1
00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,599
Speaker 1: I live in Kluyd County in North Wales, United Kingdom.

2
00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,800
I'm lucky to live in such a beautiful place, surrounded

3
00:00:10,839 --> 00:00:14,880
by hills and woodland and an abundance of farms. We

4
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,320
also have a lot of paved roads that lead to

5
00:00:17,399 --> 00:00:20,800
the more secluded areas. There was a spot on one

6
00:00:20,839 --> 00:00:23,359
of these narrow roads to nowhere that I and my

7
00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,000
friend Scott liked to go where we could chill out

8
00:00:26,039 --> 00:00:30,399
and enjoy some good banter and good chap. The spot

9
00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,079
we frequented was a lay by about a third of

10
00:00:33,119 --> 00:00:36,280
the way up a damaged road with a steep incline

11
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,000
and many hairpin turns as it snaked in an s

12
00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,600
up the side of a small mountain. The road was

13
00:00:43,799 --> 00:00:47,240
edged with forty to fifty foot conifers, some ash in

14
00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,840
a few large oaks. Just off the road was a

15
00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,039
large piece of woodland. I say large because on our

16
00:00:55,159 --> 00:00:59,719
tiny island, three hundred acres is large. On this stretch

17
00:00:59,759 --> 00:01:02,840
of where there are no street lights. Homes were few

18
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,480
and far between and were in set back, so any

19
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,879
lights from them didn't reach the road. It was dark

20
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,680
as dark can be out there at night. One fall evening,

21
00:01:13,719 --> 00:01:16,920
Scott and I visited our usual spot with another friend

22
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,519
we called Jack. We had been there maybe an hour,

23
00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,640
paying no mind to any of the surrounding area outside

24
00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:28,000
of the white ninety two Nissan Murker we had bundled into.

25
00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,879
We were laughing and having a good time, just enjoying

26
00:01:30,879 --> 00:01:34,280
each other's company. We hadn't even noticed how quiet the

27
00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,400
woods were. Suddenly the inside of the car went silent

28
00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,400
as well. Everyone stopped talking and Scott reached past the

29
00:01:42,439 --> 00:01:46,480
steering wheel to silence the radio. We were all sure

30
00:01:46,599 --> 00:01:51,519
we had heard something really close. A thud made me

31
00:01:51,599 --> 00:01:54,439
wind down the window on the passenger side to listen.

32
00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,640
That was when I realized I couldn't hear anything in

33
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,480
the woods. We have an abundance of why life in

34
00:02:00,519 --> 00:02:04,040
this area, another reason I feel so lucky to live here.

35
00:02:04,879 --> 00:02:08,360
There are rabbits and squirrels, red fox, badger, deer owls,

36
00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,439
and other birds of prey like kite and buzzards. At

37
00:02:12,439 --> 00:02:15,199
that moment, none of them were making a sound. Not

38
00:02:15,319 --> 00:02:18,879
even the insects could be heard. The only noise that

39
00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,000
broke the silence was the light rustling that was coming

40
00:02:22,039 --> 00:02:25,240
from a field that was situated up a steep embankment

41
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,360
just to our left. It was coming from the other

42
00:02:28,479 --> 00:02:32,240
side of the field. We thought nothing of it until

43
00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,240
we heard another thud right next to my open window.

44
00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,479
A rock the size of a small melon had been

45
00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,639
thrown with great power and even more impressive accuracy towards

46
00:02:42,719 --> 00:02:45,560
us and landed a couple of feet short of the vehicle.

47
00:02:46,439 --> 00:02:49,240
It hit the ground so violently that I was sprayed

48
00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,919
with muddy rain water right into my face. That was it.

49
00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,439
My window came up. Not that a window would have

50
00:02:56,439 --> 00:02:59,360
stood a chant against a rock that size, but it

51
00:02:59,439 --> 00:03:02,319
made me feel better knowing there was something between us

52
00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,680
and whatever had just hurled a thirty pound rock. We

53
00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,319
were considering our options, which in all honesty shouldn't have

54
00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,560
taken as long as it did. It was obvious that

55
00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:15,759
we should have just gotten the heck out of Dodge

56
00:03:15,759 --> 00:03:19,280
at that very moment, but for some reason we stalled

57
00:03:19,319 --> 00:03:22,479
on making our getaway. I looked up and out of

58
00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,400
the front window, and then quickly hushed the others, telling

