How to Find Bigfoot
I’ve seen a lot of people come and go here in the Klamath River Valley — Bigfoot researchers looking for Northern California Bigfoot action. It saddens me that they can stay only a few hours or days — then must return to their city jobs in other parts of the country.
Yes, the Bigfoot Scenic Byway is prime Bigfoot territory and home to the Patterson-Gimlin film site, but let’s not forget that Bigfoot can be found in almost every state.
Do you want to find Bigfoot?
If you live near a forested area, consider spending more time there on a regular, hopefully daily basis. Check Bigfoot sighting databases online to see where Bigfoot has been seen in your state. Choose a nearby sighting location and make it your home away from home. The regularity of your being there will be a possible draw for a curious Sasquatch.
Bigfoot Encounters State-by-State Sightings List
Bigfoot Information Society Bigfoot Sighting Database
Oregon Bigfoot National Sightings Database
BFRO Geographic Database of Bigfoot/Sasquatch Sightings and Reports
What to do while you’re there
Offer music and food. Look for footprints and broken tree branches. Do some howling and wood knocking and rock pounding. Announce your presence as well as you can, then show yourself as a harmless, nature-loving companion that Bigfoot might consider visiting. If you play acoustic guitar or flute, take your musical instrument with you. Maybe Bigfoot will be curious to see where the beautiful sounds are coming from. A dulcimer, recorder, or djembe would work well too.
I find that a few hours alone in the woods can be a profoundly peaceful experience. I usually take my journal to write in and a comfortable chair to sit in when I’m not hiking around, looking at things. I don’t take food — at least, not for myself — because I’m not there to attract bears. Many researchers leave food in the forest hoping Bigfoot will discover and appreciate it. You might like to read Ray Crowe’s article on baiting. Be aware that some counties have ordinances against feeding wildlife. Stay on the safe side of the law.
Don’t forget, Bigfoot are nocturnal. If possible, spend the night in your research location every now and then. Take a night vision scope if you have one.
Psychological considerations
I believe that motivation is a big factor in whether or not you’ll attract a Bigfoot to your research area. If your motivation is to capture or kill, they may sense that and stay away. I know many researchers have the desire to prove that Bigfoot exists, so they think only a body (dead or alive) can do that. Purify your motivations and you may have a better chance of connecting with a Sasquatch. Many people believe that Bigfoot has eluded captivity for so long because they are wise and possibly quite psychic.
Your intention to have contact with a Bigfoot may work to draw them to you. Have faith that it will happen! Put yourself in the right place on a regular basis and you’re more likely to see one than if you stayed home in front of your computer or TV.
One more thing — if you’re full of fear, will Bigfoot sense it? Be emotionally prepared for what you might see!
Establishing your own nearby Sasquatch research area is much more practical than a trip across country to see the place where Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin saw one. Of course, you’re welcome to come check it out, but Bigfoot research doesn’t have to be an occasional thing. You’ll have a better chance for a sighting if you put yourself out there every day, and that means doing it close to home.
August 27, 2009
Compromised by an Errant Bigfoot Researcher Again?
I’m deeply disturbed by the connection of David Paulides to the the Bigfoot massacre theory of MK Davis, especially since this morning Loren Coleman of Cryptomundo put an email said to be authored by David Paulides in his blog posting about Rene’s Film. For what it’s worth, I generally think it is a violation of internet ethics to place a private email on a public site without permission from the sender. But there it is, accusing John Green and Bob Gimlin of “harboring a very, very dark secret” or at least implicating that they bear some sort of culpability in this matter. [Update: see note from Loren Coleman regarding the source of the email in comments, below.]
I emailed David Paulides a few days ago for clarification after seeing him mentioned in one of Loren Coleman’s earlier postings: Bigfoot Massacre Theorist, John Green & Coverup. I got no reply to my email, which is unusual for him as he usually responds to my emails right away. I realize Dave could be out traveling, researching, deep in the woods, or anywhere. Maybe he didn’t get my email! In case he hasn’t seen my email, here’s what I wrote:
I noted today that Cryptomundo has run an article about MK Davis and his accusations against John Green, and that Loren Coleman implicated you when he posted this, “Needless to say, Green feels that M. K. Davis, and now Davis’s new associate, Dave Paulides, have lost all credibility in his eyes.”
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/davis-back/
I’m writing a short response to what I read there – and would like to know from you – do you believe the MK Davis analysis of the film site? Also, are you really an associate of this man?
Thanks,
Linda Martin
http://www.bigfootsightings.org
No response. What could it mean?
