Creepy experiences in the backcountry

[Mr.Unlister]

pretty scary also

 

[Mr.Unlister]

said the 3 dot lazer was how it aimed

 

[AK Troutbum]

this was down in S. merica...ha

Yeah, but those bastards get around! Look at where all the predator movies have been filmed.


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[Kornet]

So with all the predator discussions lately, I figured I'd share this story from a few years back. It's hilarious in hindsight to me and my buddies, but it was straight-up nightmare fuel for a group of college kids who thought they were having a chill night in the park.

There's this spot in Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) – a steep hill that overlooks a parking lot, separated by a creek. To get up there, you cross a small railroad bridge, hop a ditch, then scramble up the hillside grabbing roots and watching your step. At the top it levels out into a flat area where local kids have been known to sneak up for parties. It's a semi-known hangout spot.

One day I'm at the grocery store and overhear some people buying a ton of beer and party supplies, openly talking about hitting "the hill" that night for a big gathering. Being the petty asshole I am, I immediately text a few friends to see if they're free, then call up a buddy who's a National Park Ranger. I casually mention my car will be in the lot later and that I'd "heard rumors" of underage drinking/partying up there... but tell him not to roll in until late so it doesn't get broken up too early.

Friends show up at my place. We lay out the gear: a few sets of night vision, three thermal scopes, and I had the cat owners bring those cheap red laser pointers (you can probably guess where this is headed). On the drive over, I send everyone a link to some creepy predator growl sound bites , sync our phones to small Bluetooth speakers I'd handed out, and go over the plan one last time.

We arrive around 9 PM, slip into the woods quietly, and hunker down to wait. About an hour later, cars start pulling in. People hike up, start a fire, crack beers – party is in full swing.

I give the signal. First guy on the far right triggers his speaker: low, guttural growl echoes through the trees. Only a couple people notice and go "What was that?" Then the left-side guy plays his – now more heads turn, everyone shushes, and they're yelling "Who's out there?!" while grabbing branches like makeshift weapons.

Right-side guy hits his again. Someone throws a rock behind the group to make noise near another speaker. Now panic is setting in. We start sequencing the growls from different directions, tossing small rocks to misdirect, so they have no clue where the "thing" is.

Then the lasers: we'd taped three of them together into a rough triangle and aimed the combined red dot right at the chest of the apparent "leader" of the group. A girl spots it, screams bloody murder – and that's it. Mass hysteria. Everyone bolts, flashlights swinging wildly, people helping each other down the steep hill while yelling stuff like "We're gonna kick its ass!" and tripping over everything in the dark.

They finally make it across the bridge into the parking lot just as the first of three Ranger vehicles pulls in (perfect timing). The group swarms them, babbling about some monster in the woods that's gonna kill them.

Meanwhile, my crew quietly slips out the back side of the hill, crosses the tracks, hikes up the opposite ridge, and loops around to the main road. We stash all the gear in packs, pull out headlamps, topo maps, and compasses to look legit, then casually "hike" back into the lot like we're finishing a night navigation course from the metro park across the way.

My Ranger buddy spots us heading to my car, stops us with a huge grin, and asks what we've been up to and where we were. We play it straight: "Just did a night compass course over in the metro park, hiked in from there. Didn't hear or see anything weird – why, something going on?"

He just chuckles, says "Nah, just some kids spooked by wildlife or whatever," and lets us go.

We piled into the car laughing our asses off the whole drive home. Zero regrets. Moral of the story: if you're gonna underage party in a National Park, maybe don't announce it in public... and watch out for the growling in the trees.


Thank you for reading, these are therapy for me to type out and let others enjoy, some I’ve never told anyone before.

The spot is at the Station Road bridge access if you want to look at the area yourself
The red is where it happened and then our trail to river view rd

 

[scp]

Imagine you’re out on a beautiful late afternoon snowmachine ride on a balmy -10F day in the Alaska interior. You’re surrounded by back spruce and aspen forest, snow-filled trees, and tight single track with gentle rollers that make the ride feel like an amusement park attraction.

