Episode 215 – The Ride of a Lifetime with Peter Goettler

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You've heard me say.

For many episodes now how reading allows me to learn from others and I've recently pulled a book off the shelf, Red dusted it, and I'm gonna share this quote with you today, a hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be.

Because I was important in the life of a child.

That's an excerpt from a book called The Dash.

That's by Linda Ellis and Mack Anderson.

The dash started off as a poem and then was turned into the form of a book.

You can find it at any local book store while you can find also, uh, just the poem itself, by searching the internet, using that googly.

so search it out by the book.

I think you will find some great peace in reading it.

And folks, you are listening to episode number 215.

My guest today is Peter Getler.

Peter is a, not so long ago graduate of Jackson Hole High School, go Bronx, who moved to Jackson at the age of 12.

Peter is currently a student in college.

He's in Boulder, Colorado, who has.

Peter has a story to share with you, so please don't compare yourself to what Peter and his fraternity brothers accomplished this summer, but be inspired.

Be inspired to find how you can make a difference in other people's lives, just like Peter and all of his fraternity brothers.

The true sense of giving is to give yourself to others.

Peter, welcome to the Jackson Hole connection.

It is an honor to be able to have some of your time, and sit down and have you share an important journey in your life.

So thanks for connecting with me today.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Can't

wait to, Yeah, I'm excited.

Yes, sir.

Here.

Well, Peter, we start every episode with our guests sharing their history and background.

So first, why don't you tell people listening in how old.

Cool.

So yeah, so I'm 21 years old.

Yeah.

And, what is your connection to Jackson Hole?

Yeah, I'm a JHS alum.

Go Bronx.

Go Bronx baby.

Go Bronx.

but so I sadly wasn't born in Jackson.

so that was sixth grade for myself, and then I was there ever since.

Yeah.

And Peter, I'm really curious to know, do you recall when you were in sixth grade, what.

You had friends.

You were 14 you said, Is that right?

Mm-hmm.

? No, no, 12.

Sorry.

12.

Okay.

12 years old.

And you're moving, your parents are saying, Hey, we're moving.

Mm-hmm.

, all your friends that you've grown up with, you could still be friends with 'em, but you're not gonna be in the same town.

You gotta go meet new friends.

What was that like for you, man?

That's a great question.

It was tough.

I definitely had it the easiest of my siblings cuz I was, so, I was the youngest, I had two older siblings and my brother was a junior in high school.

So as you can probably assume, tough transition for him.

but I was probably the most shocked about it.

I think immediately I was launched into tears when they first told us, and I was like, No, I don't wanna leave, you know, as in 12 year old would.

but it, the really, the biggest part about it is, My family's like born and raised Midwest.

It was like both grandparents were within like 10 miles from where I was born.

Like cousins, aunts, uncles.

We had like Sunday night dinners every week.

I mean, we were like a really closeknit crew.

So when my parents were finally like, Hey, we're gonna go, you know, do our own thing out in way in Wyoming, it like totally struck and like in a little small Midwest town.

but it was definitely hard at first.

But everyone here in Jackson was so great right off the.

I felt so welcomed and I think within like, I mean, I was most worried about like lunch, and the first lunch was completely fine.

People brought me to the table and they, they were my friends ever since.

You know, It was, Yeah, it was, it was like that.

That's cool.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

and in high school, What occupied your time?

Were you on the football team?

I was on a football team, yeah, so I kind of was all, all over the board.

I played basketball until sophomore year and then I quit.

I was on the golf team sophomore year because I was played football freshman year and then quit sophomore year, and then I came back junior, senior year, and then I played lacrosse all four years.

And on top of that, sorry, I, I was the student body president of the high school as well as like the treasurer for our key club.

so yeah, I definitely kept myself quite busy.

Yeah.

You did?

Now I went to a football game once.

It's like one of the few that I've been to here, and there was somebody by the last name of Getler that caught a kickoff and ran it for a touchdown,

Was that

you?

That's great.

Yeah, that was me.

That's probably the peak of my high school career right there.

Thanks.

Thanks.

I appreciate bringing that up.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So that was, against Cody junior year, number one team coming in and return the opening kickoff.

That was a great game.

That was phenomenal.

I was like, what a better, I can't imagine going to a better

game.

I know.

It was great.

I mean, yeah, that definitely was a heck of a game.

That's so funny.

Bring.

I mean, there's little things that we remember, right?

Heck yeah.

No, I mean, tell the people, Come on.

Yeah, share it.

Share it.

I love it.

. Stephan Abrams: And so now what, you're going to the University of what?

University of Colorado.

