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I love talking about what I carry! I love gear We usually are waayyy out in the woods, so I carry a full kit. Things I wear: a bushcraft knife (BPS Knives, carbon steel full tang knife), a Garmin InReach Mini, a Bic lighter, 6 Bigfoot Bushcraft fire plugs, some sort of pocketknife, a ferro rod, appropriate clothing and footwear for the season, a hat for the season, a sturdy leather belt, at least one hiking pole and my Beretta gun. I am working on getting a chest rig. I'll keep a minimum kit in it, that will always be on me, if we step out of the truck for a short walk and don't want to carry everything. It will have the Heatsheet, paracord, matches, an empty water bladder and water purification tabs, a mini flashlight and a 500-calorie Payday bar. I carry it all in a 2-lb Outdoor Vitals Shadowlight pack, which I love! Fire: Tinder kit with a few waxy fire starters, a few more BB fire plugs, waterproof Uco matches, some charcloth. In a mylar scent-free bag. Water: A Sawyer Squeeze filter and extra bladder, a Lifestraw water bottle OR a plastic bottle of water that fits the Squeeze, some water purification tabs. In a mylar scent-free bag. Shelter: A Coalcracker Bushcraft 10x10 silpoly tarp, 4 hanks of paracord, a SOL Heatsheet for a ground cloth and merino wool socks. In winter, I add a SOL bivy bag, puffy jacket, silk balaclava and vegetable plastic sacks from the grocery store, a silpoly rain poncho and sometimes rain pants and mittens; in summer just an additional long-sleeve merino Smartwool shirt. I have a Nemo 2P tent, but I'm determined to learn to use tarps. If I'm in a campground, I'll use the tent (or if I KNOW it's extra buggy where we're going) and a sleeping pad for my old bones. In a dry bag, except for the tarp, which has its own silpoly bag. First Aid: First aid/CPR/AED certification, advil/tylenol/aspirin, poison oak wipes, lip balm, bug repellent in summer, sunscreen, hand lotion (I have ezcema), a tiny eye drop bottle, alcohol pads, antibiotic cream, a limited selection of bandages and pads and leukotape. In a mylar scent-free bag. Cook Kit: Titanium mug & spork, MSR pocket Rocket & fuel cannister OR an Esbit stove & tabs, 2 Stowaway Gourmet meals (the best), a big 500-calorie Payday bar, a bouillon cube, 4 packets of coffee, I cocoa packet, another Bic lighter, a mini towel and my lunch for the day. If I'm fishing, I bring a tiny packet of salt, pepper, oil and a lemon pepper mix. Sometimes I bring my Kuska wooden mug and my teapot, both of which I love and don't mind carrying. The food is in a mylar scent-free bag and all is inside a dry bag. The teapot has its own bag. Poop Kit: Toilet paper, a few wipes and a ziplock, hand sanitizer, soap sheets from REI, in a mylar scent-free bag, a titanium trowel, and a Kula Cloth on my pack. Electronics: A FLIR camera, phone, audio recorders, a headlamp, extra batteries, all the cords and an Anker Powercore battery. In summer, I'll add a rolling solar panel. I have a tiny button light on the outside of my pack. In a dry bag. Misc: Snacks! The smallest Silky saw, a hank of rope sometimes, a tiny notebook and pencil, red bandana, a small candle, a 5-inch piece of a hacksaw, reading glasses, signal mirror, paper maps or screenshots of where we are going, a compass, my fishing license, my wallet and a REI foam seat pad. Sometimes I bring my Helinox One chair and my hatchet if we'll be close to the truck or very far away from it. Sometimes I bring a fishing pole and a tiny bit of gear. I always bring one or two pretty stones as a gift for the bigfoots if we get any interactions or find anything that says to us "they were here". In NorthWind's truck aka when I don't drive, I bring a carry-on with a full change of clothing, more food and first aid supplies, a solar light and a small battery lantern, a battery/winding radio, a small grill, leather work gloves, an emergency tarp and more paracord, a toothbrush, hair ties and whatever I've tucked into the nooks and crannies. And in winter, either a sleeping bag or a wool blanket. In my truck, which is old as dirt, I also carry an extensive first aid kit, another hatchet and sharpening stones, a saw, shovel, extra gas and water and fishing poles and gear and 2 wool blankets and 2 sleeping bags. Did I forget anything? Now you know what I'm carrying in all my videos.

