WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:10.560 My family is originally from Sitka, Alaska. I'm the third 2 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:14.000 oldest of five children, with three brothers and one sister. 3 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.640 When I was fifteen, my dad decided to take a 4 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:20.839 better job in the lower forty eight, so we moved 5 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:25.480 to Blewett, Washington. We brought our two pet dogs with us, 6 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:29.519 a Border Collie named Awnie and Chance, our golden retriever. 7 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:32.799 This was the first time in my life I would 8 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:37.039 call another place home. We moved into a two story 9 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:39.479 house deep in the woods on top of a slight 10 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:42.399 hill on the side of a spur of the East 11 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:48.240 Cascade Mountains near Wanaichi National Forest. It was originally built 12 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:50.840 by a mountaineer who came there with some friends to 13 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:54.600 mine the gold and silver. It was notched into a 14 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:57.759 cleared space that was thirty feet in diameter and was 15 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:02.079 surrounded by a dense wall of trees. In addition to these, 16 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:06.040 there were fruit trees and maples planted by a former tenant. 17 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.959 The property also contained a chicken coop and a pen, 18 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:15.519 again built by the former occupant. Our closest neighbor was 19 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:19.840 a co manager of a logging company from Estonia. He 20 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.480 was a reserved, polite man who was approaching middle age. 21 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.439 He spent half the year living alone and blew It, 22 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:30.920 and the other half in Switzerland. Several times he came 23 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:33.400 over to cut down dead or dying trees that my 24 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:37.239 parents were concerned might fall on their children or stove 25 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:41.040 in their house, and in return, my parents invited him 26 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:45.799 to supper and gave him homemade jams. My brothers and 27 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:49.280 sisters and I were excited to move into our new home. 28 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.640 In its surrounding there was even a hot tub and 29 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:55.319 a swing on the porch that ran along the northeast 30 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:58.599 side of the house. And aside from visits over the 31 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:02.079 holidays to family and friends in the Deep South, I 32 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:07.799 had never visited, much less lived anywhere outside of Sitka. 33 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.520 Most people hear about the state of Alaska and they 34 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:16.759 think wilderness. Despite Sitka being situated between the mountains and 35 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:20.000 the sea, we weren't the kind of family who got 36 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.000 out into nature. We did take the occasional hike, and 37 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:27.080 we had our share of camping and fishing trips, but 38 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.400 it wasn't until we moved to blew It that we 39 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:34.240 started spending more time outdoors. Besides the fruit trees and 40 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:37.479 maples that needed to be tended, my made a garden, 41 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.520 and we all helped with it. We decided to make 42 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.800 use of a coop, so we started with twenty chickens. 43 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:48.560 We used the existing pen to raise hogs. Because the 44 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:50.879 house was old and built like a cabin, it was 45 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:54.639 in need of constant repair. But Dad was an organized 46 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:58.400 and competent worker who patched the holes where vermin sometimes 47 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.319 got in, and set the water and beams straight, and 48 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:05.520 put new screens in the windows. One evening in two 49 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:08.639 thousand and three, my brothers and I were outside on 50 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:11.400 the apron of the long drive that led down to 51 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:14.759 the public road, helping Dad bring in some supplies from 52 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:19.319 town when we heard a loud, eerie scream. It rose 53 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:24.039 in pitch and it lasted for several seconds. It sounded horrible, 54 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:28.240 like someone being murdered. My muscles froze and my blood 55 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:31.639 ran cold at the sound. Well we thought it might 56 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:34.199 have come from close by on the hillside above us, 57 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:37.280 and we stared at each other in the surrounding forest, 58 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:42.000 but we didn't see or hear anything. The forest had 59 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:45.199 gone quiet, or maybe it just appeared that way after 60 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:49.000 the sudden, terrifying howl, and a minute or two later, 61 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.199 the scream came again, and this time from closer in 62 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:57.280 the woods above us. The scream sounded like nothing we'd 63 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:01.120 ever heard before. Dad said it was probably a cougar 64 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:05.520 or someone messing around. There was a cabin a mile 65 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:08.599 or so up the mountain behind the house, and that 66 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:11.879 was sometimes used by hikers and boy Scouts and a 67 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:15.479 Bible School youth group. He thought it might be something 68 