Pod Insights National Park After Dark Trail Tales 96 ft. LGBTQ Outdoors About this episode Today’s stories includes campsite sabotage, bigfoot gaslighting, Yosemite Valley spookiness, type 3 fun, finding belonging, and titanic-ing in Voyageurs National Park. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!
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Transcript 12,830 words · 6 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Danielle LaRock? This year, set up your holiday gifting with a little extra magic. The perfect shoes from Designer Shoe Warehouse. DSW's got holiday gifts and stocking stuffers for everyone on your list. And tis the season for a little self-gifting, too. Whether you bake all day, dance all night, carol all over town, or tiptoe under the mistletoe, DSW is your Designer Shoe Wonderland for comfy slippers, joyful party shoes, statement boots, and more. Shop in-store or visit DSW.com. DSW: Let us surprise you.
0:31 Speaker 01 Did you know that if your spouse goes missing, but you don't tell anyone, that's not necessarily a crime? That surprising fact is at the heart of the brand-new season of Bear Brook, the award-winning true crime podcast from New Hampshire Public Radio. I'm your host, Jason Moon. In season three of Private Matter, we investigate another New Hampshire mystery. A beloved Christmas tree farmer with dementia vanishes from his small town. His wife never reports him missing. Can he still be found?
1:03 Speaker 02 If you knew Jay as well as I do, he's private. He doesn't want everybody to know his business.
1:11 Speaker 03 Beth, I don't believe you.
1:14 Danielle LaRock? I kind of revert back to that Bear Brook saying, what if we were to just come across something?
1:19 Speaker 04 And I wrote down, she said, I found him.
1:24 Speaker 01 Follow Bear Brook on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:47 Danielle LaRock? Hello, everyone. Welcome back to National Park After Dark. We're so excited to have you all here for a Trail Tales episode. And today, we have a very special guest that you may recognize from previous episodes that we've done. We have Justin Yoder from LGBTQ Outdoors. Hello, hello.
2:05 Speaker 05 Hello. How's it going, ladies?
2:07 Danielle LaRock? Great. How are you doing?
2:09 Speaker 05 I'm doing well. You're joining Pride Month.
2:12 Danielle LaRock? Yeah, happy Pride Month. Yes, happy Pride.
2:14 Speaker 05 Happy Pride.
2:15 Danielle LaRock? The busiest time of the year. This is year three, year three that you've been with us.
2:20 Speaker 05 I know, I know, I'm, I'm looking forward to it each year, but no, I'm super excited to be here again.
2:27 Danielle LaRock? Yeah, we're excited to have you. And of course, we just got to adventure together a little bit in the Tetons, which was really fun.
2:35 Speaker 05 We did. Like, Danielle, I was so bummed you weren't there as well.
2:40 Danielle LaRock? I felt really left out and I'm, I'm over it, but I was, I had FOMO a little bit, you know, I saw your pictures and they look so nice.
2:50 Speaker 05 But do you know what? We were talking about it. You and I are gonna miss each other in Glacier National Park by like, two weeks.
2:59 Danielle LaRock? Oh, upcoming in July?
3:01 Speaker 05 Yeah, I'm gonna be there in August. You're gonna be there in July. But we're just missing each other.
3:06 Danielle LaRock? Yeah, I know. Two ships passing in the night for years.
3:09 Speaker 05 And now, we need to get on a hike. But that hike, Cassie, that was amazing. And hiking with our team, everybody just was raving about you. And for anybody that's listening, like, you, we, the listeners always say this, but it feels like we become friends with both of you because of how much we listen to you. But then, like, when we were hiking with Cassie at Jenny Lake, it was just like, yeah, she's been a friend for a long time. And the person you have in real life is the person that you're getting on the podcast. And I think that's really cool.
3:43 Danielle LaRock? Thank you. Yeah, it was so much fun. And we went out to Inspiration Point and we all got pizza and got to see the park a little bit. And it was so cool. I'm so glad that you included me and invited me. For people who are listening, and maybe this is their first time listening, this is one of the trips that you facilitate. Could you explain LGBTQ outdoors and what you guys do? And these trips that you are facilitating for people that I got to participate in?
4:11 Speaker 05 Yeah, totally. Long story short, but we are now in our seventh year. We started in June, actually Pride Month of 2019, where I started an Instagram account, because I wanted to encourage more of our community to, to get outside and also break down the stereotype that is in a lot of places that queer people don't like the outdoors. And specifically, I was looking for a group to get involved with. And here in Texas, I couldn't find that. So I just started with an Instagram account and wanted to help. Make the outdoors more queer, I guess, and try to make it so people felt like they could get out there.
4:48 Speaker 05 That eventually turned into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We have chapters across the US, so you can look us up and see if there's a chapter in your area to get involved with. That's led by ambassadors who host events from hiking, camping, backpacking, birding, all kinds of things in their communities. And then we also do a big event each year called LGBTQ Outdoor Fest, and that's going to be coming up in September. And it's basically like four days. We kind of describe it as a queer camp for adults, bringing back your childhood a little bit. But there's all kinds of outdoor workshops that people can participate in, activities, just amazing time of community together. And it's going to be in Colorado.
5:28 Speaker 05 And then we also have the trips that you actually joined us on a day for one, which was amazing because we happened to be crossing paths in Wyoming. So that was amazing. But our trips are a lot of times focused around national parks, but also giving people the opportunity to travel to just outdoor places in a group that they feel comfortable with, so that they can just truly be authentically themselves and feel safe and welcome and included in the outdoors. So that's, that's basically what we're doing, but it's a lot and it's amazing and we're having a good time with it.
6:03 Danielle LaRock? Yeah, you have a lot of things happening and a lot of events always going on. And I heard you have a newsletter, which I am such a fan of newsletters. Can I just say, like, I know we have our own too. I love making the newsletter every month. I think it's so fun, but I'm also subscribed to a lot of different ones. It's just the best way to keep informed of what's going on with your favorite creators and you have one, correct?
6:26 Speaker 05 We do. Yep. It's, it's really the best way to keep involved and up to date with what's going on with us. And we have a cool thing going on for Pride Month. So from now, when this episode comes out through the rest of June, anybody that signs up to receive our newsletter on our website is going to be entered to win a Frail Raven, who has a new partner of ours, day pack, and we're going to get five of them out. So you get a pretty, it's more than just a one chance at it. So you just go to our website, lgbdqoutdoors.com, sign up on the homepage and you're automatically entered for that drawing.
7:04 Danielle LaRock? Who doesn't love a free backpack?
7:06 Speaker 05 Right?
7:06 Danielle LaRock? Backpacks are one of my favorite accessories, truly. I have So many of them, but truly, who doesn't want a free backpack? And it's true. Every time we're on a trip, I, every time I lose her, I'm like, where is she? Oh, she's in the pack section and she always come around and she has one on. She's like, isn't this cute? I'm like, yes. Don't I need this? You have so many of them.
7:28 Speaker 05 Yeah.
7:29 Danielle LaRock? The answer is yes, it looks cute, but you have a collection.
7:33 Speaker 05 What even makes it worse for me is like, I also do photography. So I'm always trying to find the best photography backpack, the best hiking backpack and all these and I have too many bags probably, but.
7:46 Danielle LaRock? No such thing. It could be worse. We could all, you know, have a really bad addiction, you know? And I always say that to my mom. Backpacks. A harmful addiction.
