View Full Version : Strange sites on the trail
Hoping to hear all of your strange sitings on the trail that turned up to be nonsense.
I have one to share but not on the trial. I was kayaking past dark in Sleeping bear dunes, Michigan. It was quite late and not a soul in site. I was close to the shore with my head lamp on. I seen a pair of glowing eyes on the shore from far away. I thought it must be some sort of coyote or cat, racoon who knows, but the longer I trained my head lamp on it, the stranger the site became! It looked as if it was a head very low to the ground but with a body I could not quite make out. It looked like four legs comming out of its body, rising into the air and then back down again towards the ground where I placed it's feet. Almost like a huge daddy long leg after a nuclear storm :)
When I finally came close enough I found out it was a poor couple walking thier dog. I had been blinding them with my mega powered 8 LED headlamp as I tried to determine what sort of creature this was heheheh.
have fun
Lanthar Mandragoran
11-08-2005, 22:59
wow... that's... hilarious... bizzare, but hilarious...
i was in a sleeping bag once. of course i was inside my tent, but i kept hearing something outside. it was fall and it sounded like something rustling about in the leaves on the ground. it sounded close, and i had no idea what it was. i kept hearing it and then i finally realized it was my eye lashes on the sleeping bag material each time i blinked.
Just Jeff
11-08-2005, 23:38
Haha...that just happened to me, too! I was in Yosemite last month and kept hearing something rustling the leaves outside. I thought it was a coon or something.
Then I realized that every time I breathed, my quilt rubbed on the hammock just right to make it crinkle - it was so cold that the material sounded different, and I kept looking out to find those damn rodents!
Funny how we trick ourselves. I guess this part of the thread should be Strangest Non-Sights on the Trail...
Whistler
11-09-2005, 02:00
Boo8mer, Just Jeff: glad to know I'm not the only one! For me it was laying my head down on my stuff sack/pillow [lined with a plastic bag], and being absolutely convinced that a mouse was chewing on my pack, timed perfectly when he thought I was going to sleep.
-Mark
Not quite as funny, I supose.
Camping just north of flint mountain shelter. At about 2:00 I was wakend by ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT white light, no noise, none at all. No: booms, crackles, etc.
I looked out of my tent, the light wasn't "streaky" like lightning. It was much like the light from a strobe, but a HUMONGOUSLY BIG STROBE!!! This lasted about 5 minutes.
My first thought was that I was going to be (or had been) abducted by aliens :jump
The next day, that indeed was the topic of conversation, every one was saying "I think I was abducted by aliens last night". I kept looking around for Rod Serling :p
I wasnt abducted thankfully. But for some reason, I now have this big orange tag hanging from my left ear, with numbers & weird symbols on it. :datz
Doctari.
Just in case there are any questions: The light story is true, the ear tag isn't. :p
justusryans
11-09-2005, 21:44
Not quite as funny, I supose.
Camping just north of flint mountain shelter. At about 2:00 I was wakend by ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT white light, no noise, none at all. No: booms, crackles, etc.
I looked out of my tent, the light wasn't "streaky" like lightning. It was much like the light from a strobe, but a HUMONGOUSLY BIG STROBE!!! This lasted about 5 minutes.
My first thought was that I was going to be (or had been) abducted by aliens :jump
The next day, that indeed was the topic of conversation, every one was saying "I think I was abducted by aliens last night". I kept looking around for Rod Serling :p
I wasnt abducted thankfully. But for some reason, I now have this big orange tag hanging from my left ear, with numbers & weird symbols on it. :datz
Doctari.
Just in case there are any questions: The light story is true, the ear tag isn't. :p
But were you probed? :eek:
Scream exchanges heard by camper on Appalachian Trail near Greenwood Lake
http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=2144
Submitted for the enjoyment of all. Link is from the BigFoot Field Researchers Organization, and I'm sure that they are a fine institution.
Dances with Mice
11-09-2005, 23:43
Scream exchanges heard by camper on Appalachian Trail near Greenwood Lake
http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=2144
Submitted for the enjoyment of all. Link is from the BigFoot Field Researchers Organization, and I'm sure that they are a fine institution.http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Megascops&species=asio
Favorite strange site: Hickory Flats Cemetery with a merry-go-round in Georgia, a mile north of Long Creek Falls.
Strange critter headed towards the Trail (and you heard it here first) - Armadillos are common in southern Georgia and their range is expanding north. They've already been found in Gainesville and you know from there they can catch a shuttle.
So when you think you hear a giant bear crashing through the woods, don't be suprised to find it's little 'dillo. They are not stealthy.
hikerjohnd
11-09-2005, 23:54
When I was a kid, I was in PA with family. I woke up and saw that is was bright, like early morning, but only 3:30. I just rolled over and went back to sleep - no aliens or probes. The next morning, no one believed my story. When we got back to civilization, the paper reported a satellite had reentered the atmosphere causing the bright light. At least I wasn't crazy (and as I recall, the apology involved ice cream)
saimyoji
11-10-2005, 00:10
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Megascops&species=asio
Since we don't have a description of the screaming, or an analysis of it, I can only assume. The screech owl may fool you at night, but after listening to it for an hour? No way would you think it anything other than an owl. Note that the poster says he has camped there before. Try the Barn Owl. It has a much creepier call.
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Tyto&species=alba
Listen to the typical call. Be sure to crank the volume on your PC.