National Park After Dark - Trail Tales 31

Episode Date: June 22, 2023

Today’s stories include encountering the unexplained, unexpected finds, killer squirrels, coincidence cats and stepping out of your comfort zone. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!We love our National Parks and we know you do too but when you're out there, remember to enjoy the view but watch your back. Please take a moment to rate and subscribe from wherever you’re listening to NPAD! Become part of our Outsider family on Patreon to gain access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more. Follow our socials Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. To share a Trail Tale, suggest a story, access merch, and browse our book recommendations – head over to our website.Thank you so much to our partners, check them out!Astonishing Legends: Subscribe and listen to Astonishing Legends wherever you listen to podcasts.BetterHelp: National Park After Dark is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monday AI agents took over my work. And I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind now. They live inside Monday.com. So they see the full picture, my work, my team, the whole company. And I don't have to worry about the data. It's safe, which means I'm free to focus on the big stuff,

knowing everything runs smoothly in the background. It's completely shifted the way we work. Create your own AI agent in minutes on Monday.com. Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sundress.

Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear up on that envelope. It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. Hello everyone. Welcome back to National Park After Dark, our Trail Tails edition. Again, this week, we have lots of cool stories that you've all sent into us. Happy belated birthday. Me? Oh, my God,

it is my belated birthday because this is the 22nd. My birthday is June 20th. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm sure we had a great time. I'm sure we did too. We're recording this obviously before my birthday. I'm really excited to be 32, I think. Yeah, because I'm 32 and you're Okay, so I'm turning 32. Okay, yeah. I'm really excited for turning 32 and our time. We can all tell. Thank you.

Thrilled. Thrilled. Actually, I have plans. When this comes out, I will be, I guess it'll be, yeah. For my brother, I have a twin brother. We're hiking Mount Washington for our birthdays this year. So that's what I would have been doing. So hopefully I had good weather and a good time.

And we would just be coming off our Yosemite trip. Yeah. Yeah, it's a good month. See, I'm stoked to be 32. There you go. You should be stoked to tell me your first story. Okay. Because you're going first.

I am. Okay. Thrown to the fire. All right, I'm ready. My story is titled A Chilling Crypted Encounter, Yellowstone National Park After Dark. Hi, Cassie and Danielle. My name is Emily, and I'm a big fan of your podcast and national parks in general. This story takes place this past summer when I worked in Yellowstone National Park.

I found this podcast right before my podcast right before my podcast. my seasonal contract ended and I binged the entire thing on my road trip home to the East Coast. I would listen to specific episodes about each national park I was planning to visit while driving there. And it was really cool to learn about the history of each park and hear the stories that had happened before I arrived there. It was only because of the podcast that I learned that I was visiting Death Valley on its anniversary, Halloween. I spent the day exploring the valley, then made a quick stop to Area 51. Best Halloween ever. Anyways, getting to my story. used to work the late night shift from 3 p.m. until midnight. I got into a habit of drinking a lot of

coffee throughout the day so I'd be able to stay awake as the night went on. Because of this, it was pretty common for me to clock out at the end of the night and not be tired at all. One of the things I really loved to do was go for a night drive when I couldn't sleep. It was really cool to drive through the pitch black forest at night. It felt like I had the whole park to myself because there was never anybody on the roads. I would also see tons of wildlife from mountain goats to elk and bison roaming the area after dark. It was a warm night in August and I yet again could not sleep. After tossing and turning for an hour, I just decided to get up and go for a drive. It was around 2 a.m. I grabbed my keys and started walking out to my car. There's a small

tree line that separates the employee dorms from the unlit parking lot. I walk through the trees and into the clearing towards my car, not paying particular attention to anything as this was a regular thing for me. When I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, I turned my head and saw a figure over by one of the smaller cars. At first, I thought this was a trick of my eye. I did a double take and realized that whatever this was was hunched over the sloping trunk of the car. Its shape looked human. I couldn't make out exactly what it was in the shadows, but something about the way the body was contorted didn't look right to me. It looked like it was trying to hide. I stared into the darkness trying to figure out who or what this was. What were they doing out here at two in the

morning? Why were they acting so strangely? Acting like they didn't want to be seen. As I took a step closer, the figure darted behind the left side of the car where I couldn't see it anymore. Intrigued, I watched the space beneath the car and the ground to see if I could see feet moving near the tires. In the dark, I thought I saw some movement, but I wasn't entirely sure. I rounded the back of the car to the left side, to see where this thing had gone, but there was absolutely nothing there. I didn't see anything walk away into the tree line or out from behind the car. I stood back wondering if I had really just seen that or if it was just a trick of my eye like I had originally thought. I was thinking, huh, that was really weird. When all of the sudden I heard a voice inside my head say, you need to get in the car right now. Get to the car.