8:02 Danielle LaRock? Well, this is a trail tales episode after all, so we do have trail tales to share. And Justin, you have some that you brought as well. So I guess we'll like round table it and just each one of us take turns.
8:15 Speaker 05 Sounds good.
8:16 Danielle LaRock? And I'll go first.
8:17 Speaker 05 All right, do it.
8:18 Danielle LaRock? Because.
8:19 Speaker 05 Cause you're damn young. You get to go first.
8:20 Danielle LaRock? I'm excited for this one because this is 50% my podcast and I get a 50%. And I'm not arguing. Go first. Okay, great. The title got me on this one. People have gotten smart to what captures my attention. And this one got me. It's titled, Was I Gaslighting My Kid? And I had to know. So. Where are they? Here we go. We need to know. Hello ladies. I can't begin to tell you how much I adore your podcast. And the most fun has been how much our six year old son loves to listen with me to the less graphic episodes, of course. It is embarrassing how many episodes I've listened to since only early April, but I just went back further to start from number one
9:04 Danielle LaRock? and finally got to the woman, the myth, the legend, and it felt like my time for our silly little trail tale. And for Justin, this is, that episode is in reference to a Bigfoot episode that we did years ago.
9:20 Speaker 05 Awesome. Fun. I'm sure I've heard it. I just would need to get a refresher on it probably.
9:25 Danielle LaRock? A little refresher. Yeah. It's about Bigfoot, so.
9:29 Speaker 05 Nice.
9:29 Danielle LaRock? Since our son was three and a half or four, he's been really into Bigfoot. I definitely started that with a few choice cryptid books, but living in two different, very Bigfoot-affirming areas in the summers, he was absolutely hooked. Some kids love dinosaurs, ours loves Bigfoot. So, two summers ago, we spent some time at a horse show in northern Michigan. This was the peak of his early obsession, and he would tell anyone who would listen about how he would one day see Bigfoot for himself. The book, Finding Bigfoot, was his prized possession. We spent every day of the first two weeks riding his pony through the woods, looking for signs and evidence, and listening closely for knocks.
10:12 Danielle LaRock? Being in another Bigfoot-loving area, a few of our friends got the idea to give him the outing of a lifetime. A suit was ordered, a plan was set, and our son set out to lead a big group of our adult friends, his other kid friends chickened out at the last minute, to find, quote-unquote, "Bigfoot." Well, of course, we found him. From a distance in the woods at the back of the show, we heard the knocks, we saw the rustling of trees, and then we got a glimpse of something I know he will never forget. I've been doing that weird millennial dance-around, trying not to affirm Santa is a real person, and I know that this Bigfoot was our friend, Richard, in a suit, but I will forever let this kid think that he had the experience of a lifetime,
10:56 Danielle LaRock? an experience that people have spent their entire lives searching for. Some kids have core memories of meeting Mickey Mouse, and ours has finding Bigfoot. I'm forever grateful to the friends who orchestrated this experience for our son, and we won't ever forget the joy on his face. I am 100 out of 100 that Bigfoot has to exist, so I'm kind of a trash mom, but not totally, I hope. Please, if by some crazy chance you do use this, cut out whatever. I am full of rambling. Our son got to choose our family trip this year, and I am absolutely delighted to say we are going to his very first national park, Great Smokies this summer instead of Disney World. Thank you so much for helping my outsidey self
11:38 Danielle LaRock? connect with my outdoorsy kid in a new way. He already has hikes saved on All Trails, which he also heard about on the podcast, for when we get up to North Carolina to get ready for his big national park adventure. So much love to you both, and thank you for all that you do. Enjoy the view, but watch for Bigfoot. Tracy. Tracy, you're not a trash mom at all. Your kid is gonna be so cool. Your kid's already on All Trails. Come on. And had a Bigfoot experience. That's so cool. I mean, I think that that is so fun. Maybe gaslighting slightly, but for a good reason. Like by definition, it's gaslighting, but I feel like we can be a little bit lenient on if that's acceptable, gaslighting or not.
12:23 Speaker 05 For sure. And for her kid wanting to go to Great Smoky Mountains, a national park instead of Disney, I mean, I'll let my husband hear that. He's just a room away, but I think that's pretty cool.
12:37 Danielle LaRock? I agree. I think that's a peak childhood experience is getting, you know, a glimpse of Bigfoot and, you know, just let him believe what he wants to believe, though he'll figure out reality soon enough. And for all of us who lost the magic of what childhood could be when we became adults, like, let him live, you know, in that for a while. And I think that's awesome.
13:02 Speaker 05 Wait, are you saying Bigfoot isn't real?
13:04 Danielle LaRock? No, I'm saying like the reality of him knowing it was Richard in a suit.
13:12 Danielle LaRock? Like, that's first of all. What happened to you? Not in his house. One of my best friend's sons, he's four, and they just called me yesterday, actually, because he just discovered Bigfoot and he had all these questions about him.
13:33 Danielle LaRock? And so they call me and they're like, and he's like, what would happen if we accidentally hit Bigfoot with a car? You don't want to do that. I'd be like, you go to jail.
13:47 Speaker 05 I feel there needs to be a grandma got ran over by a reindeer virgin for Bigfoot now.
13:53 Danielle LaRock? Ah, I like that. I like that. Um, before we dive into our next trail tale that we have today, earlier you mentioned Outdoor Fest and I'd love to learn a little bit more about that for our listeners.
14:08 Speaker 05 Yeah.
14:09 Danielle LaRock? Tell people what that is all about.
14:11 Speaker 05 So when we started this, we started and with the ambassadors and started these communities around the country and then people wanted to come together and be able to meet up. So we decided to start this thing called LGBTQ Outdoor Fest, call it Outdoor Fest for short. But and it started here in Texas and we had, I think, less than thirty people at the first one that came, but we had these cool workshops. We had some people that were doing workshops on birding and kayaking and how to go hiking and all this stuff to help educate people on how to get into outdoors and it grew and grew and eventually it grew from three days to four days because people wanted more of it.
14:51 Speaker 05 And we move it around the country. We really focus more in states now where everybody feels welcome and like they can travel to. A lot of times, um, a lot of our community doesn't feel safe in some states. So this year it's going to be in Colorado in September. I believe it's the 10th through the 14th. And it's going to be at the CSU Mountain Campus. So it's going to be beautiful. We've done it there once before. It's in the stunning valley, Rocky Mountains around, the aspen trees are changing color. Last year, last not last year, two years ago, there was moose walking through supposedly. They said that they were moose, if they're actually real.
15:28 Danielle LaRock? I'm suspicious, but okay.
15:31 Speaker 05 It was suspicious, you know, it might have been somebody in a suit for all I know, you know, I'm not really sure.
15:36 Danielle LaRock? Couldn't Richard, couldn't Richard?
15:38 Speaker 05 Where was Richard during this stuff? Um, but there's a high ropes course that people can participate in. They can do fly fishing. There's just this amazing time of community. And then we have a pride night at it as well. So people can dress up and have a good time. Yeah, I don't know really ever the words to say to get people to come to it because it's something that you just kind of have to experience. But we call it Outdoor Fest Magic and just when you get this beautiful community together, away from our phones and all of the chaos and noise of the world and can just be in nature and watch the trees change colors and slow down and sit around a campfire. There's just something that's really magical about it and very therapeutic at the same time.
16:22 Speaker 05 So I'd love to be able to have people come.
