BFRO #58126: Hikers find possible footprint on a trail in Frozen Head State Park

📍 Location

📝 Description

My wife and I were new to the area so we decided to check out Frozen Head State Park. We drove there in the early afternoon and decided to try to walk one or two of the trails in the park. We took our two dogs with us as they love to hike, and if no one else is near us, we let them off leash so they can run up and down the trail. Today was different. The dogs never got more than a couple of yards from us and seemed stressed. We thought their conduct was odd, but credited their behavior to the fact that they had not been out much since we just moved. We started along the Interpretive Trail loop near the Old Mac Trail head. We were enjoying ourselves as there was no one else on the trail. We stopped next to a creek and I thought I heard a single knock, like someone hitting a bat against a tree. I asked my wife if she heard it and she confirmed she heard the noise as well. We thought maybe it came from hikers up ahead. We walked along a little farther and heard what sounded like a tree fall in the distance behind us. There was a little wind, and we have heard trees fall in the woods before, so we continued walking thinking nothing of it. We finished the Interpretive Trail Loop and decided to try another trail, this one called the Judge Branch Trail. This trail parallels a creek and so we were just walking enjoying the woods when we came upon a muddy area with a lot of deer tracks. I used to hunt in my youth and love trying to discern what animals are doing or where they are going by their tracks. It seemed to me that two or more deer had been fighting or struggling in the area right off the trail, you could see various hoof prints going in different directions and the ground was torn up. Looking for more signs we came upon the footprint that was in much more solid ground. My wife (who is a skeptic) agreed with me that it looked like a large bare footprint and you could definitely see what might be a big toe and maybe indentions of smaller toes. The print was off the trail and was perpendicular to the trail. There were some leaves and small sticks on top of the imprint which makes me think that it was an older print. I weigh more than 280lbs and my shoes did not leave marks next to the print which was about a quarter to half inch in depth. Not too long after this the dogs seemed to become more fearful, and my wife felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise up. She felt uncomfortable and so we decided to end the hike and head back to the car. We decided to put the leashes back on the dogs and they pulled hard towards the car. When they got to the parking lot they once more became relaxed and calm. Also, I could find no other tracks, but we did not venture far off the trail either. I am not familiar with bears but could this have been a bear track? I would love to know.

🔍 Circumstances

My wife heard the the same noises and saw the print. She took the photos with her iphone.

🌤️ Weather Conditions

Approximately 3PM Sunny

ℹ️ Additional Details

Approximately 3PM Sunny

🔗 Sources (1)

👥 Community Contributions

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