WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:10.160 Back in the summer of two thousand and two, Ted, 2 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:13.880 his wife Jenny, and their daughter Lauren were camping with 3 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:18.239 Ted's younger brother Mike in the forests near Sisters, Oregon. 4 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:22.679 They both had deer tags for the Metolius unit and 5 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:26.679 were scouting the area for deer. On the second day, 6 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:30.399 while planning the next day's excursions, Ted remembered a great 7 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:34.520 location where he had camped previously, where there were major 8 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:38.799 game trails going all over the ridge. Mike decided to 9 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:42.560 check out the area the next morning with his wife. 10 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:45.399 The next afternoon, they all met back at camp, and 11 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:48.840 Mike reported that they had something strange happened while they 12 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:53.200 were up there exploring the game trail. He told Ted 13 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:56.679 that as they were walking, suddenly, about fifty yards or 14 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.880 so up the trail, they noticed that a twenty five 15 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:04.000 foot tree was being shaken violently, but they didn't see 16 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:07.560 anything that could have caused the tree to shake. They 17 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:10.159 both agreed that it must have been a bear, as 18 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:12.359 they were not sure what else it could have been. 19 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:16.079 The next morning, Mike and his wife decided to go 20 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:18.560 back to check it out, while Ted and his family 21 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:23.000 decided to go explore some nearby caves. When they returned 22 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.599 to camp, Mike's tent and all their belongings were gone. 23 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.959 All that was left was a note saying that they 24 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:32.879 had run into a bigfoot and they were heading home. 25 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:37.000 Mike explained to Ted what happened the next day on 26 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:40.879 the phone after everyone had returned home. He said that 27 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:43.959 they made it up to the tree that was being shaken, 28 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:46.719 and they were looking for tracks when he heard some 29 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:50.280 brush rustle towards the top of the hill. When he 30 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:53.280 looked up, a boulder of the size of a basketball 31 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:55.959 was flying through the air towards them and landed on 32 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:58.760 the trail right in front of them, shaking the ground 33 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:02.359 as it hit. At this moment, he said that every 34 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:05.680 hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. 35 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.719 Before he could say anything to his wife, here comes 36 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:13.719 another rock, similar in size, and this time the boulder 37 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.879 landed to their right. He explained that when this happened, 38 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.919 fear had taken over and he could fear his back 39 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:24.599 tents up. And then here comes the third rock, landing 40 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:28.639 right there as well. He raised his twenty two rifle 41 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:31.680 and shot three times over the area where the rocks 42 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:35.199 were coming from, and then he shouted as anybody up there. 43 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:40.400 After waiting with no response, Mike had an eerie feeling 44 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:43.039 and he yelled to his wife, let's get out of 45 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:47.680 here before we die. After talking with his brothers about 46 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:51.039 this experience, a plan was put together to go back 47 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:53.960 to the area soon and find out what the heck 48 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:58.599 was going on. The following Saturday, they loaded for bear. 49 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:02.000 Ted had a twenty two mag pistol and a two 50 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:06.199 seventy rifle and an Arkansas toothpick, which is actually a 51 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:10.000 big knife. Mike had a three hundred Weatherby mag and 52 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.960 a twenty two mag pistol as well as a knife, 53 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:17.120 and both of them had pockets full of bullets. They 54 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:20.080 loaded up the suburban with all their gear, plus their 55 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:22.879 wives and all the kids, and they headed out early 56 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:30.240 Saturday morning, arriving around seven am. Everything seemed normal, very calm, 57 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:34.520 no winds, birds were chirping, squirrels were playing, and the 58 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:38.000 sun was coming up in the east. Ted and Mike 59 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:40.360 grabbed their guns and headed to the spot where the 60 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:44.199 tree was. They had made it to the tree and 61 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:47.000 were looking for the rocks, keeping one eye on the 62 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:50.599 ridge where the rocks had come from, and out of nowhere, 63 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:54.520 a violent crash sounded from the exact spot where the 64 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:58.080 rocks had come from last week. It sounded like a 65 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.560 tree was being picked up and slam against another tree. 66 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:05.759 Holy crap. Immediately they were each down on one knee 67 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:09.159 looking through their scopes trying to find whatever had just 68 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:12.680 made that noise. Then they noticed that the woods had 69 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:17.879 shut down with no noise whatsoever. Mike was also scanning 70 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:20.879 the hillside with his rifle as Ted walked over to him, 71 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:25.120 whispering what in the world was that. They stood for 72 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:28.120 a few moments in silence, and Ted said to Mike, 73 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:32.639 if it charges, I'm gonna kill it. About that time, 74 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:36.600 a second thunderous crash happened again in the same spot. 75 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:40.600 Ted's heart was in his throat and beating like a drunk. 