Campfire Reddit Stories | Reading Reddit Stories

24:06Then we make it to the side street. Well, needless to say, that street hasn't been plowed in ages. Snow drifts near my chest and no paths available. So time to trailblaze and make our own. We need to make it maybe like nine or ten houses into the street, but with snow like this, We are barely progressing at all. I'm dressed for the conditions, so I'm only getting tired. The man I'm helping isn't doing great. Snow is accumulating on his face, and he occasionally falls into the snow banks and needs to recover. When we get near houses that block the wind, we take a break and relax because we need the energy to make it to this house and can't give up.

24:39Well, eventually through more struggles, we eventually make it to the house. About 0.3 miles in 30 or so minutes. The person living in the house graciously lets us both in. I recover warming up a little bit. the snow that accumulated on me just starts dripping and melting, which I know is a bad sign for me, so I make my stop short so I'm not drenched in water on my trek back. The man I helped is very thankful and gets comfortable and warm for the first time in hours, but I can't stay long, so I tell him I'm glad he is safe. Thank the homeowner slash renter slash whoever the man that let me in was.

25:10Now on my way back home, it's a few minutes after midnight. Made it about a mile in about an hour. Not great, but it is what it is. It's another 0.6 or so miles home. My phone is getting caked with ice at this point, but surprisingly keeps working throughout the whole trip without any issues. Time to make my way back. I can actually see my trail this time, so I utilize my previous steps to try and make my walk back a little bit easier. I'm starting to struggle, but I know I can't stop. Eventually, I make it back to Genesee Street and see a front loader messing around with some snow for, I'm assuming, emergency vehicle traffic.

25:41His windows are all iced and fogged up, and I can't tell if he even sees me. I've got my mission, so I stay the hell out of his way and keep on going. I give a wave and a thumbs up and keep making my way back home. Cross Genesee quick because now I know the plows are around, so I got to be out of their way. Back into my neighborhood. Now my trail is gone, but I know where I'm going, or at least I think I do, and I keep making my way. I take a pit stop and call the girlfriend at home and let her know I'm okay and all that jazz so she can relax. Phone call ends, and I keep making my way. Snow is blocking up my visor and I have been constantly raising and lowering it this whole trip Fog and ice is really blocking my vision So I essentially need to keep the visor up to see and only lower it now to catch my breath or block the heavy snow gusts My progress is really slowing now and my right leg is starting to hurt Feels like I'm pulling something near my hip Oh, well, that's unfortunately not something I can dwell on while in the streets in a snowstorm I keep making my way at a severely reduced pace and take a turn onto my street Unfortunately, I was a bit exhausted and confused and made the turn one street too early and realized that about halfway down the street.

26:45Weighing my options, I decide I can't really keep going forward here without risking wasting even more time trying to get home. So I backtrack to where I made the wrong turn and continue on the correct path. Eventually, I make it one street further and make my correct turn. I am getting exhausted and my leg is really starting to bother me. No matter, gotta keep going. Foot trail is gone again, so I'm on my own for making a path. Snow drifts are getting bad and extremely difficult to get through. I start counting my paces and can only make between 10 to 25, usually only 10, before I need to stop and catch my breath.

27:17Gotta keep going. Eventually, I can see my house light, but still have little energy to make it there. Ten steps, ten steps, ten steps. I'm close. I see the last section of snow near my house. Five steps. My leg is really hurting. Five more steps. Boom. Home. I am exhausted and ready to drop. Whoa. Holy shit. And we're not even near done. This is literally the best movie I've ever watched. Yeah, yeah. I make it in the door. Girlfriend helps take off all my clothes and backpack and whatnot. I'm caked in snow but stayed warm throughout. I try to take my helmet off but the snow caked onto the back of my head so much that my hair had ice in it that made them stuck together and she needed to melt the ice with her hand to get it off.

27:58I have her check me for frostbite and surprisingly there's none to be found, which I might debate. At the time of writing this, my ears are still a bit numb and funny feeling, but nothing of much concern here. Almost like the feeling of Novocaine at the dentist, but to a much lesser extent. And then I relax. She has hot cocoa ready for me as I walked in, and I just get to relax now. I earned this hot chocolate. Mission success. Helped a man get home safe and got home myself. Yeah, barely got home yourself, man. Holy crap. Wow. A hero. Dang. Truly. I earned this hot cocoa. Bro, you earned a medal.

28:37You, that is insane. He was just like, I got nothing better to do. I'll go rescue a human. Like, you put your own life on the line to go help somebody nearby. And, like, that is amazing. I'm worried about his leg. Very much worried about his leg. Me too, me too. Yeah. But holy smokes. Well, that's exactly what we were just saying with the last story of, like, doing things that inconvenience you. in order to help another human. And this guy literally demonstrated exactly that. To the most extreme. To a massive extreme. It's wild that he only hiked like a total of a mile. But with the snow, it's like...

29:15But he effectively like was traveling through six feet of snow. Yeah, they're like, how many steps though, bro? Yeah. Oh my God. That's crazy. That's terrifying. He could have died. Yes. No, and that's like, it makes sense that the person in the car, Like that person in the car didn't want to risk going out alone because if you go out alone and fall and then you're just there, you're gone. You're cold and you're gone. I've only been stuck in a blizzard in a car once and you really cannot see anything. It's completely white around you. And to not even have a car. Like them crossing the roads and stuff.

