If I had known that prior to signing there would have been no signing or hike.
When I pulled up to the location I guess that was the first WTF moment.
The second was when Chris let me know he had brought a second handgun for me. I asked if he felt it was needed and he indicated he was bringing his.
Now I typically open carry when I'm out alone for a few days but not always.
So initially I was going to leave my weapon behind then I thought well I don't want to leave it in my soft top Jeep in case someone breaks into it....again this place is high traffic and I assumed Chris had reason for concern.
So off we went packing large to hunt the mighty stumpsquatch of Kentucy, I felt particular embarrassed about the weapons when we were hurrying to get out of the woods before it got really dark and met a family hiking in to their cook-out.
It's not so much that this area is or isn't remote it's the amount of traffic it gets again there's nothing undiscovered over 1lbs IMO at this location.
We also failed to warn then about stumpsquatch!
I think it does have some bearing on the veracity of his claims and contributes to an overall picture IMO of someone who's either full of it or eat up with it.
He can't or won't support any of his claims
What he does present is pictures of trees...think Sasfooty
I drove to see his evidence and he may as well have taken me on a hike in any urban park.
When you meet someone face to face it makes a difference and there's a reason I spent no more time with Chris after our one adventure...I had better things to do with my time and if there was something to discover it wasn't going to happen with him in tow.
And as I've said before he's a nice guy in person and sometimes I struggle with that he's the same person posting here that I spent time with. But I'm sure the same could be said about me LOL!
Imagine your going to go birding/hiking/hunting and this guy shows up black jacket and two handguns...this is literally what I thought when we meet...Tony Saprano with a Kentucky accent!
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It may not be fair to judge a book by its cover but in some cases it's warranted.
We seem to have two different opinions as to the intentions of the "family group" we met on our way out. It's ok to disagree, let's look at both sides here and apply some critical thinking.
You saw a cooler, so you say they were on a picnic, then later a cookout. I can understand the relationship with coolers and picnics and cookouts, so that's not altogether an invalid theory. But when we add in more factors like time of day, it was after sunset and getting dark. Why would someone take their family on a picnic at night? No grill either. So highly unlikely they had planned a picnic or cookout.
Alright, you saw a cooler, let's review what I saw and think about it for a moment. I saw 2 adult males, 3 adult females,and 1 infant in a stroller. The adult female (mid 20's) pushing the stroller had a small camera case on her left wrist very similar to my little Sony camcorder case, so I suspect she may have been carrying a Sony camcorder or similar in it. The stroller was a hard wheeled type and I felt especially bad for the infant having that very bumpy ride.
The other two adult females were not carrying cases though one had what looked like either a one strap backpack or a jacket slung over her shoulder and she appeared to have been in her teens. The other, late 20's to early 30's.
One of the adult males (late teens to early 20's) was carrying nothing that I could see, the other male (late 20's early 30's) was pushing a solid wheeled type two wheel dolly white in color. Strapped on that dolly was a blue cooler with a white lid. I suspect it was an igloo brand. I did not see the brand name
on it that night because on the top of the cooler was a large black/dark colored case about half the thickness of the cooler, on top of that case was a smaller case that resembled an older camcorder case. The two cases on top would have covered the "igloo" name but it was likely an igloo brand IMO as I have the exact same cooler. Also the adult male pushing the dolly had his left hand on the top case to hold it in place.
I also asked them if they were going where we went. The response was "Yes". I responded "It's a long way." After we walked further I told you I had asked them that to see if they would lie to me, and I told you they did.
They were almost at their intended destination when we met. The lie confirmed their true destination IMO. Think about it, could they have taken
that stroller and dolly over and under those downed trees we encountered and down and back up that hill we trekked? No way.
So, by my reasoning they were ghost hunters. They were misleading as to their true destination. The black cases contained some sort of equipment, possibly sound and or video equipment. The time of day they were there (night time) seals the deal IMO.
The cooler more than likely contained sodas, beer and ice for their Saturday night ghost hunt adventure. Oh and there was no reason for me to be concerned about those folks. Remember the large guy pushing the dolly? He was carrying a black/dark handled side arm, most likely a semiauto. Glocks are popular here, but by guessing by his appearance, I'd think it was likely a Taurus or low end. So there was really no need for you to feel embarressed for carrying. It's common here.
I know what you're thinking whether you will admit it or not, as you are now likely remembering more details. "How can someone remember that much in detail?" If you really knew me, you'd know how. I'm not trying to make you angry. All I ask is for you to think about what you actually saw a bit then give my opinion some thought.
About memory, I noticed the pic of the guy in the black jacket you posted and the comments in the post. That was funny but kinda misleading. When we
first met I was wearing an American Eagle OD green nylon jacket similar in looks to a field jacket and camo hiking boots. I changed into the ratty
black leather jacket when we arrived on site and I told you why then, because that's the jacket I was wearing when I had my previous sighting there.
I have no idea where you came up with the tennis shoes comment, not that it matters as I do wear tennis shoes almost daily, but not that day and not
when I'm trekking. The inaccuracies are uncalled for if intentional, if unintentional I can somewhat understand. If you want to poke fun at me please be accurate when doing so is all I ask.
If you like to poke fun about me stopping for the stump, that's fine. If you remember, I laughed about it too. I didn't claim it to be anything other than a stump though. I've never claimed to be super human or a rugged mountain man either, but I can track and hunt and fish and though you may be in better health than me, I believe my observation skills are fine. I stopped for the deer just like I did for the stump. You did see both. So as far as seeing things that aren't there, not so much as you would like others to believe for some reason.
Chris B.