WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:10.039 Wow, I have one for you that happened to me 2 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.439 in the backwoods of Arkansas back in the early nineties. 3 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:15.519 I don't mind if you use my first name, but 4 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.120 let's keep my last name between you and I. My 5 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:22.120 name is Eli, and this is my story. In nineteen 6 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.199 ninety four, I was thirteen years old. I used to 7 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.839 stay at my grandparents' house, a lot out in the 8 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:32.880 very rural area in southeastern Arkansas. It was a series 9 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.840 of networked dirt roads to get to their house. The 10 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:39.479 closest neighbor lived a mile and a half away, and 11 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:43.119 the closest town was ten miles down the road. It's 12 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:46.799 in the middle of farmland and it's mostly woods. They 13 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:49.560 had lived in this house since my mother was a child. 14 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:53.600 A general store served the people in the area. It 15 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.880 was a two mile walk from my grandmother's place. An 16 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.000 old lady ran the store. Her and her husband had 17 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:03.119 the store on the front of their house. They lived 18 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:06.280 in the back. My grandmother asked me if I wanted 19 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:08.439 to walk to the general store and get her a 20 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:11.239 few things. She gave me some money and I headed 21 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.040 that way. It was early in the day and I 22 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:16.719 had plenty of time to get back before dark, which 23 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:18.959 I always made sure to do when I was out 24 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:22.920 roaming about. Things can get creepy out in the backwoods 25 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:27.599 of Arkansas after nightfall. It's a darkness unlike most people 26 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.599 who have lived primarily in the cities or towns have 27 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:34.959 ever experienced. I was easily distracted at that age, and 28 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:36.959 I stopped at a creek on the way, and I 29 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.840 stayed too long, catching crawdads and throwing rocks in the water, 30 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:43.519 and then I piddled all the way to the store. 31 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:46.840 It was getting late and I picked up my pace. 32 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:50.359 By the time I left the store, it was getting dark. 33 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:53.680 I didn't want to be walking those lonely secluded roads 34 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:56.560 through the woods alone in the dark, so I heard 35 00:01:56.599 --> 00:01:59.760 as fast as I could. I would jog a while, 36 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:02.760 and then I would sprint. I was doing anything in 37 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:05.799 my power to get back as quickly as possible, but 38 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.680 it wasn't enough. By the time I made it back 39 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:11.879 to the bottom of the hill near the bridge where 40 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:15.159 I had wasted all that time earlier, it was dark. 41 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:18.039 I could see the road in the woods all around 42 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.639 me because of a glowing moon that was coming over 43 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:24.840 the horizon. It shined an eerie glow across the land 44 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:27.759 and one way, I was glad that I could see, 45 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.199 but in another the moonlight made it all very creepy. 46 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:34.400 At the top of the hill, the road was perfectly 47 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:38.000 straight and flat, with woods on the left side and 48 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.919 a large field on the right. Another half mile and 49 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.039 I would be home. I could see the porch lights 50 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.319 way off in the distance, and I felt relieved. My 51 00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:51.280 eyes were fully adjusted to the dark at this point, 52 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:53.599 and the light from the moon allowed me to see 53 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:56.560 all the way across the field on my right. I 54 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:59.840 was getting closer and had actually slowed down a bit. 55 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:03.479 I was tired from the run. I heard something in 56 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:07.240 the woods on my left. Leaves were crunching. Something was 57 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.840 walking in there. Keeping my eyes on the woods, I 58 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:13.800 kept moving. There was no way for me to see 59 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:18.080 anything clearly inside the woods, even though the moonlight was shining. 60 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:20.680 But in the ditch closest to the trees, I could 61 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:24.319 make out a dark figure. I stopped and focused on 62 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.680 that spot for a few seconds, and it was something, 63 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.680 and now it was moving towards me. I thought it 64 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:34.039 was a dog, but then I realized it was much 65 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:37.280 too large to be a dog, and then I realized 66 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:41.159 it wasn't really actually walking on four legs. It was 67 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:45.240 crawling or creeping like a person wood. I couldn't take 68 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:48.759 my eyes off this thing. A jolt of fear shot 69 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.120 through me when I realized this thing was trying to 70 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:55.159 sneak up on