Bigfoot Encounters Tracks found 2001 on Payne Ranch, Covello, Mendocino County, California |
Mendocino National Forest I was deer hunting in an area known as the "Payne Ranch" when I observed a single track on the bank of the creek. I have been hunting for twenty years and have taken several bears over the years in
this area. At first I thought I was looking at a bear track. This area is a very dense wooded location. It has a tree canopy of Oak, Pine, Bay and Cedar. The rocks were all covered with moss due to the shade and although it was September, it was easily 15 degrees cooler within the creek bed. There are numerus caverns and many deadfalls along the stream. Water is available here year round. The banks ascend at approximately 50 degrees away from the stream. I believe its made up of volcanic rock. I never saw a source of the print, however I did note that while there, the surrounding woods were very quite. No sounds of birds or squirrels or frogs. I am very aware of sound while hunting and have noticed that when a large predatory animal is nearby, smaller animals become quiet. I stayed in the immediate area for almost an hour hoping to get a glimpse of what I know made this track, but did not see or hear it. I did hear what sounded like a dog panting at one point above me but it was for only a few seconds. I returned to the site the next morning but did not find any other tracks. I relocated my original track sight but it had changed drastically due to any evening thunder storm. I returned to the same
area during the second week of November for a late season archery deer hunt. It snowed while I was there and I brought a camera hoping to locate another track but I did not. I know that many would feel that shooting a sasquatch would be wrong, but if the opportunity presented itself, should it be done? I spent 11 years as a sheriff's deputy and would exercise extreme caution before shooting at the unknown. I just feel that an actual speciman would end all of the speculation and prove the creature is real. I have had several discussions with my fellow hunting partners and we all agree that if we observed one over a period of time, in a remote location, from a short distance and positively knew it not to be some idiot in an ape suit, we would shoot it. How do you feel about this? I've heard that Patterson had a rifle with him at Bluff Creek and shot film rather than bullets. Portions of this website are reprinted and sometimes edited to fit the standards of this website |