29:53I'm surprised that he didn't just like stop and take a breather at this first house. Like you just saved that man's life. Yeah. You saved him. You helped him get to safety by escorting him to a home. And with all that gear, too. In my mind, I'm thinking, even though he said he didn't want the water dripping off him to refreeze and make things even more tough for him, I assume maybe he could throw his clothes in the dryer really quick. Like, that's the least these people could do. True, true. Yeah, it sounds like he was just like, nah, I'm going to just keep on trucking. Yeah, well, the girlfriend had a hot cocoa at home.

30:21Yeah, he had to get the hot cocoa. He got to go. Epic guy. Epic, epic, epic. And he's got a girlfriend. Yeah, and he said because he's tall, he was able to walk through the snow easier. So what was his height again? He was eight feet tall. I just love how casually, like I love how much he detailed this whole story. And the story is so epic, but in real life he was just like, all right, I'm going to go save this gay. Yeah. All right, I'll see you later. What's that one book where the book, the guy that they made into a movie where he lives in a bus in the wild? Is it just called Wild? Oh, Into the Wild?

30:56Into the Wild. It varies. That's the last one I read. Oh, the places you'll go? Yeah. That's the last one you read. No, but like people really underestimate the cold, and they underestimate how dangerous things like this, especially Buffalo, New York. It gets cold there. Wow, yeah. It gets really cold. And during a blizzard, no less, awful. Wow. Seriously. Update number two. Let's go. It's the leg, it's the leg. It's from the guy who posted about his brother getting stuck. He says,

31:57holidays and then the guy posted again he's just like by the way i'm santa by the way that helmet was actually a sleigh helmet for space for space santa's in space santa goes to space i don't think i never pictured santa in space you know you know what yes and but it's dark it looks like space i forgot there's here yeah yeah now we're laughing at you shane The pine cone. It looks like space. No, it's space. Santa's in space. We all know this. What have I done? We have one comment. That guy told a heck of a compelling story. I was actually getting really worried and had to tell myself that he must have survived if he's been able to write and post the comment.

32:43Yes. Very that. I was like, wait a minute. People who really leave comments are like, did you die? I'm like, is he like hiding under a rock right now posting on Reddit? The girlfriend though, she's like, POV, you're my boyfriend that died. Oh my God. Oh, Russia. Sorry. I still have my cuckoo. He did it. He did great. Yeah. True hero. Suiting up. That sounds so freaking awesome. It's hot. Yeah. No, if you need to get into those types of conditions, you definitely need to suit up. Which brings me to Columbia. Hey, there it is. Yeah, hell yeah. Hey again, Shane here. These have been some wild stories.

33:20I'm still blown away by the fact that OP was able to help and assist that one user's brother during a literal blizzard. I can't begin to imagine what that must have been like. Takes a lot of courage to brave harsh and unpredictable conditions. And I know for me, whenever I'm facing the unpredictability of the outdoors, having the right gear helps me feel a little more at ease. And gear from Columbia is engineered for whatever. As someone who is familiar with snow, keeping dry and warm are both equally important. which is why when I'm looking at winter attire, I look to Columbia's gear with OmniHeat technology to stay warm and pieces that have some of their OmniTech waterproofing to stay dry.

33:54Columbia knows nature isn't as perfect and predictable as a lot of outdoor ads suggest. It's not perfect lighting, perfect conditions, and perfectly serious faces. The outdoors is full of imperfections and uncertainty, just as we've seen in our stories today. But you can meet nature at its level thanks to the quality gear from Columbia Sportswear. If you're looking for outdoor gear that protects and performs, no matter what the conditions, head to Columbia.com and check out what they have to offer. Now, back to the show. Our next story comes from Am I the Asshole. Am I the asshole for playing music over my Bluetooth speaker on a public hiking trail?

34:30Yes. Oh, there's always that one. Okay. I'm going to say before we get into it, I'm never a fan of like, it's not my vibe. When I'm hiking, I love just, I want to be in nature and hear nature. I also understand there are people that love to play music and that's their thing. But like, I don't know. It takes me out of it when someone hikes by and they're blasting music. I'm just like, oh man. I feel like we're really good at finding hikes where like we hardly ever come across another person. But we have taken ones where it's like more popular or like later in the day. And then you'll see a group where they got the Bluetooth speaker, like all this stuff.

35:06And like they're like, they're there to like have a very different experience than what we're going to have. Which, don't get me wrong, is a vibe, but this almost in contrast to our first story with the yard, it feels like that isn't necessarily personal property. That's shared environment. Mutual space, yeah. So I feel as though, like, consideration of others comes into play with that. But, you know, I guess there's a lot we need to learn. And to be fair, like, people will have a Bluetooth speaker or they'll be blasting music, but it doesn't take getting that far away from where you don't hear it that much.

35:38Yeah. So, I don't know. Unless you're like awkwardly like 50 feet behind them. Then yeah, you kind of like pace differently. Right. Let's see what's going on here. Now when it's at the Grove, turn it off. Someone says, where to begin with this? I guess I need to say up front, I'm not an outdoors type person. But I was sort of excited to go on a hike yesterday. We were in San Diego for the 4th of July and my cousin said it would be really fun if me and my friends went on a hike while she, cousin, had to work. We went to a place called Cowl's Mountain, which I guess is about 45 minutes away from the hotel downtown.

