WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:13.759 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