The Shorts– Near Miss

This episode of The Dirtbag Diaries features two gripping near-miss stories from different adventurers. First, Seth Cohen recounts being trapped for six hours in a narrow cave tunnel at Poland Hill in Wyoming at age 22, where his hubris led him to attempt a tight crawl that ended in a full-body impasse. With the help of friends, strangers with wilderness first aid training, and a surprising solution involving Crisco grease and a 11-person rope pull, he was freed at 11:30 p.m. The story is a powerful meditation on vulnerability, human connection, and the absurdity of youthful bravado. Years later, on a road trip with his wife, he revisits the site and is stunned by how foolish he once was—only to be playfully challenged by her to try again. The second story comes from Sky Hart, a 21-year-old paraglider from Alaska who, during her first solo flight in Roldanila, South America, enters a whiteout cloud and loses all orientation. After a terrifying descent, she crashes into a dense bamboo grove, only to be rescued by two shirtless horsemen who silently cut her free with machetes. The encounter—silent, kind, and surreal—transforms her relationship with risk and survival. She reflects on how the crash and rescue shifted her from flying to escape death to flying because she wants to live. Both stories are raw, intimate, and underscore the theme that near-death experiences often lead to profound personal transformation. Key takeaways include: (1) Hubris in adventure can lead to real danger, but humility and community are powerful tools for survival; (2) True resilience comes not from avoiding failure, but from learning how to respond with courage and grace; (3) Near-misses often reveal deeper truths about ourselves—what we value, what we fear, and what we’re willing to fight for; (4) Kindness in crisis—especially from strangers—can be life-altering and deeply spiritual; (5) The most transformative moments often come not from success, but from surrender and survival; (6) Adventure should not be about proving you’re fearless, but about becoming more present and intentional; (7) Physical survival is only part of the story—emotional and psychological rebirth is equally important; (8) The people who help us in our darkest moments often leave the deepest impact, even when they say nothing.