SC EP:1053 Never Going Back To That Area

SC EP:1053 Never Going Back To That Area

Kip writes "I guess I’ll get right to it. Back in the late 90’s I had 3 separate terrifying encounters with some type of large black creature over 3 years. The first two encounters were roughly in 1997 & 1998. I was in high school at the time and 16-17 years old. And the 3rd was in late 1999 so I was just about 18. I can honestly say that they were so disturbing that I have thought about them often ever since. Two of the encounters I had multiple buddies with me and the most disturbing encounter I was alone exploring the mountain behind our home on our 4 wheeler.

I grew up in a Southern California city called Corona. Its roughly 1.5 hours north of San Diego and next to Riverside. At this time the upper portion of the city had miles of orchards extending from the edge of the housing developments all the way to the base of the mountains that separated us from the coast and Orange County. As a kid myself and my family spent a significant amount of time on this mountain range hiking, mountain biking, exploring the various canyons, and a few of the abandoned tin mines. Although there were known predators such as mountain lions and coyotes that we would see from time to time, I never felt scared being in this area but always knew to be cautious.

At the time of what I would consider my first encounter our town was changing a lot. Hundreds of acres, if not thousands, of the orchards were being leveled to build more homes. At this time being of high school age this was a total bummer. All of the cool places we would explore or hang out were going away every week and being replaced with massive housing developments.

Because of the size of one of the housing developments, there was a large storm drain project that the army core of engineers was in charge of. This project was situated near the mouth of one of the larger canyons and was intended to divert stormwater underground to who knows where? This area was completely fenced off with barbed wire fences and they even had an on-site security guard at night. This entire area was surrounded by thick orange groves and also avocado groves. Knowing that there was a massive underground tunnel being built and also being obsessed with exploring abandoned mines, there was no choice but to explore this.

I did some recon during the daytime hours and figured out the best way to sneak in at night hopefully without being detected by their on-site security guard.

Late on a Friday evening my buddies and I drove my truck on a dirt road deep into the orange groves and parked it behind a large pile of dead orange trees that they had ripped out of the ground. This was an area that I was very familiar with. In this area, they also had bulldozers, graders, and loaders parked near a water tank. We snuck through the trees, scaled a barbed wire fence, and at this point the Avocado Grove began. We easily made it in and explored these tunnels which were kind of a disappointment because there was really nothing to them other than concrete and scaffolding. Feeling somewhat underwhelmed we decided to head back to the truck which was roughly a half mile from the tunnel. Upon exiting the range groves we saw headlights coming our way so we quickly jumped behind some of the heavy equipment thinking the security was coming to bust us. To our surprise, it was a two-door Honda Civic with two chicks. Being curious teenage boys we were immediately wondering if they were hot. Lol. After spending some time checking out all of the cool heavy equipment we made it back to my truck. Knowing that the road they were driving on was eventually a dead end we were surprised to see that they still had not come back out. We decided to investigate to make sure they were ok. We assumed the girls were probably drinking or smoking weed because this was not a well known place and was quite creepy especially at night due to how secluded it was. The three of us piled back into my single-cab Chevy truck and started heading in their direction. As we rounded a sharp turn on the dirt road we could see their car parked at the dead end off in the distance. As we got within 100 yards of their car we could see something black crouched down behind the car. The first we thought we had was that maybe one of them was behind the car but as we got closer we could see that it was definitely not a girl and appeared to be completely black and hunched over as if it was hiding and watching them. I had one of those Walmart special 12 million candle spotlight that plugged into the cigarette lighter in my truck. My buddy Aaron turned that on and hung out the window shining it down the road. We then thought that it must be a bear of some other creature but it was not looking like anything that we were familiar with which was kind of a weird sensation seeing something that we were not even sure what it was. As we were now within 50 yards or less, to our horror, this creature slightly turned to look towards us and stood up. This was nothing that we recognized. We immediately began freaking out yelling at one another "what the hell is that thing?!!" I hit the gas and we accelerated towards their car while keeping the light on it!

To the south of where the girls were parked was another barbed wire. (To clarify, all of these fences were roughly 7' tall chain link fences topped with like 18" of 3 strands of barbed wire. A sizeable fence). The fence was within 15 feet of the edge of the road only separated by a small ditch that may have been 2' deep. Beyond the fence was a wide open field that had already been scraped of all vegetation. The base of the mountain was probably 400-500 yards away from this location. This creature which I would estimate was between eight and 9 feet tall took two steps towards the edge of the road and literally vanished before our eyes. We saw this happen from maybe 50 feet away. I slammed on the brakes and we slid on the gravel road stopping about 10 feet behind the girl's car. We jumped out paying no attention to them and immediately started shining the spotlight into the field. When the creature vanished we could not understand what we really just saw. Our minds were thinking of rational explanations like maybe it dove into the small ditch just out of sight and squeezed under the fence somehow. Or, maybe it climbed over the fence really fast and somehow we didn't see that which makes no sense. We were grasping for any explanation besides it literally vanishing into thin air. In reality, we should have seen the creature maybe 20 feet away on the other side of this fence running across the wide open field if it had somehow jumped this fence but like I said it had vanished. We had all become very animated at this point yelling and freaking out at what we had just seen. Probably thinking we were absolute psychopaths, the girls in the car immediately started the engine lipped around and just took off. I did hear one of them yell "what's your F-ing problem???" Rightfully so. We calmed down after a few minutes and started to collect ourselves. There was no sign of the creature at all, and because it was a gravel road there were no visible footprints. We stayed shining spotlight for probably a half hour, absolutely shaken by what we had seen. We saw nothing, absolutely nothing. It was now close to 1 am and we rushed back to my house and immediately woke my dad up from a dead sleep and told him what we had witnessed. A little back story on my Dad, he grew up in Starvalley Wyoming. He spent most of his years as a youth as a youth and teens in the mountains hunting. In his late teens and into his 20's he was a hunting guide. He guided hunters from all over the world into the backcountry on horseback. My Dad was tough and fearless, and if anyone would have encountered something like this before it was him. He immediately got out of bed and once we settled down a bit he wanted to entire story, every detail. After listening to our story he became very quiet and serious. He sat down at the table and said "Boys, I have no doubt that what you saw tonight was real. I do not think this was any type of animal but rather a being. Sometimes we are allowed to see things from the other side of the veil or maybe even another dimension. I don't know why we do but I think this is what you experienced tonight. I do not want you going up to that area anymore." after that he told us this was nothing to mess with and not to ever pursue it.

