WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:09.320 My brothers love to hunt in fish. They have thousands 2 00:00:09.320 --> 00:00:13.679 of dollars invested in gear. When hunting season is out, 3 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:17.160 they're fishing. I like fishing, but not to the degree 4 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:20.800 that they do. Now. I don't hunt. I have never 5 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:25.000 enjoyed killing animals. I have nothing against hunting at all. 6 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:27.719 It's a great way for people to enjoy the outdoors, 7 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:32.600 gather clean meat, manage wildlife populations. But it's just not 8 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.200 for me. My brothers make fun of me for this. 9 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:40.759 That's okay, Well I do mind, I guess, but I 10 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:43.679 don't let them know it. It's not that I don't 11 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:47.479 like being in nature. My thing is hiking, and if 12 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:50.000 any one of them would take a minute to notice, 13 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:52.520 they'd all see that I hike a lot deeper into 14 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:55.679 the woods than any of them ever hunted. I don't 15 00:00:55.719 --> 00:01:01.600 carry weapons. I only carry bear spray. I know the truth, though, 16 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.959 I know that I go farther and harder than any 17 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:07.640 of them just to take long walks in the woods. 18 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.879 In their minds, the fact that they kill animals with weapons, 19 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:14.920 they're more macho than I am. But I know for 20 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:16.879 a fact that none of them could keep up with 21 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:20.439 me for even a half day. Hike. I can outperform 22 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:24.200 any of them, but I never say a word. Hiking 23 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:27.159 is my favorite thing to do in my favorite places 24 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:30.439 in the woods alone, just me and the trails and 25 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:34.239 the animals and the fresh air. In my endurance, I 26 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:38.560 come alive out there, or I did until last month. 27 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:42.319 Now I don't care if I ever go into the 28 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:47.879 woods again. There are monsters in the woods, folks, I 29 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:53.599 have seen them. Fall is a busy hiking season. Everyone 30 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.719 wants to see the trees in full color. And if 31 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:01.079 you're serious about hiking, like I am or what it means, 32 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:02.840 you have to go pretty deep in the woods to 33 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.439 get away from the day hikers. Otherwise you're just going 34 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.360 to be tripping over the amateurs and not seeing anything 35 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:13.159 because they're always so noisy that they chase animals away. 36 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:16.199 And if you want to really enjoy the scenery and 37 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:19.199 all that nature has to offer, then you'd better get 38 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:21.919 there early, and I mean a day or two early, 39 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:24.879 and plan on hiking in with your camping gear and 40 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.439 enough supplies to stay a couple of days. I park 41 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:33.439 my car at the trailhead early on Wednesday. I figured 42 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:35.680 I'd hike up for two days and then hike back 43 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:37.960 down for two days and be home in my own 44 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.439 bed by Sunday night and ready for work on Monday. 45 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.840 Always check the weather before I leave, and then I 46 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:48.000 do a gear check. Now I'm an ultra light hiker 47 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:51.360 with a hammock and a light down sleeping bag, a 48 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:55.039 microstove in just enough calories that I need to go 49 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:57.800 as far as I like to go. I carry a 50 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:01.240 change of clothes, a compass, a first date kitting, a knife. 51 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:04.719 The less I carry, the lighter my backpack is, which 52 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.360 means I can go farther. Hikers who are in shape 53 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:11.000 and condition like me can run out of steam pretty 54 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.560 fast with an extra heavy pack. I've seen them leave 55 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:18.319 the trail many times just because their packs are too heavy, 56 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:20.680 and a man learns to get by with a little. 57 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:23.360 And the goal is not the gear, it's the trail. 58 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:28.719 This is something my brothers will never understand, their gear freaks. 59 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:32.560 I had picked a difficult trail to hike because I 60 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:35.360 knew there weren't a lot of day hikers. It's only 61 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.840 well maintained for the first couple of miles, and after 62 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:41.000 that you have to know what you're doing to go 63 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:44.960 any further. I was headed all the way to the 64 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:47.639 top of this mountain. So I checked my watch and 65 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:51.080 I stepped onto the trail. It was seven forty three 66 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:55.960 am at noon. I stopped for a break and to 67 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.120 take in the view of the valley below me. The 68 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:01.960 trees had been bit this year. It was already a 69 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.199 blaze of reds and golds, with bright splotches of yellow 70 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.759 and dark patches of brown. There's something about sitting up 71 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:11.560 there looking down on the world. A lot of people 72 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.680 say it's humbling, but not for me. For me, it's empowering. 