Report 24714: Two hunters hear vocalizations they cannot identify near Randle

My brother and I were out for a weekend of deer hunting in one of my favorite haunts in the Gifford Pinchot Nat. Forest.  A couple years back we had found a closed road that lead up to an enchanting pocket of old growth forest which allowed for decent visibility yet had vegetation that would seem to be sufficient to hide and feed wildlife.  I find old growth forests magical, but my brother found this spot somewhat spooky, due to its isolation and dead still quiet.  Nonetheless, we walked the 1.5 miles up the road into this forest, where the road terminates in a small ridge and a pocket of thick, second growth fir beyond that.  We seperated about 75 yards and sat for about a half hour just watching and listening.  That's when we heard some unusual sounds.  To my mind, they were kind of like a bird hoot or something, but the sounds were loud and nothing I'd ever heard before (not an owl).  These sounds occurred two or three times.  When my brother and I reunited, we both mentioned these sounds to each other and were confused because they were unusual to us both.  He did not think they sounded at all like a bird.  Since we had been out all day, we then decided to retire and head back down the trail.  About 6 months later we came upon the "Whoop Howl" sounds on the BFRO site and were both astounded to find that these were very similar to the sounds that we had heard during our hunting trip.