Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Seven: “Trinity County”
Book review by Linda Martin – © 2009
Reading group homepage for this book: Tribal Bigfoot
Re: Chapter Seven of Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides, “Trinity County”:
One of the things that makes David Paulides’ books so enjoyable to read is that he makes each segment a story in and of itself. Though the Trinity County chapter profiles more than ten Bigfoot sightings, each is related as its own story complete with lots of background information. For example, when he related Jeannie Lewis’ story (starting on page 162) he began with a description and history of Highway 299. From there he went on to explain how this highway figured into Jeannie’s life and her Bigfoot sighting story.
In the section about Shirley Forks, we get to learn a bit about her family’s history in Willow Creek before she takes off on the trip to Medford that resulted in a Bigfoot sighting next to the Trinity River. The time Paulides spends introducing the people involved makes them real to us by bringing forth the details of their lives.
Though in The Hoopa Project he focused on Bigfoot sightings only for most of the book, here he’s also included episodes that had only footprints or other phenomena, somewhat short of actual sightings. Nevertheless they are compelling accounts of highly unusual finds and experiences.
Doug Mortenson’s sighting account was remarkable because he was a logger. We hear few sighting reports from loggers though we know they’re likely to be in the right area at the right time. This particular sighting took place near Friday Ridge Road, a location name that jumped off the page for me as I recalled that just a few weeks ago I was there in Willow Creek where I went to the Friday Ridge Road vicinity, and later heard from Bigfoot Books blogger Steven Streufert that there have been recent sightings in that area. Later that evening after I left Willow Creek, Steven went squatching on that road with Craig Woolheater of Texas, Sharonlee of Ohio, and the Believe It Tour team members: Mike Esoridi, Diana Smith, and Brad Pennock.
There are a lot of Bigfoot reports in this chapter and I can’t write about them all, but will mention a few. In the segment about Mel Hester of Hyampom, a retired US Forest Service employee, he correlated UFO sightings with Bigfoot sightings in his area. Once he went to Big Bar Road to look for an unusual orb light phenomena and instead found Bigfoot tracks in the snow.
John Lewis of San Francisco shared a Bigfoot sighting event that took place in Trinity County in about 1915. His father was a line worker helping to build a railroad south of Eureka when another line worker disappeared. He was missing for about a month then was discovered naked and delirious in a pit. Before he died the man stated that a female ape had kidnapped him and held him captive. At the end of this segment Mr. Paulides shared a couple reports from Ray Crowe’s Track Record newsletter that mentioned rock-lined pits in relation to Bigfoot. One more thing to watch out for in the woods! This was a highly detailed section – you will have to read the book to learn more. If it were not for David Paulides’ research efforts this shocking and historic Bigfoot sighting and kidnapping report would probably never have been recorded!
On page 140 Paulides wrote about his arrival in Hayfork: “I didn’t have any specific names to contact when I arrived, so I knew I would have to canvass the area for locals willing to talk.” His efforts at finding connections in Hayfork and other towns have been very effective and fruitful!
One sad section of the chapter details Bigfoot killings. David Paulides got on this topic because of a report that a sixteen-year-old hunter claimed to have shot a Bigfoot on Knob Peak near Wildwood in Trinity County. Paulides brought forth other reports of Bigfoot killings near the end of this chapter. A very distressing topic! Not only is it distressing because possibly these creatures were killed, but also because now the other Bigfoot family members will be more cautious around humans, and may even harbor animosity toward us. That would make Bigfoot seeking in those areas more dangerous than it otherwise would have been.
Trinity County is a beautiful place to visit. I don’t know how David Paulides got through this entire chapter without mentioning Weaverville, the county seat and a favorite vacation destination of mine. I suppose there aren’t a lot of Bigfoot sightings right in town there but you can visit the Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park and learn about Taoism as practiced by Chinese miners who at one time populated the area. When I first visited the Joss House in the mid-1970s the temple was still being used. The Chinese settlers called this “The Temple of the Forest Beneath The Clouds.”