me. It was stalking me. I started 71 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:58.080 walking again and I kept my eyes on it only 72 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:01.759 a few yards behind me. Now. A few steps into 73 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:06.120 my walk, the thing stood upright. It was big. I'm 74 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:09.039 guessing it was seven feet tall, and it looked like 75 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:12.639 it was covered in dark hair. But it wasn't a bear. 76 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.680 Bears aren't that tall. I had never seen anything like this. 77 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:20.199 I dropped the bag of stuff that I had been carrying, 78 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:22.600 and I ran as fast as my legs could take 79 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:26.480 me towards my grandparents' house. I heard a heavy breathing 80 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.680 and a growling sound behind me. It was up on 81 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:31.600 the road with me now, and I could hear its 82 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:35.680 feet crunching the gravel. I never turned around. It was 83 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:38.680 going to catch me at any second. I couldn't make 84 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:41.920 my legs go fast enough. It was so close to 85 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:45.319 me that I closed my eyes in anticipation of it 86 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.720 grabbing me. But at that moment I heard it crash 87 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:52.319 off into the woods to my left. For whatever reason, 88 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:55.600 it had let me go. It was right on me, 89 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:57.759 and it could have taken me down if it wanted to, 90 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:01.000 but it let me go. It was a short distance 91 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.120 away into the woods. I heard a scream. I don't 92 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:07.199 think I could replicate that scream now, but I'm telling you, 93 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:11.199 I'm never going to forget that scream. By the time 94 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:13.560 I reached the house, my heart felt like it would 95 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:17.519 explode from the run and the adrenaline pumping through my body. 96 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:21.560 I flew into the house and in an incoherent mess 97 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:25.920 of hyperactive gibberish, trying to explain to my grandparents what 98 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:30.079 had just happened. My grandmother didn't really seem to believe me, 99 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.839 but she knew something had scared me. She acted weird 100 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.519 about the whole thing the rest of that night. She 101 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:39.319 said it must have been a dog, but that wasn't 102 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.839 a dog I saw on the road. The next morning, 103 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:45.720 I woke up and I found my grandpa sitting outside 104 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:49.240 whittling wood underneath the shade tree in the front yard, 105 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:52.480 as he often liked to do. I went and sat 106 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:55.759 down beside him in one of the old metal lawn chairs. 107 00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.199 He was a rational man down to earth and had 108 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:03.279 grown up and hunted that area his entire life. He 109 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:06.279 knew every square inch of that place. It was mapped 110 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:10.000 into his mind. He knew every type of critterian creature 111 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:13.399 that lived in those woods, what noises they made, where 112 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:16.720 to find them, and how to catch them, etc. I 113 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.199 had only been hunting with him for a couple of years, 114 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:21.680 but I'd been going out into those woods with him 115 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:25.160 since pretty young age on walks. He had passed a 116 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:28.439 lot of his knowledge down to me during those adventures. 117 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.000 I spoke to him about what had happened to me 118 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:33.639 the night before, and I told him that I knew 119 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:38.800 what I saw. It wasn't my overactive imagination. I wasn't 120 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.160 making it up, and it definitely was not a dog. 121 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:45.920 He knew that I wasn't just some dumb thirteen year 122 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:48.480 old kid, and he knew that I knew the things 123 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:52.240 he'd taught me. He stopped whittling, looked at me right 124 00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:55.040 in the eye, and he said, I know what you saw. 125 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:58.879 I've seen it before too. There's things in the woods 126 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:01.480 that people don't understand stand, and they ought not be 127 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:05.720 fooled with. Ever. I'll remember those words clearly to this 128 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:09.279 day because it gave me affirmation, but at the time 129 00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:12.199 it made me realize that whatever I had seen was 130 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:17.160 real and it was beyond my understanding. My grandpa then 131 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:19.279 went on to tell me that far back in the 132 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:21.800 woods there are some cliffs, and at the bottom of 133 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.800 those cliffs is a cave. He told me that the 134 00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:28.439 cave is where the creature lived. He had once stumbled 135 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:30.920 upon it a long time ago when he was hunting. 