Sam and Dean travel to Blackwater, Colorado, which is a fictitious town.

The date on Jessica's tombstone reads November 2, 2005, which is the same date that Sam and Dean's mother died, only 22 years later.

Dean: You okay?
Sam: Yeah, I'm fine.
Dean: Another nightmare? (Sam clears his throat) You wanna drive for a while?
Sam: Dean, your whole life, you never once asked me that.

Ranger Wilkinson: You boys aren't planning to go out near Black Water Ridge by any chance?
Sam: Oh, no sir. We're Environmental Study Majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper.
Dean: Recycle, man.
Ranger Wilkinson: Bull.

Haley Collins: You're rangers?
Dean: That's right.
Haley Collins: And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?
Dean: Oh, sweetheart, I don't do shorts.

Dean: Roy, so you did a little hunting...
Roy: Yeah, more than a little.
Dean: Uh huh...what kind of furry critters do you hunt?
Roy: Mostly bucks, sometimes bear.
Dean: Tell me... uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?

Haley Collins: You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?
Dean: Sam and I are brothers, and we're looking for our father. He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat.
Haley Collins: Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?
Dean: I'm telling you now. Besides, that's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. Ever. So we okay?
Haley Collins: Yeah, okay.
Dean: And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions? (pulls out peanut M&Ms)

Sam: We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I'm trying to protect you.
Roy: You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight.
Sam: Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid, sorry ass out of here.
Roy: You know you're crazy, right?

Dean: You wanna tell me what’s goin' on in that freaky head of yours?
Sam: Dean...
Dean: No you’re not fine, you’re like a powder keg, man. It’s not like you. I’m supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?

(to Sam)
Dean: I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things... the family business.

Sam: How do you do it? How does Dad do it?
Dean: Well for one, them. (looks at Haley and her brother) I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable. (long pause) And I tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons-of-bitches as I possibly can.

Dean: Chow time, you freaky bastard! Yeah, that’s right, bring it on baby, I taste good!

Dean: Hey, you want some white meat, bitch?

Haley: So really, I don't know how to thank you. (Dean gives a look) Must you cheapen the moment?
Dean: Yeah.

In the first scene, Sam and Dean say that they're from UC Boulder. The University of Colorado at Boulder is known as CU Boulder, not UC Boulder.

When he first meets Haley, Dean says his name is Dean, but then shows her a fake ID which says he's Samuel Cole. She doesn't comment on the difference.

Boy: Like the Donner Party?

The Donner Party is a group of settlers that were caught in a blizzard while heading to the mid-western United States. In order to survive, the settlers had to eat the settlers that died.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, the book that the brothers were reading near the beginning of the episode, is a book about mythology, folklore and religion.

Flashbacks to Jessica's death and to Mary Winchester's death from the "Pilot" are shown, and several references to their mysterious deaths are made throughout the episode.

Portrayal of the Wendigo

In the folklore tale of the Wendigo that this episode was based on, Wendigos do not have the ability to impersonate human voices. In order to make the episode more dramatic, the writers changed this aspect of the folklore tale.