In The Wild

Established in 1934, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers parts of North Carolina and Tennessee and features some of the highest mountains in eastern North America. The Great Smoky Mountains are part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a division of the Appalachian Mountain Range. The Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia, passes through the park's center for 72 miles. Clingmans D...

What does it mean to live off the grid? Living off the grid means operating one's life without a physical connection to public utilities—self-reliance with your own energy sources, often renewable such as solar and wind. Off-grid living frequently means living in a secluded area, away from the country's population—actual wilderness survival, supplying your needs, and growing your food. But off-gri...

Though you may feel you are in a safe location, you never know when you will be faced with a survival situation. There are no formal boundaries between the wilderness and humanity. Nature has a way of encroaching into areas which may surprise us.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Little Moose Mountain Wilderness Area is in the western middle section of Adirondack Park, south by southeast of Seventh Lake in the Fulton  Chain. The area encompasses over 12,000 acres but is bordered on all sides by other regions of the Adirondack Park. If you were lost, wandering out of the region would not help facilitate a rescue, as you would still find yourself in the heart of the Adir...

Mountain lions, also known as cougars, panthers, pumas, or catamounts, are all the same animal. In fact, the scientific name, 'Puma concolor,' is sometimes known as 'the cat of many names.' Naturalist, writer, and Utah native Claude T. Barnes listed 40 English names for a mountain lion, along with 18 names from South America and 25 from Native Americans. This large cat species is native to the Ame...

These Boy Scouts in the Adirondack mountains of New York took a hike and a climb that lead to days they never knew were coming.. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the Wild details amazing stories of survival. In our episode "Cougar Attack," we told the unbelievable true story of Marine Corps veteran Anne Hjelle living to tell about being pummeled by a vicious predator. Our "Mama Grizzly VS Father and Daughter" episode detailed father and daughter Johan and Jenna Otter surviving a grizzly attack. But not all stories on In the Wild are about escaping horri...

Long time listeners of this podcast know that a common theme of In the Wild are the dangers of national parks. All 63 of them designated in the U.S. are a sight to see, but it should not be overlooked that these parks experience a total of over 300 deaths each year. But what about if you take heed to the necessary precautions often mentioned, and come fully prepared for your journey? Even so, some...

A scorpion symbolizes evil, death, destruction, and unpleasant situations. Filmmakers have long used imagery of scorpions to convey the above moods in a storyline. Scorpions themselves are unique. Classified as predatory arachnids, they are related to spiders. Scorpions have eight legs and a pair of pincers extruding from their front limbs. But what makes them unique is the narrow, segmented tail,...

For over three years here at In the Wild podcast, we’ve told dozens of real-life stories of survival. Many of these situations take place deep in the woods, with families and individuals simply looking to escape and enjoy nature, only to be unsuspectingly attacked by ferocious predators in their natural habitat. We asked our listeners what their greatest fear would be if they were to be out in the...

We all have dreams, or accomplishments that we wish to check off the ol’ bucket list during our time here. Some of them are more ambitious than others, and some that you’d need a nice chunk of time to complete. That’s why many of these milestones are put off until retirement, with people wishing they had the time off from work to get out and make a certain dream come true. This was true of 76-year...

In 1805, a four-year-old boy named Paul Gasford separated from his family and became lost in the wilderness. The boy's remarkable story of survival grew into a bit of a legend. By his own remarkable contrivance and wisdom, after four days' travel, Paul got safely to his parents at Niagara, 40 miles from the place where he was lost. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...

There are three different types of macronutrients that make up our diet: carbs, fats, and proteins. All three are needed in order for us to live optimally. There are some people who restrict their intake of one of the following dramatically though, namely those on the keto diet, who drastically reduce their carb intake. Exceptions aside, all three of these are vital. So, how long could one survive...

Imagine an ordinary commercial flight within the continental U.S. taking a turn for the worse due to the emergence of geese…blinding the pilots, and malfunctioning the equipment. The plane goes down submerging into ice-cold water that floods the aisles, as passengers rush to escape drowning alive. This indeed took place on a wintery day in Queens, New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company...

Steven Callahan was born in 1952 and grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. As a boy, he had a natural attraction to all things boats and ocean life from the young age of 10. By high school, he was already building boats of his own. It was in 1981 however, when Callahan would begin embarking on a voyage that would change his life forever. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/in-the-wild/don...

What was the biggest responsibility you were tasked with at 10 years of age? For many of us, the answer would be taking out the garbage, or some other simple chore around the house. How about…saving your father’s life? Sounds far-fetched, or nearly impossible, but for Cody Sloot, that was what he was called to do, and only days after celebrating that 10th year of birth nonetheless. Support this po...

The cougar (or “mountain lion” as they are sometimes known) is a hypercarnivore with a diet consisting of 70% meat. It is as alpha as it gets, at the top of the food chain, and is never prayed upon. No other animal would dare go up against a mountain lion in the wild, knowing that this vicious creature would tear upon them ferociously and feast upon its flesh instinctively. Luckily for humans, cou...

Craig Demartino grew up in the small town of Exeter, 10 miles West of Scranton, Pennsylvania. From a young age, he was an adventurer, a risk taker, and you could even say a daredevil. Discovering mountain climbing was just the thrill that Craig was looking for, and right out of high school, the extreme hobby became a fixture in his life. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/in-the-wild/...

One of America's last great wilderness areas, Glacier National Park, is home to some of the most majestic and dangerous animals on the planet. Among them is the grizzly bear, a massive creature that can weigh over 1,000 pounds and stands up to 9 feet tall when on its hind legs. Johan Otter and his daughter Jenna were visiting Glacier National for a vacation out in the wilderness to celebrate her g...

Wherever you may be, there could be hidden dangers lurking. We are talking about insects and small invertebrates which blend into their environment. While hiking trails in National or State Parks and other public areas, it is essential to be aware of these hidden hazards that may present themselves when you least expect them.   Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/in-the-wild/donations...

On Monday, January 3, 2022, a winter storm swept into Virginia, pelting the region with ice and snow, shutting down I-95 and stranding commuters for more than 24 hours. With snow falling at a rate of up to 4 inches an hour, tractor trailers and passenger vehicles struggled to maintain control, causing multiple accidents. Along a 48 mile stretch of the East Coast’s busiest highway, commuters found...

Mammoth Mountain is the California destination for avid snowboarders, and Eric decided he needed to be there. So he found a way to trade skate lessons for a condo right nearby. LeMarque partied a little too hard though, and held a dark secret from friends when he wasn’t snowboarding fresh powder with them. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/in-the-wild/donations Advertising Inquiries:...

In July 2015, a teenager boarded a small propeller driven plane with her step-grandparents to travel home to Washington after a visit to Montana. Inclement weather delayed their departure, but her step-grandfather’s fateful decision to proceed before the weather conditions improved would have dire consequences. Clouds soon enveloped the small plane, leaving the pilot disoriented and heading toward...

One of the most popular swimming and diving destinations in the southwestern United States is the Blue Hole of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Stretching only 80 feet in diameter at the surface, the Blue Hole has beckoned wildlife and travelers as a desert oasis for hundreds of years. When Route 66 was constructed in the 1920s, the Blue Hole and its enticing deep blue, clear, pure waters became a popular...

Australian-born Ricky Megee lived a life that could be described as anything but dull prior to his disappearance at the age of 35 in 2006. Born in 1971 in Victoria, Ricky would see a lot of moving throughout Australia as a kid and well into his adulthood. About 350 miles West of where he was born, his parents had a dairy farm in the town of Gippsland. This is where he would spend the first five ye...