Creepy experiences in the backcountry

[Nickofthewoods]

Reminds me of these guys…. You should have demo’d the wall!

Also the Tommy Knocker Brewery in Idaho Springs, CO had a Maple Nut Brown Ale that is on point.

Knocker (folklore) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

My house was only about 12 miles from Idaho Springs. I think the figure that I saw was too tall to be a Tommy Knocker though.

 

[Blowdowner]

Hunting a day after a snowfall I stayed out until well after sunset. Took what looks like an old logging skid that cuts across a hillside like a trail but sunk in enough that its like a ditch you could drive through. The sides are icy and sparkling in my flashlight and my steps are super crunchy. That’s it for that night but I go back to the same spot the next day. Get set up at a natural saddle with many deer tracks and sit. There’s clearly an animal trying to move quietly off one side of the ridge so I’m very focused and dying to stand up and take a peek. Sun goes down, coyotes start sounding off and some dude starts SCREAMING “HELLLLP”. Then just plain SCREAMING. From the same direction as the coyotes. And it’s the same and only direction back to the road. I decided he’s either having a freak out or getting torn apart. Either way I’m waiting to see if it’s a deer down there as this is my last day of the season. Eventuality shooting light is over and I decide I don’t want to stumble into anything weird like an ambush or crime in progress. Archery season so stupid no gun rule. So I sit there for another hour to wait it out and maybe kill a coyote. Eventually I’m frozen and dying to pee so I quit and after about an hour in the dark I strike that same tunnel like path. The instant I reach it I can see in my flashlight that there’s mountain Lion tracks converging from the opposite direction and going right on top of my prints from yesterday. Mother effer. I can’t say he was trailing me the day before but they look the same exact age. Hair standing up big time. Ok maybe I almost died yesterday but I’m definitely fighting a giant cat tonight. Worst thing was the dead still air and my feet making so much noise, that deep bass crunch. Giant full moon light shining on the snow, world become black and white. Very surreal. Story actually ends uneventfully but strangely there was no sign of anyone else by the road.

 

[Coldtrail]

Didnt happen to me, but a friend of mine was camping in a fairly remote area on US forest service land & in the middle of the night off in the distance heard a woman scream & not the good kind. Was told she let out a loud long yell, and then another that stopped abruptly. He pulled up camp and reported it, but never heard the outcome.

 

[TxxAgg]

Alrighty, maybe this forum can help solve a mystery for me. I was hunting in Arizona January 2021, standing on Indian head mountain getting set up to glass for javelina and coues deer. Full sun, blue sky. Then I saw a white flash. Very quick, like a flicker. The whole sky and landscape appeared to blink white. There was no sound. I didn't have any feelings like fear or disturbance. It was just an odd, unmistakable phenomena.

Later at camp I asked my buddy, "hey, when we were up on the mountain, did you see . . ." He finished my sentence ". . . the flash?"

So he had seen the phenomena too. Except he was on a different part of the mountain and said he had seen a focal point of brightness near the San Rafael valley. He said it seemed to flash and tumble briefly before it disappeared.

We have both puzzled over that experience. Thoughts?

I was in a tree one morning in the pitch dark. The oak mot lit up for a second as if someone had driven behind me and turned their bright lights on. I read later that a satellite burned up.

Maybe your experience was something satellite related?

 

[JasonWi]

This isn’t a back country story, but in spirit of keeping this thread going.

This next story is the same same farmhouse I had the run in with that shadow figure.

Inside the garage was a small cinder block room that held the hot water heater. It was probably a 6x8 room with no holes or windows. The ceiling was the hardwood floor of the second story loft of the shop…about 10 feet high.

I had replaced the hot water heater and left for the day. Next day I go back in to check for any leaks. On the north facing wall about 7ish feet up was three fingernail grooves that were fresh and weren’t there the day before! Made my skin crawl knowing they were new and no animal could reach that high or was trapped inside.

