Recorded fireside at 4,200 feet in the winter hills of Southern Oregon—with Kobra the shop cat and Bacon the dog in the background—Season 2, Episode 3 gets back to the MOA essentials: risk, preparedness, and consequences.

The episode turns grim fast: two experienced hikers are killed on Washington’s Lena Lake Trail when a dead fir (“widowmaker”) snaps without warning—one dies instantly, the other despite aid and even off-duty doctors on scene. Then Mount Rainier delivers another hard lesson: two climbers vanish near Wilson Glacier and are later recovered around 9,600 feet, with the medical examiner citing accidental blunt-force injuries.

From there, Sam tackles two forever-debates: axes on the trail (heavy, risky, often unnecessary) and serrations vs. plain ed ...