136 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:34.079 He was standing on the top of the cliff looking 137 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:37.800 at it when the creature fitting the same description emerged 138 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:42.519 and began screaming wildly at him and throwing rocks. He 139 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:44.879 took a shot at it, he missed, and then this 140 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:48.439 thing gave chase. But my grandpa was on the top, 141 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:50.839 so in order to get to him, this thing had 142 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:54.040 to go a long distance and then climb up, which 143 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:57.240 he said it quickly began to do, so he high 144 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:00.720 tailed it out of there in a hurry. The whole 145 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:03.560 way back home, he felt as if he were being watched, 146 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.800 and he kept hearing twigs snap behind him, and he 147 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:11.000 was certain that it was following him, stalking him. He 148 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:13.439 made it home, and as he reached his front porch, 149 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:15.639 he turned and looked back at the woods from where 150 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:18.480 he'd come from, and he saw it peeking out at 151 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:22.360 him from behind a tree. Later that night, he said 152 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:25.319 that he and my grandmother awoke in the early morning 153 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.800 hours to large rocks being thrown at the house and 154 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:33.960 howling noises from outside. It walked around on the front porch, 155 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:37.960 rattling the doorknobs, banging on windows, and it sounded like 156 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:41.360 it was muttering to itself in a low, garbled voice, 157 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:44.720 but it didn't sound like a language, just a bunch 158 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:48.279 of gibberish. After a while, the thing went back to 159 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:51.720 throwing some more rocks and howling, So my grandpa grabbed 160 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:54.240 a shotgun and fired it out the front door a 161 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:57.559 few times into the darkness. He heard it run back 162 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.360 into the woods. That was the last he'd see or 163 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:02.519 heard of it, but over the years he heard of 164 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:07.480 other farmers cows being mutilated, or someone's haunting dog going missing, 165 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:11.279 or someone would have a story about some strange creature 166 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:14.279 they had seen in the woods. He also said it 167 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:18.639 scared my grandmother beyond words, and she absolutely has refused 168 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.960 to ever talk about it or even acknowledged that it happened, 169 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.320 which explains her acting weird about it when I told 170 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:29.440 her about what happened to me. I know the story 171 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:32.399 is pretty far fetched, and you can believe it or not. 172 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:35.919 It makes no difference to me. I know what I saw, 173 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:38.840 and my grandpa knew what he saw, and neither of 174 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:42.000 us had ever felt the need to convince anyone else. 175 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:45.440 I've never spoken of it to anyone other than a 176 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:48.519 few close to me and my grandfather, and he passed 177 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:51.519 away over ten years ago, and now I'm sharing it 178 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:54.639 with you. These things are just as real as you 179 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:57.279 and I, and just like people, they come in all 180 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:02.440 manner of personality and temperament. These aren't just stories. These 181 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:09.360 are people's memories of a creature that lives in our woods. 182 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:13.519 I'm an oil truck driver in the state of Connecticut. 183 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:17.639 It's not a popular state for bigfoot sightings, at least 184 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:21.279 that's what I thought. This experience took place at a 185 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:24.399 campground along Route eighty, but I prefer not to say 186 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:28.840 the exact location. I drive a Trixole oil truck, which 187 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:33.080 is quite large, but it's not a tractor trailer. In 188 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:36.360 the fall, our workload increases, and on this day I 189 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:40.039 had twelve tickets for delivery at the same location. It 190 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:42.720 was a summer camp that was having a Halloween weekend 191 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:47.000 event for kids. I had to fuel the outside above 192 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.480 ground oil tanks that heated the cabins and the water heaters. 193 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:55.519 I arrived at six am on Thursday, before the weekend celebrations, 194 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:59.960 and I began fueling my first cabin. Without moving the truck, 195 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:03.279 I could drag the hose to three other cabins within reach. 196 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:06.960 In case you aren't familiar with old delivery, the oil 197 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:10.759 goes in and a vent alarm allows the pushed air 198 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:15.000 out with a whistling sound. Some of these vent alarms 199 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:18.559 were making piercing sounds, and some were clogged with the 200 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:22.360 bugs or other matter. The driver before me may have 201 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:25.279 overloaded the tanks and there's oil on top of the 202 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:29.000 vent alarm, and sometimes it makes it gurgle. It's hard 203 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:32.679 to explain, but sometimes it makes the whistle sound sick. 204 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:36.559 I parked the truck and dragged the hose to fuel 205 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:40.320 the farthest of the three cabins first. I always dragged 206 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.960 to the farthest first to make the next ones easier. 