This is a subject that has really intrigued me over the last few years. While I always found the subject interesting, I was always extremely skeptical. I mean, seriously...how could a 7-9 foot bipedal ape/human looking creature exist in North America today? Simply seems unbelievable! But then I stumbled across something that reminded me of some things that happened to me many years ago in Montana, and I started to look into some things a bit deeper. And now, I'm much more open to believing that we don't know much about the stuff that happens in this world.
Cryptid creatures...and for the sake of this thread, upright, bi-pedal human shaped creatures, they are often the subject of jokes, ridicule, and dismissed out of hand. When people come forward claiming they saw something unnatural, they are shamed, laughed at, called liars, and accused of being on some type of drugs, be it booze, pot, etc. Many believe they make these claims for their "15 minutes of fame"
But people have claimed to see creatures for centuries (and longer). Almost every native American tribe has stories and accounts of "wild people", described as extremely large, bipedal, and hair covered people that lived in the wilderness. Some tribes considered them peaceful and only wanted to be left alone. Some tribes feared them as violent creatures who would steal food and crops, as well as tribal members (women and children).
And if you think these old accounts are limited to old "Indian stories", you need to look deeper. There have been reports of "wild men, ape men, and 'gorillas" on the loose through out the US of hundreds of years:
https://blog.newspapers.com/find-bigfoot-sightings-in-history/
http://pabigfootsociety.com/historical-bigfoot-articles.html
And the 'sightings' go on today, but are almost always scoffed at. And for good reason, as there are MANY hoaxers out there trying to make a quick buck on the current Sasquatch popularity craze. And some of the more recent "cryptid TV series" have left a lot to be desired, including the over the top stuff like "Mountain Monsters" and "Killing Bigfoot".
But there are a LOT of reports every year, from people of all ages, races, occupations, and locations. And with all the ridicule, I'm sure there are more that go unreported. Bottom line for me...people are seeing something...and I do not believe they are all bears.
What originally sparked my interest in this subject was the original Patterson Gimlin footage shot in Bluff Creek, California, and the old Monster Quest TV series. The PG film and "Patty" have never been debunked as a hoax. Yes, someone came forward and said that he was the actor in the film, but that has been disproven out of hand.
https://www.opb.org/news/article/bigfoot-patterson-gimlin-sasquatch/
And from the Nat Geo special studying the film:
And finally, after watching and listening to countless interviews of Bob Gimlin, and the pain and suffering he went through from the original film, I simply believe him to be an honest, hard working cowboy. Gimlin wasn't even a believer in the project when his friend, Roger Patterson, asked him to serve as an outfitter and horse wrangler on Patterson's search. And to add insult to injury, Gimlin, a roofer at the time with little means, was never paid for his services (time, horses, supplies, or fuel).
https://www.outsideonline.com/2095096/man-who-created-bigfoot
For the record, I used to fish and hunt a lot in the state and national forests and mountains of central Montana. On several occasions, I remember having pebble to golf ball size rocks landing around me. It mainly happened when I was alone, but on at least one occasion, I had a friend next to me when a rock landed about 5 feet in front of us, and neither of us knew where it came from. I think we chalked it up to squirrels dropping them from trees or something. Another strange thing happened to me twice on separate occasions when I was fishing in a favorite spot on the banks of the Missouri River between Great Falls and Helena near Craig MT. Both times, it happened around twilight. We were bank fishing for trout, and all of the sudden, a big splash would happen about 20-30 feet in front of where we were fishing. The first time it happened, I chalked it up to an unseen beaver, slapping its tail on the water, even though I'd heard and seen beavers tail slapping many times and they never sounded like this....the distinct sound of a large rock thrown into the water. The second time it happened a couple months later, a friend was standing several yards downstream taking a leak and actually saw something land in the water and make the splash. He immediately told me someone was throwing rocks at us from the road (that was about 20 feet above and 50 feet away from where we were), but when we walked up the bank and looked around, there wasn't anyone there. And the other side of the road had a pretty thick growth of alder and birch trees, so combined with the falling light, was nearly impossible to see into. Finally, I distinctly remember using a very large "X" tree structure and a couple other weird formations as landmarks for some of my favorite Ruffed Grouse spots. I once brought a guy out there who was an engineer, and when he saw one of the structures (it was made of trees that were well over 30-40 feet), he spent over an hour looking at it from every angle, climbing on it, etc. I told him the thing was dangerous because it was a bunch of deadfall and could fall apart at any time, but he told me that it was impossible that it was fallen timber, because some of the large logs were interwoven together. His big question was how it happened, because this was far from a road and there were no tracks or drag marks from machinery, nor were any of the trees cut with a saw or ax. He talked about those fallen trees all the way home that evening. I thought he was nuts, but then I learned these structures have a lot of folks wondering...
http://sasquatchinvestigations.org/bigfoot-evidence/sasquatch-tree-stuctures/
The tree structure my hunting buddy was amazed at looked something like this one but was higher and had some really large pines:
http://sasquatchinvestigations.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/tree-structure-082416-4.jpg
So for me, I am open minded and based on the sheer volume and history or the reports, all ofer the nation, over the last several hundred years and longer, I'm pretty much a believer (and may be the solo person who votes that way LOL!). I am still very skeptical as there are a LOT of hoaxers out there, but I believe folks are seeing something out there.