76 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:44.000 As they both stood scanning the trees with their rifles. 77 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:47.360 Ted looked at Mike and said, let's walk up there 78 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:50.800 and let's flush it out in the open. Mike must 79 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:54.319 have thought to himself, good grief, this guy's got a set. 80 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:58.959 Holy crap. As they started up a hill, the third 81 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:04.040 crash happened, Guns loaded and safeties off. They slowly started 82 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:07.079 walking up the hill toward where they heard the last crash. 83 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:10.920 They got halfway up the hill and suddenly heard a 84 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:15.279 suburban start up. Fearing the worst, they turned and took 85 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:18.399 off on a dead run to the rig. They arrived 86 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:20.920 in a panic, only to find that their wives and 87 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:24.360 kids had become cold sitting in the rig and needed 88 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:28.000 to run the heater. Ted looked at Mike and asked, 89 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:30.639 do you want to go back up there, and Mike replied, 90 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:35.680 heck no, my heart cannot take it. They never saw anything, 91 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:40.959 but concluded that their experience was typical Bigfoot behavior, shaking 92 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:46.120 of trees, throwing rocks, whacking sticks, and that's our story. 93 00:05:47.879 --> 00:05:53.399 Chapter two, The Midnight Visitor. Six years later, in the 94 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.560 fall of two thousand and eight, Ted, his wife Jenny, 95 00:05:56.600 --> 00:06:00.360 and their daughter Lauren, as well as Ted's older brother Traps, 96 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:04.199 had drawn deer tags for the Metolius unit and were 97 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:09.000 excited for opening day. They arrived Friday evening and set 98 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:11.720 up camp near where they had camped with Ted's older 99 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:15.639 brother a few years earlier. They put their two tents 100 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.639 up about eight feet apart, with a giant tarp that 101 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:22.360 was thirty by twenty five feet in the trees about 102 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:25.279 ten feet up to keep the rain and the dew 103 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:28.879 off of them and their supplies. They had plans to 104 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:34.040 stay Friday night until the following weekend, nine days in total. 105 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.560 Everything was going great. They were seeing lots of deer 106 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:42.079 passing on some smaller bucks and hoping for bigger ones 107 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:47.079 to appear. On Wednesday evening, after dinner, they decided to 108 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.720 play a game of Bolder Dash. It had been a 109 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:54.000 long day as they had risen early, and everyone seemed 110 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:57.480 to have giggles, especially Ted and Travis when it came 111 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:01.360 to weird words on the playing cards. Let's just say 112 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:03.920 they were all having a great time at hunting camp 113 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.560 without a care in the world, and then they finally 114 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:12.519 decided to go to bed around ten o'clock. Around two am, 115 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:16.319 Ted was awakened to heavy footsteps coming toward the camp 116 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.360 from his brother's truck that was parked about one hundred 117 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.800 feet from the camp. It was dead calm out in 118 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:27.399 about fifteen degrees fahrenheit. The ground was crunchy because of 119 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:31.120 the freezing weather. Ted had been sleeping with his two 120 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:34.800 seventy savage by his right side, loaded and ready, with 121 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:39.000 his wife and daughter sleeping to his left. His first 122 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:41.800 thought was Travis went to his truck for something and 123 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:45.560 I'm only hearing him coming back to camp. As it 124 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:48.879 was walking toward camp, Ted could distinctly hear that it 125 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.480 was walking on two legs, and as it was getting closer, 126 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:56.519 he started to hear it breathe. He thought that his 127 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:59.160 brother might have had an upset stomach and must have 128 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.959 gone to the truck to get some pills. But as 129 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.600 he heard it walking towards camp, it sounded like it 130 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:08.560 stopped at the fire pit. The sound was like Darth 131 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:14.120 Vader breathing, low and deep. Unbeknownst to Ted, his brother 132 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:17.279 was now awaking his own tent, and he was thinking 133 00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:20.120 that it was Ted gathering firewood in the middle of 134 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:24.079 the night, and that he was out of breath. As 135 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:27.160 both men were lying there in their separate tents, they 136 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:30.639 realized about the same time what they were dealing with. 137 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:35.399 This heavy breathing went on for ten to fifteen minutes. 