August 08, 2025

225: David couldn't find the cabin

1 hour 36 minutes

My favorite author is Jack London. His style of writing

paints a very vivid picture in my mind. As I read his stories, it feels like

I’m right there in the middle of it. One of his most well-known works is titled

To Build A Fire. This is the opening paragraph of that story.

Day had dawned cold and gray when the man turned aside

from the main Yukon trail. He climbed the high earth-bank where a

little-traveled trail led east through the pine forest. It was a high bank, and

he paused to breathe at the top. He excused the act to himself by looking at

his watch. It was nine o’clock in the morning. There was no sun or promise of

sun, although there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day. However,

there seemed to be an indescribable darkness over the face of things. That was because

the sun was absent from the sky. This fact did not worry the man. He was not

alarmed by the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun.

There’s something about the quiet, dark, biting cold of

northern Canada that really fascinates me. I’ve lived in cold climates, but

nothing like that. When the outside temperature gets to be well below zero, the

constant thought is just what you have to do in order to survive.

My guest today is David. He and his partner in this

adventure, Scott, dreamed of spending time in those conditions. But what they

encountered just in the first few days had them - from one hour to the next –

wondering, what else could go wrong?

Video of David and Scott returning to cabin site in 2014:

https://youtu.be/NOuuCS0oAYU

Website about David and Scott's experience:

https://paradisecreekcabin.com

David’s book, Paradise Creek: A True Story of Adventure

and Survival –

https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Creek-Adventure-Canadian-Wilderness-ebook/dp/B08KTXZ4S6/ref=sr_1_1

David’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrscott/

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/225

Scott’s podcast: https://notrealart.com/

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was

done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands

of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook

(many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio

exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That

Like PLUS.

Try What Was That Like PLUS free:

iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast

feed, click on “Try free”

Android: on your phone, go to

WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app

Sponsor deals:

If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free

shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]!

#indacloudpod

Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS

to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.

Go to Quince.com/whatwas

for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more

View all episodes

By Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media.

4.7

16661,666 ratings