Creepy experiences in the backcountry

[CHMD]

I recently discovered this thread and just finished reading it in it’s entirety. I wish there were another 50 pages. Thanks to all for sharing. I don’t have any creepy stories to share and I’m good with that.

 

[505Wapiti]

I keep hoping this thread never dies

 

[Dean757]

Nothing to do with backcountry but it's creepy. One morning I wake up early (for me) to odds sounds above my head. My mind is trying to make sense of the sounds as I transition from sleep to being awake. It sounds like an adult is walking in the attic. So much so that I thought perhaps the landlord was doing some sort of house work... Or hired someone to do something in the attic. It's 930am and sunny out. As I fully come to I hear the thud of what I make out to be adult male footsteps in the attic. Thing is. Only way into the attic is through my room...and the bedroom door is locked! WTF. I'm more awake now. Maybe I imagined the sound. Nope! I hear it again then it's moving and I hear it directly on the ceiling as if it missed a beam and I am fully expecting a person to crash through the ceiling! Only, there is nothing after that. Complete silence. I'm a but freaked out and leave the room. I go outside and inspect the roof area, and slats in the small vent windows.... This is a two story house in a nice area and well populated area. I see nothing out of the ordinary at all. Again, the most odd part is that the attic entry is in my room I was renting. There is no other way up. My mind races to fit the situation. Tree branches do break off and roll off the roof but it wasn't like that as what I heard was JUST above the ceiling and it was walking beam to beam until it slipped or.... Whatever. Nothing made sense. I had my pistol on me. I even contacted the owner who came over. We opened the attic and went up with a flashlight. We saw literally NOTHING. To this day I can't explain it. Whatever it was that made the noise had a HEFT to it like an adult human taking big steps on the beams. That was the only time that's ever happened. But damn... Sure sounded like a dude was up there and was about to crash through the ceiling! To this day I can't explain it.

 

[Quicksilver]

Few weeks ago I connected on a bear, I could see it down in the meadow dead on a log. I was above it on a ridge and had to make it a mile around and down a drainage into the valley/shelf it was in. I get down there, drop by rifle at the entrance and get my pistol out. It’s dead, hasn’t moved in 20min as I was up high from the shooting location…but you never know so pistol is out and one in the chamber. As the scenery goes from “oh that’s an obvious spot to find it” to “why does nothing look the same” I’m running up and down these rolling shelf’s of scrub brush, trees and blueberries. As I’m transitioning through a brush fence into the next clearing, I’ve got my head kind of tucked down and using both arms to open the bushes in front of me. As I’m going through these two bushes I catch a glimpse of white fur under my boot as I’m stepping down. I short step and jump back. As I’m collecting myself for a split second I take a step forward and look down. Here sits this possum snarling at me with his mouth open. At first I’m thinking what’s this guy doing at 5000’, then think I could circle back around here and don’t need anything biting my boot. The .40 took care of that issue. Got my blood pumping for a second, almost stepped on it!

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Just returned from elk hunt in the Big Horns. On 2 different occasions last week, we had 2 sets of fresh lion tracks inside our own boot tracks when we walked out of the woods. One evening in particular, 3 of us swore we could hear low growling parallel to us just off the trail. Spooky stuff in the dark. Not sure if it was a momma and a kitten or a tom and a female.

 

[Andrewdk]

Had an odd experience last fall in Bridger-Teton NF.. I took some friends out west on a road trip, no hunting just exploring. We had a friend fly in to Jackson Hole Airport and had managed to secure one of the dispersed sites in Spread Creek dispersed camping area before he landed. We pitched a tent and left to go pick our friend up from the airport. We had considered going up higher on the hill but changed our minds.

When we got back to camp, a nice size grizzly wandered out of the site we had claimed. We went to bed a little uneasy after the grizzly sighting, that was a first for most of us.

next day we were packing up to leave and the NF rangers came up the trail and told us the campground would be closed after we left, as there had been an "incident" and didn't go into any further detail.

Well turns out just on the other side of the ridge, that missing girl from the news last fall that made national headlines was located less than a 1/4 mile from the campsite we had been in.