You are not safe. Get to your car. It wasn't my voice in my head that I heard. It was an external voice urging me that something was not right. I was pretty calm before I had heard this, but after I did, my stomach dropped and I got that primal gut instinct that something was wrong. I followed the voice and quickly turned around and walked my car, and I could feel something watching me from behind as I did. I didn't look back because I just knew if I did something really bad would happen. I opened my door and sat down in the driver's seat and as I was closing the door, I heard a high-pitch giggle. Oh my gosh. God, this is giving me chills just reading this. Okay.

It sounded really close, like it was coming from the back of my car. I locked the doors immediately and sat there for a second, trying to process what had just happened. Get out of there. Yeah, think about it somewhere else. Like, you're giving me anxiety. Get out right now. I could explain away seeing the thing. It was dark and maybe I was just seeing shit, but I could not explain away hearing it laugh.

The next morning when I told my friends and coworkers about this encounter, they were all shocked that I didn't completely freak out. I think the weirdest part about the whole thing was how I was able to remain questionably calm. By nature, I'm an incredibly paranoid and jumpy person. But for some reason, I was hardly faced by what happened in the moment. For some reason, I thought it was all in my head. Every time I look back on it, I get full body chills. Was it a skin walker? Bigfoot?

Some other sort of crypted? I'll never know what it is I saw that night. Enjoy the view, but watch your back. You never know what lurks in a national park after dark, Emily. What she was describing in the very beginning kind of reminds me. So I'm rewatching Midnight Mass. And I'm not even going to, I know you haven't seen it. So I'm not even going to.

I'm like, uh-huh, yeah, that one. For those of us who have seen it, it reminds me, it's like, it's not one of those shows where it's like, obviously this creepy thing that's just like in the beginning. That's like there and it's terrifying. it's just like a little shadow and it kind of you have to adjust your eyes to the scene to kind of see it and then it like darts away really quick so it reminds me of that it's like it's off there's something there did you see it did you not see it it's intelligent because it's responding to you and yeah it reminds me of that the laughing is out of this world let's you know what I mean feels like a person to me

like a creep in the dark I don't you know when you feel like someone's watching you and there's a voice inside of your head that says get out right now you're not safe or if someone's walking too close behind you or if there's just sometimes you just get off feelings about a person when they were describing that voice in their head i'm like i've had that voice before and that feels like a person to me not but they do talk about they were weirdly calm and things but i don't know that voice feels like a person to me and then hearing a laugh i don't know when you say giggle was it a high-pitch giggle? Was it feminine? Was it more of a masculine sound? I don't know, but I just, it feels like a person to me. Yeah. And remember when she was like, what were they doing out at 2 a.m.? It reminds me of when

you're in the airport and you're like, where is everyone going as you're somewhere? It's like you're there. What are you doing there at 2 a.m.? Right. Yeah. That's the first thing I thought of. Yeah, either way, close call, but I'm glad it turned out the way it did. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L. Every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. All right. My first one is called Rusty Ross and the

coincidence cats. Hi Cassie and Danielle. My wife and I are huge fans of NPAD and love to enjoy and share what NPAD is and the incredible community of brave people and their journeys on this tiny speck and space we call Earth this podcast represents. In my head, I call us the padders. We always have you on when we cook dinner, take a drive on our way camping because why not get a little scared just to make sure we watch our backs, and just any time we want to journey to one of our amazing parks here in the U.S. via a tale told by two awesome women. We always feel like we're sitting around a campfire with you too when we listen, and there's few things more sacred in our routine. Way to hype us up, just by the way. I'm blushing a little bit. Thank you.

We live in the Loveland slash Fort Collins area of Colorado, 40 minutes from the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park, and a little more than an hour from Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest. Though living here currently, I grew up in San Diego, hunting snakes during the day and scorpions at night in the desert badlands of Borago Springs and Okatillo Wells. Really throwing a lot of words in there that are harsh. I know, like, dam. As well as exploring the coastal waters and kelp forests of San Diego via snorkelkel and fins. My wife grew up here in the Loveland in Fort Collins area. We met at university in Los Angeles.

More recently, my wife and I lived in Portland, Oregon. the past six years loving everything the PNW has to offer. Endless beautiful waterfalls, evergreen trees that go on forever, glorious coffee roasters, and I believe the current residents of Bigfoot. Believers rise up. But now the northern Colorado Rockies and its ancient lakebed foothills are our place that we call home. Seems like we have a lot aligned here.

This story of Rusty Ross and the Coincidence Cats is not just one of danger, gore, and corgis, but of coincidences. Or is there no such thing? You two are the experts, so you're going to have to tell me. Rusty Ross is my wife's grandpa, age 80 in 2023, who inherited 5,000 acres of Rocky Mountain Wilderness about 20 miles north of the small town of Cotapaxi, Colorado from his parents and grandparents who originally settled in Howard, Colorado during the westward expansion of the late 1800s.

Talk about luck. Yeah, that's amazing. And fortune. I was just, I'm looking for property right now. I wish someone would, I wish I could inherit 5,000 acres. Well, it's funny because this story, so Codapaxi, is a really small town and community out there. It's an outdoor brand too. Right.

