Early Bigfooter ED PATRICK: A New Account Surfaces; plus, 2003 Willow Creek INTERNATIONAL BIGFOOT SYMPOSIUM Photos

Ed Patrick, fourth from top left, at the 2003 Willow Creek
INTERNATIONAL BIGFOOT SYMPOSIUM, with other notables.
Photo by Steven Streufert, copyright 2003.

BIGFOOT'S BLOG
Early August 2011 Edition.

This long-awaited (we hope), long-delayed blog entry features a new, unpublished account of one of the notable figures of early Bigfooting, Mr. Ed Patrick. Patrick's name came up in a conversation having nothing to do with Bigfoot that we were having with one of our regular customers at Bigfoot Books, Dave Short. You mean THE Ed Patrick???, we asked him.  Dave had been coming in the shop for years, and somehow this issue so primary to the history of Bigfoot in this area NEVER came up! As is so often the case in Willow Creek, all roads lead back to Bluff Creek. Dave knew Ed Patrick as a family friend and neighbor for years. In his two-page story below you may read again of the nature of the Bigfoot events and evidence that came out of the late 1950s and were fundamental in the creation of "Bigfoot" as a publicly known phenomenon and household name.

FIRST SOME NEWS: 

Recently we were interviewed by a reporter from the L.A. TIMES, MICHELLE BIGLEY. Unfortunately, the paragraph dealing with us was cut by the editors from the article. Here is that missing part:

"But if you are really in the market to get schooled, pop into Bigfoot Books. Owner Steven Streufert is an avid Bigfoot scholar. His shop is piled high with new and used titles, with a healthy collection of Bigfoot memorabilia. Streufert knows everything about both the mythology and reality of a species of man-ape living in the uninhabited forests above his house and can sell you a map of Bigfoot sightings."

Here is the full article:
Bigfoot Was Here—Maybe: Learning All about Sasquatch in Northern California from Some True Believers.

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DANIEL PEREZ, who kindly provided two of the Ed Patrick photos below, would like to announce to his subscribers that the July 2011 issue of his BIGFOOT TIMES was mailed out yesterday. He apologizes for the delay, but you know, these things happen sometimes with such a monumental one-man show.

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Official date for  FINDING BIGFOOT  filming in Willow Creek! 

Having spoken at length with producers for Ping Pong Productions, who are filming the hit TV show FINDING BIGFOOT for Animal Planet, we may say that we're in for a "town hall meeting" at the Willow Creek VFW (Vets') Hall, in Veterans' Park down by Camp Kimtu. The public event invites all Bigfoot witnesses or the generally curious on AUGUST 10TH, 2011 at 6:00. This is the current word, though we suppose the event time and date are subject to change. Contact this blog for details if traveling. The whole cast and crew will be there, along with notable historical figures such as Al Hodgson. There will be further filming in the local area, but we can't disclose those details yet

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ED PATRICK, EARLY BIGFOOTER

The PACIFIC NORTHWEST EXPEDITION at Bluff Creek in an early photo,
Nov.1959. Ed Patrick is to left, next to Tom Slick and Rene Dahinden. Bob Titmus
is in the foreground. Photo by John Green. Assumed to be at Louse Camp.

Briefly, Ed Patrick was one of the vital links in the chain of early Bigfooting. He may have been the main connection between Jerry Crew, the catskinner road contracter cutting logging tracks in 1958 up in Bluff Creek, and Bob Titmus, the taxidermist and hunting guide who taught Crew about using plaster to cast some of the many Bigfoot tracks found during that time. Of course, it all went down in the history of Bigfooting, as Crew's cast appeared in the Humboldt Times as the cover story that early October. Ed was subsequently one of the few first members of the PACIFIC NORTHWEST EXPEDITION, organized by Tom Slick, entrepreneur, innovator airman and oil magnate. Along for the ride, at least for the first nine days was Rene Dahinden. John Green left the project shortly thereafter due to personal conflicts and arguments about such subjects as Titmus hanging up used tampons that he'd fished out of service station rest rooms in trees around the area of Louse Camp. However, Ed Patrick remained steadfastly on duty up in Bluff Creek even after Bob Titmus had to return to his taxidermy business in Anderson, near Redding, CA, and Peter Byrne arrived from the Himalayas to take over the operation. Patrick was a local of Redding but also of Hoopa and Willow Creek, in the heart of the Northern Californian classic Bigfoot Country.

It can't really be said any better, so read more about Ed Patrick in this excellent obituary written by Loren Coleman on CRYPTOMUNDO:

http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/patrick-obit/. Read on below for Dave Short's account of knowing Mr. Patrick.

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Ed Patrick at the INTERNATIONAL BIGFOOT
SYMPOSIUM, 2003, Willow Creek.
Photos above and below courtesy of and copyright
by DANIEL PEREZ,  used with permission.

Dave Short's Ed Patrick Story

I got to be friends with Ed Patrick (who went by "Patrick") back in about 1977 when I lived in a trailer at Gambi's. * He was across the driveway and he and my daughter, who was about 3 at the time, were friends.  He used to carry her around standing on his back pockets and they both enjoyed it.  He was a grandfather figure for her when she didn't have any.  She called him "Pocket"...


He lived in a nice old airstream trailer and drove truck when he had work around the N. Coast.  Mostly logs I think but chips too I'm pretty sure.  He was probably 55/60 at the time.  So he'd be about 90+ now.


He kept in touch with us and sent care packages for us on Christmas with nuts and Oranges and such.  He was always a friendly, jolly sort but was very hip about the whole government thing ** even back then.


I got to spend time with him when he and I volunteered to try and kill a bear that was pestering an old woman (Ruby Harrell) up on Friday Ridge.  We spent a couple weekends hunting up there and never saw the bear, but did get a chance to talk quite a bit and travel around together.  So naturally Bigfoot was a regular topic, because I've always been interested in that subject since I was young and traveling through Humboldt frequently in summer.

