About three years ago near the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area, near Lynx Lake, Issac, Marcy, and their dog Jesse were on a camping trip around where Marcy grew up.
After a day of stocking their cabin with supplies, as dusk was setting, they decided to walk the trails along the lake. About 20 minutes into the hike, it went quiet, giving Issac an unsettling feeling. Thinking there may be a predator nearby, and with his firearm still packed in the car, they decided to head back to the cabin.
A share from Louie and Franco, two hunters from South America who journeyed to Alaska for a guided bear and wolf hunt near the Katmai Wildlife Refuge on the Alaska peninsula.
When they flew in, the pilot showed them a good spot on a shelf with a high vantage point to scout wolves and await the bears making their way out of their dens. After the pilot left, they made their base camp in some willows, did some scouting, and look around on the shelf.
An on-site interview with Ryan at Deception Creek, north of Willow.
Jonathan shared his experience from a week ago on his property.
While bringing supplies back and forth to his home, on his last load, he began to hear a weird noise in the distance, but didn't think anything of it. As he was bringing a bulk pack of toilet paper to his cabin, in the dark without his flashlight, but armed, noises paralleled him, and he became overcome with dread.
An encounter share from two friends, Spencer and Max, from up near Denali National Park where they used to go as kids.
There's a ridge where they used to see shadows when they'd explore the new area, looking for where no man has been. When they explored the ridge, they found camping equipment, assuming it belonged to someone nearby.
I filmed this share up near Hatcher Pass off the Little Susitna River.
Two years ago on the outskirts of Fairbanks, Jesse and Monica bought a caribou cabin to fix up as a starter house. The insulation was completed and they were ready to install the wood stove, so Jesse had his friend help him and planned to have it ready and working by the time Monica was home from work.
Buck, a bush pilot, shared his experience from this past spring after dropping off two out-of-state clients for a bear hunt near Salcha.
With an hour or so of free time, he decided to go north and land for a hike. He grabbed his day bag with a .454 Casull on his chest and began to hike to the treeline across the tundra.
I have an in-person interview with fellow Curyung Tribal Council Member Hillary, who was born and raised in Dillingham. She relays a few stories of encounters, as well as her growing up and being warned of the Hairy Man. For example, she grew up seeing uprooted trees stuck into the ground so often that it didn't occur to her that it wasn't normal until her teenage years.
My condolences to the family of Kerry Arnold, who was an inspiration to me.
This share is from Kathy, who lived on the Kenai Peninsula back in the 1990s. She had a neighbor who's husband was away, who called her over to look at something at her house. When Kathy asked her why, her neighbor said she needed someone else to see something because nobody would believe her.
Outside of Fairbanks in 2014, Kyle and his little brother were walking a trail and picking berries when they heard some odd noises that sounded like a low grumbling, and decided to leave. They realize they're being paced, so Kyle begins to trot but stops to prevent triggering a predator. Suddenly, his little brother sprints past him, so Kyle caught up with him and told him "walk, don't run!"
Back home, Joseph's family has a cabin off the Nushagak River, where he had an encounter back in the 1990s. One night while camping in the cabin alone, that was still under construction and had no glass in the windows, he heard a wolf howl far off in the distance that sounded like an imitation.
Jesse, a cannery worker from Dillingham, would go fishing at Silver Salmon Creek in his off time. On the second day of his camping trip, as he was cooking, he kept hearing a noise off in the distance he thought was a stray dog. Once he realized it wasn't a dog, he figured it could be a bear, but it wasn't close enough to him to be a threat wasn't worried.
A share from a relative (R) and his friend (RF) that took place off the Nushagak River near Henry's Slough while moose hunting. After spotting a bull from the water, they anchor their skiff and climb the bank, where they hear noise coming from another direction they assumed to be another bull. They decided to wait to increase the chances they both could drop one.
A share from Dan that happened when he was a kid in the 1970s off the Gulkana River. This experience is not typical of others in Alaska, as a Sasquatch saved Dan's life. Dan was lost while exploring and made a decision to enter the river while floating on a log to take him back to the Richardson Highway. Before he jumped into the water, which would have likely been a life-ending decision, a female Sasquatch rushed out of the woods and grabs him. Dan passed out from the terror, but woke up hours later in a dry area underneath some foliage and trees next to the highway
I did an interview with Mike who lives on a remote island in Alaska. He talks about stories from his elders, on the Hairy Man, and Little People.
Here are the images he shared:
