1 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,759 Speaker 1: I've always been interested in Bigfoot, probably because of where 2 00:00:13,759 --> 00:00:18,359 I grew up in Washington State in nineteen seventy seven. 3 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,839 My mom had some close friends who had a son 4 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,640 and daughter around the same age as me and my sister. 5 00:00:24,359 --> 00:00:27,280 We were all great friends and being hippies from the 6 00:00:27,359 --> 00:00:31,280 nineteen sixties, our parents were always having a party and 7 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,320 we were kids with incredible freedom compared to these days. 8 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,359 My mom's friend had a trailer on a small piece 9 00:00:38,399 --> 00:00:41,399 of property on Loomy Island, and we would all go 10 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,000 there to relax and play. The trailer was just forty 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,520 feet from the narrow road that circled the island and 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:52,280 separated the property from the beach. Across the road from 13 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,960 the trailer was a giant hedge that separated the road 14 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:56,920 from the beach, and there was a break in the 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,719 hedge where we could walk right onto the sand. With 16 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,359 one dusky evening, the kids decided to play hide and 17 00:01:04,359 --> 00:01:06,879 seek on the beach, and it was my turn to 18 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:09,519 count first, and I had to count all the way 19 00:01:09,519 --> 00:01:12,840 to one hundred, otherwise we would all count too fast 20 00:01:12,879 --> 00:01:16,480 and not give the other kids time to hide. There 21 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,840 was a rowboat with one end propped up on a 22 00:01:18,879 --> 00:01:21,560 piece of driftwood that we chose to count under to 23 00:01:21,719 --> 00:01:24,799 ensure there was no cheating. Well, I got under there 24 00:01:24,799 --> 00:01:27,640 and I counted, and when I finished, I crawled out, 25 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,840 surprised at how much darker it had gotten in such 26 00:01:30,879 --> 00:01:34,920 a short time. I felt alone, and I looked up 27 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,040 and down the beach from where I was standing, and 28 00:01:37,079 --> 00:01:40,359 I couldn't see anyone. So I started toward the road. 29 00:01:41,599 --> 00:01:44,040 The beach sloped up to the hedge. When I was 30 00:01:44,079 --> 00:01:47,400 about fifty feet from the opening, I saw the silhouette 31 00:01:47,439 --> 00:01:50,560 of a human like figure with its shoulders and heads 32 00:01:50,599 --> 00:01:53,959 staring at me from over the hedge from the other side. 33 00:01:54,599 --> 00:01:57,239 I thought it was one of my friends. I see you, 34 00:01:57,599 --> 00:02:00,719 I yelled out, pointing at the silhouette, but there was 35 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:06,000 no response, and this thing didn't move. Hey, I shouted again, 36 00:02:06,079 --> 00:02:11,080 I see you again. The figure didn't budge. A sudden, 37 00:02:11,199 --> 00:02:15,360 eerie realization swept over me that something wasn't quite right 38 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,680 about this thing. I felt goosebumps cover every inch of 39 00:02:19,719 --> 00:02:22,360 my skin, and I felt my hair go straight as 40 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,840 a wire. We just stood there, staring at each other 41 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,879 for a few minutes while the sun was setting, and 42 00:02:28,879 --> 00:02:32,680 then it or he or she just turned away from 43 00:02:32,719 --> 00:02:36,719 me and strolled up the road. I stood there for 44 00:02:36,759 --> 00:02:39,120 a bit longer. I was a little freaked out and 45 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:42,879 waiting for my legs to work again. I crept up 46 00:02:42,879 --> 00:02:44,879 the road to the opening in the hedge, and I 47 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,439 peecked up the road to make sure the coast was clear. 48 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,400 And I ran across the street and into the trailer 49 00:02:50,439 --> 00:02:53,879 as fast as my feet would take me. And when 50 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,520 I got inside, all three kids were there, hanging out 51 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,400 and having a good time. Well, they started laughing at me. 52 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,280 They thought it was real funny that they had ditched me. 53 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,319 But I wasn't smiling. Were you out there on the 54 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,879 road just now, I asked them, No, they answered They 55 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,120 told me that as soon as I started counting, they 56 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,919 went straight back to the trailer. Real funny, guys, I said. 57 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,599 I remember being in the car with my mom's boyfriend 58 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:24,240 around those days, and he would tell me tales of 59 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,719 Bigfoot being spotted on the island and swimming in the water. Well, 60 00:03:28,759 --> 00:03:31,240 I'm glad I only heard about those stories after my 61 00:03:31,439 --> 00:03:34,759 encounter with that figure. If I had known it was 62 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,759 a sasquatch looking at me over the hedge, I would 63 00:03:37,759 --> 00:03:42,000 have been traumatized. But here's where it gets even weirder. 