Okay.

Boulder,

Colorado.

Boulder Or Colorado?

Colorado

Or Colorado?

Am I saying it word Colorado?

I don't know.

Okay.

I don't know.

Shoot.

Either or I guess

it's tomato.

Tomato.

yeah.

All right, so you are a junior, is that right?

Is

it?

Yes, sir.

Yep.

So I'm a, yeah, I'm a junior.

studying economics with a little, with a business minor.

Mm-hmm.

. Stephan Abrams: Nice.

Well, I wish you all the best there in, in college, but also to make sure you have fun and, you're gonna do something pretty cool next year.

Is that,

Yeah.

So I'm going abroad in the spring, Uhhuh.

so I am going to a place called Val PSO Chile.

If, you know, we're like chili geography, it's Santiago, and if you go straight to the coast, that's where Evaso is.

It's a port city.

absolutely beautiful, but I'm, so, yeah, I'm doing, a home stay there.

So I'm gonna try to like, dive in as hard as I can into the like full immersion and into the community.

I'm really excited about the program I'm doing specifically because I'm going a month before the actual semester classes start and it's, I'm just gonna be a part of a month long intensive Spanish program to like really kickstart, my Spanish learning and hopefully, you know, become as efficient in conversation as I can, as fast as I can.

All right.

Good for you.

That's awesome.

I didn't ever take advantage of going abroad to school.

I had some friends that went to Israel.

Nice.

Whoa.

Um, Was it like the birthright trip or did they go No,

it wasn't Birthright did it.

They did a semester abroad.

Whoa.

Good for that.

They went to.

That's super fun.

I actually, a good friend of mine here just did their birth threat trip over the summer, and so Oh, excellent.

Just nothing but good things,

so yeah.

That's awesome.

I've, I've heard it as a phenomenal trip.

Someday I will go, but good, good for you.

I, I will encourage my kids in 10 years when they're in college.

Yeah, you should.

I mean, that's honestly, my dad, he went abroad, but he did it in the summer and it was basically instilled in me when I was, you know, 10 years old that you're gonna go abroad when you were studying.

It, they, it basically made it happen, which I'm thankful for, for sure.

But Nice.

Now the reason I invited you on here is because you did something absolutely remarkable this summer.

Thank you.

And when your dad was telling me about it, I, I'm in Rotary with your dad and we see each other at the gym in the mornings and just around, around the town, small town.

And I was just blown away.

just absolutely.

inspired by what you did, and I thought having you here today would be a great way to share with just such a broad community of what you did and, how it impacted, mm-hmm.

So let's start off with what it is that you did Cool.

And what program it.

Yeah.

So, first off, thank you.

That was an unreal introduction.

I appreciate that a lot.

so what I did was called the Journey of Hope.

And so essentially what it is is, here at school, I'm part of a fraternity called Pi Cap Phi.

And so, and it's the only like fraternity that owns and operates its own philanthropy.

And so within that, the organization that like kind of runs the journey, hope is called the Ability Experience.

And so essentially it's a cross country cycling.

And typically there's three routes.

this year is only two because Covid took a hit as we couldn't, you know, really operate.

but more specifically, I was on the Trans American route, which started in Seattle.

And then we go through like northern Washington, western side of Montana, down through Jackson, which was really special and then clear through to Washington DC But so along the way, Our like mission, our like goal is to raise funds and awareness for people with disabilities.

So all the while that you're biking, you would go to certain towns really like wherever you stop.

And we had I think 32 friendship visits is what we call 'em.

And essentially, so that's, we take two hours and we go and visit an organization.

It can be any kind of organization.

It can be.

Like, helping people get employed and teaching employment skills to a child's daycare camp.

so just all across the board, you never really know what you're gonna get, but all of 'em are meaningful in their own way.

and so yeah, we did have to do some fundraising like just before the summer started.

I, as a cyclist, had to raise $6,500 minimum to just help fund ourselves with, you know, with, cuz we had, support vans, so we'd four support vans with us, so for gasoline food that we weren't like, provided.

and all, all sorts of things like that.

Wow.

Seattle to DC Yes.

tell.

How many students nationally, cuz PII is a national fraternity.

How many students.

Participate in this each year.

So on my route alone, and remember there's so two routes, but on my route alone, there's 23 of us in total, and I think there was 24 to start, and then they had some trouble.

So then 23 on the other route.

So in total, what?

46?

Okay.

Out of a lot of people, obviously in the fraternity, I could not give you a number, but.

And do you have to apply and be accepted to do this, or will they take anybody that wants to do it?

more recently since, so as I kind of mentioned, Covid kind of really hit it.

