BFRO #21684: Man describes childhood incident, a possible approach at Seven Lakes
π Location
Seven Lakes Basin, Big Pine Creek, Inyo National Forest, Sierra Nevada, California, Big Pine, CA
Specific Location: Trail edge between Sixth Lake and Seventh Lake, Seven Lakes Basin, Big Pine Creek
Coordinates: 37.24000, -118.32000
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37.2400Β°, -118.3200Β°
π Description
When I was a young boy, my father would take me backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains every summer. When I was 10 years old, my father decided I was strong enough for a long excursion in the wilderness, and we set off for a place called Seven Lakes near Big Pine. We had hiked for a few days when we came to the sixth lake, and we could see the seventh lake just beyond it. Seventh lake was covered with ice and there was snow all around just past where we decided to camp for the night. We thought this would be a good place to stay and explore the next day. During the night a snow storm hit and it became freezing cold, so my father and I put our sleeping bags over us and huddled together for warmth. I kept looking at my father's watch and hitting the light on it to see when we could expect the sun to rise so we could get warm. It was 3:45 a.m when we heard footsteps walking up the trail towards us. Our tent was right on the edge of the trail, and whatever was out there walking was on two feet and very big, we could almost feel the ground shake as it got closer. My father and I looked at eachother in silence, both of us a bit shocked by what we were hearing. It walked right up to our tent and stood there for about five minutes, completely silent.I have very good senses and I could feel that whatever it was absolutely didn't want us there. I could feel its anger resonating, I can't explain how, but I got the most scary feeling in my heart. It wanted us to leave. Then it walked off just as suddenly as it came, but it headed in the direction of the frozen lake, and beyond that the trail went into very rugged wilderness. I didn't think it was a person because it had no flashlight, was very large, and only an idiot would continue walking on the trail into the wilderness at that time of night, in the middle of a snowstorm.My father and I were quite frightened by our nightime visitor, and when first light hit we instantly broke camp and headed down the mountain without making breakfast, nor saying a word to eachother. We both knew we had to get out of there. Unfortunately, we were so far in the wilderness that we had to camp again that night further down the mountain, but this time we were not visited luckily.My father has a MBA and is a successful businessman, very well liked and trusted in his community. To this day we still talk about the incident from time-to-time, and we still don't know what it was. At the time the incident happened, I was so scared I didn't even think to look for tracks, and I don't think I wanted to. We didn't notice a smell, but the direction of the wind was going from us towards the creature and I think that may be why we didn't smell it. We never actually saw it, but it sure didn't seem to be a man.
π Circumstances
One witness, my father.
π€οΈ Weather Conditions
3:45 A.M., windy, moderate snow, cold, probably about 30 degrees.
βΉοΈ Additional Details
3:45 A.M., windy, moderate snow, cold, probably about 30 degrees.
π Sources (1)
π₯ Community Contributions
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Case Information
- Case ID
- cmiy3rzc700gj8fysepgvv1zc
- Primary Source
- BFRO
- Added to Map
- December 9, 2025
- Last Updated
- December 10, 2025