Getting a late start today. Mish + Liam eventually came back to the lean-to. They looked okay. Nothing bitten off, just exhausted. Like stumbling along, barely enough energy to crawl into bed. But they were both smiling, so I guess whatever those… girls did to them wasn’t too bad.
They were out there when I went to piss. They looked normal. Maybe a little mussed, if that’s the right word. Like they were doing the walk of shame, but without the shame. The blonde kind of huffed at me. Guess she didn’t appreciate me stealing her prey. They offered me breakfast. “Got to keep your strength up,” one of them said with a just too wide grin. I declined. Took a quick trip into the woods and started gathering up Mischa’s clothes when I got back. They were a little damp from the cool morning air, but dry enough to fold up. Quinn woke up as I was stuffing Mischa’s pack with his clothes. I wanted to be ready to go as soon as we could. No such luck.
I couldn’t wake Liam + Mish. Eventually they got up on their own. Now I’m waiting for them to get, well, it’s lunch now not breakfast. They don’t seem to be in a hurry. One of the girls suggested we stay another night, rather than starting late. Thankfully Liam said we had a schedule to keep. I don’t think I would have been able to convince them to go, otherwise. As it was, Mish didn’t want to. But we made Liam the leader, so we’re heading out as soon as they’re ready. Can’t be too soon for me.
Night… we’re not at a campsite tonight. Got started too late to reach the place Liam had planned and the site before that was… wrong. Thank fuck I wasn’t the only one who could tell, this time. I don’t know what I would have done if the others had wanted to stop there. It’s not like I could keep going on my own. We only have the two tents, so I would have been out here by myself with maybe a tarp if they’d let me have one.
Liam showed me how to dig a fire pit, since there’s not a fire ring. He picked a spot that’s a natural clearing. It’s on a high spot, so we won’t get flooded if it rains. And there’s no trees overhanging the fire to accidentally catch fire. Look at me learning stuff.
It’s quiet around the fire. I don’t know if it’s because the guys are still tired from last night or due to what we saw earlier. Liam said we should report it when we get back to people. He took some pictures on his phone, but we don’t have reception to send it.
I don’t even want to write about it but I’ve put down all the other fucked up stuff on this trip, so I guess I should with this, too. It’ll help us remember when we can tell someone. Though if the cops want this journal as evidence, they’re not going to believe a word in it once they read my earlier entries.
The guys borrowed some paper and wrote their own impressions. I have them in my journal.
Liam Tully, 4 May 202
The campsite was empty when we reached it. It looked like a good number of people had been there at one time judging by the tents that were still there. I counted four tents, but they were in pieces, not like they had been ripped , but maybe left in the sun a long time. Falling apart at the seams. Faded. What was inside also looked a mess. Maybe a bear got into it? But nothing was ripped up like I’d expect with animals. As far as I could tell, whoever had been there left everything. Clothes, shoes, packs. It was all there. Unless something awful happened, people wouldn’t have left it all. I counted up the packs. At least ten people had been there. We didn’t see anyone in the area. We called out, but we didn’t go into the woods looking for them.
No one told me I’d have to write a fucking essay on this trip, but Liam said I should write what I saw.
Like I know what the fuck ever that was. Tom said he smelled something before we got there but he’s been hearing and seeing shit since we started, so I ignored him. Then I smelled it, too. Smelled like garbage sitting in the sun. We got to the campsite and it was spooky. Like something from a horror movie. Quinn wanted to look around, like he’s never seen one before. Never split up! We went through the tents but didn’t find anything to tell us who was there. Everything was a mess. And the stink! I couldn’t wait to leave.
I don’t know how long the stuff had been there. No idea what happened to the people. But it looked like a lot of time but wouldn’t someone have found this before us? Fuck if I know.
Old, stinking shit. That’s what I saw. Don’t know what else Liam thinks I should write.
Mischa Roget 4/5/25
I don’t know what to write. Everything was rotting. Food. Fabric. It was like someone took a perfect day and twisted it. Corrupted it. I couldn’t stand being there very long. My stomach kept turning over. I thought I was going to be sick.
Where are the people? What happened to them? We should have looked for them. We called and called. Nothing. Liam searched the tents. Tom paced the campsite. I wanted to go out and find them. If there was anything to find. They had to go somewhere.
We left it all behind. It took a while to get away from the smell. It was like it was following us. Stuck to us.
We didn’t stop until almost dark. No one wanted to be anywhere near there. Liam told us to write down what we experienced. That’s about it. We smelled it. We walked in. We found the empty tents. We searched them and we left.
Quinn Walker
But, my impressions? It was getting to be about time we would usually stop, but there wasn’t a lot of options. Liam said there was a campsite in a little spur trail that took us to a scenic overlook. It was a little out of the way, but we were already late, so what would it hurt. And maybe Quinn could get some nice sketches out of it… I’m writing my thoughts, Quinn is drawing his. I don’t know how Liam’s thoughts get processed. I’m not convinced Mischa has any to process.
Anyway, we head to the campsite. I start smelling something unpleasant. It’s indistinct. Could have been a skunk. Maybe something had died, but far away, really faint. I didn’t mention it, at first, but then it started getting stronger. I finally said something, but again, it seemed like I was the only one aware of it, that was until we got a little further along the trail, when the others caught the scent. It was pretty foul, but we didn’t think much of it, figured we would get past whatever was making the smell and it would fade.
But it didn’t fade. I don’t know how the others could stand it. It was strong enough I gagged a couple of times. I could feel it on my tongue. Quinn looked queasy, but the others just kind of made faces, so I know they were smelling it. It was like road kill and sewer and something sweet. That was the worst part. The sweetness, like something delicious dunked in sewage.
It actually abated slightly when we reached the campsite. It didn’t disappear, but it changed a little. Enough that I could breathe without vomiting. There was a big clearing. It looked like the campsite was divided into slices, with tents set up in four quarters, but there were places for more between them. The tents were barely standing. The zippers were all undone, the windows down. A couple had water in them from the rain the other day, I’m guessing. The others had rain flies, but they were in bad shape. Tattered. The stakes were broken in a few places.
We called hello, but there was no response. Quinn kept calling. The more he did, the more unnerved I got. Like I didn’t want there to be an answer. Like we wouldn’t like it if there was. He wanted to go look for people, but Mischa wouldn’t let him.
Liam decided we should check the tents. See if we could find anything to identify the campers. He said some places people just hike in, then leave all their gear when they leave. But we’re days from a trailhead. Wouldn’t they need their gear for a few more nights?
Or maybe there was an emergency and the forest service had to come in and evacuate them, but we found packs and shoes. Who leaves shoes behind?
It was all very spooky. I was happy I wasn’t the only one feeling on edge. As I said, Liam took some photos and we left. It took longer to lose the smell than when we first ran into it. I don’t know if it was in our noses. Or if it was following us. Just this sense of wrongness.
I think Quinn is still worried about the people. I’m more worried about us. But I think we’re well away from whatever caused that. Don’t think I’m going to sleep well.