 

[lyle_destroys]

Not as creepy as my other story but hunting this September we had a grizzly bear take a giant dump yards from our tiny backpacking tent. Definitely gets your blood pumping when you aren't used to those montana bears

 

[Ledfordjl]

I’ve been pretty lucky. Did come across a random Buddha head way back in the mountains. I assume someone got bored one day and hiked it in but it was odd to find it that far back.

 

[Blowdowner]

Nothing to do with backcountry but it's creepy. One morning I wake up early (for me) to odds sounds above my head. My mind is trying to make sense of the sounds as I transition from sleep to being awake. It sounds like an adult is walking in the attic. So much so that I thought perhaps the landlord was doing some sort of house work... Or hired someone to do something in the attic. It's 930am and sunny out. As I fully come to I hear the thud of what I make out to be adult male footsteps in the attic. Thing is. Only way into the attic is through my room...and the bedroom door is locked! WTF. I'm more awake now. Maybe I imagined the sound. Nope! I hear it again then it's moving and I hear it directly on the ceiling as if it missed a beam and I am fully expecting a person to crash through the ceiling! Only, there is nothing after that. Complete silence. I'm a but freaked out and leave the room. I go outside and inspect the roof area, and slats in the small vent windows.... This is a two story house in a nice area and well populated area. I see nothing out of the ordinary at all. Again, the most odd part is that the attic entry is in my room I was renting. There is no other way up. My mind races to fit the situation. Tree branches do break off and roll off the roof but it wasn't like that as what I heard was JUST above the ceiling and it was walking beam to beam until it slipped or.... Whatever. Nothing made sense. I had my pistol on me. I even contacted the owner who came over. We opened the attic and went up with a flashlight. We saw literally NOTHING. To this day I can't explain it. Whatever it was that made the noise had a HEFT to it like an adult human taking big steps on the beams. That was the only time that's ever happened. But damn... Sure sounded like a dude was up there and was about to crash through the ceiling! To this day I can't explain it.

It was below you and your ears weren’t yet working directionally. It happens if you sleep on one side of your head.

 

[Dean757]

It was below you and your ears weren’t yet working directionally. It happens if you sleep on one side of your head.

However, there was nobody else home at the time. House was empty except for myself.

So, I just recalled another sound incident in that house. One night prob between 1am-2am if I recall... I heard an EXTREMELY loud group of odd noises coming from below me which would be the garage. By loud, I mean next door neighbors I'm sure could have heard it. It was a series of electrical starts crossed with an alarm... Followed by a loud crash/thud. Like when a dryer buzz alarm alerts when it's finished only far far louder and a bit different. Well, the guy renting the other room also heard it. We went down to investigate. I expected to open the garage door to some sort of destruction. Nothing at all was out of place at all. The other guy was a seasoned HVAC dude. I asked him if he had any idea what that was. He didn't. We were both perplexed. For sure after the loud buzzing sequence we both heard and felt something hit the floor. We couldn't find anything out of place. This house isn't that old and was renovated a few yrs earlier. The house isn't creepy at all but I can't explain the noises I heard at all.

 

[Thinkingman]

The closest I've come to aliens was deer hunting the late season in an unnamed Arizona mountain range. I'm in my glassing spot on top of a cliff and something weird caused me to look back toward the canyon on my left and there was a F18 no more than 50' away....I could see the pilot clear as day.

Right about the time I was thinking, Thats weird, how did he sneak up on me with no sound like that.....WHAM....the loud jet wash hit me like a ton of bricks blowing sand into me like buckshot.

A few years back, my son and I were shooting the NW Mountain Challenge 3D at Stevens Pass.
We were shooting the course that climbs up the Skyline chair and very close to the top when an F18 came straight over the peak at basically treetop level...Right over our heads and went ripping down the valley.
It was the coolest thing and we didn't hear anything until it was nearly right on top of us.

 

[Thinkingman]

This isn't all that creepy, but more like weird and certainly, unexplainable, at least to me. Kinda follows Brancher's post above about a light.

