Disorientation, a dry river crossing, and a chair-shaped rock in the Wind River Range
A caller who gives the name [name withheld], from Sacramento, describes a 1976 National Outdoor Leadership mountaineering trip in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. [name withheld] says the caller and a camp partner became disoriented in sudden darkness while fetching water. They woke at dawn across the river with dry shoes, sitting 25 feet up a cliff in a rock hollow shaped like a chair. [name withheld] says a guide later told them the spot was a Shoshone burial ground and that they had experienced a “Wind River turnaround.”
This clip comes from the source recording. AI chose where it starts and ends, so it may start or end a little early or late. The word-for-word transcript is not published. You can hear the source recording on the Internet Archive (file “Ghost to Ghost 1994.mp3”, starting at 3:12:50). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], from Sacramento, tells the host that in 1976 they were on a National Outdoor Leadership mountaineering school in the Wind River Range in Laramie, Wyoming. [name withheld] adds that [quote withheld] After about 25 days out, [name withheld] and a camp partner finished dinner and set off in the dark for the river, roughly 30 feet away, to get water for tea. As they walked down a small trail, [name withheld] says, the scene [quote withheld] They could make out vague shapes and dark figures. The sound of water was replaced by a whooshing sound, and everything seemed to spiral around them [quote withheld] [name withheld] says their energy drained, they were falling over branches, and the surroundings seemed oozy, formless, and black. [name withheld] says they screamed and were not heard, and their knees weakened. Then [name withheld] felt a rough, rocky surface as the friend inched along a few feet behind. [name withheld] found a flat spot and collapsed. [name withheld] says they sat all night staring into blackness and seeing bluish-white electrical streaks. At dawn [name withheld] saw the river not more than 50 feet away. [name withheld] says they were on the other side of the river, though their shoes weren't wet, and they could see the camps of their parties. [name withheld] still did not know why no one heard them screaming. The strangest part, [name withheld] says, was being 25 feet off the ground on a cliff, in a hollow shaped like a perfect chair with a back, seat, and armrests. [name withheld] says experienced rock climbers had difficulty descending from it. [name withheld] says the guide told them they were in a Shoshone Indian burial ground and had experienced a “Wind River turnaround,” common in that area. For the rest of the 35-day trip, [name withheld] says, the forest seemed darker and more sinister.
Reported events, in order
- 0:09
The caller says they were on a National Outdoor Leadership mountaineering school in the Wind River Range, Wyoming, in 1976.
- 0:21
After about 25 days, the caller and a camp partner finished dinner and set off in the dark for a river about 30 feet away to get water for tea.
- 0:43
The caller says it grew pitch black, the forest seemed to close in, and vague shapes and dark figures appeared. The sound of water became a whooshing sound.
- 0:55
The caller reports everything spiraling like water down a drain, their energy draining, and falling over branches amid an oozy, formless blackness.
- 1:16
The caller says they screamed and no one heard them. The caller's knees weakened and they were about to collapse.
- 1:29
The caller felt a rough, rocky surface, and the friend inched along behind. The caller collapsed into a flat spot and told the friend to wait until morning.
- 1:46
The caller says they sat all night in utter blackness seeing bluish-white electrical streaks.
- 1:56
At dawn the caller saw the river not more than 50 feet away and realized they were on the other side of it, with dry shoes. They could see their parties' camps.
- 2:15
The caller says they were 25 feet off the ground on a cliff, sitting in a hollow shaped like a chair with a back, seat, and armrests.
- 2:41
The caller says the guide told them they were in a Shoshone Indian burial ground and had experienced a “Wind River turnaround,” common in that area.
- 2:47
The caller says that for the rest of the 35-day trip the forest seemed darker and more sinister, with black trees and hanging mosses.
Claims
Each claim is labeled as something the person telling the story noticed (observation), what they made of it (interpretation), something others told them (hearsay), or something the host said (host statement).
- observation· 0:43
While they walked to the river in the dark, the scene grew pitch black and the forest seemed to close in around them.
- observation· 0:43
The caller could make out vague shapes and dark figures, and the water sound was replaced by a whooshing sound.
- observation· 0:55
Everything seemed to spiral around them like water going down a drain, and the caller's energy drained away.
- observation· 1:16
They screamed and no one heard them.
- observation· 1:46
The caller sat all night in blackness seeing bluish-white electrical streaks.
- observation· 2:07
At dawn they were on the other side of the river, although their shoes were not wet.
- observation· 2:26
They were 25 feet off the ground on a cliff, sitting in a hollow shaped like a chair with a back, seat, and armrests.
- hearsay· 2:41
A guide told them they were in a Shoshone Indian burial ground and had experienced a “Wind River turnaround,” said to be common in that area.
