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8/13/2019 Bigfoot Big Heart
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Surely we should treat them with the
same eonsideration and kindness as
we show to other humans; and as we
re ognize human rights so too shoidd
ive rec ognize the rights of the great
apesf Yes.—|anc Goodall
Zege i ids co me in a ll s i zes: Pau l Bun yan to l ep rec hau ns . O f course , ce r ta in
o n e s a r c u n q u e s t i o n a b l y a u t h e n t i c : se q u o i a s t o a n c i e n t b o n s a i — J o h n
W ayn e to Sh i r l ey Tem ple . Yet o th e r l egends beg in as fan tas ie s , t he n—
a m a z i n g s o m e a n d v a l i d a t i n g o t h e r s — t u r n o u t t o b e g e n u i n e a ft e r a l l.
T h e S i l v e r - b a c k e d G o r i l la , K o m o d o D r a g o n , a n d P a n d a B e a r w e r e c o n -
s ide red pure ly m yth ic a l un t i l f a ir ly recen t ly . A poss ib le new com er fo l lows
in those p aw and c law pr in t s . Ac tua l ly , he ob l i t e ra te s seve ra l in each s tep . He can t h e lp
i t . H e h a s u n c o m m o n l y b i g f e e t .
A t tempt ing to l i f t tbe ve i l o f mys te ry a round Sasqua tch , the B ig foo t F ie ld Resea rchers
O r g a n i z a t i o n ( B F R O ) is a la r g e a n d p r e s t i g i o u s g r o u p , c o m p l e t e w i t h m a s s i v e w e b s i t e
a n d n o t a b l e s l ik e j a n e C o o d a l l w e i g b i n g i n o n t h e s u b je c t . M a n y z o o l o g ic a l e x p e r ts t a k e
qu i te se r ious ly the l ike l ihood o f such a c rea tu re . Desc r ip t ions sugges t i t migh t he ak in
t o J a p a n e s e w o o d a p e s . T h e p l e n t i f u l n u m b e r o f r e c o r d e d s i g h t i n g s , a l o n e , s ug g e s t s t h a t
so m eth ing o t the k ind sha res space wi th us on our p lane t . Repor t s a re sca t t e red a ll ove r
the wor ld and ac ross a b road t ime l ine f rom pr imi t ive t a le s to recen t news s to r ie s .
D o c u m e n t e d s i g h t i n g s w e r e c o u n t e d a t 2 0 0 0 ( 3 0 0 0 w i tn e s s e s) b y B B C W i l d l if e i n a
1998 news s to ry .
Skep t ic s say a l ack o f images i s r ep ud i a t io n en ou gb , bu t r e sea rchers pa r ry wi th the
f ac t th a t m a n y n o c t u r n a l a n i m a l s a re l es s p h o t o g r a p h e d a n d t h a t s o m e o t h e r a n i -
m a l s a re sk i t t is h , e a si ly a v o i d i n g h u m a n c o n t a c t . A d d t o t h a t , N o r t h A m e r i c a i s
e s t i m a t e d t o c o n t a i n o n l y 1 0 ,0 0 0 o f t h e s e l o n g - l e g g e d b i p e d s . C o m p a r e t h a t t o 6 5 0 ,0 0 0
t o 7 0 0 ,0 0 0 b l a c k b e a r s , w b i c h , e v en a t t h o s e n u m b e r s , r a re l y w a i t a r o u n d t o
pose . Of course , tbe deb a te rages on abo u t whe the r the B ig -
foo tage t aken i s c red ib le . {Roger Pa t t e r son and B ob G im l in
sho t the famo us f i lm in 19 67 , and i t bas been cha l -
l enged and de fended ever s ince . )
A n o t h e r q u e s t i o n r a is e d b y d o u b t i n g T h o m a s e s
i s tbe absence o f co rpses . Th ey co n te nd tha t
anv th i ng tha t lives shou ld be foun d d ead .