16:24 Danielle LaRock? And you said that when you first began, there was about thirty attendance. How significantly has that grown? Because it's been, what, seven years now, you said?
16:32 Speaker 05 Yeah, we didn't start. So it started as an Instagram account. We didn't become a nonprofit until 2021, which I think is also the first year we did the Outdoor Fest. But we were having around a hundred people that are coming. We're really hoping for around a hundred, a hundred and twenty this year. So if we could get a lot of people to sign up, that would be awesome.
16:51 Danielle LaRock? That's huge.
16:52 Speaker 05 But yeah, we want to keep growing and eventually in the near future, you know, have more like a hundred and fifty to two hundred people there. But we're working on ways where we always wanted to feel small and people can connect. And because a lot of people, we've heard people come to the entrance of where we were having it and stop and think about turning around and going back because they were just overwhelmed with the thought of meeting so many new people and everything. But then when they got there and came in and realized how welcoming everybody was and how we set things up to break down walls and to connect, they just are so glad that they actually went through with it. And it can really be a really powerful experience.
17:33 Danielle LaRock? Amazing. And how do people sign up for this?
17:36 Speaker 05 Yeah, you can either go to our main website that has the link on it or to directly to the Outdoor Fest one. But the direct one is lgbdqoutdoorfest.com. We'll give you all the information about the event, all the details you want to know and to sign up. If you want to check out our main website as well, just go to lgbdqoutdoors.com and you can learn all about us as an organization and there'll be a link to Outdoor Fest on there as well.
18:02 Danielle LaRock? Awesome. And we'll be sure to link that into the show notes. But also, if you all are listening, Danielle and I have decided to sponsor two people to go to this event this year in September. So we're going to be picking two people from that and Justin, you'll be handling all of that.
18:19 Speaker 05 So awesome. Thank you so much for doing that because things get expensive and in this economy, it's hard for a lot of people to be able to come and a lot of people just need this. And so what you're doing is a, is a great gift and I greatly appreciate it. So from all of our team, thank you very much for doing that. We appreciate it.
18:38 Danielle LaRock? Happy to. Just send us pictures. That's all we want. Send us pictures. We want to see it. Yeah. So for anyone who is interested in a sponsorship for, we're sponsoring two people for the Outdoor Fest. How can people reach out to show their interest in a sponsorship?
18:56 Speaker 05 Yeah, for sure. The best way to do that is to go to lgbtqoutdoorfest.com and go to, um, contact us and drop us a note there and let us know that you would love to come to the, um, event, but are interested in a sponsorship, whether that's a 50% or full. We've had some of both available. I'm not sure currently where we're at, but there are two for sure now with you. So, but we, we do want to be able to try to make this accessible for people to be able to come who might not be able to afford it.
19:29 Danielle LaRock? Amazing. Perfect. Well, the wind has died down a little bit on my end, so I could try and read a story if you guys like. I would love that. Okay. Do something, you know?
19:43 Danielle LaRock? I'm just here to be a pretty face, just sitting here for our entertainment. That's all I want to do today.
19:50 Speaker 05 To just set up a fan in the background.
19:52 Danielle LaRock? I know, yeah.
19:55 Danielle LaRock? There's actually not a windstorm here.
19:59 Danielle LaRock? All right, this one is titled, "The Spookiest of Spooky." "Hey guys, my name is Ellie and I love your podcast. Fair warning, this is a long one, but it's by far the most terrifying experience I've ever had. I'm a year-round National Park employee and over the years I've worked in Yosemite, Crater Lake, Denali Glacier, and now Mount Rainier National Park. Out of all of the places I've lived and worked, nothing has ever compared to what happened to me during my two years in Yosemite. To this day..." I still have nightmares about it. At the time, I was working and living in Yosemite Valley. If you've never been there, the employee housing can already make you feel very exposed slash vulnerable, especially at night.
20:42 Danielle LaRock? Canvas tent cabins tucked into the trees, barely any light, and constant sounds of the forests surrounding you. That summer, there was a guy working there who became strangely obsessed with me. At first, it was little things, standing too close, touching me unnecessarily, lingering around me constantly. Then it escalated into him following me home after work or appearing wherever I was. I repeatedly told him to stop, but nothing changed. Eventually, I started snapping at him because I felt completely cornered, and somehow I became the bitch to the other coworkers because nobody understood how uncomfortable he made me feel. Toward the end of the season, my roommate moved out of our tent
21:24 Danielle LaRock? and in with her girlfriend, leaving me alone in our canvas cabin. That's when everything started. The first night, I heard footsteps outside my tent, slowly crunching through the leaves. They stopped directly beside my window. I remember lying completely still in bed, staring into the darkness, feeling someone standing there watching me through the mesh. I told myself I was being paranoid. The next night, it happened again, and then the next. Every single night, I'd hear someone walk up beside the tent and just stand there. Sometimes for minutes, sometimes longer. I got so scared that I pinned shirts and blankets over the windows so no one could look inside while I slept.
22:07 Danielle LaRock? I layered everything I could over that section of the tent because I couldn't stand the feeling of being watched. I thought that would stop it, but it didn't. The footsteps kept coming. Every night, the leaves would crunch outside my tent, and my entire body would lock up in fear. I started dreading nighttime. I barely slept. I called the Rangers multiple times, but by the time they arrived, whoever or whatever was there had vanished. Then, one night, things crossed a line I still can't fully explain. I was lying in bed, frozen in fear, after hearing the footsteps approach again, when suddenly, I felt pressure against the side of my tent, near my head. And then, something slowly started caressing my hair through the canvas.
22:51 Danielle LaRock? I can still remember the feeling perfectly. I immediately texted my friend in panic. She grabbed a knife and ran over to the tent. The second she approached, I heard whoever was outside scatter off into the trees. She searched around the tent immediately afterwards and found nobody. No person, no animal, nothing. But I had literally heard it leave seconds earlier. Afterwards, my friend stood outside the tent, trying to figure out how someone could have known exactly where my head was lying. That's when they told me something that made my blood run cold. Even with all the shirts and blankets I had pinned over the window, they could still clearly see me from the outside.
23:32 Danielle LaRock? There were some lights due to the moonlight and my tent light that I had used because I was terrified. Whoever had been standing there night after night hadn't just been listening to me sleep. They had been watching me the entire time. That was the first moment I truly felt unsafe in a way I can't properly explain. Up until then, I thought maybe it was just a creepy coworker. But after hearing that, something about the situation started to feel deeply wrong. My friend looked genuinely disturbed and told me she thought it could be an S-word, or how Morbid likes to say, a pedestrian, uh, what is it? A flesh pedestrian. Flesh pedestrian.
24:13 Danielle LaRock? I didn't really believe in that kind of thing, even though I've always felt strangely sensitive to spiritual stuff. I tried to convince myself there had to be a logical explanation. But deep down, I knew something about this felt wrong. The night after the incident where something caressed my head through the tent, I was completely terrified. I didn't even want to leave my tent once the sun went down. Earlier that day, I had asked my friend if she could grab my laundry for me because I was too scared to walk across camp alone at night. She agreed. At some point, I finally managed to fall asleep. But sometime later, I woke up to someone outside my tent door. I heard my friend's voice very clearly. Ellie, open the door. I have your laundry.