36:10When we got there, it was pretty crowded, and we saw a group of guys coming down who were just blasting rap music. I was like, wow, that would be an awesome way to not get bored on the hike, so I went back to my car and got my Bluetooth speaker from my pack and hit my favorite playlist. Most people didn't seem to mind, but I did notice that we started to get occasional dirty looks. But finally, one person stopped me and told me it was incredibly rude to play music out loud and that I should be using headphones. I told her that I was playing music for our group And she basically said that it's still very rude and against the rules But she kept walking We decided we just weren't going to make it to the top So we stopped at a kind of flat spot and sat down for a while And this is when things actually got kind of scary This guy and his girlfriend came up to us and said again that I should be using headphones I told her that we were in a group She said that it didn't matter Most people were trying to enjoy quiet nature I told her that it's public land She said, if you weren't such an ignorant, hold on.

37:09I told her that it's public land. She said, if you weren't such an ignorant fat, you would have noticed the sign at the bottom that said no speakers. I basically shut down because I'm not good at confrontation, but my friend asked her if she wanted to repeat herself. So the girlfriend called her a fat as well, and her boyfriend had to drag her away. She was so upset. I didn't want any more hassle, so I turned off the speaker and they walked away. But the girl was just glaring at us, and I was actually scared that they would slash my tires or something at the bottom. I have been reliving the confrontation over and over again and didn't sleep last night.

37:46I admit to being fully ignorant because I don't do a lot of outdoor stuff, but was that really a big deal? I mean, at least one other group we saw was doing it, so I can't be that out of touch. All I was trying to do was make it a little more enjoyable and really meant no offense. I posted this on another sub and was referenced here, so I'm a little scared just because of the title. But please be honest with me. Was I doing something wrong? Ugh. Dang. So you were doing something wrong because the hike says no speakers and you had speakers. So you were doing something wrong. I'm curious about this, though, because is that a law that you can actually have?

38:21I know that like there's laws where keep your dog on a leash because that's like a legal liability issue. I think with Bluetooth speakers, it's like you can't create noise in a public space that is over a certain decibel because that's a public disturbance. But I'm actually curious about this sign and like if it was actually there. And like because that's like something if it's a public park, like a public trail or like, you know, unless it's a private trail, you can't really have rules like that. I'm pretty sure. See, I would argue that I think they can have rules like that with public parks.

38:59With public parks? Yeah, like the park itself has these rules, right? Interesting. Because there is a lot of disturbing nature, like loud noises can disrupt for birds and for animals and things like that. Now when you say that, that makes sense. Now it's also, they're saying for fellow hikers, but at the end of the day, there's a sign there. I also like, look, my personal opinion has always been I've never been a fan of it. Like, that's my own personal take. But if there is, so there are. There is a sign that says no amplified music and there is like. No amplified music. So on this trail, there is a legitimate sign that says this.

39:33So you're in the wrong. Like, you are in the wrong. And it's like, now, having said that, I don't think no matter how wrong someone is, you call someone a fat bitch, you're also in the wrong. Right. No, Jesus Christ. That is taking it to a massively... Yeah. No, because you have to, like, that's just being a bad person. Right. Like, if you see someone doing something that's against the rules, likely they don't know or didn't see a sign. Hey, I'm so sorry. Don't know if you saw this, but there's a sign down there that says this. It's important to follow these rules. Otherwise, it makes it shitty for everyone.

40:06Right. Because she has the gall to say that. She has the gall to say it in a different way. Yeah. So the verdict was asshole. And I will say a lot of what they're writing is what makes that verdict. Because here they are writing it. They're admitting, yes, there was a sign. I didn't see the sign. I was ignorant to it. But then they're going on to be like, well, some other people were doing it too. Like, am I in the wrong for playing music? Yeah, you're in the wrong. You were admitting there's a sign. Yeah, you were the asshole in this situation. You're not an asshole as a whole person. No. No, and you're an asshole.

40:38Yeah. You were ignorant. You were ignorant to the sign. You didn't, if we're to trust you that you didn't see the sign, very possible. We don't all read the signs as we go to places, whatever. When the first confrontation happened and this person said it's against the rules. And I like rolled my eyes because I'm like, sometimes it just sounds like, okay, so a Karen is trying to have authority over you and make you believe it's a rule. But now I know that it's a rule. That's wild. It depends. I mean, I feel like different trails probably have different rules. And it's just a rule I never worried about because I've never done that.

41:08I don't, yeah, we don't do that. So, like, I don't think about it, but it's a rule there. All this person had to do was say, there's a sign at the beginning of the trail. They added a couple more flavor words in there that made them an asshole, too. Which is what's super frustrating in these situations. I feel like this can be seen in lots of other conflicts where there is kind of a clear right and wrong. But then the person who is speaking for the right, they either just like say something inappropriate or like their anger takes over and they say something that is just objectively wrong or rude.

41:45And then it's like, OK, well, why did you have to do that? Like you had a case, but it's just the way that you approached it. And it goes back to the humanity part of it, I think. If people are doing something that annoys you, like, again, playing music amplified when you're trying to enjoy nature, it's like, why do we initially go towards, like, dirty looks and being like, oh, my God, and, like, assume that they are trying to, like, feel entitled or something? Like, whereas we could just be like, oh, maybe they don't know. Right. And just be like, hey, like, there's actually a sign. Maybe they missed that sign.