And there used to be, they used to fill three routes of, I think 30 people every year.

and so they were able to be more selective in the past.

And while I still went like, definitely a interview process and like sent out my resume and then I had a few different phone calls in which I discussed like, why I wanna do this, what's gonna motivate me, what, all sorts of things like that.

they definitely have, they aren't able to be as selective now.

thankfully it is growing and we're getting more and more numbers, but.

And, and so share with people, how many miles did you

ride?

So we rode in total, I think it was 4,370 miles.

and so you gotta keep in mind, so we looked it up towards the end of the week or the end of the trip, and you can get across if you're driving in 2,800 miles.

And so we, because of the whole friendship thing, like we, like in the state of Washington, we go to like to Southern Washington and then head back up into like Spokane.

So we're definitely not taking the most direct route, but that being like we have to, you know, go see organizations that have been good to us in the past and, you know, we wanna continue to support them and things like that.

So definitely not the most direct, but yeah.

understood.

Thank you.

And so let's talk about your experience.

Rain or shine?

Snow.

Heat.

Yeah.

Uh, Rain or shine.

Yeah.

And we got, yeah, we got, we got all of it.

I mean, starting in Washington or day two is like our iconic, like day two you're going from a Nucla, Washington to Yakima, and through that you go through Mount Rainier National Park.

And so basically it's, you know, you're climbing Rainier.

realistically you're only going about 8,000 miles in Rainier, I believe is a fourteener.

And so on that day, we went from rain down the valley in the rainforest, you know, not in the rainforest, but you know, on the western side of Mount Rainier.

And then we hit the top where there was snow banks above our heads.

and it was quite cold.

And then rained on us again.

And then we came out into like a desert, into Yakima.

Yeah, so Randon is hard for the first, like two weeks, like wa Washington was tough.

Montana, we had a lot of rain.

And so their rule is like if it's, if, if you, if there's lightning and thunder, then you have to wait until 30 minutes after the most recent thunder strike, but rain's a go, heat is a go.

I think the rule was like it's 120 heat index is when they, they will take you off the bikes and it sure felt like we hit that in like Missouri.

We were in like 105 degree weather.

80 or 90% humidity.

And coming from Jackson, Wyoming, I am not used to that kind of heat, so I was getting broken down.

But yeah, rain or shine?

Heat,

all of it.

And did your bike ever break?

I actually, I had some problems like with gear shifting, just like wearing down and things like that.

some guys did have more problems, but my bike, personally, I never even popped a flat tire, which I don't know how that worked, but yeah, some guys had 30 flat tires and I didn't have any, yeah, crazy.

but so like if your bikes did break, then you would like hit like a, a bike shop.

So every.

Every time you would go into a town, there was the four vans, so four squads is what we called it.

And each van had a responsibility, like basically as soon as you get there.

and one of 'em was like errands and almost always errands was going to the bike shop, getting some, bike grease or bike cleaning or, you know, going to get repairs and things like that.

And the other would be, Going to get more water and ice.

And then another would be, you'd clean the lodge as we leave in the next morning, oh, and the other one would be scouting.

So you go and scout the next 20 miles of the day and like you paint the turn.

So things like that as you go.

Cool.

Did you ever think or feel, Why am I doing this in the middle of it or some.

not the overarching, like, Why am I doing the whole summer?

Never really occurred to me.

Definitely certain acts within the, within the, mm-hmm.

summer, like, you know, our loop de loops that we did with 4,300 miles was definitely like, what are we doing?

Like, we spent Montana, we basically traveled south for like a week and a half.

and while we gained, I think overall like 105 miles after biking, like 600, it was kind of like, All right guys, come on, let's start heading east here.

Never was I, like during the summer, like, what am I doing here?

I always kind of had that like,

understood.

But in Montana, let's go to that.

So, but you're stopping and, and doing things, correct?

Yes.

And meeting with other organizations.

And so this is about bringing awareness and raising money for people with disabilities.

So what are some of the stops that you experienced?

So, Every time we hit, we'd actually always have a sponsored dinner, like almost every single night.

So that would not, is not the friendship visit part, but that's just people that hear about what we're doing or guys that have done it in the past and things like that.

And they would provide us dinner, which was always incredibly special.

But so to the friendship visits, it was basically, We were on a historic route, I think it was our 15th year that we had done the specific route that we were on.

And so you make these connections with these like, organizations and then you'd go back there.

And like I said, they totally varied.

like some of 'em would be like if we had an off day, like we had an off day in, Missoula and we went in into a park when it was raining and we ate like breakfast burritos and hung out and Did puzzles with this organization, for like two hours and something like that.

