All these stories about the wilderness made me remember a story my cousin told me.
Hunting is a huge part of the culture in Hawaii, and kids often learn from a very young age how to hunt. My cousin, who is in his late 20’s now and has been hunting for a good 20 years of his life, has had some strange experiences in the wilderness, but this one always stuck with me as the weirdest one. Have you ever heard of a calling spirit? I’m sure they exist outside of Hawaii, but the gist is, if you’re somewhere like the woods, or you’re alone somewhere, if you hear someone call your name, you do not answer. Bad things happen when you answer. I’m going to write the story like how he told it to me:
“I was around eight years old when this happened, when I had just started going hunting. Me, my cousins and my uncle went hunting one evening in Wailua. By the time we were done we were about a mile away from our truck. It was about 9:00 p.m. and it was dark. My uncle said, ‘I’m going to go get the truck, you kids wait here.’ But my cousins wanted to go with my uncle. I said, ‘I’ll wait right here. You come get me, I’m not walking.” I was over walking. My uncle was like, ‘You sure you wanna wait alone?’ I said, ‘Hell no! I'm not walking, I'll wait.’ So he said he would be back in half an hour with the truck.
“Not too long after they left, I heard something moving in the bushes. Then I heard my uncle’s voice. ‘Hey! Kai! Come on let’s go.’ I said, ‘Hell no I’m not walking back!’
“And then my uncle whistled.
“You know when you’re out playing with the other kids in the neighborhood and your dad whistles for you to come inside and you know when you hear that whistle, you better go fast? That’s the kind of whistle it was. So I jumped up and started walking.
“My uncle was walking ahead of me. I couldn't see him in the bushes, but I could hear him because he’s saying things like, ‘You don’t wanna listen, you gonna get in trouble.’ Then he said, ‘Come on, let's go down here.’ He wanted to go into the bushes, off the path. I knew something was wrong. I said, ‘But I thought we were going back to the truck?’ Just then, I saw headlights, back in the direction we started. And then I heard my uncle’s stereo blasting; the only song he ever plays when he goes hunting.
“I start running.
“I take off, and something grabs my backpack. I fly my arms back and I let whatever it was take my bag. I get to the truck and my uncle asks, ‘Where’s your stuff?’ I point back to where I was and say, ‘I was following you.’ My uncle turns pale and yells, ‘Get in the car now!!!’
“I’m bawling, I’m scared. I know I messed up. I know you never answer when someone calls, but it sounded just like my uncle. He immediately took me to my other uncle, who blessed me. Till this day, when I go hunting, I never answer when anyone calls my name.”
Re: Mount Shasta's Forgotten History & Legends
Lovely topic, & so many interesting links have already cropped up in this thread - I look forward to hearing more of your insights & experiences, as well as those of other people as they add to the conversation!
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The sad thing is that we can no longer enjoy nature, go for hikes in the wilderness, or camp out overnight in a forest, without this sense of knowing we are not alone - & not in a good way. It feels like the final loss of innocence. 
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