42:16I think it's just like a fundamental thing that we just have shifted into this instinctual judgment of other people in society instead of being like, wait, let's just assume they actually don't have an idea and we can inform and educate them. I understand almost where everybody on this story is coming from because the second person even comes up and goes, hey, like you're not allowed to play music. And then their response is like, well, we're with a group, like whatever. and I have definitely been on hikes and been in nature situations where you see someone doing something they shouldn't be doing and get called out and they go, oh yeah, it's fine because whatever.

42:49And you're just like, God, I hate you so much. Like, oh, like you don't care. And your judgment goes to, oh, they know this is wrong and they don't give a shit. But then there's the flip side of, it sucks so much when you're ignorant to the fact that you're breaking the rules and you truly don't know. Yeah. You truly don't know you're breaking the rules and someone calls you out and no matter how politely someone calls you out, when you're doing something wrong, you get called out on it. It sucks. Yeah. It sucks a lot when they go, hey, you're not supposed to be doing that. And you go, oh, my God.

43:17I'm so sorry. Oh, my God. Oh, you assumed that I was doing this maliciously. I wasn't. I just thought I just didn't know. Totally. So I understand where all this is coming from. But I'm like, why did you get on Reddit and write this story when you literally are laying out that, yeah, you played amplified music when you knew you were when you now know you weren't supposed to be? Like there isn't another society rule that is going to excuse your behavior because the sign itself, like the facts are there. I also get that it's a shock to be called something horrible. Absolutely. And that is a shocking thing.

43:48No one deserves to be called that. No, absolutely not. They were not, they weren't like spilling oil onto the trail, you know? Yeah, right, yeah. They were playing music. They can stop doing that. Yeah. And not do it again. And it's so funny too that like the, I don't want to say like the scapegoat, but like it seems like her main argument is I saw another group do it. Right. Yeah, which is just like, man. Happens a lot. If you go hiking a lot, you will see people doing stuff they should not be doing all the time. Oh, yeah. Oh, I hiked a trail and there was litter everywhere, so I can do that.

44:17Right. Right. It's just like, no, that can't be the barometer. Yeah. No, and those can be rules that are like, that city came together in like a town hall meeting and we're like, we're sick of this. Like, we want to vote this rule onto this trail for these reasons. Hiking, like per city, like every community is kind of different. Like, when I hike in my hometown, it's very normal for everyone to say good morning to each other, hello. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whereas, like, in other cities, it's like they don't talk to each other at all. There's just very different. So, like, yeah, it makes sense that these people who care about this trail are a community and they're going to want to enforce the rule that's on that trail.

44:52Right. Right. Yeah, the verdict, asshole. Comments, you're the asshole. I almost went with everyone sucks here because I completely disagree with her calling you a fat b****. But she and others had asked you before it escalated and you still said no. There's rarely a time or place for anyone to listen to their music without headphones while in public. Someone said you're the asshole. One, listen to your music on your headphones like an adult. Two, if you want to listen in a group, do not do that in a public place. Three, if you find hikes so boring, don't go on one. I don't agree with the manner in which you were confronted.

45:24But the fact that you are still actually questioning whether it was an asshole move to blast your music in nature is beyond me. especially after multiple dirty looks and confrontations. Are you that dense? Expect to be confronted about asshole behavior when behaving like an asshole. Can I just say, I feel like music doesn't make me less bored. I like music. I was thinking that. I like music, but it's just paired with me being bored still. Right. I can't be less bored. It's background music of me being a boring person. Yeah. Or like, yeah. Yeah, like I'm bored and there's music playing. Yes, yes.

45:55I agree with you. It is interesting. Bored on music. I'm bored, I'm bored. It is fascinating to see these responses. People talking about playing loud music out in public is egregious because I feel like I'm not someone who does it. I feel like I witness it all the time. Constantly. I was like, people really feel this, that it's like, they're talking about it as if it's abnormal. And I'm like, every time I hike, I feel like I end up here. Yeah, this must be in Buffalo. I feel like it's rare. I mean, I feel like that one time where we went on that really busy trail where it was almost empty and the end of the trail was really busy.

46:29Do you remember that one? Yeah. And there was a couple families where it's like, they're about to hang out. They're vibing. But I really don't see it very often. I'm also like, I cannot relate to wearing headphones anywhere other than at the gym or in my seat on a plane because I don't trust anything around me ever. I would say if you're going on a true hike, wearing headphones sounds horribly unsafe. Yeah. You want to get attacked by a mountain lion to Lil Wayne? Yeah. Like, I'm sorry, you're not going to hear that guy coming, but you're going to hear, God, we're ready. No, that was good. So if it's a crowded trail, then I kind of get, like, the no amplified music thing because there's no way to be alone.

47:12Yeah. Because I would say hiking in Colorado a lot, these big trails where you are alone pretty much for most of it, I always come across people with music playing at some point. But you are alone for the most part. And, like, it's such a long hike. Like, these are like 10, like, you'll be hiking for like five plus hours probably. And maybe they're playing the music because they're scared. And sometimes the music makes you less scared. Well, I know up in Alaska that you make noise. You literally, like, professional hikers will be like, have a bunch of bells on their stick for bears. So that you don't come across a mama bear with cubs.

47:50So that they hear you from a ways off. So actually in that case, playing music of some sort. But it's interesting. It's probably a case-by-case basis, but look, they were breaking the rules of that trail. They were told. They said no. What pushes me into saying you're the asshole is because you wrote this post, and you're still not going, oh, yeah, my bad. If they wrote this post being like, hey, here's this thing that I did, my bad. I'd be like, yeah, you're bad. Whatever. Who cares? Don't do it next time. That's all it has to be. If this happened to me, you couldn't waterboard that story out of me.

