Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link - Link's 5 Days Alone in the Wilderness | Ear Biscuits Ep. 392

Episode Date: September 4, 2023

Rhett, where’d you go?! On this episode, Link is joined by Jenna at the round table of dim lighting, and the two discuss the Streamy Awards, the latest Good Mythical Evening, and Link’s recent solo camping trip. Jenna shares her insights on solo trips she’s done, and both talk about the freeing nature of being alone, but how to be safe while doing it. Sign up for Mythical Society quarterly or annually by September 30th to get your Blanket Hoodie! https://mythicalsociety.com/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This, this, this, this is Mythical. Introducing Tim's new Infuser Energy Beverages, made with natural caffeine. They come in two refreshing flavors, Blackberry Yuzu and Mango Starfruit. Try them today, only at Tim's. At participating Tim's restaurants in Canada for a limited time. It's time for Tim's. Welcome to Ear Biscuits, the podcast where two lifelong friends talk about life for a long time I'm Link

And I'm Rhett Nope No, no, I'm not, I'm not Rhett You can probably tell, I'm Jenna I've invited Jenna to be here today Wait, you gotta finish, you gotta say, I'm Jenna Do you know what to say after that? I'm Jenna. This week. This week.

On Ear Biscuit. Nope. No. Shoot. No, you said at the round table of dim lighting already. No, I didn't. Yes, you did. No, I didn't. Okay. That's your part. This week on the round table of dim lighting. At the round table. This week

at the round table of dim lighting. We're off At the round table This week At the round table of dim lighting We're off to a great start What? We're gonna talk about Solo trips The streamies GME Okay

So you do know some stuff Look at that I invited Jenna to join me here To keep me a little company I've been going solo a lot lately And you know I'm just not in the mood so thank you for hanging out with me. How does it feel to be in Rhett's seat? Rhett's still sick as of this recording so. It feels very weird. I feel very short. Everything yeah. I feel taller. Yeah you in camera look

much taller. Yeah you look in camera look much taller. Yeah, you look like you are six feet, which you are. And I look like I am five three, which I am. Okay, well, let's just be ourselves. Yeah, we're just going to be ourselves. At Good Mythical Evening, well, there was a certain point where he was making out with a sex doll. out with a sex doll, and then I was the one who suggested that he go first, and then I realized he told me that he was feeling sick. And so that's why, if you watch Good Mythical Evening, I was like, you know what?

I am not going to make out with this sex doll after you. That's my standard. Yeah, yeah. I'm not going to get sick off of my friend via a sex doll. Yeah, if he wasn't feeling sick, you would have gone after. Well, yeah, I would have gone after it. I would have totally gone after it. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Thanks for using those terms. Sorry. Yeah, I mean, the great thing about Good Mythical Evening is that it's live, it's chaotic. First of all, I had a great time. If you were watching or if you watched it later on video on demand, I don't even think it's available anymore. So you have to wait until the next one, assuming we do a next one. That's not an announcement.

I don't know if there is going to be a next one, but I hope so because I tend to have a good time. You do, yes. But I was really happy about Good Mythical Evening this year because it – are you all right? I'm already ruining things. What are you doing? I sipped things the wrong way. I'm already ruining the show. I wouldn't say you're ruining it, but it is quite a distraction.

Sorry, you're talking about Good Mythical Evening. Now it's coming out your eyes. It's coming out my eyeballs. You're like left eyes. Try another cry. Don't make it worse. Don't make it worse. Maybe drink more.

I don't know. Should you chase it down? I'll switch to water. It's the tea. It's definitely the cinnamon. When I get up in the morning, I immediately drink water. And then I go downstairs and I take my pills. And it doesn't matter how much water I've drunk, when I take my pills, and then I walk the dogs. And as I'm walking the dogs, I realize, like, the pills are, like, here.

They're, like, under my sternum. It's like, what do I need to do? I take the pills in my mouth, and I swirl them around. This is weird. And then I swallow them. What else can I do? I mean, I don't know how to lube up the esophagus any more than I have. And then I swallow them. What else can I do? I mean, I don't know how to lube up the esophagus any more than I have.

Do you take them all at once? Well, it's two wellness pills and then a little anxiety pill. Okay. Well, I had a friend in high school who swallowed pills and didn't use enough water, and one got lodged in her throat, and then she got really, really ill. So just drink water. What kind of ill? Like groaning?

No, it got lodged, and her lymph nodes started to swell, and she was out sick for weeks, I think. Was it in a tonsil or was it in the esophagus? I think it got stuck in a tonsil or something. It must have been back there. If it hits the esophagus, you're going to know it. Because I can feel that thing. You feel it moving down. You've got to be in touch with your body a little bit better than your friend was.

Listen, she was doing the best she could. Yeah, okay. Yeah, I've turned... I've made this her fault. Yeah. You know what? This is your friend's fault. I mean, I'm just going to say, I really do think it's her fault.

friend's fault. I mean, I'm just going to say, I really do think it's her fault. If you go to the doctor and you, oh, well, you know, there's a pill lodged behind your tonsil. And you know, I don't have tonsils, but back when I did, I knew if something was lodged in them, trust me. That's why I got them removed. That's hard to imagine. I mean, God. That is disturbing. Yes. Yeah. And it doesn't actually help me at all. Well, it just. Which is kind of what I was asking for was help.

You gave me an anecdote that now I'm going to fixate on. I'm going to obsess even more about these pills. Yes. I mean, I'm. You get to do what I do now. I don't drink way too much water with my pills because I'm constantly thinking about what if one gets stuck? I started drinking more and more when I wake up. Like, I've got the...

Of course, I got the tall thing of water right by my bed. I take it to the bathroom. I'm drinking constantly. I'm like, you know what? I'm going to totally get everything just slick and ready for some pills. But the pills are so sticky, I guess. I don't know. It's like maybe I need a new pill.

Maybe I need to take them one at a time. One at a time, yeah. And then just like a big gulp. But then what I do is I'm like, you know what? My coffee, great chaser. Yeah. So I drink my pills with my water while I'm making my coffee. Then I take my coffee out, and I string up the dogs, and I walk with my coffee, as I've said before.

So I think the heat from the coffee is supposed to like even though it's stuck here then i imagine and can feel i think i can feel the coffee melting it so like all the all the drugs and vitamins that i need are now being dispensed from my esophagus. Along with the caffeine. It's like a time release. Yeah, along with the caffeine. Yeah, I like that. Maybe this isn't a bad system.

I don't think it's a bad system. You might just need to switch to one at a time and see how you feel. I mean, I don't feel ill or anything. I'm sorry to make you fixate on it, but now you get to fixate on something that I also fixate on, so we are now joined. You're going to think about that every morning now. Oh, gosh, what if?

I don't like this power that you're wielding of planting. I mean, that is a power, planting fixations in my mind. It's like you're building a downward spiral staircase into obsession. Thanks, Jenna. This is a really good choice. Go back. Go back to your seat. This is why you don't have me up here because I have ridiculous stories that will make you question everything.

