National Park After Dark – Trail Tales 86 (Ep. 351)

Release Date: January 29, 2026
Hosts: Danielle & Cassie
Podcast Theme: Two friends sharing chilling, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious stories centered on the wild, weird, and occasionally spooky experiences people have in and around national parks and wild public lands.

Episode Overview

This Trail Tales edition kicks off National Park After Dark’s anniversary week with Danielle and Cassie sharing listener-submitted travel and outdoor adventure stories. From near-abductions in the Arctic Circle to almost running out of fuel in a tiny airplane, embarrassing slopeside mishaps, and mysterious missing time in the Smoky Mountains, this episode weaves together suspenseful, funny, and supernatural experiences. Alongside these stories, Danielle and Cassie banter candidly, reflect on lessons learned, and tie the tales back to their own misadventures and insights about staying safe in the wild.

Key Stories & Discussion Segments

1. Almost Abducted in the Arctic Circle

[00:47 – 10:46]
Storyteller: Allison (read by Danielle)

• Summary: Allison, an adventurous solo traveler, recounts a harrowing Northern Lights excursion in Tromsø, Norway. After all reputable tours are canceled due to a blizzard, she books the only one still running. A suspicious, emoji-laden WhatsApp contact picks her up—driving a beat-up black SUV with two men inside. Inside a snowstorm, the guide locks Allison and another silent American tourist in the car, disappears for half an hour, returns with mystery red liquid (“It’s a surprise”), and ultimately drives them back to town in silence when the weather never clears.
• Notable Moments:
  • On ignoring red flags:
    “Red flag number one should have been that all the reputable tour companies had canceled and this was the only one still running. But I was blinded by hope…” —Allison, read by Danielle [03:19]
  • On solo travel and risk:
    “As long as you do it safely, you can have some of the best experiences of your life…Enjoy the view, but watch your back.” —Allison, read by Danielle [08:41]
  • Host reactions:
    • “I think I would be, not cool with this. I’d be…finding sharp things in my pocket.” —Danielle [05:49]
    • “I hope you weren’t drugged. Let’s just say that.” —Cassie [10:50]
  • Casual reflection: Both hosts relate with times they ignored their intuition in pursuit of adventure.

2. Should I Laugh or Cry?

[12:36 – 24:32]
Storyteller: Mary from Mountain View (read by Cassie)

• Summary: Mary tells of a dizzying flight in a tiny Cessna from New Mexico to Lake Powell with her pilot husband and friends in 1989. After getting sick and vomiting—into Tupperware provided by Liz, the other wife—Mary thinks embarrassment is the worst of it. Suddenly, the engine dies midair; their pilot husbands have to switch to a reserve fuel tank on the fly. They survive, but the postscript reveals Liz was upset her Tupperware wasn’t returned!
• Notable Quotes:
  • “I would have been like, my husband has never been more attractive than in this moment…” —Danielle [24:32]
  • “Instead of being happy or relieved, Liz was annoyed. She wanted hers back.” —Mary (read by Cassie) [22:48]
  • Host stories: Danielle and Cassie riff on Tupperware used for pet urine and other fluids, reminiscing about veterinary jobs.
• Lesson:
  When flying (especially in the “olden days”), always check your fuel, and maybe don’t bring back the Tupperware.

3. Impatience in Peru

[27:21 – 35:47]
Storyteller: Unnamed listener (read by Danielle)

• Summary: A woman and her boyfriend (now husband) embark on ambitious Peruvian hikes soon after they start dating. After nearly blacking out from altitude sickness during one trek, their relationship faces a new test: during a harrowing ascent out of Colca Canyon, the boyfriend leaves her—along with her pack and passport—when she has to take an emergency bathroom break. She’s furious, but eventually retrieves both the boyfriend and the pack (with the help of an entrepreneurial mule driver) and continues on to happier adventures.
• Host reactions:
  • “I would be so mad. I don’t know if I would recover from that quickly.” —Cassie [32:52]
  • “He must have really made up for it in other ways after that fiasco.” —Danielle [32:58]
• Personal reflections: Danielle and Cassie reminisce on their own couple-dynamics while hiking, discussing empathy, patience, and physical endurance on group treks.

