Speaker 1: Have you ever shopped at Arii Sportsman's Warehouse, Bass Pro Shops,
Speaker 1: Cabellas or a similar outdoor store. If so, take a
Speaker 1: moment and consider what it might be like to work
Speaker 1: at one of these stores and some of the strange
Speaker 1: stories you might hear from customers. In a way, it's
Speaker 1: actually a great place to engage people about their experiences
Speaker 1: and if they ever encountered something strange or unusual while biking, boating, camping, hiking,
Speaker 1: or hunting. This story is about a twenty eight year
Speaker 1: old man who walked into Bass Pro Shops store in
Speaker 1: Central Florida. He was looking for a new compound bow
Speaker 1: for the upcoming elk season. While chatting with the store's
Speaker 1: employee about hunting locations, the customer opened up and shared
Speaker 1: a traumatic story that he'd never shared with anyone during
Speaker 1: the twelve years since it happened. He only did so
Speaker 1: after the employee admitted that he believed in Bigfoot and
Speaker 1: actually saw one out west where he used to hunt.
Speaker 1: In fact, they've both been to and hunted similar areas.
Speaker 1: The man's story took place twelve years earlier, when he
Speaker 1: was just sixteen years old and while hiking with a
Speaker 1: friend at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
Speaker 1: Philmont currently covers one hundred and forty thousand acres of
Speaker 1: wilderness near the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. And
Speaker 1: here's how the gentleman relayed the story. During our two
Speaker 1: weeks of hiking, we both put over one hundred miles
Speaker 1: on our boots. We enjoyed the rugged terrain, the lush meadows,
Speaker 1: the thick forest, trout filled streams, and hidden natural treasures.
Speaker 1: In fact, we were having a great time. That is
Speaker 1: until we realized that we were lost. Imagine being sixteen
Speaker 1: years old and lost with than an area that large.
Speaker 1: It was crazy. The ranch's land covers more than two
Speaker 1: hundred square miles and is full of all sorts of
Speaker 1: wild animals, namely black bear. To add perspective to their situation,
Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty six, Philmont had five separate bear attacks
Speaker 1: on campers during a two week period. In two thousand
Speaker 1: four more campers reported being attacked, and most recently, in
Speaker 1: twenty ten, a fourteen year old boy was sleeping inside
Speaker 1: his tent when a bear climbed into the tent and
Speaker 1: bit the boy. There was even a version of this
Speaker 1: particular report that claimed the boy was drug out of
Speaker 1: the tent by the butt. He'd gone to sleep with
Speaker 1: a candy bar in his back pocket, and that attracted
Speaker 1: the hungry bear. This man continued his story, saying, during
Speaker 1: our second night of being lost, we had just finished
Speaker 1: making camp and had started a small fire. It was
Speaker 1: getting pretty cold at night, so we both wanted to
Speaker 1: warm up a bit at the fire before collecting more
Speaker 1: wood to get us through the night. That decision may
Speaker 1: have actually saved our lives. While sitting next to the
Speaker 1: fire and contemplating our situation, we both realized we weren't alone. There,
Speaker 1: standing quietly next to a tree at the edge of
Speaker 1: our campsite was a massive, hairy creature. Where it came
Speaker 1: from and how long it had been watching us, we
Speaker 1: didn't know. We didn't hear or see it walk up
Speaker 1: as we both sat frozen in fear. I remember being
Speaker 1: unable to rationalize a way out of our situation, and
Speaker 1: even thought that we were going to die, and nobody
Speaker 1: knew where we were. Besides, if we could somehow escape,
Speaker 1: we didn't know which way to run or for how
Speaker 1: long heck we were lost. This thing was just massive,
Speaker 1: and we were sitting on the ground at a distance
Speaker 1: too close for come in a manner of speaking, we
Speaker 1: were sitting ducks. The store employee jumped in with a question,
Speaker 1: what did you mean then, that the decision to warm
Speaker 1: at the fire may have saved your lives? And the
Speaker 1: storyteller said, can you imagine what might have happened if
Speaker 1: my friend and I had left the camp in different
Speaker 1: directions and into the darkness looking for firewood. What if
Speaker 1: the creature or creatures were out there waiting for us.