BIGFOOT SCENIC
CALIFORNU HWY 299
CALIFORNIA HWY 169
Mdp Is not to scale)
Orleans orks of
Willow^I Creek
t
BIC IDEAS: [Above] A igantopithecus
skull rests in the Bigfoot wing of tbe
Wiilow Creek-China Flat Museum. [Right]
Float in Happy Camp's Bigfoot Jamboree
parade Bigfoot's SUV [Opposite poge]
Tbis 18-foot statue of Bigfoot that towers
over the Bigfoot Scenic Byway entrance
was created from scrap m etal.
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- r ~ t ~
Believers insist that most animals in the "montane" areas do not remain around for long
after death—are torn asunder and eaten by scavengers as well as degraded by forces of
weather and acidic leaf mold. Black bears are again cited as seldom leaving a salvageable
carcass.
MAN o r MARVELhow the masters at Marvel Comics a mys-
terious figure, and they may draw the
Uncanny X-Men 120. He was the
o befriended Dr. Bruce The Hulk Banner,
spirit of the G reat Beast Tanaraq.
Understanding the phenomenon ot the Bigfoot mystique takes the researcher
back through a nimiber of aliases. For example, Gigantopithecus a large ape
who frequented Indochina possibly up until around 300,000 years ago, left
beh ind eno rm ou s fossilized jawbones and mo re than 1,000 tee th. It's conjectu red by
some that the Gigantos was the precursor of Sasquatch, having crossed from Asia to
North America during the Ice Age over the Bering Land Bridge.
Native groups all over the world have varying names for the same description of crea-
ture. Many appellations are Anglicized forms of native names. Yeti (another name for
the "Abom inable Snowm an."} is an altered form of the Tibetan miti—-a combinat ion of
the word for person mi and the word for animal ti. Also, Sasquatch first used in west-
ern Canada, began as an Indian cognomen for "wild people." KwakiutI Legends, from
the Bigfoot Byway area, call him "Big Figure," avoiding the foot fetish of current days.
"Bigfoot" came about in the 1950s when plaster casts were taken of human-like but
huge footprints at some construction sites.
The most recent name is X-Creatures a program produced by the BBC's Natural
History unit . This show was created to discredit sightings and legends.
HAIRY HENDERSON^ f all the portrayals Bigfoot has inspired ,
# none cuts closer to what believers would
Harry and the Hendersons.
harm . Harry, as
Hall, was gent leness incarnate-a
a bigfoot bride and
back to the forest for good.
f course, among the many animals on earth that are scant in number, shy of
human contact, and rarely documented, few others have reached the renown
of Bigfoot. Why does this simian so capture our imaginations? We invent
books and movies around it , people them with lookahke characters l ike Chewbacca and
Wiploc (an alien in Earth Girls Are Easy who was ftirry until an early episode haircut)These shaggy dogs of film represent the attraction of the untamed and feral. Primitive
peoples worshiped animals like lions- for their courage, bears for their strength, and apes
for cleverness. Thick pelts and large mass have always been part of the mystique of such
anim als. It's no surprise tha t the legendary Bigfoot packs such a wallop .
Larger than life and possessing humanoid characteristics, Bigfoot presents an intrigu-
ing yet frightening potential . Understandably so—the woods are scary enough with
bears, wolves, and bobcats. However, investigators claim members of the Foot group are
more like Harry {Harry and the Hendersons than King Kong in a rage. (Even King could
be nice—|ust ask Fay Wray }
Data from sigbtings shows an unusually amiable attitude, especially for such a large
animal. Reportedly, Sasquatch are indulg ent of each other, children, small animals, and
women. {Men and aggressive dogs seem to present a threat that can occasion rockthrowing—to frighten them away—or a swat at a barker if it does not desist.)
Bigfoot, also known for being organized and orderly, does not destroy
areas where it forages and is also thought to leave gifts: Live kittens, piles
of stones.evergreen placed provide
GROWLING GOURMET\ n f a r m and fuzzy might not be on the menu, but the cartoon epicure
of Cooking with Bigfoot serves up something just as delicious:
laughs- lots o f t h e m - w i t h a snarling side of satire. The online adult ani-
mation series (which shares more ingredients with South Park thanDisney) was written by Greg Beato and drawn by Todd Gallina until the
franchise folded in 2004. Archived episodes remain at cookingwithbig-
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Observations all have Foot walking upright with a "compliant" cross-country skiing
style of stride, one foot in front of the other but five feet apart, a graceful glide.
