What did we experience>group of 3 friends in WV>mid november>very remote>not very many people>out hiking looking for hunting spots in a river valley>discover a few decrepit wooden tree stands on top of a hill>probably 40+ years old>rotted out wood>Clearly a good hunting spot>set up blind>360 degree visual. can see hundreds of yards in each direction>Wait 2 days to returnHere is where it gets interesting>location is only about a mile hike into the woods from road>set out that morning at 5am>woods were eerily still>even for mid november>leaves everywhere>making tons of noise walking and talking>don't bother trying to be quiet>voices echo through the valley>have flashlights on the entire walk>get to our blind>still eerily quiet>make a ruckus inside blind >make jokes about scaring deer away with our noise>turn lights off and settle in
>>34868682>5 minutes pass>we hear footsteps outside blind, about 10 yards away>strange>heard nothing coming from a distance>deer don't make noise in leaves>does not sound like squirrel>sounds bipedal>oh shit>pitch black inside blind>confused pikachu>should have scared any wildlife away with our bombastic entrance>begin to think perhaps we have stumbled on private property and are about to be escorted out by gun>muster the courage to say "Hello?">footsteps move closer>oh fuck>footsteps approach right up to our tent>frozen in fear>begin to hear very heavy breathing>not snorting>not growling>very audible breathing>heavy, like somebody trying to fog up a mirror>instincts kick in>yell "Hello?!!" at top of my lungs>smack the side of the blind as hard as I could>silence>no footsteps >no sound of leaves crunching running away>scramble for flashlights>takes a few seconds>jump out of blind with 1000lumen light>nothing>we can see hundreds of yards in every direction>walk around blind >no sight of animal tracks>very spooked>forest starts to make noise about 10 minutes later>no other weird encounters rest of the day
>>34868691What did we experience. Tried to rationalize it to a black bear, but this doesn't really add up. Black bears are usually pretty skittish. Our loud entrance should have scared any bear away. Beyond that, the first "Hello" should have scared any black bear awayThen the breathing. Never heard a black bear breathe like that. There is a possibility it was a human messing with us, and was hiding behind a tree when we jumped out looking for him. This doesn't really seem plausible though, as they would have known we were hunting and had guns. Seems pretty stupid on their part to ambush a group of hunters in the dark without even calling yourself outOnly saw 1 deer that entire day. Had seen 20+ 2 days before while scouting the spot. Checks a few bigfoot and skinwalker boxes, but really not sure. Left that day with no deer. Never went back to the spot
>>34868704Maybe it climbed a tree when you scared it and you just didn't bother to look up.If there was something there you would've heard it running away unless it started climbing a tree.
>>34868780Also a good point. We did shine the flashlights up around the trees briefly but saw nothing
>>34868682>call himself a hunter>shits himself at the sound of animals Stay in the city champ
