My personal quest for the North American Yeti

[UM-Bot]

Yetihunter: My personal interest in the North American yeti, sasquatch, or bigfoot as the creature is commonly called began innocently enough. As a young teen I read the account of the Patterson footage and found the story very interesting. Some of the stills from the film were quite compelling. It seemed to me like bigfoot was a real creature just awaiting scientific discovery. Time passes, things change, people grow older, more mature, and in need of employment. Such was my life. The twelve or thirteen year old boy became a young man in need of a life of his own. After a stint in the U.S. Army, and four years of college, I found myself employed with one of the world's top corporations. In the space of a few years I discovered that professional success afforded me a significant amount of free time. I quickly tired of the corporate "cookie cutter" mentality. I began to think that true success was measured by the ability to pursue one's own interests. This philosophy I chased with gusto. I began to return to the things/interests/hobbies that I really enjoyed as a youth.

I pursued dozens of hobbies - literally. I tried my hand at everything from backpacking to writing. During this time of personal growth and exploration I fulfilled many lifetime dreams and ambitions. I began to believe that with the proper amount of preparation and determination almost anything was possible. I wrote a novel. I learned how to cook. I climbed mountains. I joined a rock band and had the good fortune of doing a few studio albums. The list goes on and on. By the time the list was complete, I had become a pretty solid outdoorsman. My friends even called me "The Guyver" because of a seemingly innate ability to rig stuff up out in the woods with nothing more than parachute cord and twine. One night I dreamt of the California condor. I knew that about a dozen of the large soaring birds had recently been reintroduced to the Los Padres National Forest, not far from my home. I decided to hop on an old four-stroke trail bike with a backpack and pair of binoculars and try my luck. After about two years of halfhearted searching - just poking around in the woods on weekends, my efforts were rewarded. I observed the condor in the wild. The circumstances of that sighting were amazing. I first discovered the nest of a breeding pair of golden eagles. I sat down, pulled out my binoculars, and proceeded to observe them while having lunch. They were huge and beautiful. One flew off and I followed on the trail bike. It was remarkably quiet and underpowered, perfect for following the bird.

When I reached the top of a ridge a few miles away I spotted the condor. It was unmistakable. It was even larger than the eagle. What happened next was astounding! I don't think that it would be a stretch to say that I am one of only a few people alive that's seen a golden eagle and a condor engage in a dogfight. That's exactly what happened. It didn't last long; the golden eagle kicked the condor's butt and chased it away. Anyway, that observation was such a thrill; it just cemented my love for the outdoors and for observing nature. I said all of that to say this. I began to wonder about the existence of bigfoot. I was curious, and began to look into the phenomenon like any other person would, I bought some books. One specific book (very well written) by John Green got me thinking that many of the sightings were authentic. This was a few years after the internet became widely used and information was beginning to show up there. After some time, I decided I had to know for sure, one way or the other.

I began to make plans for excursions into the wilderness areas of Northern California. At first I disguised my intentions with fishing trips and backpacking ventures so that I could get my friends to go. I didn't want to go alone, and I didn't want people to think that I was crazy. Those first few trips were great fun, but no sightings or evidence of bigfoot turned up. I finally decided that I had to get serious if I was going to find out for sure. I wanted to prove to myself that this creature either was, or was not. That's when I saw the documentary 'Sasquatch: The Legend Meets Science.' It was very convincing. Jimmy Chilcutt's professional opinion was difficult to dismiss, as was the Skookum Cast. I was now about 99.9% convinced that the sasquatch was indeed an undiscovered species of bipedal ape. But, I wanted to see one for myself. I became quite a computer nut as I constantly searched the web for new information on the subject. I daily checked my favorite bigfoot sites to see if anything new had turned up. I joined an online discussion group and that's where I found someone who was crazy enough to go stomping through the woods with me in search of the sasquatch.