59
00:03:25,439 --> 00:03:28,840
them to look dead ahead. Our car was pointed as

60
00:03:28,879 --> 00:03:30,919
though we would drive straight up the hill to the

61
00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,800
next hairpin that was perhaps fifty feet away. The inclined

62
00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,319
put the gravel level at about ten to twelve feet

63
00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,240
higher than we were. We all saw it. Rather, we

64
00:03:42,319 --> 00:03:46,719
saw its eyes, two big, round, amber colored eyes, hovered

65
00:03:46,759 --> 00:03:50,240
about six inches apart and what I estimated to be

66
00:03:50,319 --> 00:03:54,159
some eleven feet off the ground. This thing must have

67
00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:59,120
been immense in height and stature. I have always been

68
00:03:59,159 --> 00:04:01,560
a bit big for my boots, with a chip on

69
00:04:01,639 --> 00:04:06,360
my shoulder, A naturally brave person. It helps, being five

70
00:04:06,439 --> 00:04:09,039
foot ten and two hundred and thirty pounds of muscle

71
00:04:09,159 --> 00:04:12,639
from manual farm work and many hours in the gym.

72
00:04:13,159 --> 00:04:16,360
Jack isn't a small guy either, standing six feet tall

73
00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:20,399
and weighing around two hundred and fifteen pounds, but Scott

74
00:04:20,439 --> 00:04:23,480
was a mere five ten and one hundred and seventy pounds.

75
00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:26,199
Being the brave boy I am, I got out of

76
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,519
the car to get a better look. Scott and Jack

77
00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,199
were both yelling, what the hell are you doing? Jake,

78
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,439
come back, get back in here. We need to leave.

79
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,519
I gave them a soft hush and started to slowly

80
00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,040
make my way up towards the eye shine. Maybe I

81
00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,240
was hoping it was an owl perched on a low branch.

82
00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,199
As I got nearer, I realized this wasn't the case.

83
00:04:50,519 --> 00:04:53,439
I started to make out the creature's outline, and as

84
00:04:53,439 --> 00:04:56,560
I did, I stopped dead in my tracks. This thing

85
00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,759
was enormous. I was now maybe thirty feet away from it,

86
00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,639
and I could see that it had short but very

87
00:05:03,759 --> 00:05:08,399
thick legs, a long body, and thick long arms. If

88
00:05:08,439 --> 00:05:10,800
it had a neck, it was half an inch long.

89
00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,560
Either that or its shoulder muscles were the size of

90
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,759
a grown pig. It was easily ten or eleven feet

91
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,639
tall and four to five feet wide at the shoulders.

92
00:05:22,199 --> 00:05:24,720
I just stared as it made a low huff with

93
00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:29,120
every breath. That was when I turned from a big,

94
00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,480
brave boy to a scared little girl and started walking

95
00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,160
backwards towards the car. I got back in and quietly

96
00:05:36,199 --> 00:05:41,199
said drive. There was a pause before he reacted, but

97
00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,040
before Scott could turn the key in the ignition, we

98
00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:48,639
heard another thud. There was another rock, slightly smaller than

99
00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,279
the last, and it had been thrown and fell just

100
00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,000
shy of the vehicle. This time, I screamed at Scott,

101
00:05:55,199 --> 00:05:59,839
just drive, Scott, and he did. Never before has a

102
00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:04,519
one thousand cc hatchback been driven so quickly. Fair play

103
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,360
to Scott for the previous unseen skill. Thinking about it now,

104
00:06:09,519 --> 00:06:12,360
I don't think whatever this creature was wanted to hurt us.

105
00:06:12,399 --> 00:06:15,639
It just wanted us to go. Mission accomplished and we

106
00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,720
got out, Nor did we return to this spot for

107
00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:23,800
several weeks. I had another encounter with this thing, and

108
00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,120
it happened some months later in a different area of

109
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,199
our surrounding woodlands, but only two miles or so from

110
00:06:30,199 --> 00:06:33,839
the spot I visited with Scott and Jack. I was

111
00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,759
hiking alone in the springtime near a derelic castle called

112
00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:43,000
gerich Garrick Castle. I'm sure I got that wrong. It

113
00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,759
has been long abandoned, though many attempts have been made

114
00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,000
to restore the castle. It was in the middle of

115
00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,639
the afternoon, with many hours of daylight left. I'd heard

116
00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,639
stories of dogs going missing here, but I figured they

117
00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,519
just ran off and never found their owners, as it

118
00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:03,560
is a large area. However, I found evidence to suggest otherwise.