It was so unsettling and still to this day I could call either one of my two buddies and have them recount the exact same story word for word. This creature was not how I pictured the typical sasquatch. it did appear to have a shorter sleek jet black fur. Its fur almost absorbed our light and was almost difficult to distinguish any facial features at all. It was almost like a 3 dimensional shadow if that makes sense somehow? It was very tall and athletic-looking. It did not have a massive hulking build but rather a very sleek, powerful, and fast type of build if that makes any sense. Think fairly jacked sprinter instead of a giant bodybuilder. That experience has bothered me ever since. Monday came around and we thought we had the craziest story that we could ever tell at school. To my dismay, people thought we were so full of crap and honestly did not believe us. That really pissed me off but also disappointed me. We didn't really tell anyone else after that reaction from a few people in fear of being seen as weird or just lying.

Second Incident

This encounter still scares me to this day and I still have so many unanswered questions. This took place maybe 8-9 months later. maybe a year. My parents had sold our boat and bought some 4 wheelers instead. I loved this option! I spent everyday after school enjoying this amazing new found sense of freedom and exploring the mountain behind our neighborhood which was about 1/2 mile away. There were fire roads, old trails, and riverbeds leading up to the canyons. If you would ride to the top of the mountain on a clear day you could see the ocean and Catalina Island off in the distance. A girl that I was friends with who had very wealthy parents just bought a brand new 4 wheeler. She tracked me down at school and asked if I would every want to meet up after school and take her exploring. They literally lived at the base of the mountain but about 3 miles from my house. I was stoked! A few days later I loaded up the 4 wheeler into the back of my truck and met her at her house. I did not know this area very well so this was extra exciting to go explore a new area. We went down the road a ways and decided to cut up through some orange groves on a slightly overgrown road. We climbed a few windmills to get a good view of what was further ahead. After weaving in and out of the labrynth of trees and small dirt roads we ended up at a gate. On the other side of the gate were some avocado trees, bee boxes, and an overgrown trail that turned into switch backs leading up the mountain. This looked awesome and I was so intrigued by it for some reason. A few minutes later an old man pulled up in an old fafrm truck and was PISSED that we were in there. He yelled at us and he said "and don't you ever think about ever going up that road, never go up there!" At the time I though he was just being a grouchy old dick but now looking back I think he knew something and was actually trying to run us off to keep us safe.

My defiant teenage brain now had absolute tunnel vision on returning a few days later, finding a way around the gate and exploring whatever that road led to. I had to know where those steel switchbacks led to. Sure enough, a few days later I went back...alone. I had a pocket knife, camelback full of water, and was getting in no matter what. I found a way to cut down into the river bed and up a very steel embankment which put me on the other side of the gate. I showed that old man! After cruising around atg the bottom of the hill for a few minutes I was disappointed only seeing old abandoned farming equipment in the weeds. Now it was time to follow the narrow trail up the steep mountain. Just as I was starting up the trail there was a really sketchy narrow section where it had washed out around a culvert. I carefully made my way around it trying to keep from sliding down into a washed out ditch. As I made my way up the vegetation began changing. There were tons of massive oak trees growing in a large ravine and and along the edge of the trail.

By this time I was WAAY up the mountain and could easily see across the whole valley looking out at Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga way off in the distance. Then I found the most bizarre things ever. Huge, old, single wide trailers probably from the late 60's or 70's just sitting on the side of the mountain. There were 3-4 of them one above me on the trail and a few out on this point on the other side of the ravine filled with the massive oak trees. Areas had been dug into the mountainside for the trailers to sit on. I still don't even understand how they could have ever placed those up there unless by a massive helicopter or something. A trailer would literally be impossible. I thought "Well this is super weird but I'm totally exploring these. The first one was really beat up and had no windows or doors. I hiked down off of the trail and began cutting through the ravine to get to the others. The oak forest I was cutting through was thick. even though it was still very light outside, it was very dim under the shade of these massive thick trees. The ground was covered in probable 6' of leaves and was very noisy when walking through. I checked out the other trailers for probably another 45 minutes. Nothing amazing but still interesting. At this point the sun would be setting by the time I got down the mountain and I did not want to try to find my way back out in the dark so I started heading back toward the trail that my 4 wheeler was parked on. I was walking through the bottom of the oak filled ravine when all of a sudden something just stopped me in my tracks. Everything had become so quiet. I'm talking impossibly quiet and I immediately noticed it. I have never experienced anything like this. I was if I just walked into a soundproof room but in the middle of a ravine. I immediately had the feeling that I was not alone and that something dangerous was watching me. I slowly started scanning my surroundings and had such a strange claustrophobic feeling. All I could hear was ringing in my ears. No birds, no breeze, not even the sound of the trees moving slightly. I had never experienced anything like this. I began feeling a very distinct dark and creepy feeling. As I looked at the hillside in front of me, maybe 15 feet in front of me I experience the most intense fear I have ever felt to this day. A quick glint caught my eye and as I looked at where the glint came from the weirdest thing happened. The only thing I can compare it to is when you are staring at one of those weird stereogram pictures. You are straining your eyes and then all of a sudden the 3-D image comes into focus. I was staring at the hillside right in front of me which was covered in leaves. There was a large gray rock to the right and slightly above the rock but 3 feet to the left was the trunk of an oak tree. I was staring at the leaves and in the space between the tree and the rock I saw it. It was like all of a sudden my eyes came into focus and I could see it. I hated what I saw. It literally paralyzed me with fear. I was a sprinter on our schools track team so running was always my best option. I literally could not move. I was looking at what I believe was that exact same creature we spotted that night close to a year prior. It truly was probably 8-1/2 to 9' tall. The hillside in that spot was very steep so it was kind of laid back against the hill perfectly camouflaged between the rock and tree but its body was in full view. It did not move but its shiny black eyes just intensely stared at me. I stared right back. I do not remember seeing any whites to its eyes but could tell when its eyes moved because of the glint they created. The eyes looked like tow shiny pieces of obsidian or glass. This is the part that scares me the most. This was not a friendly encounter by any stretch of the imagination. This was not a goofy and happy harry and the hemdersons experience. This thing felt so mean and evil. As it stared into my eyes in that intense quietness I literally could feel that it hated me and did not want me there. I did not hear any type of voice but I could feel the most wicked and intense hate from it. I could literally feeling in my soul that I don't think I was even breathing for an unknown amount of time. I know that sounds weird. I don't know how long I stood there in that trance or whatever this experience was, but I distinctly remember feeling my lips beginning to tingle and feeling dizzy. It was enough to snap me out of it. I stumbled backwards and weakly scampered up the opposite side of the ravine. I was so slow and felt like all of my strength was just absolutely gone.

