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Staircases deep into the wilderness

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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
So this guy who is a Search and Rescue for the US Forrest Service decided to post some stories to reddit about his experiences. Some creepy stories of people disappearing without a trace and some just sad shit about people who were found dead. Either way this was pretty crazy to read. I got through the first two parts, there are eight in total.

I also read almost all of the comments with the first two parts and the thing that really stood out to me was the mention of staircases in the deep wilderness not only by the OP but by many of the commentators. Some said they saw them then later the staircase was gone, all described the staircase very differently and the OP said he sees one almost every 5 times he goes out (I think it was 5 times).

I was incredibly intrigued by this idea that random fucking staircases are somewhere in the wilderness and make people feel weird as shit when they are around them. There aren't many stories of people going up the staircase, most just get a really bad gut feeling and run. The OP said his trainer just told him to ignore them, he would see a bunch of them throughout his searches and to never go near them or try to go up them.

So my question is, has anyone ever encountered one of these staircases in the wilderness? If so please share.

Here is the link to the first part of this guys stories.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/3iex1h/im_a_search_and_rescue_officer_for_the_us_forest/
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Dec 28 2015 6:35PM
50 5
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Olimar
Posts: 3535 - Karma: 4,076
80% of the posts on /r/nosleep are creative writing. the other 20% are not creative, poorly written, untrue stories.
Dec 28 2015 6:41PM
10 0
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Olimar80% of the posts on /r/nosleep are creative writing. the other 20% are not creative, poorly written, untrue stories.


The staircases are real. I refuse to believe they aren't! I will find one and report back one day.
Dec 28 2015 6:46PM
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Olimar
Posts: 3535 - Karma: 4,076
I admire your determination
Dec 28 2015 6:51PM
2 0
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JAHpow
Posts: 7282 - Karma: 17,176
theBearJewThe staircases are real. I refuse to believe they aren't! I will find one and report back one day.


"Be careful not to step in the bullshit."
Dec 28 2015 9:10PM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
i don't see why they wouldn't exist if the house falls apart but the staircase still stands...
Dec 28 2015 9:50PM
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a_burger
Posts: 5235 - Karma: 20,715
I go in the woods a lot and have never seen one outside normal house or cellar hole remnants, that would be pretty spooky though

I found an abandoned mine one time at my friends hunting camp though

https://www.instagram.com/p/6GGQx3vCvS/
Dec 28 2015 10:28PM
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Olimar
Posts: 3535 - Karma: 4,076
w_skierI go in the woods a lot and have never seen one outside normal house or cellar hole remnants, that would be pretty spooky though

I found an abandoned mine one time at my friends hunting camp though

https://www.instagram.com/p/6GGQx3vCvS/


did you go in?
Dec 30 2015 10:56AM
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arnie_grape
Posts: 3451 - Karma: 11,678
I have encountered some random lonely staircases in the woods and wondered why they exist but they weren't really "deep in the wilderness". just in public parks/near ski hills. and no they didn't give me the willies
Dec 30 2015 12:05PM
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MLB
Posts: 4462 - Karma: 298
I work as a wildland firefighter....spend my whole summer in the bush. Also grew up in the Canadian wilderness. Maybe it's a special American mystic staircase, but up here there are none.

They are fucking with you.
Dec 30 2015 12:34PM
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Wheaty214
Posts: 1687 - Karma: 841
Well I just read through all of the stories and I am adequately terrified now.
Dec 30 2015 1:57PM
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Steezy_IN_KC
Posts: 2033 - Karma: 1,607
Real or not... That's a solid read.

