6 Sounds You Should NEVER Ignore in the Woods (From a Retired Park Ranger)

📕 Stay Found, my field guide for anyone who heads outdoors: what to carry, what to leave on the kitchen table, and what to do in the first hour if somebody doesn't come back → https://stayfoundbook.com Six sounds in the woods you should never ignore, from a bear huffing in the brush to a deep whumpf under your boots. Five of them have a real case behind them. The sixth was written into Meriwether Lewis's journal in 1805, and nobody has explained it since. I'm Cliff Hollis. Thirty-two seasons as a backcountry ranger in the mountain West, the last fifteen running search and rescue. Every case here comes from park, avalanche center and news reports. WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE, THE CASE, AND THE RULE 6. A bear huffing and popping its jaws. Sounds like: heavy breathing in the brush, the clack of teeth. Case: Granite Park, Glacier National Park, 2019. Rule: back away calmly, never run, and give the bear more space. 5. A rattle, or no sound at all. Sounds like: a dry, fast buzz near your boots. Or nothing. Case: Chilnualna Falls Trail, Yosemite, 2020. Rule: freeze, find the snake, step away. If bitten, no tourniquet and no ice. 4. Boulders knocking on the bottom of a river. Sounds like: low knocking and grinding under the rush of the water. Case: South Mowich River, Mount Rainier, 2020. Rule: don't cross. Glacial rivers run lowest early in the morning. 3. Popping from a cliff above you. Sounds like: small pops, then a rumble. Case: Glacier Point Apron, Yosemite, 1999. Rule: get clear of the wall, toward open ground, or behind the largest boulder you can reach. 2. Whumpf. Sounds like: a deep drop of the snow under your feet. Case: Sheep Creek, Loveland Pass, Colorado, 2013. Rule: the day is over. Get off the snow and away from anything steep above you. 1. The unaccountable artillery of the Rocky Mountains. Sounds like: booms from a clear, calm sky. Case: Great Falls of the Missouri, Montana, 1805, and again over Great Falls in 2018. Rule: stop, count the booms, note the time and a compass bearing, and tell a ranger. CHAPTERS 00:00 A sound under your boots 01:33 The sound I kept off my list 02:34 6. A bear huffing and popping its jaws 04:45 5. A rattle, or no sound at all 07:56 4. Boulders knocking under a river 11:20 3. Popping from a cliff above you 14:14 2. Whumpf 17:13 1. The unaccountable artillery of the Rocky Mountains Stay found, folks. #ParkRanger #HikingSafety #Wilderness