I'd hate for this to become a joke thread...I am sincerely asking the group what you think. Do you know anyone who says they've seen anything? Have you ever had weird things happen to you 'out there'?
If you have something that you don't want to post, feel free to PM me. Thanks!
Buzz
Cryptid creatures...and for the sake of this thread, upright, bi-pedal human shaped creatures, they are often the subject of jokes, ridicule, and dismissed out of hand. When people come forward claiming they saw something unnatural, they are shamed, laughed at, called liars, and accused of being on some type of drugs, be it booze, pot, etc. Many believe they make these claims for their "15 minutes of fame"
But people have claimed to see creatures for centuries (and longer). Almost every native American tribe has stories and accounts of "wild people", described as extremely large, bipedal, and hair covered people that lived in the wilderness. Some tribes considered them peaceful and only wanted to be left alone. Some tribes feared them as violent creatures who would steal food and crops, as well as tribal members (women and children).
And if you think these old accounts are limited to old "Indian stories", you need to look deeper. There have been reports of "wild men, ape men, and 'gorillas" on the loose through out the US of hundreds of years:
https://blog.newspapers.com/find-bigfoot-sightings-in-history/
http://pabigfootsociety.com/historical-bigfoot-articles.html
And the 'sightings' go on today, but are almost always scoffed at. And for good reason, as there are MANY hoaxers out there trying to make a quick buck on the current Sasquatch popularity craze. And some of the more recent "cryptid TV series" have left a lot to be desired, including the over the top stuff like "Mountain Monsters" and "Killing Bigfoot".
But there are a LOT of reports every year, from people of all ages, races, occupations, and locations. And with all the ridicule, I'm sure there are more that go unreported. Bottom line for me...people are seeing something...and I do not believe they are all bears.
What originally sparked my interest in this subject was the original Patterson Gimlin footage shot in Bluff Creek, California, and the old Monster Quest TV series. The PG film and "Patty" have never been debunked as a hoax. Yes, someone came forward and said that he was the actor in the film, but that has been disproven out of hand.
https://www.opb.org/news/article/bigfoot-patterson-gimlin-sasquatch/
And from the Nat Geo special studying the film:
And finally, after watching and listening to countless interviews of Bob Gimlin, and the pain and suffering he went through from the original film, I simply believe him to be an honest, hard working cowboy. Gimlin wasn't even a believer in the project when his friend, Roger Patterson, asked him to serve as an outfitter and horse wrangler on Patterson's search. And to add insult to injury, Gimlin, a roofer at the time with little means, was never paid for his services (time, horses, supplies, or fuel).
https://www.outsideonline.com/2095096/man-who-created-bigfoot
For the record, I used to fish and hunt a lot in the state and national forests and mountains of central Montana. On several occasions, I remember having pebble to golf ball size rocks landing around me. It mainly happened when I was alone, but on at least one occasion, I had a friend next to me when a rock landed about 5 feet in front of us, and neither of us knew where it came from. I think we chalked it up to squirrels dropping them from trees or something. Another strange thing happened to me twice on separate occasions when I was fishing in a favorite spot on the banks of the Missouri River between Great Falls and Helena near Craig MT. Both times, it happened around twilight. We were bank fishing for trout, and all of the sudden, a big splash would happen about 20-30 feet in front of where we were fishing. The first time it happened, I chalked it up to an unseen beaver, slapping its tail on the water, even though I'd heard and seen beavers tail slapping many times and they never sounded like this....the distinct sound of a large rock thrown into the water. The second time it happened a couple months later, a friend was standing several yards downstream taking a leak and actually saw something land in the water and make the splash. He immediately told me someone was throwing rocks at us from the road (that was about 20 feet above and 50 feet away from where we were), but when we walked up the bank and looked around, there wasn't anyone there. And the other side of the road had a pretty thick growth of alder and birch trees, so combined with the falling light, was nearly impossible to see into. Finally, I distinctly remember using a very large "X" tree structure and a couple other weird formations as landmarks for some of my favorite Ruffed Grouse spots. I once brought a guy out there who was an engineer, and when he saw one of the structures (it was made of trees that were well over 30-40 feet), he spent over an hour looking at it from every angle, climbing on it, etc. I told him the thing was dangerous because it was a bunch of deadfall and could fall apart at any time, but he told me that it was impossible that it was fallen timber, because some of the large logs were interwoven together. His big question was how it happened, because this was far from a road and there were no tracks or drag marks from machinery, nor were any of the trees cut with a saw or ax. He talked about those fallen trees all the way home that evening. I thought he was nuts, but then I learned these structures have a lot of folks wondering...
http://sasquatchinvestigations.org/bigfoot-evidence/sasquatch-tree-stuctures/
The tree structure my hunting buddy was amazed at looked something like this one but was higher and had some really large pines:
http://sasquatchinvestigations.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/tree-structure-082416-4.jpg
So for me, I am open minded and based on the sheer volume and history or the reports, all ofer the nation, over the last several hundred years and longer, I'm pretty much a believer (and may be the solo person who votes that way LOL!). I am still very skeptical as there are a LOT of hoaxers out there, but I believe folks are seeing something out there.
I'd hate for this to become a joke thread...I am sincerely asking the group what you think. Do you know anyone who says they've seen anything? Have you ever had weird things happen to you 'out there'?
If you have something that you don't want to post, feel free to PM me. Thanks!
Buzz