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What’s the problem exactly? You are upset that someone who has a casual interest in the subject is going to a Bigfoot conference and is wearing a ‘Gone Squatching’ t-shirt? How exactly is that affecting you or your efforts? A broader knowledge and acceptance of the topic is bad how exactly? Or are you one of those people who feel like you ‘own’ the topic? You act like Jeff Meldrum said that he was going to stop being involved in research and is instead going to sit at home all day watching Finding Bigfoot reruns, or plans to follow Moneymaker around from appearance to appearance like the Grateful Dead. Like a ‘World’s Hide And Seek Champion’ coffee mug is some sort of crippling blow that will destroy all attempts at serious research. Sorry, but Inc’s description of you is pretty dead on. It’s odd that you can’t see how negative you are…without adding anything of substance to any of the discussions here beyond a constant level of complaining. ‘Community narrative’. What is that narrative exactly? You act like every well known person in the field is part of some sort of Bigfoot guild where they have to tout the party message. It seems like a lot of them just argue their opposing views most of the time. If I recall correctly, you have spoken about being zapped and having equipment mysteriously ruined before. There are researchers out there who would lump you in with the woo elements because of those claims and want you eliminated from the ‘community’. But, that’s different, right? Honestly, you just sound like someone complaining to complain…and, you kind of come across as bitter and jealous towards Moneymaker. He’s someone who I probably wouldn’t want to spend any personal time with…and he himself gets too caught up in the ‘I’m the expert’ mindset himself…but, unless I am hearing someone complain about him here, he really has no effect on me. Maybe you can help us understand your frustration. You seem to struggle with articulating exactly how these things that seem to occupy so much of your time and attention are negative to the rest of us and the subject in general. Perhaps address the questions that I posted above? I know that you received a better response to the same post on Reddit. That in of itself should tell you something…when the perpetually aggrieved on the armpit of the internet agree with you…well, that’s telling. Finally…you offered some sort of localized, community Bigfoot gathering to combat this problem with famous people that you seem to think exists. I assume that, if that local gathering becomes popular that it too would need to be canceled before the participants gained any sort of notoriety? Who is going to determine what level of recognition is acceptable?

Found a new general location that I'm absolutely thrilled with. I've been north and east of this location before but never there. Headed out early today and finally arrived at a place to park my car. It is very desolate and from the first step it just felt like a sasquatch could be anywhere. I'll be moving my trail cams here and getting more acquainted with the area so I can do an overnight. My goal was to get to a pond that is about a mile, or so, from here. Never got there today as the trek through a very large cedar swamp was slow and tedious. I was going left, then right, and then left...all to somehow weave my way through the swamp. I finally got through the cedar swanp then decided to head back and regroup for another day. Here are a few pictures of today's journey and hopefully I'll get a few more of the destination pond once I finally get there. This is my kind of place!

Really only been to one conference, Honobia in fall of 2019, primarily to hear both Ron Morehead & Scott Nelson speak on what (to me) is absolutely the most fascinating aspect of these creatures: their language. It was riveting. To hear the Sierra Sounds played (as an opening to Scott's talk) at a really high decibel level, seemingly coming out of nowhere, you could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium. There were several other speakers, a couple of them pretty well known in the field, but one gave the strangest talk, could not stop recalling (over & over again, with a certain "amused" tone) an accident that left one of his fellow researchers injured and bloody. Pretty creepy. Of all the experiences he could have shared that day, (and there was one that I'd hoped he would, one which basically helped put him on the map) to choose that one incident was strange indeed. Very disappointing. But I digress. I think it's just being with like minded people who have some incredible first person accounts, (some of these from around the breakfast table) and I've learned that if you just ask, a lot of experiences you might never have heard start to come out. The rest of it was a carnival atmosphere, mostly for the kids.

Let people enjoy what they enjoy, as long as no one's hurt by it. We are all incredibly diverse, and our interests reflect that. At the end of the day, our common curiosity about those mysterious hairy giants brings us together. It's always interesting to hear other people's stories and see their eyes light up and their voices catch in excitement. Life's too short not to pursue what you enjoy, in whatever form that takes.