But, coincidence or not, Michelle, who we donated to her nonprofit wild lives last year. Remember, I worked with her at the Wolf Center. She is building that sanctuary in Cota Paxie. Oh. Like, that's where her property is. Look at that. Not to out you, Michelle. There it is.

Anyways. He lives in the electricless cabin at 9,900 feet in elevation. He was born in and has been cattle ranching for over 40 years, as well as a guide for elk and deer hunting in their respective seasons. His property butts up against one of the last undisturbed indigenous peoples of the Rockies before they were taken away for their land in the late 1980s. My point is, the place is out there, and it's beautifully untouched. night while we were sleeping in his cozy cabin, I swear we can feel the core of the earth churning because of the lack of city lights, noise, planes, and civilization. I feel a sixth sense. One of almost primal instincts kick in when we are up there. I'm rooted, planted and one with the earth. No bars held.

It's beyond sacred. It's deeply transformative and it feels like I found origin. As a way to preserve the land and its amazing beauty, Rusty donated his land to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation years back. So all of his land is federally protected and will always be a safe haven for all varieties of wildlife ranging from beavers to deer, bear, elk, and various varmints. And what the story is all about, Mountain Lions, as long as the land exists. We're still able to be on it and use it, however, we like as if we owned it, but no new structures can be built. He seeks for only the enjoyment of his property and has the biggest smile with a completely white curly-kew mustache when his friends or family visit and enjoy the. beauty and vastness of these sacred scapes have to offer. What a beautiful gift. Yeah, that's amazing. Now about those coincidence cats I mentioned earlier. On January 10th, 2000 at Rusty's cabin,

the wind was blowing extra hard one dark, cold winter's night and his dog, Caddy was growling at about 1 a.m. When he let Catty out, it immediately began fighting with a mountain lion. He first thought it was a coyote, but he realized it was a mountain lion and that the lion had his dog by the throat, an inescapable situation for the dog that meant death. Rusty thought quickly, grabbed a two by four, and swung until the mountain lion died. Caddy had over $500 in vet bills to get him patched up and his injuries required a lot of time to heal from. The moment was terrifying and a real shock to the small community of Cotapaxi.

Rusty essentially told people, it's dangerous out here. Use my survival as a lesson. Did the dog survive? Yeah. $500 at the vet. Yeah. Yeah, you said that it costs a lot. That doesn't mean that they survived. Oh, to get patched up. Yeah, the dog lips. The dog lips. I feel like we were all like not breathing and ready to press stop. I'm like stop recording now. Episode over. But this is just the beginning. 14 years later, almost to the exact day on January 12th, 2014, the same thing happened. Rusty said it was 4.30 a.m. when he let his dog Lizzie a. Pemberg. Welsh Corgi. No, again. The least likely to be a mountaineering dog outside to go to the bathroom.

As Rusty called her back and stepped right by his feet at the threshold of the cabin door, a massive tan paw with razor sharp claws launched from the darkness onto the top of the head of poor Lizzie. Rusty grabbed and jerked the cat and Lizzie came loose. Rusty threw the cat, yeat, and got Lizzie into the house safely. The cat ended up clawing Rusty down the leg. Rusty the next called the Division of Wildlife who tried to track down the lion but was unsuccessful. The local news captured both moments, see images attached, and Rusty is considered a local, maybe even mythical legend of these Southern Rockies, and everyone from Salida to Pueblo knows the story of Rusty Ross and the coincidence cats today. So you tell me, coincidence or not,

maybe the cat had two lives, maybe Mountain lions have midnight munchies too? All I know is that when you're a rancher in the Rocky Mountain Wilderness, with your Pembroke-Wilch-Wilch, you better enjoy the view, but you should definitely also watch your back for Mountain Lions who might want a late night snack. Love always Luke and Ashlin. And he did attach, I'm not going to post the one that you can look it up, I'm sure, but it's literally a picture. There's a few different ones. I'll post like the newspaper clipping photo, but there's a picture of, and it's a frame photo of the first incident. And Rusty's literally like one leg up, like one kneeling down. he has the two by four in his hand or whatever it is.

Like it looks like a lot of campfire log and the dead mountain lion in front of him. Not really. And I won't post it because people are going to come for me. But he fought a mountain lion twice. I mean, and won both times, which is, well. Crazy. I don't know if that's a coincidence. Oh, well, the attacks coincidence.

I don't know. Almost to the exact day, like, what was it, a decade apart or so, is a little weird. It is. And it clearly wasn't. wasn't the same cat because the first cat is dead. It was another cat that was out for anniversary revenge. That's right. The word around town was that it was time.