I’ve met David Paulides only once. I was working at a Happy Camp restaurant at the time; when he finished his meal he introduced himself to me and gave me his card, not knowing at the moment that I own this Bigfoot blog. Of course I told him right away who I was and about this site. Since then I’ve exchanged a few emails with him and reviewed his first book, The Hoopa Project. I’ve started a Bigfoot Reading Group project for the review of his second book, Tribal Bigfoot, during the month of September.
Now suddenly I see he’s implicated in a controversy (the Bigfoot massacre theory) that is creating waves in the Bigfoot research community, especially as he’s upset John Green, who most of us revere as an early Bigfoot researcher and author of some of the most respected books ever published on the topic of Bigfoot.
I want to state clearly, straight up, that I don’t agree with this Bigfoot massacre theory, don’t support it, and am distressed at the entire issue. As a former law enforcement investigator I’d think Mr. Paulides would reserve judgment until after Bigfoot skeletons have been recovered from the site, if that could even be possible. No body, no story… you know what I mean?
I already demonstrated in my earlier post on this topic, Bigfoot Massacre? Bloody Nonsense! that the supposed evidence of a bloodied hand seems to have been enhanced unnaturally by photoshopping some red into the photo. Since that bloody sight seems to me to be fraudulently created, I believe all the other suspiciously bloody photos are equally irrelevant to real life. I realize I probably don’t have the same photo-enhancement software that the video-maker did, but using Paint Shop Pro v.8, there was no way I could find to bring out that kind of red on the man’s hand without turning the entire photograph red, or using masks to isolate the hand for retouching.
My respect for David Paulides’ earlier work in his two books is not diminished, but I believe that the Bigfoot massacre theory is a big mistake and I’m hoping he can distance himself from it and redeem his reputation. I’ve decided to go ahead with my reading and reviewing of Tribal Bigfoot in September, but needed to put this posting out first so everyone will know my support of Mr. Paulides’ work doesn’t extend to the current issue of a Bigfoot massacre cover-up.
I feel the need to clarify this as I’ve been burned before by a very irresponsible so-called researcher who came to my town, made a fool of himself in a big way, and by association, smeared my reputation as a beginning Bigfoot researcher. That happened in 2005 and it has taken years to recover from that association. I’m still asked about him and his associates as if I’m still associated with them, which I am not and haven’t been since the big disaster of 2005. I refer to him now as “he whose name will not appear in my blog” because he’s a publicity hound and I’m not going to help him with that.
Because of my earlier experience, I’m not happy about having someone I associate with veer off into what most of us will consider an erroneous theory… especially when that error is hurting some of the older members of the Bigfoot research community.
The thought of having a group of Bigfoot present themselves for slaughter just doesn’t make sense to me. They are so reclusive, I don’t believe they’d do that. And if someone did come upon a group, and started shooting, it is unlikely they’d slaughter them all. The remaining Sasquatches would probably attack, not run.
I’ve said it before… dig up the bones if you really think they’re there. I just hope that the situation resolves itself soon and that everyone is satisfied with a peaceful and happy outcome to what looks like a challenging Bigfoot research issue at this point. I agree with Loren Coleman that ignoring the issue isn’t a solution.
August 26, 2009
Save the Bluff Creek Company Store!
Steven Streufert of Bigfoot Books has taken up the cause of finding a new owner for the Bluff Creek Company Store. This historic building was the last outpost for Bigfoot seekers Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin in 1967 just before they filmed what most of us believe is an authentic movie of a Sasquatch near Bluff Creek in the Six Rivers National Forest.
The Bluff Creek Company Store is now up for sale along with forest acreage and riverfront access, plus a small trailer park. The owner stated he wants to tear the store down by October despite its historical significance regarding Bigfoot and the Patterson-Gimlin film, so anyone able to purchase and restore this building should act now to contact owner Phil Smith Sr. – the property is not on the public market as of yet.
More on Steven Streufert’s blog: here, and here. More photos here.
August 25, 2009
A Bigfoot Massacre? Bloody Nonsense!
