Episode 88: Song of Semper Gumby | PCT

[@LoriG75]

Listening to the song it makes me sad that many consider hiking the PCT a competition or think it needs to be done a certain way. It’s a personal journey and will be a totally different experience for each hiker. I’m glad you are doing it your way. The gifts it has to offer you will remain for your lifetime and will always be treasured. Thanks for the awesome video😊

[@Nope-wd4rw]

It's not a competition but you only have a certain weather window if you want to thru hike the pct before winter hits.

[@nancyhale5054]

Great video. Semper Gumby shares my philosophy on hiking; it isn't a race and I don't care about your gear :-) he seems really great. The loss of the hiker is heartbreaking. I hope everyone is safe in the Sierras. We had an 19% chance of rain today in the valley directly east and in the foothills (Reno) and we got snow! It came in fast and hard and there are a couple other storms on it's tail. It was 32 in Reno mid afternoon, so I imagine the mountains were frigid. If you're going to still do the Sierras wait at least a week and do it soon!

[@kellys1458]

@1:16 That view. OMG! I'm glad you are keeping on, going at your own pace, enjoying the trail. Like you, I believe it is best to go at a pace where you can really take in all the beauty and savor it. Have a great time, Cory!

[@djg5950]

I especially liked that view, too. Beautiful in that lighting.

[@joansommerfield8419]

Your musings about the hike, about life and your experiences are most meaningful and thought provoking to me. These videos are my favorites probably because they reflect some of the Inner thoughts( though unexpressed) of many of us. And we learn through your own challenges and pain. You inspire me to keep pushing through. Often I wish your videos wouldn’t end so soon. Like this one ending abruptly and much too soon. Cory, your efforts and transformation along the way has been a catalyst to motivate my own

[@edwarddemedeiros3607]

Beautiful all around! Semper Gumby!

[@kateyroad5115]

Great lyrics!

[@LacyBug22]

Semper Gumby = Always flexible

[@illkabongg]

And usually used in the context of "hey I just screwed up your plans, semper Gumby "

[@paulrevere2379]

@@illkabongg The lock downs really screwed my 2020 PCT plans, but Semper Gumby lives on and looking forward to the 2021 hike season. They might slow me down, but they'll never take my Freedomm!

[@jeniefurr]

That song was the best!!!!! Keep rocking!

[@elvisexplores7768]

Such a great improv song ❤️

[@rimonagale1625]

Thanks for the update Second Chance. Feathers has shown quite a lot of mushrooms on her hike. I think the journey becomes a race to beat the oncoming winter for those whose primary goal is to complete the trek this year.

[@MydogMaxmillian]

Yes, that was Feathers's friend " Colors", I didn't know his real name, but that was so sad, sad. It was such a shock, you're enjoying the trail & then something tragic happens through no fault of your own. Such a young person, full of life; cut short. Condolences to the family, my heart is broken, he seemed so happy hiking the trail & meeting new friends. Be ever so vigilant out there & stay safe everyone.

[@ghaleon4292]

Looking great my friend. I love the episodes where you share your mind. Your journey is as always inspiring

[@antheablackmore5838]

As you say all it takes is a split second......we must live for the moment .....there but for the grace of god go I......thinking of Colors family ...after such a tragedy . Keep safe you have so much to give Corey....enjoy YOUR journey....we delight in tagging along wherever you take us 🦶❤️🦶❤️

[@lisanorwood946]

Loved the song semper! Prayers to the family of the fallen hiker. Good video Corey.. Thanks and hugs, Lisa

[@kellyjohnson3617]

My uncles family were all loggers and one of the sons who was only about 19 yrs old was working in the woods when a widow maker came apart and struck him and killed him pretty much instantly. So sad. But the incident gave me a new respect for the woods I love so much. Even a dead tree has great power. We need to do as much as we can to respect it but we are not stronger than that mighty but dead tree. Very humbling.