64 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,000 Because of my recent interest in the Bigfoot subject. I 65 00:03:47,039 --> 00:03:49,960 told my sister about that evening and what I had seen, 66 00:03:50,639 --> 00:03:53,800 and that's when she confessed. She told me that she 67 00:03:53,879 --> 00:03:56,080 and the other kids were on the beach looking for 68 00:03:56,159 --> 00:03:59,159 a place to hide when they noticed a figure looking 69 00:03:59,199 --> 00:04:01,840 at them over the hedge next to the road, and 70 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,120 it was popping up and down, and it was trying 71 00:04:04,159 --> 00:04:08,080 to avoid being seen. They weren't playing a trick on 72 00:04:08,159 --> 00:04:11,240 me by ditching me and heading to the trailer. They 73 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,520 were just trying to get away from that thing. It 74 00:04:15,599 --> 00:04:18,800 dawned on me that Bigfoot was probably watching me the 75 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,279 whole time I was under that boat and counting. I 76 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,240 try to think about what my grandpa would say if 77 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,399 I had told him what happened that night, and knowing him, 78 00:04:28,639 --> 00:04:31,240 he would have told me Bigfoot wasn't trying to scare me. 79 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,399 He was just trying to see if we still wore 80 00:04:34,439 --> 00:04:38,199 the same size shoes. Okay, I don't quite get that 81 00:04:38,319 --> 00:04:42,000 last sentence, But there's a part early in the story 82 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,879 that I skipped over because I didn't think it had 83 00:04:46,319 --> 00:04:49,079 relevance to the story. So let me go back to 84 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,639 the first paragraph and read that, and then her last 85 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,120 sentence may make sense back to the very first sentence. 86 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,519 I've always been interested in Bigfoot, probably because of where 87 00:04:58,519 --> 00:05:01,560 I grew up in Washington's Date, and when I was 88 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,519 a teenager, my grandpa told me that the first thing 89 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,519 Bigfoot would do if he came into the house was 90 00:05:07,639 --> 00:05:11,639 borrow my shoes. He was a funny man. And then 91 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,439 the last sentence says Bigfoot wasn't trying to scare you. 92 00:05:15,519 --> 00:05:18,279 He was just trying to see if we still wore 93 00:05:18,319 --> 00:05:21,279 the same sized shoes. He must have been making fun 94 00:05:21,319 --> 00:05:23,720 of her. She must have big feet, that's all I 95 00:05:23,759 --> 00:05:28,720 can figure. I know I just ruined the story for everybody, 96 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:34,240 But this is this you ask for, genuine cam Buckner. 97 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,399 That's who I am. My mind just wanders, and sometimes 98 00:05:37,399 --> 00:05:39,720 I skip things that I don't think are important. They 99 00:05:39,759 --> 00:05:43,519 wind up being important, like this grandfather making fun of 100 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,920 his granddaughter's big feet. Maybe she had big feet, maybe 101 00:05:48,959 --> 00:05:51,120 he called her Bigfoot. I don't know. I don't know 102 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,360 what the deal is. But I thought this was a 103 00:05:53,399 --> 00:05:56,360 good story. And when she first said there was a 104 00:05:56,399 --> 00:05:59,680 figure looking, let me go back and find it, because 105 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,279 I thought, oh, maybe it was an alien. The way 106 00:06:02,319 --> 00:06:08,519 she was talking separated at dusk. Steve ass, Okay, I'm 107 00:06:08,519 --> 00:06:11,560 getting close to it. So I started toward the road. 108 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,680 The beach sloped up to the hedge, and when I 109 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,319 was about fifty feet from the opening, I saw the 110 00:06:16,399 --> 00:06:19,360 silhouette of a human like figure with its shoulders and 111 00:06:19,439 --> 00:06:22,560 heads staring at me from over the edge on the 112 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,959 other side. Okay, I have no idea why. I thought 113 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,160 that may have been like an alien head sticking up. 114 00:06:28,759 --> 00:06:31,120 No reason too. There was nothing she wrote in the 115 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,240 story that made me think that. And now that I've 116 00:06:34,319 --> 00:06:37,680 totally ruined this story for y'all, I'm gonna quit talking 117 00:06:37,759 --> 00:06:40,160 and go to another one. All right, here we go. 118 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,240 All right, here's a bigfoot story. I hope you guys 119 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,560 enjoy this. I liked it. It's kind of short. I 120 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,040 want to be anonymous if you use this story. This 121 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,639 occurred in the late nineteen seventies on our family property, 122 00:06:56,759 --> 00:07:01,480 which was eighty acres of land, was twenty miles south 123 00:07:01,519 --> 00:07:06,480 of the Oakey Finoke Swamp across the Saint Mary's River 124 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,759 in Florida. At the time, my cousins and I lived 125 00:07:10,759 --> 00:07:14,279 on these eighty acres. We were all playing outside having 126 00:07:14,319 --> 00:07:16,360 a good time, when all of a sudden, we fell 127 00:07:16,439 --> 00:07:20,360 completely silent. Right in the sunshine. On the opposite side 128 00:07:20,399 --> 00:07:23,480 of the creek, we watched a creature walking toward the 129 00:07:23,519 --> 00:07:27,360 swamp on the back half of our family property. It 130 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,720 had six inch long, reddish brown hair, and it was 131 00:07:30,759 --> 00:07:33,759 at least six feet tall. I put it out of 132 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,319 my mind until I was ten years old, when the 133 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,120 youngest of our group that day came by to visit 134 00:07:39,199 --> 00:07:42,720 and asked me if I remembered when we saw Bigfoot. 