119
00:07:04,519 --> 00:07:08,439
I came across a small black fur At first I

120
00:07:08,439 --> 00:07:11,720
thought it was a locals farm sheep that had strayed

121
00:07:11,759 --> 00:07:15,120
and perhaps caught its wool on the brush. As I

122
00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,639
got closer, I realized it was fur and not wool.

123
00:07:19,759 --> 00:07:22,079
A little further up the trail I found some more

124
00:07:22,399 --> 00:07:26,519
a lot more a full labrador's coat of black fur.

125
00:07:27,279 --> 00:07:31,199
There were a few bones lick clean. Some had been splintered,

126
00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,480
as if bitten with great force. I started to get

127
00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,160
the feeling that I was being watched. That's when I

128
00:07:38,199 --> 00:07:42,079
heard a loud wood on wood not I shot to

129
00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,439
an upright stance and stared intently in the direction from

130
00:07:45,439 --> 00:07:49,000
which it came. But I saw nothing. After my previous

131
00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,600
encounter several months earlier, I wanted nothing to do with this.

132
00:07:53,399 --> 00:07:56,399
I turned back into the frightened little girl again. I

133
00:07:56,439 --> 00:07:59,040
spun around and high tailed it back down the trail

134
00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:06,240
and broke the tree line faster than I knew I could. Lily, Hush, Lily,

135
00:08:07,199 --> 00:08:13,399
quick barking, Lily, Oh my gosh, this dog. That's my

136
00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,480
little pug. She won't shut up. She barks at everything.

137
00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:21,000
I'm sorry to interrupt this story. I spun around and

138
00:08:21,279 --> 00:08:23,439
tailed it back down the trail and broke from the

139
00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,360
tree line faster than I knew I could. I've told

140
00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,199
no one about these two encounters until now. Neither Scott

141
00:08:31,279 --> 00:08:34,440
nor Jack have spoken of it either. I didn't even

142
00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,440
tell them about the second encounter, nor have I had

143
00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:42,000
another encounter or seen any signs of it since in

144
00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:45,159
my mind. There's nothing that is going to tell me otherwise.

145
00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,879
Although I thought bigfoot Sasquatchannetti lived in North America and Russia,

146
00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,639
I know now that they are on UK soil as well.

147
00:08:54,519 --> 00:08:58,559
Bigfoot lives in my town discreetly and quietly, without being

148
00:08:58,639 --> 00:09:02,480
seen or heard by the majority of people. I hope

149
00:09:02,519 --> 00:09:08,759
to God that it stays that way. I grew up

150
00:09:08,759 --> 00:09:11,200
in North Texas, where my dad, my brother, and I

151
00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,240
used to chuckle about my grandmother always talking about Bigfoot.

152
00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,799
She was from Oklahoma. Although we have no records to

153
00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,720
prove it, we believe she was Choctaw Indian. Her name

154
00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,759
was Annis Nation. We always thought she was off her rocker.

155
00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,440
That is until one weekend when I was in high school,

156
00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,519
I went deer hunting with my dad and brother. We

157
00:09:35,519 --> 00:09:39,039
were out at a deer lease just west of Jacksonboro, Texas.

158
00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,840
Dad had his truck and we were staying in one

159
00:09:41,879 --> 00:09:45,759
of those pop up crank style campers. Each end of

160
00:09:45,799 --> 00:09:49,200
the camper folded out, forming the twin sized beds where

161
00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,600
we slept. The walls, if they could be called that,

162
00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:57,159
were made of heavy duty cellophane style plastic. They were

163
00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,440
not clear, which allowed for little privacy, but in the evening,

164
00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,279
light and motion could be seen inside the camper. We

165
00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,879
didn't have much luck hunting our last day there, so

166
00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:11,039
we all crashed relatively early. Dad was sleeping at one

167
00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,399
end and my brother and I were sleeping at the other.

168
00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:17,080
Sometime in the night, I was awakened when I felt

169
00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,320
the camper shake a little. My Dad and brother were

170
00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:24,200
both sound sleepers, I'm not. It took a moment to

171
00:10:24,279 --> 00:10:27,000
register that I had felt something, but it was late,

172
00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,600
and I was tired, and I was only half awake.