- hearsay· 2:47
The guide described the experience as a “Wind River turnaround” that many people in the area have.
- interpretation· 2:41
The burial-ground and “turnaround” explanation is the only cause offered in the story. The caller does not give their own interpretation.
- host statement· 3:09
The host says it is a good story.
Scores, with reasons
An AI model gave these scores using a fixed set of scoring rules (scoring-v1). They are editorial judgments and rough guides, not the odds that anything paranormal happened. How scoring works.
A firsthand, fairly specific story of a single night in a named year and region. But the sensory detail is hazy, the jump across the river is unexplained, and the caller makes no attempt to weigh ordinary causes.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story told by the person who says they were there.
- Concrete details: the year 1976, about 25 days into the trip, a 30-foot walk to the river, a 25-foot cliff, a 35-day trip.
- A clear sequence in time, from the walk to the river through the realization at dawn.
- Core details are vague: “vague shapes,” [quote withheld]
- The step from the river trail to a cliff 25 feet up across the river is not explained by anything in the transcript.
- Distances shift between “about 30 feet” and [quote withheld]
- The caller does not address fatigue, darkness, or sleep as possible explanations.
- One label showing who is speaking is unclear; it may be the host or the caller.
- The place is given as [quote withheld] The phrase is ambiguous in itself but is quoted as spoken.
- 0:09
- 0:43
- 2:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component scores (closeness to the source about 21, specificity about 13, internal consistency about 14, other explanations about 6, calibration about 8) are my reasoning from the quoted content, not stated in the transcript.
The story rests on the caller's word. A second witness is claimed but does not speak, and checkable details (name, year, range, the guide's claim) were not checked.
Evidence for and against
- Checkable details are given: the caller's name, Sacramento, 1976, the Wind River Range, the National Outdoor Leadership school.
- A second person is said to have been present.
- No documentation, recording, or photograph is presented or examined.
- The second alleged witness never speaks on air.
- The burial-ground explanation is secondhand, from a guide who does not speak.
- No outside check was performed, so the hard cap of 50 applies.
- 0:02
- 2:41
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placing it in the range of 11 to 25 (checkable details given but not checked; other witnesses claimed) is my judgment from the scoring guide.
Darkness closing in, being disoriented and unheard while screaming, an unexplained move to a new spot, and an unresolved aftermath are unsettling. But nothing threatens or harms the caller, and the host closes this part of the broadcast lightly.
Evidence for and against
- The forest [quote withheld] in pitch darkness.
- Screaming with no response from people nearby.
- The forest is said to stay [quote withheld] for the rest of the trip.
- No physical harm or threatening being is reported.
- The host treats it as a story and moves on.
- The “dark apparitions” are described only vaguely, so they carry little weight in the story.
- 1:16
- 2:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): The creepiness score is a judgment of the story as entertainment, not a claim that anything happened.
The core of the story is a distinctive episode of disorientation and relocation rather than a standard haunting, with a local name for what happened and a chair-shaped rock hollow. It still shares the familiar [quote withheld] frame.
Evidence for and against
- A name for what happened: “Wind River turnaround.”
- Unusual physical detail: a rock hollow shaped like a chair with armrests.
- Unusual outcome: across the river with dry shoes and 25 feet up a cliff.
- Dark woods at night, vague shapes, and being lost are common ghost-story elements.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be calculated here. The model score is provisional.
- 2:47
- 2:26
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is my provisional estimate based on the content, pending comparison with the rest of the archive.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: the caller's firsthand story (live call); a claimed second witness who was present and does not speak on air; a secondhand explanation credited to an unnamed guide; no physical evidence, recording, or document. The originality score blends the model's score (72) with how rare the story's details are across the archive. This method is still provisional.
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- Disorientation in the dark after fatigue on a long wilderness trip (25 days out) could cause confusion about direction and distance, and a fall or stumble followed by sleep. · The caller says it was “really dark,” it was about 25 days into the trip, and they describe their energy draining and falling over branches.
- Dream images, or images seen while falling asleep, while the caller was exhausted and lying still could account for the bluish-white streaks reported through the night. · The caller says they sat all night staring into blackness seeing “bluish-white” electrical charges, then saw the surroundings clearly at dawn.
- The chair-shaped hollow could be a natural rock feature, and the difficulty descending the cliff face could reflect darkness or fatigue rather than anything strange. · The caller describes a flat spot in a “covey hole” shaped like a chair on a cliff, and says they had difficulty getting down the sheer face.
What stands out
The story does not center on a figure or a haunting. It centers on a disorienting episode in which the caller says they ended up across a river with dry shoes and 25 feet up a cliff, seated in a rock hollow shaped like a chair. The name given to the event (a “Wind River turnaround” tied to a claimed Shoshone burial ground) is unusual phrasing for this archive.
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