73 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:19.720 By the time I set up camp the first night, 74 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:24.639 civilization felt like another planet away. I picked a small 75 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:27.160 clearing that gave me a decent but limited view of 76 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:30.560 the night sky. The weather man assured me that I 77 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:34.360 would have clear sailing, and he was right. If you've 78 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:37.639 ever seen the sky without light pollution, you've never really 79 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:40.720 seen the sky. I went ahead and ate a couple 80 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.399 of power bars and drank some water, and I climbed 81 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:47.519 into my hammock. Now nothing wears a body out like 82 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.959 a long walk. I figured I'd be asleep within minutes, 83 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.160 and I probably would have, but for one thing. It 84 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:57.360 was too quiet. And when you go as far as this. 85 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.399 There's also the absence of sound pollution. You can't hear 86 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:05.319 cars and diesels rolling down the interstate. You can't hear 87 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:09.079 radios blasting music, or people chattering or kids playing, because 88 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.399 it's just you out there. But even then there is 89 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:16.959 always some sort of noise. There's insects and small critters 90 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:20.720 and coyotes. I was lying there in my hammock that night, 91 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.040 I didn't hear any of that. It was so weird 92 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:28.199 that it made me a bit nervous to make matters worse. 93 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.240 And maybe because of that, I started feeling like I 94 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.680 was being watched, and I didn't sleep well that night. 95 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:38.959 The next morning, I discovered that the weather man had 96 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:41.959 lied to me. The brilliant blue sky I had hiked 97 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:45.120 under the day before was turning gray. So I had 98 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:48.800 to make a decision. I could continue my hike up 99 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:50.959 on the mountain, or I could turn around and head 100 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:54.399 back down. The third option was to stay where I 101 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.040 was and then head down the next day. I hadn't 102 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.680 slept well the night before and had to do with 103 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:04.839 my decision. I didn't feel like going anywhere. I felt 104 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:08.639 like sleeping a few more hours, so option three it was. 105 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:12.720 I made some coffee, and I ate a power bar 106 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.399 before climbing back into my hammock. I lay there and 107 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:20.199 broad daylight, still conscious of the fact that there were 108 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:24.439 no normal sounds of nature around me. But by now 109 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:27.079 the sky was dark enough and the clouds overhead were 110 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.639 full enough that I figured it was the rain coming 111 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:33.399 in that had kept them silent. After a while, I 112 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:35.920 decided that I wasn't going to sleep, and the sky 113 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:38.120 was looking bad enough that I should try to get 114 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:40.560 as far down the mountain as I could before the 115 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:44.959 clouds burst open and drenched me. It was around noon 116 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:47.920 when I started back down the mountain, but the sky 117 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:51.399 was as dark as dusk. To be safe, I had 118 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.240 already pulled out my headlamp from my backpack and I 119 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:58.279 was wearing it. Then the rain came. It didn't start 120 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:01.720 with a sprinkle, the heavy drops and then a solid 121 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:05.199 sheet of rain. It came down all at once, as 122 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:07.839 if God had dumped a bucket of water on me. 123 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:12.240 Usually when it rains a heart it doesn't last for long, 124 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.439 but I must have walked for an hour in that downpour. 125 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:19.759 It wasn't long before I began to feel like my 126 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:24.959 bone marrow was saturated, my eyes burned from constantly wiping them, 127 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:29.000 and the damn headlight began to short out the sound 128 00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:31.720 of the rain beating the leaves off the trees, drowned 129 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:35.000 out all the other sounds in the forest. I don't 130 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:37.279 really know what I expected to hear in this weather. 