#chama river brewery

[megadavestewart]

WFS 215 - The Turtlebox Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker with Jonathan Mckenzie

Show Notes:  https://wetflyswing.com/215

Show Sponsor:  Turtlebox Audio:  https://wetflyswing.com/turtlebox

Jonathan Mckenzie, the co-founder of Turtlebox Audio is here to share the story of how they created a great Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker that sounds great and is ready for the outdoors.

Jonathan describes how it all started with him and his best 3 buddies and now has become a group of 4 families, 25 people with kids running around the headquarters.  Jonathan, Will, Regan, and Jeff

Show Notes with Jonathan Mckenzie 

- TWS - True Wireless Stereo vs the mono single speaker.  If you get two turtlebox speakers you can do TWS.

- Will Bradley is the guy who rallies people, Reagan is the CFO, Jeff Besner has the big company exposure.

- I noted the Outdoors Online Podcast and the Jessica Shambora community podcast.

- Duck Camp out of Austin, Zilker Belts, Chama Chair hunting chairs, Pak Mule, Twisted X Brewery and others are big Texas companies that are part of the Tejas Collaborative.

- Don Julio 1942 or some in the $60 range like Petron or Teirra noble are good for Tequilla.  We get a little lesson on Tequilla here so worth a listen.

- The Devil's River trip is coming up that is a classified pristine River out of Texas.

You can find Jonathan at TurtleboxAudio.com

"Listen Responsibly" -Jonathan Mckenzie

Turtlebox Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker Conclusion 

We get the full Turtlebox story from Jonathan Mckenzie on how he co-founded Turtlebox Audio 8 years ago and has created a great outdoor Bluetooth Speaker focused on fishing, hunting and outdoor enthusiasts.

We get a glimpse of where Turtlebox might be heading next and why they are doubling down on the hunting and fishing niche.  If you want to hear an amazing company founder, amazing passion, and a product you can stand behind, this is the episode for you.

Show Notes:  https://wetflyswing.com/215

Check out this episode!

[lucaswoj]

May 13th

The legendarily easy hitchhike into Chama doesn't disappoint. The first car I see stops and offers me a ride into town. The driver is on his way home from a trail run. One of the two huskies in the back cartoonishly slithers into the trunk to inspect my backpack.

I get a late breakfast and then check into the hotel to which I shipped my snowshoes, ice axe, and crampons.

The afternoon disappears quickly with my todo list.

May 14th

North of Chama are the San Juans, the most beautiful and most dangerous part of the CDT. I had hoped to wait in town until I met some companions for this next leg. But there's a snow storm forecasted to hit in 4 days and I cannot afford to wait around. I hitch back to the trail.

There I'm pleased to discover the fresh snowshoe prints of two hikers, Chesh and Guz. By late afternoon I've caught up to them.

The beautiful landscape, companionship, and relatively safe conditions buoy my spirits. I'm in the huge craggy snowy mountains I dreamt of when I imagined hiking the Rockies.

We make camp at sunset near a lake having made good miles.

May 15th

We hike all morning through good conditions. I push ahead of Chesh and Guz after lunch. The trail climbs to a high ridge. There's one steep pitch which gives me a chance to put all my mountaineering toys to use.

I gain the ridge an walk along it. At the far end of the ridge is a foreboding traverse. I hope that the trail will somehow go around this feature or it will turn out to be mellower than it looks. It doesn't and isn't.

I sit on the last patch of flat ground and look over my maps. There's no easy way around. Without snow there's a nice ledge to walk across but that's buried now. I hope Chesh and Guz will catch up so that I'll have some company. I wait. At some point there's nothing left to do but suit up and start climbing. Up up up I go into the clean white curves, massive scale, and precipitous heights.

Looking back one last time, I see them down below, coming towards me! I turn around and meet them below. We decide to backtrack to our lunch spot where there's a detour trail that drops several thousand feet into the river valley below.

We make camp on dry ground in the river valley below.

May 16th

We find an easy way to cut over to the Great Divide Alternate, a route used by CDT hikers to avoid snow and high elevations. I'm awestruck by the beauty of this route as it weaves through verdant valleys, around bases of snowy high peaks, and past historical sites. Much of the route is snow free and we make excellent time. That night we camp just 10 miles short of the trailhead.

May 17th

We make quick work of the 10 miles to the trailhead. Chesh and Guz decide to hitch from the trailhead into town and I opt to walk 13 miles down the highway to Wolf Creek Pass to preserve the continuity of my hike.

The road walk goes by quickly as I listen to S-Town and call my parents on the phone.

Hitching from the pass isn't easy. Eventually I get a ride on an 18 wheeler carrying pipe fittings.

Once in town, I head straight to the brewery to meet Chesh and Guz and catch up on calories.

I meet Gary Musgrave, a local artist who offers me a place to stay at a ranch 30 miles outside of town. I gladly accept. I learn that the ranch is owned by Gary Morris, an accomplished country singer and Les Mis cast member.

May 18th - May 19th

The next day I watch the storm envelop the mountains above while I sit in the hot springs below. I'm grateful to have made it here before the storm hit.

I end up spending two full days in town.

A shocking number of people tell me they had only planned to visit Pagosa Springs for a weekend but decided to stay forever.

I spend the night with Kieth and Kelle: very kind people, young parents, and AT through hikers.

May 20th

I get a 7am ride back up to the pass with trail angel Addi.

Chesh and Guz have decided to detour around the mountains on roads.

The snow is soft and deep. I see roller balls and pinwheels, exotic snow formations that indicate high avalanche danger.

It's slow going.

In mid afternoon, I find myself once again on the safe ground, looking at an exposed snow traverse. This time there are no detours and nobody else around.

I begin picking my way across. The slope gets steeper and steeper as I go. I can reach out my left arm and touch the snow like a steep angle skier. One foothold gives out and tumbles down into the trees below. Probably just a fluke. Steeper yet. Another foothold falls. Another. I'm 30m from the safety of the other side but have yet to pass the steepest part. I stand there as long as I dare, weighing risk. I turn around and retreat to safe ground.

I'm sitting on a dry rock at 12,000', the sun is warm, and the wind is gentle. I am stuck. I need to make a decision.

Do I push deeper into the mercurial mountains? Do I go back to Pagosa Springs? Do I start road walking around the mountains? Do I wait for the snow to consolidate? Why am I here?