4. Sometimes Your Significant Other Can Believe in You Too Much

[38:03 – 43:25]
Storyteller: Unnamed listener (read by Cassie)

• Summary: During a family ski trip in Bavaria, a listener’s husband, a former snowboarding instructor, overestimates her abilities, leading her straight onto a brutal “red” (advanced) run. She ends up “butt scooting” the entire way down the icy drop-offs in a neon green helmet, visible for all, as toddlers sail by in “Kinderland.” Humiliated but ultimately safe, she shares the importance of knowing your limits (and understanding trail markings abroad).
• Notable Quotes:
  • “Narrator voice: she could not handle this.” —Listener (read by Cassie) [39:04]
  • “So there I was for at least an hour, butt scooting, sliding, falling down a mountain in a neon green helmet. Highly visible, unmistakable. A beacon of failure.” —Listener (read by Cassie) [42:05]
• Hosts share their own struggles with sporty partners and learning curves on the slopes.

5. Smoky Mountains Alien Abduction?

[50:26 – 61:08]
Storyteller: Unnamed listener (read by Danielle)

• Summary: While celebrating at a “fish party” near the Great Smoky Mountains, the storyteller and her boyfriend black out for five hours after escorting a friend home. They later learn that their microdosing, alien-obsessed friends felt they’d communicated with extraterrestrials exactly at the same time. The couple debates whether they were really abducted or possibly drugged.
• Hosts’ candid takes:
  • “Girl, I just…You got drugged? Yeah. That’s my opinion…” —Cassie [54:52]
  • “To just lose five hours of time…” —Danielle [55:39]
• Personal analogs: Both hosts describe incidents of being drugged unknowingly, emphasizing the importance of caution and that not all missing time is supernatural.

6. New Year Whose Bones?

[61:14 – 71:03]
Storyteller: Chris (read by Cassie)

• Summary: Chris and her husband, Scott, encounter disturbingly “settled” graves and a visible bone during a New Year’s Day stroll in an old cemetery. Scott, ever curious, unearths the bone—sparking a series of calls to friends in local law enforcement who confirm (after much confusion) that it’s thankfully a deer bone, not a human arm. The incident prompts a brief sidebar into recent “real-life” grave robbing news.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “I tell him he’s definitely getting haunted and take a couple steps away from him.” —Chris (read by Cassie) [63:15]
• Hosts’ digressions: Discussion of true crime media, social media desensitization, and algorithm horror.

Notable Quotes & Banter Highlights

• “You get tunnel vision…that’s where it can get dangerous. Because all your senses are just like, whatever, who cares, let’s ignore all these feelings.” —Cassie [10:30]
• “My only friend that I knew was drugged in the bathroom…So I waited until [the suspect] left and then I walked home by myself.” —Danielle, sharing a cautionary college story [59:42]
• “So there I was...butt scooting, sliding, falling down a mountain in a neon green helmet. Highly visible, unmistakable. A beacon of failure.” —Listener (read by Cassie) [42:05]
• “Remember, enjoy the view. But even in a cemetery, maybe especially in a cemetery—watch your back.” —Chris (read by Cassie) [65:25]

Host Insights & Takeaways

• Both Danielle and Cassie emphasize the importance of listening to intuition, preparing for emergencies, and respecting one’s limits, especially when traveling or adventuring in remote places.
• The show consistently blends practical advice with humor and empathy; the hosts frequently remind listeners to “enjoy the view, but watch your back,” encapsulating their ethos of mindful adventure.
• Personal stories (from being left by partners on a trail to being drugged at parties) help create a relatable, authentic atmosphere.

Timestamps Overview

• 00:47–10:46: Arctic Circle near-abduction story
• 12:36–24:32: Vomit and near-disaster in a Cessna
• 27:21–35:47: Poop panic and abandonment in the Colca Canyon
• 38:03–43:25: Skiing humiliation in Bavaria
• 50:26–61:08: “Missing time” and alleged alien abduction in the Smokies
• 61:14–71:03: Bone in a graveyard on New Year’s Day

Tone & Style

• Casual, conversational, and often comedic, while handling safety, consent, and caution respectfully and empathetically.
• Banter and relatable anecdotes reinforce the sense of community among outdoor lovers, experienced travelers, and park fans.

Takeaways for Listeners

• Adventure is thrilling, but intuition and preparation matter.
• Embrace the unexpected—plan for mishaps when heading into parks or the wild.
• When traveling solo, double-check credentials and be wary of “last resort” options.
• Ski slopes—and boyfriends—are not always as reliable as advertised.
• Leave Tupperware used for bodily fluids behind.
• Even the supernatural sometimes has a logical explanation (but keep an open mind).
• If you stumble across bones, maybe don’t touch them—or at least be ready for a call from the coroner.

[Enjoy the view, but watch your back!]