So that was great.

And we were in Missouri and we went to a kids camp, like I said, and they were on like tricycles and we like cleaned their tricycles and like helped them go through like a car wash kind of thing and all of it.

That was really about, one aspect that was tough for me is, there're these people and they would treat you like the people that you meet would treat you like you were absolute superstars and you're total heroes when you came in and they were unbelievably excited to see you.

And the, the, the analogy that we would often hear is people treat it like it's their Christmas so they'd be so happy to see you.

And it was very tough for us because we would only, we would jump into their lives for two hours and then we're out and then we're moving.

And I'll probably be in these towns, but I'd probably never meet them or see them again.

And that was a really tough part.

For like a lot of us to deal with.

And one thing that I kind of realized towards the end of it is a lot of people in their lives like and say, you have a disability, a lot of people in your life, are there because they're required to be there.

It's your family or it's the people that you hire to take care of you or things like that.

And so, Our kind of role, I would say in in the summer is we were choosing to be there and we were putting ourselves through trouble to like sh you know, like be in like support and unison with them.

And then we would like, yeah, we wanted to be there with them and I think that was really what rose up and made it so special for them.

so you mentioned children with tricycles and you met with a group.

Were those children with a dis.

Yeah, it was actually a mix.

That specific one was, some of it, was kids with Down syndrome and autism.

Mm-hmm.

that particular one was not even with a physical disability, so it wasn't any children in wheelchairs.

but it was more mental disabilities and that also was integrated with other kids that didn't have disabilities.

And it was all about just like, Treating them the same.

You know, having the, like, providing them the same opportunities as children to make these bonds with other students and, you know, really spread awareness to even the kids that they're with, that they're the same and that, Yeah.

how did the reaction of those kids make you and your fellow writers feel when you came there?

And then knowing that you had to leave two hours later, how did that make you feel?

the reaction was always, I guess I'd say so usually when you tell people about new something my summer, and it'd be like, Yeah, I biked 120 miles, and then I got off and within 30 minutes I had to put on real shoes and walk in and go attend a dance party for the next two hours where I have to be very high energy after doing something extremely grueling.

And people would always be in react and be like, Oh my gosh.

Like that sounds so brutal, sounds terrible.

And the reality of it is, is that they give you all the energy like that, that initial reaction that you receive just lightens.

You just brightens your whole day and you're just so excited and you just like, you have no other choice but to match their energy.

And it's, it's, it's the easiest part I would say.

Cuz then you show up.

The initial reaction, you're so welcomed and everyone wants to come talk to you, and everyone's like, Oh my gosh.

Like how are you?

How's your son?

You know?

and then you make these bonds and you try to gather as much information and spread as much, you know, love that you can kind of with these people, and just have like the most fun with them you can.

And then the two hour times up and someone's like, Hey, alright guys, like we gotta go.

It's definitely not a great feeling because now you're like, shoot, you know, I have this connection.

Like, I really enjoyed this time and now I have to leave and I'm leaving town tomorrow.

You know?

so it was definitely very difficult to deal with.

And oftentimes, like the other riders I was with after friendship visits, we would, we like sit down and like, debrief and be like, Whoa, like, shoot, you know, just like realizing that we're out, we're probably never gonna see these guys again.

Mm

But I bet you, you will be in their memory.

totally.

And they'll

be in yours.

Absolutely.

Are you kidding me?

The impact they had on me was probably more profound, the impact I had on them.

What

did you learn

from that?

Whoa.

wow, a ton.

So you, one of the questions in your survey was, uh, do you have any life changing moments recently?

Mm-hmm.

, I was like, Heck yeah.

I had about 45 over the summer it was almost like every other town you'd meet somebody, you'd just be like, Oh my you, like, you're just an amazing individual.

and it'd be the people that are like the clients or it'd be someone there just to help out.

And, what did I learn?

Ah, that's hard to, I, I apologize.

That's hard to put a film on.

there was one, there was one experience we had in Olatha, Kansas that was probably one of the more profound of the summers.

Mm-hmm.

. And so in Olathe we met this guy named Mark Cameron.

And so Mark Cameron, he was, non-disabled all until he was about 34, I believe is when it happened.

And he dove off a dock not knowing it was shallow.

Broke his, like C4 vertebrae, which, led him to be a quadriplegic.

So now he's unable to move from the armpits down.

we had a day off in Olathe.

We had like a 40 mile ride in so quick for us at that point.

and we had like a whole weekend plan, like, I mean, Two friendship visits, I think three friendship visits in two days.