But I felt particularly good about Good Mythical Evening this year because, and as I tweeted after, I was like, I had a blast. And you know what? I feel like it was the best one. Credit to the team for, like, creating this playground where we can, as I've said, they create Good Mythical Evening as a safe space for us to let loose. is a safe space for us to let loose. But, and here's the, I had a realization when we, you know, I had gotten some feedback, you know, like from people at work that are like, hey, you know, maybe we need to work on the pacing.

There's, you know, it's like we don't get bogged down in any one thing. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like I don't want to go too off the rails because then if the show goes off the rails too much, then we're not making a good show. But it's been an interesting journey to try to find that balance. And the thing that helped tip the scales for me is we had a Mythical Society react. And we do those on the Mythical Society. We'll, like, watch old videos.

But they played the first Good Mythical Morning, like, the scene from that with Brittany the sex doll. Oh, Good Mythical Evening? Yeah, Good Mythical Evening. And so we were reacting to it. And I just, I was very critical of just the meandering nature of it. So I'm like, I want to dial it in just enough where I'm having the same amount of fun, but I'm not getting obsessed about the equity of nipple clamp placements. That was Good Mythical Evening 2.

So I actually felt like the adjustment was made. We were at a nice, happy balance this year for the first year. Third time's a charm. At least that's how I felt. Yeah. And I think I've gotten feedback from Mythical Beast and from crew, and I feel like there's a good consensus there. So I was happy with it.

Yeah, I was in it for a very brief moment. Oh, yeah, you were going to be in the song? No, I was going, I was with Emily. Oh, right! You had a dramatic reveal. Very dramatic reveal that I did not expect. I mean, that was crazy. Yeah.

Selfishly, I love the fact that a highlight of the evening didn't involve me or Rhett directly. Yeah. You know, it's nice to spread the love a little bit. Things still went off the rails this year. It's nice for somebody else to fall flat on their face besides me for people to be talking about. But, I mean, if you don't know, we had a segment. It was the pain hole. We brought back the pain hole.

You put your face through it, and instead of Rhett and I doing it, we got crew members who willingly volunteered to, behind the wall, either something pleasurable or painful was happening to them, we had to look at the reaction on their face in order to decide were they experiencing pain or pleasure. And it was going swimmingly. I had a great conversation with Jordan Myrick while they were in the pain hall. while they were in the painting hall.

And Matt Lieb and then, was it Emily after Matt? I think so. It gets a little fuzzy if I'm missing somebody. I think it was Emily after Jordan. I think Matt was first. Matt Lieb, then Jordan Myrick. And then, so Emily shows up third. And her face goes through the pain hole. We're like, hey, Emily.

She's like, is this live? And I'm like, I'm told that it is. And then all of a sudden she's like standing up, and I could kind of tell that she was like trying to get her boob. I mean, she had a shirt on. Yes, she did. Her shirted boob through the pain hole. And she brings down the entire set.

The thing just, like, just flat on the ground with her stuck to it, basically. Yeah. And Michaela and I were behind. And that's your dramatic reveal. Like, I've seen the images. I've definitely rewatched that clip many times of the shock on your face. And I don't know.

What was, well, first of all, at that point, I'll say what I was thinking, and then I'm curious what you were thinking, but then also what was actually planned because I didn't know. Oh, yeah. At the point where, slam, everything goes down, I was just thoroughly amused. Immediately. Like, I was shocked.

And I told Emily this when I walked over there immediately after the show was over because I wanted to talk to her about it and reassure her that it was an excellent thing that happened. And what I told her is what I thought in the moment, which was, wow, that was amazing. And if you did that on purpose, that was a great choice. And I didn't know. I didn't know if she did it on purpose or if it was like a complete accident or somewhere in the middle.

Sometimes when I do things, I can't even explain how much of it is an accident or there's some form of calculation. I think that it was an accident completely. Yes. Based on when I saw her, the fact that she was trying to deal with the fact that like, okay, how do people take this? Yeah, we had been consoling her. I'm really glad you came in.

And we're just so adamant that it was wonderful because she was mortified and thought she was going to get fired. And it was like, I think she'll be okay with me saying all this because we talked about it so much. I said some of it on the show in the more, in the Good Mythical Evening more. Yeah, because you just showed up in between the end of the main show and there was like a seven minute break before the more

and you ran all the way across the studio. She was hiding at the, yeah. Yeah, we were hiding. It was hilarious. I'm so glad you came in, though. I was like, wait. I was like, I already knew she was okay. Yeah.

But I was like, you're okay. She was like, yes, I'm okay. I was like, then why are you, what are you concerned about? It was awesome. Mm-hmm. I was like, get over it. It was awesome. That's what I ended up having to tell her.

I was like, I didn't come over here just to make this about you. I kind of came over here to get compliments from me. How did I do, Emily? No, but that was an amazing moment. I just love the fact that it's the perfect environment for that type of stuff to happen. So when it does, you kind of hope things like that happen. That's like the right amount of chaos. I love it.

But what was supposed to happen? Oh, yeah. Pain or pleasure? What were you doing back then? Well, that was interesting. See, I wasn't sure if we were supposed to be. Because, okay, so Michaela and I were supposed to be because okay so mckayla and i were going to be biting emily's fingers which for me i was like that could be pain or pleasure

for you so like i feel like that's not what it depends on how hard you're biting listen it's not gme anymore i don't have to go into things it's not sex timber anymore. I don't have to go into things. It's not sex-temper yet. But that doesn't mean I can't ask. You can ask. But yeah, I was like... She doesn't have her fingers gently bit. Yes. Is what... Gentle biting is acceptable.

Yes. But the fingers specifically? I'm like looking at your fingers for gnaw marks. Don't do that to me. I mean, I just... Don't bite my finger. No, I'm not going to do it. Yeah, of course not.

I've gnawed my own fingernails for years. You find that comforting and you enjoy it? Okay. There you go. Yes, I did. All right. I think it was supposed to be pain. I think it was supposed to be pain, yeah, but it was one of those where I was like...

So you didn't even get a finger in your mouth i did not no fingers in the mouth i mean and emily was like she came up to me multiple times it was like i would just wash my hands we're good i just washed my hands like she was so concerned about her fingers being dirty and i was like okay great yeah totally cool and yeah didn't even get a finger in the mouth before the collapse happened. Yeah. But she did great. She popped right up. She popped right up.

She had jokes ready to go. We put the wall up and then she puts her head through the wall and she's like, what did she say? I would call that pain. Yeah. She's pretty great.

And you know, it was so funny. And then they made a directorial decision to cut. Yeah, switch to the next thing. They held up a sign to me off camera, and they were like, let's move on. And it was the perfect call. The edit, she had that line, and then all of a sudden, we cut to the next thing. And it couldn't have ended better.

It couldn't have. She forfeited her whole bit but it was a this is a much better bit not that not that i mean you biting her fingers would uh you can still do that i i could still do that later yeah yeah her and i are friends i could but i think it was the that was a highlight and it was just the perfect amount of chaos with the right amount of pacing. I've seen pictures of people watching from their homes and having a ball. I've also seen pictures of people at the Alamo draft houses. I know, it's so cool.