135 00:07:43,199 --> 00:07:46,439 The experience came flooding back to my mind right away, 136 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,480 and since then I have asked all my cousins who 137 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,560 were there that day, and they all remember it clearly. 138 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,439 A few years ago on the property, my cousin's son 139 00:07:56,879 --> 00:07:59,199 was in that same area and he was hunting by 140 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,439 himself when he came out of the woods on this 141 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,560 four wheeler, white as a sheet, and he looked like 142 00:08:04,639 --> 00:08:07,639 he had seen something. And there was another time I 143 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:10,920 was sitting outside on my patio having a cigarette one 144 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,879 night when I got the feeling that someone was watching me, 145 00:08:14,639 --> 00:08:17,600 and just as I was feeling creeped out, a swampy 146 00:08:17,759 --> 00:08:20,560 stench hit my nose and I got up and went 147 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,600 in the house right away, and since then I have 148 00:08:23,639 --> 00:08:27,560 not gone out at night by myself at all. I 149 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,879 believe the creature we saw in the nineteen seventies was 150 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,480 a young Bigfoot. I think they migrate during the winters, 151 00:08:34,519 --> 00:08:37,840 and I do believe they have always been here. Thanks 152 00:08:37,879 --> 00:08:40,320 Cam for all your stories in your channel. They creep 153 00:08:40,399 --> 00:08:43,279 me out, but I think people should know what's in 154 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:45,879 the woods. Well, yeah, if they're in the woods, people 155 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,399 ought to know. I told you that was a short story, 156 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,399 but it was kind of a kind of a cute story. 157 00:08:50,519 --> 00:08:54,279 She's remembering way back in the seventies, I see. Does 158 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,159 she say how whole she was now? No, but I'm 159 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,279 guessing she was just a kid. So she's probably around 160 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,759 my age and she's remembering back, and a lot of 161 00:09:02,759 --> 00:09:06,200 people do that. But this was a good bigfoot story. 162 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:12,440 Thank you, ma'am. Thank you miss Anonymous for sending it all. Right, 163 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,679 this is a really really short I mean, this thing 164 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,120 doesn't happen one hundred and seventy words. I could probably 165 00:09:18,159 --> 00:09:21,120 just make a short out of it. One night, my 166 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,919 boyfriend and I had just put my twins to bed. 167 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:27,000 My other son, who was just two years old at 168 00:09:27,039 --> 00:09:29,799 the time was at his dad's for the week. We 169 00:09:29,799 --> 00:09:32,480 were settling into the evening when my boyfriend got up 170 00:09:32,519 --> 00:09:35,080 and he said he saw my son running around the house. 171 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:38,240 I told you to go to bed, he yelled, while 172 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,000 I was confused and reminded him that he was at 173 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:45,240 his dad's house. Well then, who was that, my boyfriend asked, 174 00:09:45,639 --> 00:09:48,919 I don't know, I said. The next week, my son 175 00:09:49,039 --> 00:09:51,840 came home. We had just put all the kids to 176 00:09:51,919 --> 00:09:55,240 bed when once again my boyfriend saw my two year 177 00:09:55,279 --> 00:09:58,000 old running through the trailer and he yelled at him 178 00:09:58,039 --> 00:09:59,679 to go back to bed. And when I went to 179 00:09:59,759 --> 00:10:03,200 check on my son, I found him sound asleep. Well, 180 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,799 my boyfriend was scared, and as for me, I'm used 181 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,159 to the unknown. Whatever it was, it never did come 182 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,320 back through that night. Oh that's cool. Maybe she's got 183 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,399 a little ghost, little ghost child living in that trailer. 