And can't really think of anything else since.
I would never have gone up there if I had any Idea at all what was going to happen.
Last monday night, my best friend and I take my bronco and head up in to the lake wynoochee area, north of monteseno wa.
Once you get about 30 miles off of the highway it gets pretty remote as it winds its way up into the foothills of the Olympic mountains.
Looking for a place to park and drink a six pack of tall bud's we had brought along, I turned right off of the main road and followed a fairly steep gravel road maybe two miles up to a the top of a hill that had been logged off.
The road ended there, but there was plenty of room to park.
I swung the rear spare tire carrier out of the way and dropped the tailgate to sit on.
The sun had set, but there was still enough daylight to see somewhat.
Way off and down to my right I could see a small camp fire, and every once in a while I could hear someone laughing faintly.
So my friend and I are sitting there bullshiting and, you know, just having a good time.

So I reach back and grab another beer and when I hear what I can best describe as a group of large men all loudly laughing at the same time, and then suddenly stop.
I look down the road and see a guy walking towards us. From where I was he looked maybe five and a half feet tall, but looked pretty stout.
At that moment he didn't seem that far away, but it was hard to tell cause it was nearly dark.
Mitch had seen him too, and we just stayed quiet and watched him come closer.
And then I cracked open my beer.
In a flash the guy dove off of the road and into the ditch, layed prone for a minute or so, then jumped up and ran into the brush to his right, [our left].
Thinkng how odd that was we got up and walked down the road to where he was.
I never took my eyes off of the spot where I saw him run into the brush.
As I was walking I realised that he was actually a lot farther away then what I had thought he was.
So I get to the area and start calling to the guy asking him to come out, if was okay?, needed help?, Etc.
Nothing.
Well **** it, I told Mitch, and we went back to the bronco.
I no sooner sat on the tailgate and took a swig of beer when I saw something falling towards me.
I pulled up my legs and rolled backwards into the bronco when a large rock bounced off of the ground and clanged off of the undercarrige.
Furious, I rolled out onto my feet and ran down the road to where I thought the rock had come from, cussing and swearing all the way.
And again there was no response whatsoever.
Now realizing that this could turn into a bad situation I told Mitch that we were getting out of here.
I was armed, but I really didn't like how things were going and did not want to allow something to develope to the point where I may have to shoot someone.
As quietly as we could, w/o any talking we started back up the road towards the bronco.
It was now getting pretty dark.
This is where things go crazy, and please believe me, I have replayed this a thousand times in my head and still can't believe it.
Jesus christ, I wish I had never gone up there.
I was leading the way, Mitch to my left and watching behind us as we walked.
I was about thirty feet from my bronco when I thought I saw a "stump" to the right of my bronco move.
I kept my eyes on it but never slowed, thinking it was just a shadow playing tricks on me.
And then, what I thought was a stump, walked across the ditch and around the front of my bronco and then stood at the drivers door facing us.
This thing was HUGE!
My truck has 35" tires and my head when I am standing next to it is maybe 4 inch's below the roofline, and I am 6'5".
I swear to god when he walked past the front of my bronco I could see not just his head but the top of his shoulder too.
I scrambled backwards and ended up falling on my ***, got up and stood there.
So there we are, watching this guy watching us.
Then, suddenly, he gets to his knees and looks under my truck.
A second or two later, he raises his head as if to see if we are still there.
Without standing up, he crawls backwards away from us and I loose sight of him as he again goes in front of the truck.
Only then did I remember that I had a gun.
I quickly pulled it out and let and with both hands pointed it towards where I had last seen the guy.
So then Mitch grabs my arm and starts pulling me away, trying to get me to walk down the road.
Never looking away from the truck he leads me maybe a few dozen paces when I stop him.
We gotta get the bronco, I said to him.
He was very freaked out.
"**** that ******* truck! he said. I ain't going back there, **** that.
Believe me when I say I too wanted no part of going back and getting the bronco, but, we were a full 30 miles from highway 101, and that would be a long walk in the dark, a lot of it thru a pretty dense amount of woods.
We stood there for the longest time and just waited.
Finally, I took mitchs right hand, and had him grab me by the back of my belt and we walked back towards the bronco, staying well off to the side of it, as I made sure it was clear.
Yes, I had thought about firing a warning shot, but I was honestly afraid to do that.
For one thing, I was not at all sure that the noise and flash would scare him at all, and second, its a ruger super blackhawk and the noise would have deafend me for a time and I wouldn't be able to hear if this thing if it were to come running.
I continued my walk all of the way around the truck and not seeing any trace of the guy we jumped in and without even shutting the tail gate raced down and out of the woods, the spare tire carrier slamming into the tailgate on right hand turns, then slamming into the stops when I turned left.
I didn't give a ****.
I wanted out of there.
Once on 101 I pulled off of the highway and then buttoned up the rear.
Without a single word between us we drove to the Dennys restaurant on the west side and walked inside and sat down.
The waiter came up and asked if we could get something to drink.
I tried to talk but I couldn't say a word.
I had to motion for his pen, which he gave to me and I wrote the word coffee.
He nodded and walked away.
I sat for a minute and then mitch, w/o saying a word got up and walked outside. I sat for a second, then followed him out.
People were staring at me and thats when I realized that my holster was visible, but empty.
I walked past mitch and got into the truck, and he did the same.
I was surprized to find my gun laying on the passenger side floor.
Again w/o saying a word I drove him home and dropped him off at his house, then went to my own.
I got absolutely zero sleep for two days, and absolutely nothing seems the same.
Its been a full week now and I have not had so much as a phone call from my friend, and we usually talk at least twice a week.
I have tried calling him, but it goes straight to vm.
This is the first day that I have felt halfway normal again, so I think I will drive by his place on my way to work and see if he's ok.
This experience has completely changed my perception of things and I am completely unable to speak about it.
I just freeze up.
Several times while writing this I had to stop and walk arounnd to "re-group".
One things for sure, I will NEVER go into that area of woods again.
I hope that this will not be my last post at this site as I really like it, but I am afraid that my credibility will be questioned.
I can honestly say that if someone else had written this I would really have to wonder if this guy was nuts or something.
Anyway, I don't know how to end this so I will just stop right here.

