A hiker is in the Shining Rock Wilderness Area of North Carolina. He notices a bundle of twigs and berries propped against his tent, then later finds out another hiker, nearby, had died the same day.
I recently came across the following account:
"I’ve spent my life in Georgia and love hiking all over, but I must admit that North Carolina has the best mountains. For this reason I frequently drive there and hike and camp.
This time, I went up with my family in an RV and stayed with them in Maggie Valley. The next day, however, I had them drop me off about 10 miles away at the Cold Mountain trailhead and I planned to hike, spend the night, and be back down in the morning. I was by no means inexperienced at hiking or camping but I had never camped alone. On top of that, I didn’t bring a pistol (something I won’t go without now).
On the way up, the trail was surprisingly strenuous. Not necessarily steep. I’ve hiked some steep stuff out west, but more like a ton of ups and downs and feeling like it wouldn’t end. Eventually, it began to get darker and I realized I needed to stop and set up while I still had light. So, I stopped about half a mile short of the summit and figured I would continue in the morning. Nothing eventful happened. I set up camp in a really good spot, ate my food, and went into the tent.
At this point, I realized I hadn’t run into a single other person my entire way up. This wasn’t eerie at the time, but soon would be. I have trouble sleeping and usually lay awake for up to an hour trying to sleep. During this, I thought I heard someone lightly walking around the general area because of the rhythm of the steps. I brushed it off as my mind running wild, but I did pull my big knife out of my bag and put it next to me in the sleeping bag.
That morning, I woke up and ate oatmeal. As I ate I looked over at my tent and noticed a strange bundle of dried twigs and berries tied with green cord propped against my tent. Internally I was pissing myself, but I packed my crap up and took off within 5 minutes. And no way I bothered to go to the summit, I headed straight down. On the way down, I realized there was a pretty heavy fog, and I ended up on a side trail that eventually ended and I was lost. I used a compass to eventually reorient myself and found the trail again (One of the biggest reliefs). I made it out with no other incident.
However, come to find out that during the same morning, a 27-year-old died on the same section of trail as me, and it’s possible I would’ve run into him had I not gotten lost and rejoined the trail later. His family seems to have scrubbed the internet of several of the articles on him, but I’ll see if I can find something.
The scariest part was knowing that someone knew where I was and watched me and I had no clue about them." SP
Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.
You can call me directly at
410-241-5974
Thanks. Lon Strickler
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