Have you ever shopped at REI, Sportsman's Warehouse, Bass Pro Shops, Cabellas, or a similar outdoor store?

If so, take a moment and consider what it might be like to work at one of these stores and some of the strange stories you might hear

from customers. In a way, it's actually a great place to engage people about their experiences,

and if they ever encountered something strange or unusual while biking, boating, camping, hiking,

or hunting. This story is about a 28-year-old man who walked into Bass Pro Shop's store in central Florida.

He was looking for a new compound bow for the upcoming elk season.

While chatting with the store's employee about hunting locations,

the customer opened up and shared a traumatic story

that he'd never shared with anyone during the 12 years since it happened.

He only did so after the employee admitted that he believed in Bigfoot

and actually saw one out west where he used to hunt.

In fact, they've both been to and hunted similar areas.

The man's story took place 12 years earlier when he was just 16 years old and while hiking

with a friend at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Philmont currently covers 140,000 acres of wilderness near the southern end of the Rocky Mountains.

And here's how the gentleman relayed the story.

During our two weeks of hiking, we both put over 100 miles on our boots.

We enjoyed the rugged terrain, the lush meadows, the thick

forest, trout-filled streams, and hidden natural treasures. In fact, we were having a great time,

that is, until we realized that we were lost. Imagine being 16 years old and lost within an area

that large.

It was crazy.

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