WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.759 Welcome to Big for Society. If you have Bigfoot activity 2 00:00:02.839 --> 00:00:06.040 to report from the same areas discussed in this episode, 3 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:09.640 please reach out to me directly after this episode. And 4 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:12.160 if you'd like to be on the podcast to discuss 5 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:15.320 a personal Bigfoot encounter, please reach out to me directly 6 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:18.239 at Bigfoot Society at gmail dot com. Do you wish 7 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:20.280 there was more Big for Society to listen to you 8 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:22.760 every week? Well there is now. If you become a 9 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:26.199 supporting member over at Patreon, you get a special members 10 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:31.079 only episode every single week on Wednesdays, and sometimes even 11 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:34.359 more episodes. Head on over to patreon dot com. Forward 12 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.200 slash the Big for Society and now let's get on 13 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:42.000 with the show. The following remote interview happens in the 14 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:46.960 region around Oakridge, Oregon, at a cabin out in the woods. 15 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:51.640 That being said, the audio might be a bit different 16 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:55.320 than what you're used to, but enjoy as this is 17 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:00.479 the first time this individual has shared this information. There 18 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:06.920 may be hot mics, mic issues and other things that 19 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:10.560 you notice in the background, but don't let that stop 20 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.040 your enjoyment of this and again, thank you to Kevin 21 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:24.000 for coming on the podcast. Enjoy and we're okay with 22 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:27.280 Kevin first name only. Okay, I'm going to start with it. 23 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:33.040 Kevin introduced me to his property, which is pretty far 24 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.200 up in the woods. Kevin, thank you for inviting me 25 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:38.120 out to your picnic table at your property. It is 26 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:40.359 very nice out here. Your dog is running around. We've 27 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:44.159 been tossing the ball too. He's pretty good at running 28 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:46.400 around getting that. But do you mind. Is there anything 29 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:48.359 you can share about the area that we're in, just 30 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:50.560 for the listeners to get a visual of what we're 31 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:50.959 looking at. 32 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:51.599 Yeah. Sure. 33 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:55.959 Where we live here in Oregon, it's nestled in the 34 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:59.640 west side of the Cascade Slopes and it has a 35 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:02.840 lot of Native American history and a lot of settler 36 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:07.680 history related to the Oregon Trail and different routes that 37 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:10.960 we're trying to be discovered for easier access, because everyone 38 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:12.879 was heading to the Lamott Valley, which is where Eugene 39 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.840 sits and all the bigger cities in Oregon. So basically 40 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.960 in western Oregon, once you get out of the valley areas, 41 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:22.840 you end up with all small world towns that might 42 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:26.159 be ten, fifteen to twenty miles apart and probably averaging 43 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:30.960 anywhere from a thousand people maybe to three thousand or 44 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:32.960 five thousand people, So a lot of small spread out 45 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:37.159 towns dispersed in a really large forest system. And so 46 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:41.159 where we're at here, this is the Blama National Forest, 47 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:44.960 one of the largest national forests in the United States. 48 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:50.840 I mean, there's just a huge amount of roads and 49 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:56.039 different ecosystems, you know. I mean you go from one 50 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:59.879 thousand feet in elevation all the way up to ten thousand, 51 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:02.240 three hundred and fifty eight feet at the top of 52 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.680 South Sister Mountains, which is the pinnacle of Blama National Force. 53 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:09.159 And that's bordered on the eastern side by the Hush 54 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:12.879 National Forest over their eastern Oregon in Bend area. But anyways, 55 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:17.680 really lush area, really pretty area. And I spent decades 56 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:23.840 out here, me and my wife, backpacking and exploring and 57 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:28.919 really just just finding places away from people. And before 58 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:32.479 I had children, my oldest daughter's nine, we always went camping. 