Goat Island

Camp Monsters

Two podcast hosts survive a sudden storm while kayaking on Puget Sound, forcing them to take shelter in the ruins of Fort Whitman on Goat Island. While huddled around a fire, one host reads

Key takeaways

• The episode is set in the ruins of Fort Whitman on Goat Island in Puget Sound, Washington.
• Alma, a former vaudeville singer and WWI nurse, discovers her patriotic songs directly led soldiers to their deaths in combat.

Main topics

• Survival and shelter in abandoned ruins
• World War I history and veteran trauma

Notable quotes

"My name is Alma, last caretaker of Fort Whitman, and I leave this as a warning to whoever reads it..."

Conclusion

The episode delivers a tightly woven audio drama that uses historical

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Are you looking for some serious inspiration? Check out REI's award-winning podcast, Wild Ideas Worth Living. Each week, journalist and adventurer Shelby Stanger dives into high-impact conversations with explorers, athletes, scientists, and entrepreneurs who have turned their wildest ideas into reality. From cycling around the world to micro-adventuring in your own neighborhood, and even baking cakes on glaciers? These stories are sure to ignite your next outdoor adventure. Listen to Wild Ideas Worth Living wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 1 (0:42) REI Co-op Studios Speaker 1 (1:13) I'm a good order answer. Speaker 1 (1:16) It's kind of... slipped, but floating. Speaker 1 (1:20) For now, anyway. Speaker 1 (1:25) We can't last. We can't last out here. Not long. Speaker 1 (1:31) This water's too cold. Speaker 1 (1:34) Look, see? Over there. No! Over there! in a dark shade. It's land. Speaker 1 (1:46) It's our only chance. No. No, we can't push the kayak. Gotta let go! Swim! Swim! I'll come behind. Speaker 1 (2:00) Toast up! Don't look there. Go go swim Speaker 2 (2:45) There you are! Speaker 2 (2:48) Ugh! Speaker 2 (2:52) Oh man. Oh, you made it. When I lost you up there, I thought... Speaker 2 (3:01) Anyway, we... I can't stay here. It's a narrow little strip of gravel. There's no shelter. Tide coming up. The waves are gonna be crashing against that bluff soon. Night's coming down. Hey look The only way is up that slope. It's steep, but... Hey, there's something. What's that hanging down? a root or vine or it might help us climb. Speaker 2 (3:36) No, it's a wire cable A thick old rusted cape. Speaker 2 (3:47) No, what? Yeah, no, of course I'm gonna climb up just... I'm just wondering. Speaker 2 (3:57) I'm wondering where we are. Speaker 2 (3:59) an old cable like this hanging down the bluff. Is that a building up there? See up there that concrete Speaker 2 (4:10) It's like a ruin. Speaker 2 (4:15) we couldn't be. Speaker 2 (4:18) I'm sure we're not. I'm sure we're not on goat island. Speaker 2 (4:26) No, we couldn't be here man. We must... Speaker 2 (4:30) be on the Camp Monsters podcast. Speaker 2 (4:47) Yeah. Speaker 2 (4:50) Starting to warm up a little bit now. Just a little bit with this fire and a roof over our heads Ooh. Funny when the cold gets right down to your marrow like that, how long it sticks around. Speaker 2 (5:06) I'm just glad we found this shelter and there were some dry sticks in it. And I'm glad you had the matches in that little waterproof container you bought at REI. I just wish we'd bought a bigger one and put our cell phones in it. And I wish I hadn't kicked off my Asics Blaze Blast running shoes. I mean, those were real deal Asics Blaze Blasts with Asics Grip Multidirectional Lug Technology. They provided such a new, energetic trail experience. Now, you know I'm not a super technical trail runner. You know that about me. But I just felt like the FF BlastMax cushioning in the midsole of those Blaze Blasts created a blend of cloud-like softness with a responsive energy return while keeping the shoe lightweight. You know what I'm saying. And did I ever tell you about the trampoline pod in the Blaze Blast's forefoot? No? Oh, it delivered such a bold, underfoot experience. Energetic, bouncy, and grippy even on unpaved terrains. I just felt like it gave me more energy to move body and mind. Speaker 2 (6:20) Ugh. Moving is so boring without my ASICs. If our phones weren't out there in the ocean with my ASICs blaze blasts, I'd already be jumping on REI.com checking out all the latest ASICs gear. Basics. Sound mind, sound body. I wish I had a pair of Asics on right now. Speaker 2 (6:42) And I wish... Speaker 2 (6:45) I wish I hadn't got us into this mess. I wanted to kick off Season 8 of the Camp Monsters podcast with something special. So I dreamed up this sunset kayak tour on the Puget Sound, north of Seattle. I never thought the weather would turn so bad so quick. It was only supposed to be a three-hour tour. A three hour tour. Speaker 2 (7:10) What? No, no, I'm