207 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.159 I feel the first tank and there was nothing unusual. 208 00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:50.279 And then as I began feeling the next cabin's tank. 209 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:54.480 I noticed movement in the distance. There wasn't anything in 210 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:57.679 the background except woods in a lake, and after the 211 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:02.120 lake there was nothing but more woods. It was two 212 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:04.720 days before the weekend, and I thought it odd that 213 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:08.320 someone would be there so early. The second Kevin I 214 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:11.360 delivered the oil too, made a funny whistling sound. While 215 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:16.200 venting that gurgling sound again, I saw the movement of 216 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:19.600 these three people. I'm alone in the middle of nowhere 217 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:21.679 this early, and I'm thinking, who in the world is 218 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:25.360 fishing well? I finished, and I moved to the third 219 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:27.919 oil tank within reach before I went on to fill 220 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:31.000 the next nine tanks on the property. And then I 221 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:34.440 hooked the hose up and started my job again. But 222 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:38.559 I'm still looking toward the lake. The whistle on this 223 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:41.360 one was blaring, and as I was waiting for the 224 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:45.960 tank to fill, a figure moved. It was massive. It 225 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:49.919 was not a person. Holy cow, I thought now. I 226 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:53.639 stopped the delivery to quiet the vent alarm whistle. I 227 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:56.279 didn't move as I watched, and this thing was still 228 00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:59.799 walking toward me. I'm telling you, it was enormous and 229 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:03.600 I was still and I was panicking. My old truck 230 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:07.600 is nine feet ten inches tall, and this thing was 231 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:12.000 just as tall. It was about forty yards from me 232 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.000 in the truck, but it was close enough for me. 233 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.320 And then the two others that were smaller moved, and 234 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.840 they were to the right of me. Their movement was slow, 235 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:24.080 and I think they were curious, but I wasn't curious. 236 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:27.600 I was terrified. The good part of this is they 237 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:31.679 were not aggressive. The vent alarms must have intrigued them. 238 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:34.679 But I moved slowly and then I reeled up the 239 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:38.039 hose and I got the heck out of there. At noon, 240 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:40.320 I went back with a helper to fuel the rest 241 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:43.240 of the cabins. I'm not a shame to admit that 242 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:46.879 I was scared. I have never seen anything on two 243 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:50.480 feet that huge. I can't describe their faces, but I 244 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:55.039 know three creatures on two legs. Isn't a coincidence. They 245 00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:58.559 weren't bears, because bears are not that agile or that large. 246 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:02.639 Fuel the campground since then, but I don't go at 247 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:06.480 six am. I let others open the campground before I 248 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:12.120 get there. You would be interested in what happened to 249 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:15.440 me a year ago and twice more recently near the 250 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:21.399 Humboldt Mendocino County headwaters of the Matole River. After the 251 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:25.759 encounter with the inexplicable, I have become absolutely convinced that 252 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.480 some unknown animal exists here, and I began on the 253 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:35.039 Internet a search of similar accounts. While immersed, suddenly in 254 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.360 this mystery, it became clear to me that these experience 255 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:44.000 must be documented and conveyed to others. Last July in 256 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:48.840 twenty eighteen, I was staying in an isolated region which 257 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:52.480 had limited access behind three locked gates, and it was 258 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:57.320 twenty miles north of Whitethorne, California, on a primitive four 259 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:00.600 by four road. This place is at the end of 260 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:04.320 the road a lost world of primeval forest on the 261 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:07.759 northern border of a vast green belt spreading from Shelter 262 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:11.480 Cove on the Lost Coast east to Highway one oh 263 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:15.120 one and south to Fort Bragg, as can be seen 264 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:20.440 on Google Earth. At three am, I was awake and 265 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:24.039 there was a hot, dark, and completely silent July night. 