An account in Humboldt County, California

This was a long time ago where I grew up in northern California. I lived in a small town called Piercy, California about 17 miles from Garberville. This encounter was located in a small mill town called Myers Flat. Two friends and I were hunting up an old logging road roughly 2 miles up the mountain across the Eel River from the town. I was far ahead of my friends and decided to scare them as they came up the trail so I climbed up some rock cliffs for a better advantage and settled down within some Huckleberry bushes to wait for my friends. After things quieted down I noticed a heavy smell and started looking around. The breeze was blowing straight from the brush behind me and I felt the hair on my neck starting to rise up. My two friend were nowhere in sight. I noticed a small movement in the berry bushes right behind me. I stood up ready to run when this thing stood up also. It didn't hesitate but turned and walked off into the brush. I heard trees snapping and the crunch of dry leaves echo away as I ran back to my friends who were still two hundred yards away. After I calmed down we went back to the spot to look for some sign. They believed I saw a bear but I know what I saw. We found where something was squatted down and stripping berries. I had disturbed its meal. Small trees were just broken off about 4 feet from the ground as the thing made its retreat.