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.279 like that, but nevertheless, he sent us inside and told 69 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.720 us not to go out again. That evening, Mom and 70 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:26.040 my sister heard the screams as well, and that evening 71 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.600 my Dad and my oldest brother Sjay, saw to the 72 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:34.959 feeding and bedding down of the livestock. Later that same night, 73 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.680 after the three youngest of us had gone to bed, 74 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:40.720 Dad was in the dining room listening to the radio 75 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:43.600 while working on one of his paintings, when he heard 76 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.399 the dogs barking somewhere at the back of the house, 77 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:50.399 near the porch. This was unusual, as our dogs were 78 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:53.040 trained and had already been let out for their last 79 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:56.759 call of nature of the night. He went to check 80 00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:59.240 on them because he didn't want them making a big 81 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:01.720 fuss in wake those of us who had already gone 82 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:05.279 to bed. Well, the dogs were facing the back door 83 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:09.279 and barking ferociously at something beyond it, with their teeth 84 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:13.480 bared and their hackles raised. It had been a warm day, 85 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:16.920 so the windows were partially open to allow in the 86 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:20.920 cool evening breeze, and as he was dealing with the dogs, 87 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:24.360 a horrible stench like nothing we had ever smelled before, 88 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:27.839 walked it in through the windows next to the porch door. 89 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:34.480 It was so offensive that Dad momentarily clobbered s J. 90 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.319 Mam and I awake from our sleep. Arrived at the 91 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:41.519 back door then to see what was going on, and 92 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:46.480 right away we noticed that smell too. Something's rilled the dogs. 93 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:50.199 Dad told us, judging by this stink, I guess it's 94 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.040 probably a bear or a skunk trying to get at 95 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:57.600 the live stop. He sent Sjay to get a rifle 96 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:01.560 while we got some flashlights. We didn't have a backyard 97 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:05.680 light and it was pitch black outside. Mom and I 98 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:09.040 held back the dogs and Dad and Esjay stepped out 99 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:11.920 onto the porch and swept the area with the light. 100 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:17.079 They didn't see anything. No horrible visage lunged at them 101 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:20.519 out of the dark. Even so, they kept their rifles 102 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:25.279 trained alongside their light beams just in case. The dogs 103 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:28.360 continued to snarl and bark and tug at their collars 104 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:31.680 until we finally decided to leash them to the sturdy 105 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:36.600 support beams Inside near the porch door. There were no 106 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:40.160 signs of a predator other than the sickening stints that 107 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:43.639 grew stronger the farther my dad and my brother ventured 108 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:47.920 from the house. They checked the chicken coop first. They 109 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:51.360 found the steel reinforced lock from the coop door broken 110 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.199 and laying on the ground, and it looked as if 111 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:57.680 something had literally twisted the steel loop out of the pad. 112 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:01.720 There aren't many things that could do that to a 113 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:06.079 reinforced padlock. A bear such as one of our native 114 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:09.639 black bears might have, but there were no bear tracks 115 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.000 and no claw marks on the coop and no bike 116 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.759 marks on the lock. If it had been a predator, 117 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:20.000 why hadn't the hens and roosters raised the expected cries 118 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:26.879 and squawks? A human seemed the more likely explanation. If 119 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:29.319 it was a human, why hadn't the thief used a 120 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.600 little more traditional method of picking the lock or using 121 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:35.720 a laser torch? And what kind of human had the 122 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:40.600 strength to tear a steel lock apart. The door was 123 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:43.319 closed when my dad and brother reached it, but when 124 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.959 they went inside, the chickens were all gone. Not a 125 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:50.839 single bird was left in the coop. Even more incredibly, 126 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:54.639 there were no telltale feathers that chickens released when they're 127 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:58.199 in distress, nor was there so much as a drop 128 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:01.759 or smear of blood anywhere. A Dad had seen some 129 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.399 crazy things in his life, but this surpassed anything he 130 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:10.639 had ever experienced before. They checked the hog pen next, 131 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:14.160 but all six hogs were still there, and then they 132 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:17.439 did a cursory search of the perimeter in the storehouse 133 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:22.319 before coming back inside. All the doors and windows were locked, 134 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.160 and Dad told us what they'd found and said to 135 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:29.079 stay inside the next day. I'll notify the sheriff in 136 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.159 the morning, he said, and I'll check with the neighbors 137 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:34.480 to see if any of them have had any problems. 