266 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:29.440 Something above my tent location began knocking on wood. It 267 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:32.399 would be best described as loud wax on a tree 268 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:36.759 trunk by a big club or branch. It started with 269 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:40.360 one knock which got my attention with a brief hesitation, 270 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:44.559 and then several more knocks, but randomly timed, some in 271 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:50.759 succession and others after hesitation. The knocking was so loud 272 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:53.840 that it echoed down the canyon, and the event only 273 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:58.159 lasted a minute. My first thoughts were that there was 274 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:00.720 no one on the mountain in who could be out 275 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:03.480 here in the middle of a primitive and protected area. 276 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:08.279 The knocks were from something large, and no North American 277 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:12.600 animal could have made them. Listening, while my mind tried 278 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.440 to wrap around how the noise was made, I began 279 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:20.320 to wonder about bigfoot legends. The night fell silent again, 280 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.799 and afterward I told a few locals, and I learned 281 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:27.000 that there had been many bigfoot sightings near Piercy and 282 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:31.720 north to Willow Creek. And then two weeks ago, when 283 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:35.360 waiting at the first lock gate to the same conservation area, 284 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:41.200 I heard two distinct vocalizations which cannot be explained. As 285 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:44.519 I waited in the dusk for forty five minutes waiting 286 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.320 to meet a party at the gate who were running late, 287 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.919 I heard a loud wail that I've never heard before 288 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:54.799 in nature, the call of this thing I located at 289 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:58.279 my two o'clock facing east and up the heavily wooded 290 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:03.159 area above me two three three hundred meters. I instantly 291 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:07.039 knew where I had heard such an unfamiliar call. It 292 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:10.279 was three years ago when watching a Bigfoot reality show 293 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.480 where these Sasquatch hunters were making the strange and unique call. 294 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:19.480 At that time, I remember thinking how ridiculous it seemed 295 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:22.279 for people to be on television trekking at night and 296 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.079 making strange calls in the woods. There was a delay 297 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:28.640 from the first call, and then a few more, and 298 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:31.920 then silence for a minute, leaving me to wonder if 299 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:37.519 this whole experience was surreal, pondering what I know about 300 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:41.039 the wilderness, either that was an unknown animal or some 301 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:45.400 kind of implausible prank. It was loud and echoing down 302 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:48.519 the mountain, as though some huge creature could belt with 303 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:53.920 its lungs like pavariety, only much louder. The chance of 304 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:57.039 it being a prankster waiting in silence with me for 305 00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:00.599 forty five minutes in that remote location just to hang 306 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:05.039 out in these impenetral woods to prank me was highly unlikely. 307 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:09.640 Having only a moment to ponder this oddity, there began 308 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:12.559 another call, out at three to four hundred meters to 309 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:15.119 the north of the first and at my eight o'clock 310 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:19.359 it was also just as loud, but it came only 311 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:23.480 three calls in succession. Well. This blew my mind because 312 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:27.039 the first call might be attributed to an elk on steroids, 313 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.759 but the response from what was clearly not an owl 314 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:36.319 brought chills down my spine. I moved closer to my 315 00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:40.000 vehicle and I listened for another thirty minutes in the darkness. 316 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:45.680 I will never forget the second vocalization. It was so unique, 317 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:50.559 and this was obvious communication between two individuals, as well 318 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:56.359 as possibly a rudimentary language. I had a fourth experience, 319 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.599 which I must mention here in context, but it happened 320 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:04.480 the night before the duel of vocalizations. On Friday evening, 321 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:09.000 November one, twenty nineteen. I had moved into a cabin 322 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:12.839 that my brother and I rented, located along an extremely 323 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:17.640 rugged canyon area of the Macholi River. It was dusk 324 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:20.759 and it was dark already in the forest, and I 325 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:24.000 was outside looking at the stars, taking in the newness 326 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:29.680 of the rugged surroundings above. Again, three hundred meters up 327 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.319 into the east of the river, there was a scream 328 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:36.079 so loud and so foreboding that I could only listen 329 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:40.920 in amazement. It was the loudest scream I've ever heard, 330 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.799 So loud I thought it was produced by some kind 331 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:50.279 of banshee from a horror film. The screaming continued full 332 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:55.000 throttle for five minutes. I know mountain lions can scream, 333 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.599 but nothing like this. It sounded much louder, more guttural, 334 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.359 as if if someone had set up loud speakers and 335 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:07.839 played the bloodiest screen that Hollywood could produce at the time. 336 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:10.920 The night after Halloween, I wondered if someone was up 337 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:14.119 on the mountain pranking me as a newcomer to the neighborhood. 