59 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:33.240 That's what we did. 60 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:37.919 I worked fifty sixty hour weeks at shops in Eugene, 61 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:40.240 and at the end of the work week, we'd have 62 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:42.639 our packs packed and I'd cram them in the back 63 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.879 of my ninety four jeep Cherokee and we would oftentimes 64 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:49.800 leave Friday night and drive for an hour and a 65 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:51.879 half two hours to get up into the National Force, 66 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.319 and then hike into campsites just to spend as much 67 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:55.919 time as we could out out in the woods. We 68 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:59.319 both really enjoyed it, and it decompressed us. For me, 69 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:04.560 growing up in rural communities, on farms, on ranches. I 70 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:07.120 spent most of my adolescents growing up in eastern Oregon 71 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:10.719 outside of Pendleton on the Indian Humuntil Indian Reservation out there, 72 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:14.120 and I worked for all the ranchers that were had 73 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:16.879 big ranches and big farms nestled up against the slopes 74 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:19.800 of the Blue Mountains out there, and just a beautiful area. 75 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:22.120 And for me, I came from Florida. I moved up 76 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.800 here when I was eleven from southwest Florida, just south 77 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:28.519 of Fort Myers, and even down there my family we 78 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.199 lived out pretty muchut in the middle of nowhere. We 79 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.040 were the typical southern swamp kids. I don't know most 80 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:38.000 of time, I probably was barefoot and shirtless. And when 81 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:40.079 I was my boy's age now, which there are seven, 82 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:42.399 me and my younger brother, we'd take the john boat 83 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:45.240 out and we'd go hunt alligators and bring back little 84 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:48.279 three foot four foot alligators and just spent our days exploring. 85 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:51.079 And the funny thing is, now that I've gotten more 86 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:55.399 familiar with miss Bigfoot phenomenon and had experiences myself, think 87 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:57.600 about how remote I lived in Florida, and my mom 88 00:04:57.600 --> 00:04:59.360 and dad got divorced at an early as, so there's 89 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:00.839 two different hig This is how we spent our time 90 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:02.480 at and my dad lived out and out in the 91 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:05.319 middle of big swamps. There's no houses around us for 92 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:09.680 six or seven miles. And I never experienced anything in Florida, 93 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:11.560 you know. And I know people say that there's a 94 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.079 lot of activity on there, and I believe them. I 95 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:16.519 believe them. I think that there's a lot of people 96 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.680 that have these experiences and they just don't automatically go 97 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:25.480 to Bigfoot as a first explanation, which in my case 98 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:30.079 for the experiences that I had, while the most of 99 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.199 these happened, Most of these happened, and I didn't even 100 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:39.519 realize what was really behind it until years later, even 101 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:42.879 decades later, on some of these and when you start 102 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:45.240 thinking and putting it together and being like, ah, that 103 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:48.480 explains what happened. And it was one that finding Bigfoot 104 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.160 show kicked off, and there's a lot of fans of 105 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.519 that show, and we discussed my opinions on it, and 106 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:58.519 I think it really mainstreamed the Bigfoot thing absolutely, you know, 107 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:00.879 really brought it out there. But it was more entertainment 108 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:04.680 and hooting and hollering and these microscopic noises that you 109 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.160 hear in your TV you know, when the show's debut 110 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:09.839 and they're like, here, that's a sasquatch. It's a hard 111 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.519 bill to sell, you know, to people that never had experiences. 112 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:14.839 But what I really did get out of that show 113 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:19.480 was listening to people share their encounters. And after listening 114 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:25.279 to several of the very first episodes of Finding Bigfoot, 115 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:27.079 me and my wife both looked at each other and 116 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.360 we're like, we started recounting all these experiences we had, 117 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:32.839 and we really like that explains exactly. 118 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:33.279 What we had happened. 119 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:37.000 Yeah, with that all, I'll just jump into some of 120 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:40.720 the experiences that I've had and I'll give as much 121 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.839 detail as I can to paint the picture. Unless you 122 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.040 for people, I've never been to the Pacific Northwest, you 123 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.920 spent the last few days running around here, really just 124 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.839 dipping your toes into the vastness that's out here. This 125 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:56.879 is a rugged place, and nature rules out here for 126 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:58.160 the most part. I mean you look at right now. 127 00:06:58.199 --> 00:07:01.240 I mean we're surrounded by wildfires. You know that's normal. 