Coming Clean

I’ve been asked many times why I “believe” in the existence of bigfoot. Prior to May of 2005 I would have said that I wasn’t completely convinced that such a creature actually existed but was open minded regarding the subject. I would have pointed to the ancient Native American legends and lore, the abundance of newspaper accounts from the 1800s and early 1900s, and the discovery of dermal ridges on some plaster casts made from alleged sasquatch foot prints as pretty convincing evidence that something really was “out there”.

On May 14, 2005 things changed for me. I had begun to do some research of my own by this time. A co-worker of mine shared my interest in the subject and usually accompanied me on my outings. I had been spending the bulk of my time in the Sam Houston National Forest as it had a history of sightings. The night of May 14 my friend and I were camping in this area. We decided to turn in right at nightfall and get up about 2:00 a.m. to drive the forest service roads in hopes of a sighting. Well we did see something. At approximately 3:15 a.m. we crested a small hill and saw an upright figure standing in the road about 30 yards in front of us. My friend was driving and brought the vehicle to a stop. We watched for 2-3 seconds before the figure turned, stepped over a bar ditch, and walked into the forest. The figure was a dark reddish brown and stood upright. I estimated at the time it was about six feet tall. It walked away on two legs. At no time was the figure ever down on all fours. It moved smoothly and quickly as it made its way back into the forest. You can read the official TBRC report on the incident here.

After the figure walked away we continued to drive the road and others in the general area. We did not see any sign of it again. We did not get out of the car at any point to try to follow it. I will admit to having no desire to do so. We were both pretty rattled by the experience. We did return to the spot at day break to look for any physical evidence but found nothing.

So, there you have it. I am now out of the “crypto closet”. I have seen what I believe was a living breathing sasquatch. I know what I saw was not a bear, cougar, horse, cow, vagrant, etc. The only other possibility, in my mind anyway, is that it was a hoaxer in some kind of ape suit. The possibility of this, however, seems even more outlandish than it being a real sasquatch. We were on a very remote forest road, nobody knew where we were, and it was after 3:00 a.m. Remember, also, that this happened in Texas. Anybody traipsing around in a monkey suit in this area would be taking his life in his hands as there are quite a few folks who carry guns in their vehicle. I also found out later that a sighting just a mile or so away was reported only a month or so prior to my encounter.

I’ve told practically nobody about this incident. If I had been alone I never would have told anyone at all. I have been chided, laughed at, made fun of, and derided by the few who know of my experience (outside of the TBRC). I have developed a lot of sympathy and admiration for those who report sightings as there is often a high price to pay on a personal level.

So there it is. Really, other than the fact that it is bigfoot related, the whole incident is less than spectacular. Just an animal in the road. My life and way of thinking has forever changed because of it, however.

I would be glad to answer any serious questions regarding my experience. Just leave me a note in the comments section.