I was pretty much in tears and felt like I may have just almost been attacked or killed. I got on my 4 wheeler and started backing down the trail as fast as could because it was too narrow and the hillside too steel to actually turn the machine around. I got to a switchback area and did probable the most frantic 20 point turn every performed. I was so certain that at any second this creature was going to come sprinting from the edge other oak trees and kill me. I raced down the trail and could not believe my eyes. The narrow area where the trail had mostly washed out around the culvert had large branches and brush literally piled up with other brush. It was probably 3 feet high and was no doubt there to block me or make me stop. I basically said F it and crashed right through the edge of it and made it right through. Getting back to the truck was a blur. That was probably the hardest that 4 wheeler would ever have been ridden. For quite awhile after that experience I really thought that creature could come back and find me somehow. I don't know what it did to me but it absolutely got in my head and I have never felt that much hate and disdain from anything like that in my life. After finding your podcast I have been thinking about that experience so often and recounting so many of the details. I can remember that experience like it was yesterday. I can tell you exactly what the temperature was like outside, what the air smelled like, the smell of the exhaust from the 4 wheeler, and the smell of the leaves and dirt in that ravine. I think that day is pretty much burned into my soul. That creature was the most terrifying thing I have ever laid eyes on. I honestly don't even know what exactly to classify it as. It shares some similarities to a sasquatch but it was so long and slender while still appearing very strong and fast. This might sound crazy but it really felt like it was from some other place or realm. I have had a few very close encounters with bears while camping and while that was scary, especially being in a tent, it wasn't even in the same universe as how terrifying encountering that thing was. I never ever considered going anywhere near that spot ever again and still would not even today. I felt beyond helpless against that thing and am just grateful nothing actually bad happened. I did feel like that experience was a strong warning from that thing. I have often wondered if it was extremely angry at the massive changes taking place in the area with the destruction of all of the orange, lemon, grapefruit and avocado groves. It could have been the perfect environment to remain unseen and an endless food supply. I honestly just don't know.

Third Incident

So this encounter I still don't understand. My buddies and Had just graduated from high school. It was the typical time in life when everyone start going their separate ways. One of my good friends Derek was getting ready to move to New Zealand for a few years and another immediately off to College in Utah. I was working with my Dad who was a general contractor and was working as a superintendent helping build our commercial construction projects. As a last fun hoorah 4 of us got together and went off-roading and exploring south of our town down the I-15 a little ways. This was an area somewhat new to us but as the housing developments continued to boom we knew in a few years most of those areas would be gone. I remember driving down a paved road and the area was heavily wooded with oak trees. I was driving and we came around a bend in the road. Now today as an adult, this would have been such an awesome place to have a home on a few acres. It was beautiful and secluded. All of the homes had a significant amount of land and were really spaced far apart. I noticed a long gravel driveway leading up to some large pepper trees. The front lawn of the home looked like it was dying and we could just make out the house back in the trees. The garage door was open and so was the front door. Out of curiosity we backed u and drove up the driveway towards the house. Sure enough it was completely vacant. I suspect that one of the large developers had purchased all of the land to later build one of the current golf course communities. We could not believe our eyes. The people must have moved out no longer than the week before. We yell\ed hello a few times before walking into this vacant home. It was immaculate! Literally clean and well kept. It was a decent size single level home with a 3 car garage. All of the furniture was gone but there were a few random odds and ends left behind in a few of the rooms and garage. We were not the kind of guys that would vandalize a place like this. We thought it was so cool and decided to come back later that night and camp out inside. I think we all told our parents the classic type of story that each of us would be at another house but in reality we were staying the night in this abandoned house. We grabbed sleeping bags, pillows, and my friend stole this massive red candle from his mom's Christmas decoration shelf in his garage. That was going to be our source of light since we didn't have a lantern that we could take without it looking too suspicious. We arrived back at the house just as it was almost all the way dark and boy this place looked creepy now. Especially with the way it was tucked back into the trees. And the house was a good size house which I would estimate between 2300-2500 sf. Backed my truck into the garage and glossed the old style wood garage door that had the big springs on the sides. The power had been shut off to the home so we had to open and close the garage door manually by pulling the disconnect on the opener. We set up shop in the center of the living room and had the angle sitting in a paint can lid with all of our sleeping beds spread out around it.

We got settled in and were just talking about future plans, good times we had together throughout the years and just typical conversations. It was a really fun night. Just as we were all getting tired and winding down we thought we heard a weird sounding strange whistle outside. We all shut up and listened but didn't hear again. We blew out the candle. No more than 15 minutes later we heard something hit the large living room window really hard which immediately woke us up and scared the crap out of us! All of the blinds and curtains were gone so I felt like we were in a big fish bowl as soon as we relit the candle. As we were discussing what that loud noise was we heard the strange whistle again. It was a longer whistle and a lower tone than what you would normally whistle. We were so far from the town or really any real road. Nobody even know we were at this house. Then another really loud bang on the kitchen window and another on the dining room sliding glass door. Then another weird long whistle. We were absolutely crapping bricks. There would be a few minutes of complete silence followed by another loud bang on the windows or side of the home. Whatever was out there was seemingly walking in circles just pounding in the windows and would intermittently do a long weird sounding whistle. We were beyond terrified and knew whoever was out there could see us inside perfectly while we could not see it. I ran to the nearest bedroom and pulled off the bi-fold closet doors. My friends did the same and we started putting them up against the windows to block the view into the home. These loud pounds on the windows and sides of the home got more and more intense and began happening all around the home which really made us believe there were multiple people outside tormenting us. We yelled out some obsentities and threats telling them to get the hell out of there. This went on literally all night. We were so scared that we didn't even try to leave. it was pitch black outside. With my truck being parked in the garage that meant that someone would have to manually open the garage door and hold it open long enough for us to drive out and then be exposed for a minute outside of the truck. We were so freaked out that was absolutely not an option. We removed hanger rods as weapons or whatever we could find. We ended up with a shower curtain rod as a weapon too although it was really light weight and cheap. After hours and hours of this nonstop horrifying ordeal the sun began coming up and it stopped. We waited until it was fully light outside and tore out of there as fast as we could.

