Mike Conley's Tales of the Weird: Man and his girlfriend encounter beast

By: Mike Conley | McDowell News
Published: January 14, 2009

Last weekend while driving through the Nantahala Gorge on a cold, gray winter's day, I was reminded that there are still some remote places that are off limits to humans. Even in 2009, there is still some wilderness left in the world.
And a few folks who travel through the mountains of western North Carolina have gotten an even more scary reminder of what might still lurk in those dense forests and inaccessible places. They have seen and heard things which cannot be easily explained.
Late one night in the fall of 1973, a man and his girlfriend were traveling on a dirt road in a remote area between Cullowhee and Franklin in Macon County.
As they traveled along the remote mountain road, the man noticed some small pine trees up ahead moving around. At first, he thought it was the wind but suddenly a large, hairy figure emerged from the darkness.
"My girlfriend grabbed my arm in fear," the man wrote in his report. "We were confronted by a large creature crossing the road."
The mysterious creature turned and stared at the scared couple. It had icy blue eyes and stood about 7 ½ feet tall. The man guessed it weighed about 350 to 450 pounds.
The creature took only two steps to cross the road but it paused for a moment to look at the stunned couple. The girl was very scared and she would not let her boyfriend leave the car to check for footprints.
"This was in 1973," reads the man's report, which was filed in 1998. "I believe the area is now known as Panthertown Valley. I cannot forget those ice blue eyes."
Almost 30 years later, two men would also get a nasty scare in the same part of Macon County.
During the first week of December 2002, a man went camping with his friend near the Nantahala River. Both men were experienced hikers, backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts.
"We had been there 2 days," reads this man's report. "We decided to take one of our usual late night walks. Because of the weather, we were one of only three sites occupied. There was an ice storm on the way and we were planning to leave early the next morning. We had crossed the river and walked about 200 yards to the gates when we were startled by a scream that made the hair on my neck stand up. I have spent my entire life in the outdoors, much of it in wilderness areas and I have never heard anything like this in my life."
The two men had also noticed a horrible smell. At first, they thought it was a dead animal but quickly learned that whatever was causing that smell was very much alive.
The man had his sidearm with him and he immediately drew it. He also aimed his Maglite flashlight in the direction of the terrifying scream.
"The next thing we knew, several rocks were thrown in our direction," reads the man's report. "To say we were frightened would be an understatement. We went back to camp and left early the next morning. Since then we have returned several times, but there have been no further incidents, although we sometimes feel uneasy in one particular area."
Those weird tales can be found on the Web site for the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO). The BFRO's Web site is a place where folks like them can post their sightings anonymously. A qualified investigator will look into the matter and follow up on your sighting, no matter how weird it may be. The Web site now lists 48 reports from North Carolina.
Perhaps, you too have seen or heard something strange while traveling through the mountains. If you have seen or heard a Bigfoot, you can post your story on the BFRO's site. It can be found at www.bfro.net.