Greetings from southern Maine! I’ve been interested in Bigfoot for as a long as I can remember. No personal experiences on my end, but I’m always on the lookout when I go up to camp near Mt. Katahdin in the fall.

Regarding fire starters ... yeah, the mini bic lighters are great. I do recommend testing them now and then. I had one kinda compressed inside something and I think it must have pushed the button just far enough .. it was out of gas. Not a big fan of the magnesium rod that you shave shavings off of .. they work great but present an opportunity for getting cut especially if your hands are cold. Plus if you consider how many piles of shavings, thus fires, you can make, they're clearly heavier than needed for 1-2 days use. The cotton balls smeared in petroleum jelly are good. Sometimes I'll add smokeless gun powder ... dunno if it helps or just makes me happy. Another item for the arsenal is 0000 (4-ought) steel wool .. burns even damp. Also some wind-proof / waterproof matches. One thing I miss from old days is the 35mm film canisters ... they'd hold all manner of useful stuff in a very compact package.

Madison5716: Great to know you are having fun doing research! I hope you discover new things to help humans know more about Sasquatch, you and NorthWind are pretty tenacious! Wolfjewel: Thanks! I will try to find it and give it a listen!

Before having my initial bigfoot experience in 2012 led me to want to get into the woods, I grew up doing a lot of car camping with my family and loved it, but my plantar fasciitis said no at that time to much "boots on the ground" exploring. After finding prints again in 2018, I decided to get my butt in gear and GET OUT THERE, and I did. Teaming up with NorthWind has been a blessing and I've done woodsy things I never could have imagined since then. Actually FINDING sasquatch and their stuff has opened my mind to a lot of things. I'm insanely curious about them, but I love being outdoors just as much. Except for my broken wrist, it's all been positive for me.

Most might know about this but a really nifty fire starter kit I often carry cotton balls smeared with petroleum jelly waterproof matches in small waterproof container miniature bic lighters All this goes in a Ziploc bag in another Ziploc bag The cotton balls smeared with petroleum jelly and the miniature bic lighter are very handy starting a fire in the rain

No "official kit." After 50-something years I have a pretty decent idea what I might need and what I know how to use. For me it varies by season and location. I almost always pack a water bottle or bladder plus a filter, TP and trowel, small knife, gun, ammo, usually a disposable poncho, camera, audio recorder, and my cell phone. (Backup cam, plus some places I go do have service .. not many. If I had to hike out, say someone stole my truck from the trailhead, then I'd want to be able to call in the cavalry once I had a signal.) Usually map, compass, almost always GPS .. some places I know well enough to not need them but it can be nice to mark a waypoint to return to an exact spot. Often a bit of food .. jerky, power bar. If it is going to be buggy, a bug jacket and hood plus gloves. If it merely might be buggy, then a small bottle of DEET spray. Sometimes fire starter, sometimes not. One of my areas gets over 100 inches of rain per year ... might as well try to ignite creek water. Other times it is fire season, no fire allowed, and even an emergency fire / beacon might turn life threatening. Often times one dry pair of socks. Two flashlights .. a must. Some way to tell time .. need to know whether I can get out with the available daylight or if I should use it to make a comfortable camp and settle in for the night. I have started carrying an UL hammock and UL whoopie slings .. nice to nap in, softer than rocks. If there's a chance of passing a place to fish, I'll have fishing gear of some sort appropriate to the location and the fish I think are there.

