High Sierra Topix

We were recently in the Grouse Ridge area to spend a couple of days fishing. In the evening and at night there was a loud exhaling sound, almost like a grunt every 45 seconds or so for about an hour. It was coming from the other side of the lake so I though it might have been a larger animal for the sound to carry. The next evening, the same sound started again but from our side of the lake. I fell asleep and woke up to it sounded like it was very close to our camp. However, after about 30 minutes, it was coming from the other side of the lake again.

I haven't been able to find anything online that sounds like it. The closest thing I can think of is a Black Bear but the fact that it moved across the lake is throwing me off. Unless there was more than one bear and they're calling each other, I have no idea what it could be.A Has anyone experienced a similar noise and knows what it is? Again, it was a loud exhaling sound.

Since you were at Grouse Ridge, I'm going to guess Sage Grouse.

I doubt it sounded like this. Too bad you didn't record what you heard.

I haven't experienced anything like this but a search on google turned up this webpage https://www.facebook.com/piedmontnatura ... 039072765/

Does it sound like what you heard?

In winter, I've heard loud eerie sounds coming from frozen lakes, but that sounded more like "drumming." The common Blue Grouse (now called "Sooty Grouse") makes a funny sound that to me goes like this: "Voomp, Voomp, Voomp!" They are definitely about now; just two days ago above Ebbets Pass, we startled up a mom and at least 2 chicks right at our feet.

Creepiest sound I ever heard was below 4th of July lake at Summit City Creek. Like something was yelling at us from the other side of the creek.

Sorry don't have an answer but I'll share a story

Creepiest and one of the weirdest sounds I have heard was the only way I can describe it is an electronic beeping sound that was circling our camp and buzzing our tents. We were dispersed camping, with no one else within miles AFAIK.

The sound started after we had settled in to our tents, and would disappear when we got out to investigate. The final straw was when whatever is was was buzzing our tents. You could hear it coming in from hundreds of feet away, full dopplar effect as it would swoop in on the tents and go off in the other direction bank around camp a hundred yards off and swoop back in. It was like midnight and we packed up our stuff and drove 2 hours home, and of course on the way home driving down the mountain (San jacinto) saw a freaking UFO. Wierd night.

This was 20 years ago, many years before drones, and there was zero motor sound or even the sound of....anything moving through the air, just that strange beeping sound.

Sparky, I've also heard a beeping sound a few times on different trips. Once was on a backpack several years ago in the Superstition Mountains here in Arizona. It was the middle of the night. I got up and tried to locate the direction it was coming from but it seemed to be all around. We were high in a remote area. No one else was camped nearby. Another time was in Joshua Tree National Park. Same sound. Another was at a campground in eastern Arizona. Again, I got up and tried to locate it, thinking it was a camper with a device. There were only a few people around. Again, I couldn't pinpoint it. For a time I expected it to hear it when I camped in desert mountains.

@c0ryh... This does not sound quite like your "sound" as it was a one time thing. Was camped at Peter Pande lake and in the evening when dark there was a loud "whoosh-sighing" sound. Like really pretty creepy and big. Lasted about 5 seconds maybe. We looked out over the lake (dark) and did not see anything, or hear anything more. No idea what it was, though did speculate that it was possibly a big flight of ducks landing on the lake??? Sound carries in such weird ways up there.
M.

rlown wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 11:48 am Creepiest sound I ever heard was below 4th of July lake at Summit City Creek. Like something was yelling at us from the other side of the creek.

My guess would be a Bobcat. The female Bobcat can sounds like a woman screaming during mating season when they vocalize to attract a mate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGBpiv-pOVo

sparky wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 9:48 pm Creepiest and one of the weirdest sounds I have heard was the only way I can describe it is an electronic beeping sound that was circling our camp and buzzing our tents. We were dispersed camping, with no one else within miles AFAIK.

I did a google search and found a reddit post where a poster recorded the beeping sound and posted it to a bird lover webpage. They identified it as a Northern Saw-whet owl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG8wOmPcrQI