184 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:20,799 Maybe you never know, but this was great. I read 185 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:22,879 them all. I read them all if I can, if 186 00:10:22,919 --> 00:10:25,799 I can possibly read them, and there have been a 187 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,080 few that I just could not make heads or tales 188 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:31,559 out of. I read them all, whether they're exciting or not, 189 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,720 because I think they're fun and I think they're important 190 00:10:34,759 --> 00:10:36,960 to the person who wrote them. So that's a little 191 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:41,120 short one just for I probably shouldn't say her name, 192 00:10:41,159 --> 00:10:42,960 but if she hears this, she'll know I got this 193 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,000 about two and a half years ago. And there it is. 194 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:52,440 All right, let's go to something else. Here is a 195 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,320 bigfoot story that's a little longer than the first three 196 00:10:55,759 --> 00:10:59,960 I did in this podcast. Let's do it. In midst 197 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,600 summer of nineteen eighty two, I decided to take a 198 00:11:02,639 --> 00:11:07,000 backpacking trip across the backcountry of northern Idaho to a 199 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,519 hidden lake I knew of up there. The map I 200 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:14,639 was using was ten years old. It showed logging roads 201 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,399 and trails, but what I didn't know was that it 202 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,879 was dangerously outdated and incorrect, not a time before Google 203 00:11:21,919 --> 00:11:26,120 Earth and modern navigation technology. A map and a compass 204 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:30,480 were my only god. I followed the first logging road 205 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,799 until it split. According to the map, I had reached 206 00:11:33,799 --> 00:11:36,720 my first waypoint, so I decided to stop and make 207 00:11:36,799 --> 00:11:40,159 camp for the night. I watched the sun drop over 208 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:44,080 the horizon while drinking a cup of hot coffee. It 209 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,120 left enough light to make out shapes, but not enough 210 00:11:47,159 --> 00:11:50,360 to see any detail, and I noticed a figure to 211 00:11:50,399 --> 00:11:53,360 my right that I dismissed as a burned out stump. 212 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,200 But something was off about the stump, and I felt 213 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,759 myself drawn back to it. It never move, it was 214 00:12:00,879 --> 00:12:04,480 in the same place, but deep inside me something felt wrong. 215 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,840 I kept my eyes trained on it. Now. It was 216 00:12:08,919 --> 00:12:13,519 three feet across and strangely solitary. There was no head 217 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,799 or neck shape, no arms, no legs, just a tall, 218 00:12:16,879 --> 00:12:21,039 broad figure that stood out in the dark. I was 219 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,679 ten hours from nowhere, deep in the eye the whole wilderness, 220 00:12:24,879 --> 00:12:27,279 and the sun was far enough over the horizon that 221 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:31,759 twilight was turning tonight. My hand slipped up and rested 222 00:12:31,799 --> 00:12:34,639 on the twenty two revolver I carried on my hip. 223 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:39,039 It's a stump, I told myself. Or maybe it's a 224 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,720 weird light phenomenon, like a weird shadow. It was ridiculous 225 00:12:43,759 --> 00:12:46,600 that I was having a staring contest with a burned 226 00:12:46,639 --> 00:12:50,480 out stump. Something to my left made a noise, and 227 00:12:50,519 --> 00:12:54,039 I instinctively turned to look at it. A deer had 228 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:56,879 crossed the logging road, and I watched it for a 229 00:12:56,919 --> 00:13:00,399 few minutes, and it stopped and grazed on something, and 230 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:03,399 then raised its head and jumped off into the woods, 231 00:13:03,399 --> 00:13:07,080 where it disappeared. I looked back over to the stump 232 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,759 and it was gone. Rather than questioned the sanity of 233 00:13:11,799 --> 00:13:16,120 that concept, I told myself, well, at least it's gone, 234 00:13:16,759 --> 00:13:18,879 and I decided it was time to go to sleep. 235 00:13:20,279 --> 00:13:22,679 My fire was a little more than a few burning 236 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,240 coals when I climbed into my sleeping bag and the 237 00:13:25,279 --> 00:13:28,919 tiny two man tent. The long hike and the fresh 238 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,960 air had me sleeping soundly in minutes. I was startled 239 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,120 awake when a loud crack of breaking tree branches split 240 00:13:36,159 --> 00:13:39,120 the night like a shot. It was close to the 241 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,720 camp and it was too close, and adrenaline surged through 242 00:13:42,759 --> 00:13:46,039 my veins as one hand reached for my twenty two 243 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:51,240 and the other grabbed my flashlight. Heavy footsteps approached from 244 00:13:51,279 --> 00:13:54,200 the left side, and another set was running up on 245 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,360 my right, and this was followed by a loud knock. 246 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,559 Whatever was out there, there were two two of them. 247 00:14:01,639 --> 00:14:04,799 I thought maybe some loggers were camped nearby and were 248 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,759 coming over to mess with me. I'm armed and I'll 249 00:14:07,799 --> 00:14:11,080 shoot you, I yelled. As I unzipped the tent. I 250 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:13,600 cocked the hammer so they could hear it, and made 251 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,559 a loud, distinct sound in the silence that surrounded us. 252 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,639 I listened hard for some sort of response or maybe 253 00:14:20,639 --> 00:14:24,840 a retreat, but I didn't hear a thing. Eventually, I 254 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,200 zipped the tent closed again. I laid back down. After 255 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,080 a few minutes, I heard heavy footsteps walking away from 256 00:14:31,159 --> 00:14:34,399 the camp. Must have been someone messing with me, trying 257 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,519 to scare me off, I said to myself. Now, I 258 00:14:37,559 --> 00:14:40,759 relaxed enough to uncock the hammer on the revolver, and 259 00:14:40,799 --> 00:14:43,639 I sat down the flashlight, but I kept the gun 260 00:14:43,679 --> 00:14:47,679 in my hand. At some point I drifted back to sleep. 