Floating orbs of light—split and re-combined—circled/hovered near tent while camping
Summary: The event occurred on June 13, 2017, at the Lodgepole Campground in the Gunnison National Forest adjacent the Taylor River.
The event began at exactly 03:19 and continued until dawn. During this time, an orb of light circled my tent, split into at least two separate orbs, re-combined while hovering over my tent, and rose into the aspens, as daylight broke. The passage of time from the appearance until dawn (roughly 06:30 Mountain Time) felt as though it had been accelerated. In other words, my biological clock did not account for the 3+ hours that passed during the event. I did not fall asleep during the event. The lights came within arm's reach of my tent door, but did not enter the tent/rainfly vestibule.
Full Account: NOTES:
1. I made camp that night with a rain fly over my tent.
2. All that can be perceived on the inside of the tent is diffused light and shadows.
3. The tent was an REI Halfdome 2 with the orange rainfly.
4. When approaching the campground from the south, it's accessed via a right turn off the road.
5. My campsite was the penultimate site on the strip/loop (to the right upon entering the campground), the most isolated, and the furthest into the forest.
I was awakened by light diffusing through my tent fly. At first, I believed this was the result of a very bright moonrise or the breaking of dawn. I turned on my GPS device to check the time (phone was charging on motorcycle); the time displayed was 03:19. It was far too early for dawn, and moonlight isn't this bright.
Slightly alarmed, I reclined with my eyes open and began to rationalize what the source of the light might be. I told myself I believed the light to be that of a NFS ranger performing nightly rounds. As I watched the light move in a circular pattern around my tent (estimated some 20 yards away, I noted a few things:
1. The light moved slowly and steadily as though hovering on a stationary plain.
2. The light didn't move like a flashlight or headlamp operated by a human — the motion was too smooth, too perfect.
3. There were no footsteps associated with the light's movement.
4. There was no other sound associated with the light's movement.
5. The light was a cool blue/white — white at the center with a blue aura.
Unable to sleep, I watched as this light split/manifested a twin. They continued to circle my tent (between foot and hip level), occasionally approaching from behind and from the side before withdrawing and continuing their silent "march." At one point, one of the lights came close enough my tent that its brilliance shone up underneath the fly.
This was the first and only direct observation of their radiance without obfuscation by the tent fly.
At this point, there was no more kidding myself: these things were real, wholly other, and I was terrified. My only recourse was to pray silently while watching the event unfold. I uttered no sound, sat motionless and upright in my sleeping bag, and watched as the energies moved about.
Near the end of the event, one of the floating lights hovered directly above my tent and remained there for some time. As day broke, it moved off/ascended into the aspens, re-combined with the other, and dimmed until it was no longer visible. Un-nerved, exhausted, yet unable to return to sleep, I arose, took care of the morning necessities, and began preparing breakfast.
I felt a deep need to discuss what I experienced. When a fellow camper (some 50-70 yards away) began stirring, I approached him. I must have appeared visibly shaken because the look on his face was that of concern.
Without volunteering anything specific, I simply asked him if he slept well and if he noticed anything during the dark hours. His response was validating, but disturbing. He said, "I saw lights near your tent . . . but didn't think much of it." At that time, I told him everything. His conclusion was that I was being "scanned," but I can't know that for sure. He clearly believed in the other-ness of my experience.
Personal Conclusions:
1. These weren't solid objects because as the two interacted, they would've cast shadows of each other.
2. These objects originated from the wooded areas behind my tent because they cast distinct tree-trunk shadows while on initial approach.
3. These objects were utterly silent and so couldn't have been drones in the recreational sense.
4. These objects moved with such slow, methodical refinement that they couldn't have been drones in the recreational sense, nor could they have been mounted on humans (e.g., a flashlight or headlamp).
5. These objects were definitely interested in ME. The focus of their movement was my location and that didn't change throughout the entire encounter.
6. My prayers had NO effect on their movement or position. In fact, as I prayed for them to leave, they drew nearer.
Summary: The event occurred on June 13, 2017, at the Lodgepole Campground in the Gunnison National Forest adjacent the Taylor River.
