This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Few-Suggestion-7168 on 2025-05-21 19:08:30+00:00.
One day in the summer of 2014 my friends and I thought it would be fun to go stargazing. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the forecast indicated that it would be a clear night with low humidity. We decided to go to a cliff point at Linn Running State Park in southwestern Pennsylvania. I had hiked to this point many times before. It was only about 30 minutes from where I grew up and I am an avid hiker. The parks remoteness was a key factor in our selection. It would help us avoid any city lights that may dull our view of the stars. My friend Jodi wanted to get there before sunset, during the “golden hour” to take pictures for social media. It’s about a 2-mile hike over rough and rocky terrain to get to the overlook. The hike in typically took about 40 minutes if moving at a leisurely pace. Sunset was at 8:45 so we were aiming to get there before 8 and stay until midnight.
When we arrived to the gravel parking lot at the head of the trail there was only one car there. There were several people standing around the car and they seemed to be packing up. This was exciting to us because it meant we would have the overlook to ourselves. We set off into the woods with our water bottles and blankets, excited for the celestial show that was to play out before us.
The hike in was easy for me. I had walked this trail many times and it was just as I remembered. It wasn’t as easy for Cassie and Jodi because they weren’t experienced hikers. As I’ve said before, the trail is very rocky and covered in thick roots that sprawl across steep hillsides. This didn’t stop us from having fun though. We moved at a slow pace, taking pictures and laughing along the way. At a certain point on this trail you lose all cell service. This upset Jodi because she wouldn’t be able to post pictures in real time. Since we were taking our time the hike took a bit longer than expected. We picked up the pace when we realized it was starting to get dark.
Finally we made it to the end of the trail. We had to jump over a few crevices to get to the flat rock that overlooked the valley. Much to our dismay when we arrived there was a man just crouching over the ledge, looking down into the valley. I first noticed a large knife that he had clipped to his belt. Upon closer inspection it wasn’t a knife, but a machete. This struck me as odd. The trail is well maintained and clear of anything that would require such a tool. We had no intention of interacting with this man and just wanted to keep to ourselves. He was wearing a dirty baseball cap, cut off tee shirt, tattered blue jeans, and brown boots. There was a plastic water bottle tucked in his back pocked that was filled with brown liquid. When he stood up we could see he was well over 6ft tall. It looked like he was older than us but by no means an old man. He was maybe in his 30s and had patchy facial hair. Then he came over to us and initiated conversation. That’s when we all began to feel very uncomfortable.
It was apparent that he was intoxicated because his speech was slurred. Then he started talking about death in round about ways. He asked if we knew how many people had died falling from this cliff. Stating that a lot of teenagers who come up here to drink end up falling to their deaths. This was true. One of our classmates had fallen off this very ledge a few years back. Then he went on about how dangerous it is to be out here in the dark. That coyotes were known to live in the caves below. He alluded to never knowing WHO might be out here lurking in the dark. We all caught the same creepy vibe from this guy and started to leave. Not in a hurry though. We didn’t want to offend him or make it obvious that we were creped out by him.
It was disappointing that we didn’t get to stay and look at the stars but we were very relieved to get away from that man. We walked at a brisk pace over the treacherous terrain. This trail is one way in, one way out, and no other trails led to the overlook. There was no one else on the trail at this time. When we were about a mile away from the parking lot we heard something on the trail behind us. I looked back and it was that man RUNNING after us, machete in hand. I screamed to alert the girls and we took off running as fast as we could. It was dark but we navigated over the rocks and roots to the best of our ability.
We sprinted the entire mile back to the car. My legs burned to the bone with lactic acid. Driven by pure fear and adrenaline we pushed ourselves past the limits of what I thought was humanly possible. My lungs were ablaze and my heart pounded out of my chest. We were never the athletic type, but in those moments, we were probably the fastest girls in the world. I was in disbelief that this was actually happening. Still we didn’t look back, only forward at what lay ahead. It’s a miracle that none of us fell or twisted an ankle. Luckily, we made it back to the car. Jodi had her keys in hand and unlocked the vehicle. We all piled in and wasted no time fleeing the scene. As we were pulling away the man emerged from the trail and chased the car until we hit the road.
What’s really weird is there were no cars in the parking lot when we left. The nearest houses are miles away and mostly cabin rentals. We have no idea where this man came from but his intentions were clear. We called the cops but nothing ever came of it. It was truly the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. It’s a weird feeling to have such a terrifying experience at a place you once found so much comfort in. In recent years there was a meme going around online asking girls: Would you rather be alone in the woods with a bear or a man. I will always choose the bear.