#156 | The Virtual Sherpa on Peak Bagging 13ers and 14ers, Responsibly Promoting Trails, and Video Guiding
Backpacker Radio
Zach Davis
4.7 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 4 July 2022
⏱️ 107 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, brought to you by RTIC, we are joined by Mickey aka The Virtual Sherpa. The Virtual Sherpa runs a successful website and youtube channel dedicated to sharing tips, trail overviews, and more from some of his favorite trails around Colorado and the greater Southwest. We chat about what some of the most underrated 13,000 ft peaks are in Colorado, and why they might be even better than many of the state's 14ers, some of his favorite hikes without hoards of people, his philosophy on gatekeeping and responsibly promoting trails, and much more.
We wrap the show with a backpacking trip in Zion National Park that deserves to be on your bucket list, a Q&A touching on a range of subjects including but not limited to good hiking spots for late fall, what life is like with a budding toddler, the scent of tent sex, and more.
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[divider]
Interview with Mickey aka “Virtual Sherpa”
Time stamps & Questions
00:04:40 - QOTD: At what age do people start consuming more Tums than Starbursts?
00:09:19 - Introducing Mickey aka “Virtual Sherpa”
00:09:37 - Mickey’s Shit Story
00:12:42 - Tell us your backpacking and peak bagging resume.
00:14:30 - Discussion about trail and ultrarunning.
00:15:33 - What’s harder, training for an Ironman or training for a 100-mile run?
00:19:29 - How fast are you?
00:20:55 - Give us some background on how the website started.
00:22:39 - Tell us about your preference with 14ers versus 13ers.
00:24:32 - Tell us why you loved living in Chicago if you hate people.
00:26:20 - Tell us about the 13er you did over Memorial Day?
00:27:15 - Fuck Mary Kill: peak bagging, CT section hikes/backpacking, trail running
00:28:40 - Tell us about the evolution of the website and Youtube channel.
00:31:32 - How do you feel about the conflict between exposing trails via the internet and avoiding people while hiking?
00:34:23 - Why does someone need to work hard to find a spot?
00:35:50 - Discussion about keeping spots secret, public land, and gatekeeping.
00:41:22 - How would you describe your audience and what are the most common questions you get?
00:44:10 - What are your top 3 favorite 14ers and top 3 least favorite 14ers?
00:46:58 - What are your favorite and least favorite 13ers?
00:48:35 - What are your top 3 secret spots?
00:51:20 - Discussion about fear and anxiety about the mountains.
00:53:19 - Do you have a preference between the blog or the Youtube channel?
00:55:52 - Have you asked your friend why there’s a story before every recipe?
00:57:21 - What is a border-crossing expedition?
00:58:43 - Do you have any highlights from exploring Utah?
01:02:23 - Discussion about National Parks, crowds, and timing hikes.
01:07:34 - Discussion about Canyonlands.
01:09:13 - What are your big 3 for a typical backpacking trip?
01:12:22 - What’s your typical camera setup?
01:14:40 - Tell us about your dog, taking your dog on adventures, and tips for hiking with dogs.
01:20:34 - Anything else do you want to share?
01:22:14 - Thank you!
SEGMENTS
Trek Propaganda
Q&A
5 Star Review
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by Artic, we are |
| 0:04.3 | joined by Mickey aka the Virtual Sherpa. |
| 0:08.6 | The Virtual Sherpa runs a successful website and YouTube channel dedicated to sharing tips, |
| 0:12.9 | trail overviews, and more from some of his favorite trails around Colorado and the greater |
| 0:17.1 | Southwest, which had about what some of his favorite underrated 13,000 foot peaks are in |
| 0:22.0 | Colorado and why they might be even better than many of this state's 14ers, some of his |
| 0:27.2 | favorite hikes without hordes of people, his philosophy on gatekeeping and responsibly |
| 0:31.8 | promoting trails and much more. |
| 0:34.4 | We wrap the show with a backpacking trip in Zion & National Park that deserves to be |
| 0:38.4 | on your bucket list, a Q&A touching on a range of subjects, including but not limited |
| 0:43.1 | to good hiking spots for late fall, what life is like with a budding codler, the scent |
| 0:48.3 | of 10 sex, and of course more. |
| 0:50.8 | But first, whether it's a weekend car camping trip, a bout trail magic, or the summer |
| 0:57.1 | road trip, a quality cooler and drink wear is essential. |
| 1:01.5 | That's why we're thrilled to introduce our next sponsor, Artic Outdoors. |
| 1:06.2 | Artic Outdoors makes products engineered for two things, performance and durability, |
| 1:10.6 | and unlike other coolers on the market, Artics high quality coolers and tumblers won't |
| 1:15.2 | cost you an arm in the leg. |
| 1:17.5 | Artics 52 court ultra light hard cooler made the trip from backpacker radios headquarters |
| 1:22.7 | in Golden Colorado to trail days in Damascus, Virginia, keeping our spin drifts, hot dogs |
| 1:28.3 | and blue ribbons perfectly chilled along the way. |
| 1:31.5 | As the name would imply, the ultra light cooler is 30% lighter compared to other premium |
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