July 22, 2025
Choosing the Unknown – Chapter 3: Mountains Don’t Care
The Cocodona trail doesn’t care who you were. And in Jerome, halfway through a 250-mile race, neither does the mountain. In this chapter, we follow Maynard James Keenan—rock star turned winemaker—and explore what it means to trade certainty for something real, slow, and brutally honest. Because when you’re running on tired legs or planting stubborn vines, all that matters is how you keep showing up.
Chapter Three explores:
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Jerome, AZ: a town of ghosts, artists, and second chances
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Maynard’s journey from Tool to Tempranillo
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Mud, frost, failure—and the patience it takes to start over
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Why Cocodona's true test begins after halfway
🎧 Estimated runtime: 27–31 minutes
🎙 Hosted by Paul Johnson
🌐 Visit getsomepodcast.com for show notes and more
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000
Sammy Hagar: Maynard, why would you come up with a fricking vineyard growing beautiful grapes too, not just, I mean, you're growing Berberis, you're growing Sangiovese, bey, uh, Nebbiolo, right? Yep. I mean, what, why would you figure out to do it in a place like this? It's the middle of the. Desert man.
2
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,000
Paul Johnson: We had been climbing all night. We left Fain Ranch in the dark, slogging through mud that clung to our shoes in heavy clumps each step. A negotiation with the earth thunderstorms had rolled across Mingus Mountain earlier, leaving the trail wet and slick, the air heavy with a smell of rain and creosote.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000
Sammy Hagar: Maynard, why would you come up with a fricking vineyard growing beautiful grapes too, not just, I mean, you're growing Berberis, you're growing Sangiovese, bey, uh, Nebbiolo, right? Yep. I mean, what, why would you figure out to do it in a place like this? It's the middle of the. Desert man.
2
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,000
Paul Johnson: We had been climbing all night. We left Fain Ranch in the dark, slogging through mud that clung to our shoes in heavy clumps each step. A negotiation with the earth thunderstorms had rolled across Mingus Mountain earlier, leaving the trail wet and slick, the air heavy with a smell of rain and creosote.