Speaker 1: I see what you mean, said the store attendant. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that could have been really bad. His customer continued, I'm
Speaker 1: not sure how long we sat there looking at it
Speaker 1: without making a sound or making a move. Likewise, it
Speaker 1: remained there motionless, but we could hear it breathing. It
Speaker 1: must have had huge lungs with the sound it made
Speaker 1: while breathing. I still can't get over how massive this
Speaker 1: thing was. I keep using the word massive, as that's
Speaker 1: all I can think of to describe it. So what happened,
Speaker 1: said the store attendant. How did you get away from it?
Speaker 1: After a while? It simply turned around and walked deeper
Speaker 1: into the forest. Neither of us slept a wink that night.
Speaker 1: The whole experience from our trip and everything we thoroughly
Speaker 1: enjoyed up to that point has been for the most
Speaker 1: part forgotten or maybe replaced as a better word. The
Speaker 1: confusion and fear, compounded with being lost so far from home,
Speaker 1: made us want to repress what happened. In fact, my
Speaker 1: friend and I never talked about what happened or told
Speaker 1: anyone until now I'm talking to you here. That's a
Speaker 1: crazy story. You obviously found your way back to civilization.
Speaker 1: How did you get back? The storyteller continued. At first light,
Speaker 1: we broke camp and headed for the nearest high point
Speaker 1: and we started climbing. We found some landmarks which were
Speaker 1: on our map, and that led us back to the
Speaker 1: main buildings and the parking area. We were very happy,
Speaker 1: but also mentally and emotionally exhausted. Neither of us have
Speaker 1: returned to Pilmont or New Mexico. So where are you
Speaker 1: headed now? With this new bow? I'm going on a
Speaker 1: solo hunt with a guide up in Idaho. I hear
Speaker 1: they have nice elf. Is your friend going with you? Then? No,
Speaker 1: he doesn't hunt. Actually he doesn't get out that much anymore.
Speaker 1: He's got a family, and a demanding job to keep
Speaker 1: him busy. Well, thanks for sharing your story and I'm
Speaker 1: glad you guys made it out safely. I don't know
Speaker 1: what I would have done in the same situation, and
Speaker 1: best of luck on your hunt too. This was an
Speaker 1: amazing story. But what you don't know is that the
Speaker 1: store employee has also been to the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch.
Speaker 1: What are the odds of that? Having a fellow hunter
Speaker 1: to confide in is great, but it's even easier when
Speaker 1: they've seen one of these creatures as well, and have
Speaker 1: even been to the location where you saw it and
Speaker 1: then todd on to rite. All right, Cam, I know
Speaker 1: you've heard of the Philmont Scout Ranch too. You might
Speaker 1: not remember it, but it was mentioned in at least
Speaker 1: two of your earlier videos by people who had encounters there.
Speaker 1: I can't recall which videos, though. Over the years, I've
Speaker 1: met forest service rangers, rock climbers, and a handful of
Speaker 1: others who once worked at Filmont. I bet there are
Speaker 1: many many other Philmont stories out there. I was born
Speaker 1: and raised in the piny woods of deep East Texas.
Speaker 1: Growing up and learning to hunt in East Texas would
Speaker 1: help me home my hunting skills in other areas of
Speaker 1: the country. I've always said, if you learn to hunt
Speaker 1: in East Texas, anywhere else would be like hunting in
Speaker 1: a zoo. I would grow up to hunt all over
Speaker 1: the state. And I found that the hill country, located
Speaker 1: just north of the desolate South Texas region, would turn
Speaker 1: out to be my favorite destination. At the time of
Speaker 1: this event, and then, I still am an active l
Speaker 1: officer for a large and well known agency in the
Speaker 1: state of Texas. I've had an interesting career over the
Speaker 1: past thirty years, and I formed a well respected reputation
Speaker 1: among my supervisors and peers in this community. I'm planning
Speaker 1: to retire soon, but I have planned to enter another
Speaker 1: venture that still involves the law enforcement community, and I'm
Speaker 1: not willing to damage my reputation at this time by
Speaker 1: giving my real name. In the summer of nineteen ninety eight,
Speaker 1: I was at my dear least located just outside of Vance, Texas.
Speaker 1: Advance is no more than a name of the area.
Speaker 1: It's no longer a true town, and it's in a
Speaker 1: rural area surrounded only by large ranches and agriculture. The
Speaker 1: population of Deer by far exceeds the number of people
Speaker 1: and livestock in the area. There are abundant white tailed
Speaker 1: deer and axis deer, as well as wild pigs and turkey.
