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What you suggest would just be an arbitrary judging of evidence and opinions. This would most likely create more divide than we have now. With social media and the internet etc everyone has a voice on any subject they want. Each individual needs to make their own decisions on what to believe or not. Topics that are black and white get skewed on a daily basis let alone a subject that’s currently as ambiguous as BF. Not trying to be negative, just realistic, at least in my opinion.

Whom do you trust? I wish we could have a trust profile on various experts and people who claim a bigfoot event. I know this is not easy- if not impossible. On top of that, it would be tough to know if one could trust the person or organization doing the grading. It's difficult to know if some of the people/video/book/story is even worth the trouble. I remember a TV show where one of the anthropologists had some forced but legitimate compliments of Jeff Meldrum. He seemed reluctantly open- minded to the concept Bigfoot might exist but just wants proof. He was fair in that he complemented Meldrum on his knowledge, scientific approach and so on and what Meldrum was bringing to the topic in a much-needed way. We might grade someone like Meldrum as a high grade where someone else might get a low grade. Roger Patterson would fairly get a lower grade for some reputation score unrelated to bigfoot (paying bills, not returning a camera) but his encounter and the film would both get a very high grades. We need some grading system or weeding out of the bad stuff if the Bigfoot topic will ever move forward. There are just too many kooks and nuts and too many who are just as unreasonable as the unreasonable skeptic hardliners. I have not followed Standing beyond a video that I watched. It felt very weak in my opinion. If I am right, then what does that say about the person putting it out there as real? Who are those who we should rate highly? Who are those who are the best case or best evidence? If one is to go to the Supreme Court of Public Opinion, I would much rather have Bill Munns, Meldrum, and others than I would Survivorman or some guy who claims he shot bigfoot and buried him in the woods. I realize the BFFs is a great place to have that discussion and sort that out. We must find a way to call balls and strikes. Believers need to be a bit more skeptical. We cannot expect Skeptics to be more openminded, however. For that to happen, it will only come for top-grade experts, witnesses, stories which check out, film, and so on. I still doubt we can make that happen. When we are given an opportunity for a TV show, documentary and so on we must put the best case forward. This Who-do-you-trust issue must be resolved if we are ever going to know how to move forward.

Come out this way (Abby) for a day trip with me next weekend, you can fill your rig with gas at about $0.20 cheaper per L, park it at my place, and ride shotgun with me on my gas. I'd love to take you and your wife out for the day. My gas, you bring lunch.

That Henry looks like a very handy piece. My friend Magniaesir carries a 44 Mag Mares leg, with a proper buttstock, so it can be aimed easily, that makes a very compact trail rifle. I got out for the afternoon on a combined deer/bear/sasquatch/grouse search to a large mountainside on the east shore of Harrison Lake. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, light breeze, and temp. in the low 20s C (low/mid 60s F). It's very dry in the hills right now, as we're in a stage 4 drought, with less than 1% of normal rainfall over the last 2 months. I explored several old logging roads, to the limit that my 4x4 would take me, and did a few short hikes further along the sections too overgrown to drive. I didn't see any big game at all but did take 1 nice fat grouse with the 20ga. As always, I feel great after a day in the hills.

I wanted to update about my trip. I went to the State Park, and kayaked probably a mile or a little more. The creek was rather full of fallen trees and limbs. I went on Thursday September 15th. I was using an inflatable kayak. I have to say, I am extremely impressed with it. I kept hearing branches and rocks scraping from underneath that I could not see in the murky water. After the trip I closely examined the bottom and I could not find any rough spots. For $100, I think I already have gotten my money value from it. On Thursday, after a little over a mile, I had to turn around because there was a huge tree all the way across the creek, and even though I could have scaled the tree trunk and re-embarked the kayak on the other side during the day time, I knew there was no safe way to do that at night. I set out apples during the day, and scoped out a place to come back at night. I identified a stretch of creek that was about 2 football fields long, that had deeper water, fewer trees and limbs, and I felt that it was clean enough to navigate in an inflatable kayak in the dark. So that night I returned. I had to park and then walk down about a half mile service road to get to the spot on the creek to where I would have a clear 200 yards to drift in and listen. I heard nothing unusual while traveling on foot on the service road. I got in the creek with my inflatable kayak, and got positioned with a "weed grabber" kayak anchor that clamps on to any weeds or tree limbs sticking out of the water. Then I would turn off my red headlamp and listen in the dark. After about 15 minutes I would turn on my headlamp, look around, then drift about 40 yards or so, find another "grabber anchor" point, and do it all over again. The creek was fairly low, and the biggest thing I noticed is that when I turned my red headlamp on, you could see thousands of sparkling spider eyes all over the banks. It literally looked like thousands of tiny reflecting diamonds. You would not believe how many wolf spiders are on the banks of a creek at night. I was on the water in the dark for about 2 hours. All I heard were acorns falling into the water. At one point, I heard a small branch cascading down through the tree limbs on its way to splashing in the water. The current story going around the state park is that Bigfoot throws rocks at you and you can hear them plop loudly in the creek. The loudest sound I heard was about 50 feet from me, when 2 large bass popped the water. I have heard that sound many times fishing. I have heard bass do that and I have even seen and heard large catfish come to the surface and do that. It sounded like large fist sized rocks ka-plunking into the water. It made me wonder, are people coming out here who have never heard a bass pop a frog or bug on the surface, and because Bigfoot is supposedly in the park, they automatically assume the noise is a bigfoot? The next day, my grown son came and we kayaked the creek again in the daylight, to check the piles of apples I had put out. Nothing had disturbed them. We also hiked for several miles, and did not see anything outside of normal. All in all, it was a super relaxing and fun trip, and time spent Friday with my grown son outdoors. As they way, a "bad day" bigfooting is a wonderful day in God's creation. I think I will turn my attention to the Uwharries. They are a little closer to me, and I have actually seen a print and heard a noise that I could not identify there. Thank you everyone for the input and advice you gave before my trip.

Ranch - Cow Moose coming up driveway. IMG_6405.MOV