I believe it would have been Benton County, although we may have just
crossed into Lincoln County.
March 2002 -around noon time.
It was the middle
of March and Joe and A (names changed by request) and myself were in the
Oregon Coast Range just above a little town called Greenberry (about 30 miles
West of Corvallis) driving up a BLM Road on the southeast side of Buck
Mountain just south of Mary's Peak, which is the highest point in the Oregon Coast
Range.
We rounded a 90% turn to the right where several trees were down
across the road - blocking any driving further up the road. The fallen tree's had been cut and we figured the area
was zoned to be logged or something. It was strange that cut trees would be left laying across an access road though.
We were just driving around the country side and chatting and not having much else to do, we decided
to get out and have a little walk in; it was misting. We climbed over the trees and were
basically just walking and talking and drinking our first beers of the
day when we came around another 90% turn, this time to our left.
It was
here that "A" first saw what he thought was a track. Not even thinking anything
remotely like "Bigfoot", we examined it and it sure looked like a
footprint to us. I then looked down and beside my foot (I'd nearly stepped
on it) was a very clear footprint that clearly showed 5 "toes;" the imprint was of a bare foot...no shoes.
We couldn't believe
our eyes. We began tracing the footprints up the mountain; the tracks were clear as day...One-step then another and another and so on.
The biggest track was about 15 inches by 6 inches wide. The distance between
each track moving up the hillside was a greater distance than I could
stretch my legs coming down. I do not know the exact stride measurement. It was beginning to rain now.
Of all the imprints,
probably only 2 or 3 were what I would call clear footprints. The majority
were simply huge ruts that had been left by something
BIG stomping up that grade. The tracks were very obvious and, as Joe mentioned,
showed that something was scrambling to get out of there.
At this point Joe left to go get a camera that was in the truck. "A" and myself
stayed and continued to look for more tracks. She re-traced the steps to
try and get an idea of where it had come from. I moved to the right of
the tracks looking for just whatever when I came across a paralleling trail
of tracks. These were not nearly as large as the first set of tracks and seemed to be moving
in the same direction as the larger set of tracks.
Then suddenly
this second set of tracks took a hard right and angled up to the road
toward the general area where we started our walk at the cut trees across the road that blocked car access. I followed the tracks to the road and then I lost them where they went up the mountain on the opposite side.
Heard birds calling in the rain...
Around this time Joe
arrived back with the camera I can still remember the first thing he said was "Did
you guys hear anything?" We hadn't heard anything but I had heard two loud birdcalls that I distinctly remember thinking had a funny ring to them. Nothing bizarre or totally
strange, I just didn't know what kind of bird it was.
Joe was silent for
a moment, then said, "I heard bird calls at the truck. Birds don't
call in the rain." He was right. Anytime you're outside when a rain
is coming down listen...there won't be any birds calling.
Next, he took
a look at the tracks I showed him that I found...they were now pooling up with standing puddles of water; the rain was really coming down. Whatever made these footprints had crossed that road seconds before we rounded
the corner; they heard us coming! Whatever it was down in that ravine could hear us talking and probably making plenty of noise on the gravel. The track makers had
taken to higher ground in a hurry. Were they still there? I don't know, but they
could have been and we didn't see them.
The area above the road we walked up on was much higher and heavily timbered.
There were no odd smells and we never felt like were being watched,
but the odd bird-like calls did have us talking later. Birds do not sing in the rain!!
That was it. We
never saw what had made the tracks. They were not bear tracks, nor were
they made by a big bull elk; the tracks were human-like with five toes showing, not cloven hooves. The only other thing (other than a Sasquatch)
that could have made the tracks would have been an enormous man without
any shoes. But no one was up there. Certainly no vehicles, as the down
trees that had fallen across the main road prevented anyone with wheels access into this particular area. The
terrain was extraordinarily steep and thicky wooded.
Ranger slips up...
Interestingly enough,
the very next day Joe called a Ranger or Forestry Station nearby. He told
them that he had found "big barefoot tracks," the ranger quickly
replied "Well, yes, there are bear up there." Joe interrupted, "No
I mean big bare human tracks."
What the ranger said next shocked Joe silent for a moment. The Ranger
said, "Oh, you mean Sasquatch tracks? We had those last year over in Colton.
We didn't know what to make of them." Joe told me the man then suddenly
clamed up, as if he suddenly realized what he had said.
Since starting on this subject I've often wondered
if there hasn't been a conspiracy of silence from the U.S.Forestry Service and
big lumber companies to keep the whole Bigfoot phenomena hushed. I believe
there is a concerted effort to keep Sasquatch a low profile now. I think there are people who know these things are there. I've
spoke with Peter Byrne about this, and he shares the same opinion. Anyway,
I thought that was most interesting.
Names and other information withheld on request but logged in the 2002
archives.
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Monday, August 05, 2002 11:11 AM
