Bigfoot locked on thermal, BFRO’s July 2011 Bluff Creek area expedition notes
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| Sketch approximation of thermal image viewed by participants in the July 2011 BFRO expedition to the Bluff Creek area. Drawn by witness Robert C. |
Kicking yourself because you weren't invited to the BFRO Expedition at Bluff Creek last month? If you're not kicking yourself, then you should because of what the team experienced that weekend.
On the nights before their big encounter, the expedition team took notes of broken tree branches and animal sounds in the area.
On Friday, the night before the sighting, the team reported hearing one possible “whoop” return call.
About an hour into their visit three of the participants reported heading what they describe as “female voices” coming from the about 40-50 feet below them in the scrub. They were described as being “overtly female, murmuring in nature, and conversational”. The voices lasted approximately 45 seconds and were never heard again.What they saw on Saturday night at the Bluff Creek area was something to write home about. For at least 15 minutes, the expedition team using a thermal imager, locked onto a creature they claimed to be a Sasquatch. The expedition leader said, "The creature appeared to be sitting on a rock outcropping on the right-hand side of the gravel road with its back to the group."
The head was large and shaped to a point sitting on the shoulders with no discernible neck. The shoulders were very wide and the torso was best described as being “block” shaped. The animal was one uniform white heat signature with no surface texture. The rocks that made up the roadside contained a heat signature that, while white-ish in nature, didn’t come close to the flat-white of the animal’s heat signature. The animal was virtually motionless, but would occasionally adjust itself as one might if they stood in one place for quite some time. After about 90 seconds the group leader observed the animal turn its body to the left and look down the road at the group.
Read the 2011 Bluff Creek BFRO Expedition Notes below via BFRO forums.
This is Brandon Doyle, the expedition leader. Below is my account of the expedition.
Wednesday:
Several of the participants arrive and all locations are visited. The group leader and one other participant visit Location 3 where they hiked in 2 miles. Upon starting their return they both hear a very loud, distinct wood knock from about 50 yards away in dense brush.
They then continue to location 4 and as they return they see three young trees roughly 6-8 inches in circumference along the road that have been twisted and broken at the 7-8.5' mark. None of the trees would be accessible to or climbable by bears. All of the trees are freshly broken, within 40 yards of one another, and stood very close to a well used game trail.
Thursday:
The rest of the participants arrive, we completed orientation and location assignments and set out at 8:30p to the various locations.
Five participants visited Location 1, a lake which is a three mile hike from Base Camp. Nothing happens on the hike in, but on the hike out they are paralleled for some time by something large just off the trail. Most of them heard the animal as it moved; when they move, it moved and it would stop when they stopped. Eventually it ceases completely and they reported no further sounds.
Location 2 is a lake five miles drive from Base Camp. Five participants visit this location with three sitting at the lake while two others walk the road eventually reaching an overlook. They decide to make a call and are immediately answered by an animal 130ft down the ravine. This call is recorded.
They return to the lake where nothing further happens.
Location 3 is a lake situated 4.5 miles from Location 2. It is visited by four participants two of who stay near the lake and two who decide to walk a connecting road. Nothing is reported.
Location 4 is situated 16 miles from base camp and is a small lake. Eight participants visit this location and report no incidents occur that night.
Friday:
At 2pm Steven Streufert of Willow Creek’s Bigfoot Books (http://bigfootbooksblog.blogspot.com/) spoke to the group about the history of the Bluff Creek area going back to the indigenous Native American population right through the PG film incident and to current date.
At 5pm we had a potluck dinner during which BFRO investigator Bill Brewer gave a multimedia presentation on identifying unusual animal calls and noises commonly mistaken for Bigfoot sounds.
We began our night by breaking up into groups and the following was reported:
No one visited Location 1.
Ten participants visited Location 2. Three arranged themselves on the south end of the lake with three others on the north end. Another group of four participants decided to hike the road up to a bluff that overlooked a steep canyon heavily forested with scrub and trees. Those at the south end of the lake reported hearing distinct and deliberate wood knocks coming from the west which is heavily forested. All participants at the lake reported hearing various crashing noises in the brush throughout the night that they could not identify.
The road walking crew hiked up to a bluff and spent the next couple of hours making calls and listening. As they arrived and settled down they reported hearing from two locations 40 feet apart two animals moving in the brush below them very slowly. They assume the animals were bears. Throughout the night they reported hearing one possible “whoop” return call. About an hour into their visit three of the participants reported heading what they describe as “female voices” coming from the about 40-50 feet below them in the scrub. They were described as being “overtly female, murmuring in nature, and conversational”. The voices lasted approximately 45 seconds and were never heard again.