I've seen stairs in the middle of the woods before. I believe it was the adams falls hike in Colorado. A little nothing of a hike but log cabins were built on the trail and over time the houses just fell down, leaving a set of stairs all by it's self.
Dec 30 2015 2:05PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
Think I might just go build some random ass staircases this summer.
Dec 30 2015 2:56PM
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OregonDead
Posts: 6891 - Karma: 24,559

The CCC built a bunch of cool staircases in the woods around here. Some of them still get maintained once in a while and others were just built to last.
Dec 30 2015 3:02PM
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a_burger
Posts: 5235 - Karma: 20,715
Olimardid you go in?


yeah it was only 50 feet deep but it was still kinda sketchy
Dec 30 2015 3:14PM
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.Hugo.
Posts: 17360 - Karma: 28,485
Very good writing and stories. Sad to find out that its fake though
Dec 30 2015 4:36PM
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DGski
Posts: 3491 - Karma: 2,328
OregonDead

The CCC built a bunch of cool staircases in the woods around here. Some of them still get maintained once in a while and others were just built to last.


that's sick where is that
Dec 30 2015 6:38PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
Fred_BearVery good writing and stories. Sad to find out that its fake though


Of course it's fake. It's good writing though if you think about it. The raw symbolism and setup are awesome. He tells you about weird dead people stuff, sad or spooky stories and such which sets the tone. Then, the mysterious disappearing staircase in the wilderness. Staircase is perfect because staircases go places. Where could it take you? Down?? And if it disappears are you trapped? Imagination candy for sure. Bravo random short story guy for keeping it simple and not ruining it.
Dec 30 2015 6:46PM
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Dddsz
Posts: 3042 - Karma: 7,324
Do the staircases come with handrails?
Dec 30 2015 6:52PM
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gnar_whal
Posts: 1286 - Karma: 3,787
bro you're high as fuck
Dec 30 2015 6:55PM
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OregonDead
Posts: 6891 - Karma: 24,559
DGskithat's sick where is that


Near my town in Oregon. The stone staircase is at Silver Falls and the other one is at the Shellburg Falls trail. Both of these trails also have caves where you can also walk behind waterfalls. There are quite a few trails with cool old staircases in the woods around here.
Dec 30 2015 7:00PM
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plyswthsqrrls
Posts: 838 - Karma: 2,271
This is a good one, love the style and its an easy read

Nothing will beat Penpal though
Dec 30 2015 11:57PM
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a_burger
Posts: 5235 - Karma: 20,715
Also the first story sounds pretty similar to some actual unsolved cases minus the bear man, look up "missing 411" on YouTube it's a book and there's lots of podcast interviews with the author
Dec 31 2015 10:45AM
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.squirrely.
Posts: 7563 - Karma: 7,546
http://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/discover_history_explore_nature/history/allagash/index.shtml

Similar
Jan 1 2016 12:41PM
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AT-AT
Posts: 3281 - Karma: 3,256
OregonDead

The CCC built a bunch of cool staircases in the woods around here. Some of them still get maintained once in a while and others were just built to last.


The CCC built some good shit and they built it to last. A lot of the stairs, walkways, picnic areas, etc in State and national parks were built by those guys.
Jan 2 2016 7:16PM
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a_burger
Posts: 5235 - Karma: 20,715
AT-ATThe CCC built some good shit and they built it to last. A lot of the stairs, walkways, picnic areas, etc in State and national parks were built by those guys.


not to mention ski trails on the east coast
Jan 2 2016 7:33PM
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freestyler540
Posts: 13083 - Karma: 18,725
The Kootenays have some ghostly remains scattered in the mountains. Most are abandoned mine shafts, and half destroyed cable towers to the more creepy like abandoned towns and camps miles from the highway.

Deep in the wintery Valhalla, I stumbled upon an unmarked mine shaft. As I was hucking it, I could make out an grown in trail. In Nelson, mines and ancient logging roads still scar the mountain station. Even nuttier is the fact that the original town of the 1890s is still noticeable with rail tracks and foundations. I havent found it yet, but I will stumble upon it one day.

The old Kaslo-Kootenay trailway running through Nelson, Kaslo, Revelstoke suffered major losses in the early 1900s by mud slides and avalanches, but sections of the old trailway is hikeable. Stories of finding flooded homes, tunnels to nowhere and some of the most hostile terrain one can hike exist. The area is pretty sweet.

Undiscovered remains are littered everywhere. It would be cool to find it!
Jan 2 2016 8:02PM
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dropinoutofschol
Posts: 265 - Karma: 905
Very cool read thanks OP.