For tbose w ho still consider Bigfoot a monster, let's sum up. He's tall, ha s lots of hair,
tnoves gracefully, is easy-going and tidy, and he brings presents. Big feet, big heart?
.*••
ne location with the largest number of sightings bas titled itself for its most
elusive residents.
An 89-mile stretch of Highway 96, the Bigfoot Scenic Byway is in a breath-
taking Northern California area surrounded by the Siskiyou Mountains, the Klamath
Mo untain s, the K lamath National Forest, the Kiamath River, and a series of creeks tu m-
bling over and surrounded by current-rounded rocks of all sizes. Running north-south
parallel to 1-5 to the east and the coast to the west, the byways northern end is marked
by Happy Camp while Willow Creek is at i ts southern terminus.
Tho ugh the State of Jefferson Byway that leads from 1-5 to H ap py C am p is lovely, the
scenery makes a distinct change as that stretch of Highw ay 96 becom es the Bigfoot Byway
At the exact point where the byways intersect, Happy Camp has an imposing
Sasquatch sculpture, standing in front of the Kiamath Knot Art Gallery (called the Knot
Place) which is dressed entirely in a gauzy aqua mural offish in water. The Sasquatch
statue is built with donated scraps of metal and unraveled chain link fencing, which
makes up his hair. While Ralph Starritt lent his artistic expertise and designed the head
of the creature, Cheryl Wainw right w as the local organizer of the project. W ith her fam-
ily and oiber volunteers from the community, Wainwright got the sixteen-foot statue
formed and upright.
Do wn the road in H app y Ca m p is Java Bob 's Bigfoot D eli. Un til recently, tbis was
t gath ering place tor "foot" lovers. Althoug h it is now closed , it still spo rts a wall-sized
Bigfoot painting and footprints up to the door.
River Park, down at the Klamath River below Happy Camp, is the first real taste of
the Bigfoot Byway The bridge over Indian Creek out of the city leads directly into this
strand of never-ending viewpoints
Wbeehng down the peaceful byway, travelers find it hard to foctis on anything but the
stunning rock faces shooting sky'ward with trees climbing from crevices and the sparkling
water rushing and leaping down sinuous channels. Around each curve, a new gasp steals
attention even from safely navigating tbe frequent switchbacks. (Share tbe driving chores
so everyone gets a chance simply to stare and keep the camera out of its case.)
The most notable difference along this 89 miles of Highway 96 is the closeness of the
creek and river views as well as the far-reaching distance up and down river that is visi-
ble from each spot along the road. It's like one continuous scenic pullout
Clear Creek is the first town after Happy Camp. It's tiny, hut it bas a building tbat
used to be a roadhouse and. In yet another earlier incarnation, was a stage stop. The locals
say Clear Creek has the best and biggest swimming hole. Follow the Idds for a swim.
Somes Bar is the next small town and is notable as the site for an Agricultural
Department work center associated with the Karuk tribe. (Karuk are upriver
people and the Yurok are down river.) Ishi Pishi Falls is close to Somes Bar
and is the only part of the K lamath River that is considered "u nrun nable" by
rafters. Be sure to stop and ponder the power of rushing water.
BOUNCY BUMBL
ankin and Bass said it best: If you'r
ing abominable, don't fret. Put a sta
tree an d have yourself a holly, jolly holid
least, that's the lesson learned from the
faced, bug-eyed Bumble in the 1964 An
classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Re
According to Rick Goldschmidt, autho
webmaster at rankinbass.com the o
Bumble figure was T6 inches tall and c
in yak hair . Does that mean-as prosYukon Cornelius once claimed—that a
Bumble would bounce? You bet. The B
an d Rudolph bounce ratings at CBS eac
BIONIC BRUTE
hafs more exciting than a six-mi
dollar cyborg? A six-million-doMar c
bat t l ing a b ionic Sasquatch That 's
Universal Studios concluded in 1976 wh
turned Bigfoot into an al ien-contr
android and pitted him against compute
astronaut Steve Austin in The Six MDollar Man. So popular d id the two
episode "The Secret of Bigfoot" play t
spawned a Bionic Bigfoot action figure c
by Kenner Products. Bigfoot was enlist
return to TV and visit Tbe Bionic Woman
fo l lowing fal l .
