Sasquatch Chronicles Blog

A listener writes “Good evening Wes. I have some experiences I figured I would share with you. I don’t have any real interest in appearing on your show, but I assume you are collecting data and compiling a database of sorts. Hopefully my info will be useful for you.

In the mid 1980s I used to go to Camp Sheppard (out on 410 here in WA towards Mt Rainier) for cub scout & then boy scout summer camp. Only in hindsight based on experiences I had later do these events leave me with questions. I remember multiple nights, in multiple years having stuff hit my tent in the middle of the night. At the time I knew it was more than fir needles or little twigs being knocked loose by nocturnal cutters from trees overhead. Seemed like pebbles because they would roll down the tent vs sliding. I assumed it was other kids messing around. I remember one of those evenings waking up and hearing something moving around on the perimeter of our troops camp. I felt very uneasy and did not even want to unzip the window to look out.

The main event from camp Sheppard was one evening being out at night with a few scouts and a adult. I don’t remember what we were out doing (I assume we were coming back from bonfire). Our Troops Camp was on the edge of a clear cut this year. I remember being at the back of the line, heading down a narrow trail that went from the latrine to our camp site. We were moving parallel to the edge of the clear cut with 30-40 feet of forest between the trail and the clear-cut, which was on our left. I didn’t have a flashlight, I think the adult leading the way was the only one with a light. I remember the kid Infront of me stopping suddenly and I almost ran into him. When I looked up the flashlight was pointed towards the clear-cut and I caught a glimpse of what I assumed, and was told by the adult was a bear. What I saw was a big giant hair covered butt and hip. It was basically right on the edge of the clear cut, moving the opposite direction we were moving. The adult instructed us to stay calm and not to run. I say I only caught a glimpse because the adult took the light off of it at almost the same time I looked over and saw it. I believed it was a bear, the next day we had a camp meeting with all the different troops and camp staff. They went over procedures for bear encounters with everyone.

In hindsight, after seeing several bears in the Cascades years later, after seeing photos of bears killed by buddies who hunt, I am almost certian what I saw at camp Sheppard was not a bear. The butt was way to big, and the shape of the hip was wrong. I also got the impression based on my brief glance that the butt was sticking up in the air. I honestly think it was a Sasquatch moving on all fours, or a Sasquatch going down to all fours. I also remember the adults that were with us being acting hyper vigilant and nervous after that night and they stayed up overnight in shifts.

The rest of what I consider to be Sasquatch activity or experiences all occured up in the Cascades around the lake kachees area. Timeline ranges from early 1990s from high school to a few years ago going up to scout Elk, deer & bear with buddies, target shoot, camp and chanterelle hunt. I have had a lot of experiences up there. I have heard vocalizations ranging from screams in the distance to muffled talking and clicking noises not far from camp sites. I have had stuff chucked into camps up in box canyon above the lake itself. I have caught a few glimpses of something side hilling way to fast to be anything else considering the grade of the hillside. I also experienced the orbs up there. I will list a few highlights below.

In the late 1990s about a dozen of us were up camping and partying in box canyon at the waterfall campsite. One of the girls (the one I was messing around with) went off to pee. She did not come back in the standard amount of time. Myself and a buddy headed off the direction she went, calling her name. We caught up to her several hundred feet away from camp. She called us both assholes right away, when I asked what was wrong she accused us of messing with her while she was trying to pee. She said someone was sneaking around the area she was in and tossed a stick towards her. She said she finished up, assumed it was me and started trying to catch-up to me. She said she saw me/someone moving between the trees. Hence she got so far away from camp.

Next was the orbs. We were at a spot that was in-between the lake and box canyon. There is a area above the lake that the stream coming out of box canyon feeds into. It’s basically a shallow lake/flood plain that dries up by late summer with just the stream going through the middle of it. I remember arriving late that night due to working a full day then heading up. It was dark when I got there. About 8-10 of us that weekend. When I arrived I grabbed a beer, rolled one up and myself and 3-4 others walked from the campsite down to the dry lakebed. The moon was so full you could read a book by it. I remember we were just wandering out towards the stream in the middle of the lake bed, drinking, smoking and chatting. I looked over to the left and about 200-300 yards away at the far end of the lake bed there were lights. At first I thought they were odd colored bluish green head lamps on people’s heads. I quickly realized they were to high off the ground and they were not bobbing up and down, but moving in more of a circular motion, staying parallel to the ground, but it seemed like they were 10-15 feet off the ground. Here is where it gets weird, my buddy & I decided to sprint out to the stream. I remember taking off that direction with him next to me. The next thing I remember was staggering up the trail back to camp by myself. Everyone in camp was freaking out when I wandered back. Apparently I had been gone for hours. I remember feeling like I got hit by a car. I spent the entire night sitting at a picnic table with my head down, unable to sleep and feeling like I had motion sickness and lost a bad fight. I had drank one beer (don’t even think I finished it or remember what happened to it) and hit a joint maybe 2-3 times. At that point I was selling weed and smoking atleast 3-4 grams a day. I was not intoxicated based on my usual consumption patterns and tolerance. My best friend whom I talk to daily and work with currently, was there and saw the lights to. We still talk about that night from time to time.

Couple years later, up in box canyon I saw what I can only assume was a Sasquatch, from across the canyon moving across a steep hillside with moderate brush and trees. It was moving way to fast to be anything else. All I can tell you is that it was dark colored, up right, moving on two legs and hauling ass. Basically saw the same thing a few years later in the same general area.

Another time, about 10 years ago I was camped up at the far end of box canyon before it hairpins and you are on the Eastside of the lake. Myself, my girlfriend at the time + her Akita and another couple we knew. I woke up a few hours after falling asleep to what felt like something grabbing my foot through the tent. Basically grabbing around my ankle. I instinctively jerked my foot back and whatever it was let go. It took me a second to shake off the fog and realize where I was and what was going on. When I rolled over to check on my girlfriend her Akita was standing over her, completely hackled up, teeth bared, making a low hissing noise and pointing the direction my foot had been grabbed from. I did not hear anything moving outside and I ended up staying up all night listening. In the morning I asked our friends if they were up during the night and they both said no. My tent was set up a few feet away from a 5-6 foot drop off. The river was down there (more like a series of connecting streams at that point in the year). I had seen that Akita act defensively previous to that, and after that when we had someone try to break into our condo in Renton at 4am. Never saw her hackled up like she was that night, or hear her make the noise she made. I split with that girl, and got my own Akita.

Those are the kachees highlights, but I have had lots of other stuff happen up there. I have had stuff chucked into camps and heard the typical vocals. In the fall while hunting chantrelles and matsutake up there I have heard grunts, and what sounds like someone with a huge chest and throat, clearing their throat from atleast 100 ft away. I back my way out of those areas and leave.

Never seen any clean tracks, but have seen 2 inch deep impressions in spongey old growth that vary from 10-18 inches. Have tried taking photos of them, but they never come out good.

If you have any specific questions about my experiences feel free to ask. Thanks for all the shows you have done.”