National Park After Dark

Today’s stories include survival of the fittest, mistaken identities, mythical rangers, badass advocates and legendary names. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In May of 1988 a young couple set out for a weekend of alone time in the woods, but only one would make it out alive. After being viciously gunned down at their campsite off the Appalachian Trail in a heinous act of violence fueled by hate, Claudia Brenner struggled to survive, but ultimately went on to share their story, and went on to become a fierce advocate for LBGTQ safety and justice. Documentary: In the Hollow Books: Eight Bullets: One Woman's Story of Surviving Anti-Gay Violence For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to this week’s partners! 3DayBlinds: For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to http://3DayBlinds.com/NPAD Coyuchi: Get 15% off your first order when you visit http://Coyuchi.com/NPAD IQ Bar: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to National Park After Dark. Join us every week as we explore the dark side of our beloved National Parks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early 1900s, explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen and a young mechanic named Iver Iversen traveled to northeast Greenland. Their mission? To recover the lost records of a doomed expedition that proved Greenland was a single landmass under Danish control. When their ship was crushed by ice and their crew departed, the mission turned into years of starvation and isolation in what has since become the world’s largest national park. For a complete list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes For the latest NPAD updates, group travel opportunities, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to this week’s partners! 3DayBlinds: For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to 3DayBlinds.com/NPAD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s stories include haunted cabins, fake moose, symbolic dragonflies, probable alien abductions and a whole lot of yapping. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Hollow Socks: For a limited time Hollow Socks is having a Buy 2, Get 2 Free Sale. Head to Hollowsocks.com today to check it out. #HollowSockspod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Established in 1926 as one of America’s OG highways, Route 66 linked over 2,000 miles of the country from Illinois to California. Although long since decommissioned, in today’s episode, we make eight stops along the iconic route from mansions to battlefields to visit old haunts of the past.Sources:Urge Congress to Support National Historic Trail Designation for Route 66NPS Preservation Program NPS Route 66 - Corridor Preservation Program For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Ka'Chava: Go to https://kachava.com and use code NPAD for 15% off your first order.Smalls: Smalls New Year’s Special - get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to Smalls.com/NPAD.Cash App: Download Cash App Today: [https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/ejy661fu] #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions at https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Cash App Green, overdraft coverage, borrow, cash back offers and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit http://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.MILL: Try Mill risk-free for 90 days and get $75 off at mill.com/NPAD and use code NPAD at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In October of 2015, 21 year old Dutch medical student Sophia Koetsier vanished inside Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda, a place with strong river currents and dangerous wildlife. When Sophia’s belongings were found along the Nile River, investigators were quick to jump to an explanation, but many argue that the scene left more questions than answers. If you have any information regard Sophia’s disappearance please email tip@peterrdevries.nl and visit https://www.findsophia.org For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!IM8: Follow our link and use code NPAD for a Free Welcome Kit, five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order.Naked Wines: To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to NakedWines.com/NPAD and use code NPAD for both the code AND PASSWORD.Blueland: Use our link to get 15% off your first order.IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s stories include drug smuggling, lightning trauma, beaver attacks, childhood confessions and dirtbag dads. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Hello Fresh: Use our link to get get 10 free meals + a FREE Zwilling Knife (a$144.99 value) on your third box.SelectQuote: Life insurance is never cheaper than it is today. Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, and save more than fifty percent at selectquote.com/npadAvocado Green Mattress: Get 15% off mattresses at AvocadoGreenMattress.com/NPADFora Travel: Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/NPAD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We hear “the outdoors are for everyone” a lot, and while that is true, accessibility to the outdoors is not always created equal. Today’s episode is dedicated to two remarkable stories of people with disabilities reaching for history in National Parks. A group of paraplegic hikers who set out to climb Guadalupe Peak in wheelchairs and two kayakers who paddled through the Grand Canyon—facing some of the hardest whitewater in the world—completely blind. Documentaries: Assault on the Mountain, The Weight of Water, Blink, Wampler’s Ascent Books: No Barriers: A Blind Man's Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon by Buddy Levy and Erik Weihenmayer ​​Touch the Top of the World by Erik Weihenmayer Podcasts: No Barriers For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!BetterHelp: National Park After Dark is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off.Butcher Box: Head to ButcherBox.com/NPAD to sign up. New listeners get their choice between filet mignon, ny strip, or chicken breast in every box for a year, free shipping, PLUS $20 off your first box.Liquid IV: Use our code NPAD at checkout to get 20% off your first order.3 Day Blinds: For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to 3DayBlinds.com/NPAD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the mid-2000s, hikers began disappearing from national forests across the southeastern United States, with their bodies later found in remote areas of the parks. When investigators compared timelines and locations, a pattern emerged. The disappearances were connected by a man who moved easily through public land, blending into trail culture and exploiting the trust shared between strangers in the outdoors. When a woman vanishes, investigators race against time to find her and the identity of the perpetrator to stop further killings.Sources: Wild Crime: Blood Mountain https://www.detpress.com/abcnews/shows/wild-crime/episodes People.com | Celebrity News, Exclusives, Photos and Videos National Forest Serial Killer Confesses to 2007 Dismemberment and Murder of Nurse in Florida: 'It's Time' https://www.ajc.com/news/local/crime-scene-photos-request-sparks-privacy-debate/JR2QrnIXxk5ht6UDxX3DAO/ https://www.rcfp.org/georgia-rushes-pass-crime-photo-exemption-records-law/ https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/gary-michael-hilton-sentenced-four-life-sentences For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Smalls: Smalls New Year’s Special - get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to Smalls.com/NPAD.Quince: Use our link to get free shipping and 365-day returns.IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping.Soul: For 30% off your order, head to GetSoul.com and use code NPAD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s stories include almost abductions, cemetery shenanigans, shared trauma and men saving (and ruining) the day. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Cash App: Download Cash App Today: [https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/ejy661fu] #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions at https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Direct Deposit, Overdraft Coverage and Discounts provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit http://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.Bellesa: EVERYONE who signs up wins a FREE WhisperVibe™ OR a FREE Rose toy with any Whisper™ order! https://www.bboutique.co/vibe/nationalparkafterdark-podcastOllie: Cozy up with your pup this season! Go to ollie.com/npad and use code npad to get 60% off your first box!IM8: Follow our link and use code NPAD for a Free Welcome Kit, five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Take a stroll down memory lane as we reflect on the last five years of NPAD. Come laugh with us (and at us) while we look back on some of the memorable moments that brought us to where we are today. For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Naked Wines: To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to NakedWines.com/NPAD and use code NPAD for both the code AND PASSWORD.Coyuchi: Get 15% off your first order when you visit Coyuchi.com/npad.3 Day Blinds: For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to 3DayBlinds.com/NPAD.MILL: Try Mill risk-free for 90 days and get $75 off at mill.com/NPAD and use code NPAD at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever since September of 1992, when Chris McCandless was found deceased inside a bus in remote Alaska, the story of why he chose to walk into wilderness has captivated the world. Chris has been idolized, questioned, criticized and immortalized by strangers for decades. Books have been written and movies have been made to share his fascinating story, but were incomplete in their tellings. In 2014, Carine, Chris’s sister published her own version of the story we have come to know as Into the Wild. In her heartbreaking memoir, the world gets a view into their world, and a chance to understand Chris in a brand new way, through the eyes of the person who knew and loved him the most. Banff film festival tickets For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping.BetterHelp: National Park After Dark is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off.Blueland: Use our link to get 15% off your first order.Butcher Box: Head to ButcherBox.com/NPAD to sign up. New listeners get their choice between filet mignon, ny strip, or chicken breast in every box for a year, free shipping, PLUS $20 off your first box. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Valley of Shadows is a new true crime podcast that digs into a nearly 30-year old secret buried in the California desert. On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Aujay set out for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park — and never came back. Aujay has yet to be found. The Sheriff’s Department rules Aujay’s disappearance a suicide, but friends, family, and fellow deputies insist the story doesn’t add up. Instead, they believe Aujay may have stumbled into the Mojave Desert’s criminal underworld — where outlaw biker gangs crank out methamphetamine and local cops operate on both sides of the law. Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, journalists Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd explore one of Southern California’s most mysterious missing person cases. In Valley of Shadows, they ask: What is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department hiding? Find Valley of Shadows wherever you get podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s stories include prank fails, questionable evidence, bear saviors, damned girls trips, and mountain flavored Disneyworlds. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers! For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Ollie: Cozy up with your pup this season! Go to ollie.com/npad and use code npad to get 60% off your first box!Coyuchi: Get 15% off your first order when you visit Coyuchi.com/npad.Soul: For 30% off your order, head to GetSoul.com and use code NPAD.Fora Travel: Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/NPAD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the previous episode, a catastrophic fall high on Siula Grande forced an impossible decision. With Joe badly injured and hanging in space, Simon cut the rope, believing his climbing partner was lost. Now, high in the Cordillera Huayhuash Reserve, both men must attempt to get off the mountain alive. Joe is alone with a shattered leg and no supplies. Simon is stranded high on the face with night closing in and no clear way down. Survival is no longer about the climb, but about whether either of them can endure what comes next. For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners!Liquid IV: Use our code NPAD at checkout to get 20% off your first order.Avocado Green Mattress: Get 15% off mattresses at AvocadoGreenMattress.com/NPADHello Fresh: Use our link to get get 10 free meals + a FREE Zwilling Knife (a$144.99 value) on your third box.SelectQuote: Life insurance is never cheaper than it is today. Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, and save more than fifty percent at selectquote.com/npad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

High in the Cordillera Huayhuash Reserve of the Peruvian Andes, two British climbers attempt the first ascent of the West Face of Siula Grande. The mountain is remote, unforgiving, and lethal to mistakes. After reaching the summit, a catastrophic accident during the descent forces a decision that places survival and death on opposite ends of a single rope.For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to the week’s partners!Quince: Use our link to get free shipping and 365-day returns.IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping.Smalls: Smalls New Year’s Special - get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to Smalls.com/NPAD.BetterHelp: National Park After Dark is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s stories include pizza in Zion, getting stalked, mule saviors, mysterious trapezoids, and pooping lake water. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to the week’s partners! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not many of us would accept a job that risked life and limb, but for a brief moment in time, young men did just that - just to carry the mail. It may have only been in operation for 18 months, but the legacy of the Pony Express has lasted generations. A 2,000 mile horseback ride from Missouri to California posed risks of all kinds, but with no telegraph wires or trains connecting the coasts, brave men and their trusty steeds stepped up and battled the elements, warring nations and each other to keep the nation connected.Banff Film Festival Tickets The Pony Express Re-Ride / Letters!For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to the week’s partners!Ka'Chava: Go to https://kachava.com and use code NPAD. New customers get twenty dollars off an order of two bags or more, January 1st through 31st! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fayetteville, West Virginia sits on the edge of the New River Gorge, a small Appalachian town now known as a gateway to one of America’s newest national parks. But on Christmas Eve in 1945, it became the setting for one of the most haunting unsolved mysteries in American history. After a house fire destroyed the home of George and Jennie Sodder, five of their children vanished without a trace, leaving behind conflicting investigations, reported sightings, unsettling clues, and a decades-long search for answers.For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to the week’s partners!Cash App: Download Cash App Today: [https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/ejy661fu] #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions at https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Direct Deposit, Overdraft Coverage and Discounts provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit http://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.Rocket Money: Use our link to get started saving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices