Search results
Wilderness campers have an unknown visitor in the Trinity Alps of Northern California
The witness was lying awake in a tent at a remote lake camp around 1:30 a.m. while three companions slept. He heard footsteps circling camp, smelled a strong animal odor, and saw a large shadowy figure lift his backpack above the tent and appear to try to open it. After he yelled, the figure dropped the pack onto the tent and left camp on foot as the others woke and heard its retreat.
Camper has a possible close encounter west of Mono Lake
The witness was camping alone at night reading in a chair when a loud branch snap was heard nearby. Gas cans and other items behind a shed were knocked over as something large moved a short distance through trees and stopped across a creek. The witness's dogs cowered at the trailer door and the witness retreated inside with a feeling of being watched.
Possible nighttime encounter, food taken from hunters camping near Tuolumne
The witness joined a small group for an overnight camp to practice outdoor skills. In the evening the witness walked east of camp, noticed a strong foul smell and heard vegetation breaking nearby before running back to the group. Overnight the campers were awakened by sounds around the camp followed by a loud crash, and by morning the food hung high above ground was gone, the supporting limb was damaged, and a foul smell lingered. The group then packed and left the area.
Young lady believes that the creature is back
The witness visited a relative's house after a goose was found dead with a broken neck, punctures, and missing insides. She also reports finding a four-toed footprint, flattened weeds suggesting something had lain down and walked through, and damage to a chicken-coop roof. The night had been unusually quiet and livestock were nervous the next morning.
Chicken pens being raided by unknown thief near Nevada City
A neighbor's chicken coop was raided at night and the birds were taken whole with no remains left. The witness, who also keeps birds, visited the coop to learn how to reinforce their own enclosure and found wire mesh bent and compressed in a way they felt required great strength. The witness collected hair samples from the scene for analysis, which were later reported to be mountain lion hair.
Possible vocalizations awaken campers in Clark Fork Campground
The witness and companion were camping in a tent at Clark Fork campground. After 2 a.m. they were awakened by very loud, long screaming sounds from the river direction that lasted about five minutes. About an hour later the witness heard a loud metal bang interpreted as a bear-proof dumpster lid being lifted and dropped in the closed, unoccupied loop.
Young couple encounter something large on Lake Hemet
The witness and a companion drove to Hemet Lake late at night intending a walk and sat by the car. They heard something large breaking branches and moving down a canyon behind them, then smelled a strong rotten wet-dog odor and felt watched, so they left. When they returned about an hour later, a large steel trash bin had been knocked over and had a large circular dent.
Possible visitation at a remote campsite in the Trinity NF
A solo backpacker camped overnight at the Mud Springs hunter camp. Around 10:30 p.m. he was awakened by a loud branch snap followed by heavy vibrating footsteps passing very close to his tent. His nested cook pots were then heard clanging and later found unnested and spread out. After finding a long hair on his backpack Velcro he broke camp and drove to Red Bluff.
Group of hunters have unusual experience near Dorrington
Twelve hunters were sleeping in a meadow camp after a day of bow hunting. Around 2 a.m. something heavy ran through the camp emitting a high-pitched female-like scream. The runner shook a truck as it passed and knocked over a full ice chest but was not seen in the dark. No unusual prints were found the next morning.
Son and step Father have a strange encounter on the north/east side of Mt.Shasta
The witness and a relative were camping in a remote wooded area when the witness was awakened around 3 a.m. by noises around the truck, including an ice chest being knocked over and a violent impact that rocked the vehicle, followed by a loud piercing scream-like sound. The relative also woke, and in the morning they found the camp in disarray with a dozen eggs missing, the empty carton later found away from camp, and a dent in the truck. No creature was seen and no tracks were found, and the pair stayed up until morning before leaving.
A young man and friends had two consecutive night encounters with an unknown creature
In February 1977 five youths camped in two VW buses at a remote, densely forested campground in the Trinity Alps. On two consecutive nights around 10:30 p.m., something rushed down the steep hill behind camp and violently rocked the bus the witness slept in. The first morning packs were found strewn and torn open; the second night a large boulder was found wedged behind the bus tire and the other bus had shifted about five feet toward the river. The group reported seeing nothing because windows were iced over, noting only hillside skid marks, rushing noises, and a brief strong odor before leaving early.
Man recalls adversarial encounter with an unknown creature near French Gulch
During midnight rounds at an isolated school compound, the witness crossed a suspension bridge and heard something raiding trash cans by the cookhouse. He threw rocks toward a large dark figure under the eaves, which stood erect, stepped onto the bridge, dodged thrown rocks, vaulted the bridge cables and fled upstream on two legs. He noted glowing eyes and a foul stench, then returned to his trailer without anyone else responding.