Off the Trails

One minute, you’ve just picked up dinner and you’re on your way home. The next, the road ahead of you is completely obscured by snow. No matter how well your vehicle handles in snow or how close to home you might be, no one can drive in zero visibility. Sources: Remembering Inspire More Reader's Digest CBC   Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a month, with benefits starting at the $3 tier!...

There are moments at sea where experience, preparation, and even luck mean nothing. Where a single sound in the dark can turn a lifetime of knowledge into pure instinct. Tonight’s story is one of those moments. A family, four children, a dream years in the making—and a reef that should not have been there. This is the story of John Silverwood, the Emerald Jane, and the night everything changed. So...

There’s something appealing and romantic about foraging and there’s a special kind of calm that comes from working in your yard or garden.  But when plant encounters go wrong, you don’t just get a bad taste in your mouth, it could be your last meal. Sources: CDC , News.com , KSBW, NIH , BBC , MDA State , Food Safety , Bon Appetit , Poison Control Utah , Local 12 Support us on Patreon  for as littl...

Imagine this - you're standing on a mountain ridge almost four miles above sea level. The wind is howling, and screaming, and you’re barely able to stay standing. The world around you is white in every direction. You’re cold and you know that there will be no rescue tonight. You’re experiencing a fierce storm on Denali. A place that can be deadly when the weather turns . Luckily you’re only imagin...

Some people spend their lives searching for treasure. For mushroom hunters, that treasure grows quietly in the shadows. But sometimes, unknown dangers can also be lurking in those same shadows. Sources: NamUs , Seattle Times , Facebook , Reddit , Your Source One , YouTube - The Missing Enigma Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a month, with benefits starting at the $3 tier! Follow us on  I...

In a small mining town in the Colorado Rockies, a man and his dog walked into the mountains and never returned. Less than a year later, another man working in the exact same location took interest in the disappearance from the year before. Soon he would follow the same trail and he too would vanish.  One mountain, two men, countless theories. Sources FRNWH Unsolved Strange Outdoors CBSNEWS Chicago...

It was supposed to be a peaceful setting—an artist setting up his easel by the roadside, surrounded by the wild, glacier-cut beauty of Washington’s North Cascades. But for days, his car would sit abandoned. His canvas, unfinished. And the man himself—gone. What happened to Alexander Pisch? Sources: Go Skagit , NPS , Fox13 Seattle , KATV , Reddit , Facebook , Websleuths , Strange Outdoors , More Th...

Some trails are just trails, a good workout, fresh air, a chance to clear your head, and  maybe a nice view. And then there are the other ones. The ones that feel… different. Maybe it’s the way the trees seem to close in around you. Or how the silence gets heavier the farther you go. Sometimes, it’s the way the hair on the back of your neck stands up when you catch a shadow. In this episode these...

It should have been a quick flight, just a few hours across the Andes Mountains from Uruguay to Chile. Onboard were members of a rugby team, and many of their friends, and family. Spirits were high, the mood light. But as they crossed into the mountains cloud cover dropped visibility to almost nothing. What would happen next would end or define the lives of the 45 people on board. Victims  Gastón...

Today, we’re heading deep into Yosemite National Park- a place known for its stunning granite cliffs, towering waterfalls, and wild, untouched beauty. But even in a place so breathtaking, things can go wrong fast. This is the story of Jeanne Hesselschwert- a woman who vanished on what should have been a simple roadside stop… and the chain of events that followed. Support us on Patreon  for as litt...

Some places create a feeling as soon you step into them. It’s not just the air or the silence, it’s something heavier, like the land is holding something dark. Today, we’re traveling to a few of those places. A forest at the base of Mount Fuji where the world falls silent. A hidden island where a tribe defends their home from the modern world. An island in the Philippines where the dead rest benea...

In February of 1979 five friends set off in a small fishing boat. The men smiling, laughing, heading out for just another day on the water off the coast of Maui. But no one would return. This is the mystery of the Sarah Joe. Sources - Wikipedia Travel News FRNWH Medium 1 Medium 2 Hawaii Activities Maui News Unsolved Mysteries Listverse Dusty Track Blog Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a...

Sometimes the scariest moments outdoors aren’t about what you see - they’re about what you feel. Today, we’re hearing stories from listeners who’ve crossed paths with the unexplainable, from phantom voices to haunted trails to places that simply didn’t want them there. Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a month, with benefits starting at the $3 tier! Follow us on  Instagram  at offthetrail...

