@driller212
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
None of my experiences are definitive,so they are not really good for the show, however some might find them interesting…
I have had a couple of what I consider weird things happen to me while in the wilderness, but have never seen a Sasquatch. I am not sure I ever want to see one to be honest, it could ruin the outdoor experience for me. Especially since both work and play for me are all outdoors activities in remote areas.
I guess I might as well post my experiences here. Some of you may have seen them before from the outdoorsmen forum.
A little bit about me:
I am a relatively recently graduated geologist. I have always been drawn to the outdoors and have been camping, hiking, and hunting most of my life. Some of my first jobs as a geology student were collecting soil and rock samples in the Yukon. I worked in extremely remote areas where few if any people have ever likely been before. Trudging through the bush by myself allowed me to become confident in the wilderness, and with the animals I encountered. On my off time hiking trails seemed to be no longer interesting and I craved the real true wilderness experience, and I still do. I must admit that after reading some of the Missing 411 series and hearing peoples encounters, I am no longer comfortable in the wilderness alone without a firearm, and definitely not at night which I learned first hand this year hunting by myself. I must saying learning about these animals has ruined my previously perceived safety while in the bush alone.
My first weird experiences were in the Yukon in remote areas. We would helicopter in and get dropped off wherever the helicopter could land closest to our assigned work area. We would complete our work and end the day in a valley which usually required cutting a helipad for pickup. Some of our work took us to helicopter only access camps, and we helicoptered to work from there. We were so far out that we were limited only by the fuel the heli had to drop us off and pick us up. The pilot would often land somewhere in the area for the day as fuel, machine and pilot costs were ridiculous for him to go back to camp until we needed to get picked up. I say these things, just to give you an idea of how remote we were. There were grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, bobcats, wolverines etc. I never did see a Sasquatch, but some weird things did happen that I cannot attribute to experiences with those animals. While I would be working sometimes, all of a sudden I would suddenly be in fight or flight mode in certain areas. My body would be telling me to get the F out of that area. I still find this curious, and since then I have read that other people have this happen as well, often before encountering predators. Almost like a sixth sense. Unfortunately I had to stay in those areas to complete my work, and never had anything ill happen from it, but I had to fight that instinct to leave the area a few times during the months I was there.
The other weird thing that happened one day when a coworker and I were cutting a helipad on a mountainside for a toe in pickup (toe in is when the helicopter continues to hover but only touches its front skids on the mountain so that you can safely board the aircraft on steep mountain sides). I think now that the sounds we made when cutting trees down with our axes could be interpreted as tree knocks whether or not Sasquatch were present in the area. Anyways, all of a sudden all hell broke loose about 50 yards away across a gulley from us. We were higher than that area and it was easy to look down upon. Large aspen trees were swaying violently along with a large thick bush, it was like a hurricane was occurring within a 10-15 foot radius. I could hear grunting, and we both looked at it astonished. We attributed it to a grizzly bear or moose, but now that I think of it I have never seen a bear or moose move trees like that, never mind multiple sizeable trees along with bushes. We all encountered bears almost daily out there so we know what bears sound like, and how they behave when you startle them, or when they are stalking you. I never saw anything like this. We never did see what it was, and as quick as it started it stopped and we continued on with what we were doing.
This year I decided to do a lot of remote hunting for some reason, I think it ended up more of hiking with a rifle than hunting. I would go 10-15 kms back (one way) into Kananaskis Country in the Spray Lakes region not far from the Nakiska Ski Resort. I was deeply into the Sasquatch subject at the time (not that long ago) and let me tell you my head was on a swivel. I was Elk hunting and had trouble leaving during the dark to hunt. If you hunt elk, you know that being out in your hunting area before dawn is crucial, but I just couldn’t do it, I was literally afraid to be in the dark by myself, more so because I could bump into a grizzly and that would be the end of me, but there was a fear of a possible encounter with the big fella as well. I hunted during the daylight hours and set up camp my first night about 5 Km from the Banff Gate Mountain Resort. That night was my first night ever staying alone in the wilderness and it may be my last. As soon as the sun went down the forest lit up with noise, I am talking like a rainforest at night type of noise. Just tonnes of activity going on. This was much different than during the day when it was dead quiet except for the occasional dear or squirrel I ran into. A very loud owl started hooting almost non stop. It was like it was trying to tell me its life story or something! I couldn’t sleep because of it, and eventually it left. Later that night I heard a screaming sound, but I had heard a similar sound before. The deer scream when you startle them sometimes, and it was much like this but more drawn out as if it was dying. I am pretty sure I was hearing a deer being killed because it sounded like it was screaming bloody murder. The night drew on and there was a massive rockslide on the side of the mountain, just a loud low rumble. I could feel the vibrations through the ground. It had my adrenaline pumping because I was close enough to the side of the mountain for a rock slide to potentially kill me, but luckily I must have been far enough away. So now after all of this I dose off for a bit and wake up to sound of branches snapping and splashing from the creek I was camped near. The area I was camped in was a clearing about 70yds from the creek, with thick crushed down grass from animals walking on it. It seemed to be a fairly high traffic area. The grass had frozen during the night, so I could hear the animals footsteps clearly. It just came straight for the tent and circled it a couple of times. I could hear breathing with the footsteps but I could not identify for sure what it was. I never heard it leave. I stayed awake waiting to hear it walk off and hear the crunching of the frozen grass, but heard nothing, except a low purring type noise that is hard to describe. I assumed the animal had bedded down next to my tent and may have been a cougar. Regardless I did not sleep and waited for sunrise. After sunrise I left the tent and looked for the animal but there was nothing to be seen. I packed up my gear and dropped it off at the car. There was no way I was spending another night alone out there after what had happened that night. I hunted the rest of the day and didn’t really have much else worth mentioning happen that day. I now drove out everyday for hunting and did not leave my vehicle until I saw light coming over the horizon. One day I was out and felt a little bit off, like I didn’t want to be out there, almost like what I felt in the Yukon. This feeling is hard to explain if you have not felt it.
I hunted a few KM away from where I had camped on another day, and I thought I heard a deep grunting/mumbling sound that only lasted about a second from about 50 yards away behind a large tree, and then followed by a fairly loud branch snap. For some reason I was not scared of this and walked over to see what it could be. There was nothing there. Not in the trees, not on the ground. This was a fairly open forest as well. Weird right? The branch that broke was pretty thick, only a large animal could have done it.
That about sums up my weird experiences that may or may not be attributable to Sasquatch. Thanks for reading. I hope to go on some trips and keep an eye out for these things in the backcountry, just not by myself!
Still waiting on mine as well. Unfortunately just to ship up here it costs a small fortune, but it was my b-day present to myself! I also threw in the Hunters edition of the book to add to my collection.
I am in Alberta, feel free to email me at driller212@gmail.com
