thank you my girlfriend and I always enjoyed going for weekend camping trips pretty frequently we used to live right inside the Appalachian region in Virginia so obviously we'd find new places on or near the Appalachian Mountains both of us had pretty stressful work lives during the weekdays so getting out in nature and staying away from home on the weekends really helped us at the time this happened we had already been on dozens of camping trips in the Appalachian Mountains but none of them had ever ended like this it was Saturday morning and we decided on
a very small Three Mile Trail that leads to a nice isolated camping ground on a flatter part of the mountain we had never been to the specific spot before but from the amount of reviews the trail had on Google we assumed it was a pretty well-known Trail in campgrounds we got our bags ready and packed the truck with our camping gear and then we made our way out there it was only a 45 minute drive from our house but as we got closer it began raining quite a bit this was pretty normal around the mountains
here so we were used to being out in the rain and didn't bother us enough to turn around we pulled up to the trailhead which was actually just off the side of the road and we saw one other car parked on the side we actually expected there to be more people considering the popularity of the trail but we were glad it wasn't crowded though as we started getting our gear out my girlfriend pointed out that the parked cars passenger door was cracked open a few inches we both looked around to see if the owner was
nearby but with no signs of them I decided to go over and push it closed as we assumed the owner must have accidentally left it open the whole passenger seat was soaked from the rain already but at least it wouldn't get any worse I came back to our car to grab my stuff and then we both started making our way down the trail we talked about how weird it was that the door was open and how most people would probably notice that their car wouldn't even lock due to the open door it's worth mentioning too
that it was clearly a pretty expensive newer car which just made it more strange anyways the rain started picking up at this point so we began walking faster so we could get to the campsite and set up our tent I want to say it took us about two hours to get to the end as it was mostly uphill once we were there the first thing we noticed was a tent already set up in the middle of the flat area it was pretty small definitely a one-person tent we figured they were probably in there Sheltering from
the rain so we went to a far corner on the site and set up our tent there we sat inside for an hour eating some food we brought and laying some of our stuff out to dry before hearing voices outside the rain hitting the tent was too loud to hear what they were saying so I unzipped the front and looked out I jumped a little bit as there were two men kneeling down and looking at us from just a couple feet away but then they smiled and introduced themselves they said they were staying in the
tent in the middle and that they'd been here a few days I quickly introduced my girlfriend and I and told them that we were just here for the night then they headed back and I zipped up our tent and looked at my girlfriend the whole interaction seemed a little off and they seemed to be acting a little strange I noticed that both of the men were wearing tightly fitted jeans in regular t-shirts and their tent was way too small to be fitting two full-grown men it really just didn't seem like they were here camping or
hiking and definitely not for a few days like they had said we decided to leave the zipper partially open so we can keep an eye on them just in case another hour went by and we didn't see anything unusual actually we didn't see anything at all I guess they were just cramped up in their tent the whole time anyways it was pretty dark out at this point so we decided to call it a night and get our sleeping bags ready I zip the tent back up and laid down next to my girlfriend I must have
fallen asleep pretty fast though because I didn't even remember anything after laying down but I woke up a few hours into the night having to use the bathroom it was still raining so I put on one of my cheap plastic rain ponchos so that I wouldn't have to go back to bed soaked then I headed out a few feet behind our tent and behind one of the trees but through the rain I could hear voices it was really hard to tell where they were coming from though I turned my head all around looking in every
direction as I started to get a little paranoid but I didn't see anyone then I looked over at the small tent in the middle and noticed the front Zipper was open it was hard to see in the darkness and through the rain but I was pretty sure that nobody was in there I knew that the men had told me that they were staying the night in the tent so this started to get me even more worried I ran over to my tent and shook my girlfriend awake and told her about the situation she was clearly
tired but I could tell that she was just as worried as I was as we were discussing what to do we both heard it voices coming from behind our tent I wasn't sure what to do but I knew sitting in the tent didn't feel very safe anymore I told my girlfriend to pack the bags quickly and be ready to leave if we had to then I grabbed a small pocket knife and quickly got out and looked over at the trees saw the two men from earlier standing there just a few feet from our tent I
remember this moment very clearly as both men looked at me with absolutely no emotion they didn't make any facial expressions or even move at all I knew at that moment that these men were planning on doing something horrible they were not scared of me at all a second later my girlfriend looked out of the tent which took me out of my State of Shock and I yelled at her to go pointing at the trail back down the mountain I followed after her leaving my bag in the tent behind I looked back just as we made
it to the edge of the campsite and the two men were still standing there they didn't even try to chase us or anything they just stood and watched us as we ran away in total fear I'd say we were full on sprinting for 10 minutes before slowing down and walking quickly for the rest of the way when we got back to the car we saw the other parked car was still there but the passenger door was opened again I immediately drove us down to the nearest gas station where we called the police and were met