We went bowling, we went to Texas Roadhouse.

We went hung out with like, like wheelchair, rugby.

I mean, we, it was a totally packed weekend and Mark Cameron, who was, who was a quadriplegic, set up the entire weekend for us.

like he made all the calls.

He had everyone like provide the meals or meet.

We met with wheelchair rugby, the whole nine, but the most profound.

Part of that weekend was Mark invited us to his home and he brought the whole team into his bedroom and he just sat there behind his desk and basically just talked to us for two hours.

And it was just like, Hey, I'm an open book.

Ask me whatever.

So, I mean, we even asked him how we like, you know, would go to the restroom, you know, things like that.

And then as much as, as far as I even asked him, What do he considers the meaning of life to be?

Things like that.

Like it was just in completely incredibly profound.

Like we, like half of us were almost in tears by the time we were leaving and he was just like such an inspiration.

And the best part is like he, cuz he knew, he was just like, no one wants to hear, sit and have me sit here and mop all day.

Its like, yeah, I'll share what you guys want to hear, but I'm here to share, you know, funny stories and hear these incredible anecdotes and yeah, there's an incredible experience.

That's beautiful.

Thank, Thank you, Peter.

Yeah, I, I do have some more questions for you about, meeting with, with Mark.

Mm-hmm.

but we're gonna take a quick break to get a word from one of our sponsors and then we're gonna be right back.

Peter.

Welcome back.

you were just telling us a story about Olatha Kansas.

and you went into the home of Mark Cameron, who's a quadriplegic, and what was his meaning of life?

You asked him, do you remember?

What?

Absolutely.

Are you kidding me?

Yeah.

so it's, it's a tough question to ask, you know, and especially for a man who's like sitting there in a wheelchair in front of you.

so I honestly, like, it took me a while to even get up the courage to ask the man, like what the meaning of life is to be.

And he even sat there after I asked him the question and he was like, Wow, okay.

And then basically his.

Initial reaction was, I think it is helping others was his immediate like, and then he went on to tell this anecdote, that he shared with, So before he was, physically disabled, he worked for a construction company and he wasn't actually like a construction worker.

I think he was on a management.

and there was this woman who lives on his street.

And the woman was getting older and was having trouble getting up their first three steps, into her home.

And so she approached Mark, or maybe Mark approached him, I can't remember exactly, and basically was like, Hey, is there any chance that I could hire you guys to install a handrail for me to get up these first few steps?

And Mark said, Absolutely.

So then he went to, to his company and found the guy who could actually pull off the job and make the handrail.

And they, you know, in the next few days, put together a handrail and installed it.

And the woman was like, Oh my gosh.

Thank you so much.

This is.

How can I pay you and mark me?

And the great guy is, was, No, don't worry about it.

Don't worry about payment them.

And then so she was instead was like, All right, I won't give you, I won't give you physical cash, but how about this?

And hands them two jars of.

And so Mark was like, you know, obviously thank you so much.

And then he went back to the office the next day and he left the jar of jam on the desk of the man who was actually put together the handrail.

And then once Mark was at his desk and the guy came up who made the handrail with the jar of jam, And, like was in tears and was like, Is this, is this from the woman?

You know?

And Mark was like, Yes.

And he was like, I like this.

Just like he was just like almost at a loss for words over just a jar of jam just for doing like one nice thing like that.

And then another anecdote he kind of brought up, Was Mark, has people come and help him because, you know, he needs a lot of help from, you know, going to the restroom to all, all sorts of things.

and so he profusely, you know, is grateful to these people and says, Thank you and this is so great.

And one guy after being there all day and it helped for a few weeks was like, Mark, I don't think you understand.

I think.

I get more out of this than you get out of this.

He's like, I go back to my wife and kids and I'm just beaming and I'm a better father and I'm a better husband, and this just makes my entire week, entire month just helping you.

And he was like, I think that that is really the meaning.

Beautiful.

Of course I have another question for you.

Please.

being someone of your age, What was it like to see an adult individual, open themselves up to all of you younger adults?

Mm-hmm.

to all of you.

Rising next generation of who's gonna lead.

Our society.

What was, what it was that like for you and and your friends?

Yeah.

It was, it was amazing.

I mean, like I said before, like all of us were almost left in tears afterwards, after meeting them.

It was for me, like, almost like after experiencing that, I just had so many other questions and not just to mark, to like.

Everybody else.

And like I, I almost was just like, why can't I ask?

What's the meaning of life to everyone?

Why can't I go sit my grandma down and be like, Hey, tell me everything.

Tell me your regrets.

Tell me your, you know, greatest, you know, achievements.

