Bigfoot and Beer, Lost Coast Ganesh I.P.A. Controversy Surrounds Flatmo Image; Church of Bigfoot, Scientist up in Arms!

As we were preparing the blog entry regarding Duane Flatmo's BIGFOOT MURAL an article appeared on the front page of the Eureka TIMES-STANDARD newspaper (check it HERE: http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_12881698standard.com/localnews/ci_12881698standard.com/localnews/ci_12881698standard.com/localnews/ci_12881698) regarding one of the labels he had designed for the LOST COAST BREWERY'S (http://www.lostcoast.com/) Indica IPA. Here, at left, is the rare image that has caused the controversy, now absent from the beermaker's web site, and now redesigned to remove the offending third and fourth arms, one of which once held a nice, frothy mug of this great beer.

Fundamentalist Hindus seemingly without a sense of humor have been angered and are up on the internet seeking removal and recompense (including one lawsuit seeking $25,000 and $1 billion for damages "to compensate Hindus around the world"). Accusations of "hate crimes" have been hurled, threats of bombing and destruction emailed in, and the brewery has been forced to back-pedal from promoting their best (IMHO) beer. The T-S reports: "Briar Bush, the brewery's general manager, said he received a couple of hundred angry e-mails on the issue, about a dozen of which even threatened to bomb the brewery or contained other threats of violence." Online petitions have been proliferating on the WWW--Google it.
[Second image above by the Times-Standard, showing the amputated God.]

Well, you can see the old image here. We don't believe in censorship, especially when the label here in question is an HONOR to Ganesh, showing Him as a jovial and friendly God offering many blessings... including beer.
NOTE: The writer of this blog himself is a practitioner of Hindu-Buddhist philosophy, so please don't take offense. Ganesh is just alright with me! It should also be noted that INDICA is a variety of marijuana associated with Indian origins. It is a popular strain grown and much beloved here in Humboldt County. Hence, since the Hindus gave us (and are responsible for) this blessing/curse, they shouldn't be too angry that it is recognized by a Humboldt beer, an India Pale Ale no less. Plus, IPAs are very high in hop content, and the hop plant is part of the Cannabaceae (or Cannabis) family.

One online petitioner asked whether Christians would be offended if Jesus were on the label of a beer bottle. We found evidence that he HAS been there. Check out, too, the hilarious video advertisements on http://www.jesusbeer.com/. Where in Hell (or Heaven) can I buy some of this stuff? Jesus, as is well known, was a hearty drinker of wine, so we presume he liked beer as well. After all, he encouraged his millions of followers to drink wine as the transubstantiated blood of his own sacrifice!

Meanwhile, Tuesday, Church of Bigfoot, Scientist members, up in arms after hearing about the censorial actions of the Hindus marched down Fifth Street from their headquarters in the A. A. (Armchair Anarchists) Bar & Grill, and ordered a full round of protest pints of their favorite beer at the Brewery's pub. "Doesn't this remind you of the Danish Muslim Cartoon Protests," asked Church acolyte Zogboy. "No god without Beer!" said the Church's Reverend Lord.

Indeed! The god, Ganesh, is the patron saint of commerce and luck, a quite fitting image to grace the front label of the beverage universally known as the nectar of the Gods, drink of conviviality, blessing from above. Ben Franklin, surely a wise man, once said, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

In the world of BIGFOOT, now, beer is truly loved. One bigfooting expedition this author went on featured a full keg of BLUFF CREEK ALE, from Six Rivers Brewery, tapped up at Louse Camp, downstream from the P-G film site. Following please find a true celebration of freedom and fun, and the love of SASQUATCH. Surely, we are not offended. Even Rene Dahinden once did a television commercial for Kokanee Glacier Beer (it can be seen in the documentary, SASQUATCH ODYSSEY).

SUPPORT THESE GREAT BREWERIES! SUPPORT FREEDOM!

Six Rivers Brewery, http://www.sixriversbrewery.com/, in McKinleyville, CA, makes the good everyday-drinking BLUFF CREEK PALE ALE. Try it in the bottle or at the brew pub up on the hill in front of Raymond Carver's old pad.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, http://www.sierranevada.com/, makes perhaps the best large-scale microbrews in the state of California, and is drunk nearly every day by the author of this blog. They produce a seasonal barley wine style ale BIGFOOT ALE, that is twice as strong as the average beer, and quite good. The label changes with each year's vintage. This year features a bottom-of-the-sixpack comic image that is rather amusing.
http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/bigfoot.htmls/bigfoot.htmlbigfoot.htmlI quote: "This year marks the 25th release of Bigfoot®. Our award-winning barleywine boasts a dense, fruity bouquet, an intense flavor palate and a deep reddish-brown color. Its big maltiness is superbly balanced by a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness."