by them a few minutes later to talk about what had happened a few days passed by and then we get a lot more information and it made everything even more terrifying when an officer went down to investigate the area they found that the car belonged to an older man who had recently been filed as missing all of the belongings from the car had been stolen and they were able to confirm that the tent on the campground was the old man's as well they didn't find the two men though and they didn't find any real evidence
other than their shoe prints the old man wasn't found either and as far as I know he still has never turned up this made my girlfriend and I both feel sick knowing that we could have been just seconds away from something horrible I guess we'll never know for sure what those two men were actually up to but I think we can all make a pretty good guess based on the whole situation but what I do know is that the image of those two men standing in front of me still haunts my memories to this day
foreign enough to have a job that allowed me to travel a lot in my late 20s and early 30s I would usually only spend a couple days in one location though for work so I was limited to how much I could actually do when I was staying somewhere nice but I had a job out in Pennsylvania for a week and ended up finishing a day early which meant I'd still have to stay there for an extra day before my flight since I never got to get out much I figured I should use this time to
my advantage and do something fun I decided on a long trail that went through some of the pretty forests and trees here I've always really enjoyed nature but I felt like my job forced me to be inside buildings or planes all the time so this was a good chance for me to enjoy the nice weather and scenery I woke up early but I actually had to go to the store to buy some hiking clothes as I didn't pack any with me the trail was about an hour away from my hotel and I ended up getting
there just before 12 P.M it didn't look like anyone else was there which I was pretty happy about when I looked up the trail online it said it would take about six hours there and back so this was pretty much an all-day thing I had a little backpack with a water bottle and some snacks so I brought that and started making my way down the first hour was really nice just being alone on a path between the trees was really peaceful and a nice way to get some relief from my stressful work life but as
I was walking I noticed a man sitting on the ground next to the path up ahead he looked almost as though he was sleeping with his head hanging down and a hoodie covering his face as I started to get closer he looked up at me almost staring me down as I walked past him I had no idea what to make of him but it was a little creepy so I continued to check behind me occasionally for the next few minutes as I continued down the trail after a couple hours I got a little tired and
hungry so I found a small log on the edge of the path and sat down to have a snack I was probably there for three or four minutes before the man that I'd walk past earlier appeared down the path making his way towards me he was still a good distance away though so I decided to quickly pack my bag up and continue down the trail so I didn't have to interact with them apparently my plan didn't work though I was only a few minutes later I heard loud running footsteps coming up behind me foreign and
saw the man jogging in my direction I moved over to the side hoping he would just pass by but he ended up stopping right in front of me I'll admit I was pretty nervous and felt really uneasy about this guy he didn't say anything and reached into his pocket and then he holds out a wallet and says I think you dropped this the wallet definitely wasn't mine though and I could tell it was completely empty too I told him that he must be mistaken and that I didn't bring my wallet with me he responds telling
me that he knew this was my wallet and I needed to take it back I honestly didn't know what to do or say but I could see in his eyes that he was getting mad I was pretty sure this guy was trying to do some weird trick in order to rob me or something but I didn't know what other options I had other than to just listen to the guy so I just said okay and picked up the wallet from his hand then he looked at me in the eyes smiled and said you're welcome then
he began making his way down the trail I stood there for a minute processing the interaction I just had then I held out the wallet and looked at it more closely it was one of those typical Brown folding wallets and looked pretty worn and old I opened it up and checked every pocket in it but there wasn't a single thing in there I was so confused I had no idea what to think but I knew I didn't want to run into this man again so I just started making my way back to my car it
was 4 P.M now and I had a little over two hours to go before getting back to my car I tried my best to enjoy the walk but I couldn't stop thinking about what happened and it kept making me more and more nervous I was constantly looking around to make sure he wasn't following me but finally I could see my car up ahead the sun was just beginning to set casting a long Shadow on everything and my car was parked facing the trail so I was walking towards the front of it once I was a
few feet away that's when I noticed a man's shadow coming from behind the car as if they were crouched down I stopped in my tracks staring at their Shadow next to my car I knew that running away would almost surely end badly but I also knew that he was probably going to try and steal my car and rob me once I tried to get inside after a few seconds I quietly reached into my pocket to feel for my keys then started walking towards the passenger door I quickly unlocked the car and got in through the
passenger side I could hear the man instantly jump up and run straight for the driver's side door but I locked it from the inside just before he tried to open it he started banging on the window as I crawled into the driver's seat and turned on the car I could clearly see it was the same man from earlier and he began screaming at me to give him the wallet back I ignored him and reversed out of there and onto the main road where I drove away as quickly as I could as I was pulling away