I don't know, like, tell me like what's the meaning of life?

And I don't know.

I think it really opened my eyes because.

Being, you know, the ignorant younger generation side, you're not implying that I'm sorry to, but like No, the not at all.

Yeah, yeah.

No, no, I know.

No, no, no.

I, Sorry, I, I meant to say you're not implying that at all.

I'm just saying like, being the gen younger generation, you know, you're usually, so many people are caught up in me and what am I gonna do with my life and what's, you know, what's my next step?

And no one really stops to really like ask those kind of questions.

I mean, I've definitely had some phenomenal conversations with people in the older generations, like teachers, parents, even grandparents.

but I think it's definitely like a rare occasion to have those kind of tough conversations about, I don't know, like as, but yeah.

Yeah.

Do you think we as people allow ourselves to actually have those conversations?

Personally,

what's your opinion personally?

No, I don't think so at all.

I don't think so at all.

Yeah,

you can make a difference.

Thank you.

do you see yourself now that you're back in school for this semester, that you're having a different type of conversation with some of your friends?

Absolutely.

It's been actually very fascinating to go through these last few months cuz I obviously, I had like a life changing experience over the summer and it was completely amazing.

And I came back and I wanted to accomplish some different things.

I wanted to change the way in which I lived.

Like, it was like I wanted to be a different human and all my friends were great and they totally accepted that.

And, things like that.

And now it's been very fascinating because now it's been a few months and It's been amazing to see, like I've had a lot of friends who I haven't really had these conversations with are now approaching me and they're like, Hey man, do you just wanna just like go on a walk?

Like I really need to like get some things off my chest.

And now like I feel like I'm at a point cuz I've opened myself up to friends and been like, Yes, I wanna have these conversations.

You know, I can, I'll share whatever.

I can be vulnerable.

Like, why, you know, why aren't we all that A lot more of my friends that I weren't, I wasn't having conversations about like, like these conversations with in the past.

I now am and like, It's, Yeah, it's been very fascinating just having that and just being like, once I, you know, kind of go off and show that, like, I'll be vulnerable, let's have these conversations, but I've been, it's been reciprocated and people will like, will come back and do the same

curious question for you.

Mm-hmm.

, what does it mean to you to be vulnerable?

I think everyone obviously like, has a wall up to some, to some degree.

To me, it's just, I mean, you don't have to share everything and it's not about like, it's not about like just spilling onto somebody and just like telling them your darkest fears and things like that.

I think.

I think it's a mutual kind of, if that makes any sense at all.

Like obviously yes, you share some, like get, get some weight off your chest.

What's on, what's been on your mind?

like share something, but I also think it's being vulnerable with someone else, like being able to be there and to also be able to listen and like just let them be vulnerable.

do you feel that, that's a possibility when you're in high?

I do, to a certain degree, I think like definitely you have some things in high school that you can discuss, but I definitely think like being the younger person you are, it's definitely harder to, And it's like you're learning so much about yourself to begin with.

Mm-hmm.

that like, and everyone is having different experiences, I definitely think it'd be tough, but I definitely think the older I'm getting, the better conversations I'm having.

Okay.

I don't think you have the answers.

I'm just curious from your opinion.

Yeah.

because I'm, I'm appreciating this conversation.

Yeah, me too.

A lot that I'm, I'm just wondering if, you know, that high school level you're learning and figuring so much out about yourself and who your friends are and what's going on in the rest of the world, if more people of that age.

No matter what generation they're from, if they could figure out how being vulnerable could actually help them grow and figure out where their direction in life is going or what they want to do right then in that moment.

Not that they have to have all the answers, but Totally just my opinion is when you're vulnerable, when you allow yourself to be vulnerable, there's there's nothing hiding.

And, and you can be genuine, but unfortunately there's too much blow back at times that can come back and you gotta put up barriers for that.

Mm-hmm.

. Absolutely.

now when we were talking before the show and we were talking about social media mm-hmm.

, I think you're one of the few people, no matter what age that's not on social media.

or if you are, you don't use it much.

Why?

Why?

So I always have not been a huge fan of social media.

Yes.

I can't really tell you exactly why, but for some reason I've just never really been really into it.

like I definitely, I definitely had social media and now I've like completely, like I, I've deleted accounts, I've deleted my Instagram accounts and Snapchat accounts, and I still have Facebook because Facebook marketplace is so rad.

Obviously being in Jackson, you know, there's some great stuff you can find on there for great prices.

so yeah.

So there's pros and cons.

But I don't know.