Later that afternoon I got up from taking a an since I hadn't slept at all that night. It was Saturday. The more I thought about that experience the more it pissed me off. I wanted to go back with my Remington 870 shotgun and sneak in on foot and see who is there during the day. Maybe it was some rogue homeless people that were pissed that we took their spot? I called up my buddies Zach and Derek. They were down to go back and spy on the property to see the bastards that did that to us. Zach snuck out his dads 12 gauge shotgun so now we had two. We had no intentions on using them but wanted some sort of protection in case it was some creepy Charles mansion type people. By the time we made it back out there it was basically dusk which would give us cover with it getting darker. We went back to the house after parking 1/4 mile down the road and sneaking in on foot. We could not believe our eyes. The entire house had been absolutely destroyed. Every window broken out, every door kicked in and laying on the ground. The garage door we had opened to pak inside laid broken on the floor of the garage. we peaked inside the house and the amount of destruction inside looked like it would have taken a group if grown men hours to do. This house was 100% destroyed. Destroyed to the point that nobody would even think about trying to stay there. Broken glass was everywhere. All of the bedroom doors were broken right off the hinges and laying on the ground. The drywall had so many holes smashed through it. The ceiling fan in the dining room was ripped down. It was so insane we could not even believe what we were looking at. how could this be the same immaculate place we had stayed the previous night. At that point we were really pissed off.

The gravel driveway continued up through the trees and towards the hillside which was basically the base of the mountain. We decided to go see what was up there. We walked a little ways further being as stealthy as possible and I immediately hated what I saw. There were two old mobile homes, very similar to what I had seen a few years before on the mountainside where I had that horrifying encounter with the black creature. The moon wasn't full but was providing a decent amount of light. We decided to check out the two trailers to see if it looked like someone had been squatting in them. Feeling brave being armed we checked them out, They were in terrible condition and disgusting inside. Leaking roofs and water damaged everything along with tons of sharp glass from all of the broken windows. They no longer had the wood steps to the front door so he had to hop down about 3' back into the ground. No sooner had we jumped down and walked out away from the trailer I heard that weird whistle again. Just as I looked up towards the hillside in front of us I caught a glimpse for just a split second of something that appeared to be tall and black. Just as I started realizing that someone, or something was like 30' in front of us a large boulder/rock about the size of a medium watermelon sailed right past my head in between my two friends. The strength it must have taken to throw a rock that large and heavy was unimaginable. Had it struck any of us it would have most likely been fatal. I didn't even think twice and started unloading my shotgun at where briefly saw this figure. I unloaded all 5 rounds and immediately started pulling more from my front pocket. My friends were completely shocked and began yelling at me saying just to run. We did, we ran away as fast as we could and didn't stop until we reached my truck a ways down the road. We never told our parents or anyone else. My friends were kind of mad at me for shooting at the figure even though that rock would have probably killed one of us had it hit us in the head. I didn't regret shooting at it, he, whatever it was. I really hoped I got a piece of him in return. We NEVER went back to that property or even the area in general. Nothing about that mountain felt safe anymore.

28 years later, as I have been replaying these experiences over and over since listening to your podcast I have started to research that area. i pulled up google earth and went as far back with the dates as I could which was the late 90's. I did this one night with my two oldest kids after telling them the story. It was actually very shocking to see how close each of these encounters happened from one another. As the crow fly's, the first two encounters happened only within 1/2 mile or even slightly less from one another. The last encounter/incident has only 1.5 miles away but also right at the base of the mountain where there were thick orchards and oak trees. Very interesting to say the least. Anyway, If you made it this far reading all of this I appreciate you hearing this experience. I have honestly been so reserved for so long in sharing these stories with anyone because I don't want to seem crazy or weird. But after listening to your countless episodes I realize that there are so many others that have had strange experiences that cannot be explained.

We ditched California and moved to East Idaho 11 years ago. I spend a significant amount of time riding dirt bikes exploring our local mountains on remote singletrack. I ride with a cool group of buddies. We have seen wolves, black and brown bears, and mountain lions, but nothing even remotely as scary as what I encountered in our little local mountain range in southern California. Go figure."

Link to Sasquatch and the missing man

Avsnitt(672)

SC EP:1184 Bigfoot Live Stream

SC EP:1184 Bigfoot Live Stream

Tonight I will be chatting with the creator of the Bigfoot Live Stream App. Logan will be sharing his encounters and why he created this app. This app features the ability view 24/7 live streams of Bigfoot Hot Zones. Subscription Information - Title: 24/7 Bigfoot Live Stream - Length of Subscription: Monthly - Price: $4.99 per month   By subscribing, you get access to: | All available live streams | Access to Video On Demand of of every live stream for the past 2 weeks | Uploaded videos from user reports | News and updates | First to see footage reports | Report sightings live! | ML and AI reporting   By creating a login you will then have access to subscribe to the 24/7 Bigfoot Live Stream, this is critical in the function of the app for subscribers. Users will need to first create an account for it is a necessary function within the subscription of the app. Before you create an account, users will have access to content describing about the livestream and Bigfoot Collaboration. Everything pre sign-up is information about the subscription, and our mission statement. You do not get any access to any content for creating an account. Once you create an account it only gives you access to subscribe. If you choose to remove your account there is a link in account section for removal.

