Apr 20

Backpacker meets an 8-foot hairy biped standing behind tent

Witness Observed:

I had gone backpacking/training trip with four pack animals in preparation for an extended backpacking trip into the Wemineuch Wilderness. Two of my goats are experienced packers and two were new. After several shorter treks I had gone to Spring Creek Pass where I planned to walk part of the Colorado Trail — possibly down to Durango — then resupply and go back to the Wemineuch. After reaching one of the local creeks one of my goats started getting sick so I decided to head back toward the truck and bide my time while I assessed his situation. There were tons of people on the trail last summmer and I wanted to be alone so I went off near Jarosa Mesa and found a meadow surrounded by thick forest where I didn’t feel I’d encounter anyone. We stayed two days.

During that time the dogs and particularly the goats were periodically nervous, then they would calm. Goats point to what they see or hear but whenever I would look I would not see anything. I checked the area thinking there might be bear or mountain lion nearby but didn’t find signs that would indicate a den and although there was bear scat in the area it was not fresh. Still, this was a time of drought that had the bears hungry all over the state and they were having bear problems down in Lake City right then so, especially with a sick goat, I stayed alert to the possibility. Especially since I was also near one of the only water sources.

In the meantime I was doctoring my goat and working with the others. At one point when I was playing tug-of-war and growling with my dogs (an older border collie and a border collie pup) the goats alarmed and bunched around us pointing at the woods but when I checked I couldn’t see anything and the dogs didn’t react. I periodically got the feeling we were being watched, then it would pass. The puppy occasionally got interested in something in the woods but would come back. When I work with the goats, I sing a lot. They have also developed a fondness for the pennywhistle so I had spent a lot of time in the afternoon just playing music with all of us sprawled around the meadow together.

The meadow was rich in smells but aside from the plant smells from walking around there was more a musky elk smell than anything. Lots of signs of deer and elk in the area.

At dusk the animals got extremely nervous. I had just gone inside my tent to get something, both dogs were inside with me and the goats just outside. I suddenly heard this alarm vocalization unlike anything I’ve ever heard from my animals, but easily could have been. Under the circumstances I could easily have made vocalizations I had never made before. The goats were beside the tent and whatever it was was right behind the tent. I knew it was something big because my dog will tear after a lesser beast barking but the only times I’ve encountered a bear or a mountain lion with him he stays right with me and gives a quiet growl that says, “This is serious.” I grabbed my pepper spray fearing it was a bear and started out of the tent, turning as I crouched out the door and yelling (don’t ask me why) at the dogs to stay inside.

1484646_329828763881437_4160203879816651629_nThe goats were beside the tent pointed at the back. There it was. A bigfoot. I couldn’t see its whole body because it was blocked by the tent but if it was a female the breasts weren’t prominent. It had medium chestnut fur, was standing erect on two legs, probably 8 feet tall (I have a brother who is 6’7″ and a nephew who is 6’10” and growing so I have some perspective), and probably only 12 feet away staring straight at me. The face had fur — less around the eyes but not as bare as your sketch — and the eyes were all brown — no whites. Like a deer’s eyes. Its arms were hanging at its sides. Everything was totally silent.

My dogs were beside me but we were all frozen in place. I know that if anything threatened me one of my dogs would die defending me.

On an instinctive level I was as terrified as I’ve ever been but even at the time I knew I didn’t feel threatened. I wouldn’t have dreamed of using the pepper unless it had attacked. In retrospect I thought it was interesting that I didn’t have (at least under those circumstances) fight/flight instincts. I simply froze in place. Perhaps if it had done anything menacing I would have reacted differently. But I felt simultaneously terrified (instinctively) and amazed. Before that moment I had never even known if I believed in bigfoot or not. Had I thought about it I would have assumed it would be something to ponder in the Pacific Northwest, but certainly not in Colorado. Had never once, for all the thought I’ve put into “what would happen if I encountered…” thought of the possibility of encountering one and was totally unprepared for and in awe of it.

It seemed unhurried. We stared at each other for what felt like a long time, then it made a low rumbling sound and turned its head and I caught just a glimpse of another back behind it. It looked back at me, then they turned and loped off out of sight. I could feel the vibrations in the ground.

I got the feeling that nothing in the encounter was threatening to me or the goats. That they were curious.

There was a slight breeze and I was upwind (somehow I doubt that was accidental) so I didn’t notice a particularly strong smell. I think I had felt the vibration as it/they approached but thought it was the goats. During the entire encounter from the vocalization on, except for the breeze, it was totally silent and the sound (birds etc) resumed a few minutes later.

We all slept very peacefully that night.

I found no tracks but the ground was so dry and hard I couldn’t make a very good track when I tried.

The next morning I packed up and left more because I felt like I was intruding in someone else’s space than feeling danger. I felt like I was being watched and gauged from the animals that they did too.

My older dog stayed right beside me, alert and ready to act. The puppy seemed unphased by it all. The puppy had come back at one point earlier in the day having rolled in what I thought was human manure…now I’m not so sure.

