Hunter hears wood-on-wood knocking witnessed in Crook County, Oregon

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This incident took place during the first Oregon elk season in 1989.My hunting partner had business to tend to in town and had to take leave of our camp for a day. He had taken my truck and left me at camp with his truck and camper. I departed camp on Saturday morning, proceeding at a slow pace to the north/northwest. Neither of us had seen any elk since opening day, the previous Wednesday, so I wasn't hopeful of success that day either. I had proceeded a short distance, less than a half mile and one hour elapsed, when I became aware of a sound that captured my interest. It was the sound of wood on wood striking. Upon hearing the noise, I paused to evaluate its possible origin. It seemed to be between 200-300 yards distant. I at first thought of somebody chopping wood. There is an unimproved road that travels the approximate route I had taken. However, that road starts where I was camped and nobody had been by in a couple of days. Also the sound was in groups of 3 or more wh...