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Speaker 1: In the mid nineteen nineties, I attended Utah State University

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in Cache Valley, northern Utah. I was not much of

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a student or a socialite, so I spent most of

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my time procrastinating on doing my homework and exploring the

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nearby mountains. My roommates learned not to worry if I

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didn't come home at night because I was an outdoor enthusiast.

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I preferred camping under the stars to sleeping on a

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lumpy twin mattress in a noisy apartment complex. My summer

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job allowed me to work in remote places like the

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Front Range of the Rockies, the Celway in Idaho, and

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the Bob Marshall Wilderness near the Canadian border. I'd spent

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more time in the mountains and woods than anyone I knew.

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But I had never heard of a howl, seen a track,

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or come across any evidence that would support a sasquatch theory.

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I didn't even believe my father's story of a friend

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who had seen a hairy arm take a pie through

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a kitchen window. I was always comfortable around critters and

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had a knack for approaching them in the wild. I

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have had deer and elk come within feet of me

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while sitting down and eating my lunch. I saw a

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rocky mountain wolf in Montana before the government introduced the

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Canadian packs, which led to the native population going instinct.

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I've had both black and grizzly bears so close that

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I could pet them, and I have fed cowm moose

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from my hand In the wild. The mountains near my

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university were steep and rugged. There were lots of places

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in the canyons where the brush was thick and a

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person would get pretty torn up if he went through

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much of it. The peaks were high and beautiful when

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the early snowstorms dressed them in white, except for the

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steep cliff faces where the snow can't rest. There are

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several well known caves in the mountains. Minnetonka Cave is

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managed by the government and you can take a guided

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tour if you like to see amazing underground formations. The

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famous Logan Cave was a popular destination for adventurers when

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I was young, but it is now secured by a

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huge iron gate to keep people out and allow bats

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to fly as they please. You can park on the

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nearby highway and check out the entrance and I'm certain

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there is at least one other cave in those hills.

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I know because I found it. Sometime in nineteen ninety four.

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I was searching for new places to find adventure. It

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was still warm out. I was in sandals and short

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pants and my favorite threadbare T shirt. I hiked less

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than a mile from a rutted and washed out dirt

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road when I decided to climb up a talus slope

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to the base of a cliff. Hiking up those loose

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rocks was kind of like climbing stairs, except every so

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often a step would give way and start a mini avalanche.

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It took almost no time to reach the top of

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the slide, and from there I followed the base of

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the cliff for several hundred yards, looking for a spot

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where I could safely climb to the top. One gap

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in the rock looked promising, and I started climbing up

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that chute. It was easy climbing, and when I was

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almost to the top, I heard a rattlesnake and I

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saw it sunning itself on the rock at my eye level. Now,

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I'm not afraid of snakes, nor do they bother me

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under normal circumstances, but Seeing those dark eyes and flicking

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tongue just inches from my face sent me into a

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state of hysteria. I pushed back from the I can

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spun halfway around, and I launched myself back down the

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rock face. I landed five feet lower than where I jumped,

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and with the adrenaline pumping, I quickly gained control and

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landed safely. I was just coming to terms with what

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had happened when that stupid snake started crawling down toward me.

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Instead of clearing out, I assumed the position of a

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person being arrested, with my hands and feet spread wide

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against the rock while the snake crawled quickly down through

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the rocks in front of me. I thought about killing

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it and making his skin into a hat band, but

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instead I took a moment to admire the color patterns

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on his back and the intimidating shape of its head.

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I was grateful it was getting out of my way,

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and after the rattler had passed me, I resumed my

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climb up through the rocks to the place where the

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snake had been basking. At this spot was a huge

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rock wedge into the chute that I was climbing. My

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heart was still beating fast, and I looked around for

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other snakes. I found none, and I turned my attention

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to a huge rock. This boulder seemed out of place,

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and it felt somehow unnatural. When I climbed up on top,

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I realized it was blocking the entrance to a cavern.