Location 3 was visited by four participants. Two participants stay close to the lake and two others, a female and a male decide to walk the road. They are 1/3 of a mile into the hike when they are set upon by five pit bulls. After much negotiation with the owners of the dogs the dogs are called off and the participants leave the area and return to Location 2.
Location 4 was visited by ten participants who sat by the lake for several hours and report no incidents.
Saturday:
Ranger Robert Leiterman and the group departed Base Camp at 9am for a trip to the Patterson Gimlin film site (all six purported sites). While there, numerous participants heard what they describe as “whoops” and wood knocks at various points of the hike. The group checked to see if it could possibly have been any other members of the party and were told no. They returned close to twelve hours later where they were met with homemade chili, corn muffins, and a roaring fire. Most were exhausted by the day-trip and decided to turn in for the night after dinner.
However, six participants (including the expedition leader) decided to make one last effort and visit Location 2. Two participants stay at the lake and six others hike the trail back up to the overlook. As they hike the mile and a half to the bluff they possibly hear a couple of wood knocks, but nothing definitive. The expedition leader asks that for the last 100 yards they hike the road with headlamps off so as to see the night sky as they come onto the ridge top. They make a couple of calls and hear no response. Then a participant using a thermal L-3 x200P called the leader over and told him that a Sasquatch was standing by the side of the road 50 yards ahead of the group. Skeptically the leader asked if it could be a bear and the participant matter of factly replied, “No...it’s a Sasquatch.” The leader replied, “Is it a mountain lion?” “No...it’s a Sasquatch”, the participant replied. The group leader asked the participant to keep an eye on it through the therm while he and another participant walked up towards the animal. They got within 20 yards of the animal, stood quietly and then walked back and were told that the animal moved only to adjust itself during the approach.
Finally the expedition leader asked to see the therm and observed the animal himself. It appeared to be sitting on a rock outcropping on the righthand side of the gravel road with its back to the group. The head was large and shaped to a point sitting on the shoulders with no discernible neck. The shoulders were very wide and the torso was best described as being “block” shaped. The animal was one uniform white heat signature with no surface texture. The rocks that made up the roadside contained a heat signature that, while white-ish in nature, didn’t come close to the flat-white of the animal’s heat signature. The animal was virtually motionless, but would occasionally adjust itself as one might if they stood in one place for quite some time. After about 90 seconds the group leader observed the animal turn its body to the left and look down the road at the group. He observed the heat signature of the face was several shades darker than the body, more towards beginning to be gray. After 4 seconds or so the animal went right back into position.
For the next 15 minutes all members of the group watched the animal through the therm with all of them seeing it move or shift its body position several times.
The expedition leader and another participant then walked toward the animal, back to the 20 yard mark and observed the animal tilt itself slightly to the left possibly seeking to better hear the approach. It was then that the group several times heard the movement of something large on the forested ridge above them. Expedition leader rejoined the group, they all took one last look at the motionless animal and then they determined to leave the area. The group leader decided that they would leave as such: group leader would quietly sit down on the side of the road while the rest of the group departed back down the hill with their lights on and talking normally. The goal was to see what the animal might do. The group departed and rounded the bend. Group leader reports that shortly after the group rounded the corned the animal bent down slightly, turned its body and head to the left, and looked down the road toward the group. It then saw the group leader and slowly went back into its former position. Group leader then observed the animal for several more seconds before departing the area as well.
There were no more observations made in the area.
Sunday:
The attendees were dispersed.
A group of four participants, including BFRO investigator Bill Brewer visited the area to make measurements, take pictures, and videotape those who had the sighting. His notes, along with drawings of what everyone saw, will be forthcoming and added to this report.
Here is a link to a drawing by witness/participant Robert C. that is very close to what we all saw:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/662780.../in/photostream
I will be monitoring this thread and answering questions.
If you attended this expedition please feel free to contribute to the thread. I want to thank the BFRO Investigators who attended and assisted me on this trip as well as all of those in attendance. I feel it was undoubtably a huge success and I hope to work with you all again in the future.
Wednesday:
Several of the participants arrive and all locations are visited. The group leader and one other participant visit Location 3 where they hiked in 2 miles. Upon starting their return they both hear a very loud, distinct wood knock from about 50 yards away in dense brush.