[@swong005]

Cool mushroom, creative tune by semper gumby, and hiking bc it's all about the smiles, not miles. Great message at the end too. 🙌🍄🎤😎🏞

[@janmariolle]

Your videos have got me up and walking! Thank you so much for these amazing videos. Happy trails to you 2nd Chance.

[@suzannehedderly1331]

Just another comment about the mushrooms...many people are so caught up in the beautiful vistas...but there is "close up beauty" right at your feet sometimes. I appreciate both so thank you for showing some close up things. 🍄🍄🍄❤️🤗

[@Cruzinsusan5101]

Lol! Oh my goodness! I smiled through that whole song! Loved it! It fits, huh? Well, you're doing good Second Chance! You really are! You just keep on doing it - just have the time of YOUR life. No worries, no expectations........ just enjoy, just like you've been doing!

[@elysemanns8304]

The crumbs in the beard was the highlight of my day. Your videos are my go to when I'm feeling down. Today this tired teacher needed a video post. Thank you second chance!!

[@suetaylor5758]

Thank you for sharing Second Chance

[@TheNypenfan]

Subscriber number 250ish and wanted to thank you for all the inspiration and entertainment. What a great journey! The transformation, both on a personal level, and physically, have been gripping, mesmerizing, inspiring, and beautiful to watch. I k ow this journey will end, but I hope the videos don’t. Thank you so much for allowing us a glimpse into your world.

[@BushidoDevilDog]

Just found your channel via Darwin on the Trail and subbed! I *knew* it could only be a fellow Marine that wrote "Semper Gumby" on your hiking stick...the Eagle, Globe and Anchor on his ball cap confirms it! Semper Fidelis = "Always Faithful" ...the official motto of the Marine Corps Semper Gumby = "Always Flexible" ...the second 'official' 😉 motto of the Marine Corps, meaning always be flexible and ready to adapt, improvise and overcome challenges because shit WILL change/deviate from the original plan.

[@bass779]

Great explanation; Semper Fi!

[@nlivers421]

That song made my day!

[@sharonbunker3478]

LOVE THE SONG!!!❤️❤️❤️

[@paulrevere2379]

That means a lot to me Sharon. I'm actually pretty fearless in the wild, and I'm not shy really, but I'm definitely not the social media type person. I cannot picture myself doing the kind of media that Second Chance does. That said, I had so much respect for him, that I made an exception. I thought to share that song, and others with him, but not recorded. I do wish I could find someone with a really great voice to sing a few of my song remakes. Every bit of encouragement keeps the fire of that hope alive for me.

[@forrestlemke8920]

So cool you met semper gumby, I met him at PCT days and recorded him singing 6 verses of his version of sixteen tons, old Tenesee Erny Ford song.

[@paulrevere2379]

Guess what Forrest? Gumby lives on. I just experienced 11+ days in the Frozen Enchantments (Washington Alpine Lakes Wilderness). I was road walking back to Leavenworth when the local Sheriff Deputy/SAR Helo pilot picked me up. He was very happy to call off the SAR for me. I was weary and thirsty, but otherwise in ok shape. Bone chilling cold for a solid week. The Core Zone makes the PCT a "la-la strole" by comparison. I may have another song rewrite (or two) for you. It's been a hard year for me, but Semper Gumby is not done yet. - Stay Thirsty my friend

[@lorigrosse7579]

Second Chance conquering many mountains!

[@susanb1617]

Great song! :)

[@MydogMaxmillian]

That was an awesome SONG! Sing it like it is!!

[@StuffEddDoes]

Semper Gumby means Always Flexible. Glad you got to see Little Bee again. You give some great advice, dude. Travel well, cant wait for the next video

[@allenbishop9154]

Hikes through the night just to see girl.... Yup he has it bad, but it is a very good bad :) Laughs at crumbs in his beard then we see he still had said crumbs as he is hiking.... Cory is now officially #HikerTrash and we all love it!! HYOH SC

[@SecondChanceHiker]

Lol 😂 I was dying laughing at the crumbs too, it happens often now with the beard😱 thank you sending much love your way 🤗

[@tannaclark]

Beautiful reminder at the end there. Don't wait for tomorrow. I am taking you're advice. Maybe you should do a side hike when you are done with this one, with mushroom hunters. That would be fun.

