Possible knocks heard near the Flat Tops Wilderness area of White River National Forest witnessed in Rio Blanco County, Colorado

Open Map

My father and I were elk hunting in October 2005 in the White River National Forest near the Flat Tops Wilderness. This area is in Rio Blanco county outside of Buford, CO. My father has hunted there most years since the 1970's. I have been a dozen or so times since the 80's. The area is along the [edited] at about 10,000 feet. Very remote, few hunters. We backpack in and camp in the primitive style. Our site is [edited]. My father killed an elk and asked if I could meet him one morning to dress it and haul it down a steep slide. The slide is an open area that extends up the side of a mountain about 1/2 mile. It is steep and as a result has a central corridor that is devoid of trees. It is surrounded on both sides by dense forest growth. It is rocky and very rugged. I met him one morning at about 1030 am to help out. When I arrived he told me he had heard a series of very loud knocks sometime before I arrived. He said it was up the slide toward the rim and the flat tops area on ...