good one if
you're somewhat of a beginner. Yeah, backpacker, do you think so?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Absolutely? Yeah, Deslation Wilderness is great for that, and especially
the fact that it's not like the chaos of like Yosemite,
where you know, you can just go up near the
Tahoe area and go on a backpacking trip. Yeah, pretty
turnkey if you happen to be in the Bay area.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
What the fly fishing, Well, what did you think of that?
Because you're with me on that, and I just thought
it's it was such a unique, beautiful experience and interesting
way of being out nature and learning almost and it
felt to me like an art form.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Or craft, totally like an art form or a craft.
That's it takes some practice to get that fly cast
down and even just tying the knots and knowing which
flies to use and the kind of the conditions and
what the water is doing and where you put your
fly and there's a lot to learn there. So it
was you know, it was your first time fly fishing,
(25:08):
so we went with the local shop, the Renal Fly Shop,
and and their crew there is is really really great,
especially if you've never done it before. And you know,
we were there on kind of a weekend trip of trips,
so we were trying to get some photo shoots as well.
But they did a great job of just kind of
running running you through kind of the drill of of
where to put it, and you caught some fish and uh,
(25:31):
it was it was nice. I mean the fact that
Reno has that right in city limits, the Trucky River
running right through it, and like within a few minutes
of leaving the fly shop in downtown Trucky you can
be on our downtown Reno, you can be on the river.
Fly fishing is incredible.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
So that's a very good point, Like you don't have
to you can they go. They go to Pyramid Lake
and all kinds of places depending where you want. They
even lead trips like abroad like you know, internationally. But
that's a really good point. It was nice.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Also, it's just like if you're in Reno and looking for.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Something to do but want to stay kind of local. Yeah,
you can go right into the river there. That's really cool. Yeah,
I liked that experience a lot. What did you see
on Los Angeles that you thought, because we did have
some crossover like we have. I think one of the
(26:25):
crossovers was Lasson Volcanic National Park. Yeah, again another story
by Heather who was hiking up to the top of
Mount Lasson.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
You've done that last and peak I have.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Yeah, definitely not the time to do it now, but
you know, once the snow clears, it's really it's a
great hike. It's it's not as crazy as trying to
get to the top of Shasta, which is in the
nearby area and requires typically an ice axe and crampons
if you're doing it at the right time of year.
Lason does not typically, and it's a great I mean,
(27:00):
you're you're obviously at the highest point in last National
Park and you get that whole you know, beautiful view
of the cast were kind of like the Sierra and
the Cascades meet, and it's a great, hard, hard hike.
I mean, it's like straight up.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Is it straight up? It's not sort of switchback you, I.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Mean a switchback you, but I mean you're just gaining
elevation the entirety of.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
The hike, right, How long did it take you? Because
I remember you doing it and Yea saying it was
just phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
It was I don't remember how long it took me,
but it wasn't too bad. You can park fairly, fairly
far up. But yeah, there was crossover. So that landed
on the list for both northern and southern California. The
one that stood out to me in Southern California. I
did not do this. Maybe you know the writer that
did this one, but it's to the Three Sisters Falls
(27:46):
in Cleveland.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
National That was Matt Pollack, who did Matt.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Did that story? Cool? Yeah, he's great, And yeah, I
mean the lead that you have for this good things
come in threes at this hike to a lovely trio
tiered waterfall in Cleveland National Forest, and the Three Sisters
Falls flows nicely in the winter but not in the
summer months.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Interesting, So it's something that you kind of want to
do in the shoulder season or maybe when there's getting
some decent rain, you know, maybe in the early spring
or something like that. But I mean it looks if
you look at the story on Southern California's site page
on our site, you get all the details on how
to make it happen. It's only four and a quarter
(28:27):
miles out and back to get to the trio of waterfalls.
But the rock slabs, I mean, it looks really really cool.
And in the spring, I bet with wildflowers, it's particularly beautiful.
Looks like Matt did this not so much in the spring.
It looks like it maybe was more kind of in
the deep winter. It was.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
I think he went more in the winter.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
But like you see a little bit like a few
wildflowers like kind of popping up to look. I'm not
sure if that's loop in there in that photo. I
have to ask him, But yeah, that does look really cool.
That's really neat I liked. I thought that Yvonne Pesqueni
did a lot of really great content for us this
past year, and I thought her story one that stood
(29:07):
out to me because I was sort of surprised by
how cool it turned out was LA's Tree Tour discovered
diverse urban forest right in Los Angeles. And even I'm
just sort of great at finding these like walks and
hikes that are just really unique and interesting that just
don't I think now tree people is doing.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
I think they were doing just flying before us.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
But it's a it's a guide who leads it, and
you can join this tree tour and just go discover
the diversity of tree species. There's over a thousand different
tree species.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
And this is in the Eco Park and Culver City
part of LA Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
And I just thought like it was such a.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Like it's kind of a quieter story in a way,
because it's not you know, you're not climbing to a
peak or going on an epic bike ride or you know,
but just to be out with a self taught tree enthusiast.
The guy's name is Carrie, and you know she leads
these guided walks monthly, which I think are always I
(30:10):
like guided walks.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
They're pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
I think when I was younger, I thought I just
felt like a you know, a kid on a field
trip and you're I just couldn't really get into.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
It all that much.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
But now as an adult, I really appreciate the plaques
at national parks that tell me what's going on.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Right and guided guided stuff. What about Sinsorio? That one
also was a bit of a standout. I would say.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Passor Robos was a standard just in general for me
because I had only really known it for wine, which
is its phenomenal wineries. Or it's well worth the visit
just for that, right, But I yeah, but I had
never Downtown is a revelation. It's you know, really cool, fun,
lots of cool restaurants. Yeah, I love the park walkable.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Who doesn't love a walkable Downtown.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
It's dog friendly too, and doc friendly love Plaza not
don friendly.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
But you know, it's just a It was great around.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
But Censorio was something else. I mean this visual marble
really where you're on a boardwalk just walking through a
spectacle of incredible light installations.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Also, to give you kudos to your to your your writing,
the way that you described it is at is as
if the rainbow magic of the Aurora borealis was plucked
from the sky and planted in the fields of passer Robles.
Very nice, very very nice.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Well thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Yeah, No, it's true. I mean you go out there
and you're just seeing these illuminations just in the rolling
landscape of Passo. It's it's incredible.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
It also happens to be where a friend of ours
is the manager.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yes, Ryan, Yeah, Ryan runs Censorio.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
He does a hard job.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah, he does a great job. It's fun to have
him kind of like lead us around a little.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
It was so random too, because I think he just
bumped into us.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Yeah, I think he knew we were coming. Oh really,
you got the headset.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Well, it was great to see him, and yeah, he
is doing a terrific job. But they are they were
having I know they were doing the Nutcracker that I
think it's probably past Nutcracker. Yeah, they were doing a
showing up the Nutcracker as far as I understand, I
think so. I mean I think they were doing I
guess they were dancing out in the field.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
I just have a December bonus.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Enjoy a holiday market, see the Nutcracker visit Santa which
all sounds fantastic.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Are they still dancing in the fields?
Speaker 2 (32:38):
One showing?
Speaker 3 (32:39):
I mean trying to get more empoyed.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Just thought it looked pretty cool and you had you
had to get tickets for it. Anyways, if you haven't
been to Censorio, it's well worth. It's just an incredible
lighted art exhibition and it's huge. It keeps and it's
growing all the time.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
They're always adding new exhibits to that.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
It's very true, and then getting to some you know,
national parks. So I think this may have been a
crossover as well. I don't know, but we're going to
put this in the show notes. We're not going to
go through all ten that would be a lot, but
our twenty it's you know, you know what I mean,
We're not going to go through both both lists. But
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park reopened Crystal Cave, which
is a really quite impressive.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
And cool cavern.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
It's like a marble it's very rare marble kar cavern.