131 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:41.079 Any creature with any common sense at all was holed 132 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:44.240 up in a den somewhere. But every now and then 133 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:46.680 I heard a crack of a branch that I didn't 134 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:50.680 think was caused by the storm. Maybe it was like 135 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.600 a sleep from the night before, and maybe I was 136 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:57.240 just weirded out by the weather. Whatever the case, I 137 00:07:57.240 --> 00:07:59.879 could not get over the feeling that I was still 138 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:04.839 being watched and followed. When I couldn't take it anymore, 139 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.199 I started looking for a good spot to wade out 140 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:10.560 the rain. I was hoping for a cave, but even 141 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:12.560 a wide spot on the trail where I could hang 142 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:15.040 up my hammocked tarp would have been good enough for me. 143 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:18.959 Looking around and seeing shadows in the woods freaked me 144 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:22.560 out a little. Occasionally lightning would strike and I'd see 145 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.279 something large moving. At first I would think it was 146 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:29.079 a tree, but then it would move, and then a 147 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:33.039 bolt of lightning crack the sky open and I saw it. 148 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:37.360 I've never believed in bigfoot. It was a joke to me, 149 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.519 and I had not thought about it ever. So what 150 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:44.480 was standing in the woods twenty feet from me? It 151 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:48.399 was ten feet tall, covered in shaggy brown hair, except 152 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:51.919 its face was clean looking. The size of the thing 153 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:54.799 was scary enough, but it was the face that scared 154 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:58.559 me the most. Its skin was dark, and its mouth 155 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:01.320 was wide, and it's an oscar seemed to be flaring 156 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:04.480 like it was angry, and I locked eyes with it 157 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.320 and saw something that I can't quite put my finger on. 158 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:10.919 It didn't take long to decide that this thing wanted 159 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:15.360 to kill me and eat me. That was plain to see. 160 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:19.039 It opened its mouth like it was stretching its jaws, 161 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:23.120 its fangs hung down like a baboon. I'm sure you've 162 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:26.879 seen the pictures of the videos. It wasn't a yawn. 163 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.279 He was showing me his teeth. My head would have 164 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:35.200 fit into his mouth. And that's when panics set in. 165 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:38.919 I don't know when or where I dropped my backpack, 166 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.159 but it wasn't with me anymore. The trail had turned 167 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:45.960 to a mud slick. I moved my feet, I think, 168 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:48.120 and there was no grip to the earth, but I 169 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:51.440 ran anyway, abandoning the rules of what humans should do 170 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:57.240 when facing a predator. I ran like hell. Trees started 171 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:02.279 snapping and cracking behind me. Was on from that first step, 172 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:05.960 and I knew I was a dead man. I wasn't 173 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:09.000 thinking at all. I was just running. I felt the 174 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:12.559 vibrations of his feet hitting the ground behind me, getting closer. 175 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:16.159 I heard the heavy rush of air being sucked into 176 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:19.200 and pushed out of its lungs, and ahead of me, 177 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:23.360 the trail made a sharp turn. I knew I was 178 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:26.480 going too fast in that slippery clay, but I wasn't 179 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:29.960 about to slow down, so I launched myself into the 180 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:32.879 woods like I was diving off into a swimming pool. 181 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:36.559 It would only buy me a few feet before it 182 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.879 caught up, but I wasn't giving up yet, and instead 183 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:43.519 of hitting the ground, I was snatched backward by the 184 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:48.399 shirt and this thing's nails dug into my back. It 185 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:51.639 turned me around to face it, and I was fighting 186 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:55.759 like hell, kicking and throwing punches. I didn't hurt this 187 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:58.440 thing a bit, but I remember it squinting its eyes 188 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:01.480 when I would hit it in the face. The eyes 189 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:05.799 it was closing its eyes voluntarily to avoid my punches, 190 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.519 and then I remembered the bear spray on my belt. 191 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.679 In a fast, lucky grab, it came free from the 192 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.159 holster and I sprayed that bastard square in the face. 193 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.080 Apparently it released me and swung at me. At the 194 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:24.679 same time I assumed to knock that can of burning 195 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.440 the shit out of my eye stuff out of my hand, 196 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:33.120 and then everything went black. I don't know how long 197 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.720 I was out, but when I woke up, I was 198 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.759 lying next to a pile of bones. I don't know 199 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.960 what kind of bones they were. I remember deer skulls 200 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:45.279 and other critters, but when I saw a human skull 201 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:48.039 over at the edge, I knew I was in trouble. 