Creepy stories from the outdoors.

[MT Patriot]

Back in the day, when I was in college, me and the oldest took off to a lake in the wilds of glacier country. I have extensive backcountry exposure, even did a stint as a big game guide in a remote backcountry camp. On this day we enjoyed the fishing and settled in for the night.
I pulled out my pan and stoked up a nice fire. It was clear and cool as the sun faded into the western slopes. We cooked up some fresh rainbows with garlic and butter and filled our stomachs. I leaned back against the cooler after pulling out a refreshing beverage. The boy was soon asleep by the fire as it had been a busy day. I sipped my beer and watched the moon light bouncing off the little waves in the lake. There was still a light glow on the western horizon where the sun had gone down and I could see the outline of the mountain peaks towering over the little lake. I slowly faded off to sleep with the sound of the lake waves gently lapping on the rocks.
I awoke with a start. The fire was out, the latern was out too. The moon was gone and it was pitch black. Something was wrong. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight out. I was paralyzed. I could hear my heart thumping as I strained to hear something in the bush, all was quiet. I had a horrible uneasy feeling. I gathered myself togather and started kicking around the fire, a small flame came alive and I quickly threw on some wood. In the firelight I could see that the boy had awoke and was shocked to see his wide open eyes staring at me. "Whats wrong?" he asked. "Nothing, go climb in the tent." I lied. He crawled into the tent but even in the light of fire I couldn't shake my waryness. Something was out there in the bush, and I could feel it was watching me.
I gathered up my light and flashed around camp. Nothing. Finally, I began to calm down and crawled in the tent with the boy. Then again, like clockwork, I awoke completely tense. This time I couldn't shake the feeling at all. I finally instructed the boy to wake up and go get in the truck. I packed up all of camp and drove around to the other side of the lake and slept with him in the truck. At dawn I got up and looked across the lake where we were camped earlier, and another uneasy feeling came over me. I decided it was time to go home. I don't know what was out there, or what was going on over there, but I know my instincts, and something was bad wrong with that place. Whatever it was, I will leave it to your imagination, it creeps me out to this day thinking about that night.

[Maine Russian]

Good story MT Patriot even though I have none to share with you and the others. I have been creeped out in the house before though but not outdoors.....so far.

[Vanishing Nomad]

I had that feeling once too. it turned out to be my Ex wife.

Seriously though, I was at starved rock training on top of devil's nose when i had the same feeling, but in broad daylight. I actually climbed down, and then ran directly into my most recent ex girlfreind's last husband, and her Son. Her and I had broken up, and I never got to say good bye to the little guy. I don't know how, or why we ended up in the exact same spot, at the exact same time, 2 hours from home, but we did, and i got to say good bye to him.

If I had not had such an intense feeling that i HAD to get of Devil's nose and climb down, exactly when i did, I never would have run into him like that. A few seconds either way, and the meeting would never have happened.

[Vanishing Nomad]

Was it a Bigfoot by chance? They are hard to see, because they are only 3 feet tall.

[Tugger]

Better to pack up and go, than to tuck away the gut feeling and something happen.


good story man

[Earthorca]

Originally Posted by MT Patriot

We cooked up some fresh rainbows with garlic and butter and filled our stomachs. :

Makes me homesick thinking about fresh Rainbows. A friend and I had a similar experience, we had the foresite to head out and to this day we are still not sure of what spooked us.

We both grew up spending all our free time camping/fishing.

Needless to say we never told anyone as we were to macho to admit the "things go bump in the dark" wether or not we want to accept it.

[Aliasdave]

Originally Posted by Royal Dragon

Was it a Bigfoot by chance? They are hard to see, because they are only 3 feet tall.

No way! Sasquatch is 7 feet tall and weighs nearly 400 pounds!!

[Maine Russian]

Originally Posted by Aliasdave

No way! Sasquatch is 7 feet tall and weighs nearly 400 pounds!!

They grow 'em small in Illinois I think....
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[Aliasdave]

I was night hiking about a month ago. I came across a bend in the trail, and all I hear is like a big "WHOOSH!" running from the trail into the bushes. It had my heart pounding, since I couldn't really see it at all it was so quick. I was hiking by moonlight.

Probably just a a giant cougar, or a rabbit. I'll never know until I ask the Almighty.

[NHCraigT]

http://www.bfro.net/

[Maine Russian]

Originally Posted by NHCraigT

http://www.bfro.net/

Thanks NHCraigT.....No expeditions in Maine yet. A few sightings I see....and one VERY close to where I once lived.
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[Lamb]

MT Patriot:
I have had feelings like that before in the wilderness. I think it happens when a predator is in the vicinity.
Most people, living in urban areas, may no longer have, or may no longer pay attention to, that feeling you get when every cell in your body is screaming "DANGER!". We *evolved* ourselves out of it.
Good that you paid attention and heeded it.

[Garden_Knight]

Ive had more then enough scary encounters in the woods. When i was out camping by lake erie i went fishing early in the morning thinking id go and see if i could catch a trout or something nice for breakfest. I was sitting on the little log i pulled up and i started to fish. 10 little perch n sunfish later ion about 6 or so i heard a loud crap about 20 feet behind me in the woods.I know it wasnt a bigfoot lol, it was a bear or something had to be because the cracks were big. I felt un easy so i took off about 300 feet down the shore of the litle lake. Again i started to fish and about 20 mins later a heard more crashing behind me come from the area i had left. So i took my litle catch and left. I came back about 8pm that night to try for fun. It was about 20 into sittin on the othr side of the bayfishing and i heard a crashing soundling like a charge threw the woods. I got the heck out of there and didnt go back fishing, good thing our 5 day camp out was over.