138 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.559 Ted was thinking that it was spending a lot of 139 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:41.399 time there because of all the odors, as that is 140 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:44.480 where he had been doing all the cooking. He could 141 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:48.080 not get himself out of bed to peek, but remained motionless, 142 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:52.360 listening so intently that he was not thinking of anything else. 143 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:56.559 Then it walked over to Travis's tent and stood right 144 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:59.480 in front of the doorway and remained there for several 145 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:05.000 minutes and still breathing like Darth Vader. It seemed as 146 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.240 if he was contemplating what to do next or wondering 147 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:12.960 what he was smelling. Later, Travis remarked that the sound 148 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:15.480 of his breathing seemed to be coming from the top 149 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:17.960 part of the tent, about seven and a half to 150 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:22.480 eight feet high. Travis never moved a muscle, controlling his 151 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:25.519 breathing and thinking, I left my gun in my truck. 152 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.360 Oh crap. And then they both heard it walk off 153 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:32.639 into the woods about fifty feet and then it stopped. 154 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:35.919 It was there for quite a while and then started 155 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.480 walking again up the hill, and then everything went silent, 156 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:44.320 and then suddenly they both heard two long, clear calls 157 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.799 that sounded like a whoop up the hill in the distance. 158 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.480 Soon the brothers both got up and built a huge 159 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:55.600 fire and started talking about the encounter, each telling the other, 160 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:00.039 I thought that was you. When daylight came, they I 161 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.159 told the girls what had happened and began looking around 162 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:06.840 the area for tracks. They didn't find anything, but they 163 00:10:06.919 --> 00:10:09.679 realized that they were not leaving tracks either because of 164 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:12.879 the frozen ground, which was littered with pine needles and 165 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:18.480 small rocks. As they were recalling the experiences the previous night, 166 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:21.279 they both agreed that they heard it leave camp and 167 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:25.120 stop about fifty feet out. They all then began to 168 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:27.240 scan the woods to find out what it may have 169 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:31.000 been doing, and then Travis yelled out, I found something. 170 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:35.360 That something ended up being a giant tird that the 171 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:39.519 bigfoot had left. Travis looked at it and exclaimed, I 172 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:42.600 have hunted my entire life and I've never seen a 173 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:47.320 tird like this. Lauren joked that it was probably hers. 174 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:52.799 These people have a sense of humor. I love it. 175 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:55.279 It was about twelve inches long and three to four 176 00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:58.360 inches around and had pieces of bark and leaves in it. 177 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:01.279 Travis said that they should wrap it in fall and 178 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.919 put it in the cooler, to which Jenny replied, oh, 179 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:08.039 hell no. As they stood there that morning, they were 180 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:12.039 in disbelief that they experienced another bigfoot encounter close to 181 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:14.519 the spot where they had come across him a few 182 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:19.600 years before. Ted remembered reading once that bigfoot is attracted 183 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:24.679 to laughter and noise. Now he knows they are coincidentally 184 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:30.399 Travis decided to go home later that day. Chapter three, 185 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:36.360 I finally got a glimpse of one. In twenty seventeen, 186 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:39.639 Ted and his wife Jenny had purchased elk tags for 187 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:43.759 the Cascade Range in Oregon. They got up early on 188 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:46.639 opening morning, threw all the gear in the truck, and 189 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.720 headed out in hopes to bag a couple of bull elk. 190 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.279 They decided to begin their day in the woods around 191 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:57.279 the Marion Forks on Highway twenty two and then travel 192 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:01.720 Sheep Creek to Highway twenty. This would provide a full 193 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:05.919 day of hunting and driving. That afternoon, they arrived at 194 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.200 Highway twenty and Ted said to Jenny, well, we have 195 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:12.200 at least one hour of daylight left. If we head 196 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:14.559 to our old deer camp area where we have all 197 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:17.919 the bigfoot activity, we could hunt the last half hour 198 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:22.279 of daylight. Jenny agreed, and as they arrived at the area, 199 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.240 the sun was going down and the woods were getting dark. 200 