To me, the way I've kind of put it to friends in the past like, to me, if like, if you're not willing to like call me and like have a conversation and see how I'm doing or even just shoot me a text or something like that, why do I need to be following you and seeing what kind of, you know, vacation you just went on.

And I also, I was always able to like, acknowledge the fact of the highlight reel.

You know?

Have you, have you heard this like metaphor?

So basically the highlight reel is only people only post on social media.

What great things they're doing in their life.

You know, it's like, I just went on this great vacation.

I just went on this great backpack.

I just went and had the greatest time in Cabo.

You know, things like that.

No one posts on social media when they're laying in the bed on Sunday afternoon, you know, feeling like crap, like watching tv.

You know, like that's not like, it's not very real.

It's just.

It's, it's like, and that's tough to see, like constantly, just like how well people are doing all the time, which I don't really like, love and I don't know.

I have a lot of, Yeah.

Sorry.

Go ahead.

No, it's, it's all good.

Peter, I, I have great respect for you for, seeing that there's greater value.

In other ways of connecting with people through social media.

Yeah.

And yeah, to me it's just like, it's, yeah, it's a way of staying in touch with the way I put it, like second and like third tier friends, and it's kind of like people.

I remember when I did have social media, I was following people that weren't even my close friends who were from Ohio.

And I like, I haven't seen them or spoken to them in five years, but I'm still seeing that.

They're like, they went to, you know, Aruba, or I don't, you know, I don't know, whatever.

and it's just like, what kind of role is that playing for me in my life and what kind of role am I playing in their life?

Like why?

And then also now have you, there's the Netflix documentary, the Social Dilemma.

Have you seen that?

I haven't seen it.

I've heard about.

It basically is just some guy, some people who used to work in the social media industry and they basically were telling everybody like how, like they won't even let their own children have social media because they know what it does.

And now it's like the whole, the endless scrolling, like you can scroll for days.

And so basically these, these companies make money on how much time you spend on it.

And so they're programming to try to force you to like spend as much time as you can on social media, which just freaks me out.

Yeah, it's, it's kind of wild there.

Wow.

. I mean, my kids only get to watch TV two days.

That's a week.

Yeah.

That's good.

I make regular trips to the library.

Good.

Heck yeah.

Yeah.

So the final leg of your trip mm-hmm.

, you rode into Washington dc Mm.

Frame that up for us.

Describe that to everybody that's listening who didn't get to.

Yeah.

So, do you wanna hear about like the, the arrival itself?

Do you wanna be here about like, the last few weeks,

you tell me it's your story.

Cool.

Great.

So, yeah, so obviously the Rockies are a huge obstacle and it was great getting up and over them.

And the planes I actually enjoyed a lot.

Like Kansas was one of my favorite states.

Mark Cameron was in Kansas, so that definitely helped.

But it was just fun to see the planes.

And then the Appalachians are the second big obstacle.

And so that happened in the last like two weeks.

and they was, I absolutely love the Appalachians.

Totally, totally stunning.

we'll, we'll, we'll do this.

So the second to last day I was telling you about the fir, The second day we went over Mount Rainier, and that was a big, huge day.

And the second to last day, we go through Shenandoah National Park.

Hmm.

and that was, yeah, so spectacular day.

It's 10,000 feet of 110 miles, like big day, but spectacular day.

And we spent all day on what's called like the Skyline Trail.

So we basically were on a ridge of the Appalachians and at the end of that day, This is probably like another one of the most, like more profound moments of the trip, I'd say.

And at the end of that day, we had about 10 miles left, but we were coming up on our last descent and we, so we came out to this overlook and right after the overlook we go down for like five, 10 miles and then we're done with the Appalachians.

So then we, like me and the group I was with sat there at this overlook, like speechless for like 30 minutes just looking.

We couldn't see the water yet.

It was just like looking into.

Planes again.

And we were like, Oh my gosh, this is it.

Like our last obstacle is finally complete, like one more 70 mile day and we're arriving into dc.

So that was, that was an incredible experience.

But then, so DC the night before, we get within 10 miles of DC yeah.

So then we wake up next morning and we ride.

10 miles to like a park near the capital building.

And our main, the whole, celebration.

The arrival celebration is gonna be on the capital lawn.

and so we get it within 10 miles.

I know my parents are there.

I know like my sister's there.

Everyone's there.

Everyone's super excited.

but we haven't seen them yet.

And then, so we get ready, we hop on a bike and it was really special.

It was the 35, 30 fifth anniversary of the Journey of Hope.

So the first one for the first team who did it 35 years ago, obviously.

and so there was like 80 guys who already done it before and years prior.

And so they joined and they did like a three ride strip or three.

