Just Relaxing

Hey Patches, thanks for the insightful comments - really helpful, especially the knocking info.

I respect BFRO for their efforts, but I have never gone out on a trip with them, so I didn't know they were pro-kill until Patches mentioned it. Interesting. I have to be honest - I couldn't kill an animal unless it was in self defense. I feel guilty when i run over a squirrel with my car. The only things I happily exterminate are mosquitos, and I have become rather skilled in that. :)

I understand why someone may wish to kill a Bigfoot. It would end the debate over the creatures' existence. A lot of people are probably tired of being considered, er, crazy. Still, I think it is a bit macho to pull up into the forest with an SUV and your guns blazing for Bigfoot. Plus, it is worth questioning the intentions of anyone doing that. Is it truly for science or is it for profit?

No Bites Except Mosquitoes

We set the bait a few days ago, and still no bites yet, although I was contacted by a very kind Lorenzo Rossi who may be sending me some photos to pull from my webserver based on dates and times that he saw some potential activity. Exciting!

Also there are some people camping down the river from me, so it is possible that the action here will be a bit dry until they leave. It's a little disappointing - I was hearing branches breaking and rocks moving in the night behind my tent on a regular basis, and I was pretty sure that progress was being made.

Upcoming activities:
- Broadcast Bigfoot calls in the night. Wait for response.
- Knock trees with sticks at night. Wait for response.
- Set bait further from camp.

I am also hiking about ten miles a day and documenting anything that looks like the potential habitat of unknown creatures. I shot video of what looked like a possible nest. I also took stills of some droppings. I will post those as soon as I download them from my camera.

Bait

Toby and I were not discouraged by the watermelon. As someone pointed out, maybe the Bigfoot are not accustomed to watermelon and therefore will not find it an interesting snack. This is debatable, but we've decided to move onto other fruit anyway.

Bigfoot are known to eat apples. Others have set apples as bait, such as the BFRO researchers that obtained the Skookum Cast on an expedition in 2000.

Yesterday, we left apples in a variety of locations around the campsite. We left one apple about 100 feet up the creek behind my tent, where I heard branches breaking and rocks moving in the night. Perhaps it is a bit close to the campsite, but we thought we'd give it a shot anyway. We can always set piles of fruit further out next time.

Apple Notes:
- One apple placed on rock up creek from campsite, about 100 feet.
- One apple hanging in tree with special hanging device, about 500 feet from campsite.
- One apple hanging in tree with special hanging device about 650 feet from campsite.

The aforementioned hanging device was constructed so that the Bigfoot could reach up and take a hanging apple while leaving the rope behind. It simulates the activity of picking an apple from a tree. We thought we'd try this, along with apple piles, to see which if any method worked best for attracting Bigfoot.

Battery Charge-Up

I am taking the system offline for about two hours today. The batteries need to recharge a bit without the system draining them. You'll notice on the live feed the last photo repeats itself when the system is down. As soon as I go back online, the photos will start to upload again.

Branches and Rocks in the Night

I fell asleep at about 10pm last night. I was a bit concerned about our watermelon attracting bears, but we went ahead and left it at the river as planned. I slept in the big "host" tent, and Toby stayed in the lovely guest quarters (lower left tent in frame).

Some time in the night I awoke to the sounds of branches breaking just behind my tent. I lay very still and listened. More branches broke and rocks were moved. There is a small creek about six feet from my tent. It sounded like some one or thing was walking in the creek, moving branches and causing rocks to shift.

I was torn between two instincts: 1) lying very still in case Bigfoot was poking around our site and 2) making some godawful noise to scare a bear away. I did nothing. I was too scared to move, I think. The sounds stopped after about ten minutes.

In the morning, our watermelon was untouched; however, so was the bag of lemons I left in the creek just ten feet from my tent. What critter would venture all the way down the creek from the hillside and not take the lemons?

babaLou has reported hearing these sounds occassionally. Tonight I will aim my miniDV cam at the creek and use my remote control to record if i hear sounds.

Bait

Toby and I have set a half watermelon on a rock near the river. It is within camera range. The camera is camouflaged and has also been in this location for a few weeks. We're hoping it smells and looks like the surrounding elements. Let me know if you see anything...

Little Brother

Friends, if you see an incredibly handsome man at my campsite, he is not Bigfoot. (Although, you never know.) Ladies, this is my brother Toby. He's 26, single, and rather dashing if I may say so myself... Anyway, I just went home to San Francisco this weekend to pick him up from the airport and prepare him for the trip. We're heading to the site in a few moments.

Many thanks to babaLou for holding down the fort.

I gave her one of the cool tshirts sent to me by Craig from Texas Bigfoot Research. You may have seen it on camera. My brother will be styling one of these as well.

We're bringing bait for Ms. Foot. Maybe we'll get lucky.

Clouds and Solar Woes

The clouds were much trouble today, causing my solar panels serious grief. Had to run generator, which sucks in terms of BF friend-making, but it's the only way to keep the cameras up and running through the night.

I got an interesting email from someone today who asked if s/he (rather cryptic and did not give a full name) could post my findings on his/her blog. I pointed out that I don't necessarily know my results, as I am not monitoring my cameras 24/7. I am on a satellite internet connection, so I don't even watch my own webcams in order to save bandwidth. I also don't watch the cameras directly from their video feed because using my laptop uses more of my battery power, which is precious and rarely plentiful. So I guess what I am saying is... if you see something on the cameras, let me know - you're likely to notice before I do...