Ep. 24: Saharan Sundown
03/18/21 • 38 min
Following on from Episode 15.5, and the short story "You Don't Believe In God?" I return to our round the world backpacking trip from 2016 and pick up where that last short story left off... In Morocco, disembarking an all-night bus in Merzouga, on the edge of the Sahara.
If you enjoy this story, and especially if you’d care to hear more like it, please do let me know via e-mail at [email protected], where you can also subscribe to the newsletter.
Or, find One Step Beyond on social media at:
Instagram is OneStepBeyondPodcast
Facebook is One Step Beyond with Tony Fletcher
Twitter is OneStepBeyondP1
And your host can be found here:
Incidental music for the short story "Saharan Sundown":
"Amazigh" "Sidi Rabi" and "Live Improv" by Brahim Frigbane
"Marhaba" by Lahcen Akil
"Ismar Kkis" and "Tighoufiwin" by Imdukal'N' El Hussain Safir
All used under a Creative Commons License via the Free Music Archive
Noel Fletcher's YouTube Vlog "Sahara Desert" from January 2016
Noel Fletcher's Extended Placebo EP with artwork from Dar Tafouyte and the Sahara Desert of Erg Chebbi
The Dar Tafouyte guesthouse in Takoujte, Merzouga.
Also mentioned in this Episode:
Greetings from Somewhere podcast
Aleksander Doba obituary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Following on from Episode 15.5, and the short story "You Don't Believe In God?" I return to our round the world backpacking trip from 2016 and pick up where that last short story left off... In Morocco, disembarking an all-night bus in Merzouga, on the edge of the Sahara.
If you enjoy this story, and especially if you’d care to hear more like it, please do let me know via e-mail at [email protected], where you can also subscribe to the newsletter.
Or, find One Step Beyond on social media at:
Instagram is OneStepBeyondPodcast
Facebook is One Step Beyond with Tony Fletcher
Twitter is OneStepBeyondP1
And your host can be found here:
Incidental music for the short story "Saharan Sundown":
"Amazigh" "Sidi Rabi" and "Live Improv" by Brahim Frigbane
"Marhaba" by Lahcen Akil
"Ismar Kkis" and "Tighoufiwin" by Imdukal'N' El Hussain Safir
All used under a Creative Commons License via the Free Music Archive
Noel Fletcher's YouTube Vlog "Sahara Desert" from January 2016
Noel Fletcher's Extended Placebo EP with artwork from Dar Tafouyte and the Sahara Desert of Erg Chebbi
The Dar Tafouyte guesthouse in Takoujte, Merzouga.
Also mentioned in this Episode:
Greetings from Somewhere podcast
Aleksander Doba obituary
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Ep. 23: The Backcountry Bug
Three years ago, Julie McGuire, a High School English teacher in the South Bronx, came home from work eager to set off on another weekend in the Catskills, only to find her wife waiting to declare the end of their marriage. The sudden announcement threw Julie into a deep depression fueled by days full of self-loathing and nights full of NyQuil; she admits that she lost the will to live.
Julie slowly regained her mojo by throwing herself into her love of backcountry skiing - hiking uphill, away from the resorts of the Catskill Mountains, and skiing her own routes back down. To better plan her winter Catskills descents off the beaten paths, she took to hiking the mountains out of ski season, and after completing the region's 35 peaks above 3500ft, plus the four mandated additional hikes in winter, she recently became – by pure coincidence – the 3500th member of the Catskill 3500 Club. She now routinely wears a ‘Queen of the Catskills’ t-shirt and posts colorful pictorial essays about her almost daily adventures hiking and skiing the back country, usually accompanied by a Double IPA (or two).
In this interview, Julie and I talk openly about divorce, the outcome for 39% of American marriages, and the healing process that takes longer than expected. Julie walks me, an avid if amateur 'on-piste' skiier, through the attractions and technical aspects of backcountry skiing, explains why she endures the challenges of the mountains, and why she is hosting back country clinics limited to women and people of color. To try and match the giddy heights of Julie’s daily achievements, I recorded all my voice overs while hiking Blackhead Mountain in deep snow and ice as I close in on my own 3500 Club badge.
Find Julie McGuire on Instagram
and on Facebook
The full Zoom interview on YouTube.
Excerpts from Julie McGuire's essay on hiking the 3500s as a way out of divorce.
The Catskill 3500 Club web site
Ski Touring for Beginners in Ski magazine
How to start Backcountry Skiing: A primer video from Mappy Hour.
An introduction to splitboards.
Catskill Outpost, for your very own Queen of the Catskills t-shirt.
For questions or comments, or to subscribe to the newsletter, e-mail [email protected]
Join One Step Beyond on social media at:
Instagram is OneStepBeyondPodcast
Facebook is One Step Beyond with Tony Fletcher
Twitter is OneStepBeyondP1
And your host can be found here:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Ep. 25: The Anniversary Episode
One Step Beyond is one year old, and to celebrate, we revisit some of our best episodes and catch up with the guests, each of whom was invited to answer four questions about how they coped with this past pandemic year and how they are staying optimistic and motivated moving forwards. A dozen of them responded, sending in their recorded replies from five different continents, and over the course of this episode, you’ll hear from authors, runners, painters, adventurers, film-makers, musicians, skiiers, medical volunteers, zen teachers, walkers, travelers, barefooters, minimalists, entrepreneurs, high school teachers, hikers, vegans and, above all, from people who have taken a step outside their comfort zones to enrich their lives. It's a feast of food for thought.
Thank you to Tim Kelly, Paula Lucas, Ric Dragon, Navalayo Osembo, Bill Hoffman, Zuisei Goddard, Olie Hunter-Smart, Trevor Warman, Adam Fletcher, David Watts Barton and Julie McGuire for taking part in this special episode. Thanks to all the other guests from the past year, and to all of you, the listeners and supporters, for making this such a successful first 25 shows. This episode runs longer than usual, and it was later than usual in landing, but it’s hopefully worth the wait and should be worth its length, too.
People, places and entities featured in this Episode:
Carla Rhodes article on the Greater Adjutant in the New York Times
For questions or comments, or to subscribe to the newsletter, e-mail [email protected]
Join One Step Beyond on social media at:
Instagram is OneStepBeyondPodcast
Facebook is One Step Beyond with Tony Fletcher
Twitter is OneStepBeyondP1
And your host can be found here:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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