We packed up enough gear and supplies to last about 3 weeks and took off. We selected an old-growth forest in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest of Washington State as our primary search zone. Our first week was spent in or near a place called Indian Heaven Wilderness. Most people, even locals, are not aware of the place but it has an interesting history. Various tribes of Native Americans used to gather there in the summers to harvest berries and compete in a form of competition similar to our Olympics. To this day the tracks from their horse races can still be seen. We employed a number of tactics in search of the elusive sasquatch, all to no avail. I should mention that it was the middle of June and there was more rain than I have ever seen in my whole life. I couldn't believe how hard it could pour down. We finally decided to head into town for a day or two until the rain stopped. It was about forty miles to the nearest small town. When we finally arrived we found that the town's one hotel was full. We were referred to a B&B down the street; the only other lodging in the area. I hate B&B's but beggars can't be choosers. Once we got all situated and settled in we decided to go speak to the owners. The place was owned by a married couple who had been in the area for many years. We spoke to the "misses" first.

She was curious as to what brought us in so we just came right out and told her. She didn't really seem too surprised although she did confess that locals didn't talk too much about the sasquatch. Their opinion is that the scientists have concluded that bigfoot can't exist, so therefore it must not. Anyone who actually "believes" in such a thing must be crazy. After a brief but polite conversation she admitted that her husband had a story that we should hear. The husband was a country man. I have a real appreciation for his kind. They strike me as being as honest as the day is long. I've had people like this take me into their homes no questions asked and treat me like family. They remind me of what America used to be like. Anyway, this quiet unassuming man proceeded to tell us the story of his sasquatch encounter. He didn't seem too excited to tell it, and let us know that it had been many years since he had. His encounter happened many years prior. I think he said twenty or thirty years ago. Anyway, he was a young man out hunting elk in the Goat Rocks area of Gifford-Pinchot. As night began to approach he made camp and a dense fog rolled in. Not long after it was completely dark he began to hear noises. He heard what sounded to him like a man walking around out in the bush. He called out several times, but no answer. He shouted that he had a gun and if anyone was messing around they could get shot. He was carrying his elk rifle and also had holstered a .357 magnum for back-up. All of the sudden he heard the most terrifying scream that you could imagine. He said it was incredibly loud and seemed to come from only twenty or thirty feet away. It scared him so bad he was paralyzed. He curled up in his tent holding his handgun next to his chest and lay there all night. He couldn't sleep a wink. He informed us that "the thing" out there was no bear; he was sure of that. He told us that for what seemed like several hours the creature stomped around outside muttering like a crazy person would. Needless to say this experience really shook him up and he never went to that area again. He said that he's never heard anything like that before or since. He's never seen a sasquatch but he's pretty sure that's what was outside his tent that night.

Well, that story motivated us. We both believed this guy 100%. We checked our maps and located the Goat Rocks area. It was only about 70 miles from where we were. We had already made plans to search the area near Mt. St. Helen's where the Skookum Cast was made and to set out some bait traps. We decided that after searching Skookum Meadows we would explore the Goat Rocks area for a few days. As luck would have it, the next day was clear. We checked the weather report and found out that there was no rain in sight. We packed up our gear and headed back into the bush. Within a couple of hours Mt. St. Helen's was in sight. We were on an old forest service road leading to the Skookum Meadow. We used a GPS unit to locate the exact location of the Skookum Casting. After looking around for a few, we continued on down the road to find a good place to camp. We found one a few miles later. We made camp on a knoll overlooking a river. It was nice and grassy in an old clear-cut area and we had good visibility for about 50 yards in each direction. After setting up camp we hiked in to the Skookum Meadow (which should be called Skookum swamp) to set up some bait traps. It took us two hours to hike the 1/2 mile back to camp. We literally got stuck in that swamp about every 20 yards or so. Anyway, a short way down the road from our campsite we found another good place to set a bait trap. Past the river, there was a clearing about 75 yards around. It must have been made to store the heavy equipment used to make the forest service road many years prior. We noticed a game trail at the west end of the clearing leading into the tree line. We set a bait trap and headed back to camp.