338 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:17.160 Now I listened for a bit, and then I went 339 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:19.960 inside and told my brother about it because it was 340 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:25.440 so unnerving. Bigfoot never entered my mind. But then at 341 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:29.359 dusk the very next evening, I witnessed these two calls 342 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:33.799 waiting at the gate. I've since been over and over 343 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:36.799 in my mind. Why have I been so lucky as 344 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:40.759 to hear or experience such a mystery, much less three 345 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:44.720 distinct vocalizations which cannot be explained in a twenty four 346 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:49.400 hour period. I began pouring over the USGS maps in 347 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:53.480 satellite imagery to ascertain what the link might be at 348 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:58.640 fifteen miles distance. Were there people or neighbors or access 349 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:02.480 for individuals in the ear areas I experience? Could this 350 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:06.759 explain this? I have since hiked all over these areas 351 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:12.279 searching for activity, but found only empty dense woods. Could 352 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.920 one creature in such obvious stress on one night have 353 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:19.920 triggered the coincidental travel of at least two more unknown 354 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.960 creatures the very next night. I've talked to the locals 355 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:28.000 about hearing strange noises, but no one claims anything or 356 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:31.559 they don't want to be ridiculed. I would like to 357 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.680 know if there have been recent experiences by others in 358 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:37.920 my area. I'm a sixty year old man with a 359 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:43.799 high degree of credibility, extensive wilderness experience in forests and jungles. 360 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:48.200 I have trecked and lived in remote areas of Africa, Australia, 361 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:53.079 Central and South America, many places of potential danger, and 362 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:57.200 never had an inkling of fear. I was born and 363 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:00.319 raised near Yellowstone Park, and I never had a bad 364 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:05.400 experience with a grizzly, a mountain lion, or wolves traveling 365 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:09.599 all these years with a firm understanding of ecosystems, I 366 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:13.640 never could have believed in such mysteries that anything new 367 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:18.039 would ever be discovered. What happened to me has completely 368 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:22.079 changed me on many levels. There is a mystery in 369 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:24.599 these woods, and I have a few ideas on how 370 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:27.960 to find answers to it. If anyone else has had 371 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.759 similar experiences who live near me, I'm eager to share 372 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:40.400 and explore this phenomenon further. The Bigfoot that wasn't. As 373 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.519 long as I can remember, I've been a hunting fanatic. 374 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:46.799 I've spent many days in the field with my buddies 375 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:51.279 in pursuit of the wild and wooly beasts, mostly deer 376 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:56.359 and elk, can occasionally bear. In the rocky mountains of Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, 377 00:22:56.519 --> 00:23:00.960 and Montana, my friends and I would spend many fall 378 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.920 nights and we would sit around a crackling fire in 379 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:07.519 the high valleys of the mountains, weaving tales of hunts 380 00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:12.039 gone by. Each story told would seem to top the 381 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:16.559 one previously recited. Some were new adventures, while others were 382 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:21.559 old ones revisited every year, but with new, slightly enhanced details. 383 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:26.440 As the night passed, and the stories progressed, they inevitably 384 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:31.640 morphed into tales of mysterious and unknown, like ghosts, goblins, 385 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:35.359 and bigfoot. None of us had actually seen a ghost, 386 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:37.960 a goblin, or a bigfoot. In fact, none of us 387 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:41.799 had ever even heard of anyone encountering any of them, 388 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:45.720 especially a bigfoot, anywhere near the areas where we hunted. 389 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:49.400 But for some unknown reason, each of us had experienced 390 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:53.200 strange happenings that we were sure could be directly attributed 391 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:56.559 to Bigfoot. I don't know how we knew they were 392 00:23:56.599 --> 00:24:01.519 connected to Bigfoot. Nevertheless, we were darned sure, convincingly so 393 00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:05.640 when telling our tales of intrigue that Bigfoot was the culprit. 394 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:09.119 I guess one could say that we were embellishing the 395 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:13.559 truth slightly, maybe even a little more than slightly. But 396 00:24:13.640 --> 00:24:16.039 it was all in fun, and everyone had a great 397 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:21.480 time trying to outdo everyone else. Due to the convincing 398 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:25.759 manner by which some could relate their stories, the lines 399 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:29.160 between truth and fiction often blurred in the minds of 400 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:34.039 the recipients, making it difficult to decipher between the two. 401 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:38.440