https://bigfootforums.com/topic/44340-possible-photo-of-bigfoot-face/

Annie Nore: In my case it takes nerve to post anything on a forum. Ozaukee county, not too far from Lake Michigan. I had some incidents similar to a BFRO report, I have now gone back to the site and checked the Ozaukee reports, the report that was similar to mine is now missing, I didn't think they removed reports. Hmm. The first incident involved sounds similar to the Sierra Sounds, particularly the dog fighting talking sounds followed by hearing breathing around the corner of the house, 11PM-1AM when I was sitting outside. Lung capacity was astoundingly large, like nothing I've ever heard before in my life (grew up around livestock/rural areas.) Something registered in my brain after hearing the breathing that it actually created terror that I have never felt before in my life. After that I would not go outside at night and I still have issues because of it. It's that serious. Second incident was house slapping but it's not really a slap, it's like a cannon blasting a sand-filled basketball at the outside wall, enough to shake that side of the house. Yet again, late at night while I was watching a movie. Prior to the slap there was a freaky kind of scratching at the window. I refused to move the curtain to see what was making the scratching noise and then not too long after that something hit the house. Other things at the time: massive noise on roof/attic, small tree uprooted, 8/9ft healthy branch snapped downward on the tree behind the house, a heavy rancid oil/fish/skunk odor on one night when the fog was incredibly thick (wall of fog), motion sensor on porch light pulled apart, cattle went crazy one night around 1AM and I went outside to check on them, +smaller things. Didn't have the internet, didn't watch tv, didn't know Bigfoot was a thing until years later when I returned to MO. Some classic BF events. Now I have the tree/branch manipulation and other things. It's not a pleasant thing for me but I'm am better with it.

I believe anything that makes you wonder and engage in analytical thought is a positive thing. If these creatures have existed for this long and not provided "indisputable proof," then hats off to them and their kind. I do not think a North American Primate of some sort is impossible. Greater credence has been awarded to less deserving pursuits. They certainly have a thing or two to teach us about living in this world, again a positive thing. They are wilderness creatures and should be approached and respected as such. There is always a certain amount of danger involved with wild animals. More so with this creature because we have much to learn about it. As we do, we will also learn about how much most of us have lost our ways of communicating with the natural world. What used to be instinctual has been suppressed by this modern world and its "advantages." More positive. The more violent an experience the more attention the media gives it. Evidently it is what many people want to hear because it sells. I don't like to dwell too long and hard on what kind of an experience I might have with these creatures. It will make me crazy!

Ci' Tonga is literally big foot (or maybe feet) in the Omaha Tribe Native Language. That's the name they use on the Reservation.

Here we go

Ive seen this map before and I don’t think it’s absurd. The map is misleading. And I don’t even agree with the term “virgin forest”. Native Americans logged and burned the forest as well as natural fires. The forests were constantly in a state of flux and rebirth before Europeans stepped off the boats.

Exploring new wilderness areas (hiking, camping, backpacking) and trying to do citizen science to collect evidence on the reality of these creatures is positive. However, it is all fun and games until darkness falls and you end up with an encounter that scares you to death or psychologically/spiritually transforms you in a negative way. What happens when the dog catches the car? Most people who tell me that they want to see a sasquatch, say that they prefer to see it from the safety of their car or from 300 yards away from a group setting. Rarely do people tell me that they want to see a sasquatch when they are camping solo in the middle of a wilderness area. What if you spend 30 years with this hobby and never see one or gather compelling evidence (that improves the current situation)? I think that situation would still be positive if your intent was to have fun in the wilderness and enjoy the outdoors. It would not be positive if you neglected your family, friends, work, etc. in the pursuit of an unbalanced obsession with the search for proof.

Unlike a lot of people…I actually enjoy the topic. So for me, the majority of it is positive. I like hearing about different theories and methods of investigation. I enjoy it when someone else involved with the subject has a personal success or finds an exciting piece of evidence. I believe that a lot of the phenomenon itself has darker qualities. I believe that there is a certain level of predation that occurs with these things. I had a sighting of something when I was younger. It caused me a great deal of fear and didn’t behave in a friendly manner. I haven’t had a sighting as an adult, although I have had some experiences. Seeing that as a kid and experienced the stuff I have as an adult…it’s certainly changed the way that I look at the world. Not always for the best, but all growth is painful.