Once at camp we did the normal routine cooking dinner and cleaning up the mess. One must be very aware of the presence of bears in an area like this. Improper handling of food can lead to some encounters of the unwanted kind. As dusk was approaching we sat in front of our tent and took in our surroundings. We were camping many miles from any civilization including paved roads, and there were no humans to be found near us, period. As we sat in the complete, almost spooky silence of the deep forest, we began to hear bears approaching. They paid us a healthy respect and gave us a perimeter of maybe one hundred yards all around. By this time it was almost dark and we could hear their grunting and bawling noises that seemed a coordinated type of communication. We prepped our firearms just to be on the safe side and listened. As we listened to these bears all around, it occurred to us that we must be camped directly in their normal path to the river. They must be informing each other to beware of the two rednecks with guns camped nearby, or so we thought. That's when we heard the roar of the sasquatch. It came suddenly, and with incredible force. A roar that echoed through the area and emanated from the river bottom directly in front of us shook us to the core.

This sound was nothing like the bears that we had been listening to. It was easily ten times more powerful, deeper, more resonant and much scarier. We froze eyes and mouths wide open and listened. We could hear bears scampering away at full speed, running away from the sound. Then there was total silence again.I had spent years dreaming of a moment like this. We had night vision gear, cameras, guns, and low light binoculars, and I couldn't care less. My friend said that he wasn't scared, but neither one of us made a step toward the river. The bottom line is this. The only other animal that I know of with enough size and lung capacity to create the sound we heard is the grizzly bear. To my knowledge there are no grizzly bears in that portion of Washington State. In fact, it is my understanding that there are no grizzlies in the state whatsoever. If there were, I would be packing something heavier than a 9mm on my hip. In my opinion nothing smaller than a .44 magnum would be acceptable for such a purpose. In any event, neither of us ventured outside of camp. We decided it would be best to wait until daylight and search for tracks. That's exactly what we did. At first light we were up. We searched the immediate area but found no tracks. We then proceeded to our bait site, a couple of miles down the road. We found tracks all right. They were 18 inches long! And, the bait site had been completely scattered. We found teeth marks in the cantaloupe and the rinds had been left on the ground. Potatoes had not been touched, but all of the fruit had been eaten. I can tell you one thing for sure. Those tracks were not made by a grizzly bear. They were sasquatch tracks. They were shaped exactly like a bare human foot, only twice as long!Unfortunately, the tracks were not very deep. The ground there was filled with rocks.

Small, broken chunks of rock with little dirt filled the entire area. I am six feet tall, weigh 205 pounds, and even with heavy boots on I couldn't leave an impression on the ground. I jumped up and down repeatedly and still barely made a mark. The prints that we found were embedded about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch in the ground. We could see them with our eyes, but felt that they wouldn't make a very good cast. We decided against the attempt. Instead, I had the brilliant idea of repeating the incident. I was certain that the animal that ate the fruit would return again during the night. I decided that we would improve our bait trap by adding soft soil all around. We spent a couple of hours retrieving that soft soil. It was not easy to find. We drove down the road a couple of miles and dug soft dirt out of a hillside. We then returned to the bait site and spread the dirt all around the fruit. I was sure that this time we would get some awesome impressions, but it was not meant to be. As we were finishing up the bait site we heard crashing noises in the surrounding brush. It was loud and startled us, but be couldn't see anything. We grabbed our video cameras and began filming while backing up toward the truck. We couldn't see any animals, but something large was nearby. We stood near the truck for about ten minutes but all remained quiet. We decided to return to camp. We were both so excited we were giggling. We were convinced that we had heard a sasquatch and found physical evidence of its presence.