261 00:14:49,279 --> 00:14:51,320 The next morning, when I woke up, I was still 262 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,000 holding onto the gun, and in the light of day, 263 00:14:54,159 --> 00:14:57,080 I searched the area around my tent for tracks, but 264 00:14:57,159 --> 00:15:00,080 I didn't find any. And then I looked over to 265 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,240 where the stump had been standing the night before, and 266 00:15:03,279 --> 00:15:05,840 there was a pine tree there with the top snapped 267 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,159 off of it, around ten feet off the ground. Well. 268 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,720 I walked over and looked around, but I couldn't find 269 00:15:11,759 --> 00:15:14,759 the top anywhere, and it was fresh. It was a 270 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,840 white break, and there was no tree top. Was this 271 00:15:18,919 --> 00:15:22,000 a warning not to follow the logging road north? I 272 00:15:22,039 --> 00:15:26,720 didn't know. I was headed east, away from trouble. And 273 00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:30,159 after breakfast, I broke camp and headed out with that 274 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,960 very thought in mind. I was walking away from trouble. 275 00:15:35,679 --> 00:15:38,440 At noon, I headed dead end. I was running out 276 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,639 of water, but according to the map, I should have 277 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:44,679 crossed the stream hours ago, and according to the map again, 278 00:15:44,799 --> 00:15:47,240 I was only two hours from the next main road. 279 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,759 I checked my compass and certain that I was on 280 00:15:50,799 --> 00:15:53,480 the correct heading, and I assured myself that I would 281 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:58,399 cross the stream by dark. A few times as I hiked, 282 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,039 I was sure I heard something walking alongside me to 283 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,759 my right. It was keeping pace with me. It was 284 00:16:04,799 --> 00:16:08,159 an odd feeling. I felt like I was being watched, 285 00:16:08,519 --> 00:16:10,879 and I kept telling myself that it was a deer 286 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,799 or an elk sneaking away from me. But after this 287 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,080 kept up all afternoon, I found a low area and 288 00:16:18,159 --> 00:16:21,080 I climbed into it and lying on my back with 289 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,960 my pistol on my chest, I waited, thinking that whatever 290 00:16:25,039 --> 00:16:27,679 it was might come and take a look. And for 291 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,480 thirty minutes I watched and listened, and nothing showed up. 292 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,960 By the time it got dark, I was down to 293 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,480 walking game trails through the thick forest. I was still 294 00:16:38,519 --> 00:16:41,159 on top of a flat ridge, which made no sense. 295 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,360 According to this map, I should have crossed two more 296 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,879 logging roads by now. I'd kept an eye on my 297 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,759 compass all day to make sure I was headed east, 298 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,919 and at seven o'clock I stopped and made camp. Now 299 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,519 used the last of the water. I had to make coffee, 300 00:16:57,799 --> 00:17:00,399 but I kept two cups for the next morning, and 301 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,919 I cooked the can and chili, and I climbed into bed. 302 00:17:03,759 --> 00:17:09,160 Surely by tomorrow it would all make sense. At two am, 303 00:17:09,279 --> 00:17:12,359 I was suddenly awake, and I was lying there trying 304 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,599 to figure out what woke me when I heard it. 305 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:20,119 It was the heavy footsteps and they were coming into camp. Mentally, 306 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,319 I was running through a list of animals that could 307 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:25,519 walk like that. It had to be a bear. I thought. 