Ed Patrick during lunch at the SYMPOSIUM with John Green.
Daniel Perez photo. Go to bigfoottimes.net for more.

Ed told me the following to the best of my recollection:

I'm pretty sure that he said that he was up on a muddy logging road near a fresh logging show up above Bluff Creek and on the first night they were there, they were frightened by lots of
noise coming from up near the yarder that night, and spent a sleepless night the first night.  He said the next morning, there were fresh Bigfoot tracks all around where they were parked in the mud (which spooked the men), and they went up to the landing where the noise came from and found more tracks, [and] a yarder that had (heavy duty steel) control arms bent over as if it was done by someone incredibly strong, and some full 55 gallon drums flung down the hill.


He said that he was hired on an expedition to track Bigfoot in the most remote country imaginable in winter. *** He was hunting a lot up "Happy Camp Mountain". 


The guy running the show **** had 500,000 bucks and was hiring locals with 4WD vehicles (Ed had a Jeep) to chain up and drive as far up mountain roads as they could get in fresh, trackless snow.  They'd drive until they got stuck in 4WD with chains, then they'd get out and snowshoe all over the mountains looking for sign.

Jerry Crew with footprint from
Bluff Creek in the 1958 article
that gave "Bigfoot" a household
name and birthed Bigfooting as
 a culture in North America.

He said he worked one winter, daily driving around like this and snowshoeing and he'd seen "Lots" of tracks.  He said that many times. He said they also found scat and hair that was analyzed that came back "Unknowns".


At some point later, I asked him how many tracks he thought he'd actually seen in this time and he sort of shrugged and said, "I don't know, lots."  So I asked him to put a number on it.  He thought about it for a little bit and said with a shrug,  "I don't know,  500?"


Keep in mind, many of these tracks were found in fresh snow, with zero human sign,  way up on snowed-in mountain summits in the dead of winter.


It's not like someone could wait up there for a fresh snow, then lay down tracks with fake feet with long strides over hill and dale, sometimes for miles in rough terrain.  That would be impossible and what would be the point?   In the off chance that it would be the place people would look that day?  Without leaving any human sign?


Ed's story never wavered or changed in any way as long as I knew him (20 years or so).  He was very matter of fact about it, like it was no big deal, just a fact.  During those 20 years, I never knew him to bullshit me, exaggerate or tell tales.  He was a down to earth old hunter guy.

John Green's Book.

At some point in the 80s or early 90s,  I considered writing a children’s book about a baby Bigfoot narrated by a grandfatherly person to kids, and I got all the books on the subject I could find from the Willow Creek Library.  One of the books was a small yellow one with less than 100 pages or so in it *****, and sure enough Ed Patrick's name was in the book. The things he told me were consistent with what I read in the book.


The last time Ed and I visited was during (I think the first) International Bigfoot symposium in Willow Creek at the Library ******.   Ed had been invited, to attend and offer information.  He stopped and visited with me and the kids that morning and stayed overnight in his van in my yard.

The Jerry Crew Bluff Creek print cast, vs. a pathetic
wood stomper made by hoaxer Ray Wallace.

Ed was a great guy and I have no reason to believe that he lied to me in any way.  The things he said checked out in the book I mentioned.


That's about all I can say on the subject.


Dave Short
July 28, 2011
Willow Creek

Notes:
* Gambi's Cabins, just west of Bigfoot Books, Highway 299, Willow Creek

** The "whole government thing" refers to corruption, the screwing-over of the People, etc.

*** The November 1959-1962 Pacific Northwest Expedition, in the Bluff Creek area.

**** Tom Slick, of San Antonio, Texas.

***** ON THE TRACK OF THE SASQUATCH, by John Green, 1968.

****** In 2003, Willow Creek, CA.

Brief follow-up:


BIGFOOT BOOKS: Dave, this is totally AWESOME.
I will read it up in Bluff Creek this weekend, at the BFRO expedition presentation I am doing.
Can you put any dates on when these things happened?
I know that the PNW Expedition ran from later 1959 until mid 1962.
http://www.squatchopedia.com/index.php/Pacific_Northwest_Bigfoot_Expedition
Didn't you see my links earlier? Ed passed away a while back:
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/patrick-obit/
Any further details or Bigfoot stories would be great for my blog.
Can I use your name on there?
Also, a brief explanation of the "government thing" he knew about that you mentioned would help.
Best, Steve

Dave Short: AWESOME.  GLAD YOU LIKED IT.
IT'S THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION.
Dates... NO AFRAID NOT, I DON'T THINK HE SAID AND I'M BAD WITH DATES.
Ed passing away... AW SHIT. NO I DIDN'T SEE THAT, BUT HE WAS GETTING OLD FOR SURE.
Further details... THAT'S ABOUT IT FOR NOW.
Re. "government thing"... JUST HOW THE GOVERNMENT WAS SCREWING US ALL OVER IN GENERAL.   IT'S THE ONE THING I EVER SAW HIM GET WORKED UP ABOUT.  TAXES, COPS, THE FOREST SERVICE.   IN GENERAL.
OK MAN. HAVE A GOOD EXPEDITION.
PEACE
D.

Bluff Creek forestry and road contractor,
Jay Rowland, Willow Creek, 2010.
Photo by Steven Streufert.

BIGFOOT BOOKS: The stories of Ed's experience correspond greatly with what my neighbor down the hill, Jay Rowland, says. He's in his 80s now, and worked in Bluff Creek from the very late 1950s up into the late 1970s. He would often live up there in a tent or trailer right at Louse Camp, superintending the work site base camp and equipment while other workers went home for the night. He tells of many footprints found when he knew darn well that he was the only other human up in the Bluff Creek basin. One time he was snowed in, and relief workers could not gain access to him due to road blockages. As he was trying to get down to them as they tried to get up to him, Rowland found many a large humanoid track freshly made in the newly-fallen snowdrifts. He also found fresh tracks down on the creek sandbars under similar circumstances, when no one else was around.