I began to think about the size of the creature. It was not easy to forget the sound that we heard the night before. I would like to remind readers that we were only about 2 miles from the location of the Skookum Cast. I knew that the Patterson creature had left foot impressions measuring 14.5 inches in length and most height estimates of that creature are around 7 feet. I did some rudimentary mathematical calculations using ratio and proportion and determined that the creature near us was around 8.7 or nearly nine feet tall! I got a mental image of a dark creature covered with hair, able to see at night, standing on two legs, nine feet tall and three to four feet wide at the shoulder with the creepy ability to sneak up on me unnoticed. Needless to say, those thoughts were rather intimidating. That is the basic story. That night a heavy rain moved in. It rained all night long. It was still sprinkling the next morning. Our improved bait site was untouched and completely washed out. The soft soil that we had so painstakingly imported was gone. I was sick and tired of rain and I missed my wife and kids. I felt that I had received what I came for and I was ready to leave. I had proved to myself, almost beyond the shadow of doubt, in spite of what anyone else says, sasquatch is out there. I was certain that the tracks we found had not been faked. There were no people near us at all. Even though the place where the tracks were found was accessible by dirt road, we would have heard any approaching vehicles.

Unless you have spent some time in the woods, you don't know how sound travels there. And since we were the only humans camped in the area for days, maybe weeks or even months, no one would have known to come to our area and try to fake bigfoot tracks. Besides that, unless you had heavy gauge metal footprints and a really heavy hammer, you would not have made a dent in that ground. I don't know why a body or the bones of a sasquatch have not yet been discovered but it seems to me that at some point they will. The sworn testimony of credible eyewitnesses like deputies and highway patrol men, added to the dermal ridges left behind on tracks should be enough to convince us of the creatures existence, but I know it's not. In any event, it's an intriguing mystery and I feel that those few who have seen the sasquatch are fortunate.

[reverie]

This is funny stuff, full of sensationalism from beginning to end. It reads like a Hemingway novel. The gun-happy writer, and others like him, will never see a sasquatch. Sasquatch are not seen unless they *want* to be seen. I met a sasquatch in 1979; he stood almost within arms' reach of me. They are large and a bit odoriferous, but their presence is not scarey. They are wise and benevolent, and their wisdom is from an ancient line of knowledge that is unrelated to Occidental knowledge. They prefer to be called Lairds, and the term is appropriate. They are very special, and they are to be respected.

[:PsYKoTiC:BeHAvIoR:]

Woo, that was a loong read. My conclusion: apparently, a redneck on drugs is particularly bad.

[Veritas81]

This is funny stuff, full of sensationalism from beginning to end. It reads like a Hemingway novel. The gun-happy writer, and others like him, will never see a sasquatch. Sasquatch are not seen unless they *want* to be seen. I met a sasquatch in 1979; he stood almost within arms' reach of me. They are large and a bit odoriferous, but their presence is not scarey. They are wise and benevolent, and their wisdom is from an ancient line of knowledge that is unrelated to Occidental knowledge. They prefer to be called Lairds, and the term is appropriate. They are very special, and they are to be respected.

Hehe. You make Yeti sound like they're part Ent. LOL

Anyway, I think Yeti have all died out just like Nessie. They DID exist but they were living fossils and now they're extinct. It's not like we gave them much of an option...

[reverie]

Everyone has their own path in life. I wish you well.

[Guyver]

I was happy to see that my article was posted. Disturbed by the comments. What's that about? I wonder if the people responding to my account of a 3 week bush crash have the guts to camp out 1 night in their own back yard.

[Smeagol1]

I must say Im fasinated by the bigfoot/yeti/yowie so much it's part of my life goal to go looking for it. If you go look in the image gallery you can find my foot print pic in the bigfoot gallery.

also you should pm a member named piney I show him stuff in the woods I find he's practilly a expert on the creature he sends me stuff from the pine barrens.

[Piney]

also you should pm a member named piney I show him stuff in the woods I find he's practilly a expert on the creature he sends me stuff from the pine barrens.

Thanks for the plug Smeags. I act as guide for a BFRO researcher in New Jersey when he comes to the Pine Barrens. But because we are both really busy at our respective jobs we do not get out much.

Lapiche

[airika]

I was happy to see that my article was posted. Disturbed by the comments. What's that about? I wonder if the people responding to my account of a 3 week bush crash have the guts to camp out 1 night in their own back yard.

I must say my dear, although I have been quite intrigued by the thought, and the many accounts of bigfoot, I have never seen one. I would love to be able to say, with out a doubt, that they exist. I wish you luck in all of your research, and you're far more brave then I. An allergy to pine, and a phobia of large hair creatures shall keep me from the woods. LOL.