30 Aug 1h 5min

SC EP:1183 Hunting Guides Experience With Sasquatch

SC EP:1183 Hunting Guides Experience With Sasquatch

Ian writes "The story I’m sitting down to tell, is a true one. One experienced by a faithful friend of mine, Sam, and I. I’m often reluctant to tell this story at length to most people, as the subject matter is unexplainable and rather strange. I don’t want to be viewed as the superstitious nut. But having guided all across the country, and having extensive experience in many environments around the united states, I feel I have the authority to tell this story. Essentially what I’m saying is I’ve been around, in the deep dark hollows all across North America, and never experienced something so strange as I did that night. I don’t fancify my experiences in the woods, nor do I hopefully imagine there’s something more to a twig breaking. As anyone who has spent a good deal of time in the woods knows, there’s no reason to. Eventually you’ll experience something daring or fantastic. I am a hunter first and foremost, and to a hunter there’s always an explanation, a reason to the wilderness and her inhabitants. Its how we identify patterns and exploit an animals rhythm to make a successful hunt. As a hunter you’re a sort of woodsman detective, piecing together clues to set yourself up for success. Lets just say this tale is a cold-case. Let’s get into it. It was early summer and I was itching to go camping. I had recently received a new tent and was eager to use it. I called up my good buddy, Sam, and we planned out our camping adventure. We considered going up to the Grayson highlands, or even south into North Carolina. After debating it, we decided it would be more fun to camp somewhere we wouldn’t run into any other people. Deep in the woods, far from anyone else, where we could bushcraft, hoot and holler, and bring a gun without fear of scaring the yuppies camping next to us. While we both lived in the woods, I definitely had access to the most remote stretch of woods between us. So we loaded up our stuff and began hiking, deep into the valley below my childhood home. The hike was almost completely straight down a steep hillside, deep into a a hollow that held a small patch of flat land, a flood plane area and creek. The small creek that ran gave the area a beautiful ambiance. Early signs of summer were visible all around and the weather was great. We hiked until we felt the need to start gathering firewood before nightfall. Behind us a was a steep hillside that rose into the west for miles. In front of us was the creek, and to the left the start of another ridge and hillside that rose high into the east and north. To our right, the valley we were in, continued to go down cutting a deep valley. and on the other side of the creek another ridge, separated by a small stream from the ridge to the left, rose into the west and to the south. These two ridges in front of us ran for miles and the little valley formed by the small creek split these ridges for a long ways up until it hit the spring head. This is important for later in the story. Off to the right, further down the valley, more splits in the ridges are made by little tributaries. We started building camp by clearing the brush and leaves away and constructing a small firepit. I placed a tarp on the ground to separate my tent from the damp earth. Remember this, the tarp extended out roughly a foot on each side of my tent. Sam had a hammock that he planned to sleep in, I’ve only ever camped in a hammock once, and it didn’t go great. But I didn’t say anything to him, thinking that maybe he would enjoy it. We gathered a hefty load of firewood, consisting of some reasonably dry stuff. It was shaping up to be a really nice camping trip. I’ve spoken about the joy of being “out there” on this blog before, so I won’t beat a dead horse, but it was really nice to be away from people. Sam and I sat around the fire and shot the shit until the sun went down. Now one of the things Sam and I have always bonded on, has been Bigfoot shows. We’re both skeptics, and I would say we hold a similar or the same opinion on the subject. Our interest is less about believing in bigfoot, but rather we just find the subject matter to be nostalgic, silly, and a fun thing to joke about. So, I brought up the idea to Sam, that we begin to “Hunt” Bigfoot. He laughed and thought it was a great idea. So we began doing the antics they do in the “Finding Bigfoot” TV show. We started with the classic, Tree knocks. A “Tree Knock” for those unaware, is when you use a stick to beat on a tree, making a loud knocking sound that echoes through the forest. Supposedly sasquatch communicate this way. We didn’t think anything of it at all, as I said before, we didn’t really believe, we were just joking around. So we began by knocking on the trees and then stopping and listening for a response. After a few times of doing this we paused, and hearing nothing I began to think of a joke to crack and something else to do. Before I could open my mouth, we heard clear as day, a tree nock far off somewhere on the ridge to the left. I looked at Sam and said, “Dude.” Sam just looked back at me in surprise. I then did some more knocks, and we listened again. Then off in the distance, we heard more knocks in response. Then the other ridge to the right we began hearing knocks. Sam at this point was beginning to get freaked out a little and was perplexed as to what it could be. I at the time, was such a hard skeptic I carried on and insisted that it was a person or a woodpecker. “but who in the world would be out there? deeper in the woods than we are, on private land? What woodpecker makes three loud booming knocks on the tree, that sound exactly like the knocks we make?” Sam voiced his rebuttal. I ignored these arguments and held strong to the fact that there is no Bigfoot. I then insisted that we push the envelope by doing woops and howls, just like they do on TV. Sam was not very enthused by this idea, being the humbler and smarter one of us that night, knowing sometimes there’s certain things you don’t mess with. But at that time I was full of piss and vinegar, and stubborn as a mule about the fact that Bigfoot, is not real. I also had brought a gun with me, and was certain I could fight off anything we would need to fight off. So we started howling into the woods. It was dark that night, being a new moon, and beyond the firelight you couldn’t see a damn thing. We would howl and wait listening for a reply. After a few howls, the excitement of “What was that?” started to fade and my logical, rational, science based, theory of the woodpecker began to appear true. Then, out of the dark distance came one of the strangest sounds I’ve ever heard. A howl. Not a canine howl, not an owls hoot, but a fucking ape howl. Sam’s eyes were as big as back hoe tires, and even I was finding it hard to reason that one. Despite this, I continued my ignorant stubbornness, and threw out another howl. Off to the left ridge it replied to us again, the clearest ape whoop I’ve ever heard. As if it were recorded by researchers in the Congo. I looked at Sam, myself feeling more curious and excited than anything else, I reiterated, “Duuuude.” Then something truly unexplainable and spooky happened, more whoops and howls began on the ridge to the right and further down the valley. And they weren’t random, they had etiquette, as if they were chatting back and forth with each other. The one to the left would howl, the one to the right would whoop and howl, the first would respond, and then the one way down the valley would chime in. Sam was really freaked out now, and began considering if we should leave. I, being a stubborn idiot, claimed it was owls. “Owls?? We were both raised in these hollers, I’ve heard owls, you’re gonna tell me that was an owl? Have you ever in your life heard an owl that sounded like a fucking ape?” Sam argued against my claim. “Well, no, but there’s no way bigfoot is real. It has to be a bunch of owls speaking to each other. There’s nothing else it could be.” I replied, half laughing in astonishment and disbelief of what was unfolding that night. Sam and I kind of bickered for a minute over it, and then decided the wisest