24:56 Danielle LaRock? Half asleep and relieved it was supposedly her, I immediately jumped up and rushed towards the door. But right before unzipping it, something made me stop. I looked over at the clock. It was 3 a.m. The second I saw the time, every instinct in my body started screaming that something was wrong. There was absolutely no reason my friend would be awake at that hour, wandering around camp, bringing me laundry. I stood there frozen in silence while whoever or whatever was waiting outside. It never knocked again, but it repeated itself. Ellie, I have your laundry. Eventually, I backed away from the door and climbed back into bed, absolutely terrified.
25:37 Danielle LaRock? The next morning, I immediately asked my friend why she had tried to bring me my laundry so late at night. She looked completely confused. She told me she had been asleep the entire night, but I know what I heard, and it was her voice. Sometime after that, management moved me from a tent into a dorm because of the recurring incident. I thought after that, everything would go back to normal, but it did not. After that, one of my friends named Brian got badly injured and could barely walk. So late one night, my two best friends and I drove over to bring him food. Bree ran inside while Lori and I stayed in the car talking. That's when I noticed movement behind another parked car nearby. At first, I thought someone was crouching there watching us.
26:19 Danielle LaRock? All I could see was the top of something peeking over the hood before ducking back down. I went completely quiet, but didn't say anything because I didn't want to scare Lori. Then Lori suddenly whispered, "Do you see that?" The second she said it, my stomach dropped because that meant it wasn't just me. We both sat there staring at this thing that kept peeking out from behind the car in these jerky unnatural movements. It almost looked curious, but wrong at the same time. Bree finally came walking back towards us, and we immediately started yelling at her to run. The second she got in her car, we locked the doors and slowly drove past the vehicle to make sure we weren't imagining it. I wish we had been. When our headlights hit it directly,
27:04 Danielle LaRock? we saw a completely black humanoid figure crouched low to the ground beside the car. It didn't have visible facial features, no clear eyes, no real details, just this unnaturally dark figure making twitchy erratic movements as it hid and peeked back out at us. And the strangest part was the way it reflected light. When the flashlight hit it directly, the surface of it shimmered back in a weird color I still can't describe correctly. Not skin, not fur, not human. We drove away completely hysterical. After that night, the nightmare started almost immediately. Intense night terrors,
27:45 Danielle LaRock? sleep paralysis, panic whenever I was alone outside after dark. Eventually, I transferred out of Yosemite Valley completely because I couldn't handle being there anymore. Another thing that scares me the most is that I still experience night terrors whenever I return to work in that area. I've learned the hard way that as beautiful as the outdoors are, they also hold a terrifying amount of mystery and danger. I will never stop loving the wilderness. It's been my life for years, but now I carry a completely different kind of respect for it. Because sometimes, out there in the dark, you realize not everything can be explained. And like many people have said before me about the wilderness, enjoy the view, but always watch your back.
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31:07 Danielle LaRock? What an ad for Yosemite Valley.
31:12 Danielle LaRock? Take it off. Bad G D in that story. That was. Yeah, let's cleanse. Let's. God, where's my sage?
31:21 Speaker 05 I didn't know if I needed sage.
31:23 Danielle LaRock? Yeah, sorry for the lack of heads up.
31:25 Speaker 05 Wow, what a story, though.
31:27 Danielle LaRock? It's, I've never experienced anything remotely like that, and I pray it stays that way. Because that's, I mean, not only is it upsetting and freaky in the moment, like they've said, it sticks with you. And it can kind of change the way that you experience certain things in the outdoors and like, or just being alone at night or anything like that. So, yeah. It feels like I've been changed now, listening to that. I know. I've always had such a positive, happy vibe in Yosemite Valley whenever I've been there. And now, now you'll think of this. I just won't think of that. I have to release this from my brain.
32:09 Speaker 05 I wonder if others have had experiences like that.
32:11 Danielle LaRock? Yeah. Yeah, I'd be so curious to know.
32:14 Speaker 05 Yeah, that's wild.
32:16 Danielle LaRock? Justin, bring the vibes up, please.
32:20 Danielle LaRock? Bring us a different story.
32:22 Speaker 05 No pressure here at all. I just, just need to bring up the vibes a little bit, huh? Um, this one is called The Places We Are Allowed to Exist, and it is by Bailey. She/her.
32:34 Danielle LaRock? And just to preface, the ones that you're reading are from your community directly.
32:39 Speaker 05 They are. Yep, they are. They're ones that we reached out to people that have done events or activities or been on staff or volunteer with us, whatever capacity to be able to submit these. So, yeah, we wanted to really bring in pride and celebrate pride with these. So, um, and also kind of let people know, like, why do we need to exist at the same time? So I hope this, these can kind of let you in on that a little bit because a lot of times our community members don't feel safe going outside and exploring nature on their own. So we want to help be able to knock down those barriers and be able to let people feel safe in a, um, in a group setting. Community.
33:16 Danielle LaRock? Amazing.
33:17 Speaker 05 All right. This one is called The Places We Are Allowed To Exist by Bailey She-Her. In the summer of COVID-19 pandemic, I was working grocery retail while in the world seemed to come apart in slow motion. Every day felt charged with fear. Shelves stripped bare before my shift even ended. Faces tense above the masks. People stockpiled food and bleach and toilet paper like survival could be carried home in plastic bags. The exhaustion of attending everything was normal while grief and panic moved invisibly through every aisle. And inside me, something else was unraveling too. At the time, I was quietly struggling with my gender identity.
33:57 Speaker 05 Or maybe struggling isn't the right word. Maybe I was finally becoming aware of how long I had been living disconnected from myself. I didn't feel safe enough to be openly trans where I lived, not at work, not really anywhere. So I carried it silently. And the way many queer people do before, we know that there are others out there nearby. The only place I could hear myself think was outside. After work, I'd drive straight to the trails, still wearing my grocery store clothes, exhaustion clinging to me like static. During those months, I started listening to Born to Run while hiking, and something in me caught fire. The stories of the Tarama Herer runners, the idea that the body could be a source of freedom instead of performance.
34:41 Speaker 05 So I started trail running, not for peace or distance. I ran because it was the only time I stopped feeling trapped inside myself. The trails gave me something I couldn't access anywhere else. Quiet. Not literal quiet. The mountains were alive with wind, water, birds, and my own breath, but the kind of quiet where the noise inside your head finally loosens enough for you to hear yourself again. And slowly, I started to notice something I didn't expect. The moments I felt most alive were also the moments I felt closest to myself. Closest to something I have been avoiding for years. That summer, I became obsessed with Sky Pond. The photos didn't look real. Jagged peaks rising behind still alpine waters.
35:26 Speaker 05 A lake tucked high above a world like a secret held in stone. I would stare at it, late night, with this strange ache that I just couldn't name. I needed to go there. So one night, I drove to Rocky Mountain National Park's Glacier Gorge Trailhead and started running at 2:00 a.m. beneath the moonlight with one goal in mind, to make it to Sky Pond before sunrise. The trail felt enormous in the dark. Water moved somewhere unseen. Pines shifted overhead. My headlamp covered a small tunnel through the night where everything else disappeared. There's a particular kind of vulnerability that comes when being alone in the wilderness at night. You become aware of how small you are, how exposed, and yet I felt strangely honest.
