Creepy experiences in the backcountry

[TheGDog]

UNEXPLAINABLE : While processing my 2nd ever Mule Deer buck... at some point during the process... the Havalon had gotten sorta stuck on a tendon at the bottom of a muscle I was in the process of removing... and in trying to pull out the knife... the blade ended-up popping-off.....

The totally weird and bizarre thing about it? And I literally spent a few minutes looking at it and trying to figure out how in the hell this could have happened....

But there was the 60A blade... with the as-yet-not-cut-thru-tendon... running thru the mounting hole in the blade!?!?!?

I consider myself extremely good at debugging things. But for the life of me... I couldn't figure out how in the Hell things could work out such that this blade ended-up with that freaking tendon.... still connected... running right damn thru the middle of that mounting hole! And I mean... like... it really bothered me that I couldn't logic it out as to how that could have happened! For I know some logical explanation exists. But for my exertion in the heat and urgency to need to finish, I couldn't spend any more time deliberating how that was possible. I mean... I figure some kind of known magicians knot trick type of deal must have occurred in this situation... but due to my lack of familiarity with what is possible in that regard... I dunno... I'm just dumb-founded at how that was possible!

 

[TheGDog]

this is why i take xanax with me backpacking...

That's exactly why I DON'T take xanax or ambien or anything like that with me out in the field!

One time, I was awoke by the smell of "the Funk"... at whatever the heck time of dark it was. I haven't yet *smelled* a bear up close and personal, only seen them at 20yds. But my brain quickly figured that must be a Bear... or maybe a MtnLion. Whatever it was... it was a beast of fur.

I think I first smacked the wall of the Tent, then listened. Didn't hear anything. NO steps, nothing. Grabbed pistol and headlamp. Unzipped and poked head and pistol extremely cautiously out of the tent and did a 360 pan with the light... nothin'.

Man... I didn't sleep for beans that night! Everytime I'd have my eyes closed and start to doze-off and slip back into sleep, my brain would be like "WTF are you doing! Wake Up!" And snap me back to awake. Next day was brutal, for lack of sleep.

 

[ewade07]

Just like one of my personal favorites, Rainier beer.

Rainiers can be made to sound classier and more acceptable to micro brew snobs by pronouncing them with a French twist as “Ron-yays”, instead of ”Ruh-neers”.

Don't you mean Vitamin R?

 

[Fatcamp]

Passed on the beer because I was still chasing gobblers. And no way in hell did I want a ride with or on a land whale. I'm still shocked that she was just strutting around shirtless, like she weighed 130lbs and had a nice rack. The home made tattoos she was sporting were a sight also...

Gonna regret that some day. When you are all busted up in the retirement home facing the end, yer gonna think back and kick yourself.

 

[The Ri Guy]

Has anyone seen a wendigo on here?

Probably the most truly terrifying experience of my life was a run-in with a Wendigo...

North central Washington, 14 or 15 y/o, first time hunting solo and I hiked up on a high ridge line in the dark ~1-2 miles from anyone else in our camp. I was scared sh*tless from the get-go by my first hike in the dark alone.

First light comes and it's HEAVY fog, you know the kind where you can't see more than ~30ish yards and you can physically feel the clouds of moisture flying by you? The kind that soaks outer layers and chills you to the bone with a slight wind behind it. All of the objects in sight were constantly changing shape and shifting in depth and dimension, and I was completely disoriented and unhinged.

I had already thrown in the towel and was picking my way back to camp, and after about 30 minutes I catch a dark shape move swiftly in the fog up ahead, no further out than a stones throw. I suddenly had ice in my veins, all my hairs standing on end, and the only thing I could think to do was try to become one with the ground as this tall, antlered figure with terrifyingly long arms and claws loomed ahead of me. I knew I was a goner when it immediately started blowing at me and making loud stomping noises as if preparing to charge at me -- I was absolutely petrified, completely unable to react or move. That specter of death has been burned into my memory ever since...

Then, as if out of that Lord of the Rings movie, the sun broke the horizon behind me and the first beams of daylight suddenly shot on and illuminated the monster...at that point I lost all the air in my lungs as the Wendigo shape-shifted into the biggest 3x4 Muley I'd ever seen on the hoof. Turns out he was standing slightly uphill of me, body hidden behind a slender old sapling rooted in a little depression between us. His long arms were really the drooping remains of two limbs, and the claws were, in fact, wisps of old mans beard. I was so beyond scared I couldn't even comprehend what was happening until he stotted off.

Still haunts me to this day knowing that I didn't unleash the fiery hell of my aught-six on that buck...