128 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:03.959 I have my camper pack right now. I have all 129 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:06.240 my important stuff in there ready to go in case 130 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:07.839 we have to leave. I've had to evacuate the last 131 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:10.120 five years, and so it's just one of those things 132 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:12.360 you prepare for. Reminds me of being in Florida prepared 133 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:14.560 for hurricanes, you know. So, I mean, nature's nature is 134 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:17.439 still rules out here, and a lot of these places are. 135 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:20.839 Even though there's roads going everywhere in this Lamba National Forest, 136 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:25.120 there's just so much uncharted land. There's two thousand plus 137 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:28.079 miles worth of road in this National forest. You could 138 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:30.800 spend decades trying to drive these roads. And I'm friends 139 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:33.879 with a lot of third generation loggers up here, and 140 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:37.000 even these guys haven't explored all the roads out here. 141 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:39.720 It's just incredible how much room there is. I ran 142 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:43.959 a backpacking business where I take people out on paid 143 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.120 hikes and everything. And after getting really involved with backpacking 144 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:51.519 myself and spending spending months outside literally every year, sleeping 145 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:55.199 in the stars, finding the most remote corners of this 146 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:59.639 Western Oregon Cascade Slope wilderness areas, and just spending weeks 147 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:02.480 out in these quiet spots, we really got to know 148 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:08.079 the area well. And my experiences with Bigfoot really only 149 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:11.040 started happening when I moved to Western Oregon, and once 150 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:14.079 I made the realization of what was going on, Like 151 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:16.439 I said, sometimes ten years later plus on some of 152 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:20.680 these experiences, it was kind of exciting and made me 153 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.399 a little bit apprehensive, especially now that I have children, 154 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:25.120 and so all my kids but you know, I have 155 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.560 to seven year old boys that are twins, and I 156 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:29.279 have a nine year old daughter, and we camp all 157 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:32.480 the time. We go super remote. My camp trailer set 158 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:35.519 up for boon dog camping. We never go to campgrounds. 159 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:37.919 We go thirty forty miles out and we'll stay there 160 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.679 for as long as we can usually when we go camping, 161 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:42.879 so usually it's three days, five days or whatever. So 162 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:45.279 my kids know my stories, and I told my kids 163 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.039 all my experiences more as a cautionary tale. I don't 164 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:51.720 know if I don't think these things necessarily want to 165 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:53.440 be your friends. I think they're out there. I don't 166 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:57.200 think I don't think that they are prone to violence 167 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:01.600 and disappear in you or murdering you with anything, especially 168 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:03.720 large animals and especially intelligent large animals. 169 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:06.080 You gotta consider that's a possibility. 170 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:08.799 And I think it's naive to go into the situation 171 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:11.000 and think that all these things are your friends and they're. 172 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:13.200 Just gonna going. 173 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:14.679 To do these things where they're knocking on wood and 174 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:16.759 throwing rocks and charging your tent and stuff. Look at 175 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:19.679 Timothy Treadwell and the bears. We talked about that. He 176 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:22.440 spent decades with these bears, you know, and then moved 177 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:24.120 out there and I don't know how many years he 178 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:26.279 spent up there and Laska with those bears and finally 179 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.399 came across the wrong bear and ate him and his 180 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:31.960 girlfriend right there on camera. Pretty horrific. And I think 181 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:33.799 that that could be the case with these animals too. 182 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:36.720 And I think the more intelligent a creature is, the 183 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:38.840 more likely you are to have personalities, and the more 184 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:43.240 likely you are to just come across a poor, an 185 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:47.159 angry sasquatch. So anyways, my kids know about it. It's 186 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:48.679 really just let them know that they're out there. We 187 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:50.120 deal with cougar and bear all the time up here, 188 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.360 and wolves and everything that's not an issue. 189 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:53.080 I just don't want them. 190 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.559 If my kid ever went missing missing, the last thing 191 00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:57.559 I want to want to worry about is my mind 192 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:01.360 would go to well, crap, like maybe a bigfoot got them, 193 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.720 you know. So anyways, with that, I'll start some of 194 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:08.879 my stories here, some thinking back to my encounters, and 195 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.840 I listed them out here, and I got approximated, and 196 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:13.440 I think for the most part, I'm just gonna I 197 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:15.559 got them listed in the chronological order they happen. I 198 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:17.840 don't know if I'm going to really mention the actual 199 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:19.960 years of these happen. I'll give you the baseline unless 200 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:21.279 you want me to throw it out there. 