Sasquatch Summer

It is the summer of Sasquatch. With over 19 alleged sightings during the year of 2000, it is time to demand that Bigfoot need not be associated with Elvis sightings and weird theories that sound like rejected plots from the "Six Million Dollar Man." Yeti, Momo, Skunk Ape, Almas, Yowie, Sasquatch, Bigfoot, whatever the name you call it, is making its presence known throughout the Northwest. Mystery Anthropoids, or Hominoid ape like creatures that roam the forests of the world have been down played by scientists and are usually treated as tall tales concocted by drunk hunters who mistake large bears for a more strange albeit odorous being that may or may not belong on this planet. People take for granted that all species have been identified and so the idea of a great ape species living in North America is an absurdity until the "body of evidence" is exposed to the world. Even if it was exposed, the reality of such a creature could be as mundane as an endangered ape or gorilla that somehow found a way to cross continents and remain elusive from hunters and investigators, only to show up unexpectedly and witnessed by deep woods campers. The whole idea of new and mysterious species being discovered and categorized is academic to serious researchers who realize that even in recent history animals that were once thought of as products of mythology have suddenly appeared and have been categorized by scientists. Now that the proof of their existence can be caged up and put on display in a public zoo or laboratory it is common place. The difficulty in capturing an undeniable picture, video, or even hair or scat samples of the Bigfoot has caused a number of people to dismiss outright the possibility of such a creature existing. However eyewitness testimony continues to pour in and recently the sightings of such a creature have increased. Native American Indian tribes have talked about these creatures for centuries. White settlers have recorded their presence as well and the stories have continued throughout history. Even Teddy Roosevelt claimed to have seen one. It wasn't until the 1970's when interest was sparked by several documentaries that were produced about the creature and where a grainy 16 mm film was showcased purporting absolute evidence of what appears to be a Female Sasquatch walking into the forest. This famous piece of footage in known as the Patterson Gimlin film. Reports began coming in from all over the country about sightings of a creature that was between 6 1/2 to 8 feet tall, hirsute with large feet, glowing eyes and producing a horrible smell of sulfur or rotten eggs. The combination of glowing eyes and terrible smell were similar to other crypto creatures that had been reported in other parts of the country, namely the Flatwoods monster, the Skunk Ape, Mothman and most recently the Chupacabra of Puerto Rico. There have been researchers who claim that the smell is similar to human body odor. It has also been said that the odor is like a dead animal. These stories continued and later would end up in tabloids posted all over the country lessening its importance in the consensus reality journalists would ignore data from credible witnesses and most samples of stool and hair would go unreported in field studies because of the fear of ridicule. The Bigfoot creature still, has that tabloid edge to him and he is always the topic of tall tales when all are snug in their sleeping bags listening to fireside ghost stories on family camping trips. In the year 2000 it seems that Bigfoot has decided to come out of hiding and many people are catching a glimpse at the fabled creature. What this means is uncertain however the testimony as of late is remarkable and deserves mention. An Oregon Psychologist believes that he saw Bigfoot and confirms what we have heard from similar reports of the beast, that he stinks! Dr. Matthew Johnson, a psychologist was hiking July 1 2000 with his wife Rochelle, and children 9 year old Levi, 7 year old Hannah and 4 year old Michah, when he saw what he reported to be Bigfoot. The creature fit the template of the big hairy stinky beast that has been written about in tabloid stories, scientific journals and Hollywood movies for decades. After speaking with Dr. Johnson on the phone it is evident that this is no tabloid story nor is it a story of an opportunist. Johnson clearly saw something and sent me his report of the incident. After reading it I was thrust into an investigation of a creature that I had once written off as a fable. The following story is in his own words and was sent to Ground Zero for this report:"Where to begin? Rochelle and I took our kids to the Oregon Caves National Park in southern Oregon. We ate lunch at a picnic table and then took a tour of the caves. The caves were spectacular. If you haven't seen them before, they are a must see experience. Upon our exit of the cave, everyone usually turns to the right to go back down to the gift store and lodge. However, we are fresh from Alaska and love to hike in the outdoors (i.e., we just moved from Alaska to Oregon earlier this year). We decided to go left and hike up to see the Big Tree (i.e., a Douglas fir tree with a circumference of 40 feet that is about 800 to 1,000 years old). We hiked fro about 2 miles into the forest up the mountain. As we were hiking up the trail, we smelled a very strong putrid smell. It was as strong as a skunk but it wasn't a skunk (i.e., we know what a skunk smells like and it wasn't a skunk even though it was as strong smelling as a skunk). We were standing down wind of the smell. We continued to hike up the trail and the trail started to switch back to the right as we climbed the mountain. There were plenty of tall trees and brush. I heard a faint sound (i.e., "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!). At first I thought it was the blood vessels pounding in my head because it was a constant sound/rhythm and I'm out of shape (i.e., it was a big mountain and were constantly walking up, up, up). We kept walking up the trail. I heard the sound again except it was louder. Then I thought, "This sound is external-not internal." We all stopped and I asked, "Do you guys hear that sound?" Rochelle, Levi, Hannah and Michah looked at me and nodded their heads in affirmation. Don't ask me why but we continued to walk up the mountain through the very tall trees and brush. The sound continued in cycles of five to six repetitions (i.e., Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa). Louder and louder. Now the sounds were behind us. I started putting one and one together in my mind and my biological "fight or flight" responses kicked in. I stopped my family on the trail. I told them to stay quiet. I hiked up the hill to our left because I had to go poop ASAP (i.e., this happens when the biological "fight or flight" response kicks in). While I was doing my duty, I was scanning the woods down the mountain on the other side of the trail my family was standing on. That's when I saw it. I