From that point on I didn’t go into that shop unless it was daytime. Only place I’ve ever been that just made me feel on edge and not alone

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Was on a solo hunt in the trinity's back in 2015. I hiked into a remote area off trail and set up camp for the night. Laying there in my bag looking up at the stars, I noticed a very faint flash, almost imperceptible and at first, I thought it was just my imagination. After a few more flashes I realized it was some kind of light coming from the ground level and not from up in the sky because I could see the underside of the trees light up each time it happened. Thinking it may be a trail cam I layed there as still as possible thinking maybe movement was triggering it, but it kept happening. Thinking maybe it was on some kind of timer I started counting to see if the flashes were evenly spaced. The flashes were happening at random intervals. This went on for at least an hour until I finally drifted off to sleep. The next morning, I searched high and low for a trail cam or anything out of the ordinary but found nothing. Still don't really know what it was that I was seeing but I know there were definitely flashes going off like a camera flash except very faint, but enough to illuminate the bottom side of the branches in the trees around me. Made me a little uneasy for the rest of the trip.

It was probably the girls gone wild nature at nighttime edition photo shoot and you missed the whole thing laying in your tent.

 

[def90]

Alrighty, maybe this forum can help solve a mystery for me. I was hunting in Arizona January 2021, standing on Indian head mountain getting set up to glass for javelina and coues deer. Full sun, blue sky. Then I saw a white flash. Very quick, like a flicker. The whole sky and landscape appeared to blink white. There was no sound. I didn't have any feelings like fear or disturbance. It was just an odd, unmistakable phenomena.

Later at camp I asked my buddy, "hey, when we were up on the mountain, did you see . . ." He finished my sentence ". . . the flash?"

So he had seen the phenomena too. Except he was on a different part of the mountain and said he had seen a focal point of brightness near the San Rafael valley. He said it seemed to flash and tumble briefly before it disappeared.

We have both puzzled over that experience. Thoughts?

Day time meteorite.

 

[Tod osier]

Hunting a day after a snowfall I stayed out until well after sunset. Took what looks like an old logging skid that cuts across a hillside like a trail but sunk in enough that its like a ditch you could drive through. The sides are icy and sparkling in my flashlight and my steps are super crunchy. That’s it for that night but I go back to the same spot the next day. Get set up at a natural saddle with many deer tracks and sit. There’s clearly an animal trying to move quietly off one side of the ridge so I’m very focused and dying to stand up and take a peek. Sun goes down, coyotes start sounding off and some dude starts SCREAMING “HELLLLP”. Then just plain SCREAMING. From the same direction as the coyotes. And it’s the same and only direction back to the road. I decided he’s either having a freak out or getting torn apart. Either way I’m waiting to see if it’s a deer down there as this is my last day of the season. Eventuality shooting light is over and I decide I don’t want to stumble into anything weird like an ambush or crime in progress. Archery season so stupid no gun rule. So I sit there for another hour to wait it out and maybe kill a coyote. Eventually I’m frozen and dying to pee so I quit and after about an hour in the dark I strike that same tunnel like path. The instant I reach it I can see in my flashlight that there’s mountain Lion tracks converging from the opposite direction and going right on top of my prints from yesterday. Mother effer. I can’t say he was trailing me the day before but they look the same exact age. Hair standing up big time. Ok maybe I almost died yesterday but I’m definitely fighting a giant cat tonight. Worst thing was the dead still air and my feet making so much noise, that deep bass crunch. Giant full moon light shining on the snow, world become black and white. Very surreal. Story actually ends uneventfully but strangely there was no sign of anyone else by the road.

You heard someone yelling help and you sat there for over an hour without going to give them aid?

 

[orionsbrother]

Alrighty, maybe this forum can help solve a mystery for me. I was hunting in Arizona January 2021, standing on Indian head mountain getting set up to glass for javelina and coues deer. Full sun, blue sky. Then I saw a white flash. Very quick, like a flicker. The whole sky and landscape appeared to blink white. There was no sound. I didn't have any feelings like fear or disturbance. It was just an odd, unmistakable phenomena.

Later at camp I asked my buddy, "hey, when we were up on the mountain, did you see . . ." He finished my sentence ". . . the flash?"

So he had seen the phenomena too. Except he was on a different part of the mountain and said he had seen a focal point of brightness near the San Rafael valley. He said it seemed to flash and tumble briefly before it disappeared.