he ran back onto the path and into the trees I guess my plan had worked assuming it threw him off by not going to the driver's side door and gave me time to get in and lock it there was a police station I remembered seeing on the way so I stopped there and went inside to report the man and give them the wallet and then I headed back to the hotel I called one of my friends to tell them about it that night as it was just such a crazy situation it's pretty obvious he was
either trying to rob me or steal my car but I find myself still questioning what the purpose of the wallet was as it didn't seem to have any real significance anyways I'm just happy that I was able to make it out safely and without losing anything I always carry a small pocket knife with me whenever I go for walks now as you never know what crazy situations you can find yourself in it was near the end of October last year which always makes for the best hiking weather as it's not too hot and not too
cold I had a group of friends that I'd go hiking with a lot but most of them had jobs with no set schedules which would make it hard to find days where we could plan a hike together so often I'd go for some shorter hikes alone and just enjoy the peace and quiet I had the weekend off so I found a nice hiking and camping Trail nearby and drove up there on Saturday morning I had actually been on this Trail a couple years before and had always wanted to go back it was a loop trail
so it basically went in a big circle from the start and it was around a day and a half long I parked my car in a small gravel parking lot and made my way up to the trailhead the first few miles were flat and mainly just went through grassy Fields before eventually leading into a forest at the bottom of a small Mountain at this point it was probably midday and I was well into the forest when I saw a man walking up ahead he was too far for me to tell at first if he was
walking towards her away from me but as I continued forward I realized he was walking towards me this wasn't a very popular Trail and the last time I hiked it I don't think I saw anyone but it was the weekend and I figured maybe he just had the same idea as me as he got closer though I noticed he didn't have a backpack on and this was pretty unusual as I was probably six or seven hours down the trail and there was no way someone would go this far without even a water bottle he waves
at me once he's a few feet ahead I returned the gesture to be polite but still being cautious due to being in such an isolated area as he passes I hear his footsteps stop and the dirt crumble as if he turned around I looked back and sure enough he's facing me and then he asks me something really strange where's your group at I wasn't sure how to respond as all I could really think about was whether this stranger knew that I usually had a group or if he was just trying to figure out that I
was alone either way it was unsettling and made me really nervous I responded telling him that they were on their way a couple minutes behind me I couldn't think of anything else to say but I definitely didn't want this man to think that I was alone good he replied then smiled and began walking again I continued on in the opposite direction further down the trail a few hours went by and I spent most of the time thinking about that guy and how weird the whole situation was the fact that he didn't have a backpack so
deep into the hike made the whole thing even more unsettling I decided I'd find a good place a little ways off the main trail to set up my campgrounds just to be safe I found a nice flat area about a half a mile from the trail and pitched my small tent the sun was starting to set so I sat outside my tent and just tried to stop thinking about the guy I had a pre-packed lunch made for the trip so I got that out and finished it before laying in the tent to try and get
some sleep I was laying there for probably over an hour unable to sleep before I started to hear footsteps coming from the trees behind my tent I froze listening to them moving towards me I tried to reason with myself in my head that it was probably just some animal or something but the steps were all too recognizable as a person's it sounded like they were 15 to 20 feet away when they suddenly stopped I waited there for what felt like hours laying still and listening intently with my heart racing but there were no more footsteps
I knew they had to be waiting nearby as I would have heard the footsteps fade out if they had left eventually more hours had passed and the sun was just starting to rise I knew I had to get out of here at some point and I was so tired that I was questioning if maybe I'd somehow just not heard the footsteps going away I unzipped the tent and lifted the flap up a little to peek outside but I didn't see anything so I got out and looked around it was very quiet and the trees were
blocking most of my view but from what I could see nobody was there after a few minutes I cautiously packed up my tents still looking around frequently as I was definitely on edge and every small noise would make me jump I attached my tent to my bag and started heading back towards the trail as quick as I could but I only made it a few steps before noticing clear footprints in the dirt just behind a tree that was right by where I had my tent I began panicking and didn't even look for any more footsteps
as I sprinted towards the trail I was terrified now as I knew there was someone stalking me in the middle of an isolated Forest hours away from anywhere safe once I got back to the path I quickly began walking back down the way I came it was probably quicker at this point just to continue down but I figured that whoever was watching me would probably be waiting for me to continue that way luckily nothing else happened the whole way back to my car which I didn't get to until nearly sunset I told my friends about
the strange man and what I heard and saw and they all said that I was lucky to get out of there without anything else happening I contacted the police just to report the suspicious activity on the trail but not much was able to get done about it I'm definitely more cautious when hiking and camping though and I rarely go without my group of friends anymore I will never know what that guy's true intentions were and I hope nobody else has to know either [Music] thank you [Music]