Ride.

and then they were gonna ride with us into dc and so the guys who'd done the cross country trip were in the front, and then like 80 cyclists were behind us.

So it was this whole like, I mean, traffic stopping procession.

and so we ride in and we round a corner and yeah, and there's like 300 plus people there, all like welcoming us and cheering with signs.

and it was amazing.

But to be honest with you, I was expecting to like be brought to tears on the capital on and like totally be like totally, like taken back and lo outta loss for words and I couldn't, I can.

Put like a finger on it, but I don't really know what happened.

But I wasn't like, I, I didn't have this like totally overcoming of emotion on the capital on, It was amazing to see my parents and things like that, but like I, it wasn't quite what I expected.

It was amazing.

Like, I'm not taking back from it at all, but I, for some reason it just didn't quite hit.

but we had like this great, celebration and there, there's some speeches given and yeah, it was, it was a wonderful weekend.

I'm, I'm so thrilled that you have those memories to share with that group of people.

Thank you.

when you guys started, did they encourage you or did you keep a journal?

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Yeah, So a whole, a whole nother aspect of this I haven't even brought up is, so my grandfather, my mother's father, three years before I was born, he sadly passed two years before I was born, biked across the country as well.

And he also started in Seattle.

he did it through the American Lung Association.

So he did it like 50 days and a much more direct route.

So on that my nana sent me his journal that he kept.

so yeah, so, which was a whole spectacular other side of this.

and so as I was able to go along, I was reading his journal and his thoughts and like the stops that he was going on.

So from there and right away I was like, absolutely, I need to keep a journal.

and it got tough at times because we were so busy when it came to the friendship visits and biking and all this, that and the other.

So some of my journal entries aren't very long in all paragraph, but I definitely kept a journal and

yeah, I got the chills when you said that, Peter.

And what a beautiful, beautiful, you know, Connection with somebody that you never met that's in your family, and how special that you were able to, read his, his thoughts while he did something that was so similar.

Of course.

And it was so amazing too because, Obviously like back then it wasn't really like cameras.

And I've seen videos of course, but I'd never heard his voice before, if that makes any sense.

And I was able to hear it through like, through the journal and reading like his thoughts.

And it was like, again, in Kansas I keep bring up Kansas, when we both on the same day or like, not the same day, but I read the same day when we crossed over at essential time.

and just reading like his thoughts and like about that was when it really hit, it was like, oh my gosh, like.

it's, it's crazy.

I like, I have so many jumble thoughts about it.

It's hard to put much, much like words to it.

but yeah, it was a spectacular and amazing experience to be able to like re along and I feel so much closer to him and I feel so much, so much closer to my nana afterwards as well.

That's beautiful.

I love it.

What a, what an amazing way to, to wrap up this, this episode.

Yeah.

And Peter, I.

Extremely, extremely grateful and have an immense amount of, respect and, gratitude for you to share this experience, but for you to get out there and do something that is so challenging and impactful in other people's lives, and I, I'm sure you will continue doing that over the many, many years that you have ahead.

Thank you.

I appreciate it a lot.

Yeah, it's been great to share.

Like it's, it's, I always love talking about it and my friends probably getting sick of me talking about it all the time, but it's definitely, it was an amazing experience for sure.

I appreciate having me on and yeah, allowing me to,

Yeah, you're welcome.

I bet your friends are not sick of it,

. Peter Goettler: Yeah.

No they aren't.

But you know, it's you, you don't wanna shove something too far down people's throats, you know?

But yeah.

Well Peter, I'm gonna let you get back to your day cuz you are a student.

I'm sure you have plenty to do.

I do.

And looks like it's a nice sunny day there in Boulder, Colorado.

so enjoy your day and when you get back here for the holidays, let's meet up and go for a walk.

Get a cup of coffee or something if you'd like.

I would love to do that.

Absolutely.

Okay.

Yeah.

Awesome.

Let's do it.

Well, Peter, enjoy your time there in school and we'll see you around soon.

Thank you so

much.

It's been an absolute pleasure.

Appreciate it.

Take care.

To learn more about Peter and his fraternity's adventure.

Visit the Jackson Hole connection.com, episode number 215.

Please get out there and share this podcast on the Instagram, texting, emailing Facebooky, however you choose to share.

Thank you to my lovely wife, Laura, and my boys, Lewis and William, for all the support you give to me every single day.

Thank you, Michael for editing this podcast and doing the marketing.

You've done this since day one.

And folks, if you wanna create a podcast, reach out to Michael Mory.

You can find his information in the show notes.

I really appreciate you sharing your time with me today.