A debt was owed. That's what happened. Oh my God. Her professional opinion. Right. That's our final answer. Hey, well, my next story is titled low-flying pterodactyl. Hey, guys, I had a pretty horrifying experience in the Australian high country, which is made up

of some incredibly remote and dense bushland. Both state and national parks make up the area. A group of us were camping in the Hokua Hills Historic Area, which although is a state forest, the national park is only a few 100 meters up the road. The group consisted of my sister and her husband, a friend and her husband, and myself, and my partner, now ex-partner. The other two couples were camping in camper trailers, however, we were camping a little way away from the main group and a tent. The campground is located in a valley with a river that runs along the side of it. We were up there with multiple dogs and also our horses and there were a couple of campers a little bit further down the river. The road that led to the campsite forked before the entrance

with the other road leading up into the mountains and towards the National Park. One of the first nights I was awoken to the most blood-curdling scream sound I had ever heard. It was loud and echoing through the valley. I panicked, but froze in bed and tried to rationalize. what the noise could be. My partner had the opposite reaction and started to move around on the blow-up mattress making all the noises in the world. I shushed him and we both lay there frozen in fear. All I could think of at the time was the campers near us were being murdered, which could only mean that they were coming for us. The sound got closer and it sounded like it was circling our tent. As I laid there, I tried to rationalize that it couldn't be anything too serious as I hadn't

heard any of the dogs growling. Just as I had that thought, one of the dogs started with a low growl. The type they do when they are scared, but still trying to warn off a predator. Heart racing, I'd laid there, waiting for the inevitable claw slash knife through the tent side. Just as suddenly, as the screaming had started, it seemed to move up the road and towards the National Park and then disappeared altogether. Both my partner and I lay there for a second. Before he turned to me, and with the most sincerity, he broke the silence with. I think that was a teradactyl. What a wild assumption.

Okay. Correct. Just as he said that, a massive gum tree up the river snapped at the base and fell. This cemented the ridiculous explanation for my partner. With the prehistoric dinosaur seemingly gone, he drifted off back to sleep. My body found this to be the perfect time to need to relieve itself. I cautiously snuck towards the door, and with the loudest zip in noise history, I opened the door to what I expected to be a bloodbath. Instead, it was a full moon, horses grazing peacefully,

and not a thing out of place in this campsite. The next morning, when we were chatting around the campfire, no one from our group had heard a single sound, nor had woken up during the night. My brother-in-law did have a laugh, though, when we told him the story and proceeded to play the sound from his phone, from an app for hunters to use. Turns out, the pterodactyl was in fact just a rabbit. Least it wasn't the button man. who we've also had the pleasure of meeting up there, Allison. What is the button man? I don't know what the button man is.

Do you know the button man? And it's Australia, right? Yeah. Yeah, they're in Australia. I'm not familiar with Australian lore, I guess. It says some deer hunters call him the button man because he puts little bone buttons in his ears and all sorts of stuff and he collects deer antlers and he carves them into interesting shapes.

It sounds like a normal person to me. Like people do that for Etsy. What? I don't know because then another article comes up and it says, Who is the Button Man? More details emerge of spooky expert Bushman who could hold the key to finding married camper who disappeared with his beauty queen friend and his wife had no idea. Who is the Button Man?

Tell me more. We need to know who the Button Man is. It's like the most insignificant detail of that whole. story. Also, it's really funny that it was just a rabbit, but who is the button man? Yeah, that's really the moral of the story. Please follow up. Someone. Like with solid information. Okay, my next story is titled, A Feline Sign. Hey, gals, I sent some tales a couple weeks ago, but wanted to reach out again as something recently happened which jog my memory of this whole situation in general. It's a story of a sign from beyond this living realm that we know. Ever since I was old enough

to understand it, I've always considered myself to be a sensitive to whatever it is that's out there that we just don't fully understand. And I don't know if we ever will. All I know is I've seen some glimpses of spirits, ghosts, entities, heard unexplained noises, have felt disembodied touches, and can deeply feel what I just call energy. If a place is haunted or has some sort of spiritual history, I can usually tell. It's just a feeling that I get both physically and emotionally. Anyways, I'm sensitive. I've been blessed to have yet to experience the passing of a close loved one, but I have certainly not been spared. from the agony of beloved pets passing away.

Quite a few, actually, as my family always had many cats. When I was seven and just about to start the second grade, my parents thought it would be nice for me to pick out a cat of my very own, since the ones we owned were usually the ones that just showed up. We went to PetSmart on one of those weekend local rescue events, and I picked out a sweet 10-week-old girl who I named Emma. After only a few years, Emma took to escaping outside and just spending some time out there before returning for dinner.

That stresses me out, I just have to say. I'm not an outdoor cat girl. I just, my stress level is too big for that. I am. I know that I like just, I'm an optional outdoor cat girl. I'm like, if a cat wants to be outside, we had a cat that you could not contain. I think that's why you would try to keep her inside. And if you had the windows open, she would claw her way through the screen and get outside.

And there was just, there was no keeping her in. She was an outdoor cat through and through unless you wanted your entire house to destroy it. And my mom had a lot of land so she could do whatever she wanted. But yeah, it's just too stressful for me. There's certainly risk involved if you do that. Oh, look at that. Thankfully, my parents' house rests on 42 acres of mostly woods in a relatively rural area, so I wasn't too worried for her safety.