201 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:24.799 If that's nothing that if you don't mind, that might help. 202 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:25.440 Sure. 203 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.600 Like I said, all these experiences that I've had, except 204 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:33.799 for later ones twenty fourteen on, we had these encounters 205 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.360 and bigfoot wasn't on my radar. I mean, I've always 206 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:39.080 heard the stories growing up here, but I've hunted. I 207 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:42.799 hunted a bunch you know, deer, elk, and lots of 208 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:46.879 bird hunting, and so I've heard stories about bigfoots. But 209 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:51.879 through most of these encounters, it wasn't like I'm being 210 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:54.960 accosted by a bigfoot it was just kind of on 211 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:57.919 a nerving situation and being around wild animals, I don't 212 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:01.240 spook easy. I've been around play any of cougars and bears. 213 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.120 I've been followed for a day with mountain lions, hiking 214 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:06.600 up and through wilderness, and it's really just not an issue. 215 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:08.840 You learn how to act around them, and you know 216 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:11.679 they're there, so you never want to freak out, and 217 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:13.480 you never want to freak out and run. And so 218 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.840 with that being said, you know, so I moved to 219 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:21.480 Eugene area from Pendleton when I was nineteen, and my 220 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:25.559 wife went to University of Oregon and she was studying there. 221 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.639 I was a farm boy out in Pendleton, eastern Oregon 222 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:31.600 on the Until Indian Reservation. And after living in small 223 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:35.000 towns my entire life and rural communities, my wife invited 224 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:38.080 me to be a roommate with her and her other 225 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:40.120 classmates over in Eugene. We were friends. I went to 226 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:42.240 school with my wife. Her dad was my math teacher 227 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:46.000 in high school actually, you know. And so I moved 228 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:48.559 in with her at tuxa village in Eugene. And when 229 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:52.840 I got to Eugene, about two hundred thousand ish population 230 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:55.159 in that area there because Eugene is Springfielder right next 231 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:58.320 to each other, second largest metropolitan area in Oregon. Small 232 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:00.519 for some of the East Coast stuff, but when I 233 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.279 got here, it was exciting moving into a bigger city. 234 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:04.360 I've never been in a big city. 235 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:06.679 What Eugene might be considered small city for most people, 236 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:08.240 but for me, it felt like a big city and 237 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:11.360 it was exciting. So I spent and we spent our 238 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:17.000 first ten years, eight or nine years in Eugene, every 239 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:18.840 day just exploring everything we could. It started with the 240 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:20.440 city and I explored all the parks and it was 241 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:22.919 fun walking through the downtown areas with big buildings and 242 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:25.240 everything was so busy in the hustle and bustle of it. 243 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:30.200 And we started exploring outside of the city limits more 244 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:31.879 and got in a lane county and we ended up 245 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:33.759 in the mountains, and that's when I really got into 246 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.960 backpacking over here. So in two thousand and eight, we 247 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:40.720 were well on our way to pretty much backpacking. Every 248 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:42.399 chance we got, we just me and my wife. We 249 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:45.600 went back back wintertime, it didn't matter. We went rain storms, snowstorms. 250 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:47.759 So in two thousand and eight I got invited to 251 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:52.480 go to Thanksgiving up in as story organ. My mom 252 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:55.000 actually lives up in Warrington out there, which is sits 253 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:58.759 more west of Astoria, I mean, a couple miles away 254 00:12:58.759 --> 00:12:59.279 from the beach. 255 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:00.440 Really pretty area. 256 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:02.799 Probably most people recognize it because of the Meglar Bridge 257 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:04.639 at Big Green Bridge that spans the Columbia River. 258 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:04.919 There. 259 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:07.159 That area's got a lot of history, a lot of 260 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:13.120 old history. And so we drove to Astoria. I was 261 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:17.120 in my wife's ninety six hont A cord and we 262 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:18.960 got to the house where my mom lived, and my 263 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:21.360 brother and my sister were there, and they had kids. 264 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.440 They had taken all the spare rooms in the house, 265 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:27.919 and so we brought a tent just a case, which 266 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:30.159 weren't we were actually looking forward to camp in. Anyways, 267 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:32.000 we figured we would end up pitching our tent somewhere. 