National Parks & Survival Podcast

Wildlands News Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival

Society EN ↓ 4 episodes

Wildlands News Podcast is an audio field guide to America's wild places, national parks, forests, monuments, and the public lands most shows overlook. Hosted by a former Army officer, Shawn Spainhour brings the discipline of someone trained where preparation was life-or-death and the curiosity of someone who explores these places for the love of it. Every marquee park gets a multi-part series: the history that shaped it, the visit that prepares you for it, and where to stay when you get there. Between parks, standalone Field Skills episodes cover the survival knowledge that keeps people alive...

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National Parks & Survival Podcast

Episodes

#004 - Field Skills: Altitude | Reading Your Body Above 10,000 Feet 03.07.2026 19:59

The thin air on a high summit is the single thing most likely to turn a great day into a dangerous one — and fitness won't save you from it. This Field Skills episode is the survival companion to the Great Basin trilogy, built for anyone eyeing Wheeler Peak or any climb above 10,000 feet. Host Shawn Spainhour, a former Army officer, breaks down what altitude actually does to your body and why a ma...

#003 - Great Basin, Part 3: Where to Stay | Campgrounds, Baker & Dark-Sky Lodging 02.07.2026 16:03

Where to actually sleep at Great Basin National Park — the park with no lodge, no hotel inside the gates, and one of the darkest night skies in the country. This is the practical close-out to the Great Basin trilogy: the campgrounds, the tiny gateway town of Baker, Nevada, and what to do when everything fills up. Host Shawn Spainhour, a former Army officer, walks you up the mountain campground by...

#002 - Great Basin, Part 2: The Visit | Lehman Caves Tours, Wheeler Peak & Dark Skies 30.06.2026 33:05

Everything you need to actually visit Great Basin National Park — one of the most remote and least-crowded parks in the country. This is the practical guide: how to get to Baker, Nevada off "the Loneliest Road in America," how to book a Lehman Caves tour before it sells out, and how to stand on top of 13,000-foot Wheeler Peak without getting hurt. Host Shawn Spainhour, a former Army officer, walks...

#001 - Great Basin, Part 1: The History | Lehman Caves & the Oldest Trees on Earth 28.06.2026 40:52

The story of Great Basin National Park — how a remote Nevada mountain came to hold a cave, a glacier, and the oldest living things on Earth. From the tropical sea that built the rock half a billion years ago, to Lehman Caves and its 300+ rare shield formations, to the bristlecone pines that were already ancient when the pyramids were new — this is the deep history of one of America's youngest and...