JACKSON, Wyo. — Mwahahahahaha!
Spooky season is in full swing, with pumpkin patches and costume parties galore. Buckrail asked readers to share the spookiest thing they’ve ever seen in Jackson, and as usual, the readers delivered. Read on to enjoy some locally sourced thrills.
One reader shared the story of a ghostly encounter on a hike:
Years ago I was hiking up Game Creek, and about a mile or so past the cattle guard, my dog and I decided to turn around. While I was walking down I came to a deep u-turn. There were willows growing quite high on each side of me and I was headed towards the northwest. I looked at my dog. And I looked up and I saw a cowboy on a horse. Nothing modern about this. And he had appeared out of nowhere from the other side of the u-turn, and disappeared as I walked towards to him. He wasn’t challenging me. But I realized this was his territory. He didn’t block me. But I thought he might like to continue on his own. Flash and I continued down the pathway as the cowboy faded away.
Similarly, one survey respondent pointed to a location where the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world seems thinner: “Ancient spirits alive and well around the ranger station deep in the Gros Ventre,” they said.
Another reader reported a more corporeal series of encounters.
I’ve heard and read about the Bigfoot sighting on Snow King Mountain in June of 1980. I have met people that have had Bigfoot experiences and encounters in and around GTNP, Alpine, Hoback and into Yellowstone. A group had a Bigfoot walk through their campground in the Gros Ventre campground in 2008.
That reader also provided a link to a brief article allegedly published in the Idaho Falls Post-Register about the 1980 sighting, the reliability of which is unconfirmed:
Robert Goodrich and Glenn Towner, no hometown or ages listed, reported to police that they were chased off Snow King Mountain by a “Big Foot-like creature” 12 feet tall with long, dark hair and arms, which hung almost to the ground. The two men said that they were going to visit a friend who had built a lean-to on the mountain when they encountered the creature, the spokesman said. The men told police the creature breathed heavily and made a moaning growl-type noise. They described the creature as having a simian-like face as big as a stop sign and that the creature was hunchbacked, the spokesman said. Goodrich and Towner told police that they ran when they spotted the creature, and that it followed them. … The police reported that the two men had not been drinking.
As always, some respondents took the opportunity to be jokesters. One person responded, “Clueless rich people and tourists.” Another said, “$7,000 rent for an apartment.” Others took a political approach, citing “My liberal neighbors” or “J.D. Vance.” We appreciate that our readers enjoy a sense of humor.
Happy Halloween season from Buckrail!