They then continue to location 4 and as they return they see three young trees roughly 6-8 inches in circumference along the road that have been twisted and broken at the 7-8.5' mark. None of the trees would be accessible to or climbable by bears. All of the trees are freshly broken, within 40 yards of one another, and stood very close to a well used game trail.
Thursday:
The rest of the participants arrive, we completed orientation and location assignments and set out at 8:30p to the various locations.
Five participants visited Location 1, a lake which is a three mile hike from Base Camp. Nothing happens on the hike in, but on the hike out they are paralleled for some time by something large just off the trail. Most of them heard the animal as it moved; when they move, it moved and it would stop when they stopped. Eventually it ceases completely and they reported no further sounds.
Location 2 is a lake five miles drive from Base Camp. Five participants visit this location with three sitting at the lake while two others walk the road eventually reaching an overlook. They decide to make a call and are immediately answered by an animal 130ft down the ravine. This call is recorded.
They return to the lake where nothing further happens.
Location 3 is a lake situated 4.5 miles from Location 2. It is visited by four participants two of who stay near the lake and two who decide to walk a connecting road. Nothing is reported.
Location 4 is situated 16 miles from base camp and is a small lake. Eight participants visit this location and report no incidents occur that night.
Friday:
At 2pm Steven Streufert of Willow Creek’s Bigfoot Books (http://bigfootbooksblog.blogspot.com/) spoke to the group about the history of the Bluff Creek area going back to the indigenous Native American population right through the PG film incident and to current date.
At 5pm we had a potluck dinner during which BFRO investigator Bill Brewer gave a multimedia presentation on identifying unusual animal calls and noises commonly mistaken for Bigfoot sounds.
We began our night by breaking up into groups and the following was reported:
No one visited Location 1.
Ten participants visited Location 2. Three arranged themselves on the south end of the lake with three others on the north end. Another group of four participants decided to hike the road up to a bluff that overlooked a steep canyon heavily forested with scrub and trees. Those at the south end of the lake reported hearing distinct and deliberate wood knocks coming from the west which is heavily forested. All participants at the lake reported hearing various crashing noises in the brush throughout the night that they could not identify.
The road walking crew hiked up to a bluff and spent the next couple of hours making calls and listening. As they arrived and settled down they reported hearing from two locations 40 feet apart two animals moving in the brush below them very slowly. They assume the animals were bears. Throughout the night they reported hearing one possible “whoop” return call. About an hour into their visit three of the participants reported heading what they describe as “female voices” coming from the about 40-50 feet below them in the scrub. They were described as being “overtly female, murmuring in nature, and conversational”. The voices lasted approximately 45 seconds and were never heard again.
Location 3 was visited by four participants. Two participants stay close to the lake and two others, a female and a male decide to walk the road. They are 1/3 of a mile into the hike when they are set upon by five pit bulls. After much negotiation with the owners of the dogs the dogs are called off and the participants leave the area and return to Location 2.
Location 4 was visited by ten participants who sat by the lake for several hours and report no incidents.
Saturday:
Ranger Robert Leiterman and the group departed Base Camp at 9am for a trip to the Patterson Gimlin film site (all six purported sites). While there, numerous participants heard what they describe as “whoops” and wood knocks at various points of the hike. The group checked to see if it could possibly have been any other members of the party and were told no. They returned close to twelve hours later where they were met with homemade chili, corn muffins, and a roaring fire. Most were exhausted by the day-trip and decided to turn in for the night after dinner.
However, six participants (including the expedition leader) decided to make one last effort and visit Location 2. Two participants stay at the lake and six others hike the trail back up to the overlook. As they hike the mile and a half to the bluff they possibly hear a couple of wood knocks, but nothing definitive. The expedition leader asks that for the last 100 yards they hike the road with headlamps off so as to see the night sky as they come onto the ridge top. They make a couple of calls and hear no response. Then a participant using a thermal L-3 x200P called the leader over and told him that a Sasquatch was standing by the side of the road 50 yards ahead of the group. Skeptically the leader asked if it could be a bear and the participant matter of factly replied, “No...it’s a Sasquatch.” The leader replied, “Is it a mountain lion?” “No...it’s a Sasquatch”, the participant replied. The group leader asked the participant to keep an eye on it through the therm while he and another participant walked up towards the animal. They got within 20 yards of the animal, stood quietly and then walked back and were told that the animal moved only to adjust itself during the approach.