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:28.240 Ted made a turn down a gravel road and as 201 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:30.840 he was coming out of a corner, he looked down 202 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:34.639 the road. About three hundred yards on the left side, 203 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:37.960 he could see something dark, black standing just off the 204 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.320 side of the road. Next to the pines. It looked 205 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.240 out of place. It was the only thing black that 206 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.399 was close to the edge. He slammed on the brakes 207 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:50.759 and he yelled for Jenny to get the binoculars. As 208 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:53.799 he focused the binoculars, he could see the shoulders and 209 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.879 the head, but no facial features. It had a cone head. 210 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:01.240 As he was looking at it through the binoculars, it 211 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:03.919 just stepped off the road and he clearly saw that 212 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:07.200 it walked on two legs. Then he yelled, hang on 213 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:11.240 and punched it to get a little closer. They got 214 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:13.759 to where it had been standing, got out to look 215 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.039 and listen for a while, but did not hear or 216 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:20.159 see anything. The next morning he put out two game 217 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:24.679 cameras on that trail, but he captured nothing. The area 218 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:27.639 where he spotted this bigfoot was about a mile and 219 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.240 a half from where they had the midnight visitor in 220 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.200 about three quarters of a mile from where the bigfoot says, 221 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:36.679 get the hell out. All these incidents happened in the 222 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:40.639 late summer early fall of the year. The crazy thing 223 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:44.279 about this is the brothers had all heard of bigfoot 224 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.200 while growing up, but did not really give it much 225 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:52.039 of thought until these experiences. It serves to change one's 226 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:56.240 minds about what is out there. Ted's opinion is it 227 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:59.159 is an ape that walks upright like a human and 228 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:02.879 that it is not eternal. It still will move during 229 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:06.480 daylight hours if it needs to. Thanks for listening to 230 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:13.600 our stories and happy Honting. My first encounter happened when 231 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.240 I was nine years old. I was fishing with my 232 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:19.039 brother and my stepdad on a remote part of the 233 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:23.480 river in Edwards, New York. We were about two miles 234 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:25.799 back in the woods from any main road or house. 235 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.440 I was fishing by myself in a section of the 236 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:31.519 river when all of a sudden, I had a sense 237 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.600 of fear come over me. I was scared like any 238 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:37.320 nine year old boy would be, when all of a sudden, 239 00:14:37.320 --> 00:14:40.159 on the other side of the river, a forty foot 240 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:44.320 tall dead pine was pushed over thirty yards inside of 241 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:47.600 the woodline, right in front of me. There was no 242 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:50.039 breeze this day, and no black bear was going to 243 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:53.440 knock over such a huge tree. It scared me to 244 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.279 my core, and being a clueless kid, I ran to 245 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:59.240 find my stepdad at the time, just for a sense 246 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.759 of safety. My second encounter happened in a small town 247 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:07.000 in western Vermont, where I have lived my entire life, 248 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:10.360 and I was heading to a job site early that morning. 249 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:13.759 When driving down a two lane country road which I 250 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:16.440 had traveled a thousand times, I came around the corner 251 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.759 in the road and a figure stepped out from behind 252 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:21.679 a tree for a few seconds. As I caught it 253 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:25.000 in the high beams of my lifted Chevy pickup truck, 254 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.200 I was at a loss for words when my brother 255 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.440 said from the passenger's seat, did you see that too? 256 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:35.639 Judging by the hood of my truck, this thing was 257 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:39.240 all of seven feet tall that had yellow eyes shine. 258 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:43.639 Although the sighting was one of only a few seconds, 259 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:46.759 but I knew what I had seen, and my brother 260 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:50.000 was there too to witness it with me for verification. 