John Green is a hero in the Bigfoot research community – and rightly so. As a young Canadian newsman he took time to come to the Klamath River Valley to explore early Bluff Creek Bigfoot footprints, and the Patterson-Gimlin film site. You can read his entire account of events including his part in them in his seminal work, Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us
Also implicated are Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin, Bigfoot film legends. It is a miracle that they saw Patty and now someone accuses them of helping to kill her and her family. What a terrible accusation! And it simply isn’t believable. Patterson and Gimlin were at Bluff Creek on October 20, 1967 for the filming of Patty. John Green wasn’t on the scene until June 1968 (see page 123 of his book.) [Update, 8/27/09: According to a more recent post on Cryptomundo, the footage of John Green was from late August/early September 1967, filmed by Rene Dahinden.] How could they all have participated in a Bigfoot massacre together? It doesn’t make sense and to accuse them is like attacking the holy icons of the Bigfoot research community. You can’t do that without repercussions.
I read what Loren Coleman posted about this on Cryptomundo yesterday morning – Bigfoot Massacre Theorist, John Green & Coverup – and my first impression was that the YouTube video referenced showed an inaccurate photoshopped image of a man with red hands. I tried to replicate the process with a screen capture from the original film in the video. I lightened, saturated, and adjusted the ‘before’ image of the scene and couldn’t find any red on the man’s hands. I also noted that the red hand version in the YouTube video also featured blurred faces on two of the men in the picture – another clear indication that major photoshopping took place. The man looks tanned, not bloody. I hope nobody falls for this theory, which looks inaccurate to me – and that’s saying it nicely.
My main point in responding to this is just to say that I live here in the Klamath River Valley (of which Bluff Creek is a part) and want to point out that the Patterson-Gimlin film took place in October when we’ve got a lot of red in Autumn foilage. The poison oak turns bright red at that time of year. We’ve also got dark red bark falling off the Madrone trees, and a lot of the soil here is red which could account for what MK Davis seems to think is a bloody dog paw print.
This is the original picture from the film, which I screen captured from the YouTube video before it was removed by whoever posted it there.
This is my lightened version showing no blood on the extended hand of the man on the right.
This is my lightened version with increased contrast showing no blood. Note that the red truck in the background is bright red, but not the man’s hand.
This is what appears to be a photoshopped version from the YouTube video showing blurred faces and a bloody hand.
The section of this photo said to be skin and blood could just as easily be a backpack frame style popular back in the sixties. I had one very similar to that at the time. Or it could be something else. And the red part could have been photoshopped in just like the red-hand photo above appears to be heavily photoshopped.Loren Coleman wrote a follow-up blog posting this morning with responses from John Green – which is where I got this photo. John Green said Bob Titmus wasn’t there and that the rifles were there to protect the dog at the dog owner’s insistence.
To anyone taking this massacre theory seriously – please go dig up the bones of these massacre victims to prove your allegations, and quit relying on poor quality old amateur films. When you produce impressive evidence, people may take this seriously, but not before. In the meantime, what seems to be an attack harming the reputations of our heroes (Patterson, Gimlin, Green, Titmus, and whoever else was implicated) is upsetting a lot of people.
I am amused at the thought of you on your hands and knees digging in one of our local gravel bars. As a person who has done a bit of digging around here (during prospecting) I can say it isn’t likely you’ll have much fun doing this, but if the theory is that believable to you, why not? Finding Bigfoot bones would be something like finding buried treasure.
August 23, 2009
Bigfoot Songs – Tom Yamarone
Tom Yamarone’s blog, Bigfoot Songs, chronicles his many squatching expeditions, participation in conventions, fortuitous meetings with Bigfooting friends, . . . and music. Tom is Bigfoot’s bard so there’s music throughout this blog. We’re talking lyrics, photographs of his performances, music videos, and sound files. He even plugs other Sasquatch singers and songwriters.
After reading the entire blog this afternoon I’m left with the impression of a busy family man who likes to get away on back-country adventures with his Bigfooting buddies, and who stays busy in the Bigfoot community by helping to organize conferences, large and small.
Some of my favorite articles in his blog:
A Visit With John Green in 2005 – and a photo of a reverse copy of the Skookum cast.
A Virtual Tour of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton, CA – Tom has done a lot to promote this museum!
Operation Odyssey II July 20-22, 2007 – a weekend of practicing field techniques.
Jerry Crew Knew What To Do – in which Tom tells us how he got to talk to Jerry Crew’s son, and what he said.
One more cool link – Tom’s YouTube archive: Bigfoot Songs
Months ago I visited Bigfoot Songs, then saved my pennies and bought Tom’s CD, which is a trip into Bigfooting history. You can listen to a few clips at his site: Songs For A Bigfoot World – CD. Through the songs you’ll learn about Albert O., the Skookum Cast, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin, and Bigfoot himself!
