Vocals and track on Spencer Butte witnessed in Cowlitz County, Washington

Open Map

I was elk hunting this past week in the Mt. Adams and Mt Saint Helens areas. I headed up on a hike on Wed. the 23rd of September at a place called Spencer Butte. It's located Outside of Cougar and is a steep hike of 1800 elevation gain (it sits about 4300 ft). My friends and I headed up the hill in the morning at about 8:30 am. The weather was very rainy. We were trying to be very observant of any sounds or tracks. About half way up the mountain my friend turns to me and says 'did you hear that? it sounds like people yelling' I listened for a moment and heard what I would describe as a distant yowl...far up the trail. It was faint but distinct. We continued up the trail and eventually reached the top. My guess is it was about 10 am. Once we had reached the geological marker at the top, my friend and I began a search splitting directions. I continued through the trees and brush for about 75 yards from the geological marker and came to a clearing. I sat for a few moments and noti...