261 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:55.600 My third encounter happened in November of twenty twenty. I 262 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:58.440 was hunting with my brother on an eleven thousand acre 263 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:02.039 parcel of state land around ten in the morning, and 264 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:04.200 I had not seen a thing, when all of a sudden, 265 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:07.840 I had an overwhelming sense of fearing something was watching 266 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:11.799 me in the woods, and everything went quiet, and I 267 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:15.120 couldn't help but fixate on a strange looking stump one 268 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.039 hundred and twenty yards out through the hard woods, and 269 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:22.679 it didn't look right. Many people have the experience of 270 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.200 mind speak from these creatures. I knew what was in 271 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:28.879 the area, and I simply said in my mind that 272 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.600 I was only here for one deer, and I meant 273 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:36.360 him no harm. Would he please leave me alone? Although 274 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.200 I didn't get a response, after five minutes or so, 275 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:43.080 the feelings went away and the stump I was fixated 276 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:46.720 on was gone. I've had many odd things happen to 277 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:49.039 me in the woods in my twenty one years of hunting. 278 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:57.399 These times are definitely the weirdest, so I've been reluctant 279 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:00.120 to send this to you. I'm a private person, and 280 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:03.440 the less people know about my private life, the better. 281 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:07.160 I have nothing to hide. I just prefer the peaceful 282 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:12.599 forest over the business of crowds and town life. My brother, 283 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:15.359 who sent you his recollection of the event I'm about 284 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.960 to relate, is the exact opposite. If there's a crowd 285 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:21.680 gathering in Times Square, you can bet he'll be in 286 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:24.960 the middle of it, telling a story and entertaining the masses. 287 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.359 I think our different personalities and outlooks on life will 288 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:32.480 become evident to anyone who compares the two versions of 289 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:38.359 the story. As for me, I would rather remain anonymous. 290 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:43.839 I will leave identifying details a bit blurred for anonymity's sake. 291 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:47.039 And when my brother sent me his account for review, 292 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:50.400 having already sent it to you, I was pretty upset 293 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:54.640 to see how many identifying details he had included. He 294 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.880 feels the details make the story. I'm too private for that. 295 00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:03.440 When I was five, my family moved from Long Island, 296 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:06.480 New York, to a small town in Maine. It was 297 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:09.319 there that I discovered my love for hunting and being 298 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.720 in the woods. My dad was not a hunter nor 299 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:16.000 an outdoorsman, but that is all I ever wanted to be. 300 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.119 At age seven, I packed a knapsack with canned goods, 301 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.279 a sleeping bag, and a hunting knife and a tent, 302 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:25.559 and I sat on my bike with a fishing pole 303 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.079 in a tackle box, and I headed off for a 304 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:30.920 few days of camping on top of a local mountain 305 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:34.960 located a few miles outside of my town. My wife 306 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.240 never believed that story until my mother confirmed it, saying 307 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:41.640 it was who he was and we couldn't stop him. 308 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:44.799 I loved being in the woods. I think that's why 309 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.759 I joined the Army after high school, I wanted to 310 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:50.240 be out in nature, even if it was wet, muddy, 311 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:54.240 and labor intensive and mandatory fun, as my sergeant would 312 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:58.359 call it. As an adult, I still love hunting season, 313 00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:01.920 from both seasoned to black power to rifle season, and 314 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.079 if the deer season is in, I'm in the woods. 315 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:09.000 But nothing I have ever seen or heard would have 316 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:13.119 prepared me for what I saw that night. It was 317 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:16.920 a cold but clear January night, and my brother and 318 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.079 I were traveling back from Florida to college in Ohio. 319 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.920 We are two years apart, but I had spent two 320 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:26.519 years in the Army after high school, so we were 321 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:30.519 now classmates in college together. I'd had to cut my 322 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:33.720 Christmas break short to get back for Army reserve duty. 323 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.519 The following weekend. We packed my small car with all 324 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:39.920 the clothes and care packages we could fit, and we 325 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:44.799 headed off on the long drive. We switched off driving 326 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:47.319 whenever one of us would get tired, but neither of 327 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:51.279 us truly slept while the other was driving. And during 328 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:54.400 this particular leg, it was in the early morning hours 329 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:57.519 and I was driving I seventy seven through West Virginia. 