This was just last week Wednesday during deer season at my farm in NE Missouri. It was around 5:30am, it was a super clear, cloudless sky with virtually no moon, just tons of stars. We had just pulled into a pasture area off an unlit gravel road a quarter mile or so from the ground blind we were going to hunt out of. We were at the back of my SUV with the hatchback closed, no lights on, and we were gathering our gear getting ready to start walking. All of a sudden there was this instant, gigantic flash of light right on us and around us, maybe literally only a fraction of a second in duration. It wasn't lightning, wasn't on the horizon or anything, just right ON us. As if an enormous camera flash was triggered on us. I'm not sure I've ever seen a light as bright and as quickly on and off as that was. We both looked at each other and said what the heck was that? Neither of us had or has any idea what that was. But I'm glad my buddy was there as a witness because I don't think anyone would believe it if I told them about it.

Any thoughts on what that could have been?

just guessing here...https://www.aaas.org/catching-elusive-green-flash#:~:text=The%20green%20flash%20is%20a,earth's%20atmosphere%20like%20a%20prism.

 

[Thinkingman]

remember this one. in my old stomping grounds -he hunted hunters

Thomas Lee Dillon (July 9, 1950[1][2] – October 21, 2011) was an American serial killer who shot and killed five men in southeastern Ohio, beginning April 1, 1989 and continuing until April 1992.[3]

Between the period of April 1, 1989 to April 5, 1992, Dillon shot and killed five people in Ohio. His fourth victim, Claude Hawkins, was shot on federal property and was the reason the FBI stepped in to join the investigation along with officers from the other three counties and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It was after this that the death of Kevin Loring was changed from an accident to a homicide.[citation needed]

Ten days after the task force meeting, Dillon would shoot his fifth victim, Gary Bradley, in Noble County, Ohio. Dillon was placed under surveillance in 1992 when a friend reported him after hearing the task force's initial press release concerning the murders. Larry Oller of Barnhill, Ohio was later shot at by Dillon while out hunting in Tuscarawas County, but he escaped uninjured

I went to school in Athens and there were some sketchy characters around there.
Don't get me started on the witchcraft and grow operations...

 

[MuleDeerMike]

A few years back, my son and I were shooting the NW Mountain Challenge 3D at Stevens Pass.
We were shooting the course that climbs up the Skyline chair and very close to the top when an F18 came straight over the peak at basically treetop level...Right over our heads and went ripping down the valley.
It was the coolest thing and we didn't hear anything until it was nearly right on top of us.

I was up there as well. The Pure Elevation course, super cool to see.

 

[Thinkingman]

Want to read a ton more of these kinds of stories for days, here you go.

Weird findings in the woods

www.ifish.net

I have been thinking of this thread the whole time.

 

[Blowdowner]

However, there was nobody else home at the time. House was empty except for myself.

So, I just recalled another sound incident in that house. One night prob between 1am-2am if I recall... I heard an EXTREMELY loud group of odd noises coming from below me which would be the garage. By loud, I mean next door neighbors I'm sure could have heard it. It was a series of electrical starts crossed with an alarm... Followed by a loud crash/thud. Like when a dryer buzz alarm alerts when it's finished only far far louder and a bit different. Well, the guy renting the other room also heard it. We went down to investigate. I expected to open the garage door to some sort of destruction. Nothing at all was out of place at all. The other guy was a seasoned HVAC dude. I asked him if he had any idea what that was. He didn't. We were both perplexed. For sure after the loud buzzing sequence we both heard and felt something hit the floor. We couldn't find anything out of place. This house isn't that old and was renovated a few yrs earlier. The house isn't creepy at all but I can't explain the noises I heard at all.

You had a tunnel under your place. Or perhaps Both of your witnesses have a vested interest on the property…

 

[mmac]

I am surprised we haven't had more updates from this year..... My favorite thread of all time.

 

[Arctic Hunter]

Glassing for elk once, right as it was getting too dark to see, I looked down to see what I thought was a mouse crawling up my leg. I thought, look at this crazy thing crawling up my leg. Until it crested my knee, and I could tell it was clearly not a mouse.

