Back in 2003 I met and began to hike with a man who volunteered at the Sugarlands Visitor Center. One day on a hike he told me that campsite 19 in the Smokies was where something odd happened to him and a buddy.
He said they had backpacked in and set up their tents. It was a nice afternoon and they were lounging around in their tents napping in the sun and the warmth. They both woke and reported to one another they heard the sounds of something like a Sunday picnic or dinner on the grounds happening in the area outside their tents.
Two separate men. Two different tents. Same experience. They weren't scared, but were mystified as to what could have caused it as they were far from any other people. I listened to him and I asked him if they were drinking or smoking anything? He gave me a hard look. Being a firefighter he was not much of a drinker and never took anything stronger than ibuprofen.
I just took the story in and filed it away as interesting and a little hard to believe.
Several years later another man or rather a group of men. Half dozen of them... were staying at campsite 19 and had an even weirder experience which they told me about. They had backpacked in. They set up their tents and it was late. Around 10:30 pm they retreated to their respective tents to go to sleep. They were in that nice dozing off phase when they heard the sound of horses hooves. Many horses and men like a posse or hunting party with dogs charging through the camp. They came rolling out of those tents simultaneously believing they were about to be trampled to death by horses!
Upon getting out of the tents they found no one. They were all rattled. They got out head lamps and flash lights and searched the immediate area around the camp. They found nothing. No hoof prints. No men, horses or dogs. Eventually they went back to bed, but they were shaken up. I wonder if any of them really slept soundly that night? They did not know my friend or that he had shared this story with me.
Hearing this brought his tale back to mind and I was a bit less dismissive.
I guess at this point I thought "Okay, so there is something odd about that campsite." but could not have told you what. The men in question were firemen.
Distress Call on Blanket Mountain
Fast forward another two or three years to when I had a man and woman I'd never met before tell me what happened to them. The man said he and his wife both hiked differently. He took tons of pictures and tended to dawdle and go very slow. She was hell bent for leather and hiked fast. They hiked up Jakes Creek trail and then up the Blanket Mountain Manway to the summit where the old fire tower foundations remain. They always carried two way radios with them when they hiked. They each hiked their own hike and used the radios to check in with one another periodically. The practice of doing this kept them both free and safe to do their own thing without annoying one another because of their different hiking styles. The wife had gone up ahead to the manway and was up top at the old tower site. The man was still down at the intersection taking photos.
He heard a call for help and immediately looked around. Seeing no one he checked in with her on the radio. "Are you ok?" She responded that she was fine.
He heard the cry for help a short time later and began moving on toward the summit up the manway. He checked in with her again. She responded she was ok. This time he asked her if she heard anything. She replied that she did not.
He began to think the only explanation was he was having some sort of auditory hallucination. He put the thoughts aside and pushed on toward the summit. At this point he put the camera equipment away and focused. This manway is not maintained and has lots of blown down trees, deep ruts and is hard going. She hit him up on the radio asking HIM if he was ok? He responded yes he was fine, but inquired why? She told him she heard a cry for help. They both really put their minds toward was the distress cry coming from the mountain or was it coming over their radios? He got up top and was with her. They turned the radios off.
They both again heard a cry for help. They spent considerable time trying to identify where the person was who needed help? The searched and searched but found nothing. It wasn't the radios. That much was certain. It made them so upset that they really didn't enjoy their hike and both of them had their hackles up.
They turned and began their return hike and upon getting out of the woods went straight to the nearest ranger at Elkmont. They reported the incident in detail to the ranger. They left the woods feeling like they left someone on the side of the mountain somewhere who was in need of rescue. The rangers went and searched, but found no one, and never heard any cries for help.
This man and woman did not know me and did not know the other men who told me their stories. Upon hearing of it I noticed all the hair stood up on my arms and neck. It had my attention now. Something is not right in that area. I began comparing the locations one to another and pondering on it. I could reach no conclusion about it so I just filed the incident away and tried to forget it. I do not know the occupation of the man or woman. I do remember that they were both retired by the time this took place.
