Morbid Outdoors

In 2021, search crews at Grand Canyon National Park made an unexpected discovery while looking for another missing person: skeletal remains believed to be of another missing person. His backpack had been found years earlier with prescription bottles bearing his name, but no trace of him was located until the 2021 aerial search. His remains were there the whole time, blending into the canyon until chance and persistence finally brought him home.Sources:https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/8-facts-about-grand-canyon-you-never-knewhttps://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm\https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/body-of-hungarian-man-missing-since-july-recovered-in-grand-canyonhttps://npshistory.com/morningreport/incidents/grca.htmhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-canyon-search-human-remains-scott-walsh/https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Scott_Walshhttps://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/89603https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/cold-cases.htmhttps://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/gibbs-missing-person.htm?utmSupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first month of 2026 brought some interesting headlines in the natural world--from animal attacks to rescues, this month's headlines were wild. Sources:https://www.thv11.com/article/news/nation-world/colorado-woman-dies-suspected-mountain-lion-attack/507-c23ac026-e5e5-4897-871f-5811acbc3e95?fbclid=IwdGRleAPFAZZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeFaeFGJpYini2DrTiWQNHZmP10JwHlzPh-NtEgHrspvyHj3wzhnZLTUla9i4_aem_4H4diXeXFAGf4wDg1WW-Pghttps://people.com/teen-vanished-on-mountain-without-phone-days-later-he-walked-over-12-miles-to-safety-11879774https://people.com/sos-signal-leads-to-rescue-hypothermic-teen-hiker-after-7-hour-search-11882589https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/washington-county/ten-hikers-rescued-from-yankee-doodle-canyon-in-washington-countyhttps://katu.com/news/local/two-missing-climbers-found-dead-at-9600-ft-elevation-in-mount-rainier-national-park-hiking-outdoors-recreation-snow-cold-forecast-storm-temperature-investigation-search-rescue-permit-teamhttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-22/hiker-dies-mt-whitney-third-fatality-of-seasonhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/23/two-confirmed-dead-and-more-presumed-buried-after-landslides-hit-house-and-campground-in-new-zealandhttps://people.com/15-hikers-rescued-from-utah-canyon-in-same-day-11891061#:~:text=Fifteen%20hikers%20were%20rescued%20from,Yankee%20Doodle%20Canyon%2C%20Backpacker%20reported.Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was the summer of 1933, and Rocky Mountain National Park was still young — wild, untamed, and only partly mapped. On August 15th, a 22-year-old University of Chicago student set out on a solo hike. He told his friend he was heading toward Taylor Peak — just another day in the mountains before he had to return home to Chicago. But he never came back and his disappearance remains unsolved to this day. This is one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s oldest active missing persons cases.Tips: You can call the Colorado Bureau of Investigation 303-239-5764 or the Glendale Police Department 303-759-1511. Sources:https://charleyproject.org/case/joseph-laurence-halpernhttps://www.dailycamera.com/2010/01/24/joseph-halperns-family-continues-search-for-lost-hiker/https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/4185dmco.htmlhttps://defrostingcoldcases.com/guest-post-joseph-halpern-part-1-by-silvia-pettem/https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2018/08/10/inside-rocky-mountain-national-parks-1933-missing-hiker-mystery-joe-halpern/940601002/https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/national-park-service-finds-rudi-moder-hiker-missing-38-years/Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mount Everest: the world’s highest peak above sea level. It's iconic and stands against the sky like a giant. Everest is covered in snow and ice…and dead bodies. It is famous for its “Death Zone” which has extremely thin air, making breathing difficult, requiring supplemental oxygen for climbers. This beautiful mountain is dotted with many climbers who never made their way down. Sources:https://www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/mount-everest-bodies-left-dead-frozen-at-the-top/https://www.instagram.com/p/C8svfgApUsy/?hl=enhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everesthttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/climbing-mount-everest-1Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Utah has many missing persons cases and mysteries within its national forests and national parks. One of those happen to be the disappearance of a Finnish man who went missing in the Ashley National Forest in March 2025. He went to look for gold in the Uinta mountains and hasn’t been seen since. He is just a young man far from home, drawn to a wilderness he may not have fully understood. In places like this, it doesn’t take a dramatic moment for things to go wrong — just cold, isolation, and one missed turn.Tips: If you have any information about Onni’s whereabouts or have been in contact with him, please reach out to Cpt. John Crowley at Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office by calling 435-738-1126 or emailing jcrowley@duchesne.utah.gov.Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_National_Foresthttps://www.deseret.com/1989/6/15/18811507/moon-lake-unique-yet-little-known/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Rhoades_Minehttps://kamasvalleyhistory.org/2020/05/11/the-lost-rhoads-mine-the-back-rhodes-of-our-genealogy/https://www.foxnews.com/us/tourist-vanishes-after-leaving-utah-airport-backpack-mountainshttps://www.is.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000011139740.htmlhttps://www.abc4.com/news/missing-in-utah/duchesne-county-man/https://www.kpcw.org/state-regional/2025-04-02/finnish-man-missing-in-uintas-duchesne-county-sheriff-sayshttps://websleuths.com/threads/ut-onni-llmari-raassina-29-came-to-visit-utah-from-finland-missing-since-5-march-2025.740278/https://disappearedblog.com/justin-coursey/https://www.westkentuckystar.com/Obituaries/Funeral-Homes/Lindsey-Funeral-Home-(1)/Justin-Wayne-CourseySupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When taking in the sights at beautiful overlooks many people don’t give a second thought to if the platform they’re standing on is safe…because why wouldn’t it be? But what happens when governments don’t appropriately fund high tourist areas such as national parks? When parks are underfunded and people still visit, fatalities are more likely to occur. This is what happened in Paparoa National Park in April of 1995. Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paparoa_National_Parkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_Creek_disasterhttps://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/14-die-cave-creek#:~:text=On%20April%2028%2C%201995%2C%2014%20people%20died,the%2014%20deceased%20were%20recovered%20by%20nightfall.https://cavecreek.weebly.com/long-term-consequences.htmlhttps://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/28/sadness-gratitude-cave-creek-survivors-reflect-30-years-on/Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Nature News, where we bring you the latest headlines from the wild places that shape our world — and sometimes take us by surprise. From hikers trapped in quicksand to ancient lakes returning after decades, here’s what nature has been telling us this past month. Sources:https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/hiker-trapped-quicksand-arches-national-park/https://people.com/human-remains-believed-to-be-missing-kayaker-found-river-nevada-11864854https://amp.fresnobee.com/news/california/article313522123.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/05/karl-bushby-walk-around-world/https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/death-valleys-ancient-lake-returned-173807792.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHhuxw-IzSi8xRP7GbKT0XRLiVhcMKbs81bByK3jADBAQQYRWukhBdG2kmVoEuZSjVdKXCNN5tBXMilFhP8sq8kWVDGwgUZHqzgGi4zQEnOCY9Oyssc8Y3xWXc5VIbHps7PAW1Dl2t41QQhk_-bYnXPjJ1I3t83Or_qKAf-jYTfPhttps://www.ksl.com/article/51418439/great-salt-lakes-latest-species-discovery-gets-a-name-fit-for-the-lakes-native-historyhttps://www.ksl.com/article/51418184/backcountry-santas-deliver-christmas-to-navajo-nation-familieshttps://www.vice.com/en/article/worlds-largest-dinosaur-tracks-site-found-in-bolivia/https://people.com/womans-car-found-in-parking-lot-near-national-park-days-after-she-was-reported-missing-11873381https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cz7n4px7e41ohttps://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/12/26/lds-church-returns-sacred/https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/3-hikers-found-dead-search-rescue-effort-mount/story?id=128787732Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Horror doesn’t come from nowhere. Some of the most unsettling films we watch in the dark are rooted in something real — a crime, a disappearance, a moment that was too strange to ignore. Art imitates life, and in horror, it often does so with disturbing precision. And maybe that’s why these movies hit harder than pure fiction. Because somewhere beneath the jump scares and soundtracks, there’s a reminder that the most frightening stories are the ones that already happened.Join me for a fun NYE special episode! I had the pleasure of having Ryan & Chris from Roasted Snow Horror Show on to talk about what they know best: horror movies. I love the horror genre and I could talk about horror movies all day. So we got together to discuss outdoor horror films (& went on lots of tangents!) Ryan and Chris are so fun and their podcast is very entertaining, I can’t recommend it enough. Check them out & go give them a follow. Happy New Year everyone! Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In July 2010, an experienced outdoorsman goes missing while with friends during a climb on Mount Rainier. Mount Rainier is majestic, but it’s also merciless. Eric’s story is a haunting reminder that even experts can vanish—and often without explanation. His disappearance remains one of Mount Rainier’s most baffling modern mysteries, a reminder of how quickly climbers can be swallowed by the mountain’s brutal weather and treacherous terrain.Sources:https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/eric-lewishttps://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201109100/Climber-Unties-from-Team-Disappears-During-Severe-Weather-Inexperienced-Climbing-Partners-Washington-Mount-Rainier-Gibraltar-LedgesSupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mojave Desert can look endless from above — all pale rock, broken sun, and silence. But for two hikers in July 2017, that silence became something else entirely. Three months after going missing, their bodies were found under a tree and left everyone with more questions than answers. Sources:https://people.com/crime/joshua-tree-murder-suicide-california/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41702369https://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/06/autopsy-offers-few-clues-in-murder-suicide-of-couple-in-joshua-tree/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/park-hikers-may-have-died-sympathetic-murder-suicide-n813046Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, ranchers across the American West have stumbled upon scenes that defy explanation: perfectly healthy cattle found dead overnight, organs removed with surgical precision, no blood, no tracks, no signs of struggle. From Colorado’s windswept plains to the deserts of New Mexico, these cases have become part of rural legend — and one of the strangest unsolved mysteries in modern American history.Sources:https://unsolved.com/gallery/mysterious-mutilations/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_mutilationhttps://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/26/think-out-loud-rural-oregon-cattle-mutilation-documentary-not-one-drop-of-blood/https://vault.fbi.gov/Animal%20Mutilationhttps://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/767283820/not-one-drop-of-blood-cattle-mysteriously-mutilated-in-oregonhttps://www.abc4.com/news/crime/carbon-county-cattle-mutilation/https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/01/10/investigation-into-13-dead-cows/Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1989, a chilling mystery unfolded high in the rugged wilderness of Japan’s Daisetsuzan National Park. Near the slopes of Mount Asahidake, rescuers responding to a hand-carved SOS sign stumbled upon a gruesome discovery — a human skeleton lying beside it. At first glance, it seemed like a tragic but straightforward case: but it was anything but. What began as a routine recovery in the Japanese mountains turned into one of the country’s most perplexing unsolved outdoor mysteries — a haunting reminder that sometimes, even cries for help can hide secrets of their own.Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisetsuzan_National_Parkhttps://www.alltrails.com/trail/japan/hokkaido/daisetsuzan-national-park-grand-traverse--3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOS_incidenthttps://www.historicmysteries.com/history/kenji-iwamura/36136/https://vocal.media/criminal/the-sos-sign-that-no-one-made-japan-s-strangest-hiking-mysteryhttps://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Asahidake_John_DoeSupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Nature News, November 2025 Edition. On this episode, we travel across canyons, coasts, glaciers, forests, and mountains — touching on real stories of nature’s beauty, danger, and unpredictability. Some are tragic. Some are surreal. All are a reminder of the raw power and complexity of the wild.Sources:https://www.foxcarolina.comThe Guardianwbir.comABC NewsPeople.comSupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re heading deep into Washington’s Olympic National Park — a place where mist hangs heavy in the ancient forests, and where the line between the living and the lost grows thin. From the storm-battered beaches of Rialto and Ruby, to the moss-draped silence of the Hoh Rain Forest, this landscape feels alive — watching, listening. Join us for today's installment of Haunted Parks.Sources:https://www.myolympicpark.com/park/history/the-lady-of-crescent-lake/https://thenationsvacation.com/travel_guide/national-park-ghost-stories/https://seattleterrors.com/olympic-national-park/https://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htmSupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