It was a camel spider. First one I’ve ever seen. And it freaked me OUT. I swatted it off and decided it was time to leave. Hiked out and then drove to a place where I had reception to see if google could tell me what the heck it was.

Google camel spider… just so you know, they’re harmless. Except in low light and crawling up your leg.

 

[Tjdeerslayer37]

My post above got me thinking about a couple of creepy stories related to the same property that I haven't thought about in some time. One is mine, and one is from a cousin. I have heard talk of other stories over the years, but I've yet to hear them in full detail.

I'll set the stage with a little bit of history about the property. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.

The property sits on a large bend in the Grand River. The Grand starts in Hillsdale County in southern Michigan, not far from the Ohio border. It flows some 250 miles northwest through the state capitol in Lansing and continues on a twisting northwest path eventually emptying into Lake Michigan at the city of Grand Haven. Before white settlers and their dams, there used to be a mile long stretch of rapids that gave the city of Grand Rapids its name.

The natives called it Owashtanong, which in Ottawa translates to "Far-Flowing Water." As you can imagine, the river was a major travel route for the native Americans and early settlers.

The area is also along the route of Grand River Road, a road that was originally a native trail that followed various rivers, including the Red Cedar and Grand, from Detroit to Portland and eventually to Grand Rapids.

Following Grand River Avenue Through History

For East Lansing residents, Grand River Avenue is the place to turn to for almost anything, from bookstores to restaurants to college bars. Its sidewalks are almost always bustling with students wa…

campusarch.msu.edu

U.S. Route 16 in Michigan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Back to the property-it is just shy of 200 acres and sits almost directly south of the city of Portland, MI, on the aforementioned bend of the Grand River. Portland is a city first settled in 1833. The first settlers built a trading post on Bogue Flats in the city and interacted extensively with the many natives in the area.

Among those natives was Chief Okemos, who has a city named after him on the Red Cedar River, a tributary of the Grand.

https://project.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/okemosgrave.html.

The Red Cedar is famous in these parts for being the river that runs through the campus of Michigan State University (Go Green!).

The property had at least one native village on it, with another larger one across the river called Shimnicon. It is here in Shimnicon that Chief Okemos is buried.

The property first came into my wife's family in the early 1900s. The house that her cousin now lives in on the north end of the property was originally a stagecoach stop. Stagecoaches forded the Grand River along the old path of the Grand River Road/Trail south of Portland. Many years ago Grand Rive Avenue was rerouted north to avoid this part of the river and the slight valley it sits in.

Over the years dams were built up and down river, so the water level is higher than it was in the time of the stagecoach. If you look closely in the dry months of summer when the river is low, you can still see where the banks and river bottom were reinforced with field stones to facilitate the passage of the stagecoaches. If you walk up the hill to the northwest, you can clearly see a well worn wagon path leading to the house.

Over the years family members have collected a large number of arrow and spear points along the river as well as in the yard surrounding the house. My wife's grandpa was fond of saying "the Indians were in the garden again" when he, his children, or grandchildren would find stone points while tilling and planting the vegetable patch.

I first met my wife some 22 years ago. Shortly thereafter I was warmly welcomed into the annual family deer camp - they must have seen the hook in my mouth that escaped me at the time because they were very guarded about access to the property and no one outside of the family hunted it with rare exception.

One of the first things her uncle proudly showed me was the family collection of stone points. I recall counting at least 75 distinct pieces, if not more. I am by no means an expert on the subject, but from the limited research I've done the collection represented a broad range of time from the Neolithic to the Woodland Indian period. I was of course curious why he would show me these points prior to my first opening day of deer season with my soon to be in-laws. The question was answered when he told me "I'm showing you this so you understand there are things you won't understand at times when you're out there."

I had no idea what this meant until one turkey season some 4 or 5 years later. Mind you, I had archery and gun hunted the property many times in those first few years with good success. I had never been truly scared when on stand before daylight or waiting for dark to climb down so I wouldn't scare the deer lingering in the fields. Sure, I was creeped out a few times due to my own imagination, but nothing like what I experienced that April dusk.