That was a cool little addition for some people to be able to have that experience yeah so i almost wish i almost wish uh i wasn't in gme just so i could like sneak into one of those screenings at alamo draft house and just like bear witness to it i feel like that would can't have it all jenna i can't i can't have it all sorry you all had to see me on the out on the screen at elmo draft house but yeah i think shocked i was shocked yeah my face as soon as as soon as i knew she was okay and she made that first joke that like don't worry my boob broke my fall oh she said that yeah she said that and and as soon as i heard that from her i was was like, okay, she's okay. And then my big concern was get up, stand next to me. I will support you.

Was all I could think was like, come, come, come and let me support you, friend. That was great. Yeah. That was great. It was. And then apparently Rhett got sicker. He did get sicker. And I have not gotten anything.

I have to think If I would have Licked that mannequin I keep calling her a mannequin Brittany Brittany She has a name I would be

I'd be sick right now too I agree I dodged I dodged a bullet I had enough judgment That's the thing Yeah I'm being proud of myself

You know Yeah I think you should be And I And later on In the more where, like, I was pushing Rhett to disclose as much about his sex life as I could, I also had the wherewithal to not disclose things that I didn't have permission to disclose because some things don't just involve me. Right. So, yeah, I'm tooting my own horn here good yeah that yeah i i kept it together enough to like i we're making a good we're making a good

show and if you if you feel like you're ready for the chaos just again i i have to think we're gonna do another one because it's so much fun, and the team is so good at it. But there is a challenge of like, okay, where do we go from here? They've done a great job year over year of like coming up with different segments and kind of changing the emphasis a little bit. So I do think there's a creative challenge in where good mythical evening goes because you just don't i don't want to do it just to do it you know and it's not just about

us and our chaos it's a combination of everything so everything has to kind of line up creatively we've got to figure that out yeah so um we'll see about that. And then, you know, rec got worse and it was just a couple of nights later was the Streamy Awards. I know. And so then I was like, now he's leaving me high and dry. And I got to, I got a, I, we knew that we were presenting, uh, we were presenting the last award of the night. No, the next to last, because we were up for show of the year. We didn't win this year. We won last year. You know, we've won twice. I think we've been nominated at least six times. Yeah, we nominated a lot. And so I knew that I was going to have to give the intro – what's it called? You know, the intro speech, the award –

Presenters. Presenter. I always forget the word presenter. We were going to present the creator of the year nominees. nominees. And honestly, the way this typically works is the day of or the night before that, you know, with all the stuff that as much as Rhett and I see each other at a certain point, he'll just be like, this is what this is what I'm thinking. This is what I think we should do. I have this idea. I have this thing like written in my mind and um so this year on the day of i called him i did ask him how he's doing he said he had a shitty night he was like running a fever not doing great so it's like there's no chance of him

showing up and just wanting a good good move there yeah and i was like well well let's talk let's do what we do every year, which is you tell me what to say. Because I like to revel in this, like, he creates some structure, and then it gives me some space to play. Because that's how I like to work. I'm less of the writer-planner. I don't like knowing exactly the words that are going to come out of my mouth I just like to kind of go with it and as a duo it get you know he gives me the space to be able to do that so I made that joke and uh to him that's like tell me what to say but I had thought of it

I had thought about what I want to say. So I told him about the whole, just the idea of, I'm basically going to walk out there and act like you're dead. Because what you're doing to me tonight, you're dead to me. That's what I told him. Rhett McLaughlin was my best friend.

And he will be missed from this bit because he's the one who would always stop me from saying something stupid. But he's been missing and presumed dead. The nominees. You know, he had a couple of notes. I will give Rhett credit. Like, there was between me saying that, you know, he's been missing for days and presumed dead,

and then I paused and said, the nominees, you know, and that's kind of what got a huge laugh. I had another line or two in there. He was like, what if you took that out? What if you just – and that really worked. Yeah, the pregnant pauses you always do are really great. And I want to talk about these pregnant pauses. It's like I can't – honestly, I don't think I can take as much credit for these. I mean,

the main thing that I knew I had to do was just stay poised. Yeah. You know, it's like so much, it's like with dancing. It doesn't really matter how, what your moves are. It doesn't matter if they're big, if they're small, if they're crazy, if they're good or bad or horrible, as long as you've got the right look on your face. We wrote about this in the Book of Mythicality because it's so important. If you've got the right look on your face and it's a look of poise, a look of confidence, a look of whatever is happening right now, I am meaning to do. That goes so far. So I knew that was my first thing.

And then I was like, all right, I'm going to keep it short so I can remember what I want to say about him being presumed dead. And then I'm going to say the nominees for one of the most coveted awards of the night, creator of the year, are. So I got that laugh, and then it goes to the package, the video package, where they're going through the nominees. I didn't have to say any of the nominees, but as the package is playing, I'm realizing I don't know who the nominees are.

I never looked because I didn't have to introduce the nominees. The package does that. But then I realized whoever wins, I'm going to have to say their name. So I better listen to this package so I'll know how to say the nominees, the winner's name. Yeah. Because I don't want to be that guy. I don't like it when people know who, people know, they're fans of a person. And then I'm up there looking like an idiot who said their name wrong. Like, I don't want to be like John Travolta at the Oscars. Idina Menzel.

This is what's going through my mind. I'm standing on, I'm standing in center stage where I, where I delivered my, my Rhett's dead bit. I'm looking out at everybody in the audience. I'm like, you know, it's, and this is what I'm thinking. And then the production person comes up to me while the package is still playing, and she says, you'll open the envelope, you'll read who the winner is. And I was like, and I'll say their name right. Hopefully, if you stop talking to me, I'm trying to watch how to pronounce the name. And the person over here will hand you the statute and then hand to the winner. And then she says, if the winner is not present, you'll need to accept on their behalf. And so then I'm like, oh, shit, this had not crossed my mind.

So I put so much pressure on myself to get my thing that I had already said right. I was like, okay, I'm halfway there. By the way, the pressure wasn't off because I thought we were going to win show of the year and I had a speech prepared because Rhett wasn't going to be there so I was like damn I gotta have that I gotta have some sort of approach to this and not seem like a bumbling idiot like the past two years that past two times that we won. But the honesty of it all, it's wonderful. So I had a lot on my mind, and then she adds this on my plate, and I'm like, oh, no. And then I turned back to the package, and it's Mr. Beast.

I'm like, oh, well, he's probably going to win. I do know how to say Mr. Beast. That's good news. And then the package is over, and I'm standing there, and I'm opening the thing and I'm like, if this is Mr. Beast, I gotta... You have to accept on his behalf. So I open it up and it says Mr. Beast. And if you watch, you could interpret the way that I said, and the winner of Creator of the Year is Mr. Beast as, I don't know, it was open to interpretation of like, is he not happy about him winning? Does he have an opinion about it?