BRB ---- three posts above is one of the epic posts on BFF. Thank you. I remember the time when the mere mention of this subject produced uncontrollable laughter and guffaws. Matt M. has single-handedly converted what was once a subject that people only whispered about to something everyone can discuss with complete comfort. People can discuss all aspects of how he did what he did, and that is fair game, but in the end he is a transformational person. Mega-kudos to MM. We all have our own talents and they each benefit what we're doing. Field work is only part of it. Sound and video analysis, analyzing database information to develop patterns, photogrammery, historical data input and so much more. I am honored to watch all this evolve before our eyes. The more we foster conventions, the more there will be competition amongst them. The more there is competition, the more there will be the drive for excellence. Rising water lifts all boats.

Truer words were never spoken. Do I think that conventions and Bigfoot celebrities cause damage to the larger cause? No. Do I think that these strange people who try to become self appointed gatekeepers of the topic cause damage to the larger cause? Yes. If they had their way, only ‘serious researchers’ such as themselves would be permitted to speak about certain things, and free public discourse would be controlled or eliminated. Bitter, self-appointed experts who constantly demand that others be quiet and bow to their wisdom turn away more potential enthusiasts than Mountain Monsters. And one of those enthusiasts might just be the one to prove Bigfoot’s existence someday. I used to rail against BFRO paid expeditions on this forum, until a couple of members were kind enough to take the time to explain an opposing point of view to me. Just because I don’t find any personal value in those things doesn’t mean that other people shouldn’t have the opportunity to enjoy them if they so desire. At the end of the day, it exposes more people to the subject, many of whom are not able to do what we would define as field research themselves. Real field research is hot, dirty, expensive, time consuming, frustrating, and sometimes dangerous. Just because someone can’t or isn’t willing to endure all of that, doesn’t mean that they can’t have an interest in the subject…even if the version that they are interested in doesn’t necessarily reflect my own experiences. When the shut-in on Facebook starts to lecture you on Bigfoot behavior…just laugh and move on. There’s too many windmills out there to tilt with, so why bother? And if you do argue with them and successfully impose your own viewpoint…well, congratulations. There’s only a few million more out there, so you better get cracking if you want everyone to think the same way as you. At the end of the day, the person who wants to pay to go on a BFRO expedition has absolutely zero effect on me or my efforts. Nor does a little grandmother who collects Bigfoot memorabilia. Nor does a Bigfoot celebrity who brings out his own branded ‘Monster Hot Sauce’. I personally find it a bit cringe, but people might think the same way about me. And I don’t want those people to have the ability to limit or control my actions or speech concerning Sasquatch…so I will afford them the same courtesy. The idea of subjective control of the discussion seems to be appealing to a disturbing number of forum participants these days. I went to the Smokey Mountain conference, mainly because I enjoy watching Paulides give his presentation and I wanted to hear Ron Morehead speak. I approached it with a certain level of hesitancy given some of the participants. I ended up having a ball. A lot of it didn’t appeal to me, but I enjoyed being there and talking to some of the attendees…even the ones who I find to be polar opposite of me on the subject. Enjoyed the heck out of it, and even ended up buying some Cryptid related patches off of a kid who had a table there…just because I found his enthusiasm for the subject infectious. At the end of the day, if you think that Matt Moneymaker and someone’s grandma who collects Bigfoot tchotchkes is going to prevent the eventual proof of these creatures, or if you find yourself bitterly stewing over their very existence…maybe reflect a little upon why you are allowing others to affect you to such a degree. At the end of the day, this subject and it’s pursuit is supposed to be something that brings us joy. If you find yourself hating the subject and everything or anyone involved with it…yet are still involved because you feel that you and you alone can solve the mystery…then I don’t know what to tell you, other than maybe request that you don’t constantly attempt to poison the subject for the rest of us. No one person is ever going to completely control the narrative. This isn’t the day of the Four Horsemen, were only a comparative handful of people were conversant on the subject. There are more YouTube channels and podcasts than you could shake a stick at…. Most of them aren’t my cup of tea, but I don’t have an innate desire to control what others say, hear, or do…so I don’t care. And if you do care? More power to you. I only answered because you asked, and now I will continue my day free from the worry that Matt Moneymaker might be out there somewhere doing something that I disagree with.