308 00:17:26,039 --> 00:17:28,720 The moon was bright that night, and the shadow fell 309 00:17:28,759 --> 00:17:32,240 over the tent as something big walked by on two legs. 310 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,720 Oh yeah, it's a bear, I told myself, A big bear. Now. 311 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,519 I grabbed the twenty two in the flashlight before sliding 312 00:17:39,559 --> 00:17:43,720 down into my sleeping bag away from the door. The 313 00:17:43,759 --> 00:17:46,400 bear was standing five feet in front of the tent, 314 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:49,000 and part of my brain was railing at me for 315 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:51,839 making this trip alone, while the other part was thinking 316 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,680 that my only chance at survival was to shine the 317 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,480 flashlight in its eyes long enough to blind it so 318 00:17:57,559 --> 00:18:00,359 I could get a shot off a shot with the 319 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,720 twenty two. My only hope was to kill a bear 320 00:18:03,799 --> 00:18:06,480 with a twenty two. Maybe I could get off a 321 00:18:06,559 --> 00:18:10,039 shot hit it in the hour or the ear. I 322 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:14,000 remember breathing and watching the shadow and listening and praying, 323 00:18:14,319 --> 00:18:16,720 and it felt like it stood there for an hour. 324 00:18:17,799 --> 00:18:20,720 It was more likely just a few minutes. But then 325 00:18:20,759 --> 00:18:24,000 it walked away, and I can still hear those big, 326 00:18:24,039 --> 00:18:28,559 heavy footsteps walking through the underbrush. Thank God. It was 327 00:18:28,599 --> 00:18:31,279 the most afraid I have ever been in my life. 328 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:35,680 I woke up a few hours later, not even sure 329 00:18:35,799 --> 00:18:38,359 when I fell back asleep to the sound of wood 330 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,720 knocking again, and I thought that bear must be tearing 331 00:18:41,799 --> 00:18:44,559 a stump apart for grubs, and then I drifted back 332 00:18:44,599 --> 00:18:48,759 to sleep again. I woke again to light rain the 333 00:18:48,799 --> 00:18:51,759 next morning, and it allowed me to collect water off 334 00:18:51,799 --> 00:18:54,599 the tent, and then I quickly built a small fire 335 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,160 so I could reheat my coffee, and I tore down 336 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,480 my camp and then I headed out, and the rain 337 00:19:00,559 --> 00:19:02,640 broke as I came out of the woods on top 338 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,359 of a ridge that allowed a view ten miles across 339 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,160 the valley, and the rain stopped, and the sun burst 340 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,279 through the clouds and a rainbow stretched across the sky. 341 00:19:13,599 --> 00:19:17,240 I've never been a religious person, but it was as 342 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:22,720 if God said, look at this beautiful place. It was invigorating, 343 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,440 and I suddenly felt better, as if I was going 344 00:19:25,519 --> 00:19:28,519 to survive this, and I began my descent down into 345 00:19:28,559 --> 00:19:32,400 the valley. I was one hundred and fifty feet down 346 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,160 to a flat spot twenty feet wide, but I couldn't 347 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,359 see beyond that, and the terrain was so thick that 348 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,160 I quickly found myself skiing down the mountain in my 349 00:19:41,279 --> 00:19:44,720 hiking boots, and the weight of my backpack was directing 350 00:19:44,759 --> 00:19:46,839 my route to the point that I had visions of 351 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,319 winding up on my back, heading down headfirst like a 352 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,759 turtle on its back, and I got myself turned to 353 00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:58,200 prevent that, only to find my speed increasing well. I 354 00:19:58,279 --> 00:20:01,319 plowed through tree branches, hoping that they would at least 355 00:20:01,319 --> 00:20:04,559 slow me down, but they only broke against my onslaught 356 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:08,640 and something sharp cut my face and I reached out 357 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,000 to grab the branches, but they ripped through my hands 358 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:15,000 and they cut my palms somehow. I was now falling 359 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,119 back on my backpack and sliding down the hill like 360 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:23,200 Fred Flintstone with my feet dug hard into the dirt well. 361 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,160 I stopped inches before being thrown over the edge of 362 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:30,039 a cliff, believe it or not, And somehow I managed 363 00:20:30,079 --> 00:20:32,799 to get myself onto my feet and I was shaking 364 00:20:33,039 --> 00:20:36,079 like a leaf, and I took stock of the situation. 365 00:20:37,039 --> 00:20:39,359 I was on the edge of the ridge and going 366 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:43,079 back up was not an option, and going further down 367 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,400 looked like more of what I had just gone through. 368 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:49,960 So what do I do now? Fortunately there was a 369 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,240 game trail that slowly descended into the valley. It did 370 00:20:54,279 --> 00:20:57,359 not solve my lack of water, but at the top 371 00:20:57,519 --> 00:21:00,480 I judged the valley to be two miles across. And 372 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,559 now I was sore and exhausted from my impromptu ski trip. 373 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:09,480 At least I thought whatever was following me would probably 374 00:21:09,559 --> 00:21:13,240 be deterred by my little fiasco. But no matter what, 375 00:21:13,519 --> 00:21:16,200 I had to find water as fast as I could. 