A man was camping and hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. On the 2nd day, he encountered a massive upright cryptid canine while on the trail. Though shocked, he lived to tell his tale.
I received the following account:
"This took place in Western North Carolina in July 2021. The weekend this happened I headed to an area in the vicinity of the Great Smoky Mountains near Waynesville in Haywood County for a solo camping trip. At that time in my life, I needed to be alone to get away and clear my head, after being cooped up for the last two years or so. I drove there on a Friday night and had an uneventful first evening setting up camp and then I hit the sack early. I got up about 5:30 AM the next morning and I didn't waste any time heading out since I wanted to beat most of the midday summer heat.
All was good for a while until I was hiking up a steep trail. I was huffing and puffing. When I stopped to catch my breath I saw a dog way off in the distance. At first, it didn't even really register with me but it was coming my way and as it got closer I became aware of how much larger it was than other dogs usually are and it was moving along using only its back legs. It had grayish-brown fur and it was massive, easily the size of a bear. I was totally confused because I realized that it was upright! I looked around to see if anybody else was on the trail but it was just me and this thing on this mountain trail in the middle of nowhere.
The fear started to set in as I began to fully understand the seriousness of this situation. I didn't know what this creature was and I had no idea if it would attack me. Thoughts started creeping into my mind of all the things that might possibly happen but I stood my ground and I didn't flinch hoping that if I didn't make any movement it would just go away.
It was soon within a hundred feet of me, but then it stopped. It stared at me with its piercing eyes and I swear it was 'talking' to me. I just knew it I could sense my fear and confusion. This creature didn't seem angry, just curious like the way a dog would come running up to you frantically and then just stop and look at you and then just turn around and walk away. But it didn't retreat. Then it left the trail and it headed out where I soon lost sight of it. At that point I smelled the odor of sulfur, so strong that I felt the urge to wretch right there on the trail. I started to feel faint, so I sat down on a nearby log to catch my breath.
As I sat there, I tried to make sense of what had just happened. I was dizzy and disoriented. I just kept thinking about the dog creature. It had just walked up to me and looked at me like it knew what I was thinking. This powerfully built creature could have easily killed me and yet it didn't even seem at all like it wanted to do that. I think it just wanted to see me up close or check me out.
Even though I can't remember every second of the encounter I still can't get it out of my head. It comes back to me in waves, like flashbacks. The entire encounter probably only lasted a minute or two but looking back on it I felt like it happened in slow motion, taking forever. In some ways I even find myself doubting that it happened.
I took a huge drink of water. I was skeptical of my own eyes and thought that maybe I had hallucinated the encounter due to dehydration. After that, I turned around headed back to my campsite, fixed something to eat, and hung out a bit longer. But, eventually, I decided not to stay another night so I packed it up and headed back home.
I still can't say for sure what that creature was. I know that I'm still alive to tell the tale which means it wasn't angry. I will say that my funk ended after that incident, and I have a totally different view of life." E
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