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ED PATRICK entry from SQUATCHOPEDIA:

"One of the founding fathers in Bigfootry, Ed Patrick formally of Redding and Hoopa, California, passed away on June 19, 2009. A key but often forgotten figure in the early history and beginnings of Bigfoot/Sasquatch investigations, Edward Richard Patrick died in Wonewoc, Wisconsin at the age of 83, after a lengthy illness.

Patrick’s Bigfoot activities were not widely known to the public because he never sought a podium and was overshadowed by his more famous buddy of the time, Bob Titmus. But Patrick was there in the initial days and assisted in contributing to the collection of more solid evidence for the existence of the creature than had previously occurred.

Ed Patrick shared in a pivotal role in the first public debut of “Bigfoot” in California in October, 1958. At the time of sightings and finds of large footprints by a road crew of a large hairy hominid along Bluff Creek, Patrick’s friend, Bob Titmus, owner of a taxidermy shop in nearby Redding, became interested in the incidents. It would be Titmus who supplied another old friend, construction worker Jerry Crew with the plaster-of-Paris and the instructions for using it that enabled Crew to make his famous cast of one of the 16-inch prints being found on the newly built dirt road above Bluff Creek, in the northwest corner of the state.

Front page, Humboldt Times.

Ed Patrick became one of the most trustworthy and steady members of a small group of early Bigfooters involved in the Tom Slick-sponsored “Pacific Northwest Expedition,” formed in 1959. John Green would write years later that it would be Patrick that stayed out in the field the most, for others, such as René Dahinden grew disgusted with the personal infighting and went back to Canada, while Titmus had to go home to run his business.

Born December 18, 1925, in Summit Township, Wisconsin, Edward Patrick served in the US Army in WWII in the 232nd Infantry in Germany. He has been laid to rest in Potter Cemetery in Juneau County, Wisconsin.

Even in his official funeral announcement, his family reported that one of Edward Patrick’s 'greatest passions was [his] many years of searching for Bigfoot.' "

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PHOTOS from the 2003 Willow Creek INTERNATIONAL BIGFOOT SYMPOSIUM,
taken by Steven Streufert.

This was our first Bigfoot conference, in our own home town, too (we walked to the venue), and what notable characters were there! It was a truly historic event. Afterwards there was a convoy trip up to the PGF site location, where history was "unmade" when no one could really agree WHERE the film site was exactly located. Confusion ensued, with many differing opinions. It was this situation that eventually led to our own BLUFF CREEK FILM SITE PROJECT, 2007-2011.

The 2003 Willow Creek International Bigfoot Symposium podium.

Sign for at Trinity Valley Elementary School with
International Bigfoot Symposium announcement.

One of the organizers, whose name we've forgotten (he assisted
Al Hodgson), announces the historical notables discussion. John Green,
Jim McClarin, two area locals, Bob Gimlin and Hodgson, from left.

Group photo with speakers. Names given at bottom of photo section.

Mr. Robert Gimlin tells his story publicly for the first time in a long time.
It was a great honor to meet him in person here for the first time.

Dr. Henner Fahrenbach gives his presentation on Sasquatch hair samples.

The rather huge Bigfoot statue brought into the
Trinity Valley Elementary School gymnasium for
the International Bigfoot Symposium.

Steven Streufert, with his favorite ladies, wearing Church of Bigfoot t-shirt.

Jay Herzog, Bigfoot Journalist, co-founder of
The Church of Bigfoot, Scientist

Press pass that got ZogBoy in for free.

Another view of the 2003 speaker/notables panel, photographer unknown.
Top: Henner Fahrenbach, Kathy Moscowitz-Strain, Edward Patrick, Jimmy
Chilcutt, Rick Noll, Bob Gimlin, John Green (behind Gimlin), Alton Higgins,
Thomas Steenburg, Al Hodgson. Bottom: Jeff Meldrum, Jim McClarin, John
Bindernagel, and Dimitri Bayanov.

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More from Michelle Bigley and Me:

Bigfoot Sightings

A collection of stories as told to the owner of Bigfoot Books, Steven Streufert, a local Bigfoot scholar. Streufert has chosen to keep his sources anonymous for the most part.

A sane and sober father of two is out fishing at a local lake when he looks up to see an upright ape-like creature stalking the opposite shore. A family is driving home up Hwy. 96 when a large, hairy biped stands up along the side of the road and paces down into the forest. Another fellow sees one outside the Hupa-area dump. While out camping in the Trinity Alps area a fellow’s tent is pelted periodically for hours with small rocks hailing down from the forested hillside, and strange wood knocks ring out in the night. Unknown chatter and howls are heard off in the dark mountain distance.

A local business owner’s father had the following experience. Early in the morning, arriving to open his shop, the life-long Willow Creeker heard something he had never heard in all his years out in the woods and hills. A loud howling, beastly yell, clearly not human but from no known animal, echoing off the canyon walls up from the river across Hwy. 299. This was strange, but he had a business to run. A short time later a government worker, either Forest Service or Fish and Game, came into his shop with an air of panic and wild-eyed excitement. Camping down on that same area of the river bar he had been awakened by the same ominous howl. Looking out his tent flap he saw a big hairy “creature,” walking along the bank. Walking? Yes, upright, walking, bigger than a man, and taller, at about seven feet. This was NO bear!

One customer told me that he had seen a family of Bigfoot (two large males, a female, and a juvenile) when he was a child back in the 1950s, at a Willow Creek area rural country dance. The several other kids at the dance, playing on the perimeter of the property, saw them, too. The creatures watched from the edge of the forest for a while, with obvious interest in what the playing human kids were doing. Nothing else happened. They just retreated slowly back into the woods. This fellow, a former logger seemed an utterly sensible and down to earth chap. It took much coaxing to get him to tell his story.

