WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:01.600 Today, I want to tell you about a journey that 2 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:03.879 I've been on for most of my life. Ever since 3 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:05.799 I was a kid, I've heard tales of bigfoot and 4 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:08.320 wild men while spending time with my friends and family. 5 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:11.439 As I grew older and read more about the paranormal, 6 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:14.679 my interest in encryptids and other things strange only deepened. 7 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:17.160 That's why I'm so excited to share with you what 8 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:21.640 I've personally become involved with the Untold Radio Network. The 9 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:25.280 Untold Radio Network is a live streaming podcast network that 10 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.359 airs a new show every day across all podcast platforms, YouTube, 11 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:32.119 and more. They have eight different shows on all sorts 12 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:36.119 of exciting topics such as bigfoot, cryptids, UFOs, aliens, and 13 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.479 much more. I even have my own show called Weird Encounters, 14 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:42.439 where I talk about all things strange. This is more 15 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.280 than just a podcast network. It's a community that allows 16 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:47.759 me to meet so many amazing people who share their 17 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:51.520 stories and experiences with strange. If you're interested in hearing 18 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:53.880 more of these stories and learning more about the paranormal 19 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:56.679 and encryptids, make sure you check out the Untold Radio 20 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:00.640 Network for all kinds of exciting shows. It's free to subscribe. 21 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:04.400 So what are you waiting for? Visit www dot untold 22 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:06.920 Radio network dot com Today. 23 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:09.319 Now on what are your reporting? I got a screen 24 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:12.120 going on here. Something just killing my dog, something to 25 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.280 kill your dog, my dog. We're flying through there, over 26 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:20.079 the tree. I don't know how it did it? Okay, damn, 27 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:22.640 I'm really confused. All I saw was my dog coming 28 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:24.519 over the fence, and name was dead once you hit 29 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:26.560 the ground. I didn't see any cars. All I saw 30 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:45.120 was my dog coming over the fence. Made What are 31 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:49.959 you reporting? We got some wonder or something crawling around 32 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:58.640 out here? Did you see what it was? It was 33 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.519 enough here. Look, I'm new to window now and I 34 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:08.840 don't need anything. I don't want to go outside. Just fight. Hello, 35 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:12.759 hit the boddy out here? What quin? I'm out there? 36 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:15.639 I've thought of a bench about text nine. I don't know. 37 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.240 Easy annount there. Yeah, I'm working right heady. 38 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:22.400 Since February of twenty twenty one, every single Friday, I've 39 00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:25.439 released an interview either with someone who's had a direct 40 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:28.719 encounter with sasquatch or with a researcher who spent time 41 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:33.560 in the field gathering stories, evidence, and insight. That hasn't changed. 42 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:37.360 It's the foundation of this show, but since going full 43 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:39.840 time with the podcast in March of twenty twenty two, 44 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.919 I've expanded what we offer. That means, in addition to 45 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:47.560 the Friday interviews, you'll now hear narrated encounters from Fred 46 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:51.479 and Alaska on Sundays and on Wednesdays, I share stories 47 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:55.840 I've pulled from historical archives and global databases, encounters that, 48 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:59.319 while not told firsthand on the mic, still deserve to 49 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:03.280 be heard. Now. I want to be transparent. I've gone 50 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:05.199 back and forth on whether or not to address some 51 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:08.759 of the negative feedback, but I think open dialogue matters. 52 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.520 I recently got a review saying that these narrated stories 53 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:16.039 are obviously made up and that by including them, I've 54 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:19.599 tarnished the channel. According to the reviewer, you can tell 55 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:21.719 if a story is legit by the terror in the 56 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:25.759 witness's voice, and look, I get it first hand. Audio 57 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:30.520 is powerful, it's raw, it's compelling. It's why I'll always 58 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:34.159 keep Fridays reserved for those direct interviews. But I also 59 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:38.360 believe the historical accounts matter. I do rewrite them, not 60 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:41.520 to change what happened, but to organize and clarify them 61 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:43.719 so they're easier to follow and better to listen to. 62 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:47.560 And I'm upfront about that. If those episodes aren't your thing, 63 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.479 skip them, that's totally fine. Just know the interviews you 64 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:55.080 come here for are still dropping every Friday like always. 