What About Bf That Totally Gets To You?

[salubrious]

Its been a recent fascination for me. My only 'A' encounter was 22 years ago and I did my best to not think about it back then. People would think I was crazy. Meh- they do anyway..

More recently I have been taking primitive survival courses (something I have always been interested in since I was a kid) at the Tracker School (http://www.trackerschool.com) in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey (most people don't know this but NJ is about 80% forest...). I had read one of Tom Brown Jr.'s books 'The Tracker' back in the late 70s and it was one of the more influential books in my adult life.

Knowing that BF is out there, and its probably as smart or smarter than we are... I imagine that they obviously know the survival skills pretty well. Now it turns out there there sightings in my area (I had a 'B' encounter 2 years ago). With the tracking skills I have learned, a lot more about why they can hide so easily and why we've never found a body (or are likely to for quite some time) have become blatantly obvious. So I feel we may well indeed have a lot to learn from them; I suppose there is something to the idea that I want to get to some sort of roots away from the unnatural world we live in as well. So its not any one reason, but maybe you get the idea.

[bipedalist]

The thought that millions of kids in the pre-70's explored around, and millions of adults explore around today, but only a few get treated to a sighting.... to know that as a kid I placed myself in position to have a sighting based on summer pursuits but just didn't grow up in a hotspot state..... to know that I fished, camped, backpacked and trekked over decades without giving BF a thought until decades later and then had a sighting..... it's all good, and in some respects, I'm glad it happened later in life, as it's hard enough to sleep on hardpack without giving a thought to BF.

[Guest BFSleuth]

+1 to you salub!

I'm getting to the same opinion regarding their intelligence: much smarter than us in some ways. Likely much more perceptive in their environment than we are as well.

[Guest OntarioSquatch]

I've also been under the impression that they are intelligent beings. Maybe not as intelligent as us, but it's likely they have well developed instincts. Trout are seen as highly intelligent, but in actuality it's their developed natural instincts that give that impression. With Sasquatch i'm thinking it's both. Both intelligence and instinct.

Edited May 4, 2012 by OntarioSquatch

[Guest shoot1]

...To find .an undiscovered primate in North America? Nice. An undiscovered indiginous people? Sweet! An undiscovered species of great ape? In the New World, no less? That's big news, really big! But a bigfoot?

Someone in a thread on here recently said--accurately, I believe--that it was their humanlike characteristics that drew us to the mystery..the concept that another species of man exists at this time.... Wow. Beyond stupendous, it's eye-poppingly shocking, it's stunning, it's absolutely electrifying. That really would be something to knock the academics right off their pins--anthropologists, geneticists, linguists. you name it. It'd be the story of the century. It's quite an exciting prospect.

Add to that their ability to pactically disappear before your eyes, their mammoth size, infrasound, language capability, the possibility there are more than one species....How could you not think that was the coolest mystery ever? They haven't been "officially" discovered, so, quick, Honey, hand me my Indiana Jones hat. An adventure is out there waiting for me.

All the above, plus the impact this can have on society and skeptics in general - depending on how intelligent and/or dangerous they are, confirmation of their existence could shake up religion, incite environmentalists and conservationists, and/or reignite SETI and space exploration. Then again, if they're carnivorous child abducting rape-monkeys that have been hidden by a government conspiracy, you'd better not go into any forested area again without wearing blaze orange - because they'll all become high-caliber shooting galleries regardless of what the government legislates.

Edited May 4, 2012 by shoot1

[Guest COGrizzly]

I initially got interested b/c I found some un-explainable tracks.

Now, i'm simply addicted to coming onto the BFF. Just part of my daily routine. And, whenever something really interesting comes about, the BFF is the place that quickly shows a hoax....

[BobZenor]

For me bigfooting started mostly as an excuse to go into the deep wilderness of Northern California. After we had the encounter and the less convincing evidence, mostly that same day, it became more of a hobby/obsession to take trips to try to get a good photo of one. I was pretty convinced they were real and in the Bluff Creek area after that night time encounter long ago. The implications to science are profound. I was probably more open to the incredible nature of it because I know from personal experience that science doesn't have all the answers. I was also very familiar with the limitations of the science so I wasn't really bothered by people thinking it was unlikely or impossible. That fact that most scientists essentially reject the entire notion makes it more interesting to me. It is more interesting when you find yourself in the minority. There isn't much point in arguing about something that is already settled.