48:23Seriously. You feel so much shame. Oh, I feel horrible. Yeah. Yeah. And I get that they're trying to rewire it in their head of how they didn't do wrong. It's like, you're not a criminal. Right. Well, something bad happened to them. So maybe that sort of gets mixed in and sort of being like, well, wait, something bad happened to me. Surely I'm the victim. And it's like, well, a lot of things were bad. Maybe you need a hug. You did something wrong. You did not deserve to be called that. Nobody deserves to be called that. But it's okay. But use headphones. Yeah. On that trail, from what I'm understanding.

48:57If it's a public, crowded trail. From what that kind of trail is, headphones sound fine. Or bring a freaking fidget spinner or something. If they get bored. Walk with your Game Boy. Yeah, bring your Tamagotchi or bring it like a notepad to play Tic-Tac-Toe. Or, get this, watch Smosh. Watch us. On your, with your headphones. Actually, you put in one headphone, have me reading these stories to you right now while you hike. Keep your other for birds. It's interesting to me, though, because, like, I feel like that's my default of, like, when someone is doing something wrong, I feel like I am just like, oh, maybe they don't know.

49:30Because it is just, like, what is. That's a good way to think about it. Well, I mean, because, like, another example I can think of, too, is, like, on a flight when you're in the middle seat. And it's, like, I feel like most people know that the middle person then gets both armrests. Yeah. But so many times. People don't know. People don't know. And they're putting their elbow on there. And instead of being, like, I hate this person, it's kind of just, like, they might not know. They might not know. And that's just a healthier way to, I think, exist. It's true. Yeah, let's go that bubbling anger inside.

49:55Right, instead of being like, I can't believe they're being an asshole and taking this while they're in the aisle seat. And it's like, well, if they don't understand, they're probably like, I can do this. It's true. It is true. Not now. I feel that way. I feel that way. Like, nothing upsets me more when I see videos of Yellowstone and stuff and people get out of their cars to get too close to animals. Oh, yeah. Stay far away from animals. But I'm like, oh, they actually just don't know how dangerous that thing is. And that's how, like, I have multiple family members who are either EMTs or paramedics or firefighters.

50:30And they say most people who are getting attacked by an animal, it's because they were intentionally getting too close to it. My favorite fact that your dad told me, because your dad has rescued a ton of people on hikes, he's like, almost everybody who's been bitten by a poisonous snake is a dude in a tank top with tattoos. Just like, what a funny demographic. It's like we got a guy who got bit by a poisonous snake. Because he was trying to grab it himself. Is he in a tank top with tattoos? Yep, every single time. So funny. Wow. All right, our next story. Our next story comes from Am I the Asshole.

51:05Am I the asshole for wanting to take my daughter fishing? No. James says yes. James is like, yeah. For over a decade, myself and my four best friends have had an annual fishing trip. There has always been a no wives, no girlfriends rule since the beginning, and no one has ever violated it. Two years ago, my friend Tim told the group he wanted to bring his five-year-old son to sort of pass the tradition on to the next generation. At that point, only Tim and I had kids, but my daughter was three and two young for fishing. We all supported Tim's idea and made a big deal over the little guy. He had a great time and came last year as well.

51:42My other friend Randy has a four-month-old son now. When the baby was born, Tim gave Randy a children's fishing pole to give to his son on his fifth birthday. So it seemed clear to me that the tradition had evolved to us plus our kids, which I'm cool with. I mentioned to my friends the other day that my daughter was excited for this year's fishing trip and they looked at me like I was crazy. Tim said I shouldn't bring her and I was baffled. I was super supportive of him bringing his son. This is no different. My daughter is now the age Tim's son was when he first came on the trip. Another friend brought up the no wives, no girlfriends rule, which pissed me off.

52:17Keep going. My five-year-old daughter isn't anyone's wife or girlfriend. I said if they don't want my daughter there, then I don't want Tim's son there. Tim was offended and stormed out. Randy said what I said was uncalled for. I said I'm bringing my daughter, and that's that. I just want to make sure I'm not being an entitled prick. Am I the asshole? What in the heck? Ew! Yeah, that's making me mad again. Icky! Boring! Play some music. You're so boring. Yeah, and Randy? Just kidding. I'm not going to attack him on his name, but I'm mad. That sucks. That's so sad. Like, open up the tradition. It's family.

52:52I know. Someone's excited. I can just imagine OP2 being like, oh, like, my daughter's three, like, soon enough. And he just, like, kept that excitement in there. I'm like, these are five-year-old kids. Like, come on. Like, they're not a wife. You're about to make this guy have to tell his daughter, because of the gender you were assigned at birth, you cannot come and have fun with your family. You're, okay, it begins. And now this child is learning all the shitty things about gender in society because of you. You did that. Like genuinely how would that affect the trip? I know. Yeah. Not at all.

53:27It's purely a weird principle thing for them. Like maybe with, I understand this idea of like maybe no partners, right? Like you kind of just want to keep it within the friend group. But then it just becomes an extension of like what do you think this other person is going to change about the trip if we're allowing this relationship of father-son. It's a very weird, like, weird thing that they're saying. Yeah. And it's just like, hey, man, it's our kids. It also changes the whole premise of this type of trip anyways when you start bringing kids. Because I feel like the whole idea behind, like, okay, we're not bringing our wives, we're not bringing our kids, because it's like, oh, we're going to go and be, like, back when we were young.