Quite more frequently someone tells of having seen a Bigfoot in their yard, perhaps eating from the blackberry bushes, seeing one crossing the road or a creek, or digging in a trash can. A woman working one of the forest fire lookout stations in the area is said to have seen a big hairy biped moving through some underbrush off Friday Ridge Road. This was after some footprints and a peculiar semi-woven nest made of bay tree leaves was found in the area. Sean Fries, and investigator out of Weaverville, was with his girlfriend up on Aikins Creek when they heard a noise in the brush. Not seeing anything, she took a photo, and upon getting the image on their laptop they noticed a strange brown form behind some trees. When enhanced digitally this form showed features that looked surprisingly like the head and upper torso of a humanoid creature. They returned to the spot and found that, when viewed from the same location and angle, the brown form was no longer there.

For more helpful (and intriguing) Bigfoot information, visit http://bigfootbooksblog.blogspot.com. 

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Finally, here are two sections from the interesting skeptical history, BIGFOOT: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A LEGEND, by Joshua Blu Buhs, which mention Ed Patrick and the Pacific Northwest Expedition. Click image of text to enlarge and read.

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ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS!

You think YOU got problem with gossip and stalk, hu-man? ME got REAL problem. Every day Bigfoot Hunter out in woods, look for me. It start funny. Now it really annoy. How many fake wood knock and scream me make before you give up? Me leave big turd in trail and push down tree, they still not catch me, even smell of me. Before it make me cry laugh so hard, but now it just make me want puke in tent when they not there at Bluff Creek. Bigfoot hunter just stalker to me, hu-man. Some blow hard idiot even make death threat. Me tear in half and eat liver, fool naked ape.

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This blog is copyright and all that jazz, save for occasional small elements borrowed for "research" and information or satirical purposes only, 2011, Bigfoot Books and Steven Streufert. Borrowings for non-commercial purposes will be tolerated without the revenge of Angry Bigfoot, if notification, credit, citation and a kindly web-link are given, preferably after contacting us and saying, Hello, like a normal person would before taking a cup of salt. No serious rip-offs of our material for vulgar commercial gain will be tolerated without major BF stomping action coming down on you, hu-man.

BLUFF CREEK STATUS REPORT for June, Part One; Guest Blogger Travis McHenry; The Foibles of FindBigfoot-Facebook in Bluff Creek

The G-O Road, near the turn-off to 12N12,
the way to the PGF site and Bluff Creek.
Photo by Robert Leiterman.

BIGFOOT'S BLOG, LATE JUNE 2011 EDITION:

BLUFF CREEK FILM SITE PROJECT STATUS REPORT

WITH GUEST BLOGGER TRAVIS McHENRY, and PHOTOGRAPHS IN PART FROM ROBERT LEITERMAN.

Finally! We have time to blog! Y'all might check out our BIGFOOT BOOKS YOUTUBE page, where we've been wasting a lot of our blogging time (youtube.com/user/bigfootbooks).
You'll find some cool things on there, like our Al Hodgson Interview, Rip Lyttle's 1990s Bigfoot Class, Talks from the recent Oregon Sasquatch Symposium, a walking tour through Bigfooty aspects of downtown Willow Creek, and much, much more. Check there under "Uploads" and "See All." View our entire Bluff Creek video series (45 in all so far) under "Favorites."

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This is Part One of our initial attempts to get in to the Bluff Creek basin and continue our BLUFF CREEK FILM SITE PROJECT research from the work of last year. This entry covers our trip in very late May, and an update from a new friend, Travis McHenry, who found conditions up there quite similar to what we found (though he also found a possible Bigfoot track impression at Aikens Creek). In an upcoming entry we'll cover our late June successful trip, wherein we found the snow had finally melted from off the roadbed on the passes, leaving just the maze of boulders and downed trees obstructing our way in there. On June 27th we finally made it again to the PGF site and Louse Camp. For now, here are the tales of our earlier attempts.

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As Spring played coy and elusive here in Northern California, complete with full-on changes back into wintry weather, the snow pack remained stubbornly on the upper reaches of the Bluff Creek basin and its surrounding ridges. The Bluff Creek Film Site Project has been spinning its wheels, literally, in mud and snow, antsy to get back down in there, where the Patterson-Gimlin Film of Bigfoot was shot, so that we might finally continue our research. THE CURSE OF BLUFF CREEK, however, had other ideas for us. 

Bigfoot Weeps at the Folly.

Personally, yours truly has now made four trips up there in the last couple of months (as of early June), only to find snow on the G-O Road, first at three miles, then ten miles, then thirteen, and finally fifteen miles up. It is seventeen miles to the junction with Cedar Camp Road (FR 12N12), which leads down to the "Sasquatch Road" (12N13), which takes one down to the two routes where the PGF site may be accessed. Given the wet, muddy and snowy conditions, however, the upper gate to the road leading down toward Louse Camp, as well as the lower gate to the south end of the Bluff Creek Road, remained closed for some time.

This gate closure on the lower road at Hwy. 96 did not stop the guys from FINDBIGFOOT-FACEBOOK, however. On our last trip up there with the full Bluff Creek Film Site Project crew we saw those guys parked at the bottom of the Fish Lake Road in this vehicle that looked much larger than a Greyhound bus. They managed to get the gate opened by a ranger, and quite foolishly drove their gigantic RV monstrosity up the untried and winter-altered roads.

Daniel Perez, 2007 Conference,
Willow Creek. Photo S. Streufert

Long-time Bigfooters will recall that it was just such an error that nearly brought researcher Daniel Perez to a fiery demise. Perez' motor home rolled into a rigid road rut, and was grooved right along to the edge and hurtled down the embankment on a ridge on the now-closed 12N10. The RV caught fire before Perez could rescue either his research materials, computer, or some warm clothes. He had to huddle by the mini-forest fire for warmth all night in shorts and a t-shirt, moving along as the fire progressed.