And really it was like, I now have to come up with something to say because now I'm accepting this. I now have to come up with something to say because now I'm accepting this. And then so I just said the first thing that came to my mind, which I think is what is the first thing on everybody's mind when it's the biggest award of the night and they're not there to accept it. So I was just like, if you're going to keep giving him this award, he should probably show up for it. Winner of Creator of the Year is Mr. Beast. You know, if you're going to keep giving him awards,

he really needs to show up. And it got a big laugh. Because sometimes the biggest laughs come from, like, somebody just acknowledging the thing. Yeah. It's like, it's just, in a sense, it can't be, it couldn't be easier. So here I am feeling like, oh, I got to laugh. I passed the test.

And then I'm like, but I'm still standing here. And of course, from the outward perspective, it was just a pregnant pause. Yeah. And then I gave a gesture, and I walked off. And it got another huge laugh because it was like... The gesture, we thought you were gonna say something else, and then you walk away. I thought it was perfect.

I was dying laughing when I saw that. I was going... There was no calculation. Yeah. I'm going completely on instinct, which I guess is what I was describing that that's my, that's my, that's my zone, right? Yeah. So I felt good about it in that sense. What was happening with that pregnant pause was I was trying to figure out what I was going to say next. And as I was figuring it out and debating what am I going to say next,

I was like, well, I guess I just need to say I'm going to accept it on his behalf. And so as I gestured to accept it on his behalf, it suddenly dawned on me, I don't need to say anything. And then I just walked away. It really worked. It did. It really worked. It did. It really worked. And then afterward, you know, I was like, because it wasn't calculated, I'm like, man, it seemed like such a, I took a shot at Mr. Beast. And you know what?

He can take it. He's doing very well for himself. It's all right. I don't know the reasons why he wasn't there. Yeah. I do start to think things like, oh, I'm getting in my own head. It's like, the irony is, I mean, my dude wasn't there. But I was there.

They were both dead to me, I guess. Yeah. So that's how it went down from my perspective. But I'll take all the credit for it to be very intentional and just perfect comedic timing or something. Absolutely, yes. If we had won for the show of the year right after that, would you have gone up and then have to,

like since half of the duo isn't there, then since he didn't show, since Rhett didn't show up for the misrelease. I had a plan. You did. I did have a plan. I had a speech, but I will say Rhett, I had a plan that involved Rhett. Uh-huh. And the Rhett's dead bit, in my mind, was kind of a setup for winning, which is pretty damn presumptuous.

And now, boys, they're egg on my face because there was more of a payoff to that if we would have won, honestly. Yeah, and spoiler alert, it involved him not being dead. Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah. Because for the record, even though he's still not here and is missing and presumed dead still, I don't believe he is. Yeah.

I believe he's on the mend, but he's not coming in yet. Let's promote this. You don't have to put it on. It's too hot in here. It's too hot, but it is so soft. We've made this Mythical Society blanket hoodie. It is the coziest thing you can ever wear.

Yeah. It is our quarterly collectible item exclusively as a third degree member of the society. So you're not already a member of the society

as third degree. You've got to join quarterly or annual by September 30th in order to qualify for these things. Go to mythicalsociety.com. You're really putting it on?

I changed my mind as soon as I touched it. It's so soft. I know, but now that you put it on. I have to wear it the whole time? No, I wouldn't do that. Okay. But I'm done. You're done?

Now that you've got it on. Oh, it's really comfy. I'm just going to wear it. It took a little too long. I'm just going to wear it. I'm just going to wear it. Okay. All right.

You can take it off at a certain point. I love it. You can't even see my chair anymore. Are my arms in the thing? No, they're not. They're not in. No, they're not. I love it so much.

It's so soft. What is this? What is this? Fake sheep's wool? I think so, yeah. You know, Sherpa. It's got the softest Sherpa on the inside of it. And then the outside is like... It sells itself.

Yeah, it really does. Okay. Um, but yeah. It's giant on me. You're helping. Summer's here, and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well-groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana? That's a no.

But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber E eats order now alcohol and select markets product availability may vary by regency app for details um in the theme of solo and being just being left high and dry without companionship or support or company.

Yeah. I want to talk about my solo camping trip. And I know that you have experience with this. That's the other thing besides just keeping me company on this is I know that you have experience with doing this. So just to set up here, it's been a few weeks back now. We had like – basically, Rhett and I scheduled our summer breaks towards the end of the summer, and I ended up having like five days where I didn't have anything planned as a part of that. And I just, the itch to go camping and to do another solo trip,

just that really, I really started to feel that. Once you go once, it's nice. And yeah, the solo trips that I've been on, I mean, the first solo trip I went on was when I went to Slab City. And I'm certain I did a whole episode of Ear Biscuits. You can go back and listen to it. And that adventure. But I actually don't consider that what I now call a solo trip because I was interacting with people. Yes, I rented a hollowed out, abandoned RV, a shell of an RV in the middle of the desert where a bunch of people are permanently squatting on public land on the other side of the Salton Sea. That's Slab City. So I was on the edge of that.

It was quite an adventure. But I saw, like, my landlord or whatever you call her, my renter, my presenter. Yeah, presenter. My RV presenter. And so it wasn't like – it wasn't camping per se, and it wasn't completely isolated. And it wasn't completely isolated And it was only I think two nights And then I was jealous of Rhett

Because he was able to The last time we did solo trips He was able to do more of a solo trip And I didn't get to do that For at least for as long If I remember correctly Anyway So I was like

I'm gonna take this whole five days And I'm going to take this whole five days and I'm going to rent that Sprinter van to do my, yes, I do glamping and I'm not going to apologize for it. Like, I love the fact that I can drive this four-wheel drive Sprinter van. It's got a bed in the back. It's got a shower with a toilet in it it's got a sink it's you can lock yourself in it at night which also makes me feel a little more secure and it's just and you can bring so much stuff like all of my creature comforts like so it's very important to me that like roughing it is not the part about that I'm interested in. It's that I was interested in the isolation.

I was interested in the nature. And also, I just love having everything that I want and need for a trip right there. And I don't have to set it up and tear it down if I move from place to place. Something about that is extremely comforting and exciting to me, and I actually even more fully realized it on the first night, but there were a lot of questions going into it, like, five days, at what point when you're alone in the wilderness and potentially not seeing anyone for the whole time or talking to anybody, how crazy am I going to go? I had asked people, you know, when I tell people that I was planning it,

I had asked people, you know, when I tell people that I was planning it, I was like, have you done a solo trip? At what point did you start to feel kind of wild in the brain? And a number of people told me, like, after day two, more than one person said, that's when I started talking to myself. Now, so what's your experience with solo track I know you've done solo track I mean I know you have friends yes I do have friends but yeah I uh but you like I like doing stuff on your own I like doing stuff on my own yeah and I've um I've been single for over five years now and it was one of those things where I wanted to do all this stuff and friends were busy and I didn't have a partner and I just said the hell with it I'm just

gonna figure it out on my own so I just started doing it on my own like what types of stuff have you done uh camped I've I've gone camping I've but I've never done public land camping like you have. And I haven't been in – I haven't rented like an RV or anything except, I mean, the one time I had to stay in the RV for the whole video overnight. You had to guard the equipment. I had to guard the equipment, yes. Right. It's a very, very important job. So you would camp in a tent, but at campgrounds?