138 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:38.559 After we all went back to bed, Dad stayed up 139 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:41.559 with his rifle. I think he was worried that the 140 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:44.320 thief might still be in the area, and he didn't 141 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:47.840 want to lose the hogs or any property in the storehouse. 142 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:52.440 He might have remembered those strange screams we'd heard earlier 143 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:56.440 and wondered if they were more than a coincidence. Well, 144 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:59.720 dawn came without incident and with no further signs of 145 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:04.519 thief thaves. Dad reported the theft early the next morning, 146 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:08.080 and then he, as Jay and my sister Kathy scouted 147 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:12.200 the area around the house with our dogs. No sign 148 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:15.240 was found of either the thieves or the missing chickens, 149 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:17.679 and when the dogs caught a whiff of what we 150 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:20.720 assumed was the lingering scent of the predator from the 151 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:24.879 night before, they grew agitated and pulled at their collars again. 152 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:28.720 The scent trail led from the chicken coop to the 153 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:33.600 woods behind the house. They followed the dog's lead through 154 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:37.759 the dense forests, scratching and clawing branches for a short 155 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:40.679 distance up the side of the mountain and down into 156 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:43.519 the swamp at the bottom of a ravine before the 157 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:47.720 dogs lost the scent. Try as they might, they weren't 158 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:50.799 able to find the trail again, not even a track 159 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:55.200 in the swampy ground. I suspect the thief chose that 160 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:59.720 route to throw off the pursuit. While the younger ones 161 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:02.080 were we were confined in the house for the next 162 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:06.000 couple of days my parents and two other siblings ventured 163 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:10.039 outside only when required to complete the necessary chores for 164 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:14.159 the live stock. On the second day after the chickens 165 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:17.480 were stolen, we went into town, where Dad purchased some 166 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:21.559 home surveillance cameras and a couple of extra large caliber rifles. 167 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:25.639 He figured if it had been, as he suspected, a 168 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:29.320 bear or an unusually strong human who might try to 169 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.679 steal more live stock or harm us, it would be 170 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.480 better to have a stronger gun and bigger bullets for 171 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:40.159 self defense. If trouble came, at least we would be ready. 172 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.720 We kept the dogs inside and watched them for any 173 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:48.519 signs that they were sensing something. None of us heard 174 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:51.759 the trespassers stealing the chickens, so we doubted that we 175 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:55.879 would hear them if they came again. The cameras were 176 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:59.679 strategically positioned, but the dense woods so close to the 177 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:05.159 house there was still a disadvantage. Nothing unusual happened that afternoon, 178 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:08.639 or that night or the following days. Dad stayed up 179 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:11.279 to keep a vigil with the dogs, while Mom did 180 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:14.759 her best to reassure us that the boogeyman. As I 181 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:17.159 and my younger brothers had begun to think of it 182 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.480 would not come back to get us, and over time 183 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:25.559 we became more relaxed and life returned to normal. Seventeen 184 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:28.519 years later, I and many of my siblings are now 185 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:32.080 convinced that it was a bigfoot. Back then, the question 186 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:36.120 never entered our minds. Although we were from Alaska, we 187 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:40.080 didn't take that sort of thing seriously. Like most families. 188 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:42.879 We'd seen Harry and the Hendersons and heard a few 189 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:46.159 stories on coast to coast, but I doubt my parents 190 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:51.159 even considered the possibility. A week later, just as we 191 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:55.360 were all beginning to settle down again, we had another experience. 192 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:58.799 As the sun was going down, My brothers and I 193 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:00.679 had gone for a walk down on one of those 194 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:04.600 half paved, half dirt country lanes that connected us to 195 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:08.600 Highway ninety seven. We were sipping on ice sodas and 196 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:11.919 enjoying the freedom of being outside again after the events 197 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:15.080 of the week before, when we realized the sun was 198 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:18.879 beginning to set behind the mountains across the valley. We 199 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:21.080 were half a mile from the house, so we decided 200 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.840 to head home before it got too dark. It wasn't 201 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:29.279 like we were unusually sensitive townspeople who were easily shaking. 