I want to start by saying that I have never had an eyewitness encounter.

I guess that means I'm not a true believer in Bigfoot.

I'm here to learn more information about other people's encounters, but I do have an open

mind about their existence, and I've heard personal encounters from people

that I trust with all my being. I am an avid hiker in East Tennessee and I've hiked all the

trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I've logged more than 3,500 miles in the back

country. Many of these miles were so low and I've had hundreds than 3,500 miles in the backcountry.

Many of these miles were so low, and I've had hundreds of barren wild boar encounters.

I'm not easily spooked, nor do I feel uneasy being alone in the woods.

But I will admit, though, that one incident left me feeling a bit weird.

I was hiking a trail in the Great Smoky Mountains near Tremont in Towns in Tennessee in July

of 2019.

It was an unusually warm morning and the wind was blowing.

I could tell a storm was coming, but I thought I could get a 10-mile hike in before it got here.

The trail I was hiking was steep. There was a good-sized creek I would have to cross that was

about knee-deep. I was keeping a close eye on the weather and making pretty good time. At about

three-quarters of a mile from my turnaround point, I heard brush breaking above me on the side of the mountain.

Well, it sounded more than one of something or someone was walking, not running.

I stopped to listen, but the wind picked up, so I couldn't hear anything.

When the wind died down, I heard brush breaking again.

The side of the mountain was covered with rhododendron,

so I couldn't see more than 30 yards up the mountainside.

...