You'd think FBF-FBK would have learned and "confirmed" on stupid before making the decision to attempt this trip. Factual errors abounded on this trip for them, too, including that they thought they were a mere few miles from the film site when they were about 20 miles away. They went up the southern end Bluff Creek Road and, it would seem, they stopped at the first closed gate some mere 10 miles in, and camped by the roadside. They also made a claim that no one can really get into the PGF site but for two months a year, though it can be accessed normal years from June to October. They also assumed that no one could have carried an ape suit in there to hoax a film, but it is well known that Patterson and Gimlin got in there with loaded packs and a packhorse (though not, we think, an ape suit). Oh well Bigfoot-Facebook, try again.

The 12N10 just up from Louse Camp, 2010. Closed shortly after the Perez
RV accident, this Bluff Creek road now bears this "official" memorial sign.

Proving again that if one is determined, and psychologically-prepped, to see Bigfoot everywhere, FBF-FBK, in the process of trying to make a DVD film with an Australian production crew indeed "confirmed" that even bears and hippie fire rings can be Bigfoot-related. Assisted by the, um, "imaginative" Bigfooter, Freeman Young, from the north Bay Area, they indeed found a "ceremonial center" or "meeting place" of Bigfoot, along with "concentric stick structures." As evidenced by their postings, as well as the blog of one of their filmmaking collaborators, they mistook what were obvious human-constructed remains along the side of the road for some kind of mystical Bigfoot artifact. While driving up there they thought they saw a grizzly bear, even though those have been extinct in the state of California for nearly a century now. While eating spicy microwaved chicken wings in their RV they felt something scratching on the door and even shaking the vehicle. The assumption, of course, was that it was Bigfoot; but couldn't any one of them have thought that it might be that very same hungry black bear that they saw earlier? Or, maybe, they could have opened the door to say "Hi" to Bigfoot? Well, we'll have to wait until their DVD (or not) for the, um, ah, let us say, "startling," evidence.

Twin Lakes in a tranquil moment.
Captured by Robert Leiterman.

While we were up there at the same time we did not see a single sign of anything remotely Bigfoot-related. Despite, or rather, we should say, because of having a forest ranger, a graduated M.S.-holding zoologist (specializing in avian biology), a science teacher, and yours truly (whatever "I" am), we simply found the usual signs of nature and its animals in action. Yes, stick breaks and "formations" do occur due to winter weather's actions upon trees. Yes, bears can and do make footprints that look "human," and large ones at that. Yes, owls can and do sound a bit like crazed apes in the night when they are having territorial battles. This latter we experienced while camping in the freezing cold up at Twin Lakes, just a few air miles away from the FBF-FBK crew. The war between a spotted and a barred owl for the prime lakeside turf started out owl-like enough at first, but by the second hour it really had escalated to the point where the untrained ear entering at that point might have heard crazed apes (Sasquatch) quarreling out in the woods. We, though, simply KNEW they were owls. It was undeniable. But with Squatch on the Brain, we suppose, anything is possible. Sigh.

See the bottom of this blog entry for more details on how skewed and bizarre the Bluff Creek "findings" of these blobsquatchers.

Here, then, are some photos from that trip. Stay tuned, below, for Travis' exciting trip and possible footprint find.

Twin Lakes, where the owls sound like wild ape-men.
Photo by Steven Streufert

Bigfoot Creek, as seen from across the ridge above Twin Lakes near Cedar Camp.
Photo by Steven Streufert

The Squatchy woods on the shores of Twin Lakes, near where a bear
stalked up on us last year, and looked for all get-out like a Squatch in the
night vision monocular. Photo by S. Streufert.

Dead End on the G-O Road, at mile marker 15. Getting 4WD squirelly.
Photo by Steven Streufert

Robert Leiterman proceeds toward the PGF site, on snowshoes...
Intrepid adventurer, the rest of us heading to the warmer Klamath side.
Photo by Steven Streufert.

The Bluff Creek Film Site Project members, acting cool despite the humiliating
agony of defeat by snow, and the goofy camouflage garb.
Photo by N.M..

Looking east at about 4,000 feet, toward the Trinity Alps and the Marble
Mountain Wilderness. Eye level to snowline. Photo by S. Streufert.

Textured topo map showing Bluff Creek and the PGF site.
Photo by Steven Streufert  Big, convoluted hills!

After the Twin Lakes frozen night, which included some fun night-vision squatching night walks, the icicles awoke and headed up toward Cedar Camp. There was a large snow bank blocking the road just a few miles up from the lakes. We had to turn back and head north to try the G-O Road. This, too, proved futile; but a brave Ranger Robert Leiterman continued on using snow shoes. He found many bear tracks, and made it up to the ridge above the Bluff Creek basin. Here are a few of his pictures.

Robert with the G-O Road "official" Bigfoot Lives sign.

Late May to early June snow on the upper Bluff Creek ridge.

The view down into the Bluff Creek basin to the west from 12N12.
The PGF site is down in the far gulch past the clear cut in the left distance.

Photos above courtesy of Robert Leiterman.
Here he is seen at the ridge above the Bluff Creek headwaters, on 12N12.

Daunted by the snow, and tired of being frozen the members of the Project not inclined, like Robert Leiterman, to snowshoe it in to the FR 12N12 junction, where one may view down into the Bluff Creek headwaters, headed down to the lower end of Bluff Creek. There we investigated the old BLUFF CREEK ROAD. This is the decommissioned lower end of the road that Jerry Crew built. It is also most likely the road that Patterson and Gimlin used to get in to the upper Bluff Creek basin where they captured their famous film in 1967. More on this in our next blog post. This section of the road may be accessed easily right off the end of the defunct campground at the southern side of the bridge... just hop the berm at the end and head uphill. For now, here are a few photos of that...

The decommissioned old Bluff Creek Road, down near the Klamath bridge.
This is the road Jerry Crew built. Photos below by Steven Streufert

Heading up the old Bluff Creek Road. Hot summer weather down here.

