Hunters hear late night screams in the Trinity Alps Wilderness witnessed in Trinity County, California

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My dad, my cousin, his wife, and myself, along with six others went on a 10-day deer hunt in the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area. We had contracted with a local outfitter to meet us at the trailhead and to transport us and all our equipment to a campsite selected by the outfitter. He had been contracted to return to pick us all up later and return us to our trucks at the trailhead. The outfitter transported all of us and all of our gear to a location approximately 12 miles south of the trailhead. This was accomplished by using horses and mules. The ride was approximately 4 hours in duration each direction, although the horses did seem to walk faster as they got closer to their corral at the trailhead. We had also contracted to rent two horses and one mule to assist in deer hunting and retrieval efforts. The first night at camp was uneventful. The second day, another hunter (J.K.) and I decided to spend the night on the ridge across the valley to the east of our camp in order to be in position for a good spot to deer hunt the following morning, which was the first day of deer season (opening day is always on a Saturday). J.K. and I, along with my dad and J.K.'s dad, packed our gear for a small, remote camp across the valley to a spot near the tree line, the ridge, and a natural 'draw/saddle' which crossed over into a valley to the east. We set-up our small camp and constructed two small deer hunting blinds for use the next day. Everyone else left by mid-afternoon, leaving just myself, J.K., and Nancy (the mule) on that ridge. Two events happened that night. 1. Loud Scream ' without any prior warning, noises or animal sounds, J.K. and I heard an extremely loud 'scream.' Only a single vocalization can be recalled. This scream began high-pitched in nature, resembling a woman screaming. The beginning of the scream was reminiscent of a woman being murdered from an old Alfred Hitchcock film. The unexpected scream was explosive and violent in nature. This first portion lasted approximately 3-4 seconds. The scream then changed tone to one with a deeper quality to it. This portion sounded similar to 3 mountain lion cries in rapid succession. This second portion lasted 2-3 seconds. Finally, the scream ended with an even deeper tonal quality. The end of this scream resembled the growl of a bear. This final sound heard was a very deep growl/rumble, which just trailed off. This portion lasted 2-3 seconds. The scream originated from a location approximately 75-100 yards northwest and approximately 50 feet lower in elevation of our position. It sounded like the sound emanated from the tree line at the far edge of a large, nearby meadow. Upon very distant investigation with crappy flashlights, we saw nothing. 2. Injured Mule ' Our rented mule, 'Nancy', was tied to a small pine tree in a small clearing approximately 50 feet from our camp/tent. Our very small tent was separated from this clearing by a small grove of short to medium sized pine trees, and it was between our tent and the large meadow mentioned earlier. Our camp was on the edge of a North/South ridge; with the mule being due north of us, and a very steep drop-off only about 100 feet was due east. The large 'meadow' was actually not a meadow at all; it was a sloping, natural pass with a well-worn hiking trail along the south side. After the excitement of the scream had worn off, approx. 30-45 minutes later and as we were getting into our tent for the night, the mule suddenly began sounding as if something were scaring the crap out of her. She was 'sounding out' very loudly and very excitedly. We could also hear her hoofs pounding the ground. J.K. and I both scrambled over to her, with guns and flashlights in hand, to find her in a state of great excitement. This mule's ears were laid back; her eyes were wide open and darting about. Nancy's breathing was also very rapid, and her nostrils were flaring. She was still tied to the tree where we had left her. Actually, she was as close to the small tree as she could get. But as we approached her, we noticed she was holding her left front hoof off the ground. She did not appear as though she wished to put any weight on that leg, but we could find absolutely no sign of trauma to the leg. And upon further examination, we found no other obvious signs of physical injury to Nancy at all. She was obviously psychologically traumatized, as she whimpered and shook for quite some time afterwards. We untied her and moved her to an area next to our tent. A brief search of the immediate area with crappy flashlights and high-powered weapons yielded nothing productive, other than some possible shadows in the distance. The ground was very firm and we found no tracks that night or the next day. The following day, and upon return of my dad and J.K.'s dad to our location, we described the events of the previous evening and we all examined the swollen left front knee of Nancy. Even in the daylight and upon very close examination by everyone, no obvious signs of trauma were noted to Nancy's leg. But it was indeed swollen to approximately twice its normal size and she had difficulty placing her weight on it. Her knee had begun to subside in swelling somewhat by the time we were due to return to our trucks, and she did carry her appointed rider home as scheduled. No real explanation was ever agreed upon as to what made the screaming sounds or as to the cause of Nancy's injury. The remainder of the week passed without any similar incidents.