 

[TheGDog]

Probably not polite to comment on someone else's mount, but to me, that cat looks like he just got raped.

Hehe.... spot on man ROFL!

 

[TheGDog]

Passed on the beer because I was still chasing gobblers. And no way in hell did I want a ride with or on a land whale. I'm still shocked that she was just strutting around shirtless, like she weighed 130lbs and had a nice rack. The home made tattoos she was sporting were a sight also...

Wait... What? in what Universe is a 130Lbs chic a "Land Whale"? I'm confused though... you'd said 350Lbs before. Which is it?

 

[Sccritterkiller]

My first camping trip ever, Providence Canyon in GA. On the 7 mile trail, we were camped pretty much at the halfway point.

My buddy and I went to get water (from a little pond called the Glory Hole at that) and we saw this guy with no backpack carrying nothing but a shovel, a full ass shovel, not one of those little poop trowels on a hill standing over us watching us.

When he noticed us noticing him he said "What are y'all doing back here?!"

"Um... camping"

"Oh ok..."

Then he walked off.

Was really weird...

Sounds like somebody was moving water getting ready to mash in.

 

[AKBorn]

Weight... What? in what Universe is a 130Lbs chic a "Land Whale"? I'm confused though... you'd said 350Lbs before. Which is it?

I interpreted what he said as "it's not like she was a 130 pound chick", as in she was a 350 pound land whale, which is why he was surprised she was walking around topless...

 

[TheGDog]

I interpreted what he said as "it's not like she was a 130 pound chick", as in she was a 350 pound land whale, which is why he was surprised she was walking around topless...

Doh!... got it... gotcha... went back and re-read. Ugh... just used to young ones over using the word "like" in sentences... sorry.

 

[stillwaitin]

This is the best thread I have read... anywhere...

 

[M-Wig]

Awesome thread. I don't have any too crazy. None are backcountry, but off the beaten path.

20 or so years ago I got in my deer blind an hour earlier than I planned to. Just some brush that I had cut and moved. I saw the same type of lights in the sky everyone else is describing. Two different lights doing rapid moves. They were far off but I was hunkered down as close to the ground as I could get. Saw the same thing a few years ago at Guadalupe Peak in West Texas.

Fishing a river a mile or so from the parking area. Haven't seen anyone, but usually encounter at least one weirdo at this spot. I have one line in the water and I'm casting another when I look downstream and this gorilla of a man steps out of the woods, not a stitch of clothing on him. He's probably 100 yards away just casually scanning up and down the river but never sees me. I don't know what his intentions were but I kept an eye on the brush behind me the whole time.

In high school we had a spot down a dirt road where some old oil wells were capped. We would drink beer there because you were well hidden. One night we're standing around and a guy on a horse busts through the woods. We all look at him, half drunk probably, and he asks if we saw a man and woman come through. We tell him we haven't seen anyone. He said he was looking for his wife and the guy she's cheating with and holds up a machete. We offered him a beer but the man was on a mission. He loped the horse to the dirt road and took off.

 

[SCS_BG_Hunter]

33 Years ago I went scouting with my buddy, his dad and his brother in central Utah. We rode the 4 wheelers up a dead end road 9 miles from the truck. Didn't see another vehicle or person the whole time. This was a thursday so most people were working and wouldn't have been out anyway. We got to the end of the road and started hiking.

I went up one ridge, my buddy another and his dad and brother went up a third ridge. A few hours later I started heading back to the wheelers and saw his brother and dad on a ridge across from me so I dropped down through the bottom and started up to them. About half way up the ridge, with no sound at all I caught a glimpse of something flying above me. It was a volleyball sized rock about 30 yards straight up above me. I hollered up to them and told them to stop throwing rocks that I was coming up. Back then it wasn't uncommon to go to the top of a ridge and roll or toss a rock down below you to flush out game. Another 10 steps and another rock flew over head and crashed below me. They weren't close to me but these were big rocks, again, volleyball sized. Much larger than anything I could have thrown like that. When I got up to the two of them they were just standing there pale as ghosts. I asked them what they were doing, they could have killed me. They said it wasn't them and just then another rock flew over the three of us and crashed below.

We got out of there quick but to this day I still regret not walking up there to see what it was. There was no smell, no sound nothing but very large rocks flying over head. We didn't see any other vehicles on the way out either.

About 10 years later my brother in-law drew a limited entry archery elk tag and was hunting that same area. He wounded a big bull and tracked it for a couple of miles before losing it in a deep dark canyon. He dropped into the bottom of the canyon figuring the bull would head down as he got weaker. once down there he found a couple of carcasses that had been picked over pretty good but he said he had the most uneasy feeling the whole time he was there and couldn't wait to get out. Incidentally I've never told him about the rock throwing incident so he went into that canyon without any pre existing fears or concerns.