202 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:33.759 Since the trespasser from the week before had left behind 203 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.879 no visible signs of his crimes, it was easy to 204 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:40.799 believe nothing had happened, and the natural sounds of birds 205 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:43.960 and crickets around us served to lessen any fears that 206 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.720 we might still have been holding on to. But nothing 207 00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:51.360 in our previous experience had prepared us for our chicken thief, 208 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:56.840 so we were still admittedly slightly on edge. We were kids. 209 00:12:57.399 --> 00:13:01.559 My brothers and I were goofing around, laying joke, sharing 210 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:06.080 unrealized dreams, and generally enjoying each other's company and not 211 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:10.159 paying much attention to our surroundings. The road we were 212 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.840 on ran alongside Ingle's Creek for a quarter of a 213 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:17.039 mile before looping back around the mountain toward our house. 214 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:20.279 We'd come to an area of the road where the 215 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:24.679 creek was calmer and ideal for fishing. A bear liked 216 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:27.840 to frequent the spot to fish as well, not to 217 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:30.679 mention the abundance of berries that grow along the banks 218 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:34.159 of the creek there, and deer and other wildlife often 219 00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:36.720 came down to that spot for a cool drink of water. 220 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:40.840 Where the creek didn't run as fast we were walking 221 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:44.279 along and bantering back and forth in the growing twilight. 222 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:48.159 When my brother Rick stopped, What are you doing? I 223 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:52.759 asked him. We didn't answer. He was focused on something 224 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:57.000 up ahead along the creek. Surprise and fear played across 225 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.720 his face as he continued to stare in that direction. 226 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:03.240 And by now my two older brothers had also noticed 227 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:06.960 what Rick was staring at, and they had stopped too. 228 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:09.480 I turned my head to look over at what they 229 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.639 were seeing, and my heart caught in my chest when 230 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:16.080 I saw it. Fifteen yards from us, on the bank 231 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.759 of the creek, and hutchdown almost on all fours was 232 00:14:19.799 --> 00:14:23.279 what looked like a huge eight Now this was our 233 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:27.440 first close up encounter with a sasquatch. I will forever 234 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:31.200 regret not having even an old fashioned video or flash 235 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:34.320 camera with me to capture what we saw. Even so, 236 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:36.879 it left such an impression on me that I can 237 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:39.960 still recall with absolute clarity what it looked like and 238 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.639 how it smelled some twenty years later. Even in a 239 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:49.320 crouch's position. The sasquatch was tall, at least six feet. 240 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.799 It had a shoulder span of three feet across, and 241 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.440 its face was hairy, but not as thick and as 242 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:58.519 mad at as the rest of the body. It had 243 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:02.559 a sloping and almost muzzled front forehead with a pronounced 244 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:07.440 brow ridge. The eyes staring into us were slightly retreated 245 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:11.919 into its skull and wore a grayish black tint. Its 246 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.360 nose was flatter than the human's, to the point of 247 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:18.679 being almost ape like, but not quite. The thick, stringy 248 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:21.759 black hair on its head hung and flowed to blend 249 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:25.960 seamlessly with the dark hue of its chest. It gave 250 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.399 the creature the appearance of having a conical shaped head, 251 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:33.720 and later, when I read about people's encounters with sasquatch, 252 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.759 I wondered if they erroneously thought that it actually had 253 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.919 a conical head because of the illusion caused by the 254 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:45.000 mess of hair. I thought it might have been fishing 255 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:48.279 or drinking, or both. Because its beard and chest were 256 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:51.600 wet with water, and it seemed caught off guard by 257 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:55.279 our presence, I supposed the noise of the rushing creek 258 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:59.559 water could have masked our approach. We stood there, rooted 259 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.600 to the spot with a shot. I'm not sure of 260 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:06.960 how long the sasquatch eventually stood up without taking its 261 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:12.039 eyes off us. Upright, it was even more intimidating, and 262 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:14.559 we later went back with our parents and measured a 263 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:17.559 branch that was closest to where it stood, and that 264 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.679 thing stood eight feet four inches tall. As the bigfoot 265 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:24.320 stood there staring at us, I got a whiff of 266 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:28.240 that horrible odor, and it reminded me of garbage left 267 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:31.440 in the sun for