Sasquatch Chronicles Blog

A listener writes “I should start by saying I’ve been listening to your podcast since last fall and have really been enjoying it. I was turned on to it from a coworker that’s been listening for a few years.

I’ve enjoyed the subject since I was a kid growing up in Montana in the 70’s. But it was all just kind of a fun thing to talk about growing up and bleeding into my adult years. It was never anything I took very seriously or even worried too much about. I grew up in the mountains. Hunting and fishing have consumed my life from an early age. So, I have always been comfortable in the woods and have seen and heard about everything there is to see and hear out there.

With that said, over the last several years I’ve had some odd things go on. No actual evidence or sightings, just things that I never put together until recently.

The reason for this email is just to share what I encounter last Sunday at Sunset Falls. I have lived in Ridgefield for the last couple years, so you know how close I am to make a quick drive up there. This is the second time I’ve been up to the area. Mostly just out of curiosity from your experience. Both times during the day as it just feels too abnormal to me being in that area. I just don’t get good vibes when I’m there. That feeling of someone watching from the other side of the river is always there.

But last weekend only about a quarter mile past the campground I drove past a sheep carcass (I’ll include the photos). I didn’t stop but just thought it seemed weird to be there. I keep driving down to the area that flattens out so my dogs could cool off in the river without worrying about going down the cliffs. A mile or so in I snapped a picture of the tree lodged between the others. As you can tell from the pictures it was out of place. The furthest picture away is from the truck with no zoom so you can get an idea of the distance. It was probably about 12-14” thick and 4 feet long. The others I zoomed in and if you look at the right side, you can tell that it’s been burnt. The forest fire that was right there a couple years ago is about 50 yards up the hill, so I don’t think that tree fell there.

When we got to the flat area that I mentioned before to let the dogs swim it seem to be OK for 10 minutes or so. Then almost simultaneously I got goosebumps like something was wrong, and when I turned around, one of my dogs was heading to the truck. He is a Chihuahua and very aware of his surroundings all the time. My other dog that’s a German shorthaired pointer doesn’t even know what planet he’s on half the time, so there was no reaction from him. Other than that, I don’t know what it was, but we got the feeling we should leave. This whole time all I could think about was getting back to that sheep.

So on the way back, my wife decided she wanted to stop and check out the campsite where the missing guy from van was parked. I questioned this several times asking “Are you sure? Are you sure?” It just didn’t feel right to me but we stopped anyway. I let the dogs out again just because I knew they would let me know if something was going on. As soon as we let the Chihuahua down, he bolted right back for the truck. He did not want to be there and again I got that uneasy feeling with the goosebumps and it was time to go.

I knew we were just about out of there, but there were still the sheep carcass coming up before we left. As I rolled up to it now, it was on my driver side, and I could really get a better look. It was in five separate pieces. The hide itself that looked like it had been peeled off the animal not skinned . Like I said, I’ve been a hunter my whole life. I know what a hide looks like when a knife has been on it. And this is not what it looks like. It looked like orange peel. The hoof by itself with no wool on it, looked like it was broken off, not cut, not sawed , broken. The other haunch looked the same, but all the meat was still there, again looked to be broken off. Even with the benefit of the doubt, let’s say a farmer dumped it up there, whether it was sick or they butchered it. Most farmers are going to keep the wool. And like I said, there were no tool marks on this thing that I could tell. Then, every animal killed that I’ve ever seen that a bear or a cat has gotten a hold of they tear a hole in the hide and eat it through the area. They don’t go through the trouble of skinning something like that. Also I would think if somebody was dumping that there they would’ve dumped it over a ledge, and if you look at the photos the area behind it, near the bank is undisturbed, no bushes or plants are knocked over.

Of course, all of this was an afterthought because in the moment while I was taking these pictures, something was crashing through the timber just on the other side of the road. And you know how thick it is in there? I couldn’t see anything. I peered over the top of my truck, hoping to catch something, but there was nothing there. Suddenly, I had this overwhelming fear take over and I could not get in my truck fast enough. My wife looked at me and said “What is wrong with you? You are white as a ghost.” I told her there was something in the bushes on the other side of the road. She replied, saying she thought it was me. I was glad to hear that she had heard it. Just then she listened out the window and heard it again. I didn’t hear it the second time , but told her to roll her window up we’re leaving.

After we got down to the campground where there was other cars and people around, and I could relax a little bit, I thought to myself how out of character that was for me. I’ve never been afraid of bears, and I’ve hunted brown bears in coastal Alaska. Yes, mountain lions make me a little nervous, but I know how to deal with that. Whatever that was, I knew I didn’t want to go up and face it. I can’t say what it was for sure. I know it was not a deer. They don’t hang around dead carcasses. I know it wasn’t a cat. They don’t make that much noise. A bear , maybe but I know how to deal with Bears. And if it was, chances are pretty good it would have bolted as soon as my truck pulled up. They’re my favorite animal to pursue, I’m very passionate about bears. But whatever this was , I was flat out scared.

I just thought you might find this interesting since I know how familiar you are with that area as well. I have no intentions of ever returning up there. Like you said there is something wrong with that place.

Thank you again Wes for everything you do and putting out the great context every week. I’ve learned a lot from you and your listeners over the last few months. It’s been a great ride so far.”