173
00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:32,720
I blew it off and tried to go back to sleep.

174
00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:38,639
A few minutes later, the camper shook violently. This time

175
00:10:38,759 --> 00:10:41,559
I was wide awake. I looked around me as an

176
00:10:41,639 --> 00:10:45,679
uneasy feeling crept over me. I was trying to figure

177
00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,360
out what could have made the camper shake. When it

178
00:10:48,399 --> 00:10:52,399
shook again. I was mentally searching for an explanation while

179
00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,879
trying to contain my panic. When it shook a third time.

180
00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,039
Every few seconds. Now it was rocking as some some

181
00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,240
one we're trying to get the last nut out of

182
00:11:02,279 --> 00:11:06,840
the bag of airplane peanuts. Uneasiness jumped to fear when

183
00:11:06,879 --> 00:11:09,240
I saw the silhouette of something on the side of

184
00:11:09,279 --> 00:11:14,639
the camper, perfectly outlined by the full moon, was something ginormous.

185
00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,360
I could clearly see the shape of its head on

186
00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,639
top of its massive shoulders that had to be five

187
00:11:20,759 --> 00:11:24,399
or six feet wide. The top of the camper was

188
00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,840
eight feet tall. We were all well over six feet tall,

189
00:11:27,879 --> 00:11:31,360
and we could all stand easily inside the camper. Add

190
00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,600
to that fact that it sat a couple of feet

191
00:11:33,639 --> 00:11:37,399
off the ground. But the head on this silhouette outside

192
00:11:37,399 --> 00:11:40,080
of the camper was at the top of the camper

193
00:11:41,399 --> 00:11:43,559
when it pressed up against the camper, as if it

194
00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:46,279
were trying to see in. I glassed at my brother

195
00:11:46,399 --> 00:11:49,480
next to me and my dad across the way. I

196
00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:52,320
was mortified to see that they were both sleeping like

197
00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,320
babies through the whole thing. I was too terrified to

198
00:11:56,399 --> 00:11:59,799
move or make a sound. There were several thirty six

199
00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,279
rifles close by, but I sincerely believe none of them

200
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,399
would put a dent in that thing. All I could

201
00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:08,720
do was lie there and hope that it would eventually

202
00:12:08,799 --> 00:12:13,000
go away. I guess it finally decided there wasn't anything

203
00:12:13,039 --> 00:12:16,639
of interest inside the camper, at least not anything worth

204
00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,720
tearing it open to get at, and it wandered off,

205
00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,480
not seeing it didn't provide the relief one might expect.

206
00:12:24,799 --> 00:12:29,399
I was awake until daybreak That morning. I went out

207
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,320
and looked around where it had been standing. There was

208
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,679
a greasy face print on top of the plastic covering.

209
00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:38,759
I didn't mention it to my dad or my brother,

210
00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:41,559
and that was the last time I ever went honting.

211
00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:44,919
There are still many things in this world that we

212
00:12:45,039 --> 00:12:48,919
don't know about. Bigfoot is one of them. With tens

213
00:12:48,919 --> 00:12:53,000
of thousands of encounters, we can't all be mistaken or lying.

214
00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,039
If the government knows about them and comes out and

215
00:12:56,039 --> 00:12:59,039
says they are real, it will cause a lot of problems,

216
00:13:00,159 --> 00:13:03,120
affect everything from the national parks to the oil and

217
00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,879
timber industries. I also believe some of these things are

218
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,559
dangerous and have killed people. But if the government doesn't

219
00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,960
know about them or doesn't admit they exist, how many

220
00:13:14,039 --> 00:13:20,240
more people will die? I have a couple of pretty

221
00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:24,519
tame encounters I'd like to share. In twenty fifteen, I

222
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,879
moved to Montana. I'd always loved the idea of living

223
00:13:27,919 --> 00:13:32,600
in the mountains and exploring in nature. By twenty and sixteen,

224
00:13:32,639 --> 00:13:35,480
i'd finally become a resident and was chomping at the

225
00:13:35,519 --> 00:13:37,960
bit to go on my first deer hunt up in

226
00:13:38,039 --> 00:13:42,159
Little Bear Canyons south of Bozeman. I'd driven up the

227
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:46,120
ten mile access road using my spotting scope. Along the way,

228
00:13:46,919 --> 00:13:50,200
i'd spotted a really nice buck mule deer along with

229
00:13:50,279 --> 00:13:52,759
a few dos up on the side of Wheeler Mountain.