Campgrounds or I use HipCamp, which is actually really great because HipCamp is a lot more secluded. It's an app. It's like Airbnb, but it's for people just renting little spots that you can camp on on their private land. Yes. Usually private. Yeah, it usually private yeah yeah it's their land it's there so like i've and you can find really really remote ones there which i did a few years ago around like halloween i spent like three days um and like nobody was there like the woman came and checked up on me and made sure I had enough firewood, and she left some fresh eggs from her chickens and like a bottle of wine for me. What area was this?

This was south. I remember you telling me that. No, this was a little north actually. There was a lot of pistachio farms around. Oh, okay. So, yes, central California. Cashew farms around. Oh, okay.

So, yeah, central California. It's cool, though, because it works like Airbnb in that you can review these people. Yeah. So there's some accountability, and they want to do a good job. And a lot of places, at least out here, is like if you wanted to stay at a campground, you can't. Like you have to reserve it Well in advance I mean sometimes If you're trying to like Beach camp

The coveted areas Yosemite is over a year in advance I think To the day Yeah I do Leo Carrillo For last minute stuff A lot of times

I can find a spot there They keep some open Yeah they usually keep some open And it's a short drive So if ever I'm just like It's a night I just need a night in the woods, then I'll... But that's on the beach though.

It's just off the beach. You can walk to the beach? You can walk to the beach. Yeah, you walk under the PCH. Okay, yeah, yeah. To get to the beach. There can be a lot of people there. There can be.

It's really... So like the hip camp thing is nice because you get that isolation, but you also get some – you have a contact because you're staying on private land. And so when campgrounds are taken up, you can usually find a place like that around. And I've stayed on one of those in the van before too. It's like you can have like an RV parking type thing. Because I definitely prefer – and especially for – I didn't want to be in a campground. I didn't, like my goal was to subject myself to the experience and the experiment of, yeah, five days, four nights. And I, you know, I didn't want to travel around a lot.

I kind of wanted to stay put and kind of make it this rejuvenative exercise in boredom. I knew I was going to be at a place where I didn't have cell reception. And, yeah, I didn't want to see anybody. Christy was concerned about safety. She was like, well, so you're not going to be able to communicate. You don't have your cell phone. I was like, yeah, I think that's part of it is not being able to use my phone. But she wisely encouraged me to get like a satellite phone.

And I got one called Spot X. And if you get the right one, not a sponsor, they let you, it has like a Blackberry-type keyboard on it, and you can text. Yeah. You can send and receive texts, and you can send pre-written messages at the push of a button. So you can communicate with numerous people and hear back from them. And, of course, the main thing is that the SOS button,

which then automatically communicates with search and rescue. So it's like worst-case scenario, you're covered. It's a great thing to have. You've got to pay a monthly fee for the connection service, and it may be $30. I can't remember. I wonder if REI has like a buyback kind of thing for that because for their members. It's a good question. I am a member. I should have asked them, but I had that. And then I was like, I was so excited about this trip. I was telling my mom on the phone. And then when I was driving home from work,

telling my mom about, I'm going on this trip in a few days. I'm so excited. And she had some questions about safety. And then I answered them. I thought. And I hung up the phone. And then by the time I get home and see Christy, she's like, your mom called me and said she was really concerned about you. And I think she was concerned about my safety, but she was also concerned about like, is everything okay?

Is he running from something? What is this choice? Right. Is he? like is everything okay what is he running from something what is this choice right is he I get those all the time when I do solo stuff all the time for my family apparently even though I was just gushing with positivity and reassurance my mom has trust issues with me and but that's a great thing about Christy is like, she doesn't, apparently when it really matters, she only believes what Christy says. Okay.

You know? She's like, are you two okay? Yeah. I could talk about how much I love Christy up and down the wall, but it takes Christy saying, oh, we're doing great. This is my mom issue. I wasn't trying to get away from my mom. But yeah, there is a kind of a safety thing too because once you get to a spot and you're isolated. Yeah, and there's no cell service.

I've been in a few where it's zero cell service. And how do you protect yourself or talk to yourself? I talk to myself. Well, I go a little crazy. Let's talk about the crazy stuff in a second. Just the safety part of it. I know that when you stayed at the medium-sized hole site, Rhett left.

You had cell service, but Rhett left his had cell service But Rhett left his like 10 inch bowing knife He did You were asked to keep it Yeah I slept with it next to me Yeah I mean she used of course It was a very large dangerous knife

But yeah I slept with it next to me Okay Okay so And then I told him I really liked it and wanted one for my birthday, and he got me a really nice knife for my birthday. We got you. We, I'm sorry. We.

He remembered that I said that, and then you all got that for me. Right. I'm so sorry. It is a very nice knife. It was a gift from me, too. Yeah, I like it very much. You're welcome. Okay, I see. Yeah, okay, it was just from Rhett. I like it very much. It was a gift from me, too. Yeah, I like it very much. You're welcome. Okay, I see.

Yeah, okay, it was just from Rhett. Thank you. Fine. It was his idea. I mean, you guys had the knife moment. You didn't have to use it. No, I did not. It didn't make you feel bad.

I mean, it's like, I will say this. The first night I was camping, I set up at this spot, and I'll show you a video that I took from there. And then it was after the sun went down. I picked this spot very isolated. I used an app called iOverlander. This is where people find places where you can boondock or it's dispersed camping. You're supposed to only stay at places where people have already camped and left no trace except for a fire ring at most. I was not starting a fire, didn't start a fire the whole time I was there. It's actually not allowed right now. But I picked a place based on the couple of reviews in that app, and it's pretty homegrown, this app.

But you can really find more isolated places, and then people will tell you, hey, you need four-wheel drive to get to this spot. Got great views, no cell service, this type of stuff. It's all in there. It's really great. So I found a pretty isolated spot in sequoia national forest on the north side of the the park i wasn't going to stay in the national park i was going to stay in the forest you can't stay in the park if you're not at a campground there's no there's no dispersed camping so i was pretty isolated but then after dark all of a sudden, somebody drives up, and like 60 yards away, they're parking, and I'm immediately getting paranoid. I'm immediately like, okay, how's this person going to kill me? Yep, yeah.

You know? Mm-hmm. And I'm like peeking around my van, because I was sitting on the, my van was blocking my vision of him, like, peeking around. And it's just like a station wagon. And then I see one person get out and, like, walk up the ridge and kind of, I don't know, pee or try to see a view or something. And then he's walking back down. He walks back down, and he just kind of gets in his car.

Like, sitting up, no tent, no nothing. Like, nothing being set up. It's already dark anyway. I said, okay, this dude's just kind of gets in his car. Like, setting up no tent, no nothing, like, nothing being set up. It's already dark anyway. I said, okay, this dude's just going to sleep in his car, which I would have felt better if there was a tent being set up. You know, if there's just a car pulls up, and then it's just a guy, you know. Yeah, that's sketchy. Oh, man, you know, what's.

