Strange Experience

[blue indian]

Me and my girl were on the trail about a mile north of Winding Stair Gap heading NOBO. We pulled over on the side of the trail to stop for a minute. It was really still and quiet and no wind was blowing. All of a sudden about 30 yards or so down to our left, a couple of broomstick to wrist sized trees started to shake violently. This lasted for about 4 seconds then stopped. No noise, no movement. We froze with our eyes on the trees that had been shaking.

Nothing fell from the trees, nothing scurried away or flew away after the trees stopped shaking. When we stopped there was no sounds or anything then all of a sudden those trees started being forcefully shaken back and forth. Again there was no wind or anyone else around and there was no way it could have been something that fell from the tree.

We froze and watched and listened for about 2-3 minutes before feeling like it was time for us to leave the area. We've gone over several scenarios but we cant figure out what could cause that to happen. We came across several day hikers who have been hiking in this area for years and described our experience. No one could come up with a plausible answer. Any ideas?

[moldy]

It was probably some "Wild Tree Squeaks". They are small but have some weight. It's very rare to ever see them. Many people think them a myth. We usually hear them on windy nights, high in the trees. They make tiny squeaks that skeptics think are just limbs rubbing together. The native Americans of the Southern Appalachians attributed them with magical powers and blamed them for radical weather changes. I hope this does not mean "bad weather" ahead. Be sure to listen for them squeaking in the tree tops on windy nights.

[AfterParty]

It was a Sasquatch

[MuddyWaters]

Did you look in the top of the tree for a small bear, raccoon, squirrel, or other critter?

[jgillam]

Could have been deer rubbing their antlers on the trees. It's about the right time of year for them to be rubbing the velvet off their antlers as well as strengthening their necks for the up coming breeding season...or a Sasquatch.

[ocourse]

Could have been deer rubbing their antlers on the trees. It's about the right time of year for them to be rubbing the velvet off their antlers as well as strengthening their necks for the up coming breeding season...or a Sasquatch.

That's what I thought too. I've seen it before, and the buck can be almost invisible sometimes.

[Dogwood]

It was Cool Hand Luke.

[-Rush-]

It could have been the ghost of Baltimore Jack.

[blue indian]

So we were stopped..Being quiet when it happened. There were no previous sounds or movements.

I could see the tops of the trees because the commotion was happening about 30 yards down a slight slope to my right. So the tops of the trees were relatively level to our eye site There's no way it could have been something up in the tree. They were also broomstick to wrist sized saplings which wouldn't shake due to a small mammal like a squirrel

Those saplings were being shook...not rubbed against or brushed against. It was very stranger and made us both uncomfortable

[Hangfire]

I'm guessing it was Ron Haven trying to scare you into town to stay at his Budget Inn...

[MuddyWaters]

So we were stopped..Being quiet when it happened. There were no previous sounds or movements.

I could see the tops of the trees because the commotion was happening about 30 yards down a slight slope to my right. So the tops of the trees were relatively level to our eye site There's no way it could have been something up in the tree. They were also broomstick to wrist sized saplings which wouldn't shake due to a small mammal like a squirrel

Those saplings were being shook...not rubbed against or brushed against. It was very stranger and made us both uncomfortable


Well then, that settles it.

Nothing left but witchcraft.

[Traveler]

"Shakin' the bush, Boss.... Shakin' the bush!"

[Traffic Jam]

So we were stopped..Being quiet when it happened. There were no previous sounds or movements.

I could see the tops of the trees because the commotion was happening about 30 yards down a slight slope to my right. So the tops of the trees were relatively level to our eye site There's no way it could have been something up in the tree. They were also broomstick to wrist sized saplings which wouldn't shake due to a small mammal like a squirrel

Those saplings were being shook...not rubbed against or brushed against. It was very stranger and made us both uncomfortable

Aren't young, small-diameter trees easy to bend and move? Could you see the base of the trees? How much foliage was on them?

[mrcoffeect]

Papa alien showing baby alien how to use the abducto ray. you should be glad the kid was a bad shot.

[blue indian]

Aren't young, small-diameter trees easy to bend and move? Could you see the base of the trees? How much foliage was on them?


They are relatively easy to move. So if it were a small mammal moving in them the branches would sway and move for sure. But these trees were shaking. Not just swaying as if something were up in the branches. The foliage was fairly dense so we couldn't completely see the base of the trees but I just feel like we would have seen or heard the animal as it was moving about or rubbing antlers or what not.

Again, it was dead quiet except for us chattering a bit. Then violent shaking for 3 or 4 seconds. Then nothing.

Honestly, it felt like a warning. It felt like we stopped at the wrong place and something was telling us we needed to move on.

