Green Beret Shares Terrifying Sasquatch Encounter at Fort Lewis

There's something about a trained military operator sharing a brush with the unknown that really gets the imagination going. A former Green Beret recently opened up about an experience from the early 1990s that still gives him chills to this day, and the details are absolutely fascinating. PJ, who runs the YouTube channel VikingPreparedness, was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington (now known as Joint Base Lewis-McChord) near Tacoma. He had the day off and decided to do some hunting in what's known as the South Rainier Training Area. It was grouse and bear season, and he had his Mossberg 500 12-gauge loaded up and ready to go. What started as a peaceful day in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest woods quickly turned into something else entirely. As PJ was walking down one of the narrow fire trails through the towering pines and ferns, he was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sense of dread. The feeling was so intense and specific that he became convinced there was someone out in the swampy area below with a rifle scope trained on him, looking at him with evil intent. Now here's where it gets really interesting. PJ is a trained observer. Green Berets are taught how to scan terrain methodically, grid out areas, and spot things that don't belong. He did exactly that. He leaned forward, carefully searched the area, checked his backside, and found absolutely nothing. No person, no movement, nothing out of the ordinary. Just swamp. But the feeling wouldn't go away. It got worse. So much worse that this trained warrior, someone who prides himself on being able to handle any situation, started talking himself out of continuing his hunt. He changed his birdshot to buckshot, then to a slug followed by buckshot. He kept telling himself he was the apex predator out there, that there was nothing to fear. But the fear was real, primal, and undeniable. Eventually, he turned around and went home to mow the lawn. On his rare day off. In perfect weather. Because something out there told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not welcome. The really wild part came later that weekend when he was hanging out with his medic and commo guy at a little cabin. When he shared the story, they asked him a simple question: "Did you smell anything bad?" That question opened up a whole new interpretation of what had happened to him. They told him the area near Cat Lake was considered "bad medicine" by the Nisqually Indians, and they wouldn't go there. PJ had no idea about any of this at the time. To make things even stranger, PJ later found Cat Lake during a land navigation course and thought he'd take his family fishing there the following weekend. When they went back, the lake was gone. Not dried up, just... not findable. Even an armored cavalry troop with maps spread out on the hood of their Humvee couldn't locate it. And these were trained land navigators too. Washington state has a long history of Sasquatch sightings, particularly around military training areas and the vast stretches of forest near the Cascades. The dense, swampy lowlands around Fort Lewis and the Nisqually Reservation area have produced numerous reports over the years. The combination of thick old-growth forest, swampy terrain, and relative isolation makes it prime habitat for a large, reclusive hominid. What makes this account stand out is the credibility factor. PJ is a Green Beret, one of the most highly trained military operators in the world. He's trained to observe, to assess threats, and to remain calm under pressure. The fact that something in those woods could trigger such a profound, primal fear response in someone like that speaks volumes. The video is definitely worth checking out. PJ tells the story with incredible detail and you can hear the emotion in his voice as he recounts how scared he was. It's a reminder that even the most capable people among us can have encounters that challenge everything they think they know about the world.