One time, we were doing a recon for mountain lions, because there had been several reports of sightings on the mountain in the last couple of days. Our job was to scout out the area where mountain lions are seen to ensure they’re in the area, so we can warn people and close off the trails.
I was hiking out on my own in a heavily forested part of the park, with trees so dense they almost completely blocked out the sun. I’d been out all day enjoying the lush scenery of the park with no sight of any mountain lions in the reported areas.
It was nearing dusk when I heard what sounded like a woman screaming in the distance. Now, when a mountain lion screams, it sounds exactly like a woman being brutally murdered. It’s unsettling, but far from unusual. I radioed back and let base operations know I heard one, and that I’d keep going to see where its territory started.
I kept trekking around the park and heard it scream a couple more times, always in the same spot. I assumed the approximate area of the mountain lion’s territory, and was about to head back before I heard another scream, this time only within a couple hundred feet of me. Of course I freak out and start heading back at a brisk pace because the last thing I want is to get mauled to death by a damn mountain lion.
As I got back on the path and started heading back, the screaming followed me, and I broke into a jog. It continued to follow me until when I was about a mile from base ops, the screaming stopped.
It was basically night at this point, so I turned around to see if it was behind me, and I could see in the distance, just before the path rounded a corner, I could see a distinct male figure in the shadows that I don’t remember passing at all. The park was closed, so there shouldn’t have been anyone on the trail at this point. I called out to him, warning him that the paths were closed, and that he needed to go back to the welcome center. The figure just stood there, it seemed like he was out of breath, and just something was off.
So I started to walk over to guide him back since we were pretty close to ops. The sun had set over the horizon about 15 minutes ago, so it was getting pretty dark. As I was walking over, I pulled out my pocket knife which had a little flashlight on the keychain, so when I was about 10 feet away from him, I flicked on the flashlight and shined it on his chest (so as not to blind him) asking him if he was alright.
He cocked his head like he didn’t understand me, but he was breathing slow and deep so I wondered if he was in pain. I moved a little closer and asked him again if he was okay. I moved the light up, and something didn’t seem right, so I stopped. He kept breathing in these real slow, deep breaths, and eventually I sort of figured out gradually what was bothering me about him. It was like he was pretending to breathe, but not actually doing it. His breaths were too even and deep, all his movements were exaggerated, like his shoulders moving up and his chest exhaling. I told him to identify himself, but he stayed silent. I moved the light onto his face, and I shit you not, this guy had no face. Just smooth grayish skin. I freaked out, and I sort of fumbled with the light, and he took an impossibly long step forwards, to where before I knew it, he was two feet away from me.
I don’t know how to explain it, but one second he was on the corner of the trail, and the next he was right in front of me. I never moved or blinked but it was like my brain couldn’t keep up. I stumbled back and fell back on my ass. Now that he was closer I could see this line open up on his throat. I stretched up to where his ears should have been, had his head tilted back and he let out the exact same scream I had been hearing for the past hour. I didn’t even say anything, I just turned and sprinted back to ops as fast as I could, but by the time I got back, the screaming had moved further into the woods.
I never mentioned it to anyone else, just said that there was a mountain lion in the area and we should close those paths until the animal could be located and moved.