Buffalo River Arkansas, November 13, 2015
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On 11/13/15 my two friends and I floated the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas. We float year around and take the opportunity to winter float/camp when weather cooperates in order to miss the crowds. We arrived at Maumee north access site at about 10pm Friday evening and set up camp on the far end of the gravel bar on the north side of the river. 
All three of us were exhausted after working all day and driving several hours to get there. We consider ourselves experienced outdoorsman as we have been all over North American waters. At this point we had our fire built and two were enjoying the first beer of the night and I a cigar. 
After about an hour my one friend was pretty exhausted and turned in first and within 5 min he was snoring loud. My other friend and I stayed up maybe another 20-30min and once the fire was about gone we too said it was time to crash out. He headed to his tent and I mine. All three of our tents were about 50 feet apart to ensure we didn’t hear each other snore at night. Mine was further away and closer to the steep river bank that headed up to the flood plain and the other two were well out on the gravel bar. 
As I reached for the zipper on my tent, way off in the distance up river I heard this primal scream type roar which was some distance from us. It was forceful. I stopped unzipping my tent and said what the hell was that under my breath. I have heard every type animal in the wild. I listened some more and heard nothing. It made such an impact on me as I was settling in my tent I kept thinking what in the world could that have been. After comparing notes with my friend later he did not hear what I heard as he was making more noise in his tent. It is very hard to judge distance on something like this that happens fast but the best estimate was that it was somewhere at the half mile range plus or minus. I don’t know if it was in the river valley with us or on a mountain top, all I know it was up river somewhere and a ways off. The weather was drop dead silent, zero wind, 28 degrees, frost, river at 3.72ft. I keep a log of all our trips. It was so quiet out you could hear anything and everything that made a noise and there was nothing. 
I have estimated that approximately 8 to 10min from the first time I heard it, at what we feel was about 30-40 yds, perhaps closer, was the loudest blood curling scream we have EVER heard. So loud you could feel it in your chest from the deep vibration, so loud that our friend who was in a coma snoring loud instantly stopped as if someone nudged him to quit snoring. It was maybe half the length of an elk bugle but a roar that sounded….well you guessed it, like a giant ass gorilla trying to yell….it was very deep and loud. Extremely startling and it was not happy. It was very quiet out and to hear something this powerful this close was flat out disturbing. My friend said …My God What the F&$@ Was That? My survival instincts kicked in, I had a major adrenalin dump and my heart was racing and I was laying there silently trying to listen to hear it move. My friend went totally quite. This thing was big and holy crap this thing was close, I mean real close. I honestly thought whatever it was it is going to kill us right here right now. It was angry and apparently does not like sharing. There is no way a human can yell this loud without a PA system. 
As slowly as I could trying not to make any noise I got into my dry bag and got my gun out. Every move sounded loud as it was an absolute quite night. My friend had pulled his gun out also and we both lay in our tents with our guns in our hands straining to hear something. There was zero noise made by this creature after that. Had it moved across the gravel parking lot we were close to we would have heard it no problem. Had it moved through the brush coming closer or retreating we would have heard it. Had it come down on the gravel bar or crossed the river it would have made huge amounts of noise. I can’t stress how quite it was out, we heard nothing. It must have moved back in the same direction it approached us from and did it quietly.
My friend and I lay in our tents totally silent, neither of us wanted to say anything not knowing where this thing was or what was going to happen as we tried to listen for it. I estimated I laid in my tent for maybe 30-45min trying to listen and go over it in my head what this thing could possibly be. When I finally calmed down I was totally exhausted at this point and fell asleep with my gun by my side. My friend laid in his tent for an hour and a half and he fell asleep with his gun in his hand.
The next morning my friend who had gone to bed first and sleep through it, was walking on the gravel bar getting ready to make breakfast. I was startled awake hearing footsteps on the gravel so close to us and rose up fast and was so relieved it was day light out. My other friend and I come barreling out of our tents and started the process of explaining with one another the sequence of events the night before. We walked up and looked everywhere for foot prints and found none. There was very little mud or other places that would have left foot prints. We looked everywhere.
We got in our boats floated 9 miles and camped again. That night three grown men wore our guns in the holsters on our hips, had a huge fire and our tents were in close proximity to each other. None of us strayed outside the glow of the campfire that night as we tried to make sense of it all. Nothing else happened the remainder of the trip.