Speaker 1: There's also the occasional escaped animal from a nearby game
Speaker 1: ranch that would require some research to identify. This area
Speaker 1: is a hunter's paradise. The property was several thousand acres
Speaker 1: of beautiful land that had river bottom, large hills and meadows,
Speaker 1: and thick cedar cover that was always full of critters
Speaker 1: to hunt. One of the property lines bordered the Nwisees River,
Speaker 1: and we're blessed to be able to hunt the river bottom.
Speaker 1: There large cedar filled hills and all the thicket filled
Speaker 1: ravines and dry creek beds. I don't know if I
Speaker 1: pronounced the name of that river correctly, but that looks
Speaker 1: like it's I think I got it right uses nwist Sees.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure, so everybody correct me in the comments.
Speaker 1: There were also supposed to be caves in the hills,
Speaker 1: but we were never able to locate any of the
Speaker 1: larger ones, only a few small caverns full of bats. Bert,
Speaker 1: my partner of many years at work, jumped at the
Speaker 1: opportunity to get on this hunting lease with me after
Speaker 1: several invites and him getting to see firsthand what an
Speaker 1: absolute paradise this property is. He and I would travel
Speaker 1: to our lease several times a year to check and
Speaker 1: fill all the deer feeders, and check the camp house,
Speaker 1: and just get away from work and the stresses that
Speaker 1: came with it. On one occasion, Bert and I even
Speaker 1: located a makeshift of meth lab in our woods, and
Speaker 1: it was occupied by two dumb ass meth monkeys who
Speaker 1: were trying to hide behind cedar brush with bright clothing.
Speaker 1: Needless to say, they were quickly arrested and we held
Speaker 1: them until the local sheriff could come haul them away
Speaker 1: and safely gather the evidence for later use in their trial.
Speaker 1: Being in the line of business that we were in,
Speaker 1: you don't go anywhere without a side arm. It's just
Speaker 1: a habit, like always having your wallet. We would feel
Speaker 1: naked without it. During the summer of this event, Bert
Speaker 1: and I split up to check corn levels and the
Speaker 1: twenty one feeders we had placed on this property. While
Speaker 1: checking the last feeder in my areas, I noticed an old,
Speaker 1: grown up roadbed that continued up the hill and then
Speaker 1: along the rocky ridge of one of those hills. Getting
Speaker 1: up this unkept road was no small feet due to
Speaker 1: the incline and the rocks, but I scrambled to the
Speaker 1: top of the hill anyway. I then followed the ridge
Speaker 1: running over the cedar and Mountain Laurel that was overtaking
Speaker 1: the old road. I parked and then crept down the
Speaker 1: rocky path on foot in an attempt to be as
Speaker 1: quiet as possible. Now I found that there was an old,
Speaker 1: dilapidated deer stand one hundred and fifty yards up the
Speaker 1: side of the hill, and it overlooked the basin that
Speaker 1: was full of scrub oaks. I could see that there
Speaker 1: were game trails that twisted and turned all throughout the area.
Speaker 1: Now this was a choke point with multiple trails converging
Speaker 1: to this area. There was deer sign everywhere, and I
Speaker 1: figured that this would be the perfect area for a
Speaker 1: new deer stand location. I left the area and returned
Speaker 1: to camp, and after explaining what I had seen, he
Speaker 1: didn't even ask to see the location first. He just
Speaker 1: asked what we needed to make the long trip with
Speaker 1: the stand. So the next day we loaded up his
Speaker 1: side by side and my four wheeler and we began
Speaker 1: the long, slow, trip to set up the stand. We
Speaker 1: were excited to have a new bowstand to hunt in
Speaker 1: the upcoming season. Well archery season soon arrived and I
Speaker 1: left camp right and early for the long four wheeler
Speaker 1: ride and then the long walked to the new stand.
Speaker 1: I quietly climbed in the tripod and I got settled in.
Speaker 1: I then closed my eyes and waited for the sun
Speaker 1: to begin to rise and provide the warm light so
Speaker 1: that I could see the area and hopefully bag a
Speaker 1: big buck. As the sun began to rise, I remember
Speaker 1: hearing the birds chirping their morning songs, and I could
Speaker 1: hear small rocks falling in the hills in the densely
Speaker 1: covered dry creek ravine. As animals were beginning to stir
Speaker 1: in the distance, I remember hearing an axis buck bugle.