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Janet's Panther Creek Trail Creepies
A couple weeks ago I was on Facebook and saw where a friend of mine had hiked Jake's Creek Trail making a loop and coming down Panther Creek Trail. She had hiked Jake's Creek before, but Panther Creek was new territory for her and the dude who hiked with her. Her photos of it were lovely, but she did not like the second part of the hike. She said once they got on Panther Creek trail they both felt watched. They did not shake the feeling until they were off that part of the hike. They didn't really enjoy it much because of the sense of being observed and having the creeps. Neither saw or heard anything that would be a cause for concern, but both felt it. I don't know what his occupation is, but she is a retired police woman from California. She is a trained observer and a very logical person. She is strong and usually carries concealed when she hikes. She also doesn't hike alone much. When a police officers spidey senses start alerting ...
that says something. I read two recent scholarly studies done on the phenomena of feeling observed. Science experts have found that there is a phenomena called "blind sight" where a person who has no visual cortex can still "see" and get around because the amygdala in the brain can sense where things are. It can also very accurately sense when a person is being gazed upon. Science is proving that
the brain sees and senses even when we shouldn't be able to. The phenomena of being able to feel being watched is very real. It isn't imaginary. It also explains how I was able to "see" what I shouldn't have been able to back in June of 2021. My weird encounter on the Fall Branch Falls hike.
Once Janet told me what happened I sat down and put pins in the map at each location of these weird occurrences. Two pins at CS 19, one on Blanket Mountain and one on Panther Creek Trail. They form a triangle. The area is a little over five miles in total. I can't tell you what or why, but something is wrong with that area.
The only thing that comes to mind is its proximity to Mellinger Death Ridge.
I sat down and put a pin in Mellinger Death Ridge and compared it to the other locations. I had almost a straight line from one to the other pin. All of them lined up. 4.40 miles from the one up on the ridge to the one down at CS 19.
Rich Mountain Road Encounter
I have a neighbor who is a retired policeman and fire fighter. He is also one tough guy. He was a door gunner on a helicopter in the Vietnam War. He is a trained observer and a very logical, stoic character. He was out mowing the yard one day and stopped to talk to me. He told me that he and his wife had driven Rich Mountain Road one day. They took a drive into Cades Cove and out Rich Mountain Road to head back toward home. They got to that long straight stretch where there is a low lying, swampy area on either side of the road. They had not seen any other vehicles or people since getting on Rich Mountain Road.
They saw a man and woman come out of the woods on the left, cross the road and re-enter the woods on the right. No trail. No vehicle. They were not dressed for the time period. They both looked at Brenda and Tim and waved and smiled. They continued on their way into the woods. Tim said both of them had all their hair stand up at once and they just felt like something was off. The people did not look "real". They for sure were not dressed for the time period. He described the lady in particular as wearing a skirt and blouse. Not dressed for hiking nor was the man. My neighbors continued on their way and closely watched for any signs of a vehicle as they went. They never saw a car at all. The road is one way. They did not see any vehicles at the trailhead parking for Ace Gap. I sat down and measured the distances from any residences or Ace Gap parking to the spot where my friends saw the old couple. It isn't an impossible distance to hike, but unlikely.
Tim was upset and just needed to tell this to someone. Uncharacteristic of him. He has a sign outside his home on a flag pole. It says "If you can read this you are in range." He looked at me and asked me "Were they real? " I just told him yes, to you they were real. As to whether they were actual, alive humans today or the echo of some persons from the past? I told him if he felt something was off about it he was probably correct. I did not launch into this entire story for him, but reassured him he wasn't the only one who had told me of strange experiences in the park. This is the only one that has been told to me that was in another area. I don't know what's up, but I do wonder why they each sought me out to tell me what happened to them?
I just chalk it up to the fact there are some things in this world you just can't explain. I try to treat each and every person with the same respect and consideration I'd want if it happened to me. Maybe that is reason enough they sought me out to tell it. Because they hoped I would listen and would believe them.
Below: a view of Rich Mtn Road barely visible from Rich Mountain Trail in Winter.
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