And you know, I think it was closed for they're
only open during the summer season as far as I understand,
for tours. But it's popular in it and you know,
books said, I haven't been to Sequoia in a long time.
And it's funny because I have a question for you
related to Sequoia National Park. SOI Kings Canyon, what is
(33:42):
the first What is California's first national park?
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I think it's Sequoia.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
You know, it's funny what we had that and then
you came out of your office one day and said
it's not Sequoya, it's Yosemite. And I was like, what
we think.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
I asked, it's like Ai or something, because I always
thought it was Sequoia, I mean for a long time.
But then like I asked AI and I was like, oh, Yosemite.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Was like what you came out and I was like,
but we have that it's Sequoia and you're like, I know,
but it's it's Yosemite. So I removed it, and you
are correct, it is Yosemite.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
It is Yosemite barely.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Yeah. Both were established in eighteen ninety and Yellowstone was
designated first. Sorry Yosemite getting to Yellstone in a minute.
Yosemite designated first as California Snash Park, sending a precedent.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Okay, first a Koya, which I mean.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
It sounds like they're really close. Yeah, so you could
you know, I mean, I guess.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
It officially it's Yosemite. So we've been saying it wrong
all these years.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Well, I mean, it was only one story that had it,
but it was it was close enough.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Call. Yeah, exactly what is okay? Now I already gave
it away.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
What's the first national park in the US Yellowstone of course. Yeah,
here's the one for you, because you know, I have
to get in my Canadian content. Okay, what is Canada's
first national park?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Their first national park? I would say Bamp.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Well, thank goodness you knew that, because yes, that is.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
Correct national beautiful Alberta, Canada.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Where somebody I know got married. Good, it's good to
know it's Bamp. To be honest, I asked myself that question,
like it's Bamp. I know it's Bamp, but I have
to I have to ai this to make sure it's Bamp.
Sure enough it's BAMF which is just a beautiful, incredible
(35:46):
national park, very beautiful. But yeah, so yeah, the Sequoia
thing is very interesting. I guess it's a great trivia question.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
It is. We're due to go back to Sequoia. Honestly,
it's been so long since I've been there.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
Yeah, I do have a we didn't you go there?
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Like you were there as a as a young guy,
not still young, but you know, like really young, like
a kid.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Well, I grew up in Vicelia, which is like less
than forty five minutes from the park entrance, so yeah,
I mean it was easy to go there on on
a weekend with the family to just go up to
pot Wisha was one of the first areas and kind
of the lowlands of Sequoi National Park. And that's the
thing about Sequoia it's crazy, is like it's so geographically diverse.
(36:30):
You have the lowlands and kind of the rolling foothills
like the pot Wisha area yea, And then you get
up into like the big trees, and of course that's
that's fantastic going to see General Sherman and the Congress
Trail and and that's just amazing and iconic. And then
you can get really really high up into the high
Sierra and you go to Pear Lake, or you can
get up into Mount Whitney. I think that's Sequoi National Park,
(36:52):
not King's Canyon. But yeah, you're like the highest part
of the contiguous United States. So it's just like Sequoya
covers all this territory and elevation. It's crazy. It's crazy. Yeah,
I used to go I just mentioned this at Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
I'm actually laughing and I don't even know what this story.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
When I was in high school, we used to go
into Sequoia and there was like you could go you
could go cliff It's called cliff jumping and basically you're
jumping off a cliff into the river. I don't remember
what river it was, but it was like you know,
park in the park. Yeah, I don't know. I don't
think it's illegal because you're you know, it's just kind
(37:32):
of like just use your best judgment, like I don't
you know what I mean, but it was. But yeah,
there was like a certain you know, rock that you
could jump off of that was at a certain height
and you know, you can ump the ante. There was
like the first the first rock was like kind of
like a beginner rock, like maybe ten feet and you're like, okay,
you know, it's kind of like jumping off the roof
of your house. And then and then like it gets
(37:55):
like progressively harder. Then there's like the twenty or twenty
five footer, and that one was kind of like that
was a big one. It felt like, oh my gosh,
like you really kind of got the butterflies. And then
you'd see these crazy dudes who were going like on
the other side of this little it's kind of like
this little canyon on both sides that you could climb
up to these different rocks to jump into the river
and some guys were going on the other side, which
(38:17):
I was like, that looked just getting up to it
seemed insane, like like rock climbing would be involved and whatever.
And they were jumping off of like fifty sixty feet
tall and like and doing it. And you know, every
once in a while you hear these stories of it
not going so great, and you know, people get getting
paralyzed or people dying on this stuff. Luckily, I never
(38:40):
saw any of that, and me and my friends were
were fine.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
And you're you hung out with people who had good
judgment and that it's really terrible though, like that that happened, right.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
But you know, you also were going into it and
you're like sixteen and you're like, you you still have
good judgment. You're like, I need to make sure this
is deep enough that I'm not going to get hurt, right,
And then you see people go off and you're like, okay,
so this seems like it's it's good. Yeah, I can
do it. But anyway, I revealed that story at Thanksgiving
at the Thanksgiving table. My parents were upset all these
(39:14):
years later that I had done that.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Yeah, they might suggest that would have been poor judgment,
even if you were sure that the water was deep enough.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Right, would I do it today? I don't know, probably not.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
Please tell me no, probably not.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
That's just something you do when you're a teenager.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Yeah, well, I mean you do, see like there are
situations where the water is definitely deep enough blah blah blah.
Then yeah, those ones are really tragic when it happens.
I know, it's sad, like you know, you just I
don't know, misjudge or I don't know what happens.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Yeah, Or it's just like even the river's roaring too much,
like there was a story I read, you know, when
the stove the snow is melting in in April or
May from the high Sierra and that Korea River just
gets like going right through three rivers. And I remember
going up to three rivers as a kid, and there's
you know, little restaurants and shops you can stop at,
and you can also go to the river and just
(40:09):
enjoy hanging out by the river. And it gets really raging,
and some people will just kind of like, you know,
go out onto the rocks and then miss a step
and fall in and then that and that happened scar right,
and then it's just tragic and the kid. You know,
somebody will go down the river and not not survive.
So yeah, gotta be careful out there. The outdoors is unforgiving.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
We're serious.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Like at the beaches, you're hearing stuff now, you know,
with like roague waves. We've always heard it.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
But you know that shark attack down in Pacific Grove.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
The swimmer, Yeah, that's just heartbreaking. I really feel sad
about that.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
Yeah, no kidding, I mean you know.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Yeah, yeah, they're out of your control and some stuff
that is into your control, which is good judgment. So
we don't recommend jumping off cliff anywhere in Sequoia National.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
It's not going to make that. We can trip it
right up.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
But we do recommend Sequoia National. We do the King's
Keny National Park. We does very very much, so great
place to go hiking and it is quite magical. Well okay,
so you know, if you do you want any more,
you want to talk about the top ten or do
you want to leave something out?
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I think I encouraged our listeners to just visit our
site and check it out because we got I mean,
I'm biased, but like the top ten this year for
both nor Cal and so cal are really fantastic. We
got some great stories that made the list this year.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Absolutely I agree, and so please check out our site.