Then, coming out of some tight twists in heavier tree cover, your headlights land on this…

…and now you’ve got to get cold because you suddenly need to change your long handles.

Whoever made this nightmare right next to the trail has a special place reserved for them in hell. Just gentle, peaceful woods and a beautiful Alaska scene, only to be ruined by what I now believe might be the second coming of the Blair Witch.

Stay frosty out there, people.

 

[gerry35]

Imagine you’re out on a beautiful late afternoon snowmachine ride on a balmy -10F day in the Alaska interior. You’re surrounded by back spruce and aspen forest, snow-filled trees, and tight single track with gentle rollers that make the ride feel like an amusement park attraction.

Then, coming out of some tight twists in heavier tree cover, your headlights land on this…

…and now you’ve got to get cold because you suddenly need to change your long handles.

Whoever made this nightmare right next to the trail has a special place reserved for them in hell. Just gentle, peaceful woods and a beautiful Alaska scene, only to be ruined by what I now believe might be the second coming of the Blair Witch.

Stay frosty out there, people.

Yeah that's creepy. Would definitely get your heart pumping and reaching for a shotgun.....

 

[tony]

Her father was a well known dentist/oral surgeon separate from the hospital there and the wife was offered a job in Cleveland so she moved here.
I can live anywhere as long as I’m close to an airport and so we are up here.
CVNP is in my backyard so between cle and Akron.

My mom is just outside Akron now.
Portage Lakes state park.

 

[Traskie]

It’s early October. Nice weather, sun is out. It’s the weekend in deer season, so the logging road gate is closed to vehicles, but still open to foot traffic.

My buddy and I are a ways back from a locked gate, exploring a network of old roads from long ago logged land. It’s mid day, not the best time to spot a buck, but we are still moving quiet and with about 10-15 yards between us. I’m up in front, thick brush on either side as we walk up a road spiraling up around a small hill to the summit.

I round a bend, and then there’s just suddenly a man. Not a hunter. Not dressed at all like he should be in the woods. Loggers all went home 2 days ago. He’s not at the end of the road, just standing in the middle of the road about 3/4 the way to the top. Facing away from us, silently rocking side to side.

Threw up a hand to stop my buddy and backpedaled to him, told him whatever was up there wasn’t something we wanted to deal with, and we skedaddled out of there

 

[AK Troutbum]

Imagine you’re out on a beautiful late afternoon snowmachine ride on a balmy -10F day in the Alaska interior. You’re surrounded by back spruce and aspen forest, snow-filled trees, and tight single track with gentle rollers that make the ride feel like an amusement park attraction.

Then, coming out of some tight twists in heavier tree cover, your headlights land on this…

…and now you’ve got to get cold because you suddenly need to change your long handles.

Whoever made this nightmare right next to the trail has a special place reserved for them in hell. Just gentle, peaceful woods and a beautiful Alaska scene, only to be ruined by what I now believe might be the second coming of the Blair Witch.

Stay frosty out there, people.

My first thought would be, now how in the hell did my ex-wife get this far off the main road?


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[Thinkingman]

My wife’s family lives in the Athens area, quite a ways outside town. I’ve spent a lot of time in the National Forest down there (Wayne National Forest, Athens Unit), and thank God I was always armed.

When I camp, I set up trip wires a distance from my tent. They’re tied to chemlights and small poppers—if anything (or anyone) trips one, the light pops on and the noise hopefully scares them off.

Some spots down there give off serious “The Hills Have Eyes” vibes. I’m pretty convinced I crossed paths with a family that’s actually living in one of the old coal mine adits.

I was tracking a deer and came down a ridge. My map showed an adit (mine entrance) at the base. I love local history and the old mines in the region—my in-laws even have a couple on their property that I’ve explored. In one, I added some timber supports and hauled out dozens of buckets of coal. So I wanted to check this one out, document it, match it to Ohio’s mine database, and maybe find the original hand-drawn map.

