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Campers menaced after dark by what they assume was a family group
A group camping above a swollen river heard mumbling voices and stick-breaking approaching, followed by loud chanting, shouting and stomping that shook a log seat and was taken as a demand to leave. The sounds stopped after deep hooted calls and later receded to distant screams up the valley and across the mountain. Later, while in a tent, the witness saw the firelight blocked by a squatting silhouette that touched the zipper with five digits, with felt breath and strong odor, before withdrawing. In the morning the witness noted hairs and deep depressions on the trail.
Hunters hear late night screams in the Trinity Alps Wilderness
Two hunters camping overnight on a ridge to be positioned for opening day heard a single extremely loud scream that shifted from high-pitched to deeper growl-like tones from the direction of a nearby tree line. About half an hour later their tethered mule became highly agitated and was found favoring a front leg that later swelled markedly despite no visible wound. Searches that night and the next morning revealed no source, tracks, or sign of trauma.
Papoose Lake in the Trinity Alps Primitive Area
Two campers sheltering in a tent during a severe nighttime storm heard a heavy bipedal animal circling their camp for about four hours. The animal repeatedly screamed loudly and snapped large branches as it walked, at times coming within about 20 feet, but darkness prevented any visual observation. In the morning they found no tracks or sign on the wet granite surface and hiked out.
Friends hear late night scream near Garberville
After returning late from a dance, three people sitting indoors heard a loud wailing cry from bluffs across the road that rose in pitch and lasted several minutes. Frightened, they stayed inside with doors locked for the night. The next morning two of them found a freshly cleared, trampled area on the blufftop where trees had been pulled from the ground, with a strong smell but no tracks due to hard ground.