65 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:57.560 So whether you've been here since day one or just 66 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:02.120 found the show last week, thank you seriously. Your support 67 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:05.360 has made all of this possible, and I'm incredibly grateful 68 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:09.000 you keep showing up week after week. So with all 69 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.759 that said, let's get into today's episode. What you're about 70 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:15.439 to hear is a collection of encounters that come from 71 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:18.600 people who had real experiences with something they can't explain. 72 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:21.720 They're part of the bigger picture, and they help us 73 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:25.160 understand the full scope of what people are experiencing out there. 74 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:28.839 I've never told many people this story, but here goes. 75 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:32.720 It was August nineteen sixty eight and I was twenty three, 76 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.399 working my second season as a fire lookout in the 77 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:39.040 Olympic National Forest. I was stuck in this tiny tower 78 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:42.680 about fifteen miles from the nearest dirt road, boring as 79 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:46.759 hell most days, just staring at trees, taking weather readings, 80 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.160 and talking on the radio a couple times a day. 81 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.639 Most guys hated it, but I didn't mind the quiet. 82 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:55.439 This one day was hot as hell. Had to be 83 00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:59.319 eighty five degrees, which is pretty damn warm for the mountains. 84 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.600 I just finished my evening radio check around six and 85 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:05.160 was making some beans on my little propane stove when 86 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:07.759 I heard something big moving around in the bushes below 87 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:11.360 the tower. First thing I thought was bear. We had 88 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:15.240 tons of black bears roaming around. I grabbed my binoculars 89 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:17.319 and went out on the little walkway that goes around 90 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:20.480 the lookout. Sun was still up, so I could see 91 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:23.199 pretty good. I looked down at the trees about one 92 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:26.920 hundred yards below and saw something moving. That's when I 93 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:28.920 saw the thing that's messed with my head for the 94 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:32.439 last fifty some years. At first I thought somebody was 95 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:35.439 down there wearing dark clothes, but then it stood up 96 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:39.439 all the way and Jesus Christ, it was huge. Had 97 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:43.040 to be seven maybe eight feet tall. The thing was 98 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:46.639 covered in this dark brown hair hanging longer from its arms. 99 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:51.279 But the face that's what still gives me nightmares. It 100 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:54.600 was kind of flat, with this massive brow ridge. Wasn't 101 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.079 a bear face, wasn't a human face. It was something 102 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.959 else entirely. It was caring at this rotting log, ripping 103 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:05.920 chunks off like they were nothing. The raw power was terrifying, 104 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:08.680 pulling apart stuff that would have taken me in an 105 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.079 axe half a day. The way it moved wasn't right either, 106 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:16.399 too fluid, too purposeful. I just stood there like an idiot, 107 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:21.279 frozen stiff, watching through the binoculars. Then the worst part happened. 108 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:24.000 It stopped dead and looked straight up at the tower. 109 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:27.360 I swear on my life it locked eyes with me. 110 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.279 Those weren't animalized. There was something behind them, something thinking. 111 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:34.920 The thing just stared at me for what felt like 112 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.240 forever but was probably only ten to fifteen seconds. Then 113 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.040 it just turned and walked into the trees. Didn't run 114 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:47.199 or seemed scared, just these powerful, long strides that ate 115 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:50.519 up ground like nobody's business. The way it moved was 116 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:54.519 all wrong, smooth, but not like how people walk. When 117 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:57.399 it disappeared, I realized I'd been holding my breath so long. 118 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:00.360 I was dizzy. My hands were shaking so bad. I 119 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:03.759 dropped the damn binoculars. Thank God for the next strap. 120 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:07.959 I nearly pissed myself. I thought about radioing it in, 121 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:11.680 but stopped. They'd have thought I was drunk or crazy? 122 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:15.920 Who the hell reports seeing a sasquatch on official channels. 123 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:19.560 That night was the longest of my life. Every crack 124 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:21.560 and groan of the tower and the wind had me 125 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:24.959 jumping out of my skin. I kept imagining that thing 126 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.000 climbing up to get me. I had my rifle loaded 127 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:30.600 next to my sleeping bag, but deep down I knew 128 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:33.160 if it wanted in, no gun was going to stop it. 129 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.040 Next morning, I hiked down to where I'd seen it. 130 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:39.560 The log was torn to pieces. Whatever did it had 131 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.480 incredible strength. I found a partial footprint in some soft 132 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:47.920 dirt nearby, about sixteen inches long, with five toes, just 133 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:51.319 one print, but it was enough. I had nothing to 134 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:53.920 make a cast with, and it rained hard that night, 135 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:57.759 washing it all away. For weeks after, I felt watched. 