(Ohio has a great website through ODNR that shows all known mines with scans of the old maps.)

As I worked my way down the ridge, I caught a whiff of wood smoke. Through the brambles, I saw a rough shack built right onto the front of the mine entrance. Smoke was coming out of a stone-and-metal chimney, and there were men’s and women’s clothes hanging on a line out front.

The buck I was tracking suddenly veered hard left, away from the mine, crashing through the brush and making a ton of noise.

That noise made the door open. Out stepped one of the biggest men I’ve ever seen—like a white Shaq (and I’ve actually met Shaq at a gun range). He stepped out slowly and started scanning the whole hillside.

I froze next to a big blowdown oak, praying he didn’t spot me. While he was looking around, two little kids ran outside, also looking around curiously.

He called the kids back in. I waited a minute, then slowly crawled back up to the ridge top. Once I was over the other side, I booked it like the devil was chasing me.

I’ve been in combat, but this scared me more than anything I’ve ever experienced. I felt seriously undergunned even with a 45-70 rifle and a 10mm Glock on my chest rig.

I got back to the main road, drove straight to the Forest Service HQ (great spot—nice place for a picnic too), and talked to a ranger. They knew there was a group living back there somewhere, but not the exact location. There had been break-ins at houses and cabins nearby, plus hikers and hunters reporting glimpses of them. A few people even said shots were fired in their direction.

What stuck with me most: everyone I saw looked surprisingly healthy and clean—not dirty or ragged like you’d expect from people squatting in the woods.

I live up near Cleveland now and drive through rough areas often. I’ve seen drive-bys and worse up here, but nothing has ever put me more on edge than that day in the forest.

Anyone else had weird encounters out there? Or know more about folks living off-grid in the old mines? Stay safe out there.

I spent the best 5 years of my life in Athens.
Have an ex-gf that grew up in Plains.
That area has loads of witchcraft history.
Great story.

 

[WoodlandCritter]

My wife’s family lives in the Athens area, quite a ways outside town. I’ve spent a lot of time in the National Forest down there (Wayne National Forest, Athens Unit), and thank God I was always armed.

When I camp, I set up trip wires a distance from my tent. They’re tied to chemlights and small poppers—if anything (or anyone) trips one, the light pops on and the noise hopefully scares them off.

Some spots down there give off serious “The Hills Have Eyes” vibes. I’m pretty convinced I crossed paths with a family that’s actually living in one of the old coal mine adits.

I was tracking a deer and came down a ridge. My map showed an adit (mine entrance) at the base. I love local history and the old mines in the region—my in-laws even have a couple on their property that I’ve explored. In one, I added some timber supports and hauled out dozens of buckets of coal. So I wanted to check this one out, document it, match it to Ohio’s mine database, and maybe find the original hand-drawn map.

(Ohio has a great website through ODNR that shows all known mines with scans of the old maps.)

As I worked my way down the ridge, I caught a whiff of wood smoke. Through the brambles, I saw a rough shack built right onto the front of the mine entrance. Smoke was coming out of a stone-and-metal chimney, and there were men’s and women’s clothes hanging on a line out front.

The buck I was tracking suddenly veered hard left, away from the mine, crashing through the brush and making a ton of noise.

That noise made the door open. Out stepped one of the biggest men I’ve ever seen—like a white Shaq (and I’ve actually met Shaq at a gun range). He stepped out slowly and started scanning the whole hillside.

I froze next to a big blowdown oak, praying he didn’t spot me. While he was looking around, two little kids ran outside, also looking around curiously.

He called the kids back in. I waited a minute, then slowly crawled back up to the ridge top. Once I was over the other side, I booked it like the devil was chasing me.

I’ve been in combat, but this scared me more than anything I’ve ever experienced. I felt seriously undergunned even with a 45-70 rifle and a 10mm Glock on my chest rig.