Crater Lake–impossibly blue, ancient, and eerily still. It’s a place born from fire, shaped by collapse, and steeped in legend. But in the fall of 2006, this sacred landscape became the backdrop for one of Oregon’s most heartbreaking mysteries–the disappearance of an eight-year-old boy who seemed to vanish into thin air. Autism Anchoring Dogs is no longer in operation. Please see below for a list...

The ocean has always been a place of mystery. It gives and it takes, and sometimes, it keeps its secrets. Every so often, a ship is found drifting across open water- its sails torn, the wheel unmanned, meals still sitting on the table- yet no one aboard. From the Mary Celeste in 1872 to modern-day mysteries like the MV Alta, stories of ghost ships have haunted sailors and storytellers for centurie...

In the fall of 2018, deep in the Idaho wilderness, a seasoned outdoorswoman vanished from a remote hunting camp. Connie Johnson had decades of backcountry experience. For her, the wilderness wasn’t just a place to visit- it was her life. But one October morning, when the hunting party she was working with returned to camp, there was no sign of Connie or her dog, Ace. That was the beginning of a my...

Imagine setting out on what should have been a routine dive- clear skies, calm seas, everything going exactly to plan. But within hours, you’re stranded twenty miles from shore, drifting further into the vast Pacific Ocean with nothing but your wits, your dive buddy, and a growing list of dangers beneath the surface. Episode Sources: YouTube - I Shouldn't Be Alive , Neemyd , LinkedIn , IMDB , Gett...

This week, we’re bringing you a special collaboration with Outside She Goes. Together, we’re diving into four haunting cases of women who vanished in the wild. From the rugged mountains of Colorado and California, to the unforgiving trails of Vermont and Alaska-Michelle Vanek, Rosemary Kunst, Paula Jean Welden, and Sharon Buis set out into nature and were never seen again. These stories remind us...

Survival can come in a lot of forms. Sometimes it’s sheer willpower. Sometimes it’s faith. Sometimes it’s a stroke of luck. But in some survival stories, the reason people make it home safe isn’t any of those things—it’s their dog. In today’s stories these dogs were upgraded from man’s best friend to hero. Episode Sources: Huffpost , ABC7 NY , The Guardian , AKC , VNews , CBS News , People , USA T...

Glacier National Park. Known as the Crown of the Continent, it’s one of the most stunning—and rugged—landscapes in North America. With jagged peaks, alpine lakes, hidden glaciers, and winding trails that take you deep into the wilderness, it draws millions of visitors every year. But behind its beauty lies danger. The park’s cliffs, rivers, and weather can turn a day of adventure into a fight for...

American Fork Canyon is beautiful with quiet trails, mountain views, and fresh air. But in 2018, it was also the location of a mystery that lasted more than a year after Jerika Binks went for a morning run and never returned. Sources Runners World 1 Runners World 2 Fox 13 News Runners World 3 Yahoo News Vocal Media Strange Outdoors Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a month, with benefits...

In 2023, Chelsea Grimm vanished on a road trip through northern Arizona. Strange sightings, abandoned belongings, and cryptic messages hint at a story no one fully understands. Where was she heading—and what really happened along the way? Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a month, with benefits starting at the $3 tier! Follow us on  Instagram  at offthetrailspodcast Follow us on  Facebook...

Yosemite National Park is famous for its granite cliffs, thundering waterfalls, and breathtaking valleys, but over the years, more than 30 people have vanished here without explanation. Today we’ll share the stories of a few who went into the park but never returned. Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a month, with benefits starting at the $3 tier! Follow us on  Instagram  at offthetrailsp...

She had climbed every 14er in Colorado in just over two weeks, conquered some of the most grueling multi-day adventure races in the world, and pushed her body beyond what most would consider humanly possible. But in December of 2006, it wasn’t a race course or a competition that nearly killed Danelle Ballengee- it was a solo training run just outside her home in Moab, Utah. What followed was a bru...

The Australian outback doesn’t often give second chances. Enduring weeks in the wilderness easily pushes the limits of what humans can survive. With incredible stories of survival sometimes come controversy, questions and suspicion. Support us on Patreon  for as little as $1 a month, with benefits starting at the $3 tier! Follow us on  Instagram  at offthetrailspodcast Follow us on  Facebook  at O...