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I got out for Sat., Sun., and this morning, camping with a research buddy in a limited access mountain valley less than an hour from my home. Back in April, our campsite there was visited by a Cougar, but all we got in the area this time was a low growl, from the underbrush about 500yds down a trail from the tent at dusk, probably a black bear, as there are lots back in there. After dark, both Sat and Sun night there were a couple of canine type barks that didn't sound like coyote. I saw 1 grouse, young and skinny, a turkey vulture in flight from a vantage point above him, which was great to watch, a nice big raven near our camp, which I only spotted once, but heard often, as well as hearing a barred owl's distinctive call, and another owl with a plain "whoo, whoo" call. Several deadfalls in the nearby timber caught our attention on Sun evening, too. Just being out there for the long weekend, in perfect weather, washed away several weeks of stress and tension.

So little is known of bigfoot I’m often wary of anyone that claims to know for certain anything. The best people, imo, to learn from are knowledgeable hunters and out doors-man and what I try to take away from them is basic knowledge of the wilderness.

I’d disagree, it may have raised the general public awareness level but on a scientific level I’d guess it was detrimental. The practice of going in the woods and beating trees or howling does not seem very scientific to me. I believe scientists would look at them like a bunch of goofballs.

We spent the last two weekends up in the Book Cliffs area of UT. First, followed what was basically an atv trail back into a tight canyon and camped just off the wash. Water still streaming down and lots of flowers blooming. Interestingly, while here for but 24hrs or so, the only wildlife seen or heard, with the exception of a lone chickadee settling in for the night was a curious diminutive owl (That I'm guessing was a Saw-whet, it didn't have the long tail of the pygmy) who flew over into a fir nearby and peered directly down at us from its 15' high perch. Not a raven nor crow, even the insects were quiet. We did come across older deer tracks along the wash but that's it. Odd with all the water and fresh vegetation methinks but I guess it's everywhere up there now and it's quite an expanse of space. Getting off the pavement at about 9500' into here: Down through this canyon: To camp here for a very quiet night. We hiked up canyon for a mile or so, came back to cook up some grub then back out as darkness fell to go about a mile up towards the "rim" On our return we encountered the owl (Which of course are not what they seem!) Next day we hiked up canyon to a fork about 2.5 miles from camp, no tracks of any discernible sort and other than a patch of greasewood with a few cicadas, it was quiet. Then out:

He is adamantly no kill. He like so many others are caught in a perpetual tail chasing. He will never produce the beast. He produced entertainment....and people bought it. No different from ancient aliens or ghost hunters. If that’s your thing? So be it. I guess my mind doesn’t work that way. The only successful hunt is a tangible dead beast on the ground.

The BFRO data based died for lack of attention and the fact that when the show was active they used data base reports to get locations for future shows. When the show was active they probably had some junior person in the production staff reviewing reports. One of my reports got a producer interested and an invitation to a town hall but that report itself, nor the other I made, did not get into the data base. When the show was pulled they did not have anyone paid to look at the encountere reports. That in itself is sad in that we have forum members who voluntarily are producing data bases. Money maker could have found one of these people who would have gladly taking over the BFRO data base and run it well. I think it shows where the focus was within the BFRO, at least at Moneymakers level. No Finding Bigfoot, who cares about data bases. A data base without current data is history, not data. Moneymakers business model could have included people more interested in BF research but he chose to run it more like a small fraternity than a research organization. If it had been more inclusive than exclusionary he could have made much more money with conventions than he made with the expedition theme. Many national organizations have relatively small membership fees yet their conventions draw thousands of people and fill convention halls. The AOPA and NRA are two that I can think of in this category. They also feed the egos of their founders and current leadership. Moneymaker should have realized a TV show lives and dies with ratings and he was lucky to get as long a run as he did. Now what does he have?

I ignore most conventional wisdom. Tree breaks, whoops, tree knocks, etc. Hunters use three basic methods to lure animals into a ambush. Sex, food or sparring. The basics. Other methods are spot and stalk, hounds and trapping. I think calls targeting food hold great promise. If your hunting Elk during the bugle (breeding season) you can either call like a rival bull looking to steal cows or call like a lovesick cow. Sex and sparring. If your calling in a Bear your using a rabbit in distress call. A promise of a tasty snack of food. Or you could use bait like jelly donuts or zagnut bars. Also mapping out potential black bear food sources may also prove fruitful. And being aware of locations of prior sighting could be too. Lastly I just run substrates that hold tracks. Beaches, muddy roads, crick bottoms, etc.

Kind of how I look at them as well. So much more could have been beneficially done beyond just keeping the plates spinning in the air on truth. It's hard to forgive any of them (FB team) for not rising above a circus act or a vendor selling bobble-headed Bigfoots at a conference. Yep, seems harsh but for a guy like me I find the whole charade inexcusable.

FBF did contribute one thing to the field, in general. It raised the awareness of the phenomena a peg. It took it just a little bit out of the tabloid journalism realm and nudged it up towards a true scientific discipline, where it should be. Sure, they had to fight the producers who wanted to drag it in the opposite direction, but for the most part, they won that fight. We know this because most of the episodes were dull as dishwater, pretty much what scientific research is, day after day, until... ! **Disclaimer: I never watched an episode after about the second season**. The biggest contribution was to bring eyewitness accounts into the public awareness where it had to be confronted. If I had my dream show it would be Sasquatch Court. Eyewitnesses would be sworn in (or at least pretend to be...not being a true civil or criminal proceeding) and give testimony while being examined by licensed Attorney litigators. Expert witnesses could be called and a judgment entered after a jury deliberated. If the proponent met the burden of proof in their case (proof of a substantial issue of material fact) the opponent would then rebut. This may be a show only lonely lawyers would watch, I'm willing to conceded. Still, think of the cliffhanger potential alone!

Happy Monday....blah, blah. Had some great hikes this weekend, been having lots of rain, VERY usual for June in Texas, but loving the cooler temps, running creeks, and the prints being left behind. First is a nice print with some toe definition. The others are interesting in that they are underwater.......I was hiking one of the bigger creeks, and to the left of the waterfall shown, there is a small pool where these Sardine sized fish (3-4 inches) were collecting, maybe to get up the falls? Anyway, at least 2 different sizes of prints, Daddy & Junior which I find all the time....tracks were everywhere, and in a random pattern that would lead me to believe they were after the fish, no sign of dead fish or parts thereof anywhere on the shoreline or surrounding area, very cool thing to run across!