And then I was like, but you know what? He could be thinking the same thing about me. If I walk over here to the edge of my van and I have really good posture, like really, again, poised, it's about the look on your face. He couldn't see my face, but I bet you from the glow of my LED lights and my glamper, I bet you he could tell that, boy, I wasn't to be messed with. So I John Wayne-ed it over there and just kind of put my hands on my hips and just kind of like spread my feet apart a little bit.

I did not have a knife, but I guess I would have been wielding it at that moment. No. No. No. Because then I was really terrified that person I was I was paranoid and I was a bit terrified so yeah I might would have made that choice if I would have had the knife I mean I had a had a steak knife that works I don't he couldn't have seen it from that far. And I just kind of stood out there and I just unapologetically just kind of like surveyed his arrangement. Yeah. From 60 yards away. Yeah. And I just thought that's the best I could do. I think that works. And if he saw me, I might would

have waved. You are a six-foot tall man. That is... With a steak knife. Uh-huh. Waving at a fellow camper. See, I cannot do that. I try and puff up, and they're like, oh, there's a woman camping by herself. Yeah. But that works.

That's all you have to do. It's just like, this is who I am, and I am I am here and I see you and I acknowledge that you're there. I felt safer because it was on the edge of a national park in a national forest. It wasn't like in Bureau of Land Management land out in the middle of the desert where all of a sudden you got meth heads crawling up to your tires and gnawing on them. Has that happened? In my brain it has. Oh. So I felt a little safer.

Okay. Something about the, like, if you're on BLM land in the desert, like anybody can roll up any rock in order to cause any type of shenanigan. Yeah, I haven't stayed on BLM land. Yeah, that gets a little shady. And it's, you know, it's, I mean, I don't want to say, I don't want to presume that there's a difference. You tell me.

Just, you know, being a woman out there alone, you know, you said you can't puff up as much. Yeah. Oh, there's a woman alone In the woods Typically what a lot of solo travels do Especially women Is like the weapons they carry

Which I don't really go into the things that I bring with me Just for safety I don't publicly talk about what I bring with me But what I bring with me is stuff that Well, this is public, Jenna Yeah, that's why I'm not saying Oh, I thought you were about to say bring with me, but what I bring with me is stuff that... Well, this is public, Janet. Yeah, that's why I'm not saying. Oh, I thought you were about to say. But I'll say whatever you do bring,

you just bring something that you know actually how to use. You've had training with it, and you feel comfortable using it. Which is why I had nothing more than a dull steak knife. Yes, yeah. That's the rules that I always say for people. Whatever makes you feel comfortable, just whatever you feel like you need and know how to use. But yeah, a lot of times women who go solo camping will bring an extra chair so that while they're sitting at the campfire, there's a second chair and it's presumed that they're staying with someone else and not just by themselves. Oh, yeah. Little tricks. Usually those chairs are the type where you can just gather them up really quickly

and beat the hell out of somebody with it. Oh, yeah. So that's a two for one. Two for one. That's a good tip. Give us some more safety tips. We should have talked more in depth before this. What else?

Every time I know I'm without cell service because I don't have one of those fancy satellite phone things. I can let you borrow mine next time. Sweet. Yes. I was hoping you'd say that. Yeah. No, I will send messages. I'll let my friends and family know this like, this is where I'm staying specifically.

Right. I'm going to be off grid for this amount of time. This is when I'll be able to check back in definitively. So if you don't hear from me by this time, maybe a little concern. Yeah. So I did that when I went a couple years ago up to, and I stayed on that person's property because it was very isolated and there wasn't any, like, it was a far, it was a long ways

to where her home was. And it was like just desert. And I ended up going on like a long hike up to this mountain that seemed a lot closer but wasn't. That's when you really need the GPS thing. When you're actually doing some hikes on your own. I had my Garmin watch at the time. So like I was able to keep track and like north, south.

I had the compass on it and everything and told me elevation. So I was fine. Okay. Which is why you said in the Grand Canyon too. I did that at the Grand Canyon, too. Summer is like a cocktail. It has to be mixed just right. Start with a handful of great friends.

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Headphones remastered. Buy from DysonCanada.ca. With ANC on, performance may vary based on environmental conditions and usage. Accessories sold separately. Let me show you video. First of all, that is the big decision I made. I decided to take Jasper. Jasper is Mr. FOMO. He always wants to go wherever I'm going. He's always at the door when I'm leaving. Yeah. And I just felt like, is it still a solar trip if you're taking your dog? Yes.

Yes. Yes, of course. That is another form of defense. Yeah. And first of all, who do I need to defend what a solo trip is to anyone? You don't. I'll put a pin in that, though. Okay.

Because that's also— You're going to defend it to me? You don't need to defend it to me. I'm going to unpack the fact that I think that way. Okay. I had some epiphanies. That's great. That's what you want.

But Jasper was my muse. I mean, just look at these pictures I took. This is our first night. The sun is not going down yet, and I'm just taking pictures of him. He looks so majestic. Because, and, you know, and then I sat down.

Ooh, is that your setup? This is my setup. That's gorgeous. I mean, look at the sunset. So, yeah, you've got, you know, you got the, it's hashtag van life. I absolutely love it. You are living it. And then, okay, so I'm going to play this video for you.

And just go with it, okay? Okay. This was, I didn't know I was, I wasn't making this video for Ear Biscuits, but when I set up camp and I sat down in my chair with my dog and my Topo Chico, and I was experiencing the sunset, I think, well, I just kind of wanted to memorialize

this moment for myself. Yeah. But I'm fine with sharing it with you. This view is absolutely amazing. And everything is perfect. I got my Topo Chico. I got my buddy. Heico got my buddy he's looking for chipmunks and I've got the Sun setting right there everything's perfect I got

the chair and I went to REI especially to get and I got the most expensive chair. It's like a hammock chair. This thing reclines back. Everything is perfect. I think that's why I've been looking forward to coming out here on a solo trip. Because I'm able to simplify things to the point where I can control every aspect of it. And I actually do feel like everything is perfect, but I'd kind of like to have somebody I loved But that's why I'm glad Jazzy's here. Good boy, Jazzy. Good gosh.

It's amazing what the sunset is doing to the mountains over there. It looks a lot brighter in this footage than it actually was. It's so pretty. Like the mountains and the sunset is gorgeous. It's like watching a painting unfold. Yeah. Crazy good. Crazy beautiful.

And isn't it funny, like, going out in the wilderness like that and when you do speak, you speak so softly because you, like, don't want to disturb the quiet. It was so quiet. And I'm going to stop this video, but I will tell you there is five more minutes of me just holding on. I just filmed the whole thing. And then that tree right there, like that's straight out of a Bob Ross painting.

Like, you can't tell me. And, yeah, I just to to save this moment for myself I think I started talking about acceptance but that's just for me yeah so so it was the best feeling I mean and yeah because it was night, I did come to that realization that as a perfectionist, making my world so small so that I could control every aspect of it was something that was extremely rewarding for me, but then realizing that like, okay, that, that is what's happening. I think it's important for me to know that, uh, everything is going exactly how I wanted and, uh, I can,

I can control everything. And that, that's what, that's why I'm happy right now. I, I think that was an important realization for the rest of the trip to just say, okay, maybe there's a version of being like not having to control everything but still being content, still being happy. But I'm not explaining away how special that moment was to me. I'm just, I was just processing that, like, okay, that is part of it. Like, that's part of it for me. That's why I like the van and having everything so I can get everything how I want it and having the right chair and having the right drink and the right dog. The right chair is so important.