This spotted owl in the Shasta Trinity Forest probably knows more about Bigfoot than we do!
Photo courtesy of the US Forest Service
…
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter One: “Historical Bigfoot”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Two: “The Bigfoot Map Project”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Three: “Associations”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Four: “Extreme Sighting Locations”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Five: “Santa Cruz County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Six: “Amador County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Seven: “Trinity County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Eight: “Siskiyou County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Nine: “Del Norte County”
…
- Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Two: “The Bigfoot Map Project”
- Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Six: “Amador County”
- Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Four: “Extreme Sighting Locations”
- Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Five: “Santa Cruz County”
- Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Three: “Associations”
September 4, 2009
Michigan Bigfoot
By Linda Martin – @2009 – http://www.bigfootsightings.org
Have you had a Bigfoot sighting in the state of Michigan? If so, you’re not alone, and there’s a team of Bigfoot researchers ready to take your report. They also follow up on recent Bigfoot sighting reports, whenever possible. Michigan Bigfoot provides a forum for anyone having questions or comments about Bigfoot research in Michigan, and there’s a sighting report form online. All personal information is kept confidential at the request of those who have seen Bigfoot. Privacy is a priority and all copyright on photographic evidence is respected.
The site contains a detailed article about trail cams: Game Cameras and their Potential Use in Field Research – which includes camera setup, choosing a location, stealth, and deployment for long-term field research projects. Although to date there have been no good photos of Bigfoot taken with trail cams, they are still popular with Bigfoot researchers. The author of this article believes that if more of them are placed in the field, eventually a good photograph of a Bigfoot will be taken.
Did you ever wonder what Bigfoot researchers do during their weekend squatching adventures? On the Field Journal page there’s a detailed account of a 2004 Bigfoot research expedition that included call blasting, wood knocking, and a response!
There’s a photo gallery page where you can see the type of terrain these researchers work in. It definitely looks like Bigfoot country!
For more information on this group, see the What We Do page. This Bigfoot research team gives Michigan residents a valuable resource for feedback whenever a Bigfoot is seen.
- The Skunk Ape Files – Florida’s Bigfoot
- Digging for Dirt? …or Looking for Bigfoot?
- Todd Standing Sounds Credible
- Whoops and Whistles – What Did I Hear?
- Where Did Cliff Barackman’s Votes Go?
August 29, 2009
Bigfooting for Cash: Capitalizing on Bigfoot
This week I received email from someone who objected to my review of the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy because the organization accepts money from people wanting to be included in their research expeditions. Certainly, everything about this organization spells money… the website appears to be professionally designed, there’s a membership application on the site, and photos of expensive equipment give one the impression that there’s got to be some kind of funding going on.
Membership is clearly explained on the site and requires a $60 annual fee: TBRC Membership. There’s also an annual TBRC conference. I believe the $15 general admission charge is very reasonable, and the public is welcome to attend so that price is not just for members. The person who wrote to me said that a friend paid several hundred dollars to participate in a TBRC weekend expedition. There’s no mention of this kind of fee on the site, so far as I can detect. Such a fee rivals BFRO’s expedition costs.
So this brings up a topic that I believe a lot of people have problems accepting – that people want to make money with their Bigfoot research hobby! Moreover, equipment costs money! I can totally identify with both issues. My partner and I are both unemployed at this point and we don’t have the high-tech equipment to use like the big organizations do (TBRC, BFRO, etc.) …so money, getting donations, and finding solutions in order to be able to do Bigfoot research – these have been topics of conversation around here! Until recently we didn’t even have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to take into the forest. I just purchased a 1995 4wd Ford Aerostar van for Bigfoot research activities, and I still can’t take it into the forest because it needs better tires first. I’m hoping to get them before the end of the year, but there’s other equipment we’d like to have: a good video camera and trail cams, for example. I would love to be able to make YouTube videos of our activities in the forest. So money, yes… it is an issue. I’m very close to putting a donation link on my Friends of Sasquatch site. I had one on this site many months back but never got any donations. Also the AdSense I have on this site doesn’t even cover the cost of my server, so I can’t really say I’m making money here at all.