[pilgrimskywheel]

Actually, there has been a homeless squat exactly where you are describing for a long time. In February 2012 there was an impressive wigwamesque shelter made from blue tarps etc. very near and West ("left") the AT a mile up from the road. I saw it and returned that way a couple times (I met a gal in Franklin Valentine's Day at the Rathskeller), anyhow the guy - who's name escapes me - was getting dropped off as I was coming down. He worked at a garage in town, his boss was driving him, hard times etc. He was as normal as anybody else I know that lives in the woods - he shared a beer or three with me and he we shot the ****. He was aware that being caught in a fixed camp would be a problem but it being winter wasn't too worried. He was local and unless he has become an oil change tycoon likely keeps the same habits. Siler Bald Shelter gets a lot of local action along with the campsite/stream there @ 110.1 as evidenced by the civilian trash. Ol' boy probably didn't want to get caught (again) coming and going to work in the AM and he effectively run you off w/a Bigfoot move. Sasquatch and B.J.'s ghost aren't the the only full time residents of the AT - there are LOTS of folks living out there when hikers go back to the cozy places they live come winter. On the other hand - this is about the time of year male deer rub the velvet of their new antlers and get ready to get buck wild and rut: fight some guys at the local watering hole and win the hoof of a nice doe to shack up with for the winter. They get sharpened up, spread their scent, and signal others there on their turf with noisy antler displays. This is also what it sounds like when they duel - as you described. Anyway, sleep with a garlic clove around your neck and a wooden stake handy and you'll be fine!

[blue indian]

@ pilgrimskywheel....That is an interesting story about the local man and the area. It seems like a really weird spot for a human to be hanging out (down an embankment) but there are some really weird people out and about.

The deer antler rubbing sounds like the most plausible answer. My only hangup about that theory is the silence. Would a male deer just freeze and not make a move if he saw/heared/smelled humans?

Its not like we stopped because we heard rustling and trees moving. We randomly stopped on the trail and maybe 60 seconds or so went by before the trees shook. After the initial "*** what that?" I poked around and moved back and forth on the trail to see if I could catch a glimpse of whatever it was but nothing. Just an eerie silence and stillness.

[pilgrimskywheel]

I think most likely deer. (Down the embankment is stealth camping 101 however.) I'm near Bland VA at the moment and a couple nights ago I met some real live hobos ("Travelers") camping out up the road from where the trail turns gravel there. So it's kinda on my mind - folks are trying to see if they can make a winter go at well, being homeless so... Anyhow, in answer I think yes deer do have almost magical powers at ghosting: ever see 'em see you, turn, run into the woods full blast whisper-quiet, and when you get to where they were it's a vertical wall they ran dead at - like they went into it? Where'd he go? Up and I missed it? Impossible. They get spooky around the ruts - ramming cyclists and stuff like that - but they're only a danger to SOBOs thank God!

[Shutterbug]

What you observed may have been "transpiration" -- the process by which plants move moisture up from the roots through the leaves. Most of the time, the process doesn't result in movement of the plant, but when rain follows a period of dryness the moisture moving up through the plant can result in movement.

I was once hiking in old growth forest on Mt. Rainier. When it started raining the top few feet of a very tall Douglas Fir came crashing down. There was no wind at all. I asked a friend of mine who was a forestry major about it and was told that the process of transpiration can actually "blow" the top of a tree off. He said that the process moves the water to the top of the tree so quickly that the weight breaks the top off.

[pilgrimskywheel]

I think most likely deer. (Down the embankment is stealth camping 101 however.) I'm near Bland VA at the moment and a couple nights ago I met some real live hobos ("Travelers") camping out up the road from where the trail turns gravel there. So it's kinda on my mind - folks are trying to see if they can make a winter go at well, being homeless so... Anyhow, in answer I think yes deer do have almost magical powers at ghosting: ever see 'em see you, turn, run into the woods full blast whisper-quiet, and when you get to where they were it's a vertical wall they ran dead at - like they went into it? Where'd he go? Up and I missed it? Impossible. They get spooky around the ruts - ramming cyclists and stuff like that - but they're only a danger to SOBOs thank God!

[pilgrimskywheel]

Or, "transpiration". Thanks Shutterbug, nice to learn something new!

[Dan Roper]

I have a degree in forestry, and I spend most of my recreational time in the woods. I have never heard of transpiration making trees move nor causing them to "blow their tops out." I'd have to see credible research and writing before I'd buy into that or accept that as theory as to what caused those trees to move. My first guess would be a zephyr (a small, brief breeze touching nearby trees but not reaching you) or a squirrel. If those trees are only as thick around as broom handle or a wrist it wouldn't take much to get them moving.