And I'm in the show notes too, all right, Brad,
So we're closing out here it is It's Monday, December
twenty second, and it's like after five o'clock and here
we are. But it's always fun to do a podcast
with you. And you know, we have a big year
(41:53):
next year. We're turning twenty. I'm turning twenty.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
And scratch that, yeah, subscribe. Lae is turning too.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
We can believe it. It's Yeah, two thousand and six
was when this thing started.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
So we've got lots of you know, interesting fun stuff
and new stuff coming up for our twentyth year, which
will be really fun. But I thought twenty twenty five
was a terrific year. Our Adventure Challenge that we brought
back through partnership and sponsorship with Reno and and Topo
Designs as our as our apparel sponsor, that was great.
(42:30):
Was just like so it's one of the most rewarding
programs that we do from me personally, just because I
see all these people sending in photos. So if you
don't know about the Venture Challenge. You know, all you
do is get out and do three things. We run
it summer long. Anything you find on your site that
is there you can go out and do, take some photos,
(42:52):
send them to us, and you get a really cool
T shirt that's custom designed by us, and a couple
of other gifts from our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
And the chance to win, at least this last year,
a chance to win a trip to to Reno Tahoe.
Exactly very generous for them to donate that, and you know,
hundreds of people participated, and it's just so fun to
see people out and to.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
See their photos, you know, and they go like all
over California, locally farther out and there are people in
southern Oregon, you know, doing stuff that they had found
on our site and making their trip. It was just
it was a very good year.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
I was really happy for that.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
It is inspiring because you find, at least in the
in our seats, we're always looking forward at what is next,
What are we writing about next, who's coming, who's doing what,
and who's you know, what are we writing about you know,
next month, in the next few weeks. You know, you're
you're always thinking about what's next and with the Adventure Challenge,
you're looking in the rearview mirror. You're looking at like
(43:51):
all the stuff that people are doing that has been
written about, that we can trip has written about, and
and people going out and having fun. And you're seeing
these photos of people with their dog, with their boyfriend,
their girlfriend, their family, their kids, you name it, everybody.
They're just going out there and getting outside. And honestly,
that's what it's all about. That's the whole reason we
(44:13):
started week Surpa, is that there's so much good stuff
out there. We're excited to share it with you, and
we love to see your photos and you getting out
there and getting after it, so that it's very rewarding
for us personally to see that.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Yeah, it's always always been about the ideas, information and
inspiration and I hope, I hope we keep doing that
for the next twenty years.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
We can share about ford it ambitious.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
But I hope that you have a great holiday season.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, I do too. I see. You know the New
Year is coming up as well. Have you been thinking
about some New Year's resolutions? Are you going to keep
that close to the vest or what?
Speaker 2 (44:53):
I don't really do them anymore. No, I have like
intentions in my.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Head, intentions that's a better word, like.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Less scrolling, more more books.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
Well, what was the lead that you used? Also, going back,
I've called out your writing like this is the third
time in this podcast. Here's so here's the lead for
the top ten. Less scroll time, more soul time. That's
how it goes when you get out to explore our
great golden state. That's good. No, it's great. It's a
great way to end it. But so no, no New
(45:25):
Year's resolutions for you, just some intentions. No, what about you,
I'm gonna be on social media more.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
What my gosh, the way you said that.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
But it's funny because there's actually an element of truth
to that. I think, you know, we can Surpa is, uh,
we're not on social media maybe as much as we
should be. We've been making some good strides this year,
I would say, and Yvonne has been helping us out
with social media and she's doing a great job. But yeah,
(46:00):
I think, you know, getting we can chirp out on
the on the socials a bit more is it isn't
necessarily a bad thing.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yeah, I agree, I agree, So.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
More social media in twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
And I've got like less scrolling.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
I'll scroll through where we can.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Well, I feel like we're in such this paradox where
it's like we are encouraging people to log off and
get outside, and yet the way we're communicating that is
all through digital content on your phone or on your
devices whatever. So it's kind of right, do you do
you see? Do you know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2 (46:33):
I do know what you're saying. Yeah, yeah, I think
I hear you. Yeah, But you know, I think one
thing that I like about well, I like many things
about we can sharp and I'm biased clearly, but is
that we don't make it so much about us.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
We're not like the center of it.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
It's about you, right, you know the reader that's always putting,
the reader, it's always putting. Yeah, I mean we're not
like look at me here, look.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
At me here, look at me there. Let me give
you my tips from my ideas on my things. They're
my favorites, my me, me me.
Speaker 2 (47:10):
Oh boy, now it's going off the rails because it's
getting late.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Yeah, and we're getting well.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Happy happy holidays to everybody, wishing you all the best
out there. Thanks for being listeners, and thanks for supporting
weekend Sharpa.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
I have a great holiday, I have a fantastic new Year,
and we will catch you in twenty twenty six.
Welcome to the Weekend schrip Of podcast. Take it Outside.
I'm Brad Day, I'm Holly Koolak, and happy holidays to you.
Hollidays holidays. Yes, you know, it's been kind of dreary December,
isn't it. I think I saw that. I can count
on one hand the number of times I saw the
sun in December. It's just been cold, gray and not
(00:44):
not super super nice. Sometimes you get those California nice,
you know, winter seasons, but December has been brutal.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Brad, that's not very holly jolly.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I know, sorry to start off on the wrong foot.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, I mean, if you're in the valleys, I think
there's been these strange like what is it an inversion
or something? Basically it just if you're in a valley,
I don't know, the cloud sits over you and fog
forever and then eventually maybe it goes away. I mean, yeah,
let's hope that came exactly.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I can't figure out what to wear because first of all,
I was freezing. I was so cold, and then now
I'm out there and it's like Pineapple Express, so it's gray.
But maybe that's a Christmas movie, is Pineapple Express a
Christmas movie.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
No, but you can make it one.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I guess you could.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
But then I'm kind of hot because it's you know,
it's more I don't know, it's warmer, it's moisture.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Yeah, that keeps the heating.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I mean, regardless of the weather. How is your holiday season?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
It's going good. I'm right now.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You can't see me because we're not on YouTube yet.
We should put ourselves on YouTube, but I'm glad we're
not right now because I look like a holiday mess.
Like I have do you Christmas socks? Yeah, some kind
of cute I guess red Sox. But then I have
slippers on that have bulldogs on them because I have
a bulldog, Gus. I mean, I just I look kind
of ridiculous. Spirit from the ankle.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
I like your little Santa mug.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Oh thank you, Yes, I have that.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I have tea.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I was practically or it's a snowman mug.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Snowman, kind of a snowman Santa.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I was breaking Like when I was sipping this, I
was going, and that's the tea because of we're going
to have a podcast. But I was like saying, I
don't know anymore. It used to be. It used to
be like kind of people would sort of do like
a gossip. I think it came like out of the
UK or something. People that's the tea or spill.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
The tea, right, Yeah, for that one.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's not cool anymore.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Maybe I don't know, but yeah, it's in this cool
little mug. How's your holiday season going?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
You know, it's pretty good. Like I got some of
the holiday shopping done kind of early. I mean, hosting
the holidays this year, hosting Christmas. So I'm going to
be making some pizzas in our portable pizza oven.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Oh very nice.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Yeah. And so I've been like tinker with like dough
recipes for the pizza dough for a very long time
and I finally kind of like landed on one that
I think works pretty well. But you have to make
the dough a few days ahead of time to just
kind of let it do its thing and ferment or
whatever the pizza dough does over it. Yeah, And so
(03:19):
I got to get on that probably tonight when watching
some Monday night football and maybe do some pizza dough preparation.