202 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:52.639 I heard something grunning. I remembered it from our fight. 203 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:56.120 It has been over a pool of water, washing the 204 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:00.320 bear spray out of its eyes. Hell. Yes, I thought 205 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.440 this thing's gonna kill me, but I heard it, and 206 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:07.120 that gave me a sense of victory. The desire to 207 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:09.759 keep fighting and live was still there, and I looked 208 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:13.039 for a way out of there. The trail we must 209 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:15.639 have come in. One was off to my left. I 210 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:17.679 put my hand in the mud to get off the ground, 211 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:21.159 and pain shot up my arm. I looked down and 212 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.679 I could see plainly that my wrist was broken, and 213 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:28.360 I admit that tears rolled off my face. The broken 214 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:32.279 bones might be the worst pain ever. I lifted my 215 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:34.960 head and that monster had jumped up and was looking 216 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.399 at me with those red, swollen eyes, and I pointed 217 00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:41.879 at it and I laughed out loud. Maybe I knew 218 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.399 everything was lost, and those blistered eyes just set me off. 219 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.679 You ain't gonna forget me, you son of a bitch. 220 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:53.440 That's exactly what I said to that bigfoot. It came 221 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.399 across that pile of bones and smelly rot, and it 222 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.519 snatched me up by my head, palming it like a 223 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:04.080 basket ball. It shook me, wrenching my neck, and then 224 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:08.399 it started to squeeze. My skull was about to collapse. 225 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.200 I was going to be defied to the end. And 226 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:13.559 I stared it straight in the eyes and I started 227 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:17.000 swinging again, trying to connect with its face, but my 228 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:21.799 arms wouldn't reach it. That mouth came open and those 229 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:26.879 teeth came out, and its breath was horrible. He was 230 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:30.120 enjoying this. I could see that plainly, and I was 231 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:35.039 about to black out, halfway between dead and alive. I 232 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:39.200 remember feeling a swift gust of wind and then falling 233 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:43.080 to the ground on my broken arm. I waited on 234 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:45.879 my senses to come back from that head vice that 235 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.279 he had me in and trying to get the pressure 236 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:51.559 off my arm, and I didn't see where the monster went. 237 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:55.759 I wasn't even thinking about it, I think, looking back 238 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:58.440 on it, I was in and out of consciousness, and 239 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.320 when I could finally think a little, I had a 240 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:05.679 grand headache in my arm throb like crazy. There was 241 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.639 no way I could get away now, feeling this dazed 242 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:12.000 and confused, but I looked around anyway, trying to figure 243 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.320 out a way that I might run. I got to 244 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:18.080 my knees and over that pile of bones, and I 245 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:21.440 saw two of those creatures now, and they were fighting. 246 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:25.440 They looked just alike in my mind, and I watched them, 247 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:28.320 with blurry vision, whip the crap out of each other. 248 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:33.120 They were biting and hitting each other. In any other setting, 249 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:35.559 it would have been awesome to watch, but I knew 250 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:38.039 they were fighting over which one was going to eat me. 251 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:40.600 I had to find a way and get out of there. 252 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:45.000 I didn't know where I was, and there was no 253 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:47.799 time to look at my compass if I had even 254 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:51.320 been able to find my compass. There was a path 255 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:55.360 to my left, I remembered, and it went downhill, and 256 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.159 that is where I wanted to go, downhill and off 257 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:02.399 this mountain. I staggered that way. There was but a 258 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:05.039 few steps, and I got my balance and I was running. 259 00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:08.679 Fifteen minutes or so later, I had to stop and 260 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:12.679 catch my breath. That's when my arms started aching again, 261 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:15.639 and I was getting dizzy, and I wondered what sort 262 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.080 of damage that thing had done to my brain. But 263 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.639 I was on my feet and I started running again, 264 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:25.279 always downhill. I wondered if the fight was over, and 265 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:28.320 if either one of them even felt like coming after me. 266 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:31.440 I remember hoping they had heard each other so bad 267 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:36.399 that they would call it quits, but they didn't. Even 268 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.399 while running and heaving, I could hear that thing coming 269 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.080 after me, like a bulldozer off the hill behind me. 270 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:45.000 I was staying on the trail, but this thing was 271 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:48.559 bushwhacking straight at me through the thick woods like it 272 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:51.639 was nothing. I didn't know if I could get away 273 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:55.000 this time. I guess I figured it was over once again. 