136 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.800 Every time I went outside the tower, my skin would crawl. 137 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:04.879 Sometimes at night I'd hear weird calls echoing across the valleys, 138 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:09.879 not elk, not wolves, something else. Sometimes they'd come in 139 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:15.000 patterns like signals, two long howls, paws, then three short ones, 140 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:19.399 then from another ridge an answer. I figured that would 141 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:21.560 be my one and only run in with whatever was 142 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:25.480 in those deep woods. But I was wrong. Fast forward 143 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:29.519 five years to nineteen seventy three. I wasn't working lookouts anymore, 144 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:32.840 got married and needed steadier work, But me and my 145 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:35.519 buddy Dave would go hunting up in the Olympics every fall. 146 00:08:36.279 --> 00:08:39.440 This time we were way back in, probably twenty miles 147 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:42.159 from the nearest road, set up in this little valley 148 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:45.960 for elk season. Second night out. Dave's already asleep in 149 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.399 the tent and I'm just sitting by the fire having 150 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:52.200 a last smoke. It's dead quiet except for the crackling wood. 151 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.799 Then I smell it like wet dog mixed with rotting 152 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:59.399 meat and skunk, a smell that has no business in nature. 153 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:02.960 I knew instantly what it was. Every hair on my 154 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:06.279 body stood up. I slowly reached from my rifle beside 155 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:08.879 the log I was sitting on. That's when I heard 156 00:09:08.919 --> 00:09:12.759 heavy footsteps circling our camp, just beyond the firelight. Not 157 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:18.320 four legs, two something big walking on two legs. I 158 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:21.080 tried to wake Dave without yelling, but the chicken shit 159 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:24.120 had taken his sleeping pills and was out cold. I 160 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:26.519 was alone with this thing circling me in the dark. 161 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.600 Then the rock started hitting our camp not thrown at 162 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:33.759 us directly. They'd land ten to fifteen feet away from me, 163 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:38.519 one after another, small at first, then bigger, like it 164 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:42.200 was testing me seeing what I'd do. I fired a 165 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:44.600 shot in the air, thinking it would scare it off. 166 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:48.159 Big mistake. The thing let out a scream that I 167 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:51.679 still can't describe right. It was like a woman being murdered, 168 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.120 mixed with an angry bear, but ten times louder. It 169 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:59.480 echoed around the whole valley. I nearly shipped myself day, 170 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.480 finally up stumbling out of the tent, asking what the 171 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:05.159 hell was going on. I told him to shut up 172 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:08.159 and get his gun. We sat back to back all night, 173 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:11.519 feeding the fire to keep it bright. The thing kept 174 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:15.039 circling just out of sight. Sometimes we'd see branches move 175 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:17.879 or catch a glimpse of something big moving between trees. 176 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:21.639 A couple times we heard wood knocking, like someone hitting 177 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:27.120 trees with a baseball bat. Knock, knock, knock, pause, knock knock. 178 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:31.000 When dawn finally broke, we packed up faster than we 179 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:33.840 ever had and got the hell out of there. On 180 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:36.960 the hike out, we found our trail blocked by broken trees, 181 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:40.720 not blown down by wind. Snapped off about seven feet 182 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:43.559 up and laid across the path. Had to be twenty 183 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:47.679 trees arranged like this. Some were six inches thick. Nothing 184 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:51.279 breaks trees like that, except maybe bulldozers. I never went 185 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:54.519 back to that valley again. Dave wrote the whole thing 186 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.240 off as a bear and too much. Whiskey said the 187 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:00.320 trees were just storm damage, but he never went camping 188 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:04.039 again either. I know what I saw. It wasn't a bear, 189 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:06.799 wasn't a guy in a suit, and sure as hell 190 00:11:06.919 --> 00:11:10.360 wasn't my imagination. There's something in those forests that we 191 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:13.440 don't have a name for, something smart that doesn't want 192 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:16.240 to be found. The natives knew about it long before 193 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:20.360 we showed up. Tell you something else. I've worked forestry 194 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:23.879 for forty years and I've never told my coworkers this story. 