230
00:13:53,639 --> 00:13:56,919
I parked at the base, partially blocking an ATV trail

231
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:01,399
to let people know the area was occupied. I walked

232
00:14:01,399 --> 00:14:03,879
for about a mile and then tested the wind. I

233
00:14:03,879 --> 00:14:06,240
figured if I went straight for them, they'd catch my

234
00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,919
scent and my hunt would be over for the day.

235
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,519
I decided to make my way around the mountain above

236
00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,679
them and come down from the top. After about three

237
00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:19,840
hours of stalking carefully making sure not to spook anything

238
00:14:19,879 --> 00:14:22,840
else that would alert the deer to my presence, I

239
00:14:22,879 --> 00:14:26,679
finally made it to the top. It was very thickly

240
00:14:26,759 --> 00:14:29,360
forced it to one side, so I decided to stick

241
00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,559
close to that tree line for cover while I worked

242
00:14:32,639 --> 00:14:35,960
my way down to the deer. When I got to

243
00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,039
thirty yards from the trees, I began hearing some kind

244
00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,879
of grunting. I stopped, thinking maybe it was a bear

245
00:14:43,159 --> 00:14:46,039
or some other large creature. I couldn't make out the

246
00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,759
sound very well, but whatever it was definitely new. I

247
00:14:49,879 --> 00:14:53,159
was there and was walking towards it. I took a

248
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,399
knee and I listened. It had grunted off and on

249
00:14:56,559 --> 00:14:59,360
for about five minutes when I heard what sounded like

250
00:14:59,519 --> 00:15:03,559
a large branch breaking. Now I was thinking it might

251
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,480
be a moose. Everything went dead silent. I checked the

252
00:15:07,519 --> 00:15:09,720
place where I'd last seen the deer to see if

253
00:15:09,759 --> 00:15:12,919
they were still there, and they were, but now they

254
00:15:12,919 --> 00:15:17,320
were looking in my direction. I remained down on one knee,

255
00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,240
not moving in an inch, and began slowing my breath

256
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,240
to try to keep calm. I thought whatever it was

257
00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:27,279
would looten's interest in me and move off. I looked

258
00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,279
back over the tree line, squinting to try and locate

259
00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,759
the source of all the noise. The sun was up

260
00:15:33,799 --> 00:15:36,639
all the way by now, warming my cheeks against the

261
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:42,039
frosty air. It was seven am. Shadows were casting everywhere

262
00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:46,679
in the forest. Another five minutes passed since I'd heard

263
00:15:46,679 --> 00:15:50,240
the limb snap, and I hadn't seen anything else, so

264
00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,360
I turned my attention back to the deer. I didn't

265
00:15:53,399 --> 00:15:56,000
want to walk into the forest after all that noise,

266
00:15:56,039 --> 00:15:57,960
so I looked for a different route to get down

267
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,639
to them. I saw one game trail that was my

268
00:16:01,759 --> 00:16:04,480
best bet, and, due to the fresh layer of snow

269
00:16:04,519 --> 00:16:09,080
that had fallen that morning, my least slippery option. Unfortunately,

270
00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,080
it took me closer to the thick forest. With my

271
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,120
hand resting on the grip of my side arm, I

272
00:16:15,159 --> 00:16:19,399
started walking towards the trail. I was only ten yards

273
00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,240
from the trees when a perfectly healthy, maybe eight inch

274
00:16:23,279 --> 00:16:27,159
in diameter lodge pole pine fell across the trail that

275
00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,960
I was planning to take. At this point, I was

276
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,519
feeling nervous, so I decided maybe something or someone was

277
00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,080
just saying this isn't your day. And since sound of

278
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,720
the crashing tree had sent the deer bounding over the

279
00:16:40,759 --> 00:16:44,200
next ridge, I made the decision to not test whatever

280
00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,360
it was stopping me. I turned around and went back

281
00:16:47,399 --> 00:16:50,000
to my truck, following the same way that I had

282
00:16:50,039 --> 00:16:54,240
come in. I have a great respect for nature and conservation.