SUPER SQUATCH
ew mascots fuel the good-natured fury of Squatch, the hir-
sute symbol of the Seattle SuperSonics. Whether he's
^Mtaf^ing the basketball during half-t ime or pumping a fuzzy
list into the air during a late-game rally, Squatch connects with
In fact, Squatch is the second Bigfoot-insp ired icon to represent ^.'
the Sonics. The first was Whe edl e-b orro we d from the childrens' '
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I Hodgson, a fifty-year resi
dent of Willow Creek, ran
Hodgson s Department Store,
on early Bigfooters gathering
place. He knew Bob Titmusan d Roger Patterson among others. asts
were also m ade of footprints Hodgson
found in 1963. He points out that many
tracks are destroyed in the casting
process due to the prints being in silt or
sand. This factor also often wipes o ut dis-
tinguishing details like derm al ridges. At
82, Hodgson tells merican Road that
this is the last interview he plans to do.
A ME R I C A N R O A D How did you get
involved in all things Bigfbor?
H O D G S O N When the first cast was made
and Willow Creek was the center of it all, I
would have nothing to do with it. It was a
hoax, and I wasnt going to have anything to
do with it. But along comes a very nice lady
by the name of Betty Allen who wrote a
guest column in a Eureka [California] paper.
Betty kept after me, telling me it would be
good for our business [Ai ran a department
store in Willow Creek] and at last she asked
me to take her cousin from San Francisco up
to Bluff Creek, as they had found new tracks
Orleans is the next city and actually has a few businesses on each side of the road.
(From the highway, the last two look like a few homes clinging between the river and
the road with sheer cliffs on either side.) Orleans main attraction is the Mining
Co mp any gas station, cafe, and motel. The con glomeration of them is all decorated
with rusting but interesting mining equipment. Inside, the cafe walls are decorated in
iron frying pans with calligraphic names of people and businesses on them. These func-
tion as business ads or as personal tributes to tbe cafe and its delicious food. There's a
"museum" area with some antique bottles that the owners plan to restore to mint con-
ditio n. The bald man neq uin beh ind glass in a dusky co rnet at the entran ce is so realis-
tic and unexpected that it scares unsuspecting newcomers. State troopers frequent this
spot and give parking lot recommendations for the chili and burgers. The tribal signs
switch from Karuk to Yurok somewbere around Orleans.
Famous Bluff Creek comes between Orleans and Weitchpec and is the place where
Roger Patterson and Bob Cimlin filmed what is said to be a female Sasquatch as she
hurries across the rocky bed toward the opposite hillside.
At W eitchpe c (the next tiny town) , the Klamath River goes west, but since the frinity
joins it there, you can be fooled into thinking you are still going down the Klamath.
Weitchpec and Hoopa (the next town) are on the Hoopa Reservation, which has a
museum and a native home site, where you can see traditional tribal houses and get
information about the area's earliest residents—barring, perhaps, Bigfoot
Willow Creek comes next and is a larger town compared to all the others, including
Hap py Ca mp . Willow Creek was initially called Chin a Flat for the Ch inese min e work-
ers who lived there during the gold rush. Willow C reek and H appy Ca mp have a friend-
ly rivalry for which can have the most Bigfoot iconic goodies stationed around the
town. Willow Creek wins by sheer number of "Bigfoot" businesses and statues, as well
that morning (Thursday).
1 hey had covered some of
the tracks with large
pieces of bark, otherwise
they would have all been
dusted out from the log-
I weakened, so come Saturday, we went up,
and sure enough, they were there. We made
casts, but wasn't impressed. Again, Betty said,
"Af, why don't you go down in the creek and
see if maybe you might find some." And. yes, f
found tracks. I was not convinced, but I was
impressed. I found tracks on several occasions
afi:er that, but I wasn't a believer, though I
knew most of the well-known Bigfooters. I
wasn't [a believer] until we made the deal to
bring the Bob Titmus casts to Willow Creekand build the Bigfoot wing on the museum. I
told my bible study group about those plans.
One couple held back and was the last to leave.
The lady said, "AJ, I saw one, but I don't want
you to tell anyone as my family have made too
much fun of me already." Th at did it.