We have both puzzled over that experience. Thoughts?

Probably a meteor. I experienced a satellite flare once and it was pretty cool. About a second of daylight in the middle of the night.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Reminds me of these guys…. You should have demo’d the wall!

Also the Tommy Knocker Brewery in Idaho Springs, CO had a Maple Nut Brown Ale that is on point.

Knocker (folklore) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Thanks for posting, I never heard of these guys despite visiting Cripple Creek a number of times. I think old miners are like old sailors. There are so many things out of your control that can kill you instantly that superstition becomes as real as anything else.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

Was backpacking in GW National Forest in VA 2001ish. Me and my buddy had hiked in to a nice campsite right next to a beautiful trout stream, set up and were cooking dinner on the fire. after dinner we were just chilling and talking. I kept hearing what sounded like wails and screams faintly in the distance. Eventually I asked him if he was hearing it. He said he had been hoping I hadn't heard it. Really creeped us out but we stayed the night. I think it was just sound from the moving water next to us. I camped there several times after and never heard it again. Who knows what it was.

 

[long hunter]

Was backpacking in GW National Forest in VA 2001ish. Me and my buddy had hiked in to a nice campsite right next to a beautiful trout stream, set up and were cooking dinner on the fire. after dinner we were just chilling and talking. I kept hearing what sounded like wails and screams faintly in the distance. Eventually I asked him if he was hearing it. He said he had been hoping I hadn't heard it. Really creeped us out but we stayed the night. I think it was just sound from the moving water next to us. I camped there several times after and never heard it again. Who knows what it was.

Bob cat maybe.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Bob cat maybe.

Racoons make some nasty noises as well.

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

Man I have been glued to this thread since I found it last night. What a treasure chest of reading!

I have a few mountain/backcountry experiences that I'll type up when my laptop is charged (hate typing on my phone). One about an orb, 2 black bear encounters, and a bobcat. For now though, I'd like to comment on animal noises and share a confession.

First, animal noises. When I was 15, my dad and I hiked about 6 miles into this canyon in eastern WA, that the critters move into once they get enough pressure. It's a steep climb on all 3 sides so dosen't get hunted much, even to this day. We'd cold camp in there for a few days at a time during elk season and that's where I heard my first Mtn lion scream. The cat screamed it's ass off for about 15 mins. Sounded like she was 300-500 yards away. I thought it was a banshee or some shit at first. Luckily my dad wasn't perturbed by it so his calmness got me to relax and enjoy sitting in the pitch black dark listening to that unholy sound. If I'd been alone, I probably would've cried for mommy.

Where I live now (NW IL), I have 8 acres on the bluffs above the Mississippi. Got about 10-14 deer, raccoons galore, feral cats, coyotes, bobcats, a mating pair of owls, and 2 generations of foxes, that pass thru nightly. I like to sit on my porch at night and listen to all the weirdo sounds they make. Last winter, I finally heard the sounds a fox makes and geez it's wild. I'd put it in 2nd place for creepiest sounding animals though owls and coons are no slouch either.

Funniest story was when I lived in southern WV. Used to night fish at Sandstone Falls. One night I took a girl I was dating and she was kinda uptight about it since she'd never even camped outdoors before. She was standing in front of my truck--frozen-- while I headed towards the trail. Didn't realize she was terrified until I finally turned a light on her after she didn't follow me and wouldn't respond to me telling her to move her ass. She waved me back to her so I walked over and then she whispered, "What the f**k is that demonic chanting?". I was taken aback by that and asked what the hell she was talking about. She said, "shut up and just listen to it!!!". I listened for a 10 seconds but all I could hear was bullfrogs droning and the occasional shrill sound of tree frogs. Then it hit me....she thought the damn bullfrogs were people chanting in the woods! That was 10+ years ago and I still laugh about it everytime I hear a frog.

On a side note: that girl found half a walnut alongside the river. She asked me what it was and I said it was a fossilized pig snout. I have a dry sense of humor and say shit like that with a dead pan face and voice. I figured she'd know I was BS'ing but I was wrong. She kept it and told people about it. I didn't know that until a few days later. Whoops! That relationship ended not too long after.