283
00:16:54,519 --> 00:16:56,799
I've hunted deer since I've been old enough to hunt

284
00:16:56,879 --> 00:16:59,440
on my own, and I listened very closely to what

285
00:16:59,519 --> 00:17:03,679
nature tond El Meet in twenty fifteen, and I only

286
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:08,279
moved to Montana also got my CDL. Needless to say,

287
00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:11,400
I've spent a lot of time trucking in Montana, and

288
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:16,680
here's my second encounter. At the beginning of twenty nineteen,

289
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,680
in early February, I was asked to hol a load

290
00:17:19,759 --> 00:17:24,319
of hay down to Utah Idaho state line. The weather

291
00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,799
was bad the night before, so I decided to leave

292
00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:29,920
a couple hours later than usual to allow the road

293
00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:34,759
crews time to stand the roads. It was nine eighteen am,

294
00:17:34,839 --> 00:17:37,480
and I will never forget it. I was almost thirty

295
00:17:37,519 --> 00:17:41,200
miles south of Enis, Montana, going about forty five miles

296
00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:45,200
an hour. The roads were still a little slick, and

297
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,359
I was taking my time in being careful. I was

298
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,559
almost to the point where the road parallels to Madison River.

299
00:17:52,519 --> 00:17:54,920
As I rounded the bend, I looked down into the

300
00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:58,000
clearing across the river, and there it was. It was

301
00:17:58,039 --> 00:18:00,759
about one hundred and fifty yards from the road, covered

302
00:18:00,799 --> 00:18:04,400
in black hair from head to toe. It was walking

303
00:18:04,519 --> 00:18:07,400
back towards the forest, but it stopped and turned to

304
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,279
look back at me. Its shoulders were extremely broad and

305
00:18:11,319 --> 00:18:14,680
it was incredibly tall. Its hair was blowing in the

306
00:18:14,759 --> 00:18:17,960
wind that was coming off the canyon. I had a

307
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,960
perfect view of it. There was no question about what

308
00:18:21,079 --> 00:18:24,519
I was seeing. There was a small mound up ahead

309
00:18:24,519 --> 00:18:27,200
that was going to block my view for a split second,

310
00:18:27,319 --> 00:18:30,200
so I slowed down. When I came to the mound,

311
00:18:30,279 --> 00:18:32,680
I decided if I saw it again on the other side,

312
00:18:32,759 --> 00:18:35,000
I was going to stop and try to take a picture.

313
00:18:35,599 --> 00:18:38,839
And it was still there, but running towards the forest. Now,

314
00:18:39,799 --> 00:18:41,960
by the count of three, it had covered the roughly

315
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,039
two hundred yards from the river to the forest, and

316
00:18:45,079 --> 00:18:48,279
it was gone. I called a friend of mine who

317
00:18:48,319 --> 00:18:52,400
lives in Indiana. First. He's a strong believer in bigfoot,

318
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,519
and I told him what I saw. He said, finally,

319
00:18:55,640 --> 00:19:00,680
I'm not alone. I've always loved movies and stories about bigfoot.

320
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:04,000
My wife and I often talked about the possibilities of

321
00:19:04,079 --> 00:19:07,799
seeing one. She's somewhat of a believer, so I called

322
00:19:07,839 --> 00:19:11,000
her next. I had debated about telling her for a

323
00:19:11,039 --> 00:19:16,680
good reason, and our conversation went something like this, good morning, darling,

324
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,400
You'll never believe what I just saw. Really, what did

325
00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,599
you see? I finally saw a bigfoot? She started to

326
00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:29,559
laugh at me. Yeah, right, No, seriously, Look, I want

327
00:19:29,599 --> 00:19:32,559
to believe you. Any other time I would have if

328
00:19:32,599 --> 00:19:37,720
you hadn't been watching Bigfoot documentaries all weekend. Crickets started chirping.

329
00:19:38,559 --> 00:19:41,279
We love to go back to this conversation. We like

330
00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:43,960
to tease each other about it, but I don't think

331
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:49,119
she will ever believe me until she sees one for herself. Unfortunately,

332
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:51,279
we may never go back to where I saw it.

333
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:56,079
We recently moved to Texas from my work. Hopefully, one day,

334
00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,680
on one of our mountain excursions, we will get another

335
00:19:58,799 --> 00:20:08,160
glimpse at one of these amazing creatures. Mhm