I got back to the main road, drove straight to the Forest Service HQ (great spot—nice place for a picnic too), and talked to a ranger. They knew there was a group living back there somewhere, but not the exact location. There had been break-ins at houses and cabins nearby, plus hikers and hunters reporting glimpses of them. A few people even said shots were fired in their direction.

What stuck with me most: everyone I saw looked surprisingly healthy and clean—not dirty or ragged like you’d expect from people squatting in the woods.

I live up near Cleveland now and drive through rough areas often. I’ve seen drive-bys and worse up here, but nothing has ever put me more on edge than that day in the forest.

Anyone else had weird encounters out there? Or know more about folks living off-grid in the old mines? Stay safe out there.

Definitely some "good 'ol boys" out there. One time, early September squirrel season, a couple friends and I were camping out for squirrel hunting. I think it was in the Ironton district. We ran into a group of "hunters" who asked if we wanted to join their deer drive. Knowing that deer were still a couple months out of rifle season (none of their rifles appeared to be straightwall either) I politely declined. As I was walking back towards camp they shot into the air and I could hear them doing a burnout at the trailhead. Not terribly creepy, but still wasn't fun.

 

[tony]

I spent the best 5 years of my life in Athens.
Have an ex-gf that grew up in Plains.
That area has loads of witchcraft history.
Great story.

Cut out Athen's city and all those college kids. It's a great rural area.

 

[Kornet]

Cut out Athen's city and all those college kids. It's a great rural area.

I’d move there in a heartbeat, a good friend of mine is about the only conservative professor there.
When we’d go visit her parents id take off into the woods or their back acreage and map out the coal mine.
Found lots of cool things in it from the 1910’s before it closed.

 

[Turkeytider]

Imagine you’re out on a beautiful late afternoon snowmachine ride on a balmy -10F day in the Alaska interior. You’re surrounded by back spruce and aspen forest, snow-filled trees, and tight single track with gentle rollers that make the ride feel like an amusement park attraction.

Then, coming out of some tight twists in heavier tree cover, your headlights land on this…

…and now you’ve got to get cold because you suddenly need to change your long handles.

Whoever made this nightmare right next to the trail has a special place reserved for them in hell. Just gentle, peaceful woods and a beautiful Alaska scene, only to be ruined by what I now believe might be the second coming of the Blair Witch.

Stay frosty out there, people.

I believe I’d blow that thing to pieces. In the dark, in that kind of country, most folks would be at least on edge. Might seriously give someone a coronary.

 

[betelgeuse]

I found an ID once that had the same first and last name as me. What are the chances, and no I don't have a name like Bill Smith.

 

[The Harbor Master]

I found an ID once that had the same first and last name as me. What are the chances, and no I don't have a name like Bill Smith.

That's wild. You glitched into a parallel reality.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I found an ID once that had the same first and last name as me. What are the chances, and no I don't have a name like Bill Smith.

My buddy and I were on a remote, fly-out, sheep hunt in northeastern AK, and he found a wallet half buried in the silt in a drainage we were hunting. Inside was a $20 bill, some papers that were unidentifiable (but one looked like it was a hunting license), and a driver’s license that expired 14 years prior to him finding it. The date of birth on the license was the exact DOB of my buddy who found it. It was very disappointing to find out that someone else had been in there hunting before us…probably spooked all the sheep too!


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[betelgeuse]

My buddy and I were on a remote, fly-out, sheep hunt in northeastern AK, and he found a wallet half buried in the silt in a drainage we were hunting. Inside was a $20 bill, some papers that were unidentifiable (but one looked like it was a hunting license), and a driver’s license that expired 14 years prior to him finding it. The date of birth on the license was the exact DOB of my buddy who found it. It was very disappointing to find out that someone else had been in there hunting before us…probably spooked all the sheep too!


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Wow, crazy same bday

 

[KurtR]

I found an ID once that had the same first and last name as me. What are the chances, and no I don't have a name like Bill Smith.

better than having just one name.