36:11 Speaker 05 Then on the trail, a bull moved stepped out in front of me in the dark. Completely still, massive, close enough I could hear his breath. My body froze. Every instinct in me told me to back up, to disappear. We stood looking at each other for what seemed like eternity, and then something shifted. He wasn't threatening me. He was just there, unapologetically present, fully himself without negotiation. I envied that more than I can explain. As I climbed higher, the forest began to open. Elk moved through the trees like shadows. The mountains felt inhabited in a way that didn't include fear. Just life happened in parallel. And for the first time in a long time, I let myself wonder what it was like to exist that freely.
36:55 Speaker 05 By the time I reached the waterfall scramble below Sky Pond, dawn had begun to break. I pulled myself up slick rocks beside rushing waters. Lungs burning, hands cold, moving towards something I had imagined for months but wasn't sure was even real. Then the trail opened. Sky Pond sat still beneath towering granite walls as sunrise spilled across the peaks. Clouds drifted towards the basin, so it felt like the lake existed above the world. I sat down hard beside the water. I was out of breath, completely alone. And for the first time in a long time, there was nothing to perform, nothing to hide behind, no version of myself I was trying to maintain, just present. And then something I haven't felt in years arrived quietly. Joy.
37:41 Speaker 05 Not happiness, not excitement, something deeper, something that felt like coming back into my body without resistance. I realized that I wasn't separate from the world out there. I was part of it. In the same way, the water, the stone, the wind were part of it. Not something to justify, not something to explain, just here. That experience changed me. It became the beginning of my journey into trail running and outdoor storytelling, but also into sharing queer and trans joy more publicly. Because once you feel that kind of freedom, it becomes impossible to forget it. Especially when you know how rare it is for people like us to feel it at all. So much of the queer and trans life is shaped by disconnection.
38:24 Speaker 05 From body, from safety, from belonging, that outdoors can offer a kind of reconnection, but only if you believe you are allowed to believe there. That's why spaces like LGBTQ outdoors matter. Because community changes what feels possible. It changes what feels safe. It changes what feels like it's yours. When I think back to that night, I still remember the moonlight, the silence, the climb. But more than anything, I remember sitting beside the Alpine Lake at sunrise and remembering, I don't want to keep disappearing from my own life. The trail led me to Sky Pond, but more importantly, it led me back to myself. Stay wild, Bailey.
39:02 Danielle LaRock? I loved that story. I thought that that was so beautiful and also just the whole concept of reconnection in the outdoors is something that I think everyone who goes into the outdoors can relate to in different ways, whatever that looks like for you, but to hear that experience and how freeing and how just being there changes your perspective in life and how you feel is just, I, I personally could connect to that entire story.
39:31 Speaker 05 Yeah, definitely. I think, um, you know, I've, I've, I've still followed Bailey's story for quite a while, um, and she actually served on our board in the past as well. And she is such a, an inspiration, but I had never heard this story before, um, and for this to be the point where she realized that she belonged in the world just as much as anyone else does or anything else does. Is a powerful time in someone's life because you're not any longer trying to perform or be something that you're not, or trying to hide something that you are. You can just fully be just you and one with the world.
40:12 Danielle LaRock? And here, such a transformative experience that she had while she was out there. It's just, I really, really enjoyed that story. Thank you Bailey for sending it in. Yeah, thank you so much. Okay, and next up would be Cassie. And if you're watching, she's still with us. Wave hi Cassie. Hello. But she is muted because she is in the middle of a really gnarly windstorm and it sounds like her house is about to blow over. So I will read her trail tale to save us all. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Okay, so this story is titled, "The Little Boy Who Tried To Plan A Bear Attack." "Hi Danielle and Cassie. I recently started listening to you guys after hearing you on
40:57 Danielle LaRock? Tooth and Claw." Hello friends. "You tell all the stories so well. My favorites are the survival ones. You two make my monotonous day job a lot more tolerable. So today I wanted to share with you a story from when I was younger where my brother tried to get two campers eaten by bears." I hope your brother is okay.
41:18 Speaker 05 Sounds like something that we would do as kids.
41:20 Danielle LaRock? Well, let's see. Like, let's see how serious this is. "My dad used to take us camping every year in upstate New York. We had a site at a campground called Black Bear Campground, which did in fact always have black bears around. We kept our camper there year round and my dad had made it our little home away from home. We planned to go up for the week, but when we arrived, we found two men with their tent set up on our site. Right in the spot, my brother and I would play wiffle ball any other day. The men explained that they were up here for a festival and the camp owner said that they could set up anywhere. They chose our spot for the remoteness and the beautiful gardens that surrounded it. Of course they did. We liked it too. Both my family and the men were frustrated with
42:04 Danielle LaRock? our newfound neighbors, but ultimately decided..." It would be okay to share the site. As the week continued, we had all gotten comfortable in our shared site. But my dad was starting to get concerns that the men were leaving food out, which may attract the bears commonly found roaming around. So my dad nicely went to express his concerns to the men for their safety. They listened and put some of it away, but not all of it. My dad noticed this, but decided if he went to talk with them again, it may seem unfriendly. So chose to leave them be as they would only be there one more night. Well, apparently my brother, who must have been about seven years old, felt that them not listening was all out war.
42:47 Danielle LaRock? So as an evil little boy who probably watched too much horror and spy movies while on our camping trips, he surmised a plan. While the men were out during the day and no one was looking, he'd sneak into the freezer and grab a couple of burgers. No one would notice a few patties gone. These said patties would then magically appear under the men's tent. A little treat for the bears, as he later say, that's diabolical.
43:16 Speaker 05 I feel like I shouldn't be laughing right now.
43:20 Danielle LaRock? That's an evil genius. He was seven.
43:25 Danielle LaRock? I mean, the title didn't lie. Her brother is truly trying to get them eaten by bears.
43:34 Danielle LaRock? In his thinking, the bears would scare the men and it would be the perfect way to get back them for invading our campsite. Why did he think this was a good idea? I don't know. He's dramatic, evil, borderline psycho. Who knows? Fast forward to the next morning, the men were packing up camp and getting ready for their trip home. To their surprise and probably horror, they found multiple raw burger patties placed right below where they had just slept the night before. They came over to us explaining what they had found. We were in shock, the whole group circling around these burger patties, trying to understand how and why they had gotten there. My dad told the men it was common for wild animals to find food in the dumpsters and leave it around the campground.
44:18 Danielle LaRock? It must have been raccoons. While the men didn't believe that story, because who would? And thought it was us who put them under there, they couldn't prove it and wound up leaving without an answer. Imagine being those campers.
44:35 Danielle LaRock? Leaving that campsite like, can you believe those neighbors just put raw burgers under her tent? Yeah, I know. And I would be, I don't know if I would con- but hold on, let me finish because I don't know where this is going before I make my comment. I'm just imagining those campers driving away like, what in the world just happened? Like, that's like, that's really unsettling. If that ever happened to me, I would run away as fast as I could. Like, you can have your campsite. Like, that's Not, yeah. Yeah. After they had left, my dad, sorry, I just got really distracted. There's a really cute groundhog having his dinner outside of my window, right next to where I'm looking at you guys.
45:18 Danielle LaRock? And he's so cute. Okay. After they had left, my dad turned to us, knowing his far-fetched story wasn't true, and it must have been the doing of his two innocent little children. My brother fessed up quickly, but not in a, I'm guilty and sorry way, more in a, and I could have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those damn bears way. My dad was pissed. He explained to my brother how dangerous that could have been. He was in absolute disbelief that his seven-year-old son surmised such a plan. He just honestly couldn't help but laugh. It's one of those situations. It's like, okay, that's bad, but also good job. You know? But so bad. Could you imagine if that worked?