In mid-June 2008 I got off work and went to Parry’s Market here in Happy Camp for something cool to snack on (Sweet Nothings – they’re organic and I’m addicted to them during the summers.) When I got to the checkout counter there was a young man in front of me – someone I didn’t know. Roberta, the cashier, said, “Linda, someone was just asking about you!” She started calling for this unknown person and he emerged from the produce aisle. It turned out to be Tom Yamarone, who I’d never met until that day. The man in front of me at the checkout counter was Bart Cutino.
Tom knew of me from this blog, and I am so happy that he thought to ask Roberta about me. Obviously there was some synchronicity going on or I wouldn’t have crossed paths with Tom and his friends, but fate directed me to go to the store at just the right time for this happy event to take place. The others who were in the store with Tom and Bart were Wally Hersom and Cliff Barackman. What a wonderful thing for me, to get to meet all these outstanding Bigfoot researchers all at one time. And it was totally unexpected!
We walked out in front of the store and asked Virginia, another of the Parry’s Market cashiers, to take the photograph (below) of the five of us using Tom’s camera. At the time I asked his permission to use it on my blog, and he assented, then sent me a copy in email. Then my computer crashed. I was thrilled to find it again in a slide show on his blog’s June 2008 page.
From left to right: Cliff Barackman, Bart Cutino, Linda Martin, Wally Hersom, and Tom Yamarone. They were on their way home from a BFRO expedition in Oregon. I should call this photo “My Lucky Day.” I hope I’ll get a chance to see them again soon. In the meantime, a visit from Bigfoot would be welcome…August 22, 2009
The Believe It Tour’s Willow Creek Adventure
The Bridge in Orleans
Bigfoot Scenic Byway
Last Sunday, August 16, I drove to Willow Creek, the town on the other end of the Bigfoot Scenic Byway, 75 miles from where I live, in Happy Camp, California. The occasion? I’d been invited to meet The Believe It Tour team as they started their journey through Bigfoot country. We planned to meet at the Bigfoot Motel, visit Bigfoot Books, tour the Bigfoot Museum, then have dinner at a restaurant. I was fairly thrilled about this opportunity because so often researchers travel through the valley but never contact me.
This event has opened a lot of doors for me… it has been utterly amazing, really. I met Michael Esordi and Diane Smith in the lobby of the Bigfoot Motel, and then told them I’d meet them at the bookstore which is a few miles east of town. I met the third tour member, Brad Pennock, team skeptic, outside the Bigfoot Motel where he was photographing everything!
Note: Michael Esordi, the Believe It Team’s tour guide, is webmaster of the Bigfoot Museum website, Bigfoot Surplus, and the Believe It Tour.
I got to the bookstore but found out it was closed – it didn’t open until 2pm on Sundays. With time on my hands I went to the Bigfoot Museum in hopes that Craig Woolheater might be there already. Now you’re probably wondering how Craig got into this story. Michael Esordi arranged for Craig and his traveling companion, Sharonlee, to meet us in Willow Creek.
A quick check of the museum showed nobody was there to see the Bigfoot Museum, and I traveled back and forth a few times, bought gasoline, and explored a place that was calling me, Friday Ridge Road. I drove up high enough to take this picture of the Trinity River and the highway next to it.
Finally I went back to Bigfoot Books and saw cars there, and entered to find the Believe It Tour people now talking to Steven Streufert, bookseller. He’s a Bigfoot researcher as well. I loved his used (and new) book store and bought some old cassette tapes to play in my vintage van on the way home, and a few books. Diana bought a big stack of Bigfoot books – new and used.
Bluff Creek Footprint Casts
Willow Creek Bigfoot Museum
Next we headed back to the Bigfoot Museum on the west side of town. The curator, Al Hodgson, wasn’t able to make it but we enjoyed looking at all the exhibits and taking pictures there. I will definitely try to visit again on a day when Al is available!
I’d been to the museum before but it seemed that this time there was more to look at. There are lots of footprint casts, photographs of footprints and the researchers who discovered them, and Bigfoot displays on science, history, and memorabilia.
Linda Martin & Craig Woolheater
At Cinnabar Sam’s In Willow Creek, CA
Craig Woolheater and Sharonlee were delayed during their travel from the SF Bay Area to Humboldt County, so we went back to visit Steve Streufert at Bigfoot Books, then eventually decided to go ahead and get a table at Cinnabar Sam’s so it wouldn’t close before we were ready. Craig and Sharonlee finally reached Willow Creek and joined us there, and we had a wonderful dinner together. This was my first time to meet Craig Woolheater – after reading about him online for years – so I was excited about that and asked Brad Pennock to take this photo with my camera.
