Geographical Index > United States > Washington > Mason County > Report # 58133
(Class B)
Submitted by witness T.S. & L.S. on Monday, August 28, 2017.
Early Morning Howls Awaken Campers Near Liliwaup
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YEAR: 2017
SEASON: Summer MONTH: August DATE: 28 STATE: Washington COUNTY: Mason County LOCATION DETAILS: Take US 101 South to USFS Rd 25 Hamma Hamma River road. Then left onto USFS Rd 2441 until wye. Proceed right on #2401 until first bridge past Upper Elk Lake trailhead. NEAREST TOWN: Liliwaup NEAREST ROAD: USFS 2401 & US 101 OBSERVED: Awaken at 3:00-3:30 AM to the most cerebral frightening howl or roar I've ever witnessed. Sounded like the combination of a Howler Monkey and Bear's death moan. It sat us both up and my girlfriend who's a Wildlife Biologist and lived in the Yukon immediately asked me what was that.? I responded that I've never heard anything like it and initially said a howler monkey escaped from the zoo. It was long increasing howls that were felt as well as heard and had a tone and character almost primal in nature. They continued for 10 minutes at 2 to 3 minute intervals lasting 10 seconds I'm guessing.
We both backcountry camped Glacier NP the Yukon and Denali and have never in our 30yrs of Wilderness exploration heard anything like this. I stayed awake until sunrise than slept until noon. Returning home we searched databases on North American mammals sound archives and found nothing like this. We found what we heard exactly under a Google search that played Sasquatch Vocalizations and decided we should at least report it. We don't know what it was and have no opinion as to it's source but can say with her Scientific Background and my Lifetime Wilderness Exploration we've never heard anything like this and now I wonder if perhaps there is something to Native American legends his grandmother told him about regarding "Stick Men" or "Forest Giants." ALSO NOTICED: Were awakened earlier by crashing through woods across the creek. Assumed it to be Elk or Deer as nothing was seen with flashlights or found the next morning when investigating. OTHER WITNESSES: Just two of us, sleeping in Hammocks. OTHER STORIES: Haven't heard first hand testimony but several second hand accounts from hikers and loggers. TIME AND CONDITIONS: 3:00AM with no light except night sky. No breeze or external sounds except ambient creek sound. ENVIRONMENT: Old second growth forest mixed sub alpine at base of Mt Washington drainage where Washington and Jefferson Creeks converge. Three sub alpine lakes are in walking distance. Elk Lake and Jefferson. Incident took place at first bridge backcountry dispersed site. Creek was low with small pools and is surrounded by large mixed timber and deep drainages.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Jason K.:
09/13/2017: I spoke with T.S. over the phone and ask him to recount his experience.
He's a firefighter and EMT and his wife L.S. is an educator.
They arrived late to their camp site and set up hammocks. They got a fire going, heard owls, a raven and the sound of the creek they were camping next to.
That night around 3 a.m. they were awoken by a loud howl and described it as something you could feel in your body. After the initial howl that woke them up, they heard three more that night. They were all coming from the same direction, up the creek from their site. He said it was difficult to judge the distance but could have been between 100 to 500 yards or more away.
When they awoke it was pitch black, a clear night with no noticeable moon, they could see the stars through the top of the trees and their fire had burned down from earlier. They heard it clearly, even over the ambient noise from the creek. The four howls varied in duration, but the pitch and tone remained the same.
They're both experienced outdoorspeople and have been camping in Grizzly country. Although they couldn't identify it as any animal they ever heard before, they didn't feel scared. "I didn't feel as if we were going to get killed."
When they were first awoken she said, "What is that," to which he replied, "I was going to ask you." Neither had heard anything like that before. Not an owl. He's hunted bear before and heard "bear death moans" and those sound like something a person can make. This was not.
After the sounds stopped she went to sleep pretty quickly and he stayed up for a while and rebuilt the fire.
They are both critical thinkers and looked-up all kinds of vocalizations online for other animals and they identified it as a Sasquatch vocalization once they heard one that sounded exactly like what they'd heard.
"I don't know what I heard, but I've never heard anything like it." His wife had never heard anything like that either. His brain couldn't deduct and find a logical explanation for it.
He said he'd "absolutely" want to experience it again out of curiosity.
Didn't feel like they were in danger but psychologically a little thrown off. Although they were thrown off by the experience, they described feeling "different" about the location, "not scared, but different." They're both comfortable in the woods and he said he'd love to hear it again.
T.S. seemed to be a very credible whiteness and was able to give great detail about their evening and their search for alternative explanations. This cannot be ruled out as Sasquatch vocalizations.
About BFRO Investigator Jason K.:
Jason has been interested in the Bigfoot phenomenon ever since his first experience in 1999 near Mt. St. Helens.
A business owner with a background in journalism and analytics.
Participated in the 2016 Washington Cascades Area 2 and the Oregon Coast 2017 Expeditions.
Is an experienced outdoorsman and has packed into many of the most remote places in Washington state.
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