A ME R I C A N R O A D Tell me about your con-
nection to Roger Patterson.
H O D G S O N Our store became a place for all
the Bigfootets to check in to see if there was
anything new going on, and Roger was one of
them. He asked me to call him if any new
tracks were found. John Creen asked if I would
meet his chartered plane and take him, a track-
ing dog, and handler to the sighting of some
new tracks. After they left, I called Roger and
told him, but as I said to him, they [the
Sasquatch] most likely had left the area, bu
Roger said he thought he'd come anyway. The
next I heard from him was a phone call saying,
"Al, I got a picture of the son ot a Buck."
A ME R I C A N R O A D How do people react to
learn you believe in the phenomenon?
H O D G S O N I think m ost laughed b ehind
my back; however, I don't believe tbat is the
case anymore, as more and more are coming
forward and telling about seeing. Do I believe
all of them? No way, but there are some that Ibelieve are true.
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f :1 ^--
as a Bigfoot avenue and a really good mu seum — the W illow C reek/C hina Flat M useum
with a Bigfoot wing that has an impressive number of castings, the jawbones and teeth
of Gigantopitbecus, and a huge copy of the Patterson film's best stop fratne.
Beside the byway's natural grandeur though, a cornet-of-the-eye magic occurs—not
a sign or a statue. Surely, that was a dark face watching from the underbrush, a tall fig-
ure slipping behind that boulder, a faint scent or sound. However, encounters with
Bigfoot are not described as subtle : the smell overp owerin g, the wooflng thu nd ero us,
the size differential terrifying. Sh ould you co me face to face or within clear view or heat-
ing—never doubt—you will be fully alert and riveted.
Visitors to byway towns soon fmd the topic is riveting too. The court of public opin-
ion is conve ned here daily. No on e, it seems, is on tbe sidelines, thoug h m otives aren't
always clear.
A woman heckles a psychologist who lectures on his encounter at the 2006 Bigfoot
Jamboree celebration in Happ y Cam p. I saw the animal, he asserts, pound ing his fist
with emotion. She curses, calls him an idiot, disputes him repeatedly, and then, chang-
ing tack, pleads with bim not to reveal the existence lest others exploit the creature.
Later, residents nod sagely and conjecture she belongs to a local tribe devoted to pro-
tecting Bigfoot from intrusion.
It may be too late for tbat: He's everywhere. Half the businesses use his name or
image, and he's the object of lots of local artwork. Some of this tribute is humorous,
some has a mystical air, and some projects the pathos of an animal. The latter are the
most affecting . . . even disturbing.
Encompassing every possible viewpoint, locals may scotlf make off-color jokes, offer
up prayers, make impassioned pleas, or provide detailed evidence. What remains true
for all is the inexorable presence of Sasquatch, reflecting back to eacb what kind of per-
son holds his/her kind of belief
Whether travelers come for the visual splendor, the hiking, the river rafting, the gold
panning, or a glimpse of so-far tinrecognized species, the Bigfoot Scenic Byway fills all
the senses—to overflowing.
If we stay long eno ugh , we also discover— in the search for Bigfoot— we find ourselves.
HE RTS AND FLOWERS: Flora and fafills the Bigfoot Scenic Byway. [Oppositpage, top] Tbis bigfoot stands amongflowers at a gas station in Willow Creek
[Above] Morning glory tattoos ad orn thearm of Ann H ansen, cashier at Quigley sStore in Klamatb River California.
ARIELE M. HUl-F
American Road.
ilw Soiior lirliror of
PHOTO CREDITS: Scrap metal Bigfhot sculp-
ture courtesy byways.org. Marvel ComicsSasquatch by Clayton Henry, from promotional
cover to Alpha Flight #2. Coo king With
Bigfoot ch r cters appear courtesy Todd Gallina
and Todd Gallina Productions. Bumble photo
courtesy Rick Co ldschmidt. au thor o / 'Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Making of the
Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic, an d rankin-
ba.ss.com. Scjuatch (SuperSonics) photo courtesy
Nigel C ooper Photography Aelditional B igjoot
Scenic Byway photographs and Al Hodgson por-
trait by Brad Huff
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