“…Bigfoot® captures the imagination, and its character is as big as the name implies, with a huge hoppiness in its earthy aroma, a chewy palate, and a great depth of flavor.”
– Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion

Old Yale Brewing Company, http://www.oldyalebrewing.com/sasquatch_stout.html, out of British Columbia, Canada, makes the interesting SASQUATCH STOUT.

Other breweries have produced some interesting Bigfoot brews, knick-knacks, and iconography.

The newer SKOOKUM BREWERY, out of Arlington, Washington, were at the YAKIMA BIGFOOT ROUND-UP, dispensing donation-only cups of their fine beers. I couldn't have survived those hot days in the speakers' tent without it. Check them out: http://www.skookumbrewing.com/. What IS a Skookum? Check that out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skookum.
And, of course, there is the famous KOKANEE GLACIER BEER, http://www.kokaneeglacierbeer.com/, out of Canada, once featuring Rene Dahinden but still producing ads featuring Mel the Sasquatch. Check on YouTube for some examples (most are spoofs). Here's one, anyway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3Oac1y__jY&feature=related.

And let's not forget, Willow Creek's own BIGFOOT RED, made by SENTINEL WINERY, 2263 Patterson RdWillow Creek, CA. The wine is available at the winery, or else exclusively at CINNABAR SAM'S RESTAURANT, on the main drag in town. Get more info. here: http://www.winesandvines.com/directoryonline/index.cfm?dataReportWinery=1&lookupdata=1&entityid=15873


Speaking of RENE DAHINDEN... Check out this great little online documentary of him in the CBC DIGITAL ARCHIVES' Monsters, Myths and Mystery: Great Canadian Legends series:
http://archives.cbc.ca/lifestyle/pastimes/topics/1462-9705/

Most images by Steven Streufert, though some were taken from official company images, or as credited.

Above, the BIGFOOT BOOKS collection of sasquatch-related alcoholic beverage containers, so far.

Recent Bigfoot Reports, Sighting on Friday Ridge Road, Little People and Injun Devils, Bigfoot Books Blogged Again

MORE BIGFOOT REPORTS COMING IN!

These Bigfoot-related anecdotes were reported at Bigfoot Books in Willow Creek by long-time resident of the area (now of Salyer), Dave Short. Dave is a sane and reliable guy whose career was spent in public service on the Fire Department and driving ambulances. Here are more or less verbatim/unedited report notes, taken by me, Steve Streufert. Most of this is paraphrased shorthand of Dave's statements.

DAVE SHORT: An old Indian woman from the Pecwan (most likely Yurok) once told this story. Dave was taking her to town in the ambulance, asked if she'd ever seen bigfoot. Bigfoot? Yeah, Ohmah, Sasquatch. Oh, you mean Wildman! "He sings." What does he sing." My lady, my lady I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you." And then what? "And then," she says with a straight face, "he eats you!!!"

Another friend of Dave's, Kenny (no last name given), saw a larger one and a smaller one together. On the back road between South Fork Road and Burnt Ranch. Hunting, way up on some ridge on a four-wheeler ATV, glassing with a scope for deer. In the fall, during deer season. Looking down a few hundred yards into a clearing, cut-block clear cut. Saw BF walk through, on hind legs, straight up, hairy, large. A smaller one came in right behind it, walking one after the other. Saw it all the way across the clearing. Then he hightailed it out of there, inexplicably scared. Year very apprx. only, between 1970s and 90s. Up at 3000 feet or more.

Edward Patrick, called "Ed" or "Patrick"--logging equipment was attacked up around Bluff Creek area, before 1970s. A certain man, up from LA, had some money to apply to Bigfoot hunting, was hiring local guys with jeeps to chain up the tires, driving as far as they could get up into the snow, then look for BF sign. Hair, scat, prints. "How many tracks/prints have you seen." The reply, "Well, ah, maybe 500." They were in fresh snow, no other tracks around, early in the morning, on roads where nobody else had been as seen by the undisturbed fresh snow fall. No one lived up there and no one could get up there. Up steep hills where humans could not have walked, long stride, esp. in snow. Never actually saw one.