195 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:27.399 But I'm not the only one who's seen things. After 196 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:30.200 a few beers, other old timers will sometimes hint at 197 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:34.720 weird experiences, strange calls in the night, massive tracks where 198 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:38.399 there shouldn't be any, finding deer carcasses, and trees fifteen 199 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:41.360 feet off the ground. We don't talk about it directly, 200 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:44.720 but we know there's things in the deep woods that 201 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.159 aren't in any wildlife manual. You can use this for 202 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:51.639 your show, but change my name, will you. My family 203 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:54.679 already thinks I've lost a few marbles. Don't need to 204 00:11:54.679 --> 00:11:59.000 give them more ammunition. While his encounters in Washington's Olympic 205 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:03.240 Peninsula remain etched in his memory decades later, his experiences 206 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:07.799 weren't isolated phenomena across the country. In the dense forests 207 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.679 of New York's Adirondack Mountains, another observer would soon have 208 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:16.039 their own inexplicable encounter with something that shouldn't exist according 209 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:20.120 to conventional science. The year was nineteen seventy six, and 210 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:22.879 a young biology graduate student was about to have her 211 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:28.080 understanding of North American wildlife permanently altered. I've never put 212 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:30.840 this down on paper before. Some nights I still wake 213 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:35.840 up hearing those sounds. September nineteen seventy six, I was 214 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:39.840 twenty four, working on my biology degree at Cornell. I 215 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:42.240 was one of only three women in the program, so 216 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.759 I was always trying to prove myself. I'd convinced my 217 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:48.519 advisor to let me do solo research on acid rain 218 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:52.559 effects in the high Adirondacks. Looking back, I was being 219 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:55.399 stupid going out there alone, but I was young and 220 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:59.480 had something to prove. My research spot was near Marcy Dam, 221 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.320 three miles from the nearest place you could drive. I'd 222 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:05.240 hiked in with all my gear and set up camp 223 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.799 by this little stream. During summer, the place got hikers, 224 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:12.480 but by late September it was pretty much deserted. My 225 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:16.080 second night there, this monster storm rolled in out of nowhere. 226 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.559 Temperature dropped like a rock, and rain started coming down 227 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:22.600 in sheets. I was zipped up in my sleeping bag, 228 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:25.399 listening to the rain hammering my little tent when I 229 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:27.799 heard it. At first I thought it was some kind 230 00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:30.120 of elk bugling, but we don't have elk in the 231 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:34.960 Adirondacks anymore, haven't for one hundred years. Then I thought moose, 232 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:39.720 but it wasn't right for that either. The sound was structured, 233 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:45.200 almost like talking, but not human. It started deep and resonant, 234 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:47.840 then changed to these short, barking whoops that made the 235 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:50.960 hair on my arms stand up. I'd been camping and 236 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:53.679 hiking in those mountains since I was a kid. I 237 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.200 knew every sound those woods made. This wasn't anything I'd 238 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:00.720 ever heard before. Then I heard something big moving through 239 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:04.399 the forest, heading straight from my camp. Not crashing like 240 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:08.279 a scared deer or foraging like a bear. These were heavy, 241 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.679 deliberate footsteps. Whatever it was stopped real close to my tent, 242 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.360 just out of sight in the darkness. I was terrified 243 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:20.519 I was alone, miles from help in a storm with 244 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:24.279 something massive standing right outside my tent. Then it made 245 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:27.159 this low, rumbling noise that I swear to God sounded 246 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:31.000 like talking, not words I could understand, but definitely not 247 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.240 animal sounds either. It had rhythm and variation like speech. 248 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:38.799 I called out, hoping it was just a lost hiker. 249 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:43.559 The response came immediately, this series of weird barks and whoops, 250 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:47.480 way louder than before, right outside my tent. Then I 251 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:51.960 heard branches breaking, not snapping underfoot, but being broken on purpose. 252 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:56.120 Three loud cracks, one after another, like whatever was out 253 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.080 there was snapping branches and dropping them. I had my 254 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:02.200 flashlight in a death grip, but couldn't make myself unzip 255 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:06.039 the tent to look outside and stay tuned for more 256 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:09.159 sasquatch ott to see we'll be right back. After these messages, 257 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:16.799 I just sat there, shaking, listening to this thing walking 258 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:22.159 around my camp. Twice it circled completely around. The footsteps 259 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:25.080 were heavy and on two feet, definitely not a bear. 260 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.679 The stride was too long for a person, and whatever 261 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:30.679 it was weighed a ton from the sound of the 262 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:34.639 footfalls in the mud. After what felt like forever, it 263 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:38.360 finally moved away, back up the ridge. I could hear 264 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:41.879 those weird calls for another hour, getting farther away, until 265 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:44.960 the storm drowned them out. I didn't sleep a wink. 266 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:47.840 I kept my knife in my hand all night, for 267 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.519 all the good that would have done. I was crying 268 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.279 on and off, convinced I was going to die out there. 