274 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:57.639 But I had made it this far. Maybe I had 275 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.039 a chance if I could just keep going. I had 276 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.600 it straight down the trail and ran with all the 277 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:06.519 strength that I had left. That's all I could do. 278 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.519 A head I could see daylight through the trees, as 279 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:14.360 if there was a clearing. I thought it was a 280 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:17.759 field maybe, which was not good. For some reason, it 281 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.039 felt better in the trees and the brush. In my mind. 282 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.360 At least that was something between it and me. In 283 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.519 a field, i'd be easy to catch. I don't know 284 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.200 why I thought these things. I guess our mind naturally 285 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:33.159 works out any advantage that we can while in a 286 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:37.960 situation like this. But the daylight I saw wasn't a 287 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:41.000 field or a clearing. It was a ledge. It was 288 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.480 a top of a bluff that dropped down into a 289 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:47.720 river or a stream. I realized this after I fell 290 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:50.480 several feet and saw the water coming up at me. 291 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:54.080 When I hit the water, the cold felt good to me, 292 00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:58.799 almost like freedom. I hit the rocky bottom and luckily 293 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:02.720 didn't break my arm worse than it was. My head 294 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:05.079 popped out of the water, and I looked back up 295 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.200 at the spot where I think I fell from, and 296 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.559 I saw that thing standing at the edge, and it 297 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:14.119 was roaring at me. The current pulled me away from 298 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:17.039 my enemy, and he followed me down the ledge for 299 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:20.880 a distance. I remember turning and looking ahead of me, 300 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:23.519 hoping the bluff that he was on didn't slope down 301 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:26.240 to a bank, because the way he was moving he 302 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:28.079 would have been able to keep up with me and 303 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:31.640 eventually catch me. But as far as I could see, 304 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:34.559 the bluff stayed at the same elevation where he stood, 305 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:38.720 and it even got higher in some places. Something kept 306 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:41.480 him from jumping in after me. I'll never know what 307 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:44.039 it was, but I'm glad he stayed on the bluff. 308 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.440 I let the current just take me down river. A 309 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.200 curve in the course of the river ahead took me 310 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:54.640 around to a point where I could not see the 311 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:58.200 monster anymore. I was beginning to think that I might 312 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:02.200 make it out. I don't know how far I floated 313 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.759 down that river, but it wasn't long before I was 314 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:07.759 too cold to stay in the water, and now I 315 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:11.759 was thinking about hyperthermia. At some point I would have 316 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:13.720 to get to the bank and try to warm up. 317 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:16.400 But what I knew for sure was that I would 318 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:18.519 not swim to the side of the river that that 319 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:22.119 thing was on. Ahead, I saw a gravel bar and 320 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.519 I started kicking to get there. My feet started digging 321 00:18:25.559 --> 00:18:28.519 in the gravel to push me closer and faster, and 322 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:33.000 I could finally stand up in front of me. In 323 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:36.759 the distance. Down the river, I saw a bridge. There 324 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:40.720 were people on the bridge. I went straight into the river. 325 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:43.599 I could take a few more minutes of cold. I 326 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.519 needed help, and there it was, right in front of me. 327 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.599 There was a group of kids on the bridge and 328 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:54.200 they saw me, and I could hear them yelling. I 329 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:57.119 managed to work my way to the bank. The first 330 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:59.720 thing I did was look around both banks to see 331 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:03.279 if I could make out that monster anywhere. I don't 332 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.799 know how far I floated down that river, but I 333 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:08.640 had not stopped thinking that he was following me the 334 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:11.440 whole time. But when I looked up, I didn't see 335 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:15.480 it anywhere. I stood up and started walking up to 336 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:18.640 the road. The group of teenagers met me halfway and 337 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:22.240 helped me up to the blacktop. An adult woman ran 338 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:25.240 to me and threw a blanket over my back and shoulders. 