#138 - The Fine Line Between Adventure and Danger with Moose Mutlow

Moose Mutlow is a member of the Yosemite Search and Rescue, the Senior Projects Director for planning, design, and construction of the National Environmental Science Center at Naturebridge in Yosemite National Park, and has spent a lifetime learning and teaching outdoor skills. He has quite a unique background which is why he’s able to have the perspective he has on the outdoors and our community as a whole.

When I first spoke with Moose and asked him what he’d been most passionate about lately, he told me it was the idea that the outdoor community has become too quick and too eager to shame those who make mistakes outdoors. Rather than practicing compassion and allowing that person to tell their story so we can learn from it, there’s a desire to make that person feel bad about the situation they got themselves into which ultimately isolates newcomers to the outdoors and creates a void amongst the community.

As a member of SAR, Moose has seen a bad turn to worse and he believes there are things we can learn from these situations if we’re simply willing to stop talking and just listen. As you’ll hear, Moose has a big heart for people. He wants the very best for them and he wants to strengthen the outdoor community in any way possible.

We also discuss the delicate balancing act between adventure and danger and the importance of recording personal stories and then TELLING those stories so that others may learn.

All in all, this is a wonderful chat with a really great person who I’m grateful to have on the show. It was a pleasure getting to know Moose and I’m just glad to know there are people like him out there in the world trying to do good things.

Emory, By Land

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Show Notes and Links

Website: https://www.moosemutlow.com/

https://www.instagram.com/moosemutlow

Searching: Finding purpose, laughter, and distraction through Search and Rescue https://amzn.to/3vU2dDJ

When Accidents Happen: Managing Crisis Communication as a Family Liaison Officer https://amzn.to/3tJ3w5G

Introductions and background

Moose’s journey to the National Park Service

The problem with public shaming those who have made mistakes outdoors

How to approach the topic of bad decision making

Riding the line between adventure, risk, and safety

The importance of mentorship

The importance of storytelling to pass along lessons learned

How to properly learn from an emergency scenario

Compassion and humility in SAR

The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes

Why Moose has chosen SAR

How to deal with a rescue operation afterward

The importance of writing out experiences

How to have an adventure

Yosemite Education Center

What we can do better in the next 100 years

How to followup with Moose