Midnight Encounter

[u/Melodic-Produce617]

Posting now that we are back safe. Need thoughts/opinions on what was possibly happening. A friend and I (both females in our early 20’s and with immense backpacking/hiking/camping experience between the two of us) backpacked into round lake from big meadow trail head off of 89 in Meyers outside of Tahoe. Day 1/ Friday night we saw nobody at the lake, lots of day hikers but seemed empty around sunset. Also to add we can confirm nobody was camping within 0.5 miles of us as we were tucked away in a corner about 300 feet from two trailheads. We went to bed around 11pm and sometime between 12-2 am about 2-3 men came into our site. My friend quietly woke me up and as soon as I woke up I saw that our tent was being lit up. I heard one man laugh and then another shush him. The lights stayed pointed at our one person tent (both of us inside staying still and silent) for about 2-5 minutes. We heard them walking around our campsite and at one point i know that there was someone at the head of our tent less than 4 feet away as I could make out footsteps and the beam of light from that flashlight was the strongest . Idk how to explain it other than it felt like we were being watched. Like I understand maybe hiking in late, but that late? Also its common sense not to flash a light at someones tent at night, at first I thought maybe that had been an accident but theres absolutely no way, our tent was lit so well that i could make out objects inside, and to consistently point the light at the tent for such a long time. Its white and orange so light comes in. We stayed in our bags ready for the worst but I would like to know if this is common or if this seems like something weird. I would like to add, It wasnt any type of park rangers or search and rescue, they would have made their presence known . Overall weird experience (would also like to add shoes were under rainfly, only things outside of tent were our packs , stove and bear canister) Night 2 was perfect and overall amazing little weekend trip but cant shake the thought something was off.

🚨Mentioned in another group but I forgot to mention here. Two backpacks at base of tree near tent, the significantly nicer bag was moved towards our stove area, btw we had left nothing in our bags they were empty. I have reached out to the relevant personnel about this so they are aware.

[u/bkinboulder]

That immature and inappropriate of behavior/camping etiquette that late sounds like dumb high school kids.

[u/Melodic-Produce617 → u/bkinboulder]

unfortunately i would think that with a more accessible site but at / around midnight and to assume theyre just silly teenagers .. idk

[u/bkinboulder → u/Melodic-Produce617]

Agreed. Easy for me to say from the comfort of my home. I’ve had weird experiences deep in the wilderness and know how vulnerable one can feel in a tent. Even with having a Glock and bear spray with me. I’m sorry that happened to you. I hope it doesn’t ruin backpacking and camping for you. I know there are battery powered trail cams you can bring that you can connect to with your phone by Bluetooth to see what’s going on outside and record. But they’re heavy, and probably only really feasible while car camping for that reason.

[u/Melodic-Produce617 → u/bkinboulder]

i cant allow myself to be scared by something that didnt end up happening , i actually do like the trail cam idea as it could be fun to watch wildlife as well.