However, the house is close to a road. We had asshole neighbors and coyotes frequented the woods. Yeah, just so danger at every turn. Anxiety. Anxiety. Emma eventually became a fully outdoor cat. She loved the independence. but was always waiting in the morning for breakfast and in the evening for dinner.

After many more years, Emma would have been around 10 at this point. Sometimes Emma's adventures would increase in time and duration, and it wasn't uncommon to not see her for a few days. But after a while, she never came back. It was easy to think the worst. She got hit on the road farther down and we never saw. She fell victim to a coyote or a hawk or our asshole neighbors, got stuck in a hunter's trap, etc, etc.

but I always felt Emma was still around. At the time, cats weren't routinely microchipped when spayed and neutered, and she didn't have a collar on. It's totally possible that she could have wandered far enough to reach someone else's yard at the edge of the woods or came across a friendly hunter. And I truly believe that is what happened, because she'd visit me in my dreams. I wouldn't just dream of her. A few times a year, I would dream that Emma would randomly show up completely unharmed. While sometimes I can acknowledge I'm dreaming and kind of subconsciously try to control the situation, that was never a thing here. She would show up and I'd immediately call for my family to tell them that Emma was alive and all right.

It was just this overwhelming sense of joy and reassurance that she was okay. We had one or two other cats go missing, but I never saw them in my dreams. Emma's visits were very different. I would sometimes wake up convinced she was alive and here and that the dream was a blurry memory from the day before. I bring this up because last week, after a while of not really noticing I hadn't dreamt about her too often recently, I had a dream that Emma showed up in my parents' kitchen while I was visiting. I immediately smiled with pure glee and turned to my boyfriend, exclaiming, Look, it's Emma, to which he just kind of looked at me confused.

Where? He asked. I pointed at her, and he couldn't see her. Meanwhile, I saw her clear as day walking through the kitchen. I followed her path as she disappeared around the bend into the living room, where my pap now hangs out most of the day. in his old age. I rushed in, but Emma wasn't there. I asked my pap if he had seen her, to which he chuckled and said, Emma? No, she's been gone for years. But I swear I had seen her. I stood there

confused for only a moment until it hit me, and I said, out loud in my dream, I just saw her ghost. I woke up directly after that, slowly in a groggy state as if I had faded back into consciousness. I smiled as I realized what I believe had to have happened. Emma had passed away, and she came to let me know. Of course, how could I prove something like this? I knew I had to tell my mom, though, as we always share our spooky and weird experiences, and try to talk on the phone every week or so, since I recently moved about six hours across the state. I told her about my dream and how I thought Emma had passed and how she let me know, and my mom grew silent. Marissa, she started, that is really weird, you bring her up. She asked me to clarify what night I had the dream,

and it turns out, that morning, while I was probably having the dream, since I slept in, my mom had gone outside to feed the two outdoor cats breakfast. Mind you, these are my mom's buddies and are a part of her strict morning routine. So what I'm about to tell you was very out of the ordinary. She walked out and instead of yelling, Zoe, Ninja, without even thinking about it, she yelled, Emma, and stood there for a second, wondering if she had just gotten one step closer to the normal memory issues that come with aging. She said it felt odd and she just wasn't sure what had happened, but it was the same exact morning I had my dream. I really do think Emma has been alive all of this time and periodically somehow let me know she was still around and was okay. I really always believed someone had found her and

taken her in solely based on those dreams and how they made me feel upon waking. Someone took her in and she had been perfectly okay and just wanted to let me know one final time that I don't need to worry. She would be around 15 or 16 now, so it just all seems to make sense. I figured you two may find some interest in this. Danielle, you sharing your journey of grief after the passing of your partner has really helped me in my current situation of preparing for the passing of my pap. I know that sounds bad, but as I said, I've yet to lose a close loved one, and my pap has been dealing with cancer for almost two years now, and his health gradually declines. First lymphoma and now prostate cancer. He has always been a light in my life and losing him will be very hard, but knowing that all of us

go through grief and death of a loved one at some point, and so many of us receive signs from beyond, I look forward to the signs my pap will send me. And while now that I'm crying, I'm going to end this email. Sorry it's long. It's the ADHD and autism. Love you gals, best, Marissa. What a beautiful story. There's no, like we say, there's no, there's no coincidences.

I think that whatever you felt was probably Emma coming to say her final. Like I'm okay. Goodbye. I'm okay. And I'm good. Yeah. And one of the chances that her mom had the same, like a weird experience. experience involving Emma the same one. And it wasn't like Emma hadn't been there in so long, too.

She hadn't been calling Emma's name for mornings for years. She had probably stopped for a long time. So to have that experience. Yeah. No such thing as coincidences. Yeah. I'm a believer. For sure. All right. On to my story. Mine is called or titled mystery, mystery dead animal question mark. Why are there so many dead animals in this? Dead, injured. Okay. It's, okay, I'm going to just preface this and say that Cassie and I usually like filter

through our own stories and like don't know them, but I pick them this time around. And I know what this is so. Okay, it's funny. I think it's funny. I'm like, I'm quitting if this is another dead animal. It's not. Okay. Okay.