I can also see why many people who do Bigfoot research as a hobby are offended by organizations that charge for participation. The organization may justify this as a needed revenue building opportunity so that expensive equipment can be purchased, gasoline paid for, and organizational expenses paid. On the other hand, some of this money could be siphoned off for other uses. Do any of these organization czars get paid? Does Matt Moneymaker actually make money with Bigfoot explorations?
My informant stated that he has been doing Bigfoot research for quite a few years, paying his own way, with a group that does not accept donations or collect fees. There are probably hundreds of similar Bigfoot researchers who do this because they love squatching, not because they’re looking for donations for their research organizations. I picture them as hard working people (mostly men) who buy their own research equipment and go on expeditions with their friends in their spare time.
At the other end of the spectrum are people like “he whose name will not appear in my blog” whose Bigfooting business plan has been put online by an ex-cohort.
There are lots of ways that Bigfoot researchers and investigators try to earn money, and here are some that I know of:
1. Creating a website then asking for donations
2. Putting advertising on the website
3. Charging for expeditions
4. Creating a NPO then charging membership fees
5. Getting large donations from rich businessmen needing a tax write-off
6. Writing a book about Bigfoot
7. Creating Bigfoot themed products and selling them
8. Gathering Bigfoot evidence, then selling it
Am I missing anything on this list?
So which of these are acceptable and which aren’t? When should a hobby turn into a business?
Is it ethical to charge a fee for expedition participation when anyone can just go out into the woods and start squatching on their own?
I’d like to get comments on this from anyone having strong feelings one way or the other about money issues in Bigfoot research. I told the person who emailed me, “I have never paid to be in any Bigfoot research organization or to go on any expeditions. It seems senseless especially since there are many miles of forest for anyone to explore, and being in a large group is likely to repel a Bigfoot, not attract one.” That’s just my opinion; I’m sure there are others able and willing to pay hundreds for a little field training.
- Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy
- Bigfoot Expedition Near Bend, Oregon
- David Paulides Responds to the Bigfoot Massacre Issue
- United Bigfoot Research Group
- Sasquatch Watch of Virginia
August 25, 2009
Marijuana – Danger in the Forest!
It is nearly marijuana harvest season and anyone entering the backwoods here in Northern California should be aware of the dangers from farmers of illegal marijuana. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department found that marijuana farms in the forest have similar characteristics. If you’re planning to do any squatching in our forest, know what to look for.
According to the Sheriff’s department, forest marijuana farms usually have a boundary of tree branches piled high around them. If you see anything like that it is best to walk away. Another sign you might notice is PVC pipes or hoses dipped into a creek as a water supply. If you ever see anything of that nature in the forest, it is time to head in a safer direction. Owners or caretakers of the marijuana farms are usually armed and dangerous.
It is believed that most of the illegal marijuana farms in my area (Klamath National Forest) are tended by growers from south of the California border; they come here to hide in our forest and grow marijuana for a cartel. The marijuana is now starting to bud so harvest will come soon, in September or early October.
This is a high-dollar, high-risk business and growers do not care about the safety of anyone out looking for Bigfoot.
These farms have been found deep in the woods near logging roads, or even close to towns and near busy roads. Be careful when you’re out there squatching. Summer may not be the best time. Perhaps if marijuana is legalized in California, the situation will ease.
[Photographs from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department are of a forest marijuana farm they raided in 2006.]
- Squatchers: Be Careful in the Forest During Hunting Season!
- Oak Knoll Ranger District, North of Seiad Valley
- Weird Stuff Seen in the Woods
- Dazed Bigfoot Crossed California Highway 101 During Fires
- Possible Bigfoot Habitat Destroyed By Forest Fire
