Trails are the Dopamine | Chris McNamara | E40

In the world of big wall climbing and wingsuit BASE jumping, @chris_mcnamara was a leader and innovator, claiming the first wingsuit BASE jump of the Grand Canyon (where he almost died twice in the same jump) and one of the youngest people to ever climb the West Face of El Capitan. As the founder of Supertopo, which evolved into GearLab, McNamara’s interests also evolved beyond climbing and the dangers of BASE jumping. It was when he moved to Lake Tahoe over a decade ago and discovered trails, mountain biking and specifically TAMBA, where he found his new passion. Always the dopamine-fueled thinker and dreamer obsessed with first ascents, “BushwhackNamara” immediately started asking “what if”? What if there was a mountain bike singletrack around Lake Tahoe? What if there was a trail from Susanville to Mammoth called Sierra Camino? What if there was a mountain bike trail from Canada to Cabo called Orogenesis? The dopamine was flooding his brain with possibilities, and a decade later, Chris and his wife Tor have been instrumental in funding the trails renaissance happening in Lake Tahoe.

2:00 – Recording in the Toyota Sunrader RV up on top of Monitor Pass off Highway 89.

3:30 – Introducing Chris McNamara, legendary big wall climber and early wing suit BASE jump pioneer and now a big trails advocate.

7:00 – Chris and his obsession with long distance trails, and the Orogenesis Trail, a trail from Canada to Cabo, as well as the Sierra Camino.

10:00 – The dopamine fix associated with thinking and ideas. A book – Molecule and More talks all about. Dopamine is about novelty and surprise.

13:00 – UNPACK THE BAG – The Downieville fatal bear attack story made international news.

18:00 – PowBot is no longer using Squaw anymore in reference to Palisades Tahoe.

23:00 – Truckee Dirt Union Loam Masters Party

24:50 – 1 (888) COR-LORD Listener Hotline – 267-5673 - Call in and leave us a message!

30:00 – Smashing rear wheels, trail tools and hip mounted hand saws

34:00 – SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE CLEARING TRAILS!

35:45 – Shout out to Eric Ramin at Brewer’s Cabinet for hosting Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship and to Chris’ company GearLab.

36:30 – June is now officially Mountain Biking Month state of California thanks to the efforts of CAMTB. Similar to the Access Fund in the climbing world.

39:00 – Hero dirt in Verdi. Could it be Hunga Tonga?

41:45 – What is Petrichor? The earthy scent of dry soil after a wetting rain.

45:00 – The history of GearLab as a company, by way of Supertopo and rock climbing guide books.

56:30 – How did Chris find South Lake Tahoe?

1:01:50 – Parallels between the cultures of rock climbing and mountain biking. The Camp 4 Education. Learning about how little you can spend and still be happy.

1:16:00 – Chris believes singletrack trail is one of the greatest returns on investment ever.

1:18:00 – Finding trails after being a climber, wingsuit BASE jumper and paraglider.

1:23:00 – Dreaming up the Sierra Camino, the Orogenesis Trail and meeting Gabe Tiller, starting with riding mountain bike legal singletrack all the way around Lake Tahoe.

1:25:45 – Riding the Charity Valley Trail from Hope Valley to Markleeville. Working with Alpine Trails Association on dreaming up connections.

1:37:50 – The challenge of federally designated Wilderness and figuring out how to route trail around Wilderness areas for legal mountain bike use.

1:40:00 – Fundamentalist views that are driving Wilderness policies, banning mountain bikes and dividing recreationists who all want the same thing.

1:52:00 – Charity Valley trail is a recent mountain bike discovery that is destined to be legendary in another 10 years.

2:00:00 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?