My name is Abby and this is a story. about my mom and I and a mystery dead animal question mark, Danielle. We would love it if you read this on the pod. I have been a listener since the first episode and love the depth of research you do and the banter you guys have. You make me want to jump on a flight from Little New Zealand and hike around your national parks. Do it.

My mom and I do trapping, aka hiking holidays, both keen walkers and lovers of nature. Side note, indigenous language of Aeotera, New Zealand. Zealand is Maori. I have put pronunciations in brackets in case that helps. It does. Thank you very much. You don't say everything as it's spelled. I see that. Thank you. Oh my God. These are going to, sorry. There's so many. Sorry, if anyone was reading this, there's so many difficult things to pronounce coming my way. Let's see. We can we can just count them. One, two, three, four, five. I'm just going to go for it. Five or six National Park. Everyone can just struggle with me. Okay.

Together we have completed. Abel Tasman Coast Track and Abel Tasman's National Park. The Kepler and Fiordland National Park. The Heppi in Cahue Rangy National Park. And Lake Yaiqamarna in Tayyroira National Forest. And that is where this story takes place. Right, right. Okay.

Now that we... That place, yeah. That mouth. I understand. Thank you. I understood everything you just said. I'm curious of these places now. Back in 2017, we bundled into the car nice and early and drove almost six hours to our B&B and edge of Tejuraura National Forest Park in the middle of North Island. This is a drive that starts on the state highway one, traveling south to Ritorua, and finally heading out into the wops and rural roads of the forest park. Once we hit the dusty gravel road, we would pass through many small settlements that had cattle grates as their gates as animals like cows, pigs, and horses roamed free within their boundaries. We made it to our Airbnb for the night and 2y.

Oh, my God, you really hate me, Daniel. Okay. I'm sorry, I forgot about this part. I blocked this part out when I was thinking it. We made it to our Airbnb for the night in Tuey. Yiroa for one of our nights stay before our host graciously dropped us 50 kilometers away at the southern end of the lake at Onipoto. Yes, it was the closest place with availability and hot showers at the time. A bit about Lake Y. Kermoarna and the tramp we did around the edge of it.

It is a relatively short multi-day hike spanning just 46 kilometers one way. Mom and I completed it over four days as we like to make a lot of stops and view wildlife. Hunting for the massive co-ree snail, its shell is the size of an adult palm, and vibrant purple and blue mushrooms, while stopping at viewpoints on bluffs and in forests, steles to view the water. You walk around the edge of the lake, staying in huts or tenting at campsites. This lake is 54 square kilometers, 21 square miles. For a few years, there were arguments about who owns the land and therefore who maintains the

lake track. Last year, it was finalized that the local Iwi would take control over our state and The Department of Conservation, DOC, had maintained and managed it for many years prior. We completed the first three nights and four days of our trip without a hitch, making our way to the last hut before heading to the beach for the lake for a boat trip back to the other side upon completion. The last hut we stayed in was Mara Ouiti Hut. It was getting late on the last evening.

We ate dinner, cooked on the wet back of the fireplace, and played some cards before heading in for the night. We were the only people staying and the huts have not. no locks and no doors except for the front door. The bunk rooms were two high beds, whitewood, with a crawl space below the ground floor bed. We snuggled up in our sleeping bags, mum closest to the door and me on the other side of the room. At about 1 a.m., I woke up to mum whispering my name. Abigail, Abigail, are you awake?

I stirred and awoke. I am now, I said, what's wrong? Mum motioned towards the underneath of her bunk and whispered. I put my arm down the side by accident and I touched something. furry. Now I'm awake, lying on the other side of the room, feeling a giddy stress build up, but with no intention of getting out of bed to kneel on the floor with my torch and peer underneath my mom's bed. What did it feel like? I asked. It felt solid but hairy. I'm wondering if it's a possum, she said. I said, I feel I have to put it out there. Do you think it's a person hiding under the

bed? Mum froze and after some back and forth over a discussion and decision that neither of us wants to get out of bed to check, she casually rolled up over saying, well, I hope it's nothing sinister, but since we aren't willing to check, let's try and get more sleep and see what it is in the morning. Of course, we had like no sleep after that, lying awake, thinking there might be someone on the floor of our bunkroom. As morning broke, I rolled over to see that mum's bed was empty, sleeping bag unzipped, but she wasn't in it. I instantly yelled out, Mom. I hear a wrestling from the kitchen and she says, I'm in here, love, just making tea.

I got out of the bed and stumbled to the doorway. I thought you had been taken for a second, I say. No, love have been up for hours, just couldn't sleep, she said. After a brief good morning, I remember about the solid hairy object under the bed and asked if she had taken a look. She hadn't and wanted me to be there with her when she checked. When we went back into the bunkroom and both got on the ground, I shone my head torch under and there was this brown, furry-looking object at the back.

