YEAR: 2012

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Pocahontas County

LOCATION DETAILS: The "Wildell Shelter" along the Allegheny Trail on Shavers Mountain. South of the old town of Wildell and north of the Gaudineer scenic area.

NEAREST TOWN: Durbin

NEAREST ROAD: Route 250/92

OBSERVED: In June I was backpacking the Allegheny Trail going south bound. I had hiked up the trail following the yellow blazes. As I got to the top and started the trek along the ridge line I noticed some of the blazes getting harder to find with what looked like attempts to scratch them off. I say this because I would find the paint chips and bark at the base of the trees. It was raining on and off with a strong wind blowing West/Northwest. The trail had quit a few blow-downs and up-roots but I also would come across smaller trees broken off or up-root laying across the trail opposite the wind direction. I was hiking toward a shelter along the trail using my map book and came upon it late in the afternoon. The following morning I was awoken by a loud noise nearby. At first I could not identity the sound but then I realized it was to Flat Creek, stones being "clacked" together. The sound would at first be close by and then a few seconds later would be repeated farther away until it was almost out of ear shot and then it would return getting louder and louder passing by and diminishing in the other direction. It was in a north to south direction back and forth several times and then it stopped. Soon after that I felt and heard movement on the outside of the shelter and something stepped heavily on an old plastic tarp that was left spread out along the side of the shelter at that point I yelled " get out of here" and I did not hear any thing more. It was very unnerving.

ALSO NOTICED: Heavy foot steps on and an abandoned plastic tarp laying on the ground along the side of the shelter.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just me listening in my tent.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Dawn, it had rained all night. The morning was overcast and a lifting mist/fog.

ENVIRONMENT: North to south running mountain ridge with mixed hardwood forest and hemlock dominated creek runs.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator D.K.:

After speaking with the witness, the following information can be added to his report:

• The rock clacks woke him at dawn, and he listened to them moving about the forest from within his tent for 20 to 30 minutes.
• The heavy foot falls near his tent came from behind the shelter and around the side, before stepping on the abandoned plastic tarp.
• After yelling out from inside his tent, he heard no further movement from outside.
• He hiked the trail alone for 30 days, and while this event was very unnerving, it was the only time in his hike that he experienced anything unusual.

This report is within one mile of report #35244. This investigator has visited the Wildell area and found it to be remote, quiet, and abundant in the resources a sasquatch would need to survive.

About BFRO Investigator D.K.:

D.K. is a business executive with an MS in Systems Engineering. Formerly a linguistic analyst, he applies his knowledge to the collection and study of sasquatch vocals and communication patterns. BFRO expeditions attended: Tennessee 2010, Pennsylvania 2011, Ohio 2012, West Virginia 2012 & West Virginia 2013