But then also got to get all the ingredients and
all the things. And it's like it's actually it's pretty fun,
you know when you have people over and you're doing
the pizzas in the pizza oven. But it's kind of
an old school one where you have to fill it
(03:40):
with little bits of like five inch pieces of wood
in the back and you have to continually feed the
oven that that heat source, so it's kind of the
heat isn't very consistent. It kind of moves around a
little bit, and you're trying to make like maybe seven
or eight different types of pizzas. It becomes you know,
you really have to kind of get in the zone,
(04:01):
you know, and you got to get your game face on,
and then you're just slinging pizzas for like an hour
and a half.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Oh wow, I.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Mean depends on how many people I guess come over
for that, right, But so.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
How do you keep the pizzas more?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
You just like fire up the oven in the kitchen
and then put all exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah. Yeah, so I've done it before where it's just
like I'll cook the pizza for the person. So the
way I do it is like people can, you know,
make their own pizza. They put whatever they want on it,
but then I'll do the thing with the with the pizza,
put it in the oven, and you know, I've given
it to them after it's after it's done and it's ready.
But then you have one person eating and everybody else
(04:40):
is just kind of watching. So I think it's a
good idea to just like get the kitchen oven like
on a warm temperature and put it in there, and
then everybody can eat together.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
But then also you have to limit the amount of
eggnog and RUMs you can have.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, yeah, I mean you don't want to be uh,
you want to be drinking and slinging.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
No, that's because that's a lot of like organization giving
everybody in check. What I like about that pizza idea
is that people nowadays have very particular food meats, right,
some people are vegetarians, some people don't want cheese, all
kinds of things. So then and you can find gluten
free dough.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Too, gluten free. So if prenny.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Meets everyone's like and it's fun, right, it keeps it
nice and casual and fun. You can have other side
dishes like salads and horse desserts.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
That's really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Now I know you're your pseudonym is the angry baker.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I'm the angry baker.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So what is on tap for the angry baker this
holiday season?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Well, I already made this.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Uh these Oreo I think they're called Orio Little Cuties,
so they're Orio cupcake or they're cheesecake cupcakes with Oreo bass.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So delicious.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, they are really good.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
It comes from a recipe called Juniors and Juniors is
uh bakery deli in New York that's like very famous.
It's cheesecake. And somebody I know gave me the Juniors
recipe because a gift more of a gift, that's more
of a hint. And so I've been making cheesecake from
(06:06):
that recipe book and it turns out really good. It
takes almost all day because of like preparing it and
then letting it stuff from scratch, right, everything is from scratch,
and it's really rewarding what it's done. And it turns out. Yeah,
and the cool thing is that it makes a lot.
So I made twenty four Thanksgiving and then you can
freeze them for over a month.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Like that's a lot of cupcakes.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, So then I now have twelve left, but I'll
I'll probably do one other dessert. I'm not sure what yet.
I like to do the mule Logel, the Bouche Noel,
and I add Bailey's to the crazy.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I mean, I was not going to do it boozy
exact the boozy one.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
This comes from the Great British Banking Show. I don't
use their recipe. I had to simplify mine, but they
talk a lot on that the recent episode that I
watched about boozy the boozy, boozy yulog. Okay, so that
just means you add a lot of Bailey's day. Well okay,
I mean just to your taste.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Sure, that sounds delicious. And then you wrap it and
it's just kind of like a cake that's wrapped like
that looks like a log.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
But the key component is you have to wrap it well,
like you have to roll that log.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
It doesn't crack.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, that's that's the whole thing. That's that's stressful, stressful Christmas,
and that's.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Why I am the angry Baker.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Indeed. Well, look, I look forward to hearing how that goes.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I know. But let's get to a little bit of news.
And the first one is did you know that we
are a top three? So there was feed Spot did
top fifteen outdoor podcasts in California. And weekend Sherpa came
in at number three.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
WHOA, what do you think of that? That's very cool.
I know it's on the podium.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
That's on the podium. Yeah, I'm I'm really pleased with that.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
I think it's been a lot of funding the podcast
and we really appreciate the listeners and the feedback we get.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
But I thought that was kind of cool.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
And it's for outdoors and we've been, you know, talking
for the last several minutes, haven't even mentioned the outdoors.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
People like outdoors, well, speaking of the outdoors, so we
are going to get to that because we're going to
talk about our top ten. But related to that is
really how good the outdoors is for for all of
us mental health wise, physical health wise, just overall wellness,
which we've we talk about a lot and everybody knows that.
But there was a study and I have to I'll
(08:29):
put it in the show notes. I just took down
notes from it. But lab mice were released into nature
and it was like a rewilding project. So they were
set out. They were like still trapped, but they had
lots of room in nature to run around in rome
and they were able to establish like that these mice
(08:51):
showed far fewer signs of stress and anxiety just from
being able to be out in nature, running around, touching
ground and dirt for the first time. I mean, and
I was like, yeah, that go figure, that makes perfect sense.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Until the farm cat comes up and ruins its day.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Right. Anyway, they're hoping that, you know, the data they
get can sort of help a lab mice live healthier
lives because it's pretty stressful.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I think being a lab mouse would, Yeah, that would
be a stressful.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Be fine existence, Yeah, And then they're going to try
to apply, you know, some of what they learn from
mouse based experiments to you know, how it can help
people more So.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Are you applying what's happening to the mouse and mice
to human experience?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Well, like, just like you know, life could be stressful,
and you know you can have like there's lots of
reasons to be anxious at times in life, and it's
a kind of up and down and up and down,
and just how good it is to get out into nature,
even when you feel like that's just another thing you
have to do, Like Okay, I got to make time
to get out on a hike or something.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
But once you do it.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I have never ever gone out been like I wish, like,
actually I wouldn't have done that. I wish I would
have stayed and like checked off more on my to
do list. I just did that this afternoon because there
was a break and rain and I have a big
to do list for the holidays. I'm like, I'm gonna
take the dog out for a walk around outside to
the park for both of us. But I didn't regret
it when I was thinking. But I have all these
(10:21):
other things I have to do, Like just like some
zen time, you kind of meet other people along the way.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
It's great for everybody.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
The docs from Monotony.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, so speaking of doing, you know, getting out and
doing a hike, Post has their new twenty twenty six
hiking calendar out.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
You should definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Check that out.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Always awesome.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Yeah, it's a hike a month.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
They give you all kinds of great tips, so you
can use that as your inspiration in twenty twenty six.
It's the Post twenty twenty six hiking Calendar. We'll put
it in our show notes on site, and.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It's on our site currently. The story is titled the
twenty twenty six Post Hiking Calendar. Very literal, and I
really like the lead that you wrote here. Ready to
have a happy New year by getting outdoors more, start
with a hike, make that twelve hikes. We've got just
the inspiration with the all new complimentary twenty twenty six
(11:17):
post hiking calendar. Wow, well done, Hollie.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Yeah, and that was not Ai, that was Holly Koulak
pure ho. No. But it's always so fun to try.
And I love looking at the calendar. Gives me great inspiration,
you know, for getting out and about going hiking. Maybe
you should, maybe you should do a biking one. Brad
a biking character, pretty pro biker mister. I won Leadville
(11:43):
for my age category this past year.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Right, yeah, no, it's the uh yeah, it's amateur. I
mean it's it's all amateur stuff. It's it's a hobby
taken very seriously, is what I do.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I like every mail out there from the ages like forty.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
To hey, forty year old, fifty year olds. We take
our hobbies very seriously, especially if it comes to bike riding.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
But it's like very healthy.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I mean, okay, the active is very healthy. I think
getting out and doing the biking is very healthy. Sometimes
I wonder when I go to some of the racism,
I see something and this is not you.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
You're quite measured and I mean you're competitive.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
But you see some people just kind of going to
agro and you're like, calm down, people, this is like,
this is not pro cycling.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Nobody's making a living doing this. This is all just
for fun.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
This is all just ego.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
It's just all ego. No it is. I mean it's
very healthy and I and that's not entirely why I
do it. I mean I like it. I've always been
into kind of endurance stuff. But and you were mentioning
just getting outside and kind of like how good that
is for your mental state, whether that's going on a
walk or just being outside in general, forest, bathing, going
(12:56):
on a walk with your dog, whatever it is, it's great.
