Approximately 20 years ago, a couple named Margaret and Kyle were foraging for wild berries along a remote muskeg slough near the Alphabet Mountains, south of the Denali Highway. While separated by 100 feet to maximize coverage, Margaret heard a deep, guttural grunt; assuming it was her husband, she called out until she caught sight of a massive, dark movement through the alder brush that did not correspond to her husband's location. The couple reunited and stayed back-to-back, soon becoming the targets of an aggressive, systematic 'berry-throwing' barrage where small clumps of fruit were hurled from the foliage to strike their clothing.
When Kyle stood up to shout a warning, a massive, dark humanoid figure emerged from a 12-foot-tall stand of alder brush, standing nearly as tall as the tree tops—estimating a height of 10 to 12 feet. The entity executed a 'swaying' dance, repeatedly parting and snapping six-inch diameter spruce boughs to view the couple from alternate sides of a tree, before dropping down and issuing a series of deep, guttural grunts. As the couple attempted to backtrack, they heard a synchronized, dual-layered vocalization—a high-pitched scream intermixed with a low, primal roar—reverberating from opposite sides of their escape trail.
The atmosphere turned heavy and palpably hostile, compelling them to hike for their lives as the creatures paralleled their every movement through the dense forest, periodically popping their heads above the 8-foot-tall willow canopy to maintain visual contact before they finally reached the safety of their truck.