I would have brought, I didn't bring Jade, just as a side note. I miss Jade terribly because she can't hike. And she wouldn't have enjoyed it. But I kind of felt like Jasper has – he has his own anxieties, but I knew that he would enjoy it and would really want to be there. So I definitely think I made the right choice. And he was kind of the – he was a huge factor in, I think, me never getting to the point where I actually felt strange. Or like I was going a little nuts because I was able to like take my energy.

It's, you know, it's the emotional support dog principle, I guess, at work. It's like I was able to put energy into him and I didn't really talk to myself because I was just talking to him or I guess doing my ASMR speeches, which I did a few of those. Yeah. But, yeah, it turns out that Jasper was like a big part of my experience. And, like, oh, we were so bonded. And, like, we were talking about everybody that I was missing back at home. I love you said we. We were talking about you, Jas was missing back at home. I love you said we.

We were talking about you, Jasper. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do think I got a little. You might have got a little loopy. I might have got a little loopy. But, I mean, it was so, I mean, except for that other guy pulling up that night. And then I, here's the thing I didn't mention. Rhett was less than four miles away.

I know. Because he left a few days before me, but like, and I will say once I was like, I'm doing this, and he ended up having a window of time before he went back to North Carolina. He was like, I really want to do a solo trip too. We usually plan them at the same time,

our vacation at the same time. But because of how hot it was around california we're like looking for elevation to get somewhere cool and to but not having to drive so far that we i mean sequoia national forest ended up kind of being the answer and then he went to the south side and then I was going to kind of, and then he was going to go up north and I was going to kind of follow two days later. Yeah. But then he communicated to me, I was like, let me know about the first spot around Lake Isabella and like how the weather is. He had service at one point. He told me, you know, the second place is so much better. The weather's, it's a lot cooler here on the north

side like around lake hume or hume lake whatever you call it so i opted to just go straight up there my first night i found this camp spot and i was like dude this place is amazing i ended up communicating with him and just telling him i'm going i'm leaving here tomorrow. Are you leaving your spot? He was like, the spot I found is the best camping spot I've ever been at. And so I said, well, if you have one more day here before you leave, I'm going to set up a tent. I brought a tent. I didn't bring an extra chair, but I did bring a tent that I wasn't going to use. And I set up the tent to claim the spot for him so that he could experience that sunset the next night. And no one would take the spot because it would have been claimed by a tent. And I'm driving around in my van, hiking the next morning.

I come back. We did like an hour and a half hike to the largest sequoia not within a national forest. You can't hike with a dog in a national forest. I'm sorry, national park. National park, yeah. So we hiked in the national forest and went to like the bull tree, which it was amazing. A lot of them had been logged. It was like a bunch of sequoia stumps, which is kind of sad, but they tell the story of how the forest rejuvenates itself.

And so there's a lot of sequoias that are now growing there, but they're all like babies, except for this one that the loggers didn't take. And so we hiked to that. We had an amazing morning, went back to the van. We're driving out, and all of a sudden I see a van identical to mine pulling up, and of course it's Rhett. And I just bust out laughing because the only person I've seen on my solo trip is him. Is Rhett. And he rolls his window down, I roll my window down,

and we're just sitting there just fancy meeting you here. And I was like, did you find the spot? And he was like, yeah, I set up my thing so you can take your tent. So like, I talked to him for like 10 minutes. Didn't get into it too much. He has his own stories that he'll tell at some point, I guess. And then, so he went and did the hike that I just did. I went and got my thing. He camped where I camped, and I went to where he camped, which was even better of a spot than this spot. I mean, we went on this forest road, went up a couple of miles, and then all of a sudden you're overlooking this vast, there's this huge boulder.

And I scrambled up on the boulder, and I was able to set up my fancy camp chair. On the boulder? On the boulder, and I was able to set up my fancy camp chair. On the boulder? On the boulder and overlook, and I could see Lake Hume down there. There's like a big camp, like some sort of Christian camp down there. And after the sunset, I could hear all the campers singing a song, and they were on a song and like they were they were on like a they were like on a pa and stuff and so i could like hear like way down there like hear all this hear all this

activity and then they they kind of went to bed but like i mean this is that's the view from that's the view from the boulder see that's the lake See how little it is You could hear them singing From all the way down there Yes It's wild Me and Jasper That's also very beautiful Yeah Yeah

And you know what I did take a picture of me Actually cooking something Yeah One night You could do some veggies Do you do a little stir fry I did a little fajita stir fry

Nice Every other night I ate potato chips and cereal. Hey, whatever works. But for one night, I splurged on some fajitas. Yeah, I like to keep things simple with food when I go to, but yeah, I don't have a full kitchen usually. I had a hammock. Nice.

Like overlooking this entire valley. You had a whole setup. And it was absolutely. That's a great van you have too. Perfect. It was absolutely perfect. The other thing that I relished in was not just being able to perfect everything. I think I kind of moved past that. And it was just like embracing the boredom.

Another piece of it for me that I realized, and I actually talked about it in therapy afterward, because it was this concept of like nobody's here, nobody's watching. Nobody's watching. Not that I was doing anything clandestine but like so much of my life is being watched I mean I'm a performer you know um and so I'm used to being watched yeah and I think I've always been used to being watched because i was i was taught i was raised from a young age to to to to believe that well god is always yeah god is always there

and um it i wasn't taught like christy that her dead grandmother was watching but i still i've always But I've always been watched. And I have this embodiment of that and this inner critic that it's like there's a version of myself in there that is watching the rest of myself and judging it. So you put all that together, So you put all that together, and I think that's what – that's why it meant so much to me to be isolated. I mean, it was beautiful.

It was quiet. It was rejuvenating. But I didn't – there were no external expectations. I could take a nap. I could take a nap I could take a second nap I could take a third nap And not have to The only person I would have to justify that to Is my inner critic

And in that environment I think he was able to be As quiet as I've ever experienced Which is awesome Like oh I want to take a hike now Like Jasper has some needs But like the main needs that he had was just to sit in my lap.

I mean, he was kind of like, he wasn't a burden at all. He got obsessed with the chipmunks the first night. But other than that, it was just, ever since i've been back i have just been craving it just craving this feeling of i i guess you i guess you could call it freedom i don't know for me it's like um connecting those dots to why it felt so good to me, I think helps me get in touch with, okay, this is a way that I can love myself. And, you know, it means a lot that maybe Christy knew even more than I did about it. Because when I brought up the idea of, hey, I'm going to take five days of my vacation and I'm going to leave you. I'm going to leave the kids.

We had a little bit more vacation when I got back, so that helped mitigate it a little bit. It was like, trust me, by the time I get back and we have the rest of our vacation, you'll be tired of me anyway. It's kind of how I justified it. But she was very encouraging. Yeah, and's done uh trips without you as well before yeah she says she doesn't like the idea of like being totally solo yeah but like for me it was exactly what i needed even more so than i realized because i'm pretty much never alone.