Speaker 1: Their bugle can be described as a cross between an
Speaker 1: elk bugle and a woman screaming. They also bark to communicate.
Speaker 1: It's a distinct sound and once you've heard it, you'll
Speaker 1: never forget it. It was still twilight and hard to see,
Speaker 1: but my ears were in tune with my surroundings, and
Speaker 1: what I heard next I will never forget as long
Speaker 1: as I lived. As I was sitting there quietly listening.
Speaker 1: I heard the most god awful scream that came from
Speaker 1: the ravine that was just to my right. The sound
Speaker 1: came from fifty yards away, and I had goosebumps on
Speaker 1: top of goosebumps. Now, there was no way that this
Speaker 1: call was that of an axis buck, nor was it
Speaker 1: the call of any other animal that I had ever
Speaker 1: heard before. I sat petrified, with nothing but a bow
Speaker 1: and arrow knocked and ready. It seemed like an eternity.
Speaker 1: As I squinted to see through the brush and dark
Speaker 1: shadows to try to see what had just made that
Speaker 1: evil sound, I heard another axis buck bugle in the distance.
Speaker 1: It was maybe a half mile away. The area had
Speaker 1: become eerily silent, other than that of my heart pounding
Speaker 1: in my chest. I slowed my breathing and gripped my bow,
Speaker 1: and I slowly got into position to be able to
Speaker 1: make an offensive strike. Now I began replaying that sound
Speaker 1: in my mind in comparison to the other deer calls
Speaker 1: I had heard, and there was no way on earth
Speaker 1: it was a deer call. I could hear small rocks falling,
Speaker 1: as if something was climbing up and out of the
Speaker 1: far side of this rocky, dry creek bed, and I
Speaker 1: saw an extremely large black and brown mass moving in
Speaker 1: the thick cedar brush across from the ravine. By strained
Speaker 1: my eyes to see what it was, and just as
Speaker 1: I did, I could see this thing turn its head
Speaker 1: and look at me as if it knew I were there.
Speaker 1: The entire time my blood ran cold, and then it
Speaker 1: turned and crept through the underbrush until it was out
Speaker 1: of sight. I remembered I had my forty cow pistol
Speaker 1: on my hip, and I drew it and frantically scanned
Speaker 1: the area that I had last seen this creature. What
Speaker 1: I saw will haunt me, but I have not and
Speaker 1: will not ever repeat this story again. The creature that
Speaker 1: looked at me had K nine features, with a short,
Speaker 1: powerful looking muzzle and short pointed, sharply crisp looking ears
Speaker 1: that pointed up and back. The height of the creature
Speaker 1: would be hard to determine, due to the fact that
Speaker 1: it was hunched over as it crept through the cedars. However,
Speaker 1: the width of this creature would dwarf that of even
Speaker 1: the largest NFL linemen. It had to have been three
Speaker 1: and a half to four foot wide and I'm guessing
Speaker 1: it weighed in at six or seven hundred pounds. I
Speaker 1: slowly and quietly climbed out of the deer stand and
Speaker 1: began to cautiously make my retreat back down the trail
Speaker 1: and up the unkempt road back to my four wheeler.
Speaker 1: When I returned to camp in record time, I might add,
Speaker 1: Bert had a million questions about how many deer I
Speaker 1: had seen and how wonderful a hunt I must have
Speaker 1: had in this new locale. I merely told him that
Speaker 1: it wasn't a good spot and that I would not
Speaker 1: hunt it again, and I advised him not to waste
Speaker 1: his time hunting there either. I told him that it
Speaker 1: was not worth the trip. We still hunted that land
Speaker 1: for many years to follow, but I would only return
Speaker 1: to that spot wants to retrieve my deer stand and
Speaker 1: deer feeder. I had a lot of help when we returned,
Speaker 1: and I made sure we were all well armed. I
Speaker 1: still hunt and fish, and I explore new woods and waterways,
Speaker 1: but I'm always well armed. And now you know why
Speaker 1: I haven't shared the details of this event with anyone.