And for me it's going on and uh, it's it's
funny because I don't necessarily feel like, oh I need
to do this right now. It becomes a bit of
a habit after a while, you know what I mean.
But I think if you were to just completely stop
cold Turkey, you would begin to kind of see like, wow,
(13:18):
I think I need to get outside and do this.
But once it becomes a bit of your routine and
your habit. I don't know, I think there's it's it's great,
you know, it's it's great. It's a great habit to
try to create.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
What do you like when you're just out on a
training ride?
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Er?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
You know, yeah, because a lot of time you're training
for upcoming races, sure, and what like what do you
most like about that when you're out biking?
Speaker 1 (13:47):
I think it's just you know, sometimes when you're you
hear of this this thing when you're a runner called
you get like a second wind or something like that.
You get something like that when you're riding a bike,
especially if it's kind of a long ride. If you're
out for like three or four hours, five hours, and
and you know it's a long ride, you're you've burned
(14:09):
a lot of calories at this point, but you still
feel good. I think I really love that feeling. And
just like, honestly, when you're just out in nature and
you're looking up, like right now, there's just a ton
of hawks around, Especially on this loop that I do
by my house, there's a ton of redtail hawks and
some of them seem so big that I'm like, is
(14:30):
that like is that a golden eagle? Do we get
golden eagles around here? Like because something? There's one in
particular that just looks enormous. And it's funny because I
do this loop pretty constantly and I see the same hawks.
They just kind of hang out, you know, they just
kind of hang out on the same telephone pole. There's
one that's really there's one that like really every time
(14:51):
it sees me, it just like screeches at me, looks
at me directly and screeches at me like it's being
territorial or something. So we have a Yeah, we have
a bit of a relationship there.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
That's such a cool, like what a great feeling to
be going by and being like here.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Is I'm always looking for him.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
He hasn't swooped down.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
No, it hasn't swooped down yet. Yeah. But about you,
like when you, I know you run, you you run
with like headphones on right or AirPods?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Are you listening to music podcasts? What's what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Oh? I listened to podcasts and you know it's really
my just time to myself. I don't listen to music.
I used to do and then I got really big
into podcasts. And you know, I just run and now
you're on a podcast. Yeah, now I'm on a podcast,
but I really enjoy listening to a whole ride. Right now,
I'm listening to Christmas story podcasts.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
You know, I have to put in.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
The show notes this one guy I listened to it.
He's local in the Bay Area, and he's got a
great one. It's like Christmas Past Stories or something. And
there are these like fourteen minutes segments about you know,
just history of Christmas and events that happened during Christmas.
It's very good.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
And of course now.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I'm like bombing on the name of it, but I
think it's just called Christmas past or something.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Anyway, I will put it in the show notes.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I really enjoy that, and you really get into the
Christmas spirit because you also, like you read Christmas books.
You kind of like have them on repeat every year.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
You read England Classics Classic Stories.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It's really great because every year I get like I
just I basically open the book. It's short stories. This
one that I really like, it's paying one classic short
Christmas Stories, and I just like flip open, I go, okay,
I'm going to read this one. And I feel like
every and so I'm rereading stories a lot. I've been
doing this for years, but I always get something new
out of it, Like I don't know if it's just
like I don't know, I just get a new insight,
(16:44):
or I understand the story better, or I.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Pay more attention to the story at the time.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
I'm reading it, not as distracted.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, yeah, so it is.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
I do get.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I really enjoy Christmas. It's a it's time.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It's a good time for me to sort of, I guess,
or try to relax it just like Kenyang and go
to movies.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I love movies.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I saw Avatar yesterday, which I really liked. I know
what's getting mixed reviews, but I think it was so
imagina too.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yeah, it was great. I enjoyed it. It's such a spectacle,
really it is. I mean the storytelling is pretty good too,
but I mean the spectacle of it is like, Wow,
If movie theaters go away in the next ten to
fifteen years, which some people are predicting, movies it's having
this experience go away would be such a bummer because
it's it's great to have to see something that big
(17:31):
and inspiring with a group of people. You know, it's
just a very it's a very unique experience that I
hope doesn't go away.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah, I agree with you. I feel the same way.
It's such a treat to be able to go out
to the movies. Like I loved going to the movies
growing up and I still love it, and so when
there's good movies to see, it's so much fun to
go to the theater.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I watched stuff at home.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
I mean I watched one of my favorite so far
is Train Dreams.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
I really really.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Liked that movie with the guy from Elton John with
the guy.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
So the actor is Joel Edgerton, who I think should
like definitely be a contender for Best Actor, and I
hope he gets a nomination.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
But I confused him.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
People don't. I mean Joe Elderton. He was phenomenal in
Training Dreams, and I confused him.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
With Taron Eagerton.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Taren Eagerton, do not ask me how, who's also a
terrific actor.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Like, wow, that guy looks way different.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
It's like, wow, he really transformed himself.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
He just looks so different.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I don't know, there was some confusion with the names.
Thank you for correcting me.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Did you see Knives Out And what did you think
of that one?
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yeah? I did it was really good. Actually, I you know,
it's a who done it? Murder mystery? And I don't
know the guy that plays the lead, not not the
Daniel Craig guy who sounds like Foghorn Leghorn, but the
guy that was in The Crown.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Josh O'Connor, you know that I would know.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Yeah, he's uh, he's great. He does a really good
job in that movie. And Josh Brolin's in it, who's
also really good. It's kind of like an ensemble cast.
Me Lacunas is in it, Glen Close, right, Yeah, No,
it was really good. It's uh, you don't. It's the
thing that I kind of got a little bit bothered
by is that you couldn't guess exactly what would like
(19:21):
how it went down. They kind of like did all
these reveals at the very end, and you're like, oh, okay, well,
I mean I wanted to I guess that. So it
felt a little cute like that way, because I kind
of like little nuggets of like, oh, if you were
paying attention, you may have noticed this this, you know, like,
but they didn't really necessarily do that it's just like
this Easter eggs.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Is that what they're calling, Yeah, Easter eggs?
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, no, but still it was entertaining and uh yeah,
it was good. That's a good franchise. I think they're
probably gonna milk it and there's gonna be some more
knives out.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I'm sure it's like Clue the game only brought to right, well,
revamped and reimagined. Well, we should get to are our
end of year compilation that we do every year. It
is the top ten issues for both the San Francisco
and Los Angeles. There was some crossover in some of
the stories. Yeah, and you know, we do this. We've
(20:15):
been doing this since since we started in two thousand
and when six six, Yeah, and it is it's how
we end the year, and it's always fun to put together.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
How do we It's very scientific, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Read very very scientific?
Speaker 2 (20:33):
No?
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I mean it's really kind of like, you know, the
writers and us talking about what stands out of the
stories that you did over the last year. What were
some of the ones that you thought really kind of
like rose above. Yeah, and that's and we try to
also keep it geographically diverse, making sure that we're not
just focusing on one general area and also a little
(20:55):
bit kind of activity diverse, so it's not entirely hiking.
