YEAR: 2003

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: 24th

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Pierce County

LOCATION DETAILS: The vocalization sounded at least a mile away due west from my location on Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest Route 7160 approximately .6 miles from Washington Highway 410

NEAREST TOWN: Enumclaw

NEAREST ROAD: Forest Route 7160 .6 miles from 410

OBSERVED: I was heading to my home in So. Calif after vacationing in the Bella Coola region of British Columbia. It was getting late around 11:00 PM so I decided to pitch my tent just for the night off a Forest Service Rd. heading south from State Highway 410. I was wide awake reading a magazine inside my tent when I heard a distinct animal vocalization essentially identical to the recordings on the BFRO website listed as the Puyallup and Snohomish recordings.

The call consisted of a 20 to 30 second duration "shriek/howl" and multiple "bark/grunts" of short duration lasting about 90 seconds. My Golden Retriever was sound asleep for most of the vocalization but woke up for the last 15 seconds and immediately bacame alert peering out into the darkness. I was surprised at his reaction due to the fact I could barely hear the grunts near the end of the incident and I thought my dog was pretty hard of hearing as he is 11 years old.

ALSO NOTICED: The similarity to the Puyallup and Snohomish recordings really struck me immediately. Listening to the recordings upon return I would have to say the vocalization I heard was a bit more like the Snohomish tape.

OTHER WITNESSES: none

OTHER STORIES: No

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 0030 hrs Totally dark(no moon) No precipitation with light cloud cover

ENVIRONMENT: My location consisted of old, second growth Douglas Fir/ hemlock with light undergrowth

Follow-up investigation report:

Both BFRO Investigator Mel Skahan and myself talked with the witness by phone. The following details can be added to the report:
--The witness worked for the Forest Service for many years and has worked for the State Park System for the last 19 years.
--The witness was camping alone with his dog.
--The barking sound was distinct from a dog and unlike anything he has heard before, including other primates that he heard while traveling in Africa.
--The forest went totally silent just prior to the calls.
--The witness believes the calls to have been about one mile away from him, likely originating in the Buck Creek drainage.

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