Bluff Creek cuts deep in the gorge above the Klamath, carved out in
great part by the 1964 flood, which destroyed the original bridge.
Photo by Steven Streufert

Highway 96 seen from high above on the old Bluff Creek Road.
Photo by Steven Streufert

The Bluff Creek Bridge at the Klamath, seen from above.
Photo by Steven Streufert

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GUEST BLOGGER: Author, Thespian and Paranormalist, TRAVIS MCHENRY.
(Go to www.travismchenry.com to see his vast body of works and activities, as well as his Biography.)

The following is Travis' account of his travels to Willow Creek and his attempt to access the Bluff Creek PGF site. In the midst of his travels and travails he had time to visit yours truly at Bigfoot Books. He also found a couple of possible Bigfoot tracks. Read onward...

Travis McHenry with Steven Streufert at Bigfoot Books.
Photos below courtesy of Travis and Cathryn McHenry.

When I was planning my summer vacation six months ago in January, I had spent most of my winter break from college watching the last three seasons of X-Files on Netflix; and since I had already visited Area 51 and Roswell, I decided it was high time I made the trek eleven hours north to the Mecca of Sasquatchery: The Bluff Creek Film Site.  Bigfoot aside, my wife Cathryn was eager for the opportunity to escape work and go camping for a few days, so we chose the first week in June as the date of our launch into the fabled land of Patterson and Gimlin.

Travis poses with the Early Bird Restaurant Bigfoot mural.

On May 30^th, we had a long drive from visiting a friend in Carson City, Nevada, so our first night was spent camping at the Junction City campground about an hour east of Willow Creek.  It was close enough to Bigfoot Country for my taste, and practically deserted, so we had the place to ourselves.  Junction City campground is quiet, woodsy, and primitive—the perfect location for an encounter with mysterious wilderness beasts.  Unfortunately, it’s also overrun with poison-oak, so if you end up staying there, be careful and keep your legs covered!

McHenry chows on a Bigfoot Burger in its foot-shaped bun.

Halfway through the night, the rain that would plague the remainder of our expedition began falling hard against our tent, providing us with a noisy wake-up call.  I was so tired from driving the previous day that I slept much longer than I anticipated and we didn’t break camp until around noon, when we drove onward to the humble hamlet of Willow Creek.  Taking a tip from fellow Bigfooter Eric Altman of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, we decided to make Bigfoot Books our first stop in anticipation of getting some useful information and friendly conversation from the owner (and publisher of this blog) Steven Streufert.

A large house-like building full of books to the rafters.

Bigfoot Books is what I imagine the houses of great writers looking like: stacks and stacks of all kinds of books everywhere, and hidden among all those stacks sits the lone author behind his computer monitor, hard at work pursing his passion.  Steve provided everything an aspiring adventurer would need to get to the Patterson Film Site, and more!  He’s a veritable treasure trove of Bigfoot lore, and he knows the local mountain backroads better than Patty herself.  If you’re making a trip to the Willow Creek area, I highly suggest dropping by to say “hi” before heading out into the forest!

The shot-up Bluff Creek sign at the confluence with the Klamath River.

On Steve’s advice we decided to travel up a little-used mountain road that wouldn’t get us close to the Film Site, but promised to have great views and a secluded spot to camp in an area with relatively recent Bigfoot activity.  I should note that we were driving my wife’s 2008 Kia Rondo—not exactly a 4x4, and although the ol’ girl performed admirably throughout the tip, our ability to traverse the rough roads was somewhat limited, and we ended up doing quite a bit of hiking (which was part of the fun!).

An enchanted drive up Slate Creek Road.

We traveled on the unnamed mountain road [Slate Creek Road--it has a new sign] until the pavement ran out at around the 10 mile mark, when we decided to turn around and park the car so we could investigate on foot for a while.  At that elevation, there was quite a bit of snow on the ground, but this particular road only had one small patch of very thick and icy snow near where we parked.  Near the fork in the road, I spotted what looked like tracks in the snow about a hundred feet from the edge of the road; so I stumbled down an icy embankment into the snowy forest to investigate, but it turned out to be nothing more than some clumps of snow that had fallen off the trees and created four foot-shaped holes that looked larger than they were from the road.

Cryptosnowzoologist?

Back in the Kia, I stupidly tried to power through the patch of snow on the road instead of just driving through the existing wheel ruts.  The car made it about five feet before becoming completely stuck.  For the next fifteen minutes, I dug us out with an old army shovel while Cathryn took pictures from the comfort of the car.  Ugh, I needed the exercise anyway.

A typical Bluff Creek moment--digging out the car from the snow.

At the 8 mile mark, we found a place to pull off the road and continued on foot for half a mile down a rocky, mudbog infested road to the beautiful, scenic campsite Steven had told us about.  When we got there, however, we surprisingly found it already occupied by someone with a huge truck.  Undeterred, we explored the surrounding area until it started getting dark and then headed back to the Kia where we decided to set up an improvised camp right there in the pull-off.  This ended up being a colossal mistake that led to a fantastic payoff.

Camp McHenry, high up on the Mountain.

Camp McHenry (as we christened our makeshift car-camp) was fun at first, but as the sun descended further and further below the mountain, the temperature followed suit.  By eleven thirty, it was truly frigid, and despite utilizing three sleeping bags, a heavy quilt, four layers of clothing, and being inside of the car, it was still way too cold for us to be remotely comfortable.  We spent some time debating the merits of staying on the mountain for the rest of the night and decided the ability to use our toes as ice cubes didn’t sound like much fun; so we crawled for eight miles in the dark back down the twisty-turny road and pulled into the first campground we came across—which happened to be Aikens Creek.

Aikens Creek Campground, main area.