269 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:56.480 When morning finally came, I crawled out of my tent, 270 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:59.720 half expecting to find nothing. But there in the mud 271 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:03.440 were these tracks. Not washed out spots or animal prints, 272 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:09.000 actual footprints, human shaped, but massive, about fourteen to fifteen 273 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:13.120 inches long with five toes. The distance between them was huge, 274 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:16.759 like four to five feet apart. Whatever made them had 275 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:20.039 a stride twice as long as mine. But the branches 276 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:23.440 were what really freaked me out. Three big branches thick 277 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:26.080 as my wrist had been snapped off and arranged in 278 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:28.759 a neat pile at the edge of my camp, not 279 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:33.399 thrown there by wind or fallen naturally deliberately placed like 280 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:36.519 a message. I packed my stuff so fast I left 281 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:39.960 half of it behind. Told my adviser a bear ransacked 282 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:44.000 my camp. Never mentioned the footprints or those horrible sounds. 283 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.120 Back then, female scientists were already fighting an uphill battle. 284 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:51.120 Say the word bigfoot, and my career would have been 285 00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:54.559 over before it started. For years, I convinced myself it 286 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:58.000 was just a weird bear encounter. The mind plays tricks, 287 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:01.720 especially when you're alone and scared. But deep down I 288 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:06.680 knew better. Twelve years later, nineteen eighty eight, I was 289 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:09.160 back in the Adirondacks with my husband John for a 290 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.559 weekend hiking trip. I'd never told him about what happened. 291 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:15.240 We were in a completely different part of the mountains, 292 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:19.119 near Lake Placid. Our second night, we were sitting by 293 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.200 the campfire after dinner. John had gone to get more 294 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:25.400 water from the stream about fifty yards away. It was 295 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:28.640 that perfect quiet you only get in the deep woods. 296 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:32.880 Then I heard that same deep, structured vocalization from years before. 297 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.519 It was coming from the ridge above our camp. John 298 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:40.160 came running back without the water, looking scared. He'd heard 299 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:42.599 it too and wanted to know what that sound was. 300 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:47.559 I couldn't speak. I was literally paralyzed with fear. Then 301 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:50.319 we heard branches breaking in the woods around us, not 302 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.680 just one or two, dozens of them, like something was 303 00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:57.799 circling our camp, snapping branches as it went. John grabbed 304 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:00.799 the flashlight and started shining it into the tree, but 305 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:04.039 couldn't see anything. I finally found my voice and told 306 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:05.920 him we needed to get in the tent right now. 307 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.920 He argued, saying it was just a bear and the 308 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.720 fire would keep it away. That's when we heard the 309 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:15.480 wood knocks. Three sharp knocks like someone hitting a tree 310 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:20.119 with a baseball bat, then silence, then from the opposite direction, 311 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:24.200 three more knocks. In response, I told John that bears 312 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:27.599 don't do that. We heard heavy footsteps all around us, 313 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.640 just out of the firelight. Then John's flashlight caught something, 314 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.759 just for a second, a massive shape moving between trees, 315 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:40.119 much taller than a person covered in dark hair. John 316 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:42.839 saw it too. He grabbed my arm so hard at 317 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:45.960 left bruises. He kept asking what the fuck that was. 318 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.200 I couldn't tell him. I couldn't admit what I knew. 319 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:52.599 We stayed up all night, keeping the fire as bright 320 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:57.119 as possible. The knocking and footsteps continued for hours. At 321 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:00.039 one point, something threw a rock into our camp, not 322 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:03.119 at us, but close enough to send a message. It 323 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:06.559 landed right at the edge of the firelight. When dawn came, 324 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:10.000 we packed up in record time. As we hiked out 325 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:12.400 and as we made our way along the trail, John 326 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:16.440 tried to explain it away teenagers playing pranks, a bear, 327 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.680 anything rational. But I knew it was the same thing 328 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:25.319 I'd encountered years before, and this time I wasn't alone. 