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There were even scratch marks, as if the rock had

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been moved and then replaced multiple times. I tried to

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move it, but that was useless. The thing had to

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weigh more than five hundred pounds and it was jammed

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in there really tight. I pulled my flashlight out to

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see down into the cavern, but as Murphy only knows,

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the light wouldn't come on. I would have to come

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back another time if I wanted to look back into

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the cave. I hiked back to my car and I

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returned to town. I got a sledgehammer and a hand drill,

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and a set of wedges and a leaf rock splitters

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from the geology professor that I knew. There was still

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plenty of light when I got back to the mountain,

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but as I started up the steep tall of slope,

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the craziest hailstorm I have ever seen rolled in my

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head and my back and my ears were pelted with

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half inch balls of ice. The pain was intense, and

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I retreated as fast as I could to the trees

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in the canyon below. They gave me shelter and I

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nursed my wounds while the hail piled up around me.

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And when the storm subsided, I hiked up to the

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cliff one more time, but for some reason, I couldn't

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find the rocky chute I had climbed into earlier that day.

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I searched for hours, but it got dark and I

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had to leave. It was more than six months later

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before I was able to return and search for the cave.

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It was a beautiful spring day, but the rock slide

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was still covered in deep icy snow. I hiked it

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easily and found the spot where I had climbed up

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the cliff before. I was better prepared and I had

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two working flashlights, good tools for breaking the rock. I

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was so excited I broke that boulder up in a

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matter of minutes. Using one of my lights. I could

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see that the opening got smaller as it went back

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into the cliff. I was never a skinny person, but

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I managed to squeeze my way back about fifteen feet

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from the entrance, and I was pleasantly surprised when it

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opened up again into a small chamber. I shined my

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light around. I immediately realized that the chamber was not natural.

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It had been opened up and excavated by someone. The

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ceiling and the floor of the cavern were flat, and

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four straight walls made the room gim metric. Along the sidewall,

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I could see three rotten logs that had been torn

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up to make what appeared to be a bed of compost.

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I also found sick deer hoofs. The walls were bare

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except for one spot that had been darkened by an

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ancient fire. I didn't find anything else at that time,

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and I assumed it was a primitive shelter that had

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been abandoned. I left everything as I had found it,

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and I decided to go back with supplies to turn

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the shelter into my own private man cave. It took

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a week or more before I had the items I

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wanted for the cave, and I returned with great anticipation.

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The first things I packed into the cave were a lantern,

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a cot, and a but tane stove, and a huge

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military down sleeping bag. I was making my second hull

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with food and a giant bean bag. When I heard

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rocks tumbling down the cliff. Now that's nothing unusual in

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the early spring, so I kept hiking and I climbed

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right up to the opening, and then I realized what

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had caused the rock fall. Another big boulder was way

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in front of the cave opening. If I had been

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inside when it fell, i'd still be there today. I

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set the bean bag down and pulled myself up on

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the new rock to survey the damage and assess the situation,

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and to my surprise, another century rattlesnake was waiting silently

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in the sunlight, and he looked intent on standing his ground.

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I had one of those feelings like I was being watched,

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but mostly I just laughed in spite of my situation.

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I was grateful not to be trapped, and pretty sure

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it would be a bad idea to open the entrance again.

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My beautiful surplus sleeping bag and antique oil Leonard would

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never keep me company in the wilderness again. But at

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least I got out of there alive. I tossed my

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bean bag down the hill and resumed climbing to the

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top of the cliffs. The snow at the top had melted,

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the sun had hit it, and the soil was saturated.

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I noticed some big Indians in the ground that could

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have been footprints, and again I had the feeling that

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I was being watched. This time I looked up to

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see if I was alone. That's when I became a believer.

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Standing just a few feet away was a man staring

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at me. Now I say a man because he was

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a man, but he was not a normal fellow. He

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was standing with his hands on his hips, and he

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was giving me the look like my grandmother would have

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given me if she caught me stealing a cookie out

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of her kitchen. He didn't speak, but he stared at

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me for a few moments while I stared back at him.

