A North Carolina hiker recalls his nighttime encounter with a massive Bigfoot while camping along the Appalachian Trail near McAfee Knob in southwest Virginia. It was quite a terrifying experience.

I received the following account:

"Hello, sir. I just watched and listened to your Appalachian Trail encounters video on YouTube. I decided to tell you about my scary experience.

This occurred in the Spring of 2018 while I was hiking the Appalachian Trail near the McAfee Knob in Virginia. I'd been hiking for a week at this point (I live in western North Carolina) and was planning on about another two weeks on the AT. I've been on a ton of hikes but this one was quite terrifying.

It was mid-May and the scenery was breathtaking. I'd been hiking for about five hours that day when I decided to set up camp near a small brook. I was settling down for the night when I heard this rustling in the bushes nearby. Now, it wasn't the sort of rustling you would dismiss as a rabbit or a squirrel. This was louder and heavier. It sent a shiver down my spine. I remember thinking that maybe somebody else was out there or maybe a deer.

I tried not to think about it but the noise continued and in the exact same spot just off the campsite. It wasn't getting fainter or moving along so I grabbed my flashlight and I headed towards the noise. As I was getting closer the rustling stopped but I could feel something. It's hard to explain but it was like I could feel eyes on me. This feeling of being watched was overwhelming like I was on display. I showed my flashlight around but there was nothing to see, just trees and bushes in the blackness beyond my light.

It was then that I heard it. I might even go so far as to say I felt it. There was a low growl, deep and guttural. I could feel it vibrate through the ground. I felt a sense of dread like I was definitely in danger. My heart was racing and I was finding it hard to even breathe. My mind was yelling, 'Get out of there!' But my body wouldn't listen. Then something happened.

This figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It wasn't just any figure. It was enormous, and standing on two legs, silhouetted against the sparse moonlight. I felt my heart leap to my throat. I mean, we've all heard the stories right about Sasquatch or Bigfoot or whatever you want to call it. To actually see one, well that is different. You have to remember that the light wasn't the best. There was no real moon that night, but when my flashlight hit the thing, OMG, I could see that it was gigantic. I mean it was really tall. I'd say easily eight or even nine feet. It towered above me, giving off this sense of pure raw power that can completely overwhelm me. It was broad and its shoulders seemed as wide as a small car. No exaggeration! Its arms hung down almost to its knees, rippling with muscle under the hair that was matted and black sort of blending with the shadows. Around its face, well, that's something I will never forget. It was more human-like than ape-like, but still not quite human. Its eyes were large and expressive, shining in the light with an intelligence that startled me. The nose was flat, more like ours than a bear or a wolf. The mouth, when it gaped open, I could see its teeth and even its breath as it exited its mouth in a slow stream of steam. The teeth were large and they looked very sharp. It was a terrifying sight, the kind of thing you would expect to see in a nightmare, not on a peaceful hike in the Appalachian woods.

The sound it made was a deep rumbling growl that seemed to shake the very ground beneath me. There was like a primal rawness, a sort of power that you can't really put into words. Then suddenly it let out a roar that echoed through the forest, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Then, just as suddenly, it disappeared from the light of my flashlight. I swung the light slowly back and tried to pinpoint the thing's current location but I couldn't see anything at all, just that I was alone again, standing there in the pitch black with my heart pounding. That's when I realized that sweat was pouring down from my face and my chest. I hadn't even been aware of what was happening to my body until just then. As you can imagine I didn't sleep a wink that night. Every noise, every shadow had me on edge. I couldn't wait for the day to break.

So just as soon as the sun started peeking over the mountains I packed up my stuff and I headed onward. There was no real place to go but to continue on the AT. I did cut the hike short. I didn't make those full final two weeks. I just couldn't get over what had happened. I will tell you that since the encounter I have been back to the Appalachian Trail but never to that same spot. I can't say I'd ever want to see that section of the trail ever again." HP

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