You know what's worse than being stranded on a mountain with no food?

Uh, listening to ads when you're trying to escape reality? Exactly. That's why we've got

you covered on Patreon. For just a few bucks, ditch the ads completely. And for a few bucks more,

get ad-free listening plus early access to our disaster strikes episodes. Because when disaster

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Crux True Survival Stories. Your future survival depends on it. Okay, maybe not literally,

but your listening experience definitely will.

Welcome to the segment of the Crux podcast called Disaster Strikes. While our regular episodes

focus on survival stories where people overcome incredible odds, this biweekly segment examines

outdoor adventures that ended in tragedy.

These stories are meant to paint a clear picture of how quickly things can go wrong in the

wilderness and the cascade of decisions, often small and seemingly reasonable in the moment,

that can lead to devastating outcomes. By studying these incidents respectfully and thoroughly, we can all learn

valuable lessons that might save lives. The stories are difficult, but the education they provide

is invaluable. Today, we're taking you to a small mountain town where the line between fiction

and reality became fatally blurred.

In the summer of 1988, Keith Reinhart ran a small storefront in Silver Plume, Colorado,

population 130. By then, his hair had gone wild, long and gray. He'd grown a beard.

At 49 years old, friends said he looked like a different person, like a man who'd been wandering.

The shop sold antiques, photographs, things people left behind. But no one could see what was inside that building.

On a desk next to a computer, the unfinished novel that would become Keith's epitaph.

The last line he ever wrote was this. Guy Gypsum changed into some hiking boots and

...