These tendencies give rise to... Dave's summary assessment: they don't really trust people, could probably eat just about anything, don't need fire, don't need clothes, hence don't need people; hence it is understandable they are not seen. Just stay to themselves, if they see people they just stay put and watch. If they are omnivorous they could live and survive around here quite easily.

Dave has lived around here since 1978. He worked (until 1995) with local EMT Ambulance service; Fire Dept. volunteer, too, since he was a kid. He is not personally an outdoorsman, but he's heard from a lot who have seen them, LOTS of old Indians. He lived on the Hoopa Reservation, ran the ambulance there for 15 years. Most friends of his were on the older/elder side out there, with interesting stories to tell.

I asked Dave further about the other cryptid/mystery creatures spoken of around the Willow Creek and Hoopa area....

The Hupa people are "superstitious" about "INJUN DEVILS" and LITTLE PEOPLE. Don't really like to talk about them. East Fork Bridge near the campground, had its own Indian Devil... a family member had an encounter with one, caused his car to crash (like a Gremlin? Troll? or Ghost?) Not necessarily good luck, maybe bad. Hence the fear. None seemed to have actually seen one. More a "felt" thing. Are "Indian Devils" human, or are they Bigfoot-related? Anthropological sources relate the "Devils" to sorcery.

[Editorial note: another source, Bobo, says that the Yurok-Hupa Injun Devils were a tribal shamanic role practiced by some local natives (like the old Bear Shamans?). I have had local Natives confirm this. Lucy Thompson's TO THE AMERICAN INDIAN book says clearly that they were human, not bigfoots, and carried certain things like sticks and medicine bags, unlike sasquatches. Many BF researchers take any Native statement about "wild folk" or "devils" to be indicative of the sasquatch, but that is not necessarily so. There is no reason a human could not choose to leave the main tribe and live in a less socialized or wild state.]

SUGAR BOWL, out near Hoopa, the sacred Rain Rock is down there, a nature-calendar. LITTLE PEOPLE? Other reports have stated that there was no Native settlement made permanently down there, despite ideal natural conditions, due to the presence of the Little People. [It was THEIR turf, much like the upper headwaters of Bluff Creek were avoided as the home of the Mountain People or Ape-men.] What are these "Little People"? Some accounts depict them as furry little bigfoots, while others claim they are more like elves, pixies or brownies. We will be investigating this issue, but information is hard to come by, with sources reluctant to speak. Also... Willie Burgers ("boogers")? KAMOSS? Snake-like creature once reported: wider than the road! Also seen in the rivers, sometimes serpentine, other times more like a Loch Ness Monster.

And more news:

RECENT SIGHTING! Another one, the fifth report from that area we've heard in the last couple of years, was seen up on FRIDAY RIDGE ROAD. Local BFRO affiliate James Bobo Fay responded and investigated, driving the road, but no evidence was found. This road runs right back of Bigfoot Books' location, with its terminus at Brush Mountain Lookout (see image, below) being just a mile or so as the bird flies from the cabin of yours truly. See my own report in the begining of the article BIGFOOT IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY, linked to the right of this blog.

ANOTHER REPORT: An customer in the shop, Billy (no last name given), told of being followed by a Bigfoot out near Maple Creek, in the hills past Blue Lake and Korbel. His kids were with him, and they all saw it. At first they thought it was a bear, but then noticed it standing in the shadows, with a clear arm raised up against a tree. It was very tall. It never stepped out into a clearing so that they could see it distinctly from its camouflaged background. They decided to retreat, but periodically heard it behind them, moving stealthfully in the brush and staying behind or beside trees. Looking back, they saw it a few more times. Getting to the cabin it was seen again by the man's girlfriend. They decided to stay put in the cabin rather than pursue it.

AND IN ANOTHER AREA:

Bigfoot Books was blogged again, this time by a customer. She enjoyed getting her "Humboldt County Bookmark," found pressed between the pages of a dictionary, at no extra cost.

Image pilfered from Kristabel's blog, since she pilfered one from mine, that I pilfered (with permission) from Tom Yamarone's blog. Ah, the wonders of blogging!

Check out the CHOCOLATE COVERED XANAX blog article here: http://chocolatecoveredxanax.blogspot.com/2009/06/humboldt-county-bookmark.html

with an UPDATE here:

http://chocolatecoveredxanax.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-crush-562.html

Back to work on deciphering the P-G FILM TIMELINE! Report coming sooner or later. Also, DUANE FLATMO is going to respond to our questions re. bigfoot and his ACE HARDWARE BIGFOOT MURAL. He has nearly finished the final touch-up and detail work. We'll have a full pictorial expose soon.

