An Oregon witness was bird-watching near Crater Lake, Oregon when he noticed something darting behind trees. It was described as a monkey or furry little human. What was it?
"I live in the Klamath Mountains in Eastern Oregon, about twenty miles from the California border. Growing up I spent a lot of time outside camping, hunting, fishing, etc. A few months ago I had a strange experience on a family trip to our cabin near Crater Lake.
I was by myself bird-watching at a small pond in the woods maybe half a mile from the cabin in the late afternoon. I was sitting on a big log with binoculars. I wasn't in a blind or anything but I picked a spot where I thought I'd be less visible to any animals. After about an hour I hadn't seen much except a few common ducks and it didn't seem like many animals were very active so I was thinking about leaving. This was about an hour before sunset. Then I saw something move in the trees across the pond, probably a hundred feet away. It was just a flash between trees and I didn't really get any kind of look at it.
I kept watching the spot and after maybe five minutes saw something dart from one tree to another. It was bigger than most any local bird except maybe a heron and moved very fast, without making any noise, but I still didn't really know what I was looking at. This happened again a few minutes later, and then again a few minutes after that. Each time it was moving closer and closer to the pond. I don't think it knew I was there but it was staying incredibly well hidden and only revealed itself for a split second at a time. At this point, I thought maybe it was a kit fox or a pine marten because of how fast and silently it moved. But I still hadn't got a good look at any part of it in detail.
It moved between trees a few more times until it was behind a big dead tree right on the shore. I was staying as still and silent as possible but still worried it would see or more likely smell me and spook. But after a few more minutes I saw something move at the edge of the water. A little arm and hand that looked just like humans reached out and touched the mud, and then the head and the other arm came into view as it leaned out to drink from the water.
I could only see the head and shoulders and arms from where I was, but they looked so much like a person's. Except it was too small, and covered in what I took as grayish-brown fur. The face wasn't exactly human, more monkey-like, but it was too far away to see much detail. I decided to try lifting my binoculars to get a closer look, but as soon as I moved it looked up and then disappeared back behind the tree again. I watched until it started to get dark, but I didn't see it again, not even darting behind the trees.
I went back to the cabin and told my grandpa what I saw. He's been a rancher in this area his whole life. He said, “Sounds like you ran into a 'Hide Behind'” and laughed. I said no grandpa seriously, this isn't a joke. He said he'd heard stories about Bigfoot and 'Hide Behinds' and several times saw little human footprints on hunting trips deep in the mountains where “no children would be.” I think he believed me but he didn't really know anything. I asked my dad and brothers but they just started giving me crap about Squatching.
I went back to the pond the next day and walked around to where the creature had been, but I didn't find any tracks or scat or fur or anything. I did figure it had to be probably about three and a half or four feet tall based on the trees I'd seen it near, but narrow enough to hide completely behind a ponderosa pine. Which makes me think it must have been standing and moving upright.
I wish I'd seen more of it but that face and hands were absolutely not like any local animal. It looked very much like a monkey or furry little human. I've tried to find more info but the only cryptid people seriously talk about in this area is Bigfoot. The 'Hide Behind' seems like a joke. There may be little people or humanoids in some of the local native American folklore but I not a lot of detail I could find.
I hope someone here has some ideas about what I might have seen. It was a very unique and memorable experience and any further information would be appreciated very much." K
Slenderman: From Fiction to Fact
Unexplained World of the Chestnut Ridge: A Hike through the Goblin Universe of Western Pennsylvania
The PK Man: A True Story of Mind Over Matter
More Encounters with Star People: Urban American Indians Tell their Stories
Impossible Realities: The Science Behind Energy Healing, Telepathy, Reincarnation, Precognition, and Other Black Swan Phenomena
Caverns, Cauldrons, and Concealed Creatures: A Study of Subterranean Mysteries in History, Folklore, and Myth
.jpg)
Your financial support of Phantoms & Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. Please click the banner above. Thanks.
.jpg)