268 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:34.840 My mom offered for us to pitch our tent in 269 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:37.000 her yard, but we, like I said, we like to 270 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.120 seek out those quieter places, and so me and my 271 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:42.720 wife we decided to go find a little spot off 272 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:44.559 of one of the main highways out there, a mile 273 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:46.279 or two off and just pitched a tent for a 274 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.879 night or two, and that's where we'd stay. So we 275 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:52.159 got up to Astoria, met with a family and it 276 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.679 was later afternoon, hung out with them for a few hours. 277 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.120 And in November the sun sets quite a bit earlier 278 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:01.720 up here. You're starting to it into shorter days, winters 279 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:05.080 coming and everything like that. And this is before cell 280 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.320 phones and the communions. Having a phone you could just 281 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:09.000 shake and get a flashlight on and stuff like that. 282 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:11.919 So one thing I realized I forgot was my flashlights. 283 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:15.480 And so we swung by the fred Myers in Warrington 284 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:18.120 and on our way to go find a campsite, and 285 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:21.080 I picked up a Coleman lantern, propane lantern, and. 286 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:21.960 I'd never set one up. 287 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:24.279 I was in boy Scouts, grown up and stuff, but 288 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:26.440 they always had the mantles on them, and so I 289 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:28.840 never had to tie myself until we grabbed a lantern, 290 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:33.519 grabbed one of those one pound propane canisters and threw 291 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.200 it in the trunk with our camping gear, and we 292 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:38.399 headed off to go find a spot to camp for 293 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:41.879 a couple of days. We drove through Astoria so over'heading 294 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:47.200 east now on Highway thirty, heading towards Sevenson and Rainier 295 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:49.200 and all those little places that are right along the 296 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:54.440 Columbia River there, and we drove twelve to fourteen miles 297 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:56.120 east out of Astoria. And once you get out of 298 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.279 as story, it turns into just logging country. A house 299 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:02.120 here and there, gold amongst the forest and everything, but 300 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:04.440 pretty open, with a lot of little side roads that 301 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:07.320 come off of it. So fourteen ish miles or so 302 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:10.960 out of Astoria, we find a little road to the right. 303 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:14.039 And I have tried to remember the name of that road, 304 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:18.399 but I just I can't remember the exact name of it. 305 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:19.919 And I've looked on the maps and I found the 306 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:22.679 general area. I couldn't pinpoint the road, but we found 307 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.399 this little road, and it's getting dusk, you know, the 308 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:28.519 sign has got maybe an hour worth of light left 309 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:30.960 in it. And we find this little road, come off 310 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.320 of it off of Highway thirty. Go a couple of 311 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:36.000 miles up this road and find this little four by 312 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:39.159 four track some of the locals must wheel their trucks 313 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:41.159 on and stuff like that drops sharply off this little 314 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:42.480 gravel road that we turned on too. 315 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:43.879 So I pulled the car around. 316 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.080 Figure in there's going to be a wide spot I 317 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.360 camp spot somewhere in there. So pulled the car off 318 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:50.919 the side of the road, grabbed our tents and I 319 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.080 didn't bring our backpack, so we were just carrying stuff 320 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.519 under arms, you know. And so my wife had the 321 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:59.480 ten I had had some gallon jugs of water, the 322 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:01.919 lantern still in the box, still in the box, and everything. 323 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.960 And we hiked down this little trail and it comes 324 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.320 to a little a t junction. You come down and 325 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.159 then there's a junction and we went straight and it 326 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.120 ended up in these big maple trees and there was 327 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:13.159 a campsite under there. 328 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:16.559 Big for society who will be right back after these messages. 