Aikens Creek campground is nestled snugly between Highway 96 and the Klamath River.  There was only one tent there when we arrived sometime after midnight, so we chose a campsite at the far end of the camp in a grove of trees close to the creek.  The temperature at the campground was incredibly mild compared to the subarctic cold we had experienced on the mountain.  Too tired to set up the tent, we both fell asleep in our seats with only a single sleeping bag used as a blanket and no extra layers of garments.

Abandoned area at Aiken's Creek Campground, one view.

Abandoned area at Aiken's Creek Campground, another view

The hidden blessing of coming off the mountain was that we discovered Aikens Creek campground.  In the morning, I woke up before Cathryn and did some exploring on my own.  The creek itself is very clear and shallow and would be perfect for wading during a hot summer afternoon.  Near our campsite there was a gate with a Road Closed sign barricaded by an unmovable pile of rocks.  Not one to be deterred, I jumped the gate, climbed the rock pile, and found myself wandering through an old area of the camp that had been completely deserted and overgrown.

"Area at Aiken's Creek where I found a possible track."

I love discovering hidden areas like this; I always call them “The Lost World” because I feel like I’m the first person venturing through in a thousand years.  I wasn’t, of course.  There were about twenty or so overgrown, moss-covered campsites and two very scary looking bathhouses that could’ve easily harbored a hockey mask wearing killer.  At the end of the paved path through the abandoned campground, there was a steep rocky cliff that overlooked the Klamath River.  As I stood admiring the view and enjoying the peaceful morning sunlight, I noticed a familiar depression on the soft ground a few feet from where I was standing.

Bigfoot track???

There was a nearly perfect “footprint” about 18-inches long about two inches into the dirt.  There were a lot of pine needles on the ground, so the track didn’t have many discernable features, but I could make out what looked like impressions of individual toes.  I eventually came back to the spot with Cathryn, and we took a bunch of pictures using a tube of chapstick for scale, but there wasn’t much contrast with the surrounding ground because of all the pine needles, so the pictures didn’t come out as clearly as I would have liked.  There was a second “track” about six feet away going in the direction of the river, but that one wasn’t very clear.

"Checking out the possible Bigfoot track."

Once we were finished examining our find, we grabbed a can of fruit and some Pop-tarts from the car and made our way down to the rocky shore of the Klamath River via the access road running through the main campground.  We enjoyed a serene breakfast while sitting on some large boulders in the field of rocks along the river and imagined that Bigfoot was watching us from high above in the surrounding cliffs.

On the Klamath River

The Klamath River near Aiken's Creek

Back in Willow Creek, we tried to check out the Willow Creek-China Flat Bigfoot Museum, but there were so many people it was difficult to wander around without feeling like we were in their way.  As it turns out, a production company from Los Angeles was filming a movie called “The Lost Coast Tapes” about an old codger who kills a Bigfoot and is trying to sell the body, but the whole thing turns out to be a hoax (sound familiar?).  A member of the crew asked Cathryn and I if we wanted to be extras and make $60 each for one hour of work.  Unbeknownst to them, I’m actually a professional actor from Los Angeles!  Of course, we said “yes,” and were given roles as reporters at a press conference for the unveiling of the Bigfoot body.

Willow Creek-China Flat Museum, with Bigfoot Collection wing.

When the hoaxer failed to deliver the promised corpse, I shouted: “Where’s the body?  Show us the body!” over and over in a tribute to “Where’s the beef” and “Show me the money.”  The production company also interviewed me on camera concerning my own experiences with Bigfoot for the special features on the DVD.

Hamming it up with Patty, inside the Bigfoot Collection.

After we wrapped on shooting, we returned Bigfoot Books and hung out with Steve for a few more hours.  We also picked up a Dean Koontz book, Paul Graves’ CD of Bigfoot songs, and some postcards for the folks back home.  More importantly, Steve gave us detailed directions to the Patterson Film Site via the G.O. Road out of Orleans, but warned us that as little as a week ago it had been blocked by snow at the 15 mile mark.

"Headed up the G-O Road toward the Patterson Film site."

Using some of the money we made filming the movie, we paid for a hotel room at the Tsewenaldin Inn in Hoopa.  We could’ve just as easily camped at Aikens Creek again, but (as Steve can probably attest) Cathryn and I were in desperate need of showers.  At around 5:00pm, we decided to see how far we could get up the G.O. Road, which is completely paved and was very easy to drive in the Kia.

Snow on the G-O.

As predicted, we hit a solid patch of snow at the 15 mile mark.  Because of a misunderstanding, I thought we were only four miles away from the Patterson Film Site; and being so close to our goal, I wasn’t willing to give up so easily.  We parked the car on the side of the road and began walking on the icy surface of the foot-deep snow that covered the road.  The only signs of life we saw were the wheel ruts in the snow from Steve’s visit a week earlier, and a long line of bear tracks leading across the road.  We examined the bear tracks for a while, remarking on how fresh and crisp they looked, then reminded ourselves that bears are generally nocturnal creatures before proceeding further up the G.O. Road.

"Bear track on top, my track on bottom. 11 1/2 inches!!!"

Three quarters of an uphill mile later, both of our shoes were totally soaked through from walking in the deep snowpack, and the sun was beginning its journey behind the mountains, so we stopped to consider the pointlessness (and improbability) of reaching the Patterson Film Site in the dark from our position—which was actually eight miles away over difficult, snow-covered terrain.  If we had attempted to reach the site, which I thought was four miles away, I’m confident I wouldn't  be here to write this.

Pilgrimage toward the PGF Mecca. Wrong season though.

While we were standing and talking, we both heard something rustling in the thicket behind us.  When I whipped around to see what it was, I saw the entire thicket moving and a slender pine tree behind the thicket get pushed aside as something scurried away from us and went down the mountainside.  Cathryn and I both froze in our tracks and didn’t make a sound.  After spending a few moments trying to process what had occurred, I made my way down into the thicket, but aside from some broken branches, I found no signs of recent occupation.  There were no tracks in the vicinity, and no trace of anything having gone down the mountain.  Whatever had moved through the area was gone.  We considered it may have been falling snow, but there was no evidence of that, so I was forced to write it off as a tree-dwelling rodent that had somehow eluded our field of vision.