376 00:21:17,839 --> 00:21:21,079 My thirst was the driving force I needed, and within 377 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,599 an hour I broke out into an open meadow with 378 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,079 a beaver dam and fresh water in front of me. 379 00:21:26,519 --> 00:21:30,480 Thank god, I boiled the water for my canteen, and 380 00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:33,559 I caught three small brook trout from my lunch. And 381 00:21:33,599 --> 00:21:37,799 then I assessed my situation. My body was soreed, my 382 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,680 hands were hurt, and I was covered with cuts. But 383 00:21:40,759 --> 00:21:43,640 I was alive, and I had water, and I had 384 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,720 fresh food. I was twenty three years old. I was 385 00:21:47,799 --> 00:21:50,400 in great shape. But I was so concerned about that 386 00:21:50,519 --> 00:21:53,160 bear that I walked a quarter of a mile downstream 387 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,319 to get rid of the fish guts. I spent that 388 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,920 afternoon exploring the little paradise stumbled into, and then I 389 00:22:02,039 --> 00:22:04,960 managed to catch two more brook trout for supper before 390 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,279 deciding to call it a night. And once again, that 391 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:11,720 son of a bitch bear was standing sixty yards away 392 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,000 in the shadows. He was there like a statue, and 393 00:22:15,039 --> 00:22:19,279 he was standing upright in three foot tall grass. Just 394 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:22,279 like the first night, there wasn't enough light to make 395 00:22:22,319 --> 00:22:27,000 out any detail. A deer crossed the field between us, 396 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,319 grazing aimlessly, and I found myself wondering why it wasn't 397 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:35,079 spooked by this bear. And again, like the first night, 398 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:37,839 while I watched the deer, I fail to notice that 399 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:42,519 the bear had vanished. Again that night, I searched my 400 00:22:42,599 --> 00:22:45,960 mind for bear encounter stories. I had never heard of 401 00:22:46,039 --> 00:22:49,880 being stalked for three days by a bear. I have 402 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,440 to admit that it was an uneasy feeling. And then 403 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,400 I remembered that there were two of them. That really 404 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:01,759 didn't make much sense. I woke at three point fifteen 405 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,000 am to the sound of a panicked animal charging my tent. 406 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,759 Deer were snorting and running in all directions, some of 407 00:23:09,799 --> 00:23:12,559 them right at me, and I heard one jump over 408 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,279 the tent and I watched as its foot caught the 409 00:23:15,279 --> 00:23:18,440 front pole, ripping the stake out of the ground, and 410 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,359 the tent collapsed on my head. And feeling my own 411 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,960 overwhelming panic building inside me, I zipped the front flap 412 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:32,279 and I tried to climb out. For a split second, 413 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,279 I saw a bear or a mountain lion or whatever 414 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,440 predator the deer were running from, charging right at me, 415 00:23:39,079 --> 00:23:41,039 and I stuck the twenty two out the door and 416 00:23:41,039 --> 00:23:44,480 I shot into the air well. That little twenty two 417 00:23:44,559 --> 00:23:47,599 sounded like a cannon going off to me, and the 418 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,640 shot echoed through the valley, sending the bear running across 419 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:54,160 the stream and splashing and breaking willows on the opposite 420 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,559 side as it did. What the hell had just happened. 421 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:02,640 It was a nerve racking hour and a half until daylight, 422 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,799 and I rebuilt the fire and started my coffee, and 423 00:24:05,839 --> 00:24:08,480 put on some clothes to protect myself against the cool 424 00:24:08,559 --> 00:24:12,200 mountain air, and I replaced the spence shell in my gun. 425 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:19,160 Never in my life had I experienced something so intense. Well, 426 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,799 I caught one more brook trout for breakfast, and I 427 00:24:21,839 --> 00:24:25,160 explored the area around the stream where the bear crossed it. 428 00:24:26,279 --> 00:24:30,480 There were eighteen inch long footprints in the mud. I 429 00:24:30,519 --> 00:24:33,839 didn't have a camera to take pictures, something I regret 430 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,119 to this day. If not for that night, I could 431 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,880 have spent a week in that little paradise. But given 432 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,759 the events of the night, I decided it was best 433 00:24:42,799 --> 00:24:46,440 to get out of there, with the fear of the 434 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,839 bear was still going to follow me. Filling my every thought, 435 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,279 I climbed out of the valley and found a main 436 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:55,599 logging road, and I figured that even if I only 437 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,079 had one mile per hour, I would still reach the 438 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,799 lake in three days. The distance to the lake was 439 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,400 eighteen miles. I should have made it in two days, 440 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,559 but this was day three and I still hadn't found it. 441 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,000 About that time, a guy came driving up in an 442 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,720 el Camino, and he had a load of firewood. I 443 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,200 had never heard a vehicle or a chainsaw all morning, 444 00:25:20,279 --> 00:25:23,359 but there he was. I was only half a mile 445 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,079 from where I had camped. I would have thought i'd 446 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,599 have heard him. I stuck my thumb out and he stopped. 