The event began at exactly 03:19 and continued until dawn. During this time, an orb of light circled my tent, split into at least two separate orbs, re-combined while hovering over my tent, and rose into the aspens, as daylight broke. The passage of time from the appearance until dawn (roughly 06:30 Mountain Time) felt as though it had been accelerated. In other words, my biological clock did not account for the 3+ hours that passed during the event. I did not fall asleep during the event. The lights came within arm's reach of my tent door, but did not enter the tent/rainfly vestibule.
Full Account: NOTES:
1. I made camp that night with a rain fly over my tent.
2. All that can be perceived on the inside of the tent is diffused light and shadows.
3. The tent was an REI Halfdome 2 with the orange rainfly.
4. When approaching the campground from the south, it's accessed via a right turn off the road.
5. My campsite was the penultimate site on the strip/loop (to the right upon entering the campground), the most isolated, and the furthest into the forest.
I was awakened by light diffusing through my tent fly. At first, I believed this was the result of a very bright moonrise or the breaking of dawn. I turned on my GPS device to check the time (phone was charging on motorcycle); the time displayed was 03:19. It was far too early for dawn, and moonlight isn't this bright.
Slightly alarmed, I reclined with my eyes open and began to rationalize what the source of the light might be. I told myself I believed the light to be that of a NFS ranger performing nightly rounds. As I watched the light move in a circular pattern around my tent (estimated some 20 yards away, I noted a few things:
1. The light moved slowly and steadily as though hovering on a stationary plain.
2. The light didn't move like a flashlight or headlamp operated by a human — the motion was too smooth, too perfect.
3. There were no footsteps associated with the light's movement.
4. There was no other sound associated with the light's movement.
5. The light was a cool blue/white — white at the center with a blue aura.
Unable to sleep, I watched as this light split/manifested a twin. They continued to circle my tent (between foot and hip level), occasionally approaching from behind and from the side before withdrawing and continuing their silent "march." At one point, one of the lights came close enough my tent that its brilliance shone up underneath the fly.
This was the first and only direct observation of their radiance without obfuscation by the tent fly.
At this point, there was no more kidding myself: these things were real, wholly other, and I was terrified. My only recourse was to pray silently while watching the event unfold. I uttered no sound, sat motionless and upright in my sleeping bag, and watched as the energies moved about.
Near the end of the event, one of the floating lights hovered directly above my tent and remained there for some time. As day broke, it moved off/ascended into the aspens, re-combined with the other, and dimmed until it was no longer visible. Un-nerved, exhausted, yet unable to return to sleep, I arose, took care of the morning necessities, and began preparing breakfast.
I felt a deep need to discuss what I experienced. When a fellow camper (some 50-70 yards away) began stirring, I approached him. I must have appeared visibly shaken because the look on his face was that of concern.
Without volunteering anything specific, I simply asked him if he slept well and if he noticed anything during the dark hours. His response was validating, but disturbing. He said, "I saw lights near your tent . . . but didn't think much of it." At that time, I told him everything. His conclusion was that I was being "scanned," but I can't know that for sure. He clearly believed in the other-ness of my experience.
Personal Conclusions:
1. These weren't solid objects because as the two interacted, they would've cast shadows of each other.
2. These objects originated from the wooded areas behind my tent because they cast distinct tree-trunk shadows while on initial approach.
3. These objects were utterly silent and so couldn't have been drones in the recreational sense.
4. These objects moved with such slow, methodical refinement that they couldn't have been drones in the recreational sense, nor could they have been mounted on humans (e.g., a flashlight or headlamp).
5. These objects were definitely interested in ME. The focus of their movement was my location and that didn't change throughout the entire encounter.
6. My prayers had NO effect on their movement or position. In fact, as I prayed for them to leave, they drew nearer.
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
On
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Gunnison National Forest
USA
~3 hours
~3 hours
sphere
CO
Occurred : 6/13/2017 03:19 (Entered as : 06/13/17 03:19) Reported: 9/18/2017 1:27:46 PM 13:27 Posted: 9/21/2017 Location: Gunnison National Forest (Almost), CO Shape: Sphere Duration: ~3 hours Characteristics: There were lights on the object, There was an aura or haze around the object, The object emitted other objects, Missing time was experienced
Floating orbs of light—split and re-combined—circled/hovered near tent while camping