[@tinmanandoliveoylsadventur7129]

That was an encouraging song. I always get passed up especially by Oliveoil. Haha.

[@paulrevere2379]

Olive Oil met Semper Gumby a little bit south of Tehachepe. SG (me) was going SOBO. I remember Olive Oil for taking a few moments to be friendly, which was sadly too rare for many "fast" hikers. He proved to me, at least, that a person can do both, if they choose. Gratzie

[@twilightdancer9000]

Shout out to the Editor 🌻

[@tessbrex3823]

Love the singing man and how he changed the song around. You got that right. It is your hike. Hike on Mr. Dimples.

[@Bill-YellowDogWelding]

Indeed!!!

[@robertrockwell7581]

so sad about the hiker i heard about him a week ago can't remember his name. God bless too his family. but you are right tell somebody your feelings today cause tomorrow is not promised.

[@suzannehedderly1331]

I've never caught a video so fast! 😂 THANK YOU SO MUCH for showing the mushrooms! 😍 I'm a fungi fan and hardly anybody shows the mushrooms they see. Awesome! 🤗🤗🤗

[@SecondChanceHiker]

So proud of you, yay! 🤗❤️

[@LacyBug22]

Vid has been out for 6 minutes!

[@oxxnarrdflame8865]

Loved that song, on the mark.

[@scottaseigel5715]

I introduced my granddaughter to gumby about two months ago. Oddly, my new friend Treebeard The Ent recommended I visit this. I love coincidences! We went geocaching near Gig Harbor and this area looks fairly similar.

[@treebeardtheent2200]

I have about half a dozen songs, some complete, others not, mostly related to hiking and set to oldies tunes from Billy Joel to The Beatles and such. That dynamic never even existed in my life before my 52nd birthday although I have been a long time oldies fan. The song in the video is titled "My Hike" and has been slightly revised. The revision rhymes better than the original in the video. My best song is titled "Pacific Crest Gold" and goes with the tune to Sixteen Tons by Tennessee E. Ford Another song uses a hippy tune - If Your Going to San Francisco, but mine is not about SF but about Deep Creek Hot Springs in Southern California. Then there's my half song "Flies, flies, everywhere is flies, buzzin' in my ears and blockin' my eyes. Hike here. Hike there. Everywhere you go is flie-ies" In 2019 there were quite a few PCT hikers from Europe, especially Germany. I had a hard time explaining my trail name to them, Semper Gumby bc Gumby is not a thing over there. The other thing that was completely foreign to them was Tootsie Rolls which is very much a hiker staple for me. The history of Tootsie Rolls and Marines goes way back btw. - Keep Calm and Semper Gumby

[@scottaseigel5715]

@Treebeard The Ent awesome! I’ve been parodying songs since high school if not earlier. I can usually just as lib it--I loved my drama classes. I was very lucky to grow up mostly in Palo Alto. I especially recall playing with California Dreamin’ and Karma Chameleon because I did those with big groups of friends (a bit like the Tiny Dancer scene in Almost Famous). The longest hike I ever took was a two day solo winter trek in Germany. I started at my house in Stadel bei Herrieden to the top of Hesselberg and back. 36 mi round trip through snow and ice. I’m lucky I returned!

