title EP: 420 She Almost Vanished *members only trailer

description Gaby never planned to leave the trail. She was sick, alone, and wandering near Vernal Fall while her family hiked in Yosemite. When she walked off the trail to photograph a tree, she stepped into something she still cannot fully explain. The forest went quiet. The trees started moving in a gentle, rhythmic dance that felt like an invitation. And for the next four hours, she was somewhere else entirely, though it only felt like two minutes. Her story is one of the most vivid firsthand accounts of the Missing 411 phenomenon we have ever heard, and she is here to tell it because her love for her five-year-old son pulled her back before the door closed behind her. And the photo of the tree that started it all never showed up on her phone. 

We unpack Gaby's experience alongside the broader mystery of people vanishing in America's national parks. From time slips and sound vacuums to the role of granite, quartz, and physical ailments, her account checks nearly every box that David Paulides has cataloged over decades of research. She also shares a wild encounter at Sequoia involving massive eyes in the trees and her stepdad's own strange experience at Zion. This is one of those episodes that will make you think twice the next time someone says "stay on the trail."



Want to listen to this episode and a catalog of more than 100 other members-only episodes? Check out the vibrant community, extra episodes, and perks of being a Blurry Creatures member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blurrycreatures.com/pages/members⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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pubDate Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:00:00 GMT

author Blurry Creatures

duration 405000

transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
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Speaker 3:
[01:06] The weird thing with me, it was, again, that really beautiful, peaceful call. If that makes, it was a call. I feel like it was a call. It was a welcoming to, like, come here, you know? But my responsibility as a mom and my love as a mom overcame my curiosity, and I think that's what brought me back. If not, I would definitely be one of those missing, I feel it in my heart that I know. And the reason why is because when I came back and I heard the noises and the stuff, I was totally off trail and four hours had passed. Something in me, my six sons, I strongly think, was like, wait, hold up, this isn't supposed to happen type of thing, you know? And that's when I kinda came in, because honestly, like, and I can understand why so many people do go missing, because it's kinda like a numbing thing. Like, it's so mesmerizing, you stop thinking about anything and everybody, right? Like, you don't think, oh, this is gonna happen. Like, it looks so beautiful. And obviously, if you're in Yosemite or hiking anywhere else, you love nature, so you're able to appreciate it. And so it just calls you in. It's kinda like drags you in, you know, in a very loving, gentle, peaceful way. But I do feel that that's why a lot of people have gone missing, because it's not scary. If it was scary, people would not go in.

Speaker 4:
[02:48] The history of our Earth is so different from what we can imagine.

Speaker 5:
[02:54] The Smithsonian, if they found out about a large skeleton somewhere, was to go get it.

Speaker 6:
[03:01] I'm going to assume at least one person is right, because if one person is right, it busts the paradigm. It all goes back to the fallen chair. And the problem with the modern day church, they have a very truncated view of the supernatural.

Speaker 5:
[03:13] This backdrop that's just pregnant with all kinds of meaning, associated with this Mount Hermon event.

Speaker 4:
[03:24] And this guy defects from the kingdom.

Speaker 7:
[03:27] That's a big deal!

Speaker 8:
[03:44] All right, we're excited today. We got a one of a kind story, and I think that this is years in the making. For me particularly, when Bigfoot was fun hobby, Luke, and then it started to turn serious when I started listening to the stories of people going missing, and you had to sort of ask yourselves, okay, there's more than Bigfoot out there, what is going on? And obviously, we had David Paulides on the show, somewhere in the 200s, if you want to go listen to that episode, when he had his second film come out. But we have a story today from a woman named Gaby, who almost went missing. She describes being in Yosemite, which is the number one hotspot, and wandering off trail, but not knowing she was wandering off, and then just gets Alice in Wonderland, and what happens?

Speaker 7:
[04:27] Yeah, and this is kind of like the fill of the stories that we seem to have heard over the years. It's people ending up miles from where they started, if they come back, if they don't remain missing, right?

Speaker 8:
[04:41] Or if they find them.

Speaker 7:
[04:42] Right, it's like Gaby gets to experience the part that people don't really know what happens, because they don't return often. And it's a fascinating story. It kind of encompasses a lot of things that we've talked about, you know, 400 plus episodes, Nate. It's the national parks, it's the phenomena that happen in national parks. It would be creatures or missing people. It's portals, granite, time warps, the forest going quiet. It has all of these elements. She's here, she's on this side. And so we get to really unwrap and walk through her experience, which is super interesting. And then she's got a few more anecdotes of other national parks, which makes you wonder what's happening.

Speaker 8:
[05:17] Maybe they're protected for a reason.

Speaker 7:
[05:20] Yeah, maybe.

Speaker 8:
[05:21] I don't want people finding these portals. Yeah, it's always great to have these one of a kind stories to help people. Stay on the trail, as Luke said. Don't go off the trail. Stay on the trail.

Speaker 7:
[05:31] Stay on the trail. It's like our friend LA. Marsulli.

Speaker 8:
[05:34] But this time we mean it in reality. Don't wander off. But appreciate you guys out there who listen to the podcast and send us stories. Again, this is a big part of what we do. So you can send your story to us, info, at blurrycreatures.com or submit a story on the website. And if you want to support the podcast, keep it going. Keep us finding this stuff. Members are the way we do it. So blurrycreatures.com/members. Become a member of the show. Let's get Gaby on this one and go back to Yosemite. Once again, if you want to get access to this episode and so many more, and our members, community, discounts on merch, tickets early, all the things we do, blurrycreatures.com/members. Thanks for supporting the show and enjoy.