329 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:35.480 In fact, actually there was a whole camp site set 330 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:39.720 up and there there was multiple tents, picnic tables, camp chairs, 331 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.080 and on the picnic table it had stuff set up 332 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:44.559 what you see here. It had people's plates and there 333 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:47.480 was some food, chips and stuff and bags. We got 334 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:49.919 in there and everything was covered in leaves because it's 335 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:51.799 fall time, so the trees are dropping their leaves, and 336 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:53.679 it didn't look like anyone had been in that camp 337 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.120 for weeks. I mean, there was a good covering of 338 00:16:57.159 --> 00:16:59.840 leaves over everything, and it was kind of bizarre, you know, 339 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:05.519 And we looked at the situation. We thought it was odd, 340 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:07.079 and we're like, who knows what the deal is? And 341 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:09.599 so we just went back to that junction on that 342 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:11.359 little four by four road, and then we took that 343 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:13.119 other leg that came off of it. 344 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:13.319 There. 345 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:14.880 At that point in time, I've been carrying these water 346 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:17.440 bottles with gallon jugs, so I set them down in 347 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:19.480 the middle of that little t shape junction. 348 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:20.440 I'm like, well, let's just walk down. 349 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:23.079 Here's see if we can't find a spot to put 350 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:26.640 our little two person tent. And we walk two hundred 351 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:29.160 feet down that road. And this road is surrounded by 352 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:33.319 brushts six or seven feet tall, scotch, broom, himalay and blackberries, 353 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.839 a lot of scrub pretty typical two areas that had 354 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:37.599 been logged over a bunch of times. It just turns 355 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:40.559 into a brushing mass. You couldn't walk through this stuff 356 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:43.400 if you wanted to, you know, while walking down this trail, 357 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:45.759 there was just a big enough spot, probably not much 358 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.640 bigger than the footprint that this picnic table takes up, 359 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.039 cleared off the side of the road there where some 360 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:52.640 of some of the bushes have gott knocked down. And 361 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.599 we set the tent up there and it's getting fairly 362 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:57.200 dark now, and I'm like, I'm gonna get that lantern 363 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:01.680 set up, So I unbox it out there and get the. 364 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:02.279 Thing put together. 365 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:04.519 I put the mantles on, and I didn't burn the mantles, 366 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:06.039 and I didn't know you had to light the mantles 367 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:08.279 and burn them in, so I just assembled it, put 368 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:11.079 the propane canister on there, and lit it. The propane 369 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:15.200 lantern lit up for about five seconds and it started 370 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:17.319 burning the mantles down from the top, so it turned 371 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:18.680 to ash, and now you have this heavy weight of 372 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.400 the unburned mantle, and I just watched as both of 373 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.359 those socks just disappeared, and what little light we had 374 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:26.319 disappeared at that point in time. And so at this 375 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:28.640 point in time, it's it's dusk to the point to 376 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:30.839 where you can still see, but it's getting dark, like 377 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:33.599 you couldn't read a book, was getting that dark. And 378 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:34.880 so I told my wife, I'm like, we're just gonna 379 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:36.480 have to camp without the lights tonight. 380 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:37.160 It's not a big deal. 381 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:38.720 And I'm like, I'm gonna I told my wife, I'm like, 382 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:41.039 we I'm gonna head back to that junction and pick 383 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:44.799 up our water jugs that I left there and she 384 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:47.480 said okay. She started setting up our sleep bags and 385 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:49.119 stuff in the tent. So I headed back and I 386 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.519 had my little dog with me, Norty, and she backpacked 387 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:53.480 with such a good dog in the willness, super quiet, 388 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.359 super calm dog. 389 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:58.319 So we head back to get the. 390 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:01.599 Water jugs, and we're walking and Norri's falling right behind 391 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:03.119 me like she always says she never runs in front 392 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:04.920 of us, and broke her of that for hiking on trails. 393 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.279 And I'm getting close to these to these water jugs 394 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:10.079 at this junction, and I can see them up ahead, 395 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:13.000 sixty seventy feet up ahead, and as I get closer 396 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:16.000 my dog, she kind of puffs up her scuff or 397 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:17.920 her scruff on the back of her neck. I looked 398 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:19.680 out at her, and she's been in the wilderness tons 399 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:21.480 and round bears and cooars, and she's not a very 400 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:24.200 reactive dog, and she kind of growls, and I thought 401 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:26.119