I still don't totally see how they could exist. There are a whole lot of questions that still need to be answered. It makes it a compelling mystery and subject.

[Guest]

The enduring mystery and continued sightings is what keeps me interested and around.

If someone had told me back almost 40 years ago when I sat mystified while watching The Legend of Boggy Creek that we would still have no definitive answers in 2012 I'd have never believed it.

It's just cool for me to think there is an undiscovered ape in NA. And, I tend to believe there is based on the continued sightings.

I get turned off with some of the extraordinary claims sans proof.

I think they do great harm to the community.

But how cool is it to think there might be an undiscovered ape in NA?

So, I guess it is the enduring mystery surrounding the subject that *gets* to me.

Hasn't been proven, and hasn't been disproven.

I guess I'll be interested until the day I die. But only in the *believable* attributes/accounts.

And yes, that is subjective and pending our own personal standards of what we are willing to believe.

[Guest toejam]

Since an experience several years back hearing low end booming whoops up close, interacting with a limb breaker/chest thumper, I've become obsessed with getting a visual.

I could've probably gotten one that day but it was my first experience and it left me stunned. I've frequented the area since, learning and watching for changes along the way.

There's been many instances since (wood knocks, whistles, vocalizations) that keep me going back. Hopefully this is the year.

[Guest cbehnke]

HRPuff nailed it. for me it's the mystery. and the fact it's a massive animal makes it more amazing that it's still in limbo between dicovered and fantasy. if it was some little 1/64th of an ounce misquito sized animal that is purported to exist deep within the cracks of sheer, 3,000 foot high vertical mountain cliffs, then I think I wouldn't give a crap about it. But we're possiblly talking about a 7-10 foot tall, 300-1,000 pound BEAST that walks the forests with us. now THAT is interesting!!!,...and a bit frightening. I admit, I haven't done any field research because I'm not sure I could mentally handle a sighting and keep going about my daily life as I knew it before. I fear I would either be so scared that I'd never want to be in the woods again or I'd become obsessed with its discovery and I'd make it my life's work...and wind up losing my job.

I initially got interested b/c I found some un-explainable tracks.

Now, i'm simply addicted to coming onto the BFF. Just part of my daily routine. And, whenever something really interesting comes about, the BFF is the place that quickly shows a hoax....

Hi COGrizz. Was your track find in CO? in 2010 I got a job in VT and had to move away from CO (lived in Golden). When I lived in CO, I didn't think there was much activity there, but since I've moved I realize there is quite a bit.

Edited May 5, 2012 by cbehnke

[Guest COGrizzly]

cbehnke - Yes, they were in CO. @ 19 inches in deep snow up a very steep hill. Right next to a small creek (water source).

Yep, plenty of activity around here. And I keep hearing stories.

[Guest WIWolfman]

I like the fact that Bigfoot is a mysterious creature. I like the chase, and the fact it's a want what you can't have type of thing! Also, just the aura of the creature and the fact knowing that it can be up to 10 feet tall!

[Guest]

The reason I'm into bigfoot is because when I was two or three my dad was being a bit of a "cruel Jokester. My parent, my cousin, and I were going on a vacation to the bighorn mountains and he told me that he was gonna leave me out in the woods for bigfoot to come and get me. So that sparked a fear of anything ape-like grabbing me and taking me away. But naturally that fear turned to fascination and when I was 13 I started to get into anything that scared as a child.

[xspider1]

Great topic, georgerm and lots of very interesting replies above! The BF in my dream was friendly and that was nice, considering their size. : B I have heard things and seen foot-prints, nothing definitive but, definitely mysterious. It's a fascinating subject, any way you look at it. It involves just about every aspect of nature- human and other-wise. The eye-witnesses, many of which are, imo, extremely credible, keep me interested as well as the exponential amount of evidence suggesting that we should not think that everything is fully understood. thx

[yowiie]

Georgerm,

I think you hit on an important point--that fear factor. It heightens the adventurous feel, adds suspense, and makes it a little risky. Which I guess we find irresistable!

Yes, you hit the nail on the head. The enjoyment and the thrill of the hunt, with anticipation of an encounter and the possibility of collecting evidence only adds to the feeling. Whats really made my quest that much more thrilling is that I spotted a black jaguar/panther in my research area, it really puts the wind up youwhilst your roaming around with your back turned, gives you that tingly feeling. In fact its pretty creepy