 

I am not trying to question your man hood or anything, But don't you think it just mighta been some guys playing a prank on you??? I mean you said you heard some laughing and all. So..

 

big foot?

 

Sounds like "Deliverance" to me. ****, I would have fired off that gun in a heartbeat with those freaks around.

A bunch of friends of mine had an experience like that up in Oso. Bunch of inbred hick hillbillys up there.

 

what do you mean by deliverance??? i agree though, thats like some hills have eyes ****.. BANG BANG my friend

 

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1030001408/tt0068473

Squeal for me!!

Hills have eyes, deliverance, same kinda movie.

 

haha burt reynolds? lol sory for hijacking, but sounds like some weird sasquatch encounter... maybe its the sonics mascott trying to find a new home?

 

Deliverance - old Burt Reynmolds movie, tie him up & make him squeal like a pig Bubba

**** happens in the woods. That's why I always pack when I go. Lucky the idiots didn't get killed...sure coulda....maybe shoulda

 

Yes, I am trying to convince myself it was just that.
A large guy with shoulder pads and some drywall stilts could pull that off I guess, but we were so far up in the hills that it seems that if some one were going to do that that they would pick a place with more traffic.
As we left the area we did not pass a single vehicle either driving or parked along side of the road untill we were within probably 5 miles from the highway.
The only people that were anywhere near us were the group with the campfire way down in the valley below us.
In the short time that we were parked even an olympic athelete would have been hard pressed to make the climb up that hill.
The laughter I have no idea about.
It really sounded like several overweight men all starting to laugh at the same time, then stop, again at the same time.
I only saw trhe one figure in the road, and from the edge of the road to the brush line its maybe 20 feet more or less.
So if there was some guys walking along the brush paralel with the guy on the road I guess that could explain it.
BTW, I could not discern if the figure was hairy or not, too dark.
He was just big.
I myself am questioning my own manhood after this, so no worries about offending me.

 

Weird. **** happens outside of the city.

 

**** happens inside of the city too. Just depends on what you are used to.

Much of it is in our minds but my guess is a bunch of guys that are used to the woods were playing with some guys that weren't. As a matter of fact, the whole modern Sasquatch things started the very same way.

 

Pretty much.

 

Since I live out here among the rednecks I can tell you that someone probly had a very good laugh at your expense. Don't let it bother you just stay away from the unbeaten path where your not comfortable.

 

Your story sounds normal to me! Not uncommon to hear or read about people getting lost or just freaked out while in the woods after dark. Always bring enough food for 3 days, lots of GUNS and ammo, ribbon marker and make a big fire. Glad you were smart enough to get the bronco, very easy to get lost when you are freaked out.
Almost sounds like a black bear was messing with you by the description of movements. Just be glad he/she wasnt hungury or had a cub to protect!

 

Woulda coulda shoulda.....I was up on a Mountain near Quilcene servicing some communications equipment once and heard a noise and looked up in time to see a black bear saunter into the building where I was working. Ya know when you read about people having their hair stand on end???....well, they're not kidding.
I felt like I was paralyzed and could hardly move. I did have the presence of mind to slowly back up and lock my self in the room where all the batteries are kept and stood up on a step ladder and peaked through a vent in time to see the bear eat both my peanut butter sandwitches and knock over my tool box and test equipment. I had to wait two hours for him to leave before I could come out and another hour before I could muster enough courage to go out to the truck.
Give your self a break, man. Whatever you ran into obviously scared the **** out of you and that's no fun, any way you look at it.....

DT

 

I am from the back country aswell. So I am use to the quietness and such, after reading your post again, I agree with the above, Your mind was probibly playing tricks on the both of you, and you probibly did encounter a bear at your bronco... Bears are more scared of you than you are of them. Unless they are hungry or protecting there young.

And the laughin you probibly heard was some coyotes in the valley. I know back home when they get to calling they sound like a hole bunch of people laughing, and usually it is only one coyote making all that noise.

 

still doesnt explain the campfire he saw.... but being a hunter and ive come out of deep woods way after the sun goes down, i can say the mind plays all kinds of weird crap on you! hearing things, seeing things, getting the chills and goosebumps and hair standing on end.... ehhhh it creeps me out thinking about it

 

Not being able to see will creep most of us out. We had a bear stomping around outside our tent in Glacier Nat'l Park one DARK night....couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Me, the wife & our son (8 yrs old at the time). I had my 357 & my flashlight ready but I was scared shitless listening to him stomp around snorting wondering if/when/where he was going to come thru the tent!

 

would a 357 be able to take down a large bear?

 

Hell a .22 will, if you know how to shoot..