On a different but cool note, I did a bunch of canoe trips over the summer on rivers in Quebec and a lot of them have a history of logging so as you go down the river you can find old camp and destroyed bridges in the middle of nowhere. Some really cool remains of old boats and stuff just left to rot in the woods
Jan 3 2016 9:13AM
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PhylumUnhook
Posts: 1 - Karma: 11
I have been backpacking and rock climbing since I was 10. I now work for a company and lead backpacking trips in the back woods of certain states (I will not mention where for personal reasons) we will be about 300 miles out for personal trips where its just us instructors. I also volunteer with SAR in my state. My buddy and I saw stairs that looked exactly how the UP described. like cut out of a house. in pristine condition with nothing on them. We were super confused. (Again we were about 300 miles away from any housing areas or anything.) this was about 3 years ago. Ill be 23 soon. We didn't know what to do. So we left. But we talked about it a lot at camp and decided to go back and find them the next day. They were gone. I never wanted to look for any again. But yes they are read.
Oct 13 2016 12:33PM
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HAMNATION
Posts: 814 - Karma: 1,720
SconnieDo the staircases come with handrails?


came here to say this.... also thought jib the handrail should have been in the poll
Oct 13 2016 2:20PM
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Randy_Quench
Posts: 5447 - Karma: 4,343
PhylumUnhookI have been backpacking and rock climbing since I was 10. I now work for a company and lead backpacking trips in the back woods of certain states (I will not mention where for personal reasons) we will be about 300 miles out for personal trips where its just us instructors. I also volunteer with SAR in my state. My buddy and I saw stairs that looked exactly how the UP described. like cut out of a house. in pristine condition with nothing on them. We were super confused. (Again we were about 300 miles away from any housing areas or anything.) this was about 3 years ago. Ill be 23 soon. We didn't know what to do. So we left. But we talked about it a lot at camp and decided to go back and find them the next day. They were gone. I never wanted to look for any again. But yes they are read.


And you created an alias to help us better believe you?
Oct 13 2016 3:06PM
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Raz.
Posts: 7456 - Karma: 1,611
honestly staircases in woods aint no thang. I feel like i've come across 2 or 3 solitary staircases, but I've spent a fuckton of time just wandering woods. In CO you'll find whole mining camps regularly. I've even seen a fucking ford Model A surrounded by trees. how it got there?
Oct 13 2016 3:39PM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
PhylumUnhook(Again we were about 300 miles away from any housing areas or anything.)


I call COMPLETE bullshit. In the lower 48 it is virtually impossible (perhaps completely impossible) to get more than 30 miles (as the crow flies) from civilization. You're full of shit.
Oct 13 2016 3:48PM
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Catbug
Posts: 463 - Karma: 1,027
iFlipI call COMPLETE bullshit. In the lower 48 it is virtually impossible (perhaps completely impossible) to get more than 30 miles (as the crow flies) from civilization. You're full of shit.


Rekd

Oct 13 2016 3:57PM
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snowpocalypse
Posts: 1036 - Karma: 3,525
iFlipI call COMPLETE bullshit. In the lower 48 it is virtually impossible (perhaps completely impossible) to get more than 30 miles (as the crow flies) from civilization. You're full of shit.


I take it you have never been to Idaho or Montana. Frank Church wilderness is over 9,000 miles of no roads, cars, houses..... Nothing but hiking is allowed. I know its hard for east coasters to believe, no cell service. THE HORROR!
Oct 13 2016 7:29PM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
snowpocalypseI take it you have never been to Idaho or Montana. Frank Church wilderness is over 9,000 miles of no roads, cars, houses..... Nothing but hiking is allowed. I know its hard for east coasters to believe, no cell service. THE HORROR!




Au contraire. I've travelled extensively, to some of the more remote places in North America. While the Frank Church wilderness is indeed vast, its radius is only 17.16 miles. At no point are you terribly far from civilization. From any point, with solid navigational abilities and good endurance, you would be able to reach a road in a day or two. I'm not saying it's not "remote," but it's certainly not "300 miles from the nearest civilization."
Oct 13 2016 8:33PM
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gr4
Posts: 1499 - Karma: 945
iFlip


Au contraire. I've travelled extensively, to some of the more remote places in North America. While the Frank Church wilderness is indeed vast, its radius is only 17.16 miles. At no point are you terribly far from civilization. From any point, with solid navigational abilities and good endurance, you would be able to reach a road in a day or two. I'm not saying it's not "remote," but it's certainly not "300 miles from the nearest civilization."