[@treebeardtheent2200]

@@scottaseigel5715 One of the big differences (there are many tbh) I think between hard military life (like USMC Infantry) and a long hike that lasts for months, is that military experience is best measured in metephorical miles, but the quality of a wilderness experience is best measured in days. I think it has to do with the basic reality that one is hyper-competitive in the achievement of goals while the other is observational, contemplative and reflective like the song by Three Dog Night - "Out In The Country" I have rarely met anyone who experienced more stuff in ten years of civilian life than the average or better Marine experienced in four years. My cumulative service time comes to about 16 years in which I think I experienced quite a bit more than most men would experience in 40 years, not that I didn't miss out on some stuff. Hiking is not easy, but for me it is still my reward because it's the closest I can get to exercising maximum freedom. To add an artificial element of ego-boosting competitiveness on it simply degrades the freedom imo. However, I do try to force myself to be tolerant of the ego hikers bc for some it's the only "achievement" opportunity they have ever had and the deep desire for Dirt Cred is basically a good thing imo. There is a profound longing people have for something genuine in this world of virtual everything. Traditional military service satisfies that longing. So does a variety of hands on work, especially if it's outside, but that only takes care of a minority of folks. So it's understandable that for the majority who do it, any hike of 500 miles or more is a once in a lifetime adventure. For me, I'm an odd one even within a community (hikers) who are kinda odd already. Miles only matter to me for navigation, and a campfire means more to me than the price tags on my gear. I watch a lot of KZbin right now bc in a few weeks it will be pretty much out of my life for six months. And which ever thing I do, I try to make sure that I live in that moment.

[@scottaseigel5715]

@Treebeard The Ent I was in the Army for 2 years. I basically lived outdoors for 1 of those years and mostly just remember a culture of cruelty amongst my leadership. I met my wife in the Army. If you count her ROTC years, she was in the Army for 18 years from private to promotable captain. The interesting idea of living more years in a fixed amount of time really does a good job of describing my life with her. Sadly, 8 months ago she was flying her tiny plane down to introduce her 96 year old grandfather to her 6 year old granddaughter when they crashed. We’re still struggling with losing them; I’m getting old a lot faster.

[@treebeardtheent2200]

@@scottaseigel5715 Was she right with God and are you? I try to remind myself often that it's not our task to decide our time to go. I know that comfort and the end of pain and grief awaits me, but the evidence that it isn't just wishful thinking comes from living a life of gratitude to my Creator, my Judge, my loving God. - Life is not Fair - I am not entitled to anything good in life - Where there is life there is hope I sometimes think of Job. Lots of sermons on Job. His friends get lots of criticism, but I think most of us could only dream of having such good friends when all the rest of the world turns against us. Why am I fond of Job's friends? They showed up. And they stayed. I hope you have friends like Job's friends.

[@ThanatosWings]

I'm sorry to hear about that hiker.

[@ghc26]

AdventureArchives is a channel that features 4 guys from the Midwest who hike and one of them is an expert in mushrooms. They are all quite smart and discuss a variety of topics while on their hikes. 👍🏼 🍄

[@unclekenny3986]

I agree I really enjoy Adventure archives 2

[@garypeterson3628]

Ah yes, the best part about having a beard is the leftovers. And oh my, the comfort of a hard wooden floor and a roof over your head in the rain. Everything is relative. Carpe Diem and Semper Gumby. The trail is life.

[@OllieTabooger724]

Only a few certain types of mushrooms are safe to eat. Better safe than sorry. I'm glad to see you getting back out there!

[@oggiedoggies]

More than a few are edible in the PNW. Fall...lobster, chanterelles , pines boletes etc etc. Cory found an Amanita Muscaria and possibly a Pantherina. ( Muscaria has hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituents being the compounds ibotenic acid and muscimol).

[@dtjarks]

To the tune of My Life... By Billy Joel. ☺

[@paulrevere2379]

Slight revision to "My Hike" has made it rhyme better and flow more smoothly. - I don't need you to worry for me... ...this is My Hike Go ahead with your app hike or just go away. - It was a pleasure when I got to meet Second Chance And once I was a victim of fire ants...