I had been out for a couple hours before dark, trying to pattern the birds and see where they were roosting. My plan was to find that out and come out the next morning ready to bust a nice gobbler right after fly down. Of course the birds ended up roosting on the far southwest corner of the property, about as far you could get from where my truck was parked on the north end near the old stagecoach ford area, just south of the house.

The sun had just set as I neared the ford area. I was maybe 200 yards from the ford when I saw what I thought was a light on a boat close to the opposite river bank. As I got closer, I heard splashing and saw the light bob back and forth. No big deal until I heard the distinct sound of horse leather and metal bits and pieces clinking and squeaking, along with a low voice alternately calling what sounded like "gee" and "haw." Before you ask how do I know that what that means and sounds like, I grew up on a farm and my father had a team of ponies that he used in pulling competitions. I also had two uncles that had Belgian draft horses they showed at county fairs and pulled wagons in what seemed like every small town's festival parade for 40 miles around. I can't tell you how many times growing up I saw pony pulling competitions or tossed candy out of a wagon in a parade.

Back to the lights and sounds - I didn't really process it at first... I kept thinking those are weird sounds to be coming from someone night fishing.

My truck was parked about 125 yards more or less due west from the ford on the two track that led up the hill and out to the road. As I got closer the light and sounds seemed as if they were crossing the river, heading toward the back area of the house/old stagecoach stop. The closer I got, the dimmer the light got and the quieter the splashing, voices, and creaking and clinking became. I don't know when the light went out or the sounds died away because at this point I had stopped walking and was running at a pace that would shame Forrest Gump. I made it to my truck in record time, started it up , and flew up the two track and out to the road quivering like a scared child.

Cousin's story:

There is a good sized field (give or take 60 acres) along the river just south of the old ford. This field is longer than wide running north to south. More than a few stone points have been found in this field over the years. The entire area to this day is full of deer and turkey, and was probably even more so before white men. Heck, I'm sure there were elk, deer, wolves, and bear in abundance in those times when it was all forest. It was for sure fertile hunting ground, and people have been there for thousands of years... to this point I have been remiss in pointing out the area across the river east of the property is a state game area.

My wife's cousin is a solid guy. Let's call him J. for these purposes. J. is a hard working family man, serious when he needs to be, and funny as hell in deer camp. I've never known him to exaggerate or stretch the truth.

He relates a story when he was in high school and he and another cousin were tasked with discing the big field along the river. They started on it one weeknight after dinner. It had been pretty dry and things were dusty. The way they went about it was he was on one tractor, slightly behind and to the side of the other cousin on his tractor going north and south. They did it this way so as to cover more ground and get it done quickly.

J. says they were about 1/3 of the way through the field when the sun began to set. It was then he started to see in the tractor's headlights what he thought were the outlines of figures swirling in the dust kicked up by the discs and the tractors.

His first thought was his mind was just playing trick on him, so he ignored it until the next pass when he got about mid-field and distinctly saw what appeared to be people with long hair dressed in what he described as native clothing. When he got to the end of the field, the other cousin had stopped his tractor and was climbing off.

J. stopped his tractor, got off, and went to see what the other cousin wanted. He said they both stood looking at each for a moment when they both said at the same time - "did you see anything weird in the dust," at which point they made a joint decision to haul ass out of the field and come back and finish the job during daylight on the weekend.

I'll see what other stories I can tease out at the next family gathering. With any luck I'll have something new to post.

I float hunted through there yesterday and the whole time thought about your post! No strange happenings to speak of though.

 

[Pharmseller]

As a much younger man I used to fish the high lakes in the Oregon Cascades. Davis, Wickiup, Crane Prairie.

Used to drink a fair bit, too. A few of us.

We’d tie one on, then cover ourselves with aluminum foil. Full dark, wait behind a tree by the side of the main drag, until a car came by. Run across the road in the full glare of the headlights.

Probably created a few stories.




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