54:07Bros. We're going to go back to, like, just us as friends. Like, that's an important thing to nurture. and keep. But it's like, okay, now we're bringing our kids. So this is turning into a different kind of trip. Yeah. Right. Because we are parents on this trip now. And so it is a different thing. And so it's like, for me, I'm like, yeah, everyone can bring their kids. So it's like, okay, just because he had a daughter and you guys had sons. Yeah. That's so weird. Well, especially at that age, too, because, you know, there's, I suppose there's some merit in just kind of being like, you know, like boys trip, I guess.

54:39But they're kids, so I don't see how it's going to have any sort of difference. Are you going to have locker room talk around your little children? Yeah, like the five-year-olds. Like, you're not going to be drinking. Like, if your traditional fishing trip was to drink a few beers and go fishing, like, you shouldn't be doing that now when you have five-year-olds with you. Whether it's a son or a daughter. Yeah. Like, y 'all got to wear life jackets. Like, you got to watch those little ones. Yeah. I don't know. It's a hard one. I mean, it's not a hard one, But it's like I can't relate to this story kind of at all because I've never I've also never really experienced like having like, oh, boys night, whatever, because living out here, they're just growing up.

55:24I've always my best friends have always been like women or I've just my friend groups have always been a combination. Yeah. So there's never been like boys night, girls night. Like, I mean, I've told you many times, I'm like, I don't, that idea is ridiculous. I'm like, so many of my friends are women, so I can't do that. I've never had interest in that. And then, you know, my brothers and I go on trips all the time where it's like, oh, it's just us as brothers. But if we did this, like, they also have, all of them have daughters. So it's like, it doesn't, it's not something I can relate to. Yeah, but also your brothers are all open-minded and I've heard them talk about opening it up to just anybody.

56:02Yeah. It's just, yeah, I think it's, you guys got to draw a line of what this trip is. I think you bring up, like, the best point, which is this was for you guys to go and be brothers and be young and have time to just be that. But now the trip is changing. You guys are parents on a fishing trip. Yeah. Teaching your children to fish and stuff. Like, it's just different. Yeah. Totally different. If the objective at first was, like, let's not have any, you know, responsibilities or have to cater to anybody, i.e. maybe wives and girlfriends, then kids shouldn't be allowed, period. Yeah, you definitely have to cater to a kid.

56:34You have to. You have to be responsible. I think you have to feed them. I don't know. Right. But the same amount of responsibility towards your son is going to be the same amount towards your daughter. And assuming that a daughter is going to change the trip is where the problem is. Yeah, I think it's, these friends are being really weird and all he needs to do is go, why? Because already they're weird by going, no friends, no wives, no girlfriends. It's like, yeah, man. I'm following that rule. like explain further why you think it's weird. You know, it's just, it's weird. It's a weird thing.

57:07Traditions are cool, but traditions can change. Question tradition. Question traditions. Evolve them. Yeah, especially family traditions because the whole point is to like carry things on. I mean, this is, what a beautiful thing they have possibly happening where it's like, oh, all of our kids are going to get into fishing. Right. It's a blessing. That's a cool thing. Your kid is excited about something. And we get to bring all our families on. Like, you're cutting off one person from this, and you might—you'll probably just lose him entirely by doing this instead of just easily going, oh, yeah, absolutely, so cool.

57:38For the sake of ritual. Yeah. Yeah. The verdict is not the asshole. Comments. OP, please hold your ground on this with your friends. I was your daughter in this situation when I was young. I wasn't allowed to go on the annual hunting trip because all of my dad's friends had sons, and I was the only girl. He never fought for me to go on the trip, no matter how much I begged to go. Keep fighting for her because she will remember. Someone said, not the asshole. If I were you, I'd ditch their trip and take your daughter on a fishing trip one-on-one. Clearly, when they said no wives, no girlfriends, they meant no females.

58:11Really lame that they, as fathers themselves, aren't more understanding and supportive of your wanting to bring your daughter. Lastly, someone said, not the asshole. All kids are shit at fishing, so it won't make a difference if you bring your daughter. It's either just the dads or dads plus kids. This is the thing that changes the dynamic most. I can't see how the gender of the children makes a difference. But if they subscribe to the idea that women are something to be escaped from, they sound like horrible people. Wow. Well said. That is nailing it. Well said, yeah, because this daughter, her gender means nothing to her.

58:41She's just excited to go freaking fishing. She's like, I can't wait to be with my boys. She's just like, I can't wait for fish. But they're assuming like, oh, wait, once you get a girl involved in the mix, that's going to add all these different things. She's going to scare the fish away with her little high voice. Okay, Randy. Okay, Randy. Update. I sent this post to my friends, and we talked some more. They ended up apologizing. Let's go. Daughter is definitely coming on the trip. Yeah. I know many people assume that my friends are sexist and horrible, but they're really not. They were just worried that with my daughter, we would have to stay at a hotel instead of the usual cabin and not be able to do as many activities.