46:04 Danielle LaRock? I know, I know. I shouldn't joke about that. I actually just read a really horrific book about a black bear mauling.
46:12 Danielle LaRock? So yeah, I feel bad about joking about that. But it's still, I mean, is this guy in like, where is he now? That, that's all I have to know. Is he, does he have other big ideas? What has he done with his life?
46:21 Danielle LaRock? Has he been in the location of any? Bear attack. Yeah. What I want to know.
46:26 Speaker 05 Is he in juvie somewhere?
46:29 Danielle LaRock? My brother got in major trouble after that, but now fast forward 15 years later, it's become a funny story we can tell around the campfire. I hope you guys can find the humor in it as well. We are so thankful that no one was hurt. Thank you for listening to my story and remember, enjoy new people you meet while out camping, but watch your back for what your kids are planning behind it. Grace.
46:51 Speaker 05 Wow.
46:52 Danielle LaRock? Those damn kids.
46:53 Speaker 05 Wow.
46:54 Danielle LaRock? Yeah.
46:55 Speaker 05 How does, how does a seven year old even come up with that?
46:58 Danielle LaRock? Well, she did say like, she thought he was watching like horror movies and spy movies. So he just kind of like combined the two worlds into something evil. But I mean, that is one way to run somebody off of the your, what you think is your campsite. You get bears to do it. Yeah.
47:18 Speaker 05 That, that definitely do it, I think.
47:20 Danielle LaRock? Genius and diabolical. At the same damn time. Love that the parents was, her dad was like, you know, I'm not gonna, I'm gonna make up all of these things, even though they had an inkling that it was their kids. And also it is so funny. It's like, yeah, they just leave stuff around the campground. It's like underneath our spiked down tent that we put up days ago that had nothing under it. Like, do you think we're dumb? Think we don't believe you.
47:48 Speaker 05 And raccoons are going to leave it?
47:50 Danielle LaRock? After you had already talked about not being there and like being like, hey, this is our campsite, but I guess you can stay. Yeah. Yeah. Sabotage. Campsite sabotage. Sure.
48:07 Danielle LaRock? Yeah.
48:08 Speaker 05 All right. Well, I do have another one. This one is called the Gunnison Trail is type three fun. Do not recommend. So. It's a bit of a long one, and I kind of would say this is kind of a two parter too in a way, but that's good. So let's dive in. Hi, I'm Sasha, she/her, and I have been an instructor with LGBTQ Outdoors since the very first year when we had less than thirty people who attended LGBTQ Outdoor Fest at a little campground in the middle of nowhere, Texas. Before I get into my trail tale, I want to give a shout out to Justin, Patrick, and all of the crew at LGBTQ Outdoors for being so truly inclusive from day one.
48:47 Speaker 05 As a bi woman who found herself marrying a man in her late thirties, I felt different and experienced many emotions and sometimes unpleasant moments when entering queer spaces. Once I was engaged, like my bi identity was no longer at all valid because I had chosen a side. In fact, at a queer nature gathering, someone screamed F and faker in my face shortly after I was engaged when my sister-in-law mentioned we knew each other because I was marrying her brother. I made myself smaller, avoided mentioning my partner's pronouns. I started to consider not being involved in the queer community at all anymore, which felt like I was really heartbreaking and disingenuous of me.
49:29 Speaker 05 But around the same time, I shared a birding event on the very small, at the time, LGBTQ Outdoors Texas Facebook group to let folks know about a fun opportunity. I received a message from Justin asking if if I would be interested in teaching birding at their first LGBTQ Outdoor Fest. I silently panicked and didn't know what to do, feeling like a poser who no longer belonged. I decided to be honest and tell him I didn't want to take up space or leadership opportunity from someone who might likely face more discrimination than me, a bi woman with straight privileges for life now that I was engaged to a man.
50:06 Speaker 05 He didn't skip a beat, saying that the organization was dedicated to welcoming all queer folks fully and that I may even be the person someone needs to see at camp so that they feel like they belong. And he was right. Through this organization and LGBTQ Outdoor Fest, I have not only lifelong friends, but spaces that
50:27 Speaker 05 I can truly be myself. I'm still guarded when I meet new folks in queer spaces. And it takes time for me to drop the fact that I'm married to a man. But this group really stands by their missions and creates a safe space for all and reduces stigma and discrimination both outside and inside the community. For anyone listening in similar shoes, you are queer enough and LGBTQ outdoors will welcome you with welcome arms. So come hang with us. Thanks, Asha. Okay, enough sappy stuff. Onto the trail tale. It isn't spooky, but it is a cautionary tale. I have been on a ton of challenging hikes on all sorts of terrain, backcountry camping trips.
51:12 Speaker 05 He used to be a rock climbing instructor and I'm currently a part-time fitness instructor. I think most listeners of this podcast know by now that none of these makes you immune to getting into some potentially dangerous hiking situations. Two years ago, I went on a road trip to Colorado and stopped to camp and hike in the Black Canyon of the Gunderson. My husband Sean, being a teacher, had some time on his hands in early summer to do all of the planning and research for our trip. There were only a few actual hikes and peaks and all were unmarked and required a backpacking permit, only given ten out daily. He chose one that was just under two miles round trip and went down to the bottom of the canyon.
51:54 Speaker 05 It was recommended by folks online that we bring thick gloves and knee pads for the steep scree-covered terrain and chain section. Oh, fun, I thought at the time. And be sure to take photos behind you on the way down so you don't get lost coming back up. No problem. None of this sounded too bad for us and we were always overprepared and careful. The day before, we got our permit and reviewed caution and trail photos with the ranger, who was definitely not selling this trail. Sorry, route, as he corrected us. It was not a trail and he said that we would be on our butts much of the way down because it was so steep and made of crumbly, small rock terrain.
52:37 Speaker 05 Us to phone a family member and expected to return time and instructions to call nine one one to activate search and rescue. If we weren't back by then and because the Rangers don't have the staff to go down until the following day. Per the Ranger guidance, we packed supplies to stay overnight in case of an emergency. Because they mentioned that they have to do enough of these rescues to warn people every single time. Self rescues are the goal if something goes wrong. We packed my Grail water filtration bottle in case plenty of water snacks, headlamp, foil blanket. Small first aid kit, iodine tablets, small phone, power bank, etc. The usual for a day hike, especially an unmarked trail hike.
53:19 Speaker 05 We got going on time and gave our emergency contact a solid two hour bonus window in case our hike took longer than we thought. Turns out this was not a hike. This was a fight. It was honestly one of the hardest things I've ever done mentally and physically. At first, it was kind of fun and just ridiculous most of the way down. Carefully stabilizing ourselves through three and a half hours up one way, super steep gravel, rock, slippery sand, down climbing. Soon we just had to be on full dial in and focus on the technical aspects. Photographing our trail behind us, drinking plenty of water. And me being extra careful not to slip since I'm missing an ACL on one knee.
54:02 Speaker 05 Since we most often hike mountains, we usually eat breakfast before we start hydrate the way up. Have one solid snack on the way down, eat lunch at the summit. With the slower pace and without the uphill burn and cardio demand. I had not realized how many calories my body was burning. Stabilizing itself so intensely and continuously and I wasn't hungry at all. But my body had run out of fuel and suddenly I had a vicious migraine, nauseous and became very shaky. At the bottom, I felt delusional, dizzy and so sick. I wanted to curl up and stay the night until it all stopped. I began to panic when I thought about going back up now in the heat of the midday. Since it took us so much longer to descend than what we thought.