decision was to stop antagonizing whatever it was in the woods miles around us whooping and knocking. It wasn’t too long after that, we decided to go to bed. I crawled into my tent, and Sam into his hammock. We left the fire going, and every time the fire died down, the woods came to life. Whether it was paranoia, or paranormal, something was stirring. All around camp we could hear what sounded like things being thrown and footsteps. From time to time we would hear another knock or another howl coming from a new position. Sam would leap out of his hammock and chuck loads of wood onto the fire and make it as big as possible. He would then lay back down to sleep. This repeated about three more times. Each time the fire died, things got spookier and spookier. A few times Sam would say, “Did you hear that?” and every time I would just blame it on possums nearing camp, hoping to find food scraps. Well, about the third time, Sam ran out of firewood. Meaning that this time when the fire died, it died for good, leaving us to the dark void of the Appalachian holler. I vividly remember I had fallen asleep before the fire died, and after it died, there was so much stirring around camp, I began to wake up. I was slowly waking up, thinking I was having some sort of nightmare, when I finally fully sobered, and realized that my dream was pleasant. It was reality that was full of frightening sounds and things that go bump in the night. The woods around us had become loud with unexplainable movement, the movement of multiple large things. The whooping and knocking had stopped, which did not comfort me, with all the new sounds right outside my door. There was maybe a 30 yard perimeter around camp that the sounds did not cross. Then suddenly, an extremely loud crashing began through the twigs, leaves, and branches. It was something large, running full sprint through the woods. Starting maybe 50 yards away, and running straight towards our camp. It grew louder and louder, until the sound of crushing leaves, turned to crinkling tarp. The creature, was standing on the tarp my tent was situated on. I was frozen. Like a child, Frozen in fear, eyes wide open. My heart was pounding out of my chest so hard I thought it would explode. I Then heard high above my tent, not near the ground, not four feet up, but high above my tent, the most terrifying sound I’ve ever heard. it was the sound of a huff and blow, exactly the way you hear a gorilla do it on TV. Or how the apes in planet of the apes do it. Three forceful huff and blows, then the creature turned around and ran back the way it came, back into the darkness of the night. Sam practically leaped out of his hammock and said, “You had to have heard that!” I replied with, “Yeah lets get the fuck out of here.” I slid a round into the chamber of my 30-30 and crawled out of the tent. We both got busy grabbing only our essentials, and started out of the woods. Using shitty dim flashlights, we made our way up the hill. Frantically looking behind us into the terrible night, and trying to move fast without running. We hiked a long ways and by the time we made it back to the house it was far past midnight. We never did see what it was that charged us, and we never did hear anything else after that. But whatever it was, scared us enough to make us hike out in the dead of night and leave all of our gear there. We returned the next morning in full daylight to gather our things. Looking back, I wish we had surveyed the area for tracks or some clue as to what it was, but at the time we did not want to be down there for any longer than we had to. Having been some years since this happened, I would go down there in a heart beat and not think a thing of it. When I come home, I usually feel a sense of ease in the woods. It feels like a weight is lifted off of your shoulders knowing there are no cougars or grizzly bears to worry about. For my western outdoorsy folk, familiar with cougar country, reading this and thinking, “I don’t feel a weight in the woods.” my reply, would be the question, have you noticed you’ve been stalked before? Cougars are some of the sneakiest creatures in the animal kingdom, and just because you’ve never noticed it, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. I myself have been stalked, I’ve written about it here previously. It’s a feeling that will stick with you, and definitely put you on edge in cougar country for a long time after. I have a colleague who guides western big game in New Mexico, who told me a story once that during a hunt he had a fellow guide spotting for him, and that guide watched a cougar stalk my friend through a grove of trees before giving up. My friend never had the slightest idea he was being stalked. I believe for an avid outdoorsman in cougar country, it is inevitable. And as far as grizzly country, it’s a similar feeling but a little different. Most ill bear encounters happen because you surprise the bear in thick woods. I have many friends from my time in Alaska who would share stories of being charged by monster grizzlies from out of no-where. They’re just hiking along, and then BOOM! 800 pounds of death is blasting straight towards them. And the consensus is the same amongst them, if you spend enough time out there, it will happen eventually. I luckily was never charged during my time in Alaska, I avoided known bear hang-outs. But the few times I spent time in bear country, I always had this jack in the box anxiety, just waiting for it to happen. What is funny though, is despite that weight being lifted initially, an old feeling always returns. I know it’s not some sort of psychological thing having to do with that patch of woods specifically, because I feel it in most places in Appalachia. It’s a feeling of being watched, a feeling that something is there, and a feeling of dread. And it amplifies every time you hear some strange crashing in the woods or a sound you cannot explain. Most of the times I’ve experienced this, I’ve had a gun. And I think to myself, “Come on man! You’re the most badass thing out here.” Yet I can never shake that anxiety. My brother, without having ever heard this story, reluctantly asked me over the phone one day, “don’t think I’m crazy but, have you ever felt creeped out in the woods below the house? I don’t know what it is, but every time I go down there I feel like I’m being watched, and I get filled with dread.” Hearing him say that sent shivers down my back. Simply because I always dismissed this feeling, I’ve swept this story under the rug for years, telling myself it was just a bear etc. To hear my brother, who is a marine, tell me that, certified to me that I was not simply being a pussy. I’ve only ever felt this in two regions of the country. Appalachia, and the Redwood Forests of Northern California. Now some of you may be reading this thinking that I am a nut-job Bigfoot believer. I’ve been reluctant to share this story for that reason. But I want to end this, saying, I have no idea what it was that made those calls that night. I also have no idea what it was that busted into our camp. We never did lay our eyes on anything. But I want to re-iterate that the story, is true. Verbatim to how it happened as I can recall it, without any embellishment. I have no idea what it was, and you can make your own decision as to what you think it was. But being an experienced woodsman, never have I ever experienced something like that since, and I have no worldly explanation for it. Those were the events that transpired that night, and I’ll let you make of that what you will.”   Here is a link to Ian's blog

24 Aug 1h 6min

SC EP:1180 The Caveman On The Property

SC EP:1180 The Caveman On The Property

Spoke to the witness who is from Oklahoma and he said “I saw the creature on two different occasions in broad daylight. What I saw looked like a cave man. I was a young man when this encounter took place, I was frozen looking at this thing. Later that night it came to my window. I have seen so much over the years on this property. I learned many years ago to keep my mouth shut because of ridicule. I recently received some bad news from my doctor, I don’t care anymore what people think. A friend of my mine recommend your podcast.”