59:21but I assured them my daughter can sleep without air conditioning as easily as Tim's son and they are going to be the ones having trouble keeping up with her five-year-old energy. Everyone apologized for bringing up the no wives, no girlfriends rule and agreed that was a shitty thing to say. It's all good now. Thank you for your support. Okay, girl. So funny. I think they were backpedaling a little bit with the whole, oh, but we just thought it was because of the AC. Like, whatever. Yeah, not the AC. Whatever. But I'm so glad they changed their perspective. Truthfully, I feel like I am so forgiving to when people are just able to accept feedback in that way and just be like, oh, shoot, you're right.

59:57Like, great. I'm not that anymore. It's also like if we're open-minded, like so many traditions, so many things, like so much logic that we have on a daily basis. We go, yeah, this thing. And they go, oh, well, that's kind of sexist. It's like, you know what it is. Yeah. And I didn't consider that. And it just takes one person. And it's like you just change that. Just to go, oh, why was I thinking that? Oh, totally. Because society told me that my whole life. Right. And I just assumed all these things. There's this like misplaced meaning on time, right? Like just because it's been around, like historically we've always done this, so we have to keep it going just like this.

1:00:31Yeah. And it's like, no, everything else is evolving, so we should also develop. The trees evolve, animals evolve, nature evolves, clothing evolves, Columbia. Randy's still here. I also just, any form, something that blows my mind is any form of gatekeeping where it's like, oh, this person or that child or anyone is interested in the thing that we love? No. No. I'm like, man, you should want people to be into what you're into. Yeah. Because it's the best. This isn't the same thing, but it's kind of also like when someone's talking about something, they're like, have you ever heard of this thing?

1:01:04And you're like, no, I haven't. They're like, what? You haven't heard of that? Instead of just being like, I am so excited to be the person to tell you about this. They're instead just like, are you serious? Wow, you're stupid. Oh my God, I didn't know you were stupid. Just freaking dump it. Yeah. As we've seen in a lot of these stories today, the outdoors and the people in it can be unpredictable, but you can always feel prepared and ready to take on anything with Columbia Sportswear because their gear is engineered for whatever. Growing up, whether it was braving the temps in the deserts of Arizona or exploring the trails and camping in Colorado when I visited family, Columbia was always there.

1:01:39I especially remember growing up with one Columbia fleece jacket that I loved. I remember that jacket kept me warm during cold Arizona desert nights and comfortable during cool Colorado days. It even survived an encounter with a flaming marshmallow during some late night s'mores. Long story. Whenever I'm looking for new outdoor gear for a hike, trip, or just to wear comfortably when I know I'll be outside for most of the day, I still turn to Columbia Sportswear. Columbia's reputation for quality, durability, and feel is what has made them an outdoor staple for the past 80 years. Over that time, they have continued to perfect and innovate their gear.

1:02:13I've relied on it then, and I rely on it now. And as we've seen with all of our stories today, it's best to be prepared for whatever because you never know what nature and the people in it may throw your way. The next time you're looking for great outdoor gear, check out Columbia Sportswear at Columbia.com. Now, back to the show. All right, our final story comes from Relationship Advice. 38-year-old man writes, my partner, a 36-year-old woman, abandoned me while hiking in Yosemite. Oh no. We were just talking about this. Uh-oh. I've never been to Yosemite. I hear it is amazing. Yeah. And it's got some pretty intense hikes.

1:02:51It's incredible. My partner, who's a 36-year-old woman, and I, a 38-year-old man, were hiking in Yosemite. We had hiked all day on a really strenuous trail to a waterfall with a lot of elevation gain, and both of us were carrying a backpack weight in water. On our descent trip, the last four miles, I was exhausted, but still going at a normal walking pace, taking occasional breaks. My partner said I was going too slow and basically left me to run down the mountain herself. It took me an hour to eventually catch up to her. This shocked me, and when I later confronted her, she said it was my own fault for not being as conditioned as her.

1:03:24I kept insisting that it's not normal behavior to just abandon your partner. This isn't the first time she's done this, and I would never do something like this. Would you accept this kind of behavior? How do you approach a partner who never accepts that they are wrong and everything is somebody else's fault? Okay, man, you're adding something. You're adding a little more flavor there at the end. How do you accept someone who doesn't f***ing love me and actually doesn't respect me at all and hates me so much? Dear Courtney. So it's absolutely wrong to abandon anyone on a hike. That's how people die.

1:04:00There's no way around that. I'm trying to see where she thought it was okay, where it's like, well, I don't even know. When you hike as a unit, Like, if someone didn't prepare for the hike that well, it's like, then you're all not prepared for the hike. Exactly. You are a unit. You are a unit. You hike together. You move together. If one person's slow, then you're all slow. Sorry. And I just feel as though that's what partners would do for each other. The other layer that they are, like, yeah, in a relationship. Right. So there's more layers of, like, yeah, you should have each other's back. Right, because then it's just like, well, what if he tripped and fell and now he's limping?

1:04:38Is she also like, ew, and walking forward? Or is she like, oh, shoot, let's help and make sure we're both okay. He makes it down the mountain. She's like, oh, crap, you made it. I thought you were going to die. Well, clearly other conflict is bleeding into this, which is probably why she was like, I'm out. And he was like, well, what the heck? I just think this is a whole mess. No, it's one of those Reddit stories where you read it and you go, buddy, you wrote this and you're not, you know the answer. to what's going on. Yeah, I think my mind went to like, oh, if it's a common trail that you've been on before, like that kind of stuff maybe isn't as big of a deal.

