Hiking Encounters of the 3rd Kind

“I just got done reading the Creepy Hiker thread and couldn't help but think of an incident that happened to me and some fellow hikers back in 93'. We were hiking and camping in the U.P. and stopped at a place called Hartwick Pines in the Upper part of the hand. The place was pretty cool because it is one of the last Virgin Pine tree stands left in MI. The tree were huge, and thier acidic needles left only frens growing in the ground. Anyway, the forest was nothing but tree trunks, you could see quite a long way! That night we spotted 3 white lights "dancing around" near the tree tops about 1/2 mile away. These lights were darting back and forth through the trees, making no sound, and not moving farther or closer. We watched them for about 1/2 hour and then myself and another brave soul started walking toward them. We walked for about 15 minutes and they all simultaneously disappeared instantly, and never came back. I had a very hard time sleeping that night and we got the hell out of dodge the next morn. After looking at maps and exporing the erea the next day, we found no roads, airbases or anything that could have access to vehicles to make those lights. They were too far up in the tree line to be flashlights. It gives me chills to this day when I think about it.”

“We have had similar sightings here in NC for many, many years. The sightings are called "The Brown Mountain Lights". Lots of theories, none proven. The local legend claims it's the ghost of a slave searching for his master.”

“Did you ever chew peppermint Lifesavers (the blue pkg) in front of a mirror, with your mouth open, in pitch dark?”

“Wow, pretty cool legend Pamster”

“Before anybody starts calling the UFO hotline, let's look at this.

You describe the site as little/no ground vegetation with lots of tree trunks, and at night. Was there a normal amount of stars, or was there any cloud cover? As a private pilot, I have been through all the usual optical illusion demonstrations. the conditions you describe, (the only background is vertical stripes) combined with no background stars, is perfect for misjudging distance. No visual clues to gauge distance. they could of been lightning bugs 3 feet from your face or aircraft at 20,000 feet. Your eyes play tricks on you without external visual clues. I cannot say this is the case here, and certainly no one admits it could happen to them, but don't rule it out. Similar things have happened to me. It can fool experts.

Secondly, pines and ferns on the UP could mean a deep layer or peat. Swamp gas?

A third explanation is less likely. A few years ago some bored high school kids would dress up in a modified gorilla suit and make nocturnal visits to campgrounds and triggering a rash of 'Bigfoot sightings'. After they were exposed by a local reporter, they started creating helium ballons with lights. they would hike into the wilderness, stop about a half mile or so from where people were camped, and let them go. We immediately became a UFO mecca.”

“It's obvious that you spotted the Rhode Island Mafia!

(BTW good story)”

“that is aMAAAAAAAZING!!!!”

“I thought hartwick pines were in the lower penninsula??? Anyway, speaking of MI, anyone seen the Paulding Light? pretty weird. It's even been on Ripley's beleive it or not.”

“It is in the Lower Peninsula, we were stopping there on the way back. And, I thought of all that stuff Gordon, believe me, I thought of every logical explanation, but these lights were moving randomly and they were bright, yet they didn't emit a bean like a spotlight would. Sometimes theyd stop, or one would go out while one would move in random formations. It was just wierd and I don't know how to explain it.”

“The Paulding Light (Paulding is only about a 90 minutes north of where I live) is still a draw for easily spooked folks around here (including some of my students -- who I think just want an excuse for a road trip into the boonies to either "protect" or "be protected by" the opposite sex). It has been completely debunked on several occasions (I can't put my hand on the article at the moment that a former colleague did for a regional newspaper), but the explanations fell into optical distortions connected with terrain and certain roads, much as Gordon has suggested about inability to judge certain perceptions at night.”

“or partaking of recreational pharmaceuticals?”

“upon reflection of my earlier theory --

the tree crowns should have been sufficient for a visual frame of reference for distance, but I wasn't there so cannot say.

Still, Elvis's UFO is a good story.”

“Trailbuddy, what time of year was it? There is a very large National Guard Camp (Camp Grayling) close to Hartwick pines. They have camp almost all summer and sometimes durring other seasons. You most likely saw helicoptors in the distance. They may not have been moving like you expected them to because of night manuvers like repelling. Maybe it was a low humidity night and the spotlight beams weren't visable or they were too far away to see the beam. The search lights on a Hughy are incredibly bright. My dad was a pilot for years and used to hover over our house and turn his on at night. It would light up the house and yard like daylight. The neighbors loved it.”

“They say an electro-magnetic charge is set off when a faerrie is stepped on!

Walk a little softer!”

“I saw something spooky on a shrimp boat once. It was my one and only shrimping trip. It was near midnight and we had all the nets out. I looked over the side of the boat and there was a huge glowing light tracking the boat just below the surface. I thought it was a relfection at first, but it was bluish green. I rubbed my eyes and looked again and let my imagination scare the bejeezus outta me.

It turns out that plankton were hitting the nets and they have a flourescent glow. I never heard of that, but I have been a landlubber most of my life.”

“lol...flyguy6x.....wintergreen..right!! yeh...that is cool”

“Wow, very cool stories. I can only comment on the Wint-O-Green lifesavers. Take a girlfriend out into the woods with them and show her how they spark. Good way to... well...”

“Now that's a hiking encounter of the 4th kind Oldie!”

“or the 69th kind.”

“OMG, I believe you found a rare kind of snipe. People have been hunting for these creatures for centuries.”

“Aren't snipes closely related to Naugas?

Naugas are quite rare now as they were nearly hunted to extinction during the 1950's naugahyde furniture fad.”