Aug 18, 2026 · 38 min · 12 segments
The Great Weird Outdoors Podcast explores the discovery of strange objects in the wilderness, each with its own mysterious story. From abandoned camps to hidden artifacts, the wilderness holds…
Years ago, while I was bushwhacking up in the Salt Lake Ranger District on the Wasatch Cache in Utah, I was way up on this peak called Turkey Knob, I think it was called.
And I was bushwhacking to go back to my truck rather than hike on the trail because bushwhacking looked like it was going to be a little bit quicker route back.
And in fact, it wasn't.
And while I was bushwhacking, I found an old aluminum flashlight.
You know, it wasn't lying beside a campground or anything that I saw.
I mean, it was out in the middle of nowhere.
You know, I was in really thick vegetation and it was just out there.
And it was old enough that I looked at it and it probably dated back to the 1940s.
And I remember looking at that flashlight and, you know, wondering about how it got there.
You know, when did it get there and the person who carried it.
And an object like that, you know, becomes a little time machine.
And at some point, somebody held it.
And maybe they were walking through these same woods up in the mountains.
You know, maybe they were working or hunting.
Maybe they were lost.
And maybe they set it down while doing something and just forgot about it.
Or, you know, maybe it fell out of their pack.
You know, whatever happened, the person disappeared from the landscape, but the flashlight stayed.
And, you know, think about everything that happened while that flashlight sat there.
Winters came and went.
Springs uncovered it.
Trees grew around it.
People were born and died.
Wars started and ended.
Years ago, while I was bushwhacking up in the Salt Lake Ranger District on the Wasatch Cache in Utah, I was way up on this peak called Turkey Knob, I think it was called.
And I was bushwhacking to go back to my truck rather than hike on the trail because bushwhacking looked like it was going to be a little bit quicker route back.
And in fact, it wasn't.
And while I was bushwhacking, I found an old aluminum flashlight.
You know, it wasn't lying beside a campground or anything that I saw.
I mean, it was out in the middle of nowhere.
You know, I was in really thick vegetation and it was just out there.
And it was old enough that I looked at it and it probably dated back to the 1940s.
And I remember looking at that flashlight and, you know, wondering about how it got there.
You know, when did it get there and the person who carried it.
And an object like that, you know, becomes a little time machine.
And at some point, somebody held it.
And maybe they were walking through these same woods up in the mountains.
You know, maybe they were working or hunting.
Maybe they were lost.
And maybe they set it down while doing something and just forgot about it.
Or, you know, maybe it fell out of their pack.
You know, whatever happened, the person disappeared from the landscape, but the flashlight stayed.
And, you know, think about everything that happened while that flashlight sat there.
Winters came and went.
Springs uncovered it.
Trees grew around it.
People were born and died.
Wars started and ended.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