Make sure you're getting some camping in there, some bike riding,
maybe some other types of activities. Fly fishing I saw
made the top ten, which is very cool. That was
a really great story in Reno, going fly fishing out there.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
In beautiful Reno.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Yeah, it's true, Like you know, we ask our writers
because we kind of put together stuff and then we
and but they when you ask the writers, they immediately
come back with their answers. They know immediately like these
are the ones that just were they just were cut
above because our writers go out and do everything that
gets written about and published a weekend sharp, so they're
vetting it. So it's really cool when you see like
(21:35):
the list, and we've also often that it's like yep,
that's exactly our sentiment on it too, and oftentimes we've
done it as well. Yeah, and then you can just
I mean, there's stories that simply stand out and you
can see it in the data, you know, in trending
stories and what gets a lot of cloaks and as popular.
So why don't we get to like a couple of them.
What what do you see on the top ten San Francisco.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
You know, one of my favorite places to go car camping,
in fact, went car camping here on my birthday in
early September is Salt Point State Park. Such a i mean,
such a great place to go camping if you happen
to live in the Bay Area. Not super far away,
but it feels like you're far away, and the car
(22:17):
camping isn't just kind of everybody's like sandwich next to
each other. It's kind of spread out nicely, and you're
in the trees and you can just walk down to
to the coast catch a sunset out there. The BirdLife
is amazing right at that sunset hour, that golden hour.
You can just hang out. There's great hiking around there
too on that that kind of northern Sonoma coast and
(22:39):
just great rugged beaches to just chill out at for
the day. Or you can even go up to Stuart's Point.
They have a little bakery up there that's like five
minutes away. Oh yeah, in the Delhi and the Sea
Ranch Lodge is not too much further away. So if
you want it to be bougie and you know, get
a nice What do they have at the hippie salad
(23:00):
for eighteen?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I've got a hippie salad for Yeah, it's a salad
to go in the area with a lot of pumpkin seats.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, you pay extra for that. So yeah, you can
go to Sea Ranch and get a cocktail there or
whatever if you wanted to make it glamping. But I
mean just the camp site itself is is great. So yes,
that that made the top ten. What about you? What
what stands out for you in the in the top ten?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
I mean I would say what we just well, I
I didn't do this story. It was done by Heather
who did Lake Aaloha and Eldorada National Forest hiking and camping,
and I have not been there.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
It looks fantastic.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
I was I backpacked in that area. I cannot remember
the lake that I d half Moon Lake, which was
also really cool. Yeah, the wind whip through that night though,
like I couldn't believe it was quite something. But you
know what was it night? Safe in our tent?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Desolation wilderness, deslation wilderness.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
And so I've I always hear people talk about Lake
Looha and it's very intriguing to me. So it was
great to see Heather do it. It was definitely one
of her standouts in Elderada National Forest. And yeah, you're
saying aloha without leaving California. It's seven mile out and
back taking a matter, so it's manageable. So I feel like,
I feel like that could be a good one if
you're somewhat of a beginner. Yeah, backpacker, do you think so?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Absolutely? Yeah, Deslation Wilderness is great for that, and especially
the fact that it's not like the chaos of like Yosemite,
where you know, you can just go up near the
Tahoe area and go on a backpacking trip. Yeah, pretty
turnkey if you happen to be in the Bay area.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
What the fly fishing, Well, what did you think of that?
Because you're with me on that, and I just thought
it's it was such a unique, beautiful experience and interesting
way of being out nature and learning almost and it
felt to me like an art form.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Or craft, totally like an art form or a craft.
That's it takes some practice to get that fly cast
down and even just tying the knots and knowing which
flies to use and the kind of the conditions and
what the water is doing and where you put your
fly and there's a lot to learn there. So it
was you know, it was your first time fly fishing,
(25:08):
so we went with the local shop, the Renal Fly Shop,
and and their crew there is is really really great,
especially if you've never done it before. And you know,
we were there on kind of a weekend trip of trips,
so we were trying to get some photo shoots as well.
But they did a great job of just kind of
running running you through kind of the drill of of
where to put it, and you caught some fish and uh,
(25:31):
it was it was nice. I mean the fact that
Reno has that right in city limits, the Trucky River
running right through it, and like within a few minutes
of leaving the fly shop in downtown Trucky you can
be on our downtown Reno, you can be on the river.
Fly fishing is incredible.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
So that's a very good point, Like you don't have
to you can they go. They go to Pyramid Lake
and all kinds of places depending where you want. They
even lead trips like abroad like you know, internationally. But
that's a really good point. It was nice.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Also, it's just like if you're in Reno and looking for.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Something to do but want to stay kind of local. Yeah,
you can go right into the river there. That's really cool. Yeah,
I liked that experience a lot. What did you see
on Los Angeles that you thought, because we did have
some crossover like we have. I think one of the
(26:25):
crossovers was Lasson Volcanic National Park. Yeah, again another story
by Heather who was hiking up to the top of
Mount Lasson.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
You've done that last and peak I have.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Yeah, definitely not the time to do it now, but
you know, once the snow clears, it's really it's a
great hike. It's it's not as crazy as trying to
get to the top of Shasta, which is in the
nearby area and requires typically an ice axe and crampons
if you're doing it at the right time of year.
Lason does not typically, and it's a great I mean,
(27:00):
you're you're obviously at the highest point in last National
Park and you get that whole you know, beautiful view
of the cast were kind of like the Sierra and
the Cascades meet, and it's a great, hard, hard hike.
I mean, it's like straight up.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Is it straight up? It's not sort of switchback you, I.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Mean a switchback you, but I mean you're just gaining
elevation the entirety of.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
The hike, right, How long did it take you? Because
I remember you doing it and Yea saying it was
just phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
It was I don't remember how long it took me,
but it wasn't too bad. You can park fairly, fairly
far up. But yeah, there was crossover. So that landed
on the list for both northern and southern California. The
one that stood out to me in Southern California. I
did not do this. Maybe you know the writer that
did this one, but it's to the Three Sisters Falls
(27:46):
in Cleveland.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
National That was Matt Pollack, who did Matt.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Did that story? Cool? Yeah, he's great, And yeah, I
mean the lead that you have for this good things
come in threes at this hike to a lovely trio
tiered waterfall in Cleveland National Forest, and the Three Sisters
Falls flows nicely in the winter but not in the
summer months.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Interesting, So it's something that you kind of want to
do in the shoulder season or maybe when there's getting
some decent rain, you know, maybe in the early spring
or something like that. But I mean it looks if
you look at the story on Southern California's site page
on our site, you get all the details on how
to make it happen. It's only four and a quarter
(28:27):
miles out and back to get to the trio of waterfalls.
But the rock slabs, I mean, it looks really really cool.
And in the spring, I bet with wildflowers, it's particularly beautiful.
Looks like Matt did this not so much in the spring.
It looks like it maybe was more kind of in
the deep winter. It was.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
I think he went more in the winter.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
But like you see a little bit like a few
wildflowers like kind of popping up to look. I'm not
sure if that's loop in there in that photo. I
have to ask him, But yeah, that does look really cool.
That's really neat I liked. I thought that Yvonne Pesqueni
did a lot of really great content for us this
past year, and I thought her story one that stood
(29:07):
out to me because I was sort of surprised by
how cool it turned out was LA's Tree Tour discovered
diverse urban forest right in Los Angeles. And even I'm
just sort of great at finding these like walks and
hikes that are just really unique and interesting that just
don't I think now tree people is doing.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
I think they were doing just flying before us.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
But it's a it's a guide who leads it, and
you can join this tree tour and just go discover
the diversity of tree species. There's over a thousand different
tree species.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
And this is in the Eco Park and Culver City
part of LA Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
And I just thought like it was such a.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Like it's kind of a quieter story in a way,
because it's not you know, you're not climbing to a
peak or going on an epic bike ride or you know,
but just to be out with a self taught tree enthusiast.