We took the poking stick from the fireplace and fished out our mystery. Dead animal? It turned out to not be living at all, but a woolly camping sock with something stuffed into it. Mum's face just turns from shock to amused and she rolls her eyes. I'm young and innocent at the age of 19 and have no clue what I'm looking at. Mom says, don't touch it. I'm just going to put a sock on my hand. I looked after her confused.

as she proceeded to put an ankle sock over her hand and then give me some of the parcel. She holds the thing on the inside and asks me to pull the woolly sock off. Lo and behold, hidden within this woolly tramping sock, hidden down the side of a bunk at this tramping hut, was a 1991 Playboy magazine. I then knew, and you probably know too, why she wanted a barrier between herself and this crusty object. Ew. Smack bam on the front cover was a lady posing in a tiny bikini for the camera. This magazine was 26 years old when we discovered it.

My mom is a modest lady and so after contemplation about what to do with it, we shoved it and the sock underneath the bed as two separate items and carried on with our mission. Now it's just a funny story we share. Yes, Mom did thoroughly wash her hands after. And that is the story of the mystery dead animal, porno magazine. while tramping in the forest. Thank you so much for reading. It has taken me a long time to put into words because it's a long story.

Love listening to your stories and love your intros. Keep up the great work, ladies. All the best, Abby. What a story of mother-daughter bonding. I was not expecting. That was a turn and a twist. I was not expecting at all. Told you it wasn't a dead animal.

It certainly wasn't. Aren't you happy? I don't know. I don't know what I'm. I would prefer to be honest. It's disgusting. Not the magazine, just like what might be on it. Just the whole situation is 26 years old.

Yeah. Like, it's just been there. How many people have used that magazine? Oh, my God. Okay. And it's in a sock. I didn't even think of that, honestly. Yeah.

How many people use this? Okay, I'm done. I'm good. Okay. I was not, I did not even think of that. I was thinking that it was just like a one-off. thing just I'm going to go out on a limb here and say a guy being a guy and them just like stuffing into it between the bed and it's just been forgot about for decades not someone repetitive

like not like a thing that's like sisterhood of the traveling pants or sisterhood of the traveling sock porno magazine brotherhood of the of the woolly sock yeah woolly porno sock yeah okay well now that that's taking the turn Let's talk about squirrels. I love squirrels. My squirrel. Oh, yeah, squench. What is it?

Scrunch. Scrunch. Scrunch. We probably haven't given an update, but my squirrel that you guys heard about like two months ago is doing really good. I just got an update that her eyes opened and she's thriving and she loves her new siblings. So doing great. That's awesome. Yeah.

Yeah, the biggest development is that she's a girl and not a boy. Yes, she's a girl, not a boy. Never actually really checked. And then after we recorded, checked and a girl for sure. Surprise. Scrunch. Scrunch is a girl. And she's thriving. She's loving her best squirrel life. Awesome. This story is titled Killer Squirrels of the parks. Scrench, the killer squirrel. Scrunch. The revenge of Scrench.

Hi, gals. I had a friend recommend your podcast, and I too just wanted to say that your episodes made me cry with how much I miss going to the National Park. and my ecology field seasons. Well, I have so many stories, I thought that my killer squirrel story definitely was the one that needed to be shared. I agree. Let me start by saying, while in my life, I have had a lot of close calls. Bears so close, you didn't need a zoom on your camera, a moose who almost ran me over, cows that were so aggressive I had to jump a small ravine to get away.

But deep down, the one animal that scares the shit out of me are squirrels. Go ahead and laugh. but this tale starts with a family trip to the Grand Canyon and ends with me running the most ironic pilot field study that could have ever fallen into my lap. When I was young, probably under 10 years old, my family went on vacation to the Grand Canyon. The day started off like any park vacation with a long hike. My brothers and I were so excited as it was our first time in the canyon and the switchbacks had us racing to see how far we could get ahead of our parents. After a while, our energy levels dipped and we grabbed some granola bars from our parents and continue. on the path taking in the colorful canyon walls. Now, anyone who has been to the Grand Canyon

can tell you there are a ton of signs mentioning not to feed the wildlife. Being a stickler for the rules, even as a child, I had no plans on sharing my snacks with the native animals. However, the literal second, I opened that granola bar, every. And I do mean every squirrel within a quarter mile started popping out out of every crevice within a view. Wary, I kept walking, picking up the pace while munching on my bar. The squirrels quickly started following me, inching closer and closer like a pack of hungry lions. Getting nervous, I started jogging to try and catch up with my brother and the squirrels picked up the pace. Suddenly, I felt the brush of a furry paw on my leg and saw my life flash before my eyes as a squirrel tried to climb up it. Screaming for dear life, I dropped the granola and

sought refuge with my siblings, the squirrels high-fiving each other over a successful intimidation plan. This reminds, okay, I'm going to reference a movie that I hope you can understand. We'll try. The second Jurassic Park movie. Oh, yeah, I've seen Jurassic Park movies. All of them. You know, the second one, when it's the little girl on the beach and she has a sandwich

and all those little, like, dinosaurs, like, peep up. And they're like, oh, what you got? And they're tiny. And she's like, oh, like, do you want a piece of the sandwich? And then all of a sudden they all, like, attack and kill her. Like that's squirrel version. Squirrels are just like popping out of every corner and just gang up on her and steal her food. Don't feed the wildlife.