several days to rite, mixed with 268 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:35.639 wet dog. I don't know if that smell is representative 269 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.120 of the entire species or particular to a less hygienic 270 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:44.120 minded individual, but several times in my life I've been 271 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:47.720 reminded of that stench by similar odors, and I found 272 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:53.159 myself looking around expecting to see one nearby. Considering that 273 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.440 some of those instances have been in the woods, it 274 00:16:56.559 --> 00:17:02.679 probably wasn't too far off, that's my guess. The sisquatch 275 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.400 slowly turned and started up onto the road ahead of us, 276 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:10.160 keeping a watchful eye on us the whole time. That 277 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:13.119 road was twenty feet across, but it crossed it in 278 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:18.279 two strides, and it disappeared silently into the woods. My 279 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.160 brothers and I waited for several minutes to make sure 280 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.039 the creature was gone before we were willing to pass 281 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:28.160 by That spot, and our hearts were pounding in our chests, 282 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:32.119 and our limbs were trembling. My feet felt as if 283 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:35.960 they had been turned into boiled pasta and might buckle 284 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.160 it any minute before I reached the safety of our house. 285 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:44.200 It was the longest walk home I ever took. Our 286 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:48.519 long driveway passed through several patches of dense forest, and 287 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:51.720 with each step I imagined that that monster would lunge 288 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:56.079 out of the brush and rush us at home. Our 289 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:59.960 minds raised with our mouths as adrenaline pumped the words 290 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.839 faster than our brains could sort them. Dad tried to 291 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.119 calm us down, and we eventually managed to get the 292 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:10.519 whole story out. He told us that we'd seen a bear. 293 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:14.400 There is no such thing as a real bigfoot, He 294 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:18.519 told us. Bigfoots are a legend created by ignorant or 295 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:23.079 sensational minded people who most likely made them up or 296 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:29.200 misidentified other wild animals as these mythical creatures. In his mind, 297 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:33.319 we did see a bear. It may seem unfair, but 298 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.559 Dad had a point. He didn't need us scaring other 299 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:40.039 family members out there in the middle of nowhere. The 300 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:44.720 last thing we needed was a reason to panic. Still, unconvinced. 301 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.039 We witnesses worked together to help each other try to 302 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.400 understand what we saw out there on that road, and 303 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:54.880 it's an experience that still gives me nightmares and panic 304 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:59.519 attacks to this day. I am now a truck driver 305 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:03.799 based in Washington State. I've been doing this for ten years. 306 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:07.279 I liked my job despite the long, lonely, and often 307 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.759 odd hours on long stretches of sometimes remote highway, but 308 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:17.200 it's not really bad. In midwinter of twenty fourteen, I 309 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:20.960 was traveling on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains 310 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:25.799 on Interstate Highway seventy seven. This is in north central 311 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:30.240 Washington State. I came to work that day with instructions 312 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:34.119 to drive a shipment from Auburn, Washington to Bigbie. It 313 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:36.960 was a longer stretch of driving than usual, but I 314 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.599 was glad for the work because the pay was good. 315 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:43.440 I started my long track at around six in the 316 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:47.000 morning Pacific time. I would need to make several stops 317 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.160 along the way since it was going to be between 318 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:52.960 ten and fifteen hours until I reached my end destination. 319 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:57.920 That evening, I was cruising down Highway seventy seven through 320 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:02.640 Aubrey National Forest and listening to the radio. I'd passed 321 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:05.759 a few other vehicles on the highway. It was dark 322 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:08.000 by this hour, and I had my high beams on. 323 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:14.079 Fortunately it wasn't particularly bad weather. I was sipping at 324 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:17.200 my hot coffee in my thermos. One of my favorite 325 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:21.079 radio shows had just begun. My truck had just rounded 326 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:23.720 a sharp corner and entered a stretch of a more 327 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:26.960 level road where the tree line was further back from 328 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.200 the highway, as much as twenty feet in some places. 