The guy's name is Carrie, and you know she leads
these guided walks monthly, which I think are always I
(30:10):
like guided walks.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
They're pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
I think when I was younger, I thought I just
felt like a you know, a kid on a field
trip and you're I just couldn't really get into.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
It all that much.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
But now as an adult, I really appreciate the plaques
at national parks that tell me what's going on.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Right and guided guided stuff. What about Sinsorio? That one
also was a bit of a standout. I would say.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Passor Robos was a standard just in general for me
because I had only really known it for wine, which
is its phenomenal wineries. Or it's well worth the visit
just for that, right, But I yeah, but I had
never Downtown is a revelation. It's you know, really cool, fun,
lots of cool restaurants. Yeah, I love the park walkable.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Who doesn't love a walkable Downtown.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
It's dog friendly too, and doc friendly love Plaza not
don friendly.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
But you know, it's just a It was great around.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
But Censorio was something else. I mean this visual marble
really where you're on a boardwalk just walking through a
spectacle of incredible light installations.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
Also, to give you kudos to your to your your writing,
the way that you described it is at is as
if the rainbow magic of the Aurora borealis was plucked
from the sky and planted in the fields of passer Robles.
Very nice, very very nice.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Well thank you.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Yeah, No, it's true. I mean you go out there
and you're just seeing these illuminations just in the rolling
landscape of Passo. It's it's incredible.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
It also happens to be where a friend of ours
is the manager.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yes, Ryan, Yeah, Ryan runs Censorio.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
He does a hard job.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah, he does a great job. It's fun to have
him kind of like lead us around a little.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
It was so random too, because I think he just
bumped into us.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Yeah, I think he knew we were coming. Oh really,
you got the headset.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Well, it was great to see him, and yeah, he
is doing a terrific job. But they are they were
having I know they were doing the Nutcracker that I
think it's probably past Nutcracker. Yeah, they were doing a
showing up the Nutcracker as far as I understand, I
think so. I mean I think they were doing I
guess they were dancing out in the field.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
I just have a December bonus.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Enjoy a holiday market, see the Nutcracker visit Santa which
all sounds fantastic.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Are they still dancing in the fields?
Speaker 2 (32:38):
One showing?
Speaker 3 (32:39):
I mean trying to get more empoyed.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Just thought it looked pretty cool and you had you
had to get tickets for it. Anyways, if you haven't
been to Censorio, it's well worth. It's just an incredible
lighted art exhibition and it's huge. It keeps and it's
growing all the time.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
They're always adding new exhibits to that.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
It's very true, and then getting to some you know,
national parks. So I think this may have been a
crossover as well. I don't know, but we're going to
put this in the show notes. We're not going to
go through all ten that would be a lot, but
our twenty it's you know, you know what I mean,
We're not going to go through both both lists. But
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park reopened Crystal Cave, which
is a really quite impressive.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
And cool cavern.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
It's like a marble it's very rare marble kar cavern.
And you know, I think it was closed for they're
only open during the summer season as far as I understand,
for tours. But it's popular in it and you know,
books said, I haven't been to Sequoia in a long time.
And it's funny because I have a question for you
related to Sequoia National Park. SOI Kings Canyon, what is
(33:42):
the first What is California's first national park?
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I think it's Sequoia.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
You know, it's funny what we had that and then
you came out of your office one day and said
it's not Sequoya, it's Yosemite. And I was like, what
we think.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
I asked, it's like Ai or something, because I always
thought it was Sequoia, I mean for a long time.
But then like I asked AI and I was like, oh, Yosemite.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Was like what you came out and I was like,
but we have that it's Sequoia and you're like, I know,
but it's it's Yosemite. So I removed it, and you
are correct, it is Yosemite.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
It is Yosemite barely.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Yeah. Both were established in eighteen ninety and Yellowstone was
designated first. Sorry Yosemite getting to Yellstone in a minute.
Yosemite designated first as California Snash Park, sending a precedent.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Okay, first a Koya, which I mean.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
It sounds like they're really close. Yeah, so you could
you know, I mean, I guess.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
It officially it's Yosemite. So we've been saying it wrong
all these years.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Well, I mean, it was only one story that had it,
but it was it was close enough.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Call. Yeah, exactly what is okay? Now I already gave
it away.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
What's the first national park in the US Yellowstone of course. Yeah,
here's the one for you, because you know, I have
to get in my Canadian content. Okay, what is Canada's
first national park?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Their first national park? I would say Bamp.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Well, thank goodness you knew that, because yes, that is.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
Correct national beautiful Alberta, Canada.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Where somebody I know got married. Good, it's good to
know it's Bamp. To be honest, I asked myself that question,
like it's Bamp. I know it's Bamp, but I have
to I have to ai this to make sure it's Bamp.
Sure enough it's BAMF which is just a beautiful, incredible
(35:46):
national park, very beautiful. But yeah, so yeah, the Sequoia
thing is very interesting. I guess it's a great trivia question.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
It is. We're due to go back to Sequoia. Honestly,
it's been so long since I've been there.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
Yeah, I do have a we didn't you go there?
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Like you were there as a as a young guy,
not still young, but you know, like really young, like
a kid.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Well, I grew up in Vicelia, which is like less
than forty five minutes from the park entrance, so yeah,
I mean it was easy to go there on on
a weekend with the family to just go up to
pot Wisha was one of the first areas and kind
of the lowlands of Sequoi National Park. And that's the
thing about Sequoia it's crazy, is like it's so geographically diverse.
(36:30):
You have the lowlands and kind of the rolling foothills
like the pot Wisha area yea, And then you get
up into like the big trees, and of course that's
that's fantastic going to see General Sherman and the Congress
Trail and and that's just amazing and iconic. And then
you can get really really high up into the high
Sierra and you go to Pear Lake, or you can
get up into Mount Whitney. I think that's Sequoi National Park,
(36:52):
not King's Canyon. But yeah, you're like the highest part
of the contiguous United States. So it's just like Sequoya
covers all this territory and elevation. It's crazy. It's crazy. Yeah,
I used to go I just mentioned this at Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
I'm actually laughing and I don't even know what this story.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
When I was in high school, we used to go
into Sequoia and there was like you could go you
could go cliff It's called cliff jumping and basically you're
jumping off a cliff into the river. I don't remember
what river it was, but it was like you know,
park in the park. Yeah, I don't know. I don't
think it's illegal because you're you know, it's just kind
(37:32):
of like just use your best judgment, like I don't
you know what I mean, but it was. But yeah,
there was like a certain you know, rock that you
could jump off of that was at a certain height
and you know, you can ump the ante. There was
like the first the first rock was like kind of
like a beginner rock, like maybe ten feet and you're like, okay,
you know, it's kind of like jumping off the roof
of your house. And then and then like it gets
(37:55):
like progressively harder. Then there's like the twenty or twenty
five footer, and that one was kind of like that
was a big one. It felt like, oh my gosh,
like you really kind of got the butterflies. And then
you'd see these crazy dudes who were going like on
the other side of this little it's kind of like
this little canyon on both sides that you could climb
up to these different rocks to jump into the river
and some guys were going on the other side, which
(38:17):
I was like, that looked just getting up to it
seemed insane, like like rock climbing would be involved and whatever.
