Murder on the Appalachian Trail

National Park After Dark

Danielle LaRock & Cassandra Yahnian

True Crime, Places & Travel, History, Society & Culture

4.6 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Margarett McFaddin Harritt and Joel Polson sparked an unlikely friendship that lead them to plan a thru hike on the AT in 1974. On just their second night they met a strange man at the Low Gap shelter, who unbeknownst to them, was a criminal on the run from police. Their encounter left one of them dead and the other in a fight for survival.For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to this week’s partners!AG1: Try AG1 and get a FREE bottle of Vitamin D3K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase at drinkAG1.com/NPAD.IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping.Sierra Club: Book your 2025 trip today at sierraclub.org/outings, and use code NPAD to get $100 off.BetterHelp: National Park After Dark is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	In the spring of 1974, the amount of AT through hikers had rapidly grown, but was still very
0:07.2	unpopular in comparison to today's numbers. The number of people inspired to make the track
0:12.4	had slowly been increasing since the trail was built and completed in 1937. In 1973,
0:19.2	93 people made the journey. The number of people who finished was much less.
0:23.6	At the time, what concerned people the most was the weather, the tough terrain, and injuries that could happen in the remote wilderness.
0:31.6	However, in 1974, a new fear swept over the through-hiking community.
0:36.6	A killer had entered the woods, and in the
0:39.1	first time in documented history, someone was murdered on the trail. Today, over 3,000 people
0:46.1	attempt to through hike the entire footpath each year, and around 3 million people each year pay
0:51.9	the trail a visit. Despite the rise in numbers, to date, there have
0:56.0	been only 10 murders along the AT, but that first killing in 1974 set an unsettling precedent
1:03.3	that still makes hikers wary of strangers to this day. Welcome to National Park After Dark. Hey everyone and welcome to the first official episode of 2025.
1:38.3	Yes, welcome.
1:39.3	Happy 2025.
1:41.3	We're here.
1:42.3	It's a new year, new year, new me, all that good stuff. Yeah. Et cetera, et cetera. Et cetera. It's another day. But it's also, I do like the beginning of the new year because I think it's fun to reflect on everything that happened in the past 365 days where you were, what you did, who you were with, any accomplishments,
2:02.0	any hard times that have passed. It feels like a fresh slate, but at the same time,
2:06.1	it's also like, it's just another day. Yeah. It's not, it's not that big a deal. If you're not
2:10.1	having like this epiphany of changed my life, it's not a big deal. It's yesterday was
2:14.5	2024. Today is 2025. It doesn't matter. Yeah. Time isn't real. It's fine. It's yesterday was 2024, today is 2025. It doesn't matter. Yeah.
2:18.3	Time isn't real.
2:19.1	It's fine.
	...

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