Anyways, now the confession. I feel kinda like a schmuck for this but.....I used to screw with people in the woods when I was younger. I've always been quiet and very observant, even as a child, when out in nature. I like to be alone in the wild and usually try to hike far enough into unpopular places that it's unlikely I'll encounter anyone. Thus, when I did encounter people in the mountains/woods, and they were loud or unobservant or throwing trash around, I used to sometimes follow them, make weird sounds, write creepy stuff in the trail dirt in front of them, etc. Sometimes I'd find spots where the acoustics would make my voice hard to pinpoint and I'd make pigeon sounds, monkey screeches, werewolf growls, cat meows, banshee screams, moaning, etc. One time I weaved some sticks together into one of those blair witch deals and left it at the entrance to these litter bugs campsite. Someone told me Bigfoot stacks rocks so I stacked them along trails or close by people's campsites a couple times.

I only did stuff like this maybe a dozen or so times. Never during the hunting season, only during scouting trips or when backcountry camping. Though I have followed (usually side hilling) hunters for couple hundred yards before just to see if they'd kick up any game my way. My point is, I'd never screw with someone's hunt. But when I was in my early 20's and it wasn't hunting season, yeah I'd sometimes screw with people that were too loud, littered, or seemed like they needed a good story to tell when they got back to their Seattle condo. All of this was done in the various mountains of WA.

And yes, I knew I risked getting shot but I was very confident--possibly too confident--in my hiding/ambushing/tiptoeing skills.

Hahaha

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Funniest story was when I lived in southern WV. Used to night fish at Sandstone Falls. One night I took a girl I was dating and she was kinda uptight about it since she'd never even camped outdoors before. She was standing in front of my truck--frozen-- while I headed towards the trail. Didn't realize she was terrified until I finally turned a light on her after she didn't follow me and wouldn't respond to me telling her to move her ass. She waved me back to her so I walked over and then she whispered, "What the f**k is that demonic chanting?". I was taken aback by that and asked what the hell she was talking about. She said, "shut up and just listen to it!!!". I listened for a 10 seconds but all I could hear was bullfrogs droning and the occasional shrill sound of tree frogs. Then it hit me....she thought the damn bullfrogs were people chanting in the woods! That was 10+ years ago and I still laugh about it everytime I hear a frog.

On a side note: that girl found half a walnut alongside the river. She asked me what it was and I said it was a fossilized pig snout. I have a dry sense of humor and say shit like that with a dead pan face and voice. I figured she'd know I was BS'ing but I was wrong. She kept it and told people about it. I didn't know that until a few days later. Whoops! That relationship ended not too long after.

This reminds me of catfishing singing. At my Grandma's small lake in Nebraska if you put your head under water and listen quietly you can hear the catfish groan and its a really creepy sound until you get used to it.

Great story btw!

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

This reminds me of catfishing singing. At my Grandma's small lake in Nebraska if you put your head under water and listen quietly you can hear the catfish groan and its a really creepy sound until you get used to it.

Great story btw!

Oh wow, if no one told me that it was catfish making noise, I'd have a hard time stepping into a groaning body of water!

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

Racoons make some nasty noises as well.

It was more of a constant noise. I’ve heard all the wierd noises foxes and other animals make at night. This noise was more like a slow up down pitch that sounded like muted screaming that never really stopped or had a break in the sound. Just ebbed and flowed which made me think it had something to do with the flowing water. Could have been a breeze too but who knows.

 

[49ereric]

Duck hunting in a remote area using a canoe up a winding shallow creek until crossing several beaver dams until in a small beaver pond. Decoys out waiting for first light looking SE but a it looked the like the sun was coming up from the NW over a tamarack-black spruce swamp. Red glow and looked like the sun coming up,not a small red circular shape. Never figured out what was happening as I looked back to the SE for mallards to drop in and they only did it at first light. once it was light whatever it was to the NW was gone. Pond was to small for reflection and the sun was not up in the SE yet.

 

[SwiftShot]

If I am found dead in the woods. It will be from a freaking Grouse.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

Those grouse will give you a heart attack for sure.