Black Helicopter on Bluff Creek Bigfoot Film Site! Giant Salamander Found! Huge Rockslide Blocks Road to Louse Camp! And More News...

Over the weekend of June 26-28th "Crazy" Ian and yours truly, the Bigfoot Bookman, traveled up to Bluff Creek to investigate the Patterson-Gimlin bigfoot film timeline and film site. Many strange occurrences were encountered along the way, including the sighting of one of the largest black widow spiders ever seen in Ian's SUV. Unfortunately, those hundreds of cute baby spiders that had hatched from their egg sacks on the way up to camp were suddenly NOT so cute. The truck will have to be fumigated.

After a stop at the desolate Aikins Creek Camp-ground we headed up to Fish Lake for the night. It was crowded, and the only wood knocks and vocalizations heard were from the homo sapiens infesting the place over raucous campfires. The road up was perfect, save for a little dusting from this winter's mudslides. The lake, despite the crowds, was wonderful, half-covered in lily pads, the other half with fishing boats.

[Images, turnoff, 16 mi. up the G-O Road]

Having survived the spiders and humans, we headed down to the Orleans diner, and then up to the film site. Along the well-graded (compared to past years) 12N13, one of our cars (a Volkswagen Golf--NOT recommended!) lost its oil pan. Undaunted, we made our way down the "K-Spur" (count the pull-off spurs from 12N12, three on the right, one on the left, and the "K" is the fourth right, head downhill, not sideways). This rugged, often wretched, road is not to be traversed save in a truck with high clearance, preferably 4WD, and one that you don't mind getting all scratched up. The rockslide and marsh mud at the bottom were easily traversable That said, it was easy! But get the book-bound USFS topo atlas.

BLACK HELI-
COPTERS! Yes, it was just like something from the Art Bell Show, or a paranoid right-wing conspiracy. Immediately upon arriving at the creekside we were buzzed twice by a black, apparently unmarked black helicopter. What strange things could the Men-in-Black be up to on the P-G Film Site??? After observing us it circled back and actually landed on the gravel bar on the west end, more or less where the Patterson film begins. Checking ourselves for anything illegal, we headed down through the bracken forest to the site a few hundred yards to below to the east.

Down there we met several guys who were not space aliens or covert agents, but from National Geographic's TV division. They were filming the site and scanning the topography of the environs to document and confirm the location. Look for their upcoming Bigfoot documentary to contain a first-generation copy of the film scanned at Patty Patterson's home in Yakima, WA. Each frame has been scanned at mega-high resolution, uncropped. They were not exactly sure they had the exact site located, as they had two GPS coordinates. Investigation, though, found pink plastic tape markers pretty much exactly at the start and finish of the film creature's course. They asked what we thought, and seemed well enough convinced of the Titmus-Dahinden-Perez connection for locating the film, not to mention the word of Bobo Fay and other next-generation squatchers. An aside mentioning of M.K. Davis' downstream location theory was not, however, appreciated.

"Crazy" and I recon-
noitered the area, upstream and downstream, and were able to get a good feeling of the possible track course, despite the amazingly thick alders and overgrown understory now covering the once nearly barren sand bar. (Time for another flood?) Problematic, however, is that an unobstructed view of the background trees is not fully possible, and several landslides on the north side have taken out many of the potential identifying older trees.


Having recently been privy to a report of a cryptid (mythical?) GIANT SALAMANDER seen by M.K. Davis while guided by Don Monroe, we tended to have our eyes out for such a thing. This sighting was in a pool in Bluff Creek right around where Notice Creek enters it, near Louse Camp. M.K. said it was around three feet long!



As we proceeded downstream in rubber boots, under and around tremendous knots of wood bracken, roots and trunks, we came to a small shore-side pool where something was seen. Looking closer it was about a foot long. It was a Giant Salamander, for sure. Having once caught a terrestrial Pacific Giant Salamander, I tried to grab this one; but it was amazingly fleet, and swam away rapidly like a fish. We obtained photographs, and noted small gill fans at the sides of its head.

This was an aquatic salamander in a neotenic state. Check this species out on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Giant_Salamander. Our guy appears to have been one of these, a sub-species: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Giant_Salamander.