16 Aug 1h 26min

SC EP:1179 The Phenomenal Sasquatch With Matt Pruitt

SC EP:1179 The Phenomenal Sasquatch With Matt Pruitt

The Phenomenal Sasquatch is a comprehensive exploration of one of the most intriguing mysteries of modern times. Is the sasquatch an undiscovered animal or a product of the imagination? Author Matt Pruitt takes a multidisciplinary approach to this question, drawing on insights from biology, psychology, anthropology, and other fields. Examining the fossil record, indigenous knowledge, historical records, eyewitness accounts, and physical evidence, Pruitt takes the reader on a journey into the heart of the sasquatch phenomenon. He explores the possibility that sasquatches are simply large, rare primates, and delves into the psychological factors that may be at play during people’s encounters with these creatures. Alternatively, he considers the hypothesis that the sasquatch is merely a construct of the human mind that exists only in stories and art. In this thought-provoking work, Pruitt presents a balanced and rigorous analysis, providing readers with an in-depth look into the search for the natural origins of this cultural icon. Whether you are a skeptic or a believer, The Phenomenal Sasquatch will challenge your assumptions and deepen your understanding of this enduring mystery.   Check out his book here: The Phenomenal Sasquatch: Seeking the Natural Origins of a Cultural Icon

10 Aug 1h 14min

SC EP:1176 It Was Six Feet From My Van

SC EP:1176 It Was Six Feet From My Van

Linda writes “I wanted to share my experience I had back in April of this year. This was in a large natural area in Southeast Michigan. I was suppose to meet up with my research/ investigating friend on a Friday night in May at a camp. The weather was not so great on the way down. It was storming off and on throughout the afternoon. When I got to the camp nobody was there. My friend Gabe was still working and had not been able to come yet. It wasn’t dark yet but raining so I stayed in my van. Finally after texting back and forth, we established that He would come out the next morning because the radar showed a huge storm approaching and there were already flash flood warnings out. So as twilight approached I decided to go outside even though it was sprinkling and load up on my drinks for the night so I would not have to get out again after dark in the storm approaching. I did not have a fire going didn’t see the sense in that. After grabbing two pops from my cooler I approached the opening of my van the slider door on the side. I had miscalculated my timing and now it was fairly dark with almost no light..I looked toward my left out into this neighboring field there were 4 sets of eyes kind of greenish, and they were heading right at me. Now I figured they were about the right height for coyote or deer but I was a bit confused as to why they were coming at me. I grabbed my little flashlight from behind the seat and turned it on the eyes and yelled out in a very stern voice “Whatever you are that’s far enough!” The creatures stopped and I realized now they were whitetails. All adult deer no fawns or bucks with them. In that second I thought to myself Why are these deer running up to me that’s not normal behavior, light went off in my head, they were trying to escape a predator. Soon as I thought that they all raised their heads and looked back at the wood line on the other side of the field. Then bolted across the field taking off and away to the left. I started panning the wood line and bingo there about 7 or 8 feet ( a guess) up in the air were two huge round forward facing eyes set wide apart..And NOW its watching me instead of following the deer. I called out “I see you” in a casual voice but loud enough to let it know I knew it was there. It kept watching me, I grabbed my bigger flashlight thinking i would light this thing up with my 1500 lumen but no all I could see was the eyes watching me still. Now its very dark and sprinkling harder. I decide to get into my van and get my thermal out thinking Im going to try and thermal this thing. Its still standing in the tree line. I step up into my slider door turn around and sit down on my bed, grab my key fob thinking id shut the slider door while its raining and I’m getting my thermal out..now I hit the keyfob and as the door slides shut I hear this very loud growl/roar and it sounds like it is 6 feet from my van!! The door finishes shutting I hit lock and alarm. I am in shock now and sitting inside in the dark thinking no way am I going back out there and am I going to have to climb over the middle console to jump in the drivers seat to escape?! I listened intently waiting to see if my door was going to be torn off or what this thing was going to do and then the torrential storm hit …I was not going to turn on any interior light and would just keep quiet..even though it rained most of the rest of the night i could hear screams and howls throughout the night. Something screamed and the coyotes sounded off going nuts…Gabe showed up next morning and crossed over there and found suspicious tracks…upon his return to camp he was going to go back and cast the one but it had been scuffed out, very strange. I was happy to not be alone anymore at camp Ill tell you that! Then in June in a different area I was attempting to hike a trail but stopped on top of a berm to look at a print and got charged from behind in the woods behind me but I couldn’t see it..you are welcome to call me if you want the rest of that experience. Since I have talked to you on the phone years ago.”