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He stood fully upright, and there was no doubt that

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he was intelligent. He was immensely larger than me, standing

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at least two feet taller, and was much wider in

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the shoulders. Physically, he appeared to be exceptionally strong. He

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was naked. He had black hair covered ring most of

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his body except for the black skin on his cheeks

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and forehead. In his ears, I could tell that he

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had his manhood, but it was buried under a big

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mat of hair. I didn't stare long, but it was

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clear that the hair in his pelvic region was thicker

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than elsewhere on his body, and it provided a bit

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of modesty to his nakedness. The hair on his shoulders

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was like a thick shawl, and on his chest it

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thinned and I could see through to his skin. The

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most striking feature I remember was that he looked very

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old and ancient. He was like a living fossil. I

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did not panic or feel scared. I don't know why,

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but I decided to speak to him. I said hello,

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and I told him my name and asked for his

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His eye seemed to soften for a moment, and I

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was sure that he understood me, but instead of speaking,

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he extended a huge arm, a hand and a finger

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to point the way for me to leave. I walked

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away slowly, and I never turned to look back. Since

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that day, I have heard many stories of people encountering Bigfoot.

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Many of the stories have common features that clearly define

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what Bigfoot looks like. Many people comment on his distinctive smell,

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glowing red eyes, and exceptionally long arms, which leads me

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to believe they saw the same type of creature I saw.

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But the man I saw did not have any of

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those features. His eyes were piercing, but I gathered it

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was because he was upset with me trying to move

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into one of his caves. I didn't smell anything out

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of the ordinary, and the length of his arm seemed

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proportional for a person. I'm old and fat now, and

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I doubt I could make the hike back into his cave.

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Maybe someday when the snow was melting in the spring sun,

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and I'll find a way to get back up there.

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And maybe when that time comes, he'll let me once

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again see him face to face. Maybe next time he'll

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even tell me his name. Okay, that was a great story.

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I actually spent about thirty minutes looking through this huge

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list of stories that I have to read to you all,

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and I picked this one out intentionally because number one,

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I only have time to do one story in this

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podcast today. Number two, it just struck me as a

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really well written, well thought out story, and it's really

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intriguing to me. I like these stories where people see

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something they get older and they want to go back

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and look at the area. One of the stories that

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really intrigued me in that way was a story I

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did years ago called The Handhouse. You can do a

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search for that and find it. I can almost feel,

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you know, I'm getting older. I'm six. I just turned

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sixty three back in August, and I'm starting to feel of,

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I don't know, a little nostalgia for my youth and

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the things that I saw and did and love what

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I'm doing now. But so this story kind of struck

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me as interesting, So that's why I read it. Okay,

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in the coming days and weeks, I'll be putting more

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podcasts out. I just I have to tell you and

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be candid with you. I've been gone for a couple

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about two and a half weeks, and I just didn't

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feel like doing the podcast. I spent time with my wife.

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We hooked up our RV, we went down to the

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beach and spent a few days, and I've been doing

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some stuff around my place and doing a little bit

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of work. I'm kind of officially semi retired. I'm just

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working for one customer right now and they have little

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little bones they pitched to me, and I knock them

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out make a little extra pocket change. But I'm starting

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to feel the pull now that it's gonna about to

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start getting cooler. To really pour myself back into this podcast.

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I've got Steve Lilly Number nineteen done. I'm loving writing it.

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I know I'm about a year later on it, but

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I don't know. I just decided on this podcast. I

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just do it when I want to, and I do

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it when I really feel compelled to do it. And

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I loved reading this story. I had a great time

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coming back to this. So that's kind of where I'm at.

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Nobody cares, but I just thought i'd let you know.

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So I appreciate you listening to this podcast, and we

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will see you guys on the next one. Thanks so much.