Sharonlee, Michael, Steven, and Diana
getting ready for after-dinner squatching
on Friday Ridge Road.
After dinner everyone else went to Friday Ridge Road for a few hours of squatching since there have been recent Bigfoot sighting reports in that area according to Steve Streufert of Bigfoot Books. I’d already been there earlier in the day, but I didn’t say a word about it to anyone, until now. I had to get back to Happy Camp – and it is a two hour drive along a winding river road, with cliffs, high bridges, and other things I don’t like – such as rocks that fall on the highway and the occasional deer that gets mesmerized by headlights.
About the only thing I haven’t seen on the Klamath River Highway (Hwy. 96) is a Bigfoot. I’ve seen a large cougar in the middle of the road. I’ve seen a huge bear cross the highway while I was out hiking near my home. But Bigfoot? No………. not yet. I still have my hopes set on seeing one, and even communicating with one. At least I live in the right neighborhood!
It was a real treat for me to meet the Believe It Team, Sharonlee, Steven, and Craig – especially as I’ve been somewhat of a hermit the last few years. I don’t get out much… but if anyone is coming to the area for squatching, or sight seeing, please give me a call (I’m in the phone book and on Skype: ‘lindajomartin’) or email me first. I’m now enthusiastic about meeting Bigfoot researchers!
A few more photos of the Believe It Team:
Diana, Michael, and Brad inside the Willow Creek Bigfoot Museum.
I am the last to blog about this… you can read Sharonlee’s account on her blog: Bigfoot Field Reporter, and the Believe It Tour version of events on their blog: Believe It Tour Blog, and Steven Streufert’s version on his blog: Bigfoot’s Blog.
The story doesn’t end here. After spending the night at the Bluff Creek site of the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, the Believe It Tour came back through Happy Camp and we connected to take pictures at Happy Camp’s Bigfoot statue. The next day Sharonlee and Craig came through Happy Camp and phoned me… and I went downtown with my partner, Bob, where we met them and went to a local sighting location. I will write about that soon… it requires its own posting because there’s a new footprint casting involved!
August 20, 2009
The Bigfoot Books Blog
I just finished reading Steven Streufert’s Bigfoot Books Blog from the first post in December 2008, to the most recent in August which featured Friends of Sasquatch (of which I’m a member.) Thanks, Steven!
I was deeply impressed by the quality of Steven’s writing. For example, from his first blog posting I pulled this line: “Most consider it a popular delusion, the product of wild speculation and equally feral expectations.” Also: “Is this all just an hallucinatory Jungian mass projection of the collective unconscious, a desire for a wild and mysterious revivification? And if so, what is this archetype? Can a myth leave footprints?” Source. With word skill like that I have the impression that this man will be writing a lot more in the months and years to come.
For many of his postings, the content was palpable, and the depth of information worthy of note. Here are a few Bigfoot Books Blog articles I especially liked and want to point out to readers:
1. Black Helicopter on Bluff Creek Bigfoot Film Site! Giant Salamander Found! Huge Rockslide Blocks Road to Louse Camp! And More News… – in which Steven recounts an expedition to Bluff Creek during which he was surprised by a black helicopter. Great information!
2. Quotes of the Day: RENE DAHINDEN. Plus a Plug for SASQUATCH ODYSSEY Documentary – get to know Rene Dahinden better and put Sasquatch Odyssey in your Netflix queue – that’s what I did!
3. NEWS: Bigfoot Books on Cryptomundo! Save Bluff Creek Company Store! A Meeting with Jerry Hein & Vocalizations, Sasquatch Hair Samples & Footprints – Steven Streufert has taken up the cause of finding someone of means to purchase the property at Bluff Creek that includes the old Bluff Creek Company Store that Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin shopped in before heading north for their encounter with Bigfoot. Also I found the section about Jerry Hein’s expedition to be fascinating.
4. Bigfoot and Beer, Lost Coast Ganesh I.P.A. Controversy Surrounds Flatmo Image; Church of Bigfoot, Scientist up in Arms! – a virtual collection of Bigfoot beers! This article made me want to buy a case of Indica beer, especially after hearing the brewery has been sued over their beer’s artwork depicting a legendary East-Indian creature.
This photo shows Steven Streufert working at Bigfoot Books in Willow Creek, California, just down the road from Bluff Creek. Next time you’re in the area stop by and meet him, and prepare to buy books because you will seriously want to! He has a large collection of new and used books about Bigfoot for sale, as well as almost every other type of book imaginable.