2 Aug 1h 7min

SC EP:1174 The Vagrant

SC EP:1174 The Vagrant

Chad writes "Back in 1992, I was stationed at Ft. Lewis in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). We were running a force-on-force training operation. I don’t recall the exact location—maybe an hour’s drive from Lewis. Our task was to defend a simulated Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) site consisting of a trailer and container meant to resemble a rocket launcher. We had two Special Forces Operational Detachment Alphas (ODAs) involved, roughly 20 guys total, plus a few support personnel. The site was backed up against the “no play zone,” so any attacking team could only approach from the west. It was fortified: two M-60 machine gun nests, a perimeter of seasoned operators, M-16s for each of us, a couple of HF radios—basic gear for a simulated “enemy” approach. No high-speed tech, no grenade simulators that I can recall. The terrain was layered: a track in front of the site, then woods, then a clean trail parallel to a ridge 150 meters to the west. Beyond that, a large field of tall grass. Ferns covered the ridge slope—dense and knee-to-hip high. Our mission was to intercept and resist any attempt to assault the SAM site, likely between dusk and sunrise. We ran rotating two-man patrols along the trail, each covering a three-hour shift. The night of the encounter, I was paired with a Sergeant First Class—an 18D medic whom I’ll call “Guy.” He’d been in group for years. I was 22 at the time, on of the youngest on site. Moonlight was strong—brilliant enough to allow stealth movement. We paced slowly, stopping every few meters to kneel and scan. After an hour, we paused under a shadowed area. Guy lit a cigarette with quiet precision—no glow exposed. I asked how he did that. He smirked and said, “Sniper check.” Then it happened. A deafening scream rang out from the ridge. At first, I thought it was an animal. But then came a bizarre shift: halfway through, it took on a human tone. Eight to ten seconds of sustained vocalization that morphed into a frantic, incoherent babble… and finally, a coyote-like cackle or laughing sound. The volume never dropped. We scanned the ridge. I spotted a silhouette—a massive figure, turning swaying side to side near a tree at the top of the ridge. It looked human. I thought, “Who in group is that size?” We went guns up. The figure turned north and walked away. We pursued him, assuming a diversion tactic to draw us away from the site. But despite jogging, we couldn’t close the gap. He moved quickly—strangely so. This went on for nearly a kilometer and a half. The forest thickened. The ridge narrowed – bottle necked. And then the figure veered east—straight toward us—charging downhill like a bipedal rhino through underbrush. Not sticks snapping… limbs breaking. I think at this moment, I realized It wasn’t human and started to categorize it. We veered northwest off the trail to intercept. It turned north, the woods were dark – perfect place for a kill zone, an ambush, I could still track its movement. Then… silence. It stopped moving. Total quiet. We crept forward—as noted this was textbook ambush territory. But nothing came. The smell did. It hit in layers. First: wet dog tangled with decay. Then: putrid infection, feces, rot. It overwhelmed me. As the stench peaked, dread set in. Danger. Immediate and primal. I glanced at Guy. He nodded: time to back out. We backed out—me facing rear, unwilling to turn my back. I feared a charge. Surprisingly, Guy was only 15 feet behind. I suspect he walked backward too. Eventually we hit the trail again, dazed. We stood in silence. Not tactical—just stunned. I have no concept of how long we stood there. I remember being totally surprised by how far we went, and how far off the trail we went. Almost like an unexplainable time warp. We never spoke of it again. The only time I had heard what Guy had experienced was later that morning as he debriefed the CO and some of the others. There is much more to this encounter that I would like to discuss with you.”

26 Juli 1h 17min

SC EP:1172 The Gorilla-Man And The Haunted Home

SC EP:1172 The Gorilla-Man And The Haunted Home

Dominic writes “There was two separate occasions with in the same year it happened once when eight years old another when I was about nine. When I lived in the town of Allen in western New York. We lived on basswood hill and our family owned about Ten acres of land but our neighbors each had 250 acres of land and they were hunters so really only were around on the weekend and or hunting season. So they would let us in there property whenever it wasn’t hunting season. And me and some family members all around the same age as me built a fort in a heavy pine tree area and it was fairly cold out it was late October. Well we were gonna build a little camp fire but I decided to sneak a pot form in the kitchen and put rocks in there to hold heat. (8) year old take in mind. Well as we were sneaking items in and out of the kitchen on our way back to our fort I saw in the tree opening a face a gorilla face looking in at us and I ran away along with the other kids and grabbed our bigger pocket knives and went back to see it was gone. The other encounter was on the same property. But in the summer. Me and my nephew were gonna camp out out back and as we were bringing the tents out something caught my eye in our hay field we assumed immediately it was a black bear and they were common in the area but as we looked longer and the sun was setting we realized this thing was massive. So we got our binoculars which these binoculars were garbage kids toys pretty much but also gave us a slightly better look. This thing kinda was shaped like a gorilla once again. I just remembered seeing very large shoulders and it was on all fours but had its rear end towards the ground. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the movie Tarzan but we grew up watching it . It reminded me of kerchek the head ape. But we went inside to find an adult to show them but by the time they came out it was gone.”

20 Juli 1h 3min

SC EP:1170 Bears Don't Throw Rocks

SC EP:1170 Bears Don't Throw Rocks

Sean writes "I'm a 51 year old clinical social worker, love the woods, and have had a few interesting experiences myself but we're writing today because my 13 year old, Bennett, came back from a week long Scout camp in Mississippi in which he AND his friend Dylan experienced the following: The two boys were hanging out by themselves in an area somewhat isolated, waiting on the other boy's dad to meet them. Bennett suggested they had time to walk up a nearby trail and look around. Shortly after starting out they hear footsteps in the woods to their left. And yes, when they stopped the footsteps would stop. The boys knew there was another nearby trail and called out, "Hello"? No answer. They walked again and again hear the footsteps. They stop again. Then, as Bennett tells it, they're looking in the direction of where the steps were coming from. He said the woods are not thick at all and they can see pretty well at 50' plus into the woods. He said they both see this clear mass from behind a tree that looks like it's "on delay". He then named a movie trying to describe what it looked like and I asked if it was like the Predator movie and he said yes. He said it looked to be a little taller than me so about 6' and the "top part" of it would lean out from the tree. Although I've heard of these experiences before, Bennett had not, which makes this awfully awfully strange in my book! We would love to get your feedback and experience about this "encounter"(?)! We will also be speaking with Seth, Seth writes "I found your pod cast last year and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m a farmer and Hunter and everything outdoors guy and I had a short experience while mushroom hunting with my ex girlfriend and our son 2019. I’ve wanted to share with my friends but I haven’t told anybody because like many others I don’t want the you’re crazy label. I’d love to talk to you and see what you think cause I’m still a skeptic on the whole Sasquatch thing but now I’m about 60%-40% that there’s something out there after what happened to us. I used to make fun of people who brought it up and now I actually feel bad cause I believe something is out there now and I’d like youre take?"

12 Juli 1h 11min

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