[pilgrimskywheel]

Well, I've got almost eighty degrees right now - on my thermometer - and given the general principles which govern thermoconvectiondynamics I think it's safe to rule out a zephyr. In the face of modern science, and upon careful reflection, I'm confident now it's a poltergeist. Or, The Winding Stair Witch is back - either way there's trouble!

[daddytwosticks]

It probably was some poor hiker who ventured off trail to take a dump. You and your lady interrupted the poor guy. He was probably trying to scare you away! :)

[gpburdelljr]

Maybe this explains it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xUi92jFv9uA

[Sarcasm the elf]

@ pilgrimskywheel....That is an interesting story about the local man and the area. It seems like a really weird spot for a human to be hanging out (down an embankment) but there are some really weird people out and about.

The deer antler rubbing sounds like the most plausible answer. My only hangup about that theory is the silence. Would a male deer just freeze and not make a move if he saw/heared/smelled humans?

Its not like we stopped because we heard rustling and trees moving. We randomly stopped on the trail and maybe 60 seconds or so went by before the trees shook. After the initial "*** what that?" I poked around and moved back and forth on the trail to see if I could catch a glimpse of whatever it was but nothing. Just an eerie silence and stillness.

To answer the question in bold above: Yes, deer will often stand stone still when they first realize you are near them and it is common for them to stay this way for a period of time (I assume they do this in hopes that you will pass by without noticing them, but I've never had the chance to ask them ;)). My local trails are inhabited by deer that are habituated to humans and I commonly get within 30-50 feet of them without realizing they are there, of course when I get too close they then let out a snort and then retreat by crashing violently through the brush, scaring the @#$& out of me in the process.

While hiking this same trail on Friday I got stupidly close to two massive bucks, I was probably 25 feet away from them before we noticed each-other. They just stood there frozen and watched me intently for a good 45 seconds. Then as soon as I took a step forward they high-tailed it about 200 yards downhill.

[blue indian]

I am a naturalist by profession and I really want to come to a logical conclusion; but I dont know if I can accept the deer theory. I agree that deer can be super stealthy but if a buck is rubbing his antlers hard enough for those trees to move like they did I feel like I would hear more commotion in the surround brush or see him run off when it heard us.

I guess it could have been a human but the location of the tree shakes were just not a place a human would be hanging out. Even if they were using the restroom down a hill doesnt seem logical to me.

My initial gut reaction was that we came across something large and strong and it wanted us to leave.

[la.lindsey]

I was night hiking a few weeks ago, tromping along and not being particularly quiet. I stopped for a minute to drink some water and listen. I didn't hear anything, really, but I swung my headlamp around to see if I could see anything around me. There were at least 3 deer within 30 feet of me, one much closer, all stock still. I stared at them, then turned my headlamp off to see if they'd move. They didn't. I turned it back on a few minutes later and they were all in exactly the same places.

Deer are incredibly quiet, except when they aren't. Day hiking, night hiking, they'll stare you down until you leave... unless they decide to scare the crap out of you by crashing through the woods.

But hey, if you want it to be some huge scary animal/person/supernatural creature, go with it! Ignore Occam's razor and embrace the gut feeling :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[daddytwosticks]

I was night hiking a few weeks ago, tromping along and not being particularly quiet. I stopped for a minute to drink some water and listen. I didn't hear anything, really, but I swung my headlamp around to see if I could see anything around me. There were at least 3 deer within 30 feet of me, one much closer, all stock still. I stared at them, then turned my headlamp off to see if they'd move. They didn't. I turned it back on a few minutes later and they were all in exactly the same places.

Deer are incredibly quiet, except when they aren't. Day hiking, night hiking, they'll stare you down until you leave... unless they decide to scare the crap out of you by crashing through the woods.

But hey, if you want it to be some huge scary animal/person/supernatural creature, go with it! Ignore Occam's razor and embrace the gut feeling :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

...so you are saying some guy was shaving down in the woods and shaking the trees? :) :)

[English Stu]

I have an Arboricutural qualification. I too have not heard of water conductivity up a tree causing a top blow out.However I have heard of, and seen, sudden branch fall in the summer when a sudden increase in water weight in branches can cause limbs to fail. In the UK there have been deaths with the choice of picnic sites under large trees; Beech in particular.
Found this:Seemingly healthy limbs up to a meter in diameter occasionally break out of mature trees during or following hot calm summer afternoons(Australia, South Africa, and the United States) (Harris 1972) or during calm weather following a heavy summer rain which terminates a period of increasing soil dryness (England) (Rushforth
1979). People have been seriously injured and property damaged by falling branches.

[10-K]

throughout history. every mystery. ever solved. has turned out to be... not magic

[Secondmouse]

a bear was lying at the base, and scratched like a dog. then went back to sleep...