329 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.400 It was then that I saw a large, dark brown 330 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:36.359 figure start from the side of the road one hundred 331 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.720 and thirty yards ahead and quickly cross it in a 332 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:43.359 few steps. The creature remained on the other side of 333 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:47.160 the road as I passed it. All this happened in 334 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:50.599 about four or five seconds, but I remember how surprised, 335 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.880 even somewhat disturbed, I was at the unusual appearance of 336 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:58.720 this thing. Even from the seed of my eighteen wheeler, 337 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:00.640 I could tell that this thing had to have been 338 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.279 eight or nine feet tall. It had a conical shape 339 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.759 to its head. I don't remember the exact features of 340 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:10.279 its face, as it only turned its head towards my 341 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:14.440 oncoming truck for a brief heartbeat, but its eyes reflected 342 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:18.720 reddish gold in the high beams. I noticed these too, 343 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.839 were large and larger than any human or even a 344 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:26.640 bear's eyes. The creature's arms were long. They swung back 345 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:29.039 and forth all the way down to its knees as 346 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:33.079 it moved. It crossed the road so fast I was 347 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:36.039 moving at sixty five miles an hour, but this thing 348 00:21:36.119 --> 00:21:40.359 still made it over with space despair. I think it 349 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:43.079 could have easily crossed back a second time before I 350 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:47.200 drove by it, that is how quickly and easily despite 351 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:51.680 its book, the creature moved. I was amazed and freaked out, 352 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:54.160 and I didn't know what I had just seen. Though 353 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:57.119 I'm certain it was not a bear. I'm certain it 354 00:21:57.160 --> 00:21:59.839 wasn't a prankster in a gorilla suit either. The way 355 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:02.960 it appeared and moved so congruently for such a hawk, 356 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.079 and the idea that a nine foot prankster with an 357 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:10.119 extremely cut body would be out in the middle of 358 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:13.200 nowhere on a late freezing cold evening on one of 359 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.240 the most remote stretches of highway instead of a more 360 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:22.160 important well travel route seems at best equally remote. I'm 361 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:25.680 certain of what I saw. It was dark, yes, but 362 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.400 I had enough time to observe the creature well enough 363 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.480 in the illumination from my high beams and at the 364 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:34.920 proximity that I did, and I'm convinced that it was 365 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:38.480 a sosquatch. I didn't want to hang around this part 366 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:41.279 of the wilderness with that thing I'd just driven by, 367 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:44.519 so I continued on my way, applying a little more 368 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.599 pressure to the pedal until I had left the mountains 369 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:51.799 and that thing far behind me. At the next town 370 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:54.119 I reached, I made a call to a friend of mine, 371 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:57.440 telling him what I had seen. And although he believed 372 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.920 that I had seen something and he knew me well 373 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:03.279 enough to know I didn't tell tall tales, he didn't 374 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:06.359 know what to make of it. I decided to keep 375 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:09.559 this strange encounter to myself because I did not wish 376 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:12.960 to bring ridicule on me or my family, or possibly 377 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:17.160 jeopardize my job. At the time, I didn't really know 378 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:20.400 much about size squatch, and I believe them only to 379 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:25.759 be a myth and a tourist attraction to the Pacific Northwest. Later, 380 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:29.240 when my curiosity got the better of me, I began 381 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.319 researching the subject of bigfoot encryptids. Now I was amazed 382 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:36.480 at how many people had actually had similar encounters with 383 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.039 creatures like the one I saw on Highway seventy seven. 384 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:44.039 I'd never realized a large number of sightings that were 385 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:48.559 reported and continue to be reported every year, not just 386 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:51.920 from the Pacific Northwest, but from all over the United 387 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:56.880 States and Canada. In the years since. All the research 388 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:00.519 and meeting people who were more knowledgeable on this subject 389 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.079 than I am, it helped me better understand and absorb 390 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:06.960 the reality of what I had seen that midwinter night. 391 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.359 I still drive trucks for a living, and I have 392 00:24:10.519 --> 00:24:13.880 made several journeys through that same area where I encountered 393 00:24:13.880 --> 00:24:18.319 the sasquatch. I've recently shared my story with several family 394 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:23.119 members and friends. I've also revisited alone and with others 395 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:27.440 the sight of my encounter. I haven't personally witnessed another 396 00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:31.640 sasquatch encounter myself since then, but I know now without 397 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:36.920 a doubt that these mysterious creatures do in fact truly exist. 398 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:40.319 What they are, I'm not sure that they are out 399 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:44.279 there even today, I am sure. I hope this story 400 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:48.000 helps not just others who have had similar encounters, but 401 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:52.160