447 00:25:30,039 --> 00:25:32,160 I put my pack in the back and I climbed 448 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:34,279 in and he stared at me for a minute before 449 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:39,079 asking if I needed a hospital. Well, no, why, I said, 450 00:25:39,279 --> 00:25:42,759 a little confused by the question. What the hell happened 451 00:25:42,799 --> 00:25:45,359 to you? Man? Did a cougar attack you? He said, 452 00:25:46,039 --> 00:25:49,400 What are you talking about? I asked, have you seen 453 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,200 your hands in your face? You look like you've been 454 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,880 through a meat grinder. Well, I told him about my 455 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,599 ski trip down the mountain. He laughed and tilted the 456 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,480 rear mirror over so I could get a look at myself. 457 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:05,200 Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital, 458 00:26:05,319 --> 00:26:09,240 he said, between the four days of beard growth and 459 00:26:09,319 --> 00:26:13,400 all the cuts and scratches, I looked horrible. He took 460 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,279 me to his house, where I helped him stack firewood, 461 00:26:16,599 --> 00:26:19,400 and then he let me take a shower. I never 462 00:26:19,559 --> 00:26:23,799 mentioned the bear. His wife came home while I was 463 00:26:23,839 --> 00:26:26,039 in the shower, and she told me that it was 464 00:26:26,079 --> 00:26:29,839 a miracle that I had gotten out alive. Apparently the 465 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,799 year before, two guys were hiking in the same place 466 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,680 and they were never seen again. I wondered if they 467 00:26:36,759 --> 00:26:40,200 ran into the same creature that I did. Well, the 468 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,640 man gave me a ride back to my cabin, where 469 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,240 my friend was surprised to see me show up after 470 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,759 only four days. I told him the map was way 471 00:26:48,799 --> 00:26:53,240 off and I just left it at that. We later 472 00:26:53,319 --> 00:26:56,559 found out that none of the locals trusted the maps 473 00:26:56,559 --> 00:26:59,960 of this area. The map maker had apparently never been 474 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:04,759 out there. His information all came from loggers sitting in bars. 475 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,559 It still didn't explain how I only managed to travel 476 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,640 twelve miles in four days, but maybe that was for 477 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:16,160 the best. If I had pressed on to the lake, 478 00:27:16,319 --> 00:27:19,079 I might have ended up like those other two guys, 479 00:27:19,759 --> 00:27:25,279 lost forever. Oh man, that's a good story. That's a 480 00:27:25,279 --> 00:27:30,079 Bigfoot story, and that's probably the main thing this audience 481 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,799 will take away from it. But I was more interested 482 00:27:33,839 --> 00:27:36,920 in him getting lost and how he survived, and how 483 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,759 he would find sources of food, sources of water, and 484 00:27:40,839 --> 00:27:43,039 he would just relax and he would be calm and 485 00:27:43,079 --> 00:27:44,920 he would eat, and then he would think out as 486 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,000 plan and he would execute. That's what it takes to 487 00:27:48,039 --> 00:27:52,000 get through these situations. You can't panic, you can't give up. 488 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,519 You just got to keep eating, keep drinking whatever you can, 489 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,680 and keep moving. I don't know, maybe I'm a weirdo. 490 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,880 I know that was a big in the story, but 491 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,759 I just love the survival aspect of it. It was 492 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,400 very cool. I've had this story for a long time. 493 00:28:07,559 --> 00:28:10,440 Just now getting to it, I thought it was wonderful. 494 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:12,799 Thank you to the man who sent it. He wants 495 00:28:12,839 --> 00:28:15,359 to be anonymous. I hope he hears it. Thank you 496 00:28:15,519 --> 00:28:18,920 very much. All Right, that's going to do it for 497 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:23,079 this podcast. Thank you for joining me, Thanks for clicking 498 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:26,720 on the video. Thanks for clicking on the podcast. If 499 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,720 you're listening through the what If It's True Podcast on 500 00:28:29,839 --> 00:28:34,480 Apple or Spotify, I really appreciate you. Love doing these stories. 501 00:28:34,839 --> 00:28:37,319 Hope you enjoy hearing them. I'll see you guys on 502 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,400 the next one. Talk to you soon. Thanks