54:44 Speaker 05 Sean sat down next to me and told me we did not have an option. Even if the Rangers came for us, it would not be until the next day. And they would be walking slash carrying us out the same way. So we'd have to go back up the way that we came down either way. He gave me my gray old bottle and filled a bunch of water for our hydration bladders. So that we could take time going back up. I sat by a rock using my Fitbit for a two minute meditation and saved me from a panic attack. These were very rare for me and listening to Noah Khan to distract me. Bless that man. Sean gently bullied me into eating my sandwich and drinking Liquid IV. And coached me back to well enough to take on the return trip.
55:28 Speaker 05 We came across at least two people on the route at the bottom and gave them our emergency contact info. And asked them to call and give our new expected delay time for the emergency call. He kept encouraging me throughout and pushing me to keep going and moving. We made it back up to the top with sure will and continue to focus on every step and hand placement for the climb up. I had to focus on just the small field of view in front of me. And Sean kept good track of routing us using the reference photos from the way down. The ground was so dry, it was so hard to hold footing most of the time. And pulling myself up by the chain section towards the end took everything I had left, but I didn't give up.
56:09 Speaker 05 We made it out absolutely covered in dirt and just in time to prevent a nine one one call from Sean's dad. Even though I'm pretty sure he didn't actually take that request seriously when we told him about it the day before. We saw the same Ranger and when he saw my state and dirt covered face, he said, "Yeah, that hike truly sucks and I literally have zero interest in ever doing it again. But some people do like it, I guess. Glad you guys were prepared though and followed the guidance. You didn't get lost, you made it back safely, you did it." I told him he did a good job of not overselling it, but providing the information we needed to make the decision to go for it. His feelings about the route were a bit validating, though,
56:52 Speaker 05 and reading more about it on All Trail Reviews after our trip also made me feel not alone. Once we got back to camp, I feel a bit better. But after I ate, I got very sick and puked by the bathrooms while enjoying a stunning sunset of the canyon. Cool. I ended up having to go to the hospital for a few hours for IV, anti-nausea, and migraine meds since I couldn't keep down water. What a fucking day. I've done many challenging hikes without trouble, but wanted to share my story to remind you that things can truly get ugly when suddenly you don't feel well at the bottom of a steep canyon or at the top of a steep mountain, friends. If you are strenuously hiking, set an alarm on your phone
57:34 Speaker 05 or watch to stop for small refuel snacks before your body desperately needs it. Stay safe out there and always be prepared for the worst, just in case something comes on suddenly, and have a good hiking buddy that you know will have you back for better or worse. This RDL proved yet again that I picked a good lifelong adventure partner. So enjoy the view, but preferably not while puking from exhaustion after a terrible rim to river hike. Sasha.
58:04 Danielle LaRock? Wow, Sasha. That's wild to show up at the national park and talk to a ranger and then be like, sure, you can take that, but call your, call your closest loved ones and let them know that they should call 911 if you're not back by this time, because we're not coming for you.
58:21 Speaker 05 It's true, and you know what? Um, there, she shared some photos, so you might be able to share those as well with, um, those on Instagram or wherever. But after I saw that trail, I was like, oh damn. This, this whole story takes on a whole nother level when you start seeing those photos.
58:40 Danielle LaRock? Well, it's not a trail, it's a route.
58:43 Speaker 05 It is. Yeah.
58:45 Danielle LaRock? Everything's a route. If you're brave enough. That's right. And we've always said that.
58:51 Speaker 05 That should be a T-shirt. Is that a T-shirt? Do you have that on a T-shirt? Because it really should be.
58:55 Danielle LaRock? No. No.
58:57 Speaker 05 Yeah, no, Sasha is one of a kind for sure and very determined when she sets her mind to something. But I love that she was vulnerable enough to share this because so often people think, oh, this is going to take me a few hours and it's going to be fine, you know? But it's really, really important to put your, do your homework and know what you're really getting into.
59:18 Danielle LaRock? Yeah, and such a good reminder for people that being prepared is always important, but especially when you're venturing into locations like this. And especially when the Rangers are like, I mean, go for it. Have someone prepared to call. Do you have a will?
59:38 Speaker 05 Because you might want to take care of that real quick before you start.
59:43 Danielle LaRock? All right, so I have one last story to share. And again, the titles, they get me. You guys get me. The title is, we're going down like the Titanic.
59:55 Speaker 05 Oh, you're definitely going to do this one.
59:57 Danielle LaRock? Oh, definitely. It doesn't even matter what it says.
1:00:01 Speaker 05 It doesn't even mention Titanic in the story.
1:00:04 Danielle LaRock? Total clickbait. From here on out, every Trail Tales submission has the word Titanic in the title.
1:00:12 Danielle LaRock? All right. Hello, Danielle and Cassie. I hope this finds you well and that I have successfully captured your attention, Danielle, with the title. Indeed.
1:00:21 Speaker 05 Well done.
1:00:22 Danielle LaRock? My name is Garrett and my wife Amber and our two kids, who are eight and 10, absolutely love listening to your podcast unabridged as life is raw and real and they know that they can hear grown up words, but can't say them yet. Like many, we are on a quest to knock out our current 63 national parks before they graduate, as well as any other unique nature, location or historical site. We have checked off 33 of the 63 parks so far. And my story comes from a summer vacation we took with our close family friends to Isle Royale and Voyager's National Park. But before I get into that, I want to say that I had a wonderful full circle moment when listening to your most recent episode, Two Girls, One Fort: Castillo de San Marcos
1:01:06 Danielle LaRock? National Monument. In it, you reference war dance at Fort Marion, Plains Indian War prisoners. The book's author, Dr. Brad Lookingbill, was my history professor in college. He was working on that book while I attended and would share excerpts from it as his History 121 class was American History through 1877. He is an amazing professor and arguably helped to shape my love for history. Anyway, back to our tale. That's a really cool moment. That's a really cool connection to have.
1:01:36 Speaker 05 That is.
1:01:37 Danielle LaRock? A couple of summers back, we traveled to Isle Royale and Voyagers National Parks with our really close friends Tyler and Jessica and their two children, who are 11 and 7 now, for a wonderful summer vacation adventure off the grid. We traveled to Isle Royale first by way of the UP, visiting Pictured Rocks and the gorgeous Kiwanah Peninsula, after which we ferried over to Voyagers, where we were renting a houseboat to explore the Rainy Lake area of the park. I 10 out of 10 recommend doing it this way. It was amazing. We all know how the most famous tale of a large vessel and a body of water goes, so here goes ours. Uh oh. Houseboat and Titanic mention in the same sentence is never good.
1:02:20 Speaker 05 Right.
1:02:21 Danielle LaRock? July 10th was Houseboat Embarkation Day. Tyler and I have operated many different boats in our lives, just never a 54-foot houseboat, but we've got this. Remember, this key factor for later. This large houseboat only had a single 60-horsepower outboard engine. We made it to the houseboat dock, loaded up, took in the training, and then set off to explore Rainy Lake and Voyagers National Park at a wave-cutting maximum speed of 5 miles an hour.
