u/Wazuppie

My girlfriend and I went dispersed camping at Boreas Pass on the night of June 2nd. We picked one of the designated dispersed sites off the main road and were having an awesome, quiet evening by the campfire.

Around 11 PM, things got weird.

We were both sitting by the fire when my girlfriend suddenly looked past me with a panicked expression and said, “There’s someone behind you.”

At first I thought she was joking. Then she said it again.

I jumped out of my chair and turned around to see a guy standing just outside our campsite wearing a red headlamp. What freaked me out wasn’t just that he was there—it was how he got there. Our site wasn’t directly on Boreas Pass Road. He had walked all the way into our campsite in the dark without announcing himself. The first indication that anyone was there was my girlfriend spotting him standing behind me.

Once he realized we’d noticed him, he started talking.

He told us that a mama bear and two cubs had broken the windows of his vehicle and destroyed his campsite less than a mile away. He said he was warning us to be careful.

Maybe that’s true. Maybe he was genuinely trying to help.

But am I the only one who thinks it’s absolutely wild to walk into a stranger’s campsite at 11 PM without calling out from a distance first?

The whole thing felt off. The bear story seemed a little strange, and if you’ve spent much time camping in Colorado, you already know bears and wildlife are part of the deal.

In the end, the encounter rattled us enough that we packed everything up and headed into Breckenridge for a hotel instead of staying the night.

What do you guys think? Was this guy just trying to do the right thing, or would you be sketched out by someone silently walking into your campsite that late at night?

***
UPDATE:

Well, I have to eat my words.

We went back the next day to grab the last few things we didn’t have time to pack up the night before (our tent and camping table). While we were there, I figured we might as well do a little investigating and check out the campsite where the supposed bear attack happened.

As luck would have it, there was actually a ranger at the site when we pulled up.

I told her the whole story about the guy who showed up at our campsite at 11 PM wearing a red headlamp and how the whole thing felt incredibly sketchy.

Then came the plot twist.

She confirmed that his story was completely true.

A bear had in fact broken into his vehicle and trashed his campsite. The guy wasn’t a creep, wasn’t running a scam, and wasn’t making up stories. He was genuinely trying to warn nearby campers about an active bear problem.

So, it turns out the mysterious stranger was actually a good Samaritan.

That said, if you’re reading this, random red-headlamp guy: next time maybe yell “Hey campers!” from 50 yards away instead of silently materializing behind people in the dark like a Skyrim NPC. 🤣