[MissMelsWell]

I'm not sure where this story came from, but it was a fun read. I am inclined to think whoever wrote it was definitely a resident of Washington State and has some pretty in-depth knowledge of the area. The names, locations and and descriptions are dead on for Gifford-Pinchot and the Skookum areas. And the author is correct that there are no Grizzly's in that area. (and nice photo at the top that looks like it's the south east end of Reflection Lake on Mt. Rainier)

I'm a skeptic, no question... but my grandmother had a 1,000 acre ranch in the very north east corner of Wa. State and she swears up until the day she died that she had a run in with a WHITE yetti on her ranch. She was a rancher and a university educated artist... but one that was completely devoid of any imagination (her paintings while beautiful, reinforced that she lacked any imagination. She strictly painted pastorals exactly as they looked. haha) I trust she saw something she could not explain, and it behaved oddly and I think due to her training as a painter, she described it exactly as she saw it. This event occured in 1972 or so. Knowing her as well as I did... if she claims she saw a Yetti, she probably did... or saw something that could only be described as one, but it was creature she couldn't identify. She only saw it once. I can't say what it was and she never really could either.

[Malakthrin]

I was happy to see that my article was posted. Disturbed by the comments. What's that about? I wonder if the people responding to my account of a 3 week bush crash have the guts to camp out 1 night in their own back yard.

The article was quite good and I am a firm believer in the sasquatch. However, please forgive my skepticism, but could you prove you wrote the article? I believe you, but it's just the way I am.

I happen to camp in backyard quite often during the summer, I find it refreshing. I would love to go and look for proof of sasquatch like you did, but I can't even find time to go camping, and besides, I don't really like putting myself in potentially-dangerous situations.

Good article though!

[Saru]

However, please forgive my skepticism, but could you prove you wrote the article? I believe you, but it's just the way I am.

I can confirm that this article was indeed written by Yetihunter, thanks for sending it in to us.

[Malakthrin]

I can confirm that this article was indeed written by Yetihunter, thanks for sending it in to us.

Alright then, thank you SaRuMaN!

[Paville]

I was happy to see that my article was posted. Disturbed by the comments. What's that about? I wonder if the people responding to my account of a 3 week bush crash have the guts to camp out 1 night in their own back yard.

i wouldve believed you, if you didnt say you were carrying all this filming equipment, cameras etc, and you didnt take a single photo of the print. and didnt upload the moment when you filmed it rummaging in the bushes or whatever that was.

[The Skeptic Eric Raven]

I was happy to see that my article was posted. Disturbed by the comments. What's that about? I wonder if the people responding to my account of a 3 week bush crash have the guts to camp out 1 night in their own back yard.

Your narrative sounds like a fictional story. Bring us a body. Then we will believe.

I actually thought I saw one growing up in the woods of north Alabama, but I was a kid.

Edited March 24, 2007 by ericraven2003

[Guyver]

Alright then, thank you SaRuMaN!

You said that you would've believed me if I had taken pictures of the print? Of course I took pictures of the print. I filmed the entire event on my digital camcorder. The prints actually look better on film than in real life. I was never with out the camera. I always had it at the ready. I was hoping to film a sasquatch. Does that sound naive or what? Once an elk bolted not more than 60 feet in front of me. By the time I got the camera up, it was gone.

To be honest, the comments posted by readers have taken me by surprise. I thought more people would enjoy reading about my experience. I wasn't prepared for the level of weirdness that goes on here. I wasn't concerned about people believing my story when I wrote it. I was just trying my best to do a good job writing the account. It was sort of a catharsis for me, because I've taken alot of flak over the whole sasquatch thing. I knew that the article was long and purposely left out a lot. The bottom line for me is this...I came to the conclusion that the evidence proved that a large ape was out there. I found that possibility fascinating and did my best to prove it to myself. I think that I did a good job with that. They say that seeing is believing.... I wonder.

[Malakthrin]

Alright then, thank you SaRuMaN!