Or... could it be just an infant state of the REAL BIG ONE that M.K. saw, and that has been told of in legend? Many believe these giant ones DO exist here, much as they do in Asia.
For size reference that is a fairly large alder leaf above, and the creature is several inches deeper down in the water. [Image: "Crazy" Ian]

As the day waned we headed down 12N13 toward Louse Camp for the night. However, about 1/2 a mile up from the camp there is a HUGE LANDSLIDE. So, BE FOREWARNED, take the southern Onion Mountain route to Louse.

Just around the bend from the Notice Creek drainage, this slide has covered the entire road quite deeply, with the massive collapse going all the way up to the top of the ridge, including huge boulders and many trees. Given the current state of government we seriously doubt this damage will be corrected any time soon. It would require the reinforcement of the entire mountainside, not just a plowing--it is that thick. Only an ATV could make it over that hump. If you plan to camp there you will have to walk in--no easy car camping.



IMAGES: by Steve Streufert, June 2009, save where noted. The topo map below is from Ian's cool GPS unit, which got a good signal all along the way.

After a fine night at BEAN'S CAMP, just across from the 12N13/Cedar Camp junction and down the hill a bit, we headed back to get the car towed. Amazingly, there was a cell phone signal up at the top of the film site road! This enabled Buddy's Towing to come all the way up from Willow Creek to tow us out, over sixty miles each way, over dirt, gravel, river, hill and dale. It was a fine trip! But no Bigfoot sightings were made nor evidence found. In a way, we didn't NEED that!

IMAGE: Patty cruising the Film Site, October 20th, 1967. From the publicity photo distributed originally by Roger Patterson with his book, "Abominable Snowmen of America: Do They Exist?"

If you are heading up to Bluff Creek, be sure to check with the Forest Service about road conditions. And ask the guy in the Willow Creek office to sell you a Klamath-Trinity/Six Rivers Forest Atlas, which he normally keeps hidden in his desk. He knows some great Bigfoot sighting stories, too.

Regarding the timeline: There seems to be no way P&G could have taken the rugged Bald Hills Road in the given time frame. We're with Perez on that one. Also, given that road conditions in 1967 were probably not as amenable as today, even the route through Willow Creek is problematic. It is a long drive. It is impossible to determine what their time would have been without knowing the state of the roads, the capabilities of Gimlin's truck, and not even knowing exactly which route they took to get down from the film site. These factors need to be determined. Could the roads have been BETTER in those days? Seems unlikely, save for the road going up to the filmsite from Louse Camp. On top of this, the post offices out here close at 5:00, so there is no way they could have used the Eureka USPS (assuming similar business hours, assuming Al Hodgson is right about the post office, and not the Murray Field airport being the sending site). They could have mailed it in Willow Creek, as some such as Long have suggested, but the mountain mail truck these days leaves here at 3:45. We assume a similar situation back then, but just can't be sure. The distances, too, are just too great, in our humble opinion. You can check this on Google Maps: just enter from "12N13" to Eureka, CA, the rough parameters of the trip. You'll get a result of: "102 mi – about 2 hours 43 mins." Or try this, for 12N12: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=For+Route+12N12,+CA+00049&daddr=Eureka,+CA&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=41.10871,-123.895005&sspn=0.731548,1.487274&ie=UTF8&ll=41.097982,-123.895569&spn=0.731663,1.487274&z=10 .
How DID they do it, and get back shortly after Al Hodgson's 6:00 store closing time? WHY would they even need to fudge the timeline, if they did? There was no real urgency beyond excitement, and nothing (we assume) to hide. So, just as with the exact film site location, the timeline too has large factors of indeterminacy, even at times impossibility. What we are left with is an often conflicting bundle of stories and and later recountings, memories muddled (we all remember and see differently, and don't exactly record everything in daily life accurately for later reference) after 41 and a half years (no, I am not bunking Bob), and each book that comes out only seems to ADD further piles of inaccuracy to them! What do we know for sure, and what are we simply guessing at? Why do so many researchers differ in their conclusions about something so simple as taking a minute of footage and driving it to town? THIS needs to be analyzed. Without a clear timeline there will only be further compounding of errors, and this leaves room for debunkers to step in and call the whole damn thing a hoax. Where there are gaps in the information there is room for conspiracy theory, or dismissal.

Want to learn more about the Patterson-Gimlin bigfoot film? Visit this great site for an historical survey: http://pattersonfilm.com/. See the awesome M.K. Davis b&w stabilized version of the film on this link: http://www.bigfootencounters.com/files/mk_davis_pgf.gif.