just thinking. I'm not being quiet to listen. I'm not listening for anything out there in the night, in the rain. Speaker 2 (7:24) It's just... well it's these ruins we're in i mean this isn't some old shack or boat-house or something this is huge all these great big low buildings poured in thick concrete gouged crouching down here in the earth right into the bluff This little room, this vault we're huddled in. With graffiti leaping around in the firelight, raindrops streaking orange in front of all that dark outside the little door. Speaker 2 (7:55) There's only one place we could be. Speaker 2 (7:59) This is Fort Whitman. The Speaker 1 (8:02) ruins Speaker 2 (8:02) of Fort Whitman. We're shipwrecked on. Speaker 2 (8:08) On Goat Island. Speaker 2 (8:15) I jumped a little. Speaker 2 (8:18) Of course the Thunder picks that moment to let rip. I didn't really mean to make it sound so ominous. There's nothing ominous about Goat Island. I mean, not really. It's just that, well, it's abandoned, for one thing. You know, totally uninhabited, so there's no way we can hike for help, and no one's going to find us tonight. But all the same, we're lucky to be here. We're just lucky to be alive and have this fire. So we'll just try to stay warm and keep feeding the fire and keep waiting, just waiting for dawn. Speaker 2 (8:57) Jumpy? No, I'm not. I'm not jumping. This isn't pacing. I'm just trying to get comfortable. I'm still trying to thaw out from our unexpected swim tonight and What are you trying to do anyway? You scare me or what? You're the one acting all... You're putting words in my mouth. No, no. I don't know any scary stories about this place. About Goat Island or this old ruined fort or... And even if I did, I wouldn't tell any of them here now after the night we've had. I mean, anyway, people always make things up about empty, lonely places like this, so... Speaker 2 (9:46) Huh? Speaker 2 (9:48) Oh yeah, of course I noticed the graffiti. Speaker 2 (9:52) Teenagers with nothing better to do paddle over here in the daytime and spray it up. They're always off this island by nightfall though, I bet. Speaker 1 (10:00) I wish they'd think of something else to draw other than mushrooms and rocket ships. Speaker 2 (10:05) What? Speaker 2 (10:07) No, what are you talking about? Speaker 1 (10:09) Hmm. Speaker 2 (10:11) Okay, yeah, you're right. I do kind of see it now. Speaker 2 (10:16) There's something behind the graffiti, isn't there? It's kind of under it. Think it's painted on or? Speaker 2 (10:25) Oh, you're right. It's etched or scratched. Speaker 1 (10:30) scratch Speaker 2 (10:31) right in the concrete. Speaker 2 (10:33) Pretty deep too. That's why it shows through the paint. Makes shadows in this jumping firelight. Speaker 2 (10:41) Well, you know concrete this old starts to soften it makes it easy to scratch and carve things into here hand me that uh That rusty nail by your feet Speaker 2 (10:57) Oh man. No, I could barely make a mark. Somebody must have really worked to scratch all this on the wall. It's writing. Speaker 1 (11:07) There's a Speaker 2 (11:07) lot of it, too. Speaker 2 (11:09) Hey, I think I'd make out the beginning part here. Let's see. Speaker 2 (11:14) my name is Alma. Speaker 2 (11:27) Can't make out the rest of it. I can't can't read anymore Speaker 2 (11:32) Oh, you can, huh? Speaker 2 (11:35) Well, look. I wish you wouldn't. read any more of it. I mean, it's just somebody's idea of a joke, that old story about this island. Speaker 2 (11:49) Well if you're going to read it, can you at least do it silently? Just read it to yourself. Oh, come on. What do you mean you are? You're not even mumbling. You're practically singing it. My name is Alma, last caretaker of Fort Whitman, and I leave this as a warning to whoever reads it, and as a full account of myself and the terrible thing I did, and of what happened to me here on this island, just please, just stop it. Will you stop it? It's just that old Goat Island story, and it's not true. None of it. It never happened. Or, if something happened, it was such a long time ago. I'm sure it wasn't like they say. The story just got built up, you know, and built up and exaggerated into this whole mysterious thing, like there was... Speaker 2 (12:32) Like there was something haunting this island, right? Speaker 2 (12:37) Stalking it. Speaker 2 (12:39) Hiding out there in the dark. Strange eyes shining in the firelight. A little closer every time you see them until... Until. Speaker 2 (12:54) Will you cut it out? I am not staring. I'm tired. I just happened to be looking out that doorway at the night. All that dark and rain. I'm not watching. Did it look like I was watching? What I'm trying to tell you is that there's nothing to watch for on a deserted island. That's the whole point of what I'm saying. There's nothing out there. Speaker