329 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.400 John had seen it too. We've never gone back to 330 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:32.720 the Adirondacks, not once in almost forty years. John won't 331 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:35.920 talk about that night. When our kids wanted to go camping, 332 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:38.799 we took them to established campgrounds with lots of other 333 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:42.079 people around. I became a biology professor and spent my 334 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:46.119 career studying forest ecosystems. I've read all the research on 335 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:50.759 known North American wildlife. Nothing in the scientific literature explains 336 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:54.119 what I encountered, But I know what I experienced. There's 337 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:58.559 something in those mountains that shouldn't exist, but does, something 338 00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:01.960 intelligent that doesn't want to be found, but occasionally makes 339 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:07.279 itself known. The female scientists encounters in the Adirondacks stayed 340 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:10.880 with her throughout her academic career, influencing her approach to 341 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.759 forest ecosystems, even as she carefully kept her experiences hidden 342 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:18.480 from colleagues. But the creature's presence wasn't limited to the 343 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.960 ancient mountains of the northeast. A few years later, and 344 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.480 over one thousand miles southwest, the remote hollows of the 345 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:29.039 Ozark Mountains would become the setting for another remarkable encounter, 346 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:32.920 this time involving a hunter whose straightforward understanding of woodland 347 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:36.920 predators would be forever changed. During a routine deer season, 348 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:40.599 it was the fall of nineteen eighty five. I went 349 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:42.759 on a hunting trip with Terry and his buddy Ray. 350 00:20:43.559 --> 00:20:46.079 We headed out to our usual spot in the Ozarks, 351 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:49.359 about twelve miles west of Mountain View, deep in the 352 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:54.400 National Forest where hardly anyone ever goes, remote, quiet, the 353 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.599 kind of place you don't see another soul for days. 354 00:20:57.519 --> 00:20:59.759 I came back early from that trip, and I never 355 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:04.720 talked about why until now. It was early November, cold 356 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:07.680 as hell at night, but perfect for deer hunting. We'd 357 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.039 set up at the old clearing by Falling Rock Creek, 358 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:14.000 planning to stay five days. Terry and Ray were good hunters, 359 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:16.319 but damn if they didn't bring enough beer to drown 360 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:19.720 a horse. By sundown, they were half in the bag already. 361 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:23.200 Our second night, those two idiots drank till they passed 362 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.920 out around the fire. I turned in early because I 363 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:28.400 wanted to be up before dawn. I was in my 364 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:32.200 own tent, maybe thirty yards from theirs. Smart move on 365 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:36.319 my part. Ray snored like a chainsaw. Around two in 366 00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:38.480 the morning, I woke up and I heard something moving 367 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.960 around our camp, heavy footsteps going between the tents and 368 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:45.160 where we'd hung our game. We'd bagged a small dough 369 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:47.759 that first day. I figured it was a black bear 370 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:50.599 after our deer meat. We'd get plenty of bears in 371 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:53.960 the Ozarks, so I grabbed my flashlight and my rifle, 372 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:57.480 thinking i'd scare it off. Moon was bright enough I 373 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.039 could see Okay without the light, what I say I 374 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.200 saw standing by our deer carcass wasn't a bear. This 375 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:06.039 thing was huge, had to be seven feet tall, at 376 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:10.160 least covered in this dark reddish brown hair, standing on 377 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:13.119 two legs like a man, reaching up toward our deer, 378 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.160 hanging from a high branch. But Here's the part that 379 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:19.759 still freaks me out. It was untying the rope we'd used, 380 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:24.279 not clawing or ripping at it, untying it with fingers 381 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:27.559 like a person would. That's when I knew I wasn't 382 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:31.519 looking at any normal animal. I couldn't move. My rifle 383 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:33.559 was half raised, but I couldn't even think to aim. 384 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:36.279 It must have made some noise, because it turned and 385 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:40.880 looked straight at me. Its face Jesus, kind of like 386 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:45.200 a man's face but not had this heavy brow and wide, 387 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:49.000 flat nose. But the eyes are what got me. They 388 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:54.279 caught the moonlight, looked almost reddish, deep set, but aware, 389 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:57.440 looking at me, like it knew exactly what I was. 390 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:00.319 We just stared at each other for what fell like 391 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:04.640 forever but was probably five seconds. I wasn't scared exactly, 392 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:07.480 more like my brain couldn't process what I was seeing. 393 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.480 Then it made this sound like a low rumbling grunt 394 00:23:11.880 --> 00:23:14.720 and dropped our deer. It didn't run off like a 395 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:19.119 scared animal would. It backed away real slow, still watching 396 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:22.119 me until it hit the tree line. Then it just 397 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.599 turned and walked off into the woods. Didn't crash through 398 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:29.839 brush like a bear, moved quiet deliberate, like it was 399 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:32.920 trying not to make noise. I had a clean shot, 400 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:36.680 finger was on the trigger, but something stopped me. The 401 00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:39.240