[@paulrevere2379]

"Pacific Crest Gold" is still the ultimate PCT hiker song and I'm still on the lookout for a hiker/singer with the right voice. I suppose it's possible otherwise, but I think the singer really needs to be a long hiker because it has to come from the heart to get the feel for the song right. ...I got my heart broke on a ridge to the sky But the hardest thing to do is to answer why You walk sixteen miles And what do you get? Another new blister And mosquito bit Oh mamma don't you call me 'cause I can't go I'm on a stroll For Pacific Crest Gold

[@HikeWithLittleFoot]

Keep up the good work...❤️

[@neilestenson6595]

Snow is in the forecast for the next few days..1 to 3 inches on the Crest..exercise caution. Our forecasts can go hugely wrong, if the high pressure doesn't push the jet stream east, (as forecast), and it stalls out, you could see much more than a few inches. It's not unheard of to get one or two feet in one day in the Cascades. Watch the weather as best you can, it's late in the season to be on the Crest Trail.

[@theimprobablehiker166]

The videos are a few weeks delayed from the actual events.

[@stevesoto5388]

Most of the mushrooms you showed at the beginning are amanita muscaria. Some people spread the misinformation that they're not edible, but if prepared properly, they actually are. Not a choice edible, though.

[@carrolehyatt322]

Amanita muscaria are magic mushrooms with spots. Think Alice in Wonderland.

[@staceygriffith4393]

I've been following your journey and wanted to say that you are an uplifting inspiration. I have been feeling a big tug to get out into nature (with my husband who is a serious hiker and climber who is there for me but I need to do this and start it myself) and find some inner peace. Watching your videos gives me hope that I can do it. The inner voices tell me I can't but I have to ignore them and instead look to others that are in my situation or recently in the same place. I want to do part of the PCT as a start to be kind to myself and listen to my body, so I figured a small section would be a good start. Any suggestions? Thank you and I'm making "Don't wait for tomorrow, start today" my new mantra.

[@gaylewalker4239]

Like that song. Gave me a big smile. Title should be My Hike.

[@JimBobele]

Close, the original tune is from Billy Joel and is called My Life

[@blackbearhiker1420]

Government Meadows is one of my favorite places! #hikeyourhike

[@HazelAndBlues]

I might have to learn that version of the song. The original fits me pretty well, too! ~Amber from Trail Days

[@GamerplayerWT]

Semper Gumby AND shrooms!

[@InventorGadget]

Bro, mushrooms are the magic pill ;)

[@willardwooten9582]

If you do the hot springs you'll miss the Kendall Catwalk at Snoqualmie . By the way todays forecast call for 3-6 inches of snow near Stevens Pass above 4000 feet. It's too late but you could have almost drove all the way to Mike's cabin and met Little Bee.

[@treebeardtheent2200]

Yep, mountains don't care about the flu, or shut downs, or war, or the price of gas.

[@shawnal3027]

You are here in the PNW just in time for prime mushroom season!

[@KD-bk7gd]

That "painting" mushroom will make you trip balls.

[@LucyBarnard]

Hi... if I arrive in the states by February... do you think I’ll be right to walk the trail? I see you started around then too??? Really appreciate your thoughts, Lucy

[@theimprobablehiker166]

I believe he left on Feb 1 or so. There were very few if any people thru hiking then, and there was much snow to contend with in the mountains at least this year. If you check out some of his early videos you'll see what I mean. Here's one where you will see what it was like for him in the San Jacinto area in March. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHm3iYeorsulpa8 I'm sure SC will respond when he can.

[@returnofthemac8179]

Was it "Colors" who died? Feathers talked about the hiker named "Colors" having died when a tree fell on him.

[@truneilson]

Mushrooms have nearly no calories, you can eat all you want!

[@carrolehyatt322]

Amanita Muscaria are Alice in Wonderland magic mushrooms.

[@richardmorse7396]

Someone ate that mushroom...

[@aholecop5547]

that singing guy gave me the creeps

[@markviereck4547]

Most mushroom experts are dead.

[@TJStellmach]

Most people who ever lived are dead, so this checks out.

[@tessbrex3823]

None of us get out of this alive