National parks are supposed to be peaceful—untouched slices of wilderness. But dig through the right reports, and you’ll find something else: the weird stuff. The unsettling stuff. The “what the hell actually happened out there?” stuff. Join us for part two of bizarre incident reports from various national parks.Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In October 2020 a University of Washington professor and avid outdoorsman, set out on a solo overnight hike in Mount Rainier National Park. He was last seen on October 9th, and when he failed to return the next day, a massive search effort began. To this day, his disappearance remains an unsolved mystery, a haunting reminder of how even experienced hikers can vanish in the vast wilderness of our national parks. Tips: Mount Rainier NP at 360-569-2211 or mora_dispatch@nps.govSources:https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP74986https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/sam-dubalhttps://ls.berkeley.edu/news/dr-sam-dubalhttps://www.cnn.com/2020/10/23/us/missing-uw-professor-sam-dubal-trndSupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a silent epidemic that has been happening for decades on our federal lands. Everyone loves recreating in national recreation areas, national forests, and national parks. But there’s an unseen danger about these places: you could become a missing person and there would be little done to bring you back into the known. Sources:https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/leave-no-trace/https://www.newsnationnow.com/travel/mystery-missing-persons-national-parks/https://dailycaller.com/2016/03/17/interior-dept-spent-15-million-on-a-crime-database-that-doesnt-work/https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/cold-cases.htmhttps://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2018/11/gone-missing-national-parkshttps://www.goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/60473-california-u-s-senator-alex-padilla-announces-the-senate-passes-legislation-to-help-find-missing-persons-on-federal-landhttps://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2120https://nypost.com/2020/07/04/why-hundreds-of-people-vanish-into-the-american-wilderness/https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/questions-answers/national-park-statshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1038/textSupport the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On September 24, 2013, two friends set out to hike in Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument but never returned. The remote volcanic landscape is known for its rugged terrain, lava fields, and extreme weather conditions. Their tragic disappearance underscores both the unforgiving nature of the monument and the dangers of venturing into isolated wilderness without adequate preparation.Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tonight, on this Halloween-leaning episode, we’re going on a journey across America — coast to coast, forest to canyon, swamp to cliff — to explore 13 trails where something other than wind might be watching. These are hikes with history. With tragedy. With ghosts. With stories that linger in the trees.So grab your headlamp, pull up the hood, step off the beaten path—and let’s go where the wild gets uneasy.Sources:https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/destinations/haunted-hikes/Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This October, we have stories of bears, bison, caves, skulls… nature’s power and reminders that the wilderness is not always polite. So pull up your jacket, light your lantern in your mind, and let’s step into the wild. Tune in today for October 2025's nature news.Sources:https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/hiker-injured-in-idaho-bear-attack https://kdvr.com/news/local/black-bear-pass-closed-indefinitely-after-south-carolina-driver-ignores-warnings/amp/ https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article312341837.html https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/bear-fatally-attacked-camper-arkansas-killed-by-hunters/527-f2d01d48-74c6-49e3-bd19-c15fb40ece79 https://www.thetravel.com/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-reopened-by-local-group-funding/ https://www.aol.com/articles/spelunker-thought-she-found-trash-152700696.html https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2025/10/09/yellowstone-campers-wake-to-find-herd-of-more-than-300-rutting-bison-surrounding-their-tents/ https://www.thv11.com/article/news/nation-world/human-skull-found-indiana-2300-bc-fayette-county/507-e413a22c-50d3-4a17-81a9-f3c00a454925Support the showJoin our Patreon for bonus content! Click here!The 10 Essentials for Outdoor Recreation here.Leave No Trace (LNT) principles here.Share a "Campfire Story" for us to read on the pod! email us: morbidoutdoorspodcast@gmail.comBuy Me a Coffee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.