This past weekend my "brother from another mother" Bill and I did our annual backpacking trip. Usually we go into a particular basin and do bigfooting things. This year that whole area was smoked out by wildfires upwind so we stirred things up a bit. We hiked into Blue Canyon Basin in the Sky Lakes Wilderness. It is a broad, shallow glacial cirque in the head of the South Fork of Rogue River in the Cascade Range between Crater Lake to the north and Mt McLoughlin in the south. There was fairly heavy haze as we left town but it got better as we neared Blue Canyon trailhead. The trailhead is on top of a ridge. From the TH the trail drops steadily but gradually to valley floor passing one lake on the canyon wall and meeting at several at the canyon bottom. To that point the trail is heavily traveled but gets less traffic depending on which direction you choose. We headed east past some lakes under the back rim of the cirque. We passed the turnoff to Blue Canyon Lake which hangs high on the back wall of the cirque. (We came back to this trail and used it getting out of the basin .. more of that later.) On the way in we passed Horseshoe and Pear Lakes, climbed a low ridge, and dropped past Dee Lake to Island Lake. My intent was to camp at Dee Lake but we missed it ... out of sight of the trail. Though I had never been there I recognized Island Lake when we arrived. We set up camp at Island Lake, filtered some water, ate dinner, and went to bed not long after dark. Sometime not much later the wind blew what was left of the smoke out of the basin and we had a great view of stars, Jupiter, and later the moon. Saturday AM we woke up to this at Island Lake: ... no smoke!! NONE!! We got up fairly early but it was after 9:00 a by the time we had breakfast and broke camp. The day stayed clear, at least up high, but heated up a bit. We reversed course and headed back with intent to take a different trail up out of the basin. We stopped at Pear Lake for a while, then after a short walk, we stopped for lunch and a nap beside Horseshoe Lake: After a break we hiked the last half mile to the junction with the Blue Canyon Lake trail. At that junction, the fun ended and the work began. Trails within the basin were fairly level and more or less maintained. The Blue Canyon Lake trail was neither. The lake is about 2/3 of the way up the trail to the ridge but off a few hundred yards through some gnarly brush. There had been some maintenance attempted as far as the lake. It ended there. Also the yellowjackets, which had been noticeably absent, began there. We stopped about where we figured lake level should be and I bushwhacked to the lake. It was not a fun bushwhack. The lake was pretty gross. The water looked clear but the lake bottom seemed coated with a bright yellow-green plant layer. There were no obvious camping spots. I decided we should move on. The last 1/3 of the trail to the ridge, along with the Cat Hill Way trail which ran along the ridge 2.5 miles or so back to my truck, was littered with fallen logs and had a lot of impinging brush .. mostly huckleberry. That whole section was overrun with yellowjackets as well. I almost stepped in one ground nest. No stings, but .. close. From the trailhead, we drove back to where we had cell service, phoned home / checked in with Bill's wife and my GF, then drove to where he usually parks his trailer in hunting season and camped one more night to finish off the mountain house, etc. Good trip. No bigfoot. No tracks. No vocalizations (though I have not reviewed the audio recording from the night yet). No heavy "vibe" as the research area gets when they are around. Time to start figuring out something for next year ...

Is there reason to call a Bigfoot Conference when it's actually more like a convention. It seems like the same speakers appear every year (because maybe there's just not that much to say thats new), and after a while it's basically a convention or even a Bigfoot themed Comicon esque event. By that same token, how much damage to the "Influencers" do to the larger cause? The Moneymakers, and other large group leaders? The Podcasters and the Conventioneers, the oh so common Youtuber as well. Is a "Conference" more than a Comicon at this point. Is an Influencer more than just some chump trying to get their own Finding Bigfoot show, or sell their own likeness as an Action figure? (This is actually a thing btw)

They may tie knickers in a knot but due to people speaking out about vinchy this site has had more activity today than in the past week!!!