1:02:52 Danielle LaRock? We charted a course to our mooring point for the night, Stoffel's Point West. It had a nice sandy beach area for the kids to play and set the scene for a wonderful evening with friends. As the sun set, the unseasonably hot temperatures that voyagers had been experiencing were very evident, but no better place to sweat when going to sleep than while on vacation with your friends on a houseboat. Waking up the next morning, we did not yet know that this would be the day that will live in infamy for our families. When you are this large of a houseboat, it does not take much wind to affect you. The wind had switched directions overnight, completely against what all-weather reports had predicted, and was blowing us into the shore at a meager five miles per hour.
1:03:34 Danielle LaRock? We packed up everything, untied and stowed the mooring lines and gangway. We engaged the outboard in reverse and eased up the throttle and thought, "We're off." But not really, though. Remember the fact earlier about the 60-horsepower engine for this large boat? We only had enough power to stir the water around the prop because of where this boat was beached and an ever-so-slight breeze blowing us into the land. Since we were going nowhere quickly, Tyler and I decided we needed a little help. I volunteered as tribute to hop into the water and push our boat off the sand while Tyler continued to operate at the helm. Before I continue, let me set the scene. The expanded metal front deck of this boat was 24 inches wide at best, with no place
1:04:17 Danielle LaRock? below to step up nor anything above to grab to pull yourself up. There was a screen door that did not stay open, so as I pushed this boat backwards, I was trying to hang on with my fingers in this expanded metal decking, attempting to push my body straight up out of chest-high water as there was no foothold to step up and nothing to pull up with or anything to help me in any way. All now while the boat was going in reverse at full speed. This could be a new American Ninja Warrior challenge or something along those lines. Tyler threw open the screen door while still operating the boat for me to clamor in, but it just slammed quickly on my head instead, so there I was, just hanging on.
1:04:58 Danielle LaRock? I did, however, see enough time when the door was briefly open to see Amber and Jess just standing in the middle of the living room, looking back at me with the most blank stares on their faces. My face probably didn't show it, but I was laughing on the inside. Finally, one of them moved into action and opened the door again, and I climbed in soaking wet. I did manage to get us unstuck from the shore. I felt a certain sense of pride pushing our huge houseboat off the sand so we could continue on our journey of Voyager's National Park. I wish video of this existed, as I laugh until my belly hurts about it still to this day. I have told the story countless times and laugh until I cry each time. And much like a late-night infomercial, but wait, there's more to our tale.
1:05:43 Danielle LaRock? As I was drying off, Tyler set us on a course about two hours further down the lake to where we could see Kettle Falls and grab some lunch. We ferried down to the falls, enjoyed lunch on the screened patio at Kettle Falls Hotel, and checked out the sloping floor of the lumberjack saloon. We unloaded back to our tender and headed back to the houseboat. We set sail for the United States and Canada border to do a little swimming, because how many times do you get to say, "I swam to Canada"? Before heading towards the border, Tyler and I reviewed the charts, planning a safe course to get there, but not add an excessive number of extra miles in our blastering, fast speedboat of a houseboat that we had. We looked at where buoy markers were located and the obstacles they disclosed, while passing a
1:06:27 Danielle LaRock? very safe distance from a marker in an area where no other obstacles were noted in our electronic GPS, in the boat or the navigation charts, the boat wait, there's more hits, literally. We, I really, I was driving, hit something in the water. It was a pretty big thud. It didn't stop the boat dead in the water, but it was most definitely noticeable. We couldn't raise the outboard out of the water from the controls at the helm, because they had never hooked that component up, because why would you? So Tyler ran back to the outboard to raise it up to prevent any damage to lower the unit. While he was doing this, I was looking around to survey everyone in the boat and our surroundings,
1:07:10 Danielle LaRock? trying to figure out what the fuck we just hit. I noticed water on the floor near the dining table, and it looks to be bubbling up. My immediate thought was, "We're going down like the Titanic. Fuck." Thankfully, it did not take long for me to realize that the water bubbling up from the floor was actually pouring out of a one gallon jug that had fallen off of the counter, landing behind the leg of the table, obscuring its view from where I was sitting. Phew, we are not Titanic-ing after all. The lower unit and the prop were fine. We were free-floating and the GPS was registering that we were in 20 feet of water. We were truly puzzled as to what we hit as nothing was showing on the GPS or the navigation charts. Tyler pulled up the app for the GPS
1:07:55 Danielle LaRock? and depth finder on his fishing boat and lo and behold, it showed a lone rock in that area. Why wasn't it on the formats of information? I have no clue. Thankfully, at its depth, we merely grazed the top of it. We all collected ourselves and continued on to the border. Once positioned precisely along the US and Canadian border, we started on the US side of the boat and took a running jump into the Canadian side. We took a little swim back and forth across the border while in the water, we saw the hole was just fine, not a single dent or mark on it. What a relief. Whenever our two families are together, there is rarely a time the story does not come up and we don't laugh until we cry all over again. We have taken other trips together since, but none have been as epic as this
1:08:38 Danielle LaRock? one. Enjoy the view, but watch your back and watch out for hidden rocks in the lake so you don't think you're on the next Titanic. Thanks, Garrett.
1:08:51 Danielle LaRock? Something about a houseboat, I've really wanted to do a houseboat excursion. It seems fun. It seems really fun, but I just like, thinking of maneuvering that thing around, I'm not getting involved. I don't know if I could ever be responsible for a boat of that size with that many people on it and it just seems complicated. It feels like it would be fun to have like a group of people on. It'd be a cool little weekend getaway. I want to do it in Lake Powell. That'd be cool.
1:09:23 Speaker 05 That'd be cool.
1:09:25 Danielle LaRock? So no Titanic's made an appearance. What a letdown. That's okay.
1:09:29 Speaker 05 I mean, close. They thought that there was for a second. That would have been something I would have done. Saw the water and think like, oh shit, we're going down.
1:09:39 Danielle LaRock? Well, those are all our stories. Yeah. Thank you, everyone, for tuning in and hanging out with us. We're not done yet because we have two more bonus stories that are coming up. Justin has one and I have one as well. Yours is titled spooky sounds from the PNW to Texas. And mine is spooky cave story. So we're getting spooky for our bonus stories. But before we head out and leave you all to go over to our subscribers section. Justin, would you like to just add where people can find you on Instagram? And again, plug in your website and all that good stuff.
1:10:15 Speaker 05 Yeah, absolutely. So Instagram is where we're probably most active, but you can find us on Facebook and TikTok as well. But our Instagram is, you just search LGBTQ outdoors. You're going to find us. The name is actually LGBTQ dot outdoors on Instagram. Um, if you want to connect with me directly, you can as well on Instagram, just Justin Yoder outdoors. And our website is LGBTQ outdoors.com. And I hope everybody has an amazing pride and getting out there to live your authentic selves.
1:10:48 Danielle LaRock? Yes. Happy Pride Month, everybody. And we will see everyone over at our subscriber. If you're interested, you can find us on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. And we'll check you out over there, but in the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch your back.
1:11:05 Danielle LaRock? Thanks for joining us for another episode. We hope you learned something new and have another location to put on your list. If you want more NPAD content, make sure to follow along with our adventures on all socials at National Park After Dark. For more stories just like this one with the added bonus of exclusive content, you can join us on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. If you prefer to watch our episodes, head over to our YouTube channel. And if you're enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe on your favorite listening platform.
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