Untitled Sighting

At approx. 2 am, 35 campers were awakened to the most god awful screams in the woods. They sounded like a wounded animal and we thought maybe a wounded cougar. Others in the campground thought it may be a bear. 6 of us went to try and determine the source of the noise. We entered the woods to the east of the campground. We used flashlights to light our way and I was in lead and went towards the noise. It seemed fairly close to us. By this time the screams had gone on for 5-10 minutes already. As we drew near the noise, which was emanating approx 200-300 ft from the perimeter of the campground, we smelled a foul smell. It smelled like animal droppings mixed with other odors. The forest around us sounded very loud with brush movement and cracking wood. We decided quickly that we needed to retreat back to the campground. I personally didn’t want to have to come face to face with a bear or whatever it was. We got back to campground and had a general agreement amongst us that it may be something unexplainable. The noise continued for maybe 20-25 minutes total. It faded off to the east with what sounded like another similar noise coming from the south. After these particular screams stopped, we could hear the coyotes howling for another 20 minutes. It was a very strange and weird experience. I have never heard anything like this in my life. I have spent alot of time outdoors and I have never experienced anything like this. The next day was nice and we ascended Mt St Helens with no incidents or sightings to report.