 

[Chris in TN]

I was out pulling mink traps the other day on a tiny little creek that's about 1' wide and a car door slams loud, like it's right next to me. I whipped my head up thinking how the heck did they pull up and I not hear them. Then I realized, I'm like a 1/2 mile from the road, it sounded like it was right there next to me.

Speaking of deceptive road noise - there's a place I sometimes squirrel hunt a few miles from home. You park on a frontage road that parallels the interstate and walk more or less perpendicular away from the interstate.

I learned - the hard way - that for reasons I still don't understand, it's common to hear road noise more clearly from the south, in this spot.

To back up a bit - the interstate (it's I-65, FWIW) runs almost straight north/south here. The land in question is east of the interstate. So you can be, say, half a mile to the east of the interstate, in the woods, and if you try to walk back towards the road based on sound (not a compass or the sun) you'll head south when you should be going west. I did this *twice* thinking I could easily walk back to the car when I first started hunting this spot. I eventually figured it out well enough that on my next trip there, I sat in the woods in several places and noted that in every instance, the road noise sounded like it was strongest towards the south of me, even though the interstate was almost straight west of me. I assume it's something about the way tires make road noise, makes the noise most intense in front of the car, so you hear the road most intensely in the direction traffic is coming from (south) not the direction the road passes by you (west). I don't know. Maybe someone else has some insight into the science of tire sounds. It's totally out of my wheelhouse to speculate on this. But I learned that I had to either use my compass or the sun or at least ignore road noise in order to get in/out of this spot without walking in circles.

Now, the closest thing I have to a creepy public land story:

Circa 1996(?). We used to go fish on some land adjacent to a lake here in the southeast. There was a creek we'd also fish, on some land that TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority, the southeast's government-backed electric power generating company) owned next to the lake. One weekend a buddy of mine decide to go camp on this land. Back then nobody cared - we didn't have permission to be there, but everyone treated the land as if it was open to public access. We'd go in via 4x4 or ATV fairly often. Everyone did it - on a busy summer weekend you might see dozens of ATVs riding through the area in a day.

So he asks me to go too, and we took his boat and he and his wife and I set up a camp in a place we fished often. We boated across the lake, beached the boat, and set up camp maybe 50' up the shore. The plan was to fish that night in the lake, maybe fish the adjacent creek the next morning, then go back home the next day.

That night we've caught some fish and we're grilling them over the campfire. Where we were camped, we were on a point, surrounded by lake on three sides, and the land on the fourth side, led straight to a steep hill, the only way to get there by land. It's quiet and we hear a vehicle stop near the top of the hill. Then we hear a 4-wheeler stop somewhere in the same vicinity. Then the 4-wheeler cranks up and heads slowly down the steep road down the hill, that leads to our camp. The driver parks, gets off, and stumbles over towards us. He's obviously drinking or something. He starts asking us questions about where we came from and how long we'd been there and he tells us he's lost and looking for his buddies and wondering if we'd seen their car. Along the way he mentions that he'd looked all over and hadn't seen anyone (when we knew he'd drove past, and stopped near, a car up on the hilltop). He seems really interested in how we were camped and if it was just the three of us. We're adamant that we hadn't seen his friends. He's really close to us - within a few feet of us.

All of this time we're cooking and eating and my buddy had made it a point to get between the guy and my buddy's wife. For my part, I'm fiddling with the fish over the fire left-handed and my right hand is glued to my waistline at my 5 o'clock. The guy can't see what I'm doing, but I think he eventually noticed that my right hand wasn't visible, and hadn't been for a long time. Once that sank into his brain, he suddenly remembered some reason that he needed to leave, and off he went, back towards his friends(?) parked at the top of the hill.

It was well after dark when this happened, so we had to pack camp into the boat in the dark, but we did so lickety-split and within a few minutes the boat is headed back across the lake to civilization.

I have no idea what he wanted but it looked for all the world like he was sizing us up to come back later that night. We could have stayed but we wouldn't have slept at all. I'd camped there many times but never did so again after that.