Not sure what it was but man, if I had it to do over again I'd walk up there since it's been eating at me for 33 years.

 

[JerryThePlumber]

Sheesh

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Was with a few buddies and our wives camping along a river and a bigger older fella and his well ridden wife showed up on a 4 wheeler after dark so we just saw some lights up about 100 yards from our camp. They took a while to walk down to us giving us plenty of time to be prepared for who knows what. He had a Dirty Harry on his hip that you could see outside of his overalls, mind you we are in black bear country, not Grizz. Both with cigarettes hanging out of their mouth and he starts off by saying, “ well why isn’t any of you naked?”

apparently there was a camp down river that was a swingers party... or at least that’s what he told us when we asked them to leave.

give you two guesses as to what state we were in...

West By God Virginia

 

[macabra11]

This thread has been very entertaining and just got done reading all 27 pages! I have never had any real sort of paranormal/extraterrestrial experience, despite attempting to seek one out. I do have two lion stories though.

1. A couple years after moving to Idaho, the wife and I are camping in this little spot a little off highway 21 that we found. It was really hot, we were car camping and had brought way too much stuff. We were trying to get dinner cooked as fast as possible because there was strong weather moving in, and fast! So I get everything cooked, throw it inside the tent, pack up any loose gear and make sure it is either secured in the truck or tent just as these black clouds start unleashing a torrent upon us. We ride out the storm in the tent eating our food (which we made WAY too much of), and just sorta stash the leftovers in the corner (it was her Dad's old, giant canvas wall tent–very roomy). We end up just going to sleep and while we're sleeping the storm stopped. Not sure what time it was, but we were suddenly awakened by a LOUD lion roar. I mean, this dude must have been CLOSE. I grabbed my XD45 as we both looked at the pot of leftover food in the corner of our tent and mouthed the words "Oh. Shit." We didn't sleep much the rest of the night and learned a valuable lesson about food storage in the mountains.

2. A few years after the previous story, my wife and I are deer hunting with her dad in the Idaho woods. We had camped at a site a couple miles down the trail from where we'd hunt, and would all drive up the FS road, park and then walk into our "spot" each morning in the dark. My father in law stayed down low in this bowl, and my wife and I walked up this narrow, knife ridge to get to an area up top where we could glass down on either side. Spent all day hunting and was going to go back down this ridge to meet up with her Dad late in the afternoon. As we are walking down, there are very clear lion tracks IN our boot tracks that were going up. Never heard, saw or smelled anything, and damn glad of it. Not sure what it is with lions and my wife and I, but we apparently are desirable to the species! Anyways, that freaked us out quite a bit but we still decided to hunt the same ridge the next day. Needless to say, we were wide awake and alert going up! Wife got her deer that afternoon and we worked quick to get out of there.

 

[Antarctica]

macabra's post reminds me of a trip I took years ago (2002) with a girlfriend to southeast alaska.. We were mostly just riding the ferries and seeing the sights, but one of the ferries we intended to take didn't come out of dry dock on time and we had to shuffle some plans. I booked a forest service cabin on prince of wales island and a float plane fight there on short notice.

We threw our crap in the plane and took the short hop to the cabin from juneau. As the pilot was throwing our crap off on the shore, he looked at me and asked me "do you got a gun?" I said no. He asked "have you got bear spray?" - 'No.' He asked me why we didn't get some or why we didn't ask for some and I explained that we set this whole thing up only about 3 hours before. His parting words were "don't leave the cabin".

After about three days, we got cabin fever and took about a 3-4 mile hike, before I called "stupid" (the hike was along a small creek and the salmon were just about to run) and told the GF we were heading back. She thought I was paranoid until we found bear tracks in ours on the way back.

After that we took the pilots advice and stayed around the cabin. There were some damn sketchy stories in the log book, and I wouldn't find myself there again without a gun.

 

[AZmark]

Passed on the beer because I was still chasing gobblers. And no way in hell did I want a ride with or on a land whale. I'm still shocked that she was just strutting around shirtless, like she weighed 130lbs and had a nice rack. The home made tattoos she was sporting were a sight also...

Hey Fulfan....................If you had taken her beer and I mean enough of her beer the 350lbs would have seemed like 130 so you shoulve gone for it! AKA Beergogles

 

[TheGDog]

Ain't no way Beer Goggles is fixin' "Mo-Fugly!"

 

[505Wapiti]

This is one of the absolute best threads ever in an outdoor forum. I find myself checking daily for added stories. Please keep them coming. There has to be more!