You said that you would've believed me if I had taken pictures of the print? Of course I took pictures of the print. I filmed the entire event on my digital camcorder. The prints actually look better on film than in real life. I was never with out the camera. I always had it at the ready. I was hoping to film a sasquatch. Does that sound naive or what? Once an elk bolted not more than 60 feet in front of me. By the time I got the camera up, it was gone.

To be honest, the comments posted by readers have taken me by surprise. I thought more people would enjoy reading about my experience. I wasn't prepared for the level of weirdness that goes on here. I wasn't concerned about people believing my story when I wrote it. I was just trying my best to do a good job writing the account. It was sort of a catharsis for me, because I've taken alot of flak over the whole sasquatch thing. I knew that the article was long and purposely left out a lot. The bottom line for me is this...I came to the conclusion that the evidence proved that a large ape was out there. I found that possibility fascinating and did my best to prove it to myself. I think that I did a good job with that. They say that seeing is believing.... I wonder.

I hope the print in bold wasn't directed at me, I did't say that, Paville did. Anyways, the article was a good read. I would love to see the pictures if you could show us

[Guyver]

You said that you would've believed me if I had taken pictures of the print? Of course I took pictures of the print. I filmed the entire event on my digital camcorder. The prints actually look better on film than in real life. I was never with out the camera. I always had it at the ready. I was hoping to film a sasquatch. Does that sound naive or what? Once an elk bolted not more than 60 feet in front of me. By the time I got the camera up, it was gone.

To be honest, the comments posted by readers have taken me by surprise. I thought more people would enjoy reading about my experience. I wasn't prepared for the level of weirdness that goes on here. I wasn't concerned about people believing my story when I wrote it. I was just trying my best to do a good job writing the account. It was sort of a catharsis for me, because I've taken alot of flak over the whole sasquatch thing. I knew that the article was long and purposely left out a lot. The bottom line for me is this...I came to the conclusion that the evidence proved that a large ape was out there. I found that possibility fascinating and did my best to prove it to myself. I think that I did a good job with that. They say that seeing is believing.... I wonder.

I hope the print in bold wasn't directed at me, I did't say that, Paville did. Anyways, the article was a good read. I would love to see the pictures if you could show us

Your right - sorry about that I hit the wrong reply button. As far as the pictures go, they are on the internet already. They are posted on the cryptobipedalprimatology group page. The footprints don't look too good but the chewed up rinds came out pretty good. My partner was taking all of the digital stills so technically they're his property. I was using the camcorder as I mentioned. As I said in the article, I thought we could improve the bait site and get some really good prints that we could cast. That was a rookie mistake. Anyway, thanks for your comments.

PS. The photo included in the article is from Thomas Lake in the Indian Heaven Wilderness of Gifford-Pinchot.

[Mad Manfred]

You said that you would've believed me if I had taken pictures of the print? Of course I took pictures of the print. I filmed the entire event on my digital camcorder. The prints actually look better on film than in real life. I was never with out the camera. I always had it at the ready. I was hoping to film a sasquatch. Does that sound naive or what? Once an elk bolted not more than 60 feet in front of me. By the time I got the camera up, it was gone.

To be honest, the comments posted by readers have taken me by surprise. I thought more people would enjoy reading about my experience. I wasn't prepared for the level of weirdness that goes on here. I wasn't concerned about people believing my story when I wrote it. I was just trying my best to do a good job writing the account. It was sort of a catharsis for me, because I've taken alot of flak over the whole sasquatch thing. I knew that the article was long and purposely left out a lot. The bottom line for me is this...I came to the conclusion that the evidence proved that a large ape was out there. I found that possibility fascinating and did my best to prove it to myself. I think that I did a good job with that. They say that seeing is believing.... I wonder.

Welcome to the boards

That's just the way a lot of people are 'round here. You'll get used to it.

[tiki16]

Excellent story Yetihunter, Are you planning anymore excursions? What amazes me are the sightings from all over N. America and not just the Pacific North West. There are some recent sightings near, where I live. There is a lot of bush in the area and a friend noted that in the sighting area there were no deer to be found during hunting season this year but the year before they were abounding. I believe these creatures exist and are probably migratory.