Read full report here

22 Responses to “Backpacker meets an 8-foot hairy biped standing behind tent”

  1. Derek G

    I don’t buy this encounter. Something about the whole thing seems off. He says it happened “at dusk….” then he goes on to describe the eyes being like a deer eye, all brown. It was dusk, if anything the eyes would have looked black or just indistinguishable. Then all sounds were silent and then resumed after the encounter. At dusk and nightfall all those birds and small critters get quite naturally, except insects. Then he says they all slept peacefully. Sure…. 8ft tall wild creatures whose main concern in life is life itself, like eating, sleeping, where to get the next meal to survive just stealthily sneak up to your tent within 12ft away down wind and just stare at you and you don’t feel threatened and have a peaceful sleep all night. Ok. This guy is from a different planet than I am or he is not on the up and up.

  2. Jason M

    Who in his right mind uses goats as pack animals? Walking unarmed through bigfoot territory trailing a bunch of goats? That’s like wearing a giant EAT ME sign.

  3. Derek G

    He has a brother who is 6.7 and a nephew 6.10 and growing! How tall was he and the tent that supposedly blocked his view of the lower half of the bigfoot? They were, “unhurried”, then they, “loped off” and he felt the vibrations? “loped off” Sasquatch lope? and when unhurried? I would like to see a bipedal creature lope away…. ok, i just tried it…. lol, it…. i just loped around my living room like a deer…. picture the Sasquatch do that? I guess there would be vibrations.

    Read paragraph 2 again. This guy sounds like he was setting those goats up to be a meal for something. Goats on alert, actually checked for dens in the area! twice!(who goes out checking for bear and cougar dens with a flute, bear spray, a sick goat and dogs!? and then he doesnt see a den so back to the sing song frolic in the autumn mist with puff the magic dragon) he knew there was a possibility that there could be bear and cougar problems, hungry bears because of a drought, hot spot for deer and elk, only source of water around, 4 goats(one sick) and 2 dogs and he purposely went where there was no one around. What the hell!! I think I might go into the ocean for a swim with bloody steaks tied to my feet to train for an ironman contest! Just not “normal human behavior”. Only my opinion but sincerely maybe someone knows more about goat training and shepherding than I do and can enlighten me on this.

  4. Paul M

    Hey I try to belive most the blogs. But this flutetee penny whistler is outback with goats. Where did he get that pack mule conception. Why didn’t he bring sheep. Smear them down with P.B. & J. OR BBQ sause. Oh that’s right he didn’t know B. F. LIVES IN DA WOODS… IS HE USE IN ARE GOOD AIR… HOPE NOTT

  5. Gail d

    It’s a male?? I thought this was a female telling the story. I never knew goats point and I been on a farm most of my early childhood.
    A little flutish to me, whatever!!

  6. Kay S

    I thought it was a female too. Whoever it was, they weren’t the crispest cracker in the box. Camping out with goats in a drought when there are hungry bears about… And for that matter BF.
    What did they think the BF were there for, did they just drop in to say hi? Nope, they came for dinner.

  7. Eddie M

    Hey now … Assume Bigfoot and Tooth Fairy were equally real to this person that day before event …and assume goats indeed do make good pack animals….all this could have happened. The sleeping soundly part after the event…naaaaa. I’d had my goat heard making tracks with that “thing” in my 6 view mirror just as damn soon as it got out of sight.

  8. Esther P

    Okay everyone, I guess you’re not impressed with those save the wilderness, flute playing conservatives, but I live here in Colorado and I know about this woman and the community that she is part of. I’ve been to Lake City, CO and its wilderness reminds a person of Washington’s vast wilderness areas. No offense but truth is while I’m not one of those new-ager types I am surrounded by them here where I live. I think they escaped from Oregon and Washington and moved to Colorado. Anyhoo, I live but 1hr from Crestone, CO which is but one community in this state of new-agers, conservatives, roadies, hippies, yippies, rainbows, etc. And Colorado has more of ’em since Republicans took over & Marijuana was legalized. Enjoy! LoL

      • Esther P

        Patrick: First of all, I was not refering to this person as a Republican and I know what a liberal is. But in case you haven’t noticed Republicans have a strong influence in this state & its an ongoing battle between Dems, Liberals vs. Republicans. But hey, I was just kidding about that political stuff and its just opinion. Right? Chow! And lighten up a bit okay. Happy Squatchin.

  9. Esther P

    One more thing, as far as that incident a few years ago with eyewitnesses who said they saw something that looked like a Bigfoot near the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge train, well, that was a hoax. And yes there is the Our Bigfoot Museum in Silverton, Colorado and it is mostly for gags and laughs. But there have been Bigfoot sightings in and around Silverton, CO by people from the old mining camps in the 1800’s and early 1900’s and there are a few more recent encounters reported to the RMSO & one other group. Enjoy!

  10. Matt f

    I think he was tending his crops and using goats to mule the ten kilos back down the mountain when low and behold he needed to try the product.Everthing was fine until 3rd bonghit and then shit went weeiirrrd.Thats what i think.Oh and squatch smelt the musky skunk smell and was getting ready for a meel on the the rodent,thats why he snuck up on him,realizing it was spicolli and the pointing goats he tip toed away,not loped.

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