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I got tired of scratching up my '18 Outlander PHEV on the trails, and having to stop due to slightly too deep trenches and washouts, so I sprung for a used '06 Hummer H3, with all the off road goodies, rear locker, 4.56 gears, 4:1 TC, and 33" tires. I bought it Wed., and my daughter and I took it for our first trail run, to the valley where I had my sighting and track find decades ago. It was a nice day, some cloud, some sun, and temps just below 20C. Once inside the locked access gate, we only met 1 other family, in 2 4x4s, who also had the gate code. We saw very little wildlife, other than squirrels, chipmunks, and birds, and no tracks or scat from big game. I am very impressed with the abilities of this mid size 4x4. It handled everything we met with relative ease, and the low range TC was phenomenal on the very steepest logging road in the valley. Here's a few poser shots of the truck and the scenery:

I don't use scents much. I have some apple cover scent. One time a bottle ruptured inside my jeep. At the time, I was hauling my daughter back from weekend visitation, and I thought it was the apple scented shampoo she used. Dang, that's strong! When I found what it really was, I was real happy I had not been using skunk cover scent. I have some bear-in-heat lure somewhere. I'm going to pour that over some hippie rafter's ice chest ... when that poor SOB gets back to town after watching a bear "hump" his ice chest out across the sand bar, he's goin' to whup his drug supplier's rear end for selling him spiked weed. Or so I imagine it. Seriously, when I hunt, I hunt the wind. Worked for a few hundred thousand years, seems to work for me, too. MIB

I'm new here. Thanks for having a place to discuss this topic.

hiflier, when a species is unknown, a universal primer is the way to go, at least until you know what it is similar to. If you use a species specific primer as suggested, and if you miss the mark it may not amplify and sequence if it is sufficiently different. Hold off on NOTCH2NL until you know what you are dealing with. You will need much more sample for a nuclear gene like this than for a mtDNA gene. A few hairs will not do. The contract lab may just want to do what they are set up for. This is not a routine job. If they use they wrong primer you get nothing. A universal primer will tell you much more at the early stage of an identification. Ketchum made the mistake of using human primers for nDNA genes and microsatellite loci and got anomalous results or in some cases no results. None of this will work with eDNA because the sequences are too short and may not even cover the area of interest or the primer region (unless you are very, very lucky). BTW I would suggest Mitotyping Technologies, the lab that analyzed Sykes' samples. Ask for Terri Melton, a coauthor.

I saw it on the Internet! I have read of cases where folks were concentrating on one BF and then realizing (through sound or other means) that there were other(s) nearby, especially in areas conducive to providing cover and concealment. They never saw them, only knew that they were there.

When I get back from the woods and have inevitably driven through cow manure during the day (they are free range out here and hand out on the roads) it's like getting dried cement off of your vehicle.

From what I've heard, they're almost never alone and in constant communication with each other.

This thread is a great example of why we decided not to start a sightings database in the BFF. I'm glad we didn't.

That's how I kinda feel. Okay, so NorthWind and I were out with two in the woods at 75 yards (? Six car lengths or so?) in the pitch black night. I was right next to my truck, in the doorway, which gave me a lot of security, but I wasn't scared. It was exhilarating, actually. It did take a moment to figure out what I was seeing. Then I realized it was tree peeking behavior and a sense of utter amazement settled over me. My brain clicked on finally, and I scrambled to find the record button, but I could find it, lol. That's when I handed it off to NorthWind. The two bigfoots behaved exactly as everyone says they behave. It was comforting. But, that's about as close as I want to be. There's a reason I chose to stop there, at that particular spot in the road, with visibility all around us!

It would be with my son. My friend that I hunt with. The ones that I served with in the military. I trust them with my life. They sure can trust me with their life too.

You can sort of gauge an animal's mindset most times. I've heard of several accounts of close encounters with these creatures and people who were armed and had a clean shot didn't take them because they were overcome with emotion. I grew up around large animals having been raised on a small horse ranch and I've been told that I am somewhat of a horse whisperer. I've found that emotional connection with other large creatures. I'm a big, tough, straight-laced conservative guy, so what I'm about to say may seem a bit loony, but I honestly think an encounter with such a creature would be almost a spiritual experience. For me, at least. I remember years ago I was in the Idaho mountains and hunting for elk. I walked around the corner of an old overgrown logging road and encountered a herd of cow moose and their calves. I was a human, with a rifle, and by all appearances, a lethal threat. But, I had no intention of harming them and was instead instantly fascinated by them. What happened next was pretty amazing. I slung my rifle on my back and just slowly approached them, humming softly and speaking quietly. Instead of crashing off into the woods, they just sort of moved cautiously around me. I watched their ears for signs of aggression or alarm. You can tell a lot about a horse's emotional state by their ear movements. The moose soon relaxed and just let me walk through them. I could have reached out and touched them. It was a pretty moving experience. I've had lots of encounters over the years that were similar. Some animals I could tell were aggressive and others I sensed were ambivalent. Just last year I was out scouting for elk and came across a cow moose and her calf. I was able to get really close to them before they got spooked and moved into the trees... So, I imagine if I had an encounter with a Bigfoot, that it would be able sense that I was not a threat. I have no desire to kill one or prove to the world that they are real. I think I would also be able to sense it's intentions towards me. As long as it wasn't a female. I still have no idea what women are thinking and am completely clueless, lol.

A human can cover 21 feet in 1.5 seconds over level ground to attack. Given that Sasquatch is often reported as possessing almost supernatural speed, I would assume that they could cover ground much quicker and over rougher terrain...if they decide to attack you. That being said, I am going to try and get as close as possible in order to attempt to obtain clear video. The reward outweighs the risk in this case.

If one starts taking doe-in-heat internally about two weeks prior to opening day, that works best.Raccoon urine you can delay until a week before opening day. I hope you find my hunting tips useful. You're welcome, in advance.