[Sharm]

I enjoyed reading the article

Imagine the video we would be watching now if you had installed a night camera at the bait trap.

Personally, I don't think the Sasquatch will take the bait a second time as it already saw you there when you were improving the trap.

What's your next plan? Another trip?

[Malakthrin]

Your right - sorry about that I hit the wrong reply button. As far as the pictures go, they are on the internet already. They are posted on the cryptobipedalprimatology group page. The footprints don't look too good but the chewed up rinds came out pretty good. My partner was taking all of the digital stills so technically they're his property. I was using the camcorder as I mentioned. As I said in the article, I thought we could improve the bait site and get some really good prints that we could cast. That was a rookie mistake. Anyway, thanks for your comments.

PS. The photo included in the article is from Thomas Lake in the Indian Heaven Wilderness of Gifford-Pinchot.

No harm done. About to check out the pictures.

[Guyver]

Excellent story Yetihunter, Are you planning anymore excursions? What amazes me are the sightings from all over N. America and not just the Pacific North West. There are some recent sightings near, where I live. There is a lot of bush in the area and a friend noted that in the sighting area there were no deer to be found during hunting season this year but the year before they were abounding. I believe these creatures exist and are probably migratory.

Nice!! It looks as though this thread has survived the attempts of destruction by the first two commentators who sit unencumbered by the burdens of employment or a social life, and hurl insults from the relative safety of their parent's basement via the magic of the modern computer.

But seriously, I don't know if the sasquatch is migratory or territorial, but based on the fact that every tribe of Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest is familiar with the creature and have their own distinct names for them, I would guess they are territorial. I may even venture to say that they avoid areas where they would have to compete with the grizzly bear, for obvious reasons. There are reports of sasquatch eating deer and fish which would make them omnivorous, like the grizzly.

For readers who do study this subject...the very name Skookum was coined by Native Americans who refused to enter certain areas around St. Helen's for fear of the creatures. Miners in the area referred to them as mountain devils. Also, if you happened to see the Autumn Williams show "Mysterious Encounters" you may remember that she did a show from the very area that we were, where the Skookum Cast was made, and I think that Rick Knoll was a guest on that episode. They captured two images - one on a game-trakker, and the other on a FLIR camera. The latter was very compelling to me because a man in a monkey suit would not have the sheer body mass that appeared on that image. In fact, there was contrast by a normal human in the same frame. It appeared as though the sasquatch was following the person from the tree line. You could see that the "creature" was twice as wide as the normal human. Considering thermal imaging technology, you know that is almost impossible to fake. You would have to devise a suit that would give off a constant heat signature of 98 degrees. I suppose it's possible, but very unlikely. It is my opinion that at least one sasquatch lives in the vicinity of the Skookum swamp. I also believe that it's possible we heard the very creature that made the imprints on the Skookum Cast. In any event, it's an awesome mystery and one that I will continue to look into. Thanks for the positive comments and best wishes.

[The Skeptic Eric Raven]

Nice!! It looks as though this thread has survived the attempts of destruction by the first two commentators who sit unencumbered by the burdens of employment or a social life, and hurl insults from the relative safety of their parent's basement via the magic of the modern computer.

If that insult was targeted to me I dont appreciate it. I make a 6 figure income in real estate and have quite a good social life. I am 35. To be skeptical is not bad. Just logical. Talking of no social life. I am not in the woods for weeks chasing after a mythological creature. PM if you have any questions.

Edited March 25, 2007 by ericraven2003

[Guyver]

If that insult was targeted to me I dont appreciate it. I make a 6 figure income in real estate and have quite a good social life. I am 35. To be skeptical is not bad. Just logical. Talking of no social life. I am not in the woods for weeks chasing after a mythological creature. PM if you have any questions.

No, I was not directing an insult at you. I was refering to the first posters in the thread that accused me of being a "red neck on drugs." But it does seem as though you are a little sensitive.