u dumb. 2.3 million acres of wilderness + adjacent roadless and wilderness areas. 1.5M acres without even a trail. amazing wild area.
Oct 13 2016 9:44PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Still no sign of staircases. Ill keep looking during my travels. If I ever stop posting on NS, know the staircase got me.
Mar 31 2017 1:30PM
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Slush
Posts: 1914 - Karma: 12,942
Sorry bud, pretty sure these are fake. I've talked to a couple of forest rangers and my friend who's really big into hiking and they say they've never heard of anything like that.
Mar 31 2017 9:14PM
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corona
Posts: 12795 - Karma: 32,751
iFlip


Au contraire. I've travelled extensively, to some of the more remote places in North America. While the Frank Church wilderness is indeed vast, its radius is only 17.16 miles. At no point are you terribly far from civilization. From any point, with solid navigational abilities and good endurance, you would be able to reach a road in a day or two. I'm not saying it's not "remote," but it's certainly not "300 miles from the nearest civilization."


Come to Canada. you could be more than 30 miles from any sort of manmade object in probably all the provinces and territories except the maritimes or maybe a prairie province or two.
Mar 31 2017 9:25PM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
VinnieFCome to Canada. you could be more than 30 miles from any sort of manmade object in probably all the provinces and territories except the maritimes or maybe a prairie province or two.


That is precisely my plan. I'll be there soon.
Mar 31 2017 9:35PM
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GrapeHunter
Posts: 2399 - Karma: 8,637
Even if they are fake, thanks for finding this, super good reads
Apr 1 2017 11:24AM
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brett_fisher
Posts: 2417 - Karma: 10,494
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/885374/Horrifying-Search-and-Rescue-Stories----quot-Im-a-Search-and-Rescue-Officer-for-the-US-Forest-Service---quot-i found the video on youtube and searched stairs in the wood. so surprise the first result was a ns thread.
Dec 10 2017 6:06PM
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blknwhiterainbow
Posts: 1 - Karma: 15
I used to live in South Dakota. Not very interesting but outside of one of the only memorable towns is a dirt road that takes you out to these abandoned houses and stuff. If you go down the road aways, my friend and I found this staircase leading down into a dark ass room. It was eerie, and we found it as the sun was setting. We went into it (brilliant, I know) and found that there was old chairs, a work desk, a dead cat, and a dirty matress. When we looked at the top (where the staircase began), we realized that it was the foundation for a house, and the staircase took us to the basement. The floor above was completely covered in brush and dirt, so it seriously just looked like it was the ground, and this random staircase went into the dirt below. The walls and everything else were gone, so it was just this basement in the middle of nowhere. It was really freaky. Not as scary as a staircase in the woods would be, but this was pretty weird. You can actually check these places out. If anyone lives in SD, I'll give you the details so you can see the area. I know it well.
May 11 2018 3:57AM
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profa_212
Posts: 8898 - Karma: 35,864
blknwhiterainbowI used to live in South Dakota. Not very interesting but outside of one of the only memorable towns is a dirt road that takes you out to these abandoned houses and stuff. If you go down the road aways, my friend and I found this staircase leading down into a dark ass room. It was eerie, and we found it as the sun was setting. We went into it (brilliant, I know) and found that there was old chairs, a work desk, a dead cat, and a dirty matress. When we looked at the top (where the staircase began), we realized that it was the foundation for a house, and the staircase took us to the basement. The floor above was completely covered in brush and dirt, so it seriously just looked like it was the ground, and this random staircase went into the dirt below. The walls and everything else were gone, so it was just this basement in the middle of nowhere. It was really freaky. Not as scary as a staircase in the woods would be, but this was pretty weird. You can actually check these places out. If anyone lives in SD, I'll give you the details so you can see the area. I know it well.


where at m8. been to quite a few abandoned houses in my years there but this one doesnt sound familiar
May 11 2018 11:53PM
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skiP.E.I.
Posts: 7821 - Karma: 21,850
Still more intriguing are the lone staircases in the middle of the prairies.
May 12 2018 10:06AM
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