Report 11948: Quad riders find fresh footprints, encounter overwhelming stench near Stumpy Meadows

My husband and I were out quading up by Stumpy Meadows, that is up out of Georgetown, California.  I have lived in that area for roughly 40 years.  I have smelt some awful smells up there in the woods.  This day my husband and I rode down this one road and found out it didn't go anywhere, so we turned around and rode back out.  I went out ahead of him, I got far enough ahead that I couldn't see him when turned to look to see if he was following.  Anyway I stopped to wait for him. I thought I smelt someting dead, or  like something peed there more then once. It was a really strong smell.  My first thought was a bear.  While  I was sitting there looking around I got this wierd feeling that some one was watching me.  I was really getting scared, I always carry a 44 mag with me, so I figure I can be pretty much safe when I'm out there, but not this time.  I decided to go find my husband, as I started my quad up I heard a branch break.  I'm still thinking bear, but the smell was awful. I started to pull away and I looked down and there over the tracks we made earlier going down the road were the biggest footprints I have ever seen, then I knew that was no bear. I took off, I got about ten feet down the road when my husband pulled up.  He looked at me and said what's up?, you see a snake? So I showed him the tracks. Now my husband is the type of guy that would have to be knocked down by a bigfoot before he would believe.  Then still he would say it was something else. He said that because the road was so dusty that the prints  looked larger then they actually were.  He said he didn't smell anything but a faint smell of something dead.  I wanted to believed him.  I never went back to that area again.