"Toward the top of the GO Road. Almost to the Bluff Creek Film Site!"

During the walk back to the car, we took a nice, leisurely two hour stroll and enjoyed exploring the surrounding forest until the sun went down.  Living in southern California for the past three years has made me miss the trees of my native Pennsylvania, and being up there in Bigfoot Country conjured fond reminders of back home.

We found Bigfoot!!!!

After the trip up the G.O. Road was over, we realized that because of the foul weather, camping out wasn’t going to be much fun, and there was no chance of us reaching the Patterson Film Site until the snow melted; so we decided to pack up the Kia and after dropping by Bigfoot Books for one last farewell to Steve, we headed south to San Francisco to spend a day exploring the ghost hunting Mecca that is Alcatraz Island. 

But that, my friends, is another story…

Travis, at Bigfoot Books, Willow Creek, posing with his book,
INTO THE ABYSS.
Photo by that Streufert guy.

THANKS, TRAVIS, FOR WRITING THIS!

And to Cathryn McHenry, who took a number of the above photos.

*******

FBf-FBk, the dialogue, the misery, the pareidolia....

Bigfoot

If you are interested one of the Aussie Film-makers has a Blog of his experiences making the FBFB movie.  http://matthewsharp.tumblr.com/

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  If you go down to the woods today | Ashland & Bluff Creek

  matthewsharp.tumblr.com
  

  Ashland & Bluff Creek We spent Monday in Ashland, southern Oregon. After dropping by the location of Freeman’s first Bigfoot sighting, we continued through the farmlands and then up into the hills. 

 Bigfoot's bLog, from Bigfoot Books, Willow Creek
One of the Aussie film crew following FindBigfoot-Facebook around describes their visit to the Bluff Creek area. Full of glaring errors, this is still an interesting travelogue, complete with "grizzly bear" sighting, a hungry bear bumping and scratching their RV dangerously placed on an old logging road, misconceptions about the film site location, claims that the Bluff Creek region has never been logged, etc.

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    Bigfoot's bLog, from Bigfoot Books, Willow Creek 
    

    They were at the lower end of the creek, some 30 miles from the film site. There are no grizzly bears there, but lots of black bears that would love to shake an RV that smells like chicken wings. Also, the forest throughout has been extensively logged, leaving only small patches here and there of remnant old-growth. How far up the Bluff Creek-Fish Lake road did you guys get? We found snow blockages on the upper roads about 15 miles in, and we were up there the same days theywere, coincidentally. Too bad we didn't know you'd be there... we saw their gigantic RV parked at the road gate near the Bluff Creek Resort as we drove past.

What they said:
What can be learned from Bluff Creek? Getting back there in the off season is no easy task. Anyone that thinks that Patterson and Gimlin brought a gorilla suit on horseback in OCTOBER of '67 is completely delusional. Don't even waste your time dealing with them. Have them just try to get back there on 10 of '12 and then talk.

What we said:

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  Steven Streufert I was there at the film site when the National Geographic helicopter landed. They seemed quite peeved when we strolled up from the woods and told them we had just DRIVEN in there in an SUV without even using the 4WD. Plus, they were not even on the proper film site. Oh well, it made for good TV footage.
  

  May 25 at 10:23am ·  ·  2 people
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  Steven Streufert 
  

  It's easy to get there in October, unless it has been raining and snowing heavily. Up until last summer you could drive right down to the film site area. In 1967 it was a fairly easy horseback ride of just under three miles, going along a dirt logging road plow that had been utilized for post-1964 Flood salvage logging and hence maintained up to 1966. This argument holds no water; but still, Bob Heironimus' route description comes nowhere near the true filming site. He was never there, obviously.

  
  

  May 25 at 10:33am 

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  Steven Streufert 
  

  Bob Heironimus' route description will take one to Martin's Ferry Bridge, maybe Fish Lake, still some 25-35 miles from the Bluff Creek P-G film site. Now, who is the hoaxer? It's a drive over rugged dirt mountain roads, one that no one could possibly forget. It would have taken at least an hour, and then he would have had to go three miles up the creekbed from the nearest forest service road. It was nothing like the three miles, five miles easy drive that he describes, then or now. Bob H. is in a monkey suit, for sure, but not in the PGF.

  
  

  May 25 at 2:17pm

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  Steven Streufert 
  

  ‎@Mike Williams--if you had ever driven that route you would NEVER forget it. That terrain is not only quite dramatically beautiful, but you FEEL every mile of pothole-ridden, rain-riven, narrow, dusty, bumpy, boulder-strewn road, all while hanging on for your life much of the time as you proceed along near-vertical slope drop-offs to deep chasms below. Bob H. describes a casual and easy, very short drive from his supposed meet-up with Patterson and Gimlin. His story is simply absurd in this regard. He was NEVER there, I repeat, NEVER was he at the real film site, a site that was located and verified with certainty after the filming. If he could forget that route he would probably also forget his own first and last names.

  
  

  May 25 at 8:52pm ·  ·  1 person
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  Steven Streufert October in Bluff Creek is NOT the "off-season." It is generally warm and sunny in our area. It is often a very nice "Indian Summer" kind of weather during that month around here. It gets cold at night, and generally the rainy season starts at the very end of October, into November.
  

  May 25 at 9:10pm

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ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS!

Me just say UGH!
Me say ha! me send bear and hippie to fool Facebook Bigfoot hunter. Me steal their hot spicy chicken wing. Me also lock gate so they no can get out of Bluff Creek. Me laugh so hard it make a blob on their camera and infrasound make white-out. What me say? Me no waste time make stick form like hippie on LSD do. Me no need that. Me already travel in other dimension.

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