Finally the expedition leader asked to see the therm and observed the animal himself. It appeared to be sitting on a rock outcropping on the righthand side of the gravel road with its back to the group. The head was large and shaped to a point sitting on the shoulders with no discernible neck. The shoulders were very wide and the torso was best described as being “block” shaped. The animal was one uniform white heat signature with no surface texture. The rocks that made up the roadside contained a heat signature that, while white-ish in nature, didn’t come close to the flat-white of the animal’s heat signature. The animal was virtually motionless, but would occasionally adjust itself as one might if they stood in one place for quite some time. After about 90 seconds the group leader observed the animal turn its body to the left and look down the road at the group. He observed the heat signature of the face was several shades darker than the body, more towards beginning to be gray. After 4 seconds or so the animal went right back into position.
For the next 15 minutes all members of the group watched the animal through the therm with all of them seeing it move or shift its body position several times.
The expedition leader and another participant then walked toward the animal, back to the 20 yard mark and observed the animal tilt itself slightly to the left possibly seeking to better hear the approach. It was then that the group several times heard the movement of something large on the forested ridge above them. Expedition leader rejoined the group, they all took one last look at the motionless animal and then they determined to leave the area. The group leader decided that they would leave as such: group leader would quietly sit down on the side of the road while the rest of the group departed back down the hill with their lights on and talking normally. The goal was to see what the animal might do. The group departed and rounded the bend. Group leader reports that shortly after the group rounded the corned the animal bent down slightly, turned its body and head to the left, and looked down the road toward the group. It then saw the group leader and slowly went back into its former position. Group leader then observed the animal for several more seconds before departing the area as well.
There were no more observations made in the area.
Sunday:
The attendees were dispersed.
A group of four participants, including BFRO investigator Bill Brewer visited the area to make measurements, take pictures, and videotape those who had the sighting. His notes, along with drawings of what everyone saw, will be forthcoming and added to this report.
Here is a link to a drawing by witness/participant Robert C. that is very close to what we all saw:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/662780.../in/photostream
I will be monitoring this thread and answering questions.
If you attended this expedition please feel free to contribute to the thread. I want to thank the BFRO Investigators who attended and assisted me on this trip as well as all of those in attendance. I feel it was undoubtably a huge success and I hope to work with you all again in the future.
Wait wait. You are 20 yards from a bigfoot, and what do you do? It's sitting peacefully, but after a while you decide to just leave. Holy Guacamole. Wouldn't you risk getting a bit closer? As scared as I might be, I would. Probably it would run, but then you'd have footage of it getting up, and walking away.
ReplyDeleteI thought night vision was standard issue? If not they got the wrong people doing this! Or, they turned on the night vision realized it was a hiker in a hoodie, but kept rolling the thermal for good TV!
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:43, Did anyone mention it was being filmed for TV? I didn't see anything about tv filming. Didn't even mention that the night vision could record the incident.
DeleteThat's Moneymaker's group. Full of crap just like his Finding Bigfoot show. Remember they filmed one for like 5 min. then Matt walked towards it and (they lost it) bullshit if it was real they would've kept filming as it walked away. FULL OF SHIT!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I suppose it wasnt recorded right?
ReplyDeleteI do believe Bobo tripped and fell off the porch again.
ReplyDeletethe best way to find a reclusive animal is to gather a large group, then crash through the woods screaming. this is what i have learned from the bfro.
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge lie.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you not start yelling or something and make it do something? They just left it there rocking in the corner like a russian orphan. C'mon, what a waste of an alleged opportunity.
ReplyDeletei'm not buying this story one bit. i think it was bo-bo putting on a show for their paying customers. don't you have to give this group(bfro) cash just to hike with them? if so, then i do beleive it could of been a put on by the group. cause the (bfro) is all about the dough. and what a better way to get some more of that cash. watch next year it will cost more cause they'll say "we had one last year at the same location on the thermal. and then they hit you with the old got to pay higher fees to the land owners this year line. or something like that. like i said somethin just ain't right with this little to good to be true story
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:59 couldnt of been BOBO he is with the rest of the Finding Bigfoot cast wrapping up the filming of season 3.
DeleteWhere's the footage? You telling me nobody recorded any of it? I dunno about that......
ReplyDeleteEven if it was recorded you probably wouldnt see ir. They will show it among themselves and other paying attendees first. Then put it on a site you have to pay to view it, like Mike Green did.
DeleteLiars! Let me clarify.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't show the real FLIR that they have. Then liars.
Someone will probably sue them for using a story that is not their and selling it to make money.