Yeah. You know? It's, yeah, it's, but I love it. Yeah, that's how I feel a lot too. I'm pretty much never alone. So, like, when I have that, yeah, it's this almost, like, unfurling and, like, expanding that I kind of feel like in my body. Like everything just grows out. Like everything starts to grow out of me and I'm just like, ah.

Okay. That's how I feel when I am solo. I just feel like larger. Yeah, and when you. Which I think it's because so many women as well, like we're taught to be like smaller and like be a little compact. So like being free and not having people watching as well, like, we're taught to be, like, smaller and, like, be a little compact. So, like, being free and not having people watching as well for me is one of those, like, I can do it. Like, I howled at the moon once.

I danced around a fire and howled at the moon on one of my trips, and it was the best. There you go. Were there clothes involved? There was clothes involved. It was a little chilly. It was chilly. I thought that I might go just totally. That's one of the things I said was I want to be in a place where I can be naked and it doesn't matter. Like to really fully embody nobody's watching is to be totally nude.

Maybe with sandals depending on the terrain. Yes. Yeah. But yeah, like howling at the moon, like doing a little jig around the fire. Yeah. I mean, let's not get too ceremonially cultish here, but... I'm not in a cult, I promise.

Whatever... Yeah, just you expand. Yeah. And you're describing being in your body, too, is something that I'm still learning a lot about about is like, oh, what do I feel? Where do I feel it? What does that mean for me? And when you're out there and you're able to, you say, open up or grow, it's like these things really happen when you give yourself space.

When you give yourself space, I don't feel like I'm too attached to my phone, but not having it as an option was a huge positive, huge part of it. Because I've definitely been camping before, and once you get in that chair and you've looked at the sunset for a few minutes, then what you're doing is you're pulling out your phone and you're looking at something. You know, you're looking at something or you're talking to people or you're like, you're satisfying whatever desires you have to maybe connect with somebody who's not there. Or, you know, like I said, I, in the video, I wished that someone I loved was there with me. Like my heart started going out to all these people. But that was a great exercise too.

Yeah. I mean, it's such – I think maybe I'm describing some sort of a practice for me. It's like a – I don't know if it's a call it a spiritual practice call it what call it whatever you will but like the the impact that it had i just i'm definitely going to do it sooner versus later again yeah because it's like you were sitting there and you felt this gratitude and love for people and for yourself. And if you had your phone with you and doing other things, you wouldn't have had that space to think about how wonderful you feel and how you care about the people around you.

And yet having that moment of like, oh, I would love to share this with someone isn't the fact that you somehow don't want to be there anymore it's just right this peace and this love is is you want to give it more like you want to share it kind of yeah i mean there was a couple of moments like i was i was sitting there that night after we had done the hike, and I had taken this picture of Jasper staring into the forest. No. And – Buddy. But actually, it was – I was like,

I'm going to see if I can make this – the one standing sequoia tree in a national forest disappear. And that's really what I was doing. So it's like, you know, I can't connect with anybody. I can't use any apps. I can't watch any videos. I did have music downloaded. Of course, this big thing for me is like when it got late at night,

I would put on the music. And, oh, I threw a party for myself every night Yeah, don't it's great. You get me wrong. It wasn't all about like This I wasn't a Buddhist up there the entire time. I was I Was I was having some party time you dance? It's great when no one's around and you're just dancing and singing. It was so much fun. Yeah.

But leading up to that, there were moments of like, can I Photoshop the tree out? That's what I did. You Photoshopped the tree out? Yeah, see? Oh, my gosh. It's the same photo. See, look, I made a tree disappear. You did.

You're so impressed. I am impressed. It's something that, like, you can circle anything in, like, Google photos. I don't do any of that. I had not either. Yeah. But I was like, oh, you can circle a tree and make it disappear. It's the future, Jenna.

I know. I always see the stuff where, like, you go places, you circle something, and, like, you can remove people from backgrounds and things. Yeah. Remove your people that you're cutting out of your life from all of your Google photos. You can do that. Oh, that's good to know. So that's my story.

I love it. I'm happy for you. Any more cautionary tales of... I can make a rec For me Unless you want to give the recommendation Bring a second camp chair That's Bring a second camp chair

Yeah If you're by yourself It's good to bring a second camp chair Bring bright clothing When you're hiking Jenna's taking care of you Especially on Someone else's land

I went on a hike Through these mountains once On someone else's land and they warned me that there was a mountain lion. And I was like, oh, okay. I'll just be on the lookout. And so I was, like, walking through, and I definitely saw tracks of the mountain lion, which was interesting. But then there were gunshots. And so I heard, like, gunshots in the the distance, like towards where I was kind of walking. And I was like.

And the mountain lion had a rifle? I think so. I think the mountain lion had a rifle. And I was like, you know what? I don't have on any bright colored clothing today. I kind of blend in with the scenery. So I think I'm going to end my hike here and walk back. So, yeah, yeah.

Don't wear. Because you don't know. People are just out there with their guns sometimes. Yeah, on private land. On private land, it's all, you never know. I'm going to make a rec. The book that I brought with me is called The Overstory, which I think Rhett told me that he had read part of it. When I went to Big Sur, I saw it in a bookstore, and it's got these amazing redwoods on the cover. And it's a novel by Richard Powers, and it's award-winning.

It was his 12th novel. This book is about nine Americans whose unique life experiences with trees bring them together to address the destruction of forest. So it's – I'm only about halfway through, but it was the perfect book for me there because it gives you, it's the stories of people, and it's not just that trees are related or integral to every story, but more than that, the entire, the way that it's presented is almost as if it's in tree time, not in human time.

Yeah. So it gives you this overstory, this different vantage point on like how fleeting life is. Because from a paragraph to paragraph, you might go from a character experiencing a life-changing moment to then just, it's 20 years later and they're dying. So it's like the forest through the trees kind of thing. All right, there you go. I love a good theme book when traveling. And I was in the trees.

Yeah, that sounds great. It was so good. It is so good. So now that's my rec today. The Overstory by Richard Powers. Jenna, thanks for hanging out. Thanks for bouncing stuff off of me. Thanks for inviting me.

For being a better co-host. Oh, whoa, whoa. You know what people are gonna say. They're gonna say. I think it might need to stay this way. I think they'll say I interrupted less, maybe. But I think that people are going to want Rhett back. I love being here. This is wonderful.

Well, we've got to find him first. We've got to find him. Yeah, he's still missing. Hopefully he's living. I mean, he's responding to messages, but is he? But is he? Is that him? Let us know about your take on

solo trips hashtag ear biscuits or you can call us at 1-888 ear pod one see you actually do listen I do listen look at me

when you're over there hi this is Megan from Virginia my commute recently doubled and therefore my podcast listening time also doubled. I just listened to the Ear Biscuits episode with Link's dad,

and you have turned me into a Dispatches from Myrtle Beach podcast listener also. They are downloading as I speak. Thank you so much. Have a great week, weekend, all that. Thanks, bye.