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Happy Halloween! Landing on a Friday, if you have kids in school, their day probably included some tricks and treats, I hope, and maybe an emergency run to school to drop off an extra dozen orange cupcakes. I have such nice memories of helping the kids' classes have a fun party, often heading up an art project, or making a quiet corner for kids that aren't into the party thing with a basket of Halloween books and Legos.

I got curious about the true origins of Halloween. And how the holiday came to the United States. I'd heard conflicting accounts and you know me, I did some digging. Don't worry though, it wasn't grave digging. Though I did dye my hair platinum, so maybe now I'll fit in with the cool graveyard kids.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten our northbound journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. If you take a day off to rest on the PCT, it's called a Zero Day. That's what we're takin. Next week, I'll bring us back to the PCT where we'll cross into Washington state. I hope we get their before snow starts to fall in the Cascades.

But back to Halloween in the United States...

Let's get into it

This episode covers:

Halloween's Worldwide Origins

Halloween comes to the United States

Trick or Treating

About those treats...and yes, the history of candy corn

Costumes (their history and evolution)

Halloween today

A spooky Halloween track by an independent artist at the show close

About that song after the close...

Caves of Dawn by Guilherme Bernardes (support his work with the link here)

Sources:

Library of Congress article about Halloween origins

Trick or Treat History, 1031 Consortium.com

History of Halloween Costumes in America, CNN

100 Years of Halloween Costumes: An Ultimate Fashion History, The Ultimate Fashion History, YouTube

I don't accept sponsors and paid advertisers. I choose people, podcasts and authors I believe in to highlight in the ad segment.

That's why I've been shining a spotlight on Derek Condit at Mystical Wares. He is both talented and generous with those gifts. Please give his books a look on the Mystical Wares website.

Curious Cat Crew on Socials:
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Last week we set out on the Pacific Crest Trail, trekking up California, reaching Mount Shasta, where a little boy and a grandmother had a strange experience. I shared the Eternal Trail tribute written by a grieving father, and you learned about the best PCT resource out there, Halfway Anywhere.

This week, we pick up the trail in Oregon, home to some of the best and worst the PCT has to offer. There are mysteries on this stretch of water-logged forest. But up first? The story of an adult daughter connecting with her father on the PCT.

Let's get into it.

This episode covers:

A father and daughter reconnect on Oregon's PCT

An overview of the PCT

Unsettling stories of the Oregon PCT

Benson Plateau earned its own shoutout

How NOT to go missing

A preview of the next two weeks

Show Sources and Materials

Pacific Crest Trail Horror Stories 2024, HalfwayAnywhere.com

Five Days on Oregon's Pacific Crest Trail, Jess McComb, Bend Magazine

Pacific Crest Trail Mystery, Strange Outdoors

Benson Plateau, Creepily Beautiful or Beautifully Creepy? It's both!, OregonHikers.org

Heather Cyrus Shares Her PCT Experience, HeatherCyrus.com

The Horrifying Reasons Hikers Vanish from PCT, Mina Elwell, Islands.com

I don't accept sponsors and paid advertisers. I choose people, podcasts and authors I believe in to highlight in the ad segment.

That's why I've been shining a spotlight on Derek Condit at Mystical Wares. He is both talented and generous with those gifts. Please give his books a look on the Mystical Wares website.

Curious Cat Crew on Socials:
Curious Cat on Twitter (X)
Curious Cat on Instagram
Curious Cat on TikTok
Art Director, Nora, has a handmade, ethically-sourced jewelry company!

Send us a text

There's a trail that runs from the Mexico-U.S. border north through California, Oregon and Washington, ending at the Canadian border. A grueling test of grit and endurance, it's no surprise those that attempt some or parts of the Pacific Crest Trail are changed. Long after blisters heal over, hammies stop aching, shins come back to normal, the stories of the trail linger in the minds of hikers. Is it the hours alone? Or the silence? Or the senses that become sharper watching for shifts in weather and wildlife? Or something else, like a hitchhiking ghost, that stays with them after leaving the PCT?

The west coast of the United States is one I know well, like the back of my hand. But as I've been learning about trail angels, trail pirates, hitchhiking, and uncovered the people that have gone missing on this stretch of trail? It's become a place I don't recognize, that fascinates and scares me.

Grab a Bobo bar and a glass of water!

Let's get into it!

This episode covers:

Pacific Crest Trail 101

Hiker Horror Stories

Hiker Cautionary Tales

Cascadia High Strangeness

Halfway Anywhere's PCT Hiker Survey Information

A Tribute by a Father Who Lost His Son on the PCT

About that song at the end...

Quiet Storm by Alana Jordan

Show Sources and Materials

Halfway Anywhere's Patreon (sign up for FANTASTIC outdoors content - so good in fact that Outdoors Inc. and others have been stealing his work and taking credit)

Pacific Crest Trail Horror Stories 2024, HalfwayAnywhere.com

The Cult That Lived Next Door, Jack Neath, Medium.com

Creepy Pacific Crest Trail Stories, Ranker.com

Anza Borrego's Haunted Desert, DesertUSA.com

Trevor's Eternal Trail, Doug Laher, thetrek.co

I don't accept sponsors and paid advertisers. I choose people, podcasts and authors I believe in to highlight in the ad segment.

That's why I've been shining a spotlight on Derek Condit at Mystical Wares. He is both talented and generous with those gifts. Please give his books a look on the Mystical Wares website.

Curious Cat Crew on Socials:
Curious Cat on Twitter (X)
Curious Cat on Instagram
Curious Cat on TikTok
Art Director, Nora, has a handmade, ethically-sourced jewelry company!