339 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.400 I was never more happy to see people in all 340 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:32.440 my life. And not long after that, an ambulance pulled up. 341 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:35.599 Someone must have called nine to eleven. They treated me 342 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.240 with what they could and they stabilized my arm, and 343 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:40.960 they loaded me up and took me to the local hospital. 344 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:45.759 The inside of that ambulance was so warm. I remember 345 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:51.079 that vividly. At the hospital, doctors treated my wounds, and 346 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:53.079 they put a cast on my arm, and they gave 347 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.880 me some painkillers. I had broken ribs. They said that 348 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.720 I had never felt pain from I guess that was 349 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:03.480 from the tumble into the water. I was kept one 350 00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:07.400 night and discharged the next day. Someone from the hospital 351 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:09.920 called a cab to take me to my car, and 352 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:15.279 by that afternoon I was home. Now I'm not a writer, 353 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:20.200 and I don't keep journals. Writing the thoughts and experiences 354 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:23.319 of my life for day or week has always seemed 355 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.240 like a waste of time to me. When I got 356 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:29.000 home and after a long sleep, I woke late in 357 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:31.240 the night and I thought that I would try to 358 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:35.359 write my experience. I knew that as the years passed 359 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.680 I would forget the details, maybe forget the whole thing, 360 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:43.039 and sort of a mind preserving blackout scenario, and I 361 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:46.759 wanted to remember everything about this experience, no matter how 362 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.599 disturbing it was for me, as strange as that may seem, 363 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:55.079 for several hours way into the daylight the next day, 364 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:59.279 I wrote everything I could remember. Not all of what 365 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:01.720 I wrote that day is in this email to you, 366 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.400 because as I have heard you say before, stick to 367 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:07.920 the story that you don't need the minute details that 368 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.400 do not add to the story. So that is what 369 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:12.599 I have sent you. Thank you very much, sir, I 370 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:16.559 appreciate that I will describe to you the most profound 371 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:21.200 aspect of that day. In my view, it wasn't that 372 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:25.240 I was attacked and nearly eaten by one or more sisquatch, 373 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:28.920 and that may sound off kilter. It was at the 374 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:34.039 hospital that weirder things happened. It isn't a complicated part 375 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:36.079 of this story, so don't worry that I'm going to 376 00:21:36.119 --> 00:21:38.519 go on and on here, but to me it's the 377 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:43.200 most shocking. Naturally, I was questioned by the people who 378 00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:46.359 were taking care of my body about what had happened. 379 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.720 That's usual stuff. What happened to you? Did you have 380 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.119 a hiking accident? Yes, that's what happened to me. I 381 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:55.720 told them. I slid off the mountain into the river, 382 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:57.920 and I got lucky to have come out under a 383 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:02.319 bridge where there were people. Okay, they said, looks like 384 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:05.640 you had a bad day hiking. That was it. My 385 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:10.039 injuries lined up with just that. Once. They had me 386 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:13.519 on painkillers and the edge had worn off, and after 387 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:17.200 some sleep, my head began to clear and I remembered 388 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:20.359 what had happened. Now. It's not that I had forgotten. 389 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.000 It had just been a crazy day with so much 390 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:26.960 going on. But later that night the activity had fallen 391 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:30.119 off and I was alone in my room. It was quiet, 392 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:34.680 and I had my thoughts to myself. At some point 393 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.920 after midnight and I had been dozing in and out, 394 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:42.039 the door opened to my room. I expected the pesky 395 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.799 nurse to come in and check my IV or my 396 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.200 blood pressure or something. They're on a schedule to wake 397 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:52.400 you every hour for that nonsense. This time it wasn't 398 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:56.680 someone from the hospital. Two men walked in my room. 399 00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:59.279 They pulled up chairs, and they made themselves at home. 400 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.920 Sitting by my bed, I saw one reach into his 401 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:06.279