1:05:14But you know you're going to see them at the bottom, but... Yosemite's intense. Yeah, that's what I'm saying is like, when you took me on that one trail in the big forest near Pasadena or whatever, like if I had left, or like if you had left me, I literally know, like no way. It's four miles. even though we know the trail we went up it we're going back down I don't know it I don't and yeah anything can happen in the wild yeah you're not doing a little walking trail that like has tons of people on it right you're hiking a mountain you're very likely alone for a lot I mean the way he's writing it it makes it sound like this was pretty bad there was another story we read where this group of I believe it was a group of women they had a new friend so it wasn't someone they were like super acquainted with but she wanted to join them on this hike on the Grand Canyon.

1:06:05And she just came very unprepared. And they were mad at how unprepared she was. And she even was like, oh yeah, like go on ahead without me. I'll be fine. And so they did. And it of course turned into this huge hassle where she got stuck at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. For like a whole day. For like a whole day. It's like, I don't, if you all agree to go on a hike together, you're all responsible for each other. You're in it, yeah. That's just how it goes. Like don't go on the hike. Like you have to bail at a certain point. There's nothing wrong with that. Damn. Like, my brothers and I have hiked so much, and we've now had multiple hikes where, like, one or two of us goes, like, okay, I'm tapping out here.

1:06:41And, like, a couple of us will be like, all right, well, we'll go back, and then a couple will keep hiking. But it's okay to tap out. It's okay to go, hey, we can't do this. Totally. Because similar to the guy in the snow in Buffalo, like, you push it too far, you can't go back. You're now in nature, and nature is scary. It is. It's scary. We are just but visitors on this land. Yeah, guys, this is just a set. We're not outside, right? We're not on a camping site. Yeah, no, this is the Reddit story set. Did you know that? Did you know that? We have some comments here. Wait, so it was a difficult trail, and you were obviously getting really tired, and it was just the two of you?

1:07:24That's incredibly dangerous. What if you weren't just exhausted because of walking, but something was wrong? You cannot ever leave someone by themselves on a mountain trail. Fast walkers or no, no man or woman is left behind. When I was younger and much faster than my parents and grandfather, we walked a massive mountain in Norway. Me and my dad up front, my mom a couple of hundred feet behind us. My grandfather was supposed to be with my mom. However, when my mom reached me and my dad, we stopped every once in a while to wait up. My grandfather had fallen behind. My dad started tracking back up the mountain to find him and thankfully found him alive.

1:07:57If it wasn't for a sweet couple of strangers figuring out he was diabetic and his blood sugar was low, they wouldn't have been able to force feed him sugar and he would have died trying to get to us. It was a harsh lesson. No man or woman gets left behind ever, especially not your partner. Yeah. It's true. Also, my brother, I've told this story before, but my brother and I got lost hiking down a mountain and went off trail. And I very quickly started to realize like the scariest aspects of being stuck out in the middle of nowhere. and it was no longer bears or wolves or anything like that. I'm like, what if I break my ankle out here?

1:08:30And I'm like, what if I hurt myself and I can't move anymore? Yeah. And I'm like, and I'm stuck here. The longer you're there, the more likely something like that's to happen. It's just like you need other people around or else you're screwed. It's so irresponsible and I just can't, I can't fathom. Your life partner is unwell. I'm going to leave you alone. Yeah. Oh, oh, you look like you're really struggling and having a hard time. Good luck. Have fun. Right. Survival of the fittest. Yeah. But so true as well, though. Like, yeah, you're right. Even if it were your enemy, like, the right thing to do is still, like, all right, I'm still waiting.

1:09:03Like, it's incredibly dangerous. Dude, come on. Not proper hiking etiquette at all. No. And I would know, because look at me. Look at how I'm dressed. Look at this ranger. But you actually do hike a lot. You have hiked so many things and hiked a lot of things. I love hiking. I've also made a lot of mistakes that I have learned from in hiking. Put your food up in a tree so bears don't come to your camp. Oh, yeah. Have had that happen. That was awful. And I've gotten lost. Don't ever go off trail. Ever. Two insane experiences I've had. Yeah. Wow. One time when I was on a hike, I found a really good hill.

1:09:38And I was like, wouldn't it be nice if I rolled down this hill? And I rolled down the hill and I was wearing jeans. And then there was loose barbed wire in the brush. And I got barbed wire all up on my jeans. Good thing you were wearing jeans at least. I'm lucky I was in jeans. And the barbed wire didn't hurt me. but luckily there's lots of great clothes out there for hiking. Like the ones on your little body. Yeah. Look, when I cuff them, they're reflective. Whoa. For things at night. I was like this. Guess I have to cuff them, huh? Guess you gotta. Wait, and those are good socks, too. These are good socks.

1:10:06And these are my socks. Whoa, good socks all around. And this is my outfit. Look, I'm hiking, guys. I'm hiking. These shoes are actually so comfortable. Don't forget to stretch. Yeah. Thank you both for being here with me today outside. I love touching grass with you, Shane. And you, too. And you, too. No, it's fine. Yeah. Arash, thanks for also being here. Destroy my life. Hey, you look so good in your clothes. Stop. It's Columbia. It's Columbia. It's Columbia. Thank you for watching this video, and thank you to Columbia Sportswear for sponsoring this video. If you see anything that I'm wearing or on this set that you like, you can go check it out at Columbia.com.

1:10:47See you next Saturday. Bye. Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

1:11:21Rvc.