Thanks wiiawiwb, appreciate that! Everyone have a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

I am. Thought you'd never ask

Tobe’s interview on Strange Familiars is one of the best podcasts ever.

Tobe's book! I haven't been able to buy it yet, but i want to! I've been to the Owl Moon Lab location in Oregon, near Cottage Grove Lake. Lots of creepy things have happened there - I've seen videos and listened to audio of the OML. High strangeness. I've seen where a bigfoot pinched a drainage downspout 9 feet up, and left fingerprints on the top lintel of the garage, 12 feet up. I've seen the collection of "gifts" left for Tobe and Darrell. In fact, when my friend and I found a statue of concrete, hands and hairy feet a few miles away, Tobe went with my son and I, and we hauled it out of a blackberry briar in the dark up in the woods. Super creepy, just up the road from where I had a possible bigfoot yell at me. We put it (turned out to be a gardening bench in the shape of a monkey) in the garage at OML, and that night, we recorded screaming - coming from inside the garage. Spooky as all get out. I have the highest regard for Tobe. He's a magnet for weird **** of all sorts. He's fun to hang with and has never-ending stories. We had our sighting because he told us where to go, and he's never steered me wrong. Our association goes back to 2012 - he was the investigator that came to check out my initial encounter. Then we lost touch for five years or so after I lost interest/had plantar faciitis and then reconnected three years ago when I found prints and got all back into it all. I don't agree with every conclusion Tobe arrives at, but I have tremendous respect for him. Having night squatched with him once, his courage is astonishing. He's been doing this longer than I have, and much more intensely. His knowledge of bigfoot behavior is deep. I don't WANT to believe some of the other stuff he's into, but who knows the truth. I can't wait to buy it.

I want to thank you for bringing up pleasant memories. Throughout my childhood I avidly read a daily newspaper comic by Al Capp, "Lil' Abner." You remind me of one of the characters in the comic, Joe Btfsplk. Poor Joe was a notorious jinx and everywhere he went he was followed, above his head, by his own personal rain cloud.

If I went to a conference, it would be specifically to pick a particular person's brain or experience. Morehead's experience with the vocal sasquatches in that area of the Sierra Nevada mountains is of great interest to me, because that's the general area of my own footprint find, and the sheer consistency of his experiences at that camp over so many years is important to me.

What color is the sky in your world?

A new update on the California family: The Devils Gulch area has now been closed off. 'Unknown hazards' found on Sierra National Forest trail near where Calif. family was found dead (sfgate.com) "Sierra National Forest officials Saturday issued a closure of the Merced River Recreation Site "due to unknown hazards found in and near the Savage Lundy Trail." I'm wondering how you find an unknown hazard.

I had a VHF radio installed in my H3 today. A local shop supplied, installed, and programmed an Icom F5023H (50W power) with all of the BC resource road channels, so I can now monitor and communicate with the logging and mining rigs out in the bush. It's a lot safer when they know where I am, and vice-versa. They are required to call out km markers when they pass them, even numbers up, and odd numbers down.

Rack is done. Decided jerry can and spare was too heavy. Will have to go with roto packs on sides.

Nice adventure area, I enjoyed my BFRO trip back that way in 2007, very smokey back then and active fires, that place looks like a tinderbox again but lake levels looked good from what I could see. Did you see any moose, they were all over one of my campsites? With a new knee it will be awhile before I build up to any trail work or trekking but I intend to rehab to do some.

Ok, but you can easily host a local Town Hall style thing to, without all the Influencer nonsense, or having to pay the same "speakers" to come in and given the same presentation as last year..... Sorry, and downvote all you want but these two things are nothing more than mechanisms that reinforce the BS of the subject more than do anything fruitful towards actual research. The model at least, needs to shift.

Blue, because it's the real world, sorry so many have been poisoned by the Community narrative, be they hoaxer, "celebrity", podcaster, youtuber...... I'm still right. Are you suggesting the current model is the only model? It's an industry not research. Replace moose hunting with back packing outdoorsy stuff, and we would be on the same page.

Or I pissed in your cornflakes because so you're so heavily invested in that BS community narrative being served up that you cant see the forest through those pesky trees. I pity that attitude for being part of the problem.