Speaker 1: I don't care if anyone believes me. I know what
Speaker 1: I saw and that is proof enough for me, but
Speaker 1: I would never want to take a chance in jeopardizing
Speaker 1: my career and retirement that would jeopardize my family, and
Speaker 1: I could not and would not allow that to happen. Ever,
Speaker 1: on a side note, during the summer before the season,
Speaker 1: we had a visit from a younger federal game warden
Speaker 1: to our camp. He was a nice enough fellow, and
Speaker 1: he had advised us that they were putting cinide traps
Speaker 1: out for codies. Well. We quickly informed him that there
Speaker 1: were no codes in the area anymore due to the
Speaker 1: bounty that had been placed on them many years ago.
Speaker 1: They were all but hunted to extinction in this area,
Speaker 1: and we had never even heard codies at night. The
Speaker 1: many years that my family, friends and I had hunted
Speaker 1: these woods, we had never seen or heard signs of
Speaker 1: a cody, even on our bone piles where we discarded
Speaker 1: the unused portion of deer and hog carcasses that we
Speaker 1: had taken and clean. But on the back fence line
Speaker 1: where we had put the new tripod stand, Bert and
Speaker 1: I could see the brightly marked danger markers. When we
Speaker 1: initially put the stand up. We walked over to look
Speaker 1: at these markers and we've found that they warned of
Speaker 1: the risk of cyanide poisoning. We could also see them
Speaker 1: for four canister traps placed in small dugout holes, and
Speaker 1: we could see that they were set and had been baited.
Speaker 1: The bait appeared to be pig legs and hindquarters, probably
Speaker 1: from roadkill or pigs caught in a trap that no
Speaker 1: one wanted. I never gave it much thought when I
Speaker 1: saw these traps, but after seeing what I have seen,
Speaker 1: and after hearing the many stories on your channel, it
Speaker 1: now makes sense. I believe that the government agency that
Speaker 1: is in charge of controlling these matters knew of this
Speaker 1: creature's location and they were, in fact trying to kill it.
Speaker 1: I hope they did, and had I seen that thing again,
Speaker 1: while armed with more than a bow and arrow or
Speaker 1: a small caliber pistol, I would have dispatched that evil
Speaker 1: looking thing without blinking an eye. I heard the theory
Speaker 1: about the timber industry and how acknowledging the existence of
Speaker 1: these creatures might negatively affect this industry with ridiculous rules
Speaker 1: and regulations to protect them. I tend to agree with
Speaker 1: this theory. It just makes sense. I do not hunt
Speaker 1: this property anymore, but I miss it and part of
Speaker 1: me wishes to return to try to hunt this creature.
Speaker 1: Thanks for providing the opportunity to finally get this off
Speaker 1: my chest. I enjoy listening to your story so much
Speaker 1: that I keep it on all the time. Thank you, sir.
Speaker 1: It is definitely a lot better than listening to the
Speaker 1: news that always seems to get my blood pressure worked up.
Speaker 1: Your voice is kind and soothing, and it always calms
Speaker 1: me and puts me in a good mood. Keep up
Speaker 1: the good work, Bubba, mister CW. Thank you for that.
Speaker 1: I'm so thankful for you and people like you who
Speaker 1: listen to this channel. And I don't always do this,
Speaker 1: but I hope it goes unsaid how much I appreciate
Speaker 1: everyone who sends in these stories, especially stories like this,
Speaker 1: because I believe the way he wrote this and talking
Speaker 1: about his credentials and everything just fits into place. And
Speaker 1: he was saying that he saw canines in a muzzle
Speaker 1: and I'm wondering if this could be a dog man,
Speaker 1: or if it's one of these gugwe's, or is it
Speaker 1: just a standard bigfoot. I don't know. Texas, Texas has
Speaker 1: hundreds of reports, especially East Texas and those swamp and
Speaker 1: swampy and lowland areas. I think he said this was
Speaker 1: in northwest Texas, which is a totally different topography, close
Speaker 1: to the Nwisces newiss inn ue Ces River. I guess
Speaker 1: I'll have to look that up to see exactly where
Speaker 1: it is. But anyway, this was a great story and
Speaker 1: I think it shook him up when he saw it.
Speaker 1: But he's ready to go back and hunt this thing
Speaker 1: and kill it if he ever gets a chance. And man,
Speaker 1: this guy is a stud I appreciate that, and I
Speaker 1: think it'd be fun to hunt with these dangerous animals.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how well I would do with that,
Speaker 1: but I might give it a whirl, might give it
Speaker 1: a world. But anyway, one story in this podcast. I
Speaker 1: hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'll see you on
Speaker 1: the next one. Thanks.