330 00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:00.640 I was tired, but I had played tent of a mountain, 331 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:04.200 dew coursing through my veins, and combined with the experience 332 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.240 of plenty of long nights pulling guard duty, so I 333 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:12.920 knew some techniques to stay awake and alert. Interstate seventy 334 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:16.920 seven northbound was quiet at one am, and there was 335 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:21.039 not much traffic either way. The moon was full or 336 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:24.839 close to it, as I recall, the moonlight lit up 337 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:27.720 a fresh blanket of snow that covered the median and 338 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:32.200 long sloping shoulders on either side of the highway. I 339 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:35.680 could see ahead for several hundred yards. The air was 340 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:39.000 clear and cold, and there was nothing to obstruct or 341 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:43.160 obscure my field of view. The Army taught me several 342 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:47.440 things that I still used today, target location and ranging, 343 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:52.799 defensive and offensive driving. I never used either skill in combat. 344 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.519 I left active duty just prior to our first Gulf War, 345 00:20:57.160 --> 00:21:02.519 but I definitely used those skills at night. Ahead of me, 346 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:05.160 on the shoulder of the southbound lanes, I saw what 347 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:08.319 appeared to be too deer. They were high on the 348 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:12.039 shoulder at the tree line, four to five hundred yards ahead. 349 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:18.319 I easily picked up their movement target acquisition. Seeing deer 350 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.400 was fairly common on this stretch of the highway. The 351 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.559 lead deer started running toward the highway, with the second 352 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:29.640 one following, but their git was wrong. Something was off 353 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:33.200 about it. As I closed the distance, I saw that 354 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:38.359 they weren't deer, but perhaps they were wolves. I had 355 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.240 heard that West Virginia might have a wolf population, but 356 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:44.599 had never seen a wolf outside of a National geographic 357 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:48.559 special on the television. As I watched the road and 358 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:51.240 the animals, it appeared that they were going to intercept 359 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:54.880 my car. At seventy miles an hour, it wouldn't be 360 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.240 long before they were on my side of the highway, 361 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:59.160 and I did not want to hit anything of that 362 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:04.200 size with the small car. As we sped toward each other, 363 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:07.599 I could see that yes, they were wolf like, but 364 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.559 they were not wolves. They were much larger, with downward 365 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:15.920 sloping backs, much like a hyena. I had never seen 366 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:20.640 or heard of anything like this. At one hundred yards 367 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:24.440 or so before impact, the lead creature stood on its 368 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.799 two hind legs and in two bounds, crossed the southbound 369 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:32.920 lanes and was halfway across the center median. The second 370 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.119 creature was now running and leaping like a human, but 371 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:40.480 with enormous strides. I could see its wolf like face 372 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:43.480 and teeth bared like an angry dog, and evil eyes. 373 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.599 Its upper body was wiry, like a pro fighter. It 374 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:51.240 was a muscular insinewy. I could see the muscle through 375 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:55.079 its coarse hair. Yes it was hair, it was not fur. 376 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:59.640 At the last second, I slammed the gas pedal and 377 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:03.359 the end engine roared. The little sportstor came to life, 378 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:06.359 and we jumped to eighty miles an hour. Almost instantly, 379 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:10.759 the lead creature leaped at the car with its jaws 380 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:15.119 wide and hate in its eyes. It barely missed the 381 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:18.839 back quarter panel before continuing up the other shoulder into 382 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:24.039 the woods, with its partner following just behind. This event 383 00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:28.440 happened over thirty years ago. I just turned fifty this month, 384 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:32.720 and my life has been pretty uneventful since. I've lost 385 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:35.519 the fine points of many of my memories, but I 386 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:40.599 remembered this story clearly. With that said, I honestly didn't 387 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:43.400 recall my brother being in the car with me, and 388 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.039 it wasn't until I read his account that my memory 389 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:50.319 was jogged. Perhaps it was because he was semi sleeping 390 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:54.319 quietly in the passenger seat. I'm not sure, but I 391 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.119 do know what I saw, and that I had never 392 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:01.200 heard of a dog man prior to this. I grew 393 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:04.680 up on bigfoot stories ever since we watched Colonel Steve 394 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:08.319 Austin's run in with Sasquatch on The six Million Dollar Man. 395 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:13.319 But this story has a twist. The next few days 396 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:17.039 I spent getting settled back into my college routine. I 397 00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:19.440 got my apartments set up and went back to work 398 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:23.000 at the university bookstore. But the event of that night 399 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:27.039 on I seventy seven still haunted me. This was the 400 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:30.880 early nineteen nineties, before the Internet. There weren't a lot 401 00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:33.839