Best Wilderness Encounters Post

The Wilderness Encounters cases readers rated highest and believed most — the jury's all-time picks.

1. We Found A Perfectly Made Bed Of Moss Nine Miles From Any Trail

   My partner and I go off-trail, which we are allowed to do where we live, and which we do because we like the quiet and we hate people. Nine …

   398 Upvote · 78% of readers believe this story

2. The Woman At The Trailhead Warned Me And The Car Park Camera Says She Was Not There

   She was at the map board when I arrived: fifties, walking poles, sun hat, the whole uniform. She said the creek crossing was "wrong today" a…

   379 Upvote · 78% of readers believe this story

3. Our Tent Was Moved Eight Feet While We Were Inside It

   Two of us, an old tent, a gravel bar by a river, in country where the nearest road is a serious walk. We pegged out on gravel, which is a nu…

   366 Upvote · 77% of readers believe this story

4. The Hitchhiker Knew The Name Of The Dog That Died In 1998

   I picked him up because it was starting to rain and because the road out of the park is forty miles of nothing. He was maybe fifty. Wet. Ord…

   352 Upvote · 76% of readers believe this story

5. Everything Went Silent And I Understood, For One Second, What Prey Feels Like

   I want to describe a thing that has no evidence at all, and I am aware that this makes it worthless to most of you, and I am posting it anyw…

   337 Upvote · 72% of readers believe this story

6. I Was Lost For Nine Hours And Something Kept Me On The Path

   I got lost the way people actually get lost: not dramatically, but through a series of small, confident mistakes. By four in the afternoon I…

   331 Upvote · 77% of readers believe this story

7. The Park Radio Told Us To Get Off The Ridge And Nobody Ever Sent That Message

   I lead school groups. It is the best job in the world and it will give me a heart attack. We were on a ridge, sixteen kids, three adults, cl…

   318 Upvote · 76% of readers believe this story

8. The Fire Would Not Go Out And We Had No Fuel Left

   Four of us, an autumn trip, a legal fire ring in a legal place, and a firewood situation we had badly misjudged. At midnight we put the last…

   302 Upvote · 72% of readers believe this story

9. Somebody Restacked Our Firewood Into A Circle While We Slept

   Backcountry site, no road for six miles, two of us, one tent. We collected firewood in the evening and stacked it the way you stack it: a he…

   289 Upvote · 72% of readers believe this story

10. The Ranger Asked Me To Describe The Man Again And Then Went Very Quiet

    Eleven miles in, on a trail that takes a fit person five hours, I met a man walking out. No pack. No water. Jeans. A red jacket, the cheap k…

    264 Upvote · 72% of readers believe this story

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