And they were jumping off of like fifty sixty feet
tall and like and doing it. And you know, every
once in a while you hear these stories of it
not going so great, and you know, people get getting
paralyzed or people dying on this stuff. Luckily, I never
(38:40):
saw any of that, and me and my friends were
were fine.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
And you're you hung out with people who had good
judgment and that it's really terrible though, like that that happened, right.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
But you know, you also were going into it and
you're like sixteen and you're like, you you still have
good judgment. You're like, I need to make sure this
is deep enough that I'm not going to get hurt, right,
And then you see people go off and you're like, okay,
so this seems like it's it's good. Yeah, I can
do it. But anyway, I revealed that story at Thanksgiving
at the Thanksgiving table. My parents were upset all these
(39:14):
years later that I had done that.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Yeah, they might suggest that would have been poor judgment,
even if you were sure that the water was deep enough.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Right, would I do it today? I don't know, probably not.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
Please tell me no, probably not.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
That's just something you do when you're a teenager.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Yeah, well, I mean you do, see like there are
situations where the water is definitely deep enough blah blah blah.
Then yeah, those ones are really tragic when it happens.
I know, it's sad, like you know, you just I
don't know, misjudge or I don't know what happens.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Yeah, Or it's just like even the river's roaring too much,
like there was a story I read, you know, when
the stove the snow is melting in in April or
May from the high Sierra and that Korea River just
gets like going right through three rivers. And I remember
going up to three rivers as a kid, and there's
you know, little restaurants and shops you can stop at,
and you can also go to the river and just
(40:09):
enjoy hanging out by the river. And it gets really raging,
and some people will just kind of like, you know,
go out onto the rocks and then miss a step
and fall in and then that and that happened scar right,
and then it's just tragic and the kid. You know,
somebody will go down the river and not not survive.
So yeah, gotta be careful out there. The outdoors is unforgiving.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
We're serious.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Like at the beaches, you're hearing stuff now, you know,
with like roague waves. We've always heard it.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
But you know that shark attack down in Pacific Grove.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
The swimmer, Yeah, that's just heartbreaking. I really feel sad
about that.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
Yeah, no kidding, I mean you know.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Yeah, yeah, they're out of your control and some stuff
that is into your control, which is good judgment. So
we don't recommend jumping off cliff anywhere in Sequoia National.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
It's not going to make that. We can trip it
right up.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
But we do recommend Sequoia National. We do the King's
Keny National Park. We does very very much, so great
place to go hiking and it is quite magical. Well okay,
so you know, if you do you want any more,
you want to talk about the top ten or do
you want to leave something out?
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I think I encouraged our listeners to just visit our
site and check it out because we got I mean,
I'm biased, but like the top ten this year for
both nor Cal and so cal are really fantastic. We
got some great stories that made the list this year.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Absolutely I agree, and so please check out our site.
And I'm in the show notes too, all right, Brad,
So we're closing out here it is It's Monday, December
twenty second, and it's like after five o'clock and here
we are. But it's always fun to do a podcast
with you. And you know, we have a big year
(41:53):
next year. We're turning twenty. I'm turning twenty.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
And scratch that, yeah, subscribe. Lae is turning too.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
We can believe it. It's Yeah, two thousand and six
was when this thing started.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
So we've got lots of you know, interesting fun stuff
and new stuff coming up for our twentyth year, which
will be really fun. But I thought twenty twenty five
was a terrific year. Our Adventure Challenge that we brought
back through partnership and sponsorship with Reno and and Topo
Designs as our as our apparel sponsor, that was great.
(42:30):
Was just like so it's one of the most rewarding
programs that we do from me personally, just because I
see all these people sending in photos. So if you
don't know about the Venture Challenge. You know, all you
do is get out and do three things. We run
it summer long. Anything you find on your site that
is there you can go out and do, take some photos,
(42:52):
send them to us, and you get a really cool
T shirt that's custom designed by us, and a couple
of other gifts from our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
And the chance to win, at least this last year,
a chance to win a trip to to Reno Tahoe.
Exactly very generous for them to donate that, and you know,
hundreds of people participated, and it's just so fun to
see people out and to.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
See their photos, you know, and they go like all
over California, locally farther out and there are people in
southern Oregon, you know, doing stuff that they had found
on our site and making their trip. It was just
it was a very good year.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
I was really happy for that.
Speaker 1 (43:31):
It is inspiring because you find, at least in the
in our seats, we're always looking forward at what is next,
What are we writing about next, who's coming, who's doing what,
and who's you know, what are we writing about you know,
next month, in the next few weeks. You know, you're
you're always thinking about what's next and with the Adventure Challenge,
you're looking in the rearview mirror. You're looking at like
(43:51):
all the stuff that people are doing that has been
written about, that we can trip has written about, and
and people going out and having fun. And you're seeing
these photos of people with their dog, with their boyfriend,
their girlfriend, their family, their kids, you name it, everybody.
They're just going out there and getting outside. And honestly,
that's what it's all about. That's the whole reason we
(44:13):
started week Surpa, is that there's so much good stuff
out there. We're excited to share it with you, and
we love to see your photos and you getting out
there and getting after it, so that it's very rewarding
for us personally to see that.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Yeah, it's always always been about the ideas, information and
inspiration and I hope, I hope we keep doing that
for the next twenty years.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
We can share about ford it ambitious.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
But I hope that you have a great holiday season.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, I do too. I see. You know the New
Year is coming up as well. Have you been thinking
about some New Year's resolutions? Are you going to keep
that close to the vest or what?
Speaker 2 (44:53):
I don't really do them anymore. No, I have like
intentions in my.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Head, intentions that's a better word, like.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Less scrolling, more more books.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
Well, what was the lead that you used? Also, going back,
I've called out your writing like this is the third
time in this podcast. Here's so here's the lead for
the top ten. Less scroll time, more soul time. That's
how it goes when you get out to explore our
great golden state. That's good. No, it's great. It's a
great way to end it. But so no, no New
(45:25):
Year's resolutions for you, just some intentions. No, what about you,
I'm gonna be on social media more.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
What my gosh, the way you said that.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
But it's funny because there's actually an element of truth
to that. I think, you know, we can Surpa is, uh,
we're not on social media maybe as much as we
should be. We've been making some good strides this year,
I would say, and Yvonne has been helping us out
with social media and she's doing a great job. But yeah,
(46:00):
I think, you know, getting we can chirp out on
the on the socials a bit more is it isn't
necessarily a bad thing.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yeah, I agree, I agree, So.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
More social media in twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
And I've got like less scrolling.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
I'll scroll through where we can.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Well, I feel like we're in such this paradox where
it's like we are encouraging people to log off and
get outside, and yet the way we're communicating that is
all through digital content on your phone or on your
devices whatever. So it's kind of right, do you do
you see? Do you know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2 (46:33):
I do know what you're saying. Yeah, yeah, I think
I hear you. Yeah, But you know, I think one
thing that I like about well, I like many things
about we can sharp and I'm biased clearly, but is
that we don't make it so much about us.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
We're not like the center of it.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
It's about you, right, you know the reader that's always putting,
the reader, it's always putting. Yeah, I mean we're not
like look at me here, look.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
At me here, look at me there. Let me give
you my tips from my ideas on my things. They're
my favorites, my me, me me.
Speaker 2 (47:10):
Oh boy, now it's going off the rails because it's
getting late.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Yeah, and we're getting well.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Happy happy holidays to everybody, wishing you all the best
out there. Thanks for being listeners, and thanks for supporting
weekend Sharpa.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
I have a great holiday, I have a fantastic new Year,
and we will catch you in twenty twenty six.
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