swear I'm telling you the truth. I saw it come out from behind one tree to the left and walk to another tree to the right. Then it looked back and was watching my family while they were standing on the trail. I've hiked through the woods in Alaska numerous times and believe me, I know what a grizzly bear looks like and I know what a black bear looks like. I was actually chased by a grizzly bear on the Russian river in Alaska about six or seven years ago. What I saw was not a grizzly bear or a black bear. What I saw walked upright on two legs like a human and it was much taller than a grizzly bear or a black bear. What I saw was (and I swear I saw it and I'm not crazy) Bigfoot (otherwise known as Sasquatch). I swear I saw it. I'm not lying. I pulled up my shorts immediately, walked fast down to the trail and got my family moving up the mountain. I sure as heck wasn't going to go back down the trail where we came from and go right to it. I didn't tell my wife or children what I saw because I didn't want them to panic. At this point, the adrenaline was rushing and I was very hypervigilant (i.e., constantly looking behind us and through the woods). The sound stopped but I wasn't convinced we were safe. When we got to a place where the kids could stop and sit on a fallen log and drink some water, I pulled Rochelle away and told her that she wasn't going to believe what I saw. She believed me right away. She smelled the smell and she heard the repetitive cycles of "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa," and she knows I'm not crazy. I told her to keep the kids going and that I would stay at the back to keep my eyes on what was behind us. I told her that if anything came up from behind us or through the woods from the side of us that I would run interference to protect them. I told her that if this happened, I wanted her to run the kids on the trail, don't stop, and don't look back. We agreed not to tell the children because we didn't want to panic them. We never heard the sounds again and I never saw anything after that. We finally made it out of the woods about 1 1/2 hours later. We sent the kids into the gift store to look for a gift because we had promised to buy them something if they were good hikers and didn't complain. Rochelle and I sat on the bench outside the gift store and talked about the pros and cons of whether or not to report what we smelled, heard, and saw (i.e., I don't want people to think we are crazy). Rochelle said it was up to me. I decided that I wasn't going to keep this a secret because it was real and I know I'm sane. I remembered reading about how the albino gorilla was a myth/legend in Africa for quite some time until someone finally captured one. Well I'm here to tell you today (and the world) that Bigfoot/Sasquatch is not a myth/legend. The creature/animal really and truly does exist!!! After we made our decision, Rochelle went into the gift shop with the kids. I walked to the Park headquarters and reported what I saw to a ranger. I sat in the chair stunned and then I began to cry. All these emotions that I was stuffing due to the adrenaline began to surface now that my family and I were safe. You don't know how vulnerable I felt being so far out in the woods without the ability to protect my family in that kind of situation (i.e., no gun). I told the ranger that I was not crazy. I gave her my business card (i.e., I'm a licensed psychologist in private practice). I told her that I have two master's degrees and one doctorate degree and that I was an intelligent person. I told that I know what I smelled, heard, and saw. In between the tears and my shaking, I told her that I saw Bigfoot. She believed me! She didn't think I was crazy. She said that there is a lot about our world that we don't know and that are discovering new species all the time. She took my story, Rochelle's story, and Levi confirmed what the noise sounded like. I was the only one who saw Bigfoot because I had hiked up off the trail high enough to see it. I can't tell you what it looked like other than it was very tall, looked half-human and half ape, walked upright, and had very dark hair (i.e., a mix of very dark brown and/or black hair). It happened way too quick and all I could think about after I saw it was to get my family the heck out of there. Around 8:30 p.m. the park ranger called and left a message in my voice mailbox. She said that I might want to purchase the following book: Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing The Dark Divide by Robert Michael Pyle (1997). I'm goling to order/buy this book ASAP. They are going to check out the area that we reported the smell, sounds, and sighting tomorrow morning before other curiosity seekers arrive. I'm sending this to you because I have to tell others what we experienced. This animal is real. It does exist. I swear that Bigfoot exists!"Needless to say that Dr. Johnson has decided to go back to the area to do a thorough investigation into what he saw. He and a group of others have decided to take part in trying to find the creature. Johnson tells me that there is more evidence forthcoming that perhaps more than one Sasquatch lives in the area. The Northwest Bigfoot population seems to have reawakened and perhaps with serious researchers looking for a real creature and not some bogeyman we may see some results. However with the fresh sightings there are always a number of people who are bound and determined to get their outrageous theories heard. The fringe theories that make the other serious stories appear foolish. Most serious researchers are dismayed that while the scientific hunt for Bigfoot goes on, there are still those who boast these outrageous fringe theories and some are creating hoaxes that are ending up on TV and in print (If you are interested in reading some of these theories, read my un-edited Sasquatch Summer report on my website www.clydelewis.com). Thom Powell of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization laments that when real sightings happen there are a few fringe theories that creep into the mainstream press to sell newspapers. Whichever theory you embrace about the Bigfoot, Alien android, missing link, or something else entirely it is important to understand that in our investigations perhaps we could possibly be like the blind, touching an elephant. We all have different interpretations of what it might be but we may want to just call it what it is: a primate that somehow shows up and doesn't seem to be shy about making his presence known to mankind. Is it absurd to think that a Mountain Ape could live in the dense forests of the Northwest? Of course not. The unfortunate thing is that Bigfoot sightings have been treated like Elvis sightings. That is why people snicker and roll their eyes when someone claims to have seen one of them. The reality of Bigfoot may be as mundane as a monkey that has yet to be classified by science. However seeing one in the forests of the United States can be an experience not easily forgotten.