[matty86suk]

had a grouse scare the crap out of me this morning, even when i am looking for them, they still can startle meLOL

[norcalmom]

Last May my mom, my kids, and I went to a trail head about 10 miles outside of town. It is a very popular equestrian trail and has many little trails down the to river. We hiked down to the river and were there for awhile. On our way back up the trail something was wrong. All of a sudden it felt like my heart was going to jump out of my body, I got goosebumps on my arms, and I was panicked. I made everyone walk a little faster and right next to me. I looked around for something in the bushes, but couldn't see anything. Even though there were several people on horses at the trail head, I made an excuse to get in the car and leave ASAP. The next day there was a radio report that a large mountain lion was seen at the same trail later that day. It crossed the path of someone on horseback, so the sheriff was worried that it might be aggressive toward people. That was one of the few times my husband didn't come with us. He always carries a weapon and since then I won't venture on the trails outside of town without him. I am a big chicken, lol.

[MountainMan]

People that spend alot of time in the great outside get much more in touch with their baser instincts. There is something about being stalked that instinctively creeps you out. Alot of experienced hunters will say that they don't like looking or focusing on their quarry too hard for too long because it seems like the animal can sense it. I think that we all have sensory powers beyond what we can currently measure. With practice they can be sharpened, but in intense situations they seem to come alive.

Ever been stalked by a cougar? You will NEVER hear it, but somehow you will know that something is wrong. I have a close friend that was stalked by a wolf. He had been feeling creeped out all day, and knew exactly why when he backtracked and found the wolf tracks following his own. Same guy was stalked by a cougar when hunting coyotes (making rabbit distress calls is not exactly safe in big cat country.)

I have a client that regularly hunts bear in Montana. He says that there is one area that he always avoids because he always feels like he is being watched when he gets close. He says that it is a desperate and creepy feeling, one that is beyond being stalked by an animal. Bigfoot? Possible. Bear or other predator? Possible and very likely.

If you feel very creeped out when out in the deep backcountry (especially the northern Rockies) I would advise going with your instinct, and quickly. You are not the top of the food chain, and this is not your neighborhood.

MM

[Mtnman Mike]

Good story MT..

I have thought of writing a thread also about creepy or scary experiences in the wilderness.
But I am not the best of writers.

But I have to say that the more remote and unfamiliar the area the scarier it can be. The only time I felt lost was in the middle of a large wilderness area in remote Wyoming and walking for 2 hours without finding my way out. Finally did but was one of the few panicky experiences I have had in the wilderness. Another was when a terrible lightning and thunder storm caught me near a mtn top. And other lightning storms when in my tent.

I try not to hike after dark but have a few times.
Bears, mtn lions, owls and other night creatures are abundant after dark and I don't like to be in their way. I have heard huffing and grunting in the deep woods, which I think and hope was a bear. I also do not jog in the woods or areas where mtn lions are. I heard of a jogger in Colorado getting killed by a mtn lion while jogging.

One sort a scary thing is that I saw a large brown blur move off a large log in the deep forest. Well, it was on the edge of my mtn land where the national forest borders. I hoped it was a bear although the bears are supposed to be black but it could have been a rare cinnamon black bear.

Another thing that I have seen more than once is looking at a tree and a small branch and dead twigs move like someone plucked at them. I am sure someone can explain that?


I also refuse to watch the movie "The Blair Witch Project" since I live on my remote thickly forested mtn land from June to Nov. Maybe I will watch it whenever I get my underground cabin/bunker completely done.

I try not to think of bigfoot and If they exist hope they hang out in the NorthWest US. I have listened to the late night Art Bell radio show a few years ago and it was pretty scary when he played the howl of a bigfoot screaming, while I was laying in my tent in the middle of the deep dark forest.

[redneckscholar]

hadnt posted since i registered
once when i was about 14 i was deer hunting (alone)on an old log where i had hunted before with success but anyways it happened gradually all forest life ceased to exist no chipmunks, no squrrels, no birds, no sound but the wind blowing, oddly i dont even remember being cold(im sensitive to cold weather somewhat) but even stranger is the fact that i got sick setting on that log and stayed like that for the remainder of the day if i remember correctly, coincedence?i dont want to know

another time the similiar thing happened that id rather not go into(embarrasing)

[oktx]

Several years ago, I was visiting my family and they had gone out to a movie. I was home alone with the dog reading a book in bed. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched and the dog was restless and whining. My brother came in through the garage door on the other side of the house and I told him I thought someone was outside the window. He went out to investigate and scared off a guy who had been camped out under the window all night. When we looked the next morning there were at least 12 cig butts there. Ugh. It still freaks me out to be home alone. Guess that's why I have so many dogs.

Yeah, it's not the outdoors but it was still creepy.

I've camped lots of times and the scariest things I've encountered were always of the 2-legged variety. Guys who didn't understand that I wanted to be left alone to camp in peace mostly.

[Mtnman Mike]

Originally Posted by Royal Dragon

Was it a Bigfoot by chance? They are hard to see, because they are only 3 feet tall.

You must be thinking of hobbits or leprechauns ?

There is also evidence of pygmies in America around 2100 B.C. - bottom of page 14 >

http://books.google.com/books?id=xzH...esult&resnum=5