CHAPTER THREE BIGFOOT LITE (excerpt)

As I mentioned previously, it is best to work your kids into the field slowly. I found that planning a first trip that took us into areas of bigfoot activity, but also had side trips and the luxuries of home was a winning combination. Unless we could not find one, we always stayed at RV parks with pools. This may not seem important on the surface but giving kids something to look forward to at the end of the day really is a good motivator. In addition, cable television is nice for nighttime relaxing on a Bigfoot Lite trip. On our first trip, we took to the road in a leisurely fashion. High daily mileage was not important. The process of getting out of town was. It took us three days to get to Northern California.

In Northern California, we stayed in Del Norte County, the most northwest county in the state. It is also an area with a rich bigfoot history and unparalleled beauty. We stayed a few days at a wonderful RV park located right by the Klamath River. You park on wonderful green grass and the pads are spacious. They serve pancakes every Sunday morning in a large barn or recreation room. We were lucky enough to be there on a Saturday for the fourth of July, so we also got to see a wonderful fireworks show along with a pot luck dinner. It was truly an evening of America at its best!

My concept of Bigfoot Lite was to mix the beginnings of fieldwork with the trimmings of a “normal” family vacation. I accomplished this by planning a trip that would take us to well known bigfoot sighting areas but our lodgings would be a bit removed and comfortable. The plan was to situate in an area for two or three days and take day trips to “sight-see” but also do some footwork and exploration in bigfoot areas.

My plan for our jumbo two-week excursion was to explore areas in Northern California and Oregon. The first focus of the trip was the wild Siskiyou Wilderness area of Northern California. I chose to drive some back roads off highway 101 and do some hikes there. I used a book called Hiking Bigfoot Country to help locate some interesting hikes. The Sierra Club publishes this book, which gives directions for getting to trails in the heart of bigfoot country. We chose a hike one day, which took us on miles of dirt road. As we drove, I told my son I bet there would not be anyone on this trail when we arrived. What a surprise I got when we pulled into the staging area! We found at least a half dozen cars parked there and people hanging around eating a picnic lunch.

My point is this. You can travel miles to get away from people but with our shrinking wilderness and growing population, it gets tougher every year. Patience is a virtue in the bigfoot world. With some time and patience, you will find your solitude but be prepared when you do.

I say this because when you get off the beaten track and find that you and your family are alone, you had better feel strong. Things can get somewhat spooky when you are out in bigfoot country, and you realize you just might be where you could have an encounter. Hiking along a deserted trail or walking along a wild river or creek looking for footprints can sometimes get the adrenalin pumping. My advice is simple. Play the odds with your emotions. Very few people have seen a bigfoot, so why should you be so lucky? You are the adult and you are in charge. Your kids will quickly notice your fear so it is important to show them that everything is ok.

I once aborted a hike in a very spooky area because I got a bad case of the creeps. Were my feelings self imposed or was there something out there that my subconscious noticed? I will never know because I lost my inner composure and my son noticed it. Here is what happened.

My son and I had plans to visit the Oregon Caves on our way back home from our Bigfoot Lite trip. The caves are just north of the California border in a very rugged remote part of the state. Grant’s Pass is the nearest town to the caves and is situated just off I-5. The caves are already well known, but became more famous when a psychologist, Dr. Matt Johnson, had a face-to-face encounter with a bigfoot on one of the trails.

As the story goes, while on the hike he slipped away from his family to relieve himself and while doing so noticed a bigfoot following his family. In a state of shock, he quickly herded his family back to the main area and out of danger. Before Jake and I took our tour of the caves, I noticed some rangers at an information station on the trail to the cave entrance. I started talking to them and asked if any of them had been around when Dr. Johnson had his encounter. Lucky for us, one of them had been present. He was very kind and answered my questions. The one remark that really stood out to me was when the ranger said, “I don’t know what he saw but he definitely saw something out there. He was real shook up. When he started recounting his experience to us, he broke down and started crying. I think he was really scared that some harm could have come to his family.” When I asked the ranger if he thought Dr. Johnson had seen a bigfoot he told me he believed that the Doctor had seen something. I found out later from a park ranger and bigfoot friend of mine that rangers are told that they cannot take a stand, pro or con, on bigfoot. This is Federal and State policy. To take a bold stand and express belief could cost you your job.

So, Jake and I took our tour of the caves and decided to take our hike on this famous trail. The trail starts immediately behind the visitor’s center and climbs quickly. You leave the visitor’s center behind and the quiet lonesomeness of the Siskiyou Wilderness closes in like a blanket. We were maybe a quarter of a mile up when I started getting the creeps. I decided to stuff it and not let my feelings get the best of me. I figured Jake would not notice them. Guess what? No sooner had I felt this way than Jake expressed his fear also. I tried to convince him to go a little further up but my heart wasn’t in it either. Therefore, we turned around and went back. That was the only time I felt that way on our trip. Was it my imagination, the talk with the park ranger, the knowledge of what had happened on this trail a few years ago? Who knows? These things do happen when you decide to step into the unknown. We never saw another soul on that trail. When I asked the rangers about it afterwards, I found out it is seldom used.

As I have stated, we spent our first few days in Northern California doing some day trips that included getting information and road maps at ranger stations. I found ranger stations to be invaluable for getting detailed maps of the local area you wish to explore. You can get further information about rural camping, road closures and local points of interest. I would not advise asking questions about bigfoot at ranger stations. As I have previously stated, they have a policy of neutrality and are not supposed to take sides on the issue. Ask if you must, but be prepared for disappointment as far as information is concerned. Don’t forget, most people do not believe that bigfoot is real. It can suddenly make people think you are a nut. I found this out in my early days of bigfooting as I eagerly asked in all the local bigfoot haunts for information. I never got anything of value that I can remember!

However, if you can build a network of friends through bigfoot web sites on the Internet, you will find a wealth of first-hand information at your disposal. It will be up to you to sift out the questionable from the reasonable. If you blend this information with prior published bigfoot literature, you can probably begin to get a target on some good destinations to visit for your first Bigfoot Lite trip!