Don't feed the bears. Don't feed the deer or goats. And especially don't feed the killer squirrels. That day I felt true fear and jumped every time I thought a squirrel was too close. Fast forward 10 years. I'm working at a museum and was offered the opportunity of a lifetime to work in the Cascades and run the pilot year of a field study on high. and territory mapping. The only problem, the whole study was on squirrels. Did I bite my tongue and say nothing about my fear of squirrels? You betcha. Did I face several more death-defying moments with squirrels?

Well, there's a reason we named a squirrel Capone. In the end, though, my crew and I got to know those damn squirrels insanely well. We cried when one of the squirrels was killed by a predator, and we laughed when squirrels shouted insults at one another from their territories, and we even named every dang squirrel we encountered on the same seven-mile stretch we walked from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. almost every day for two and a half months. While I am still scared as fuck of squirrels, never tell my boss, and definitely screamed when a squirrel we named Parkour jumped on my face. I'll never forget my adopted squirrel family in the mountains, Stephanie. That's so funny. That's hilarious. Oh, squirrels are the best, but I can. I would be a little fearful too if I had a,

If I was ganged up on by squirrels. Yeah, that would. I would either, I think I would have one or two reactions. I'd be like, oh my God, the first one is I'm being murdered by a group of squirrels. Or I'd be like, I found my tribe. I am their leader. And I would think that I had my own. I would have my own tribe of squirrels, my own gang.

I will say I had kind of, not anything near this type of experience, but last August. Yeah, it was on the. It was on the hike that I had the sign from my dad in Mount Rainier last August on his birthday. And so I was alone and like I got to the summit, the viewpoint, whatever, I sit down. And it was like this big volcanic rocky area. And as soon as I sat down. And like I haven't even opened my bag yet. Like there's not even food in my hand yet.

The chipmunks came for blood. There were so many of them. They were like on my legs. They were under like they were like scurrying under like my like my butt and like between. my legs and like they were just staring at me on their back legs. I'm like, you're freaking me out. Like, I'm scared. Like they were so ballsy. And it just is so disheartening because like Stephanie said, like don't feed them because they scare people when you feed them. I had a, I had a instance with that on Hunting Island in South Carolina. They have a population of deer there. And I was there years ago.

I mean, this was 2016 now that I was there. So I don't know if it's still going on or not. But it was the same thing when I would go and we had a campsite. It was just a regular designated campsite with a fire pit, a picnic table in the woods. And as soon as we brought food out and put it on the picnic table, we were surrounded by deer. And they were coming right up to us. I mean, they were trying to stick their head in the bag of chips that they had. They were touching us. And they were covered in ticks, trying to touch us. And it scared us. I mean, normally, I would love to think that I was a deer whisperer and I was like the only person who could touch these deer and they had suddenly befriended me, but that's not like real life, obviously.

And they were just habituated to all the people who had been feeding them. And now they were super close to me. And they looked like they carried diseases. And I was just like, I don't want these animals near me at all. Even though they were cute. It's like I don't want them right here. It's just not good in any sort of way. No, and they're not like scary animals.

You don't think of a squirrel or a chipmunk as scary. but when they're in your personal space and you don't know if you're going to get bit or you're going to get a disease if you do get bit, it gets scarier. Yeah. And then like obviously, so I get up, I'm like, I can't deal with this. And then I look over and there's like people feeding them like their cliff bars and stuff. I'm like, you're the reason. Come on.

But anyway, I think that's it for a regular episode. Yeah, we have two more for outsiders on Patreon or Apple subscription. So if you want to keep listening and listen to our other ones, I have one that's titled, unexpected find. That is very interesting. I actually kind of forget what that one is, so I'm excited. And then mine is titled Become Who I Was Meant to Be. Well, if you're interested, go join Apple's subscriptions or Patreon. But if you're not, we'll just see you during our next episode. And in the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch you back. Bye, everyone. See you. Thank you so much for joining us again this week. If you have a trail tale or story suggestion, send us an email at Stories at

NPAD Podcast.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at National Park After Dark and on Twitter at NPAD podcast. Join our Outsiders only community on Patreon or Apple subscriptions to listen ad-free, unlock monthly bonus episodes, and exclusive content. And remember, when you support our sponsors, you are supporting our show. For our exclusive discount codes and source information from today's episode, check out the show notes. For more information on our show, our book recommendations, merch updates, and more, visit our website at npaddpodcast.com. And please rate, review, and subscribe from wherever you listen to podcasts. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you may not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with

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