Has Bf Caused You To Be Slightly Paranoid In The Woods?

[georgerm]

Has the knowledge about BF caused you to be more watchful while being in the forest?

 

 

Do you have strong fear?

 

 

Do you feel brave and desire to see one face to face?

 

 

Do you enjoy the forest but BF keeps you thinking?

 

 

The Native Americans seemed to fear BF and many stayed out of their territory, and they were known be be brave.  Are we fools for going into their territory and acting too self assured.

[MIB]

Usually questions like this come from somewhere deeply personal.   What makes your mind wander down this path today?    Is that something you're comfortable sharing?

 

My answers probably don't mean what you expect them to mean given how you word the questions.   The implications don't track.   Am I more watchful?  If that is possible, then yes.  Do I have strong fear?  Yes, but not of bigfoot.   And while I do desire to see them face to face, bravery has nothing to do with it.   Curiosity ... the quest for understanding.   Yes, I enjoy the forest and yes, bigfoot keeps me thinking.   

 

Native Americans .. don't paint with too broad a brush.  Different tribes had different views of who these guys in the forest were, what they were like, etc.  Some were fearful, some were merely cautious.   I suspect the difference reflects their earliest interactions.  

 

I seek answers a mere sighting cannot provide.  Neither can a body on a slab.  Only interaction.   Whether or not I'm a fool is irrelevant, I go the only place answers can be found. 

[Guest]

Not Bigfoot but Lions and Tigers and Bears oh no,

no tigers but packs of cranky coyotes, mountain lions and bears.

 

.. And now I'm a tad nervous about Colorado Grizzlys. 

 

BF Seems like a pretty cool dude actually.

.

Edited August 26, 2013 by SummitSquatch

[Guest]

I have to admit, the last thing i would want to happen while i was in a treestand, bow hunting, would to have one walk up to me, that would probably be the end of me.
It often makes me wonder, that when they find a hunter dead from a heart attack, that the last thing he seen, was what gave him the heart attack.

[Guest]

Certainly, but other animals make me more nervous. Oh and the crazy people that are sometimes around.

 

I want to see one but don't know what would happen if I did. I'd like to think I would react with some semblance of bravery and determination but probably not.

 

There are so many factors to think about but none of them stop me from going and experiencing the vast beauty of our wild America every chance I get.

[TD-40]

Yes. My experience in the outdoors over the past couple of years has changed. I'm always looking around, up on the ridge, in the trees, and up in the canyon to see if there's something out there.

 

I realize I should not let my belief in bigfoot ruin my time in the outdoors, but I do go to places where I know they exist. I detailed my experience with a footprint here a couple of weeks ago, and now I am afraid to take a tent in that area and actually try to sleep for a night.

[Guest]

I try to go to places of a few reported sightings, try to 'act' causal about it. Curious. But its in the daytime, I might do a night-timer soon in a heavy area. In a pickup shell, not a tent.

[Incorrigible1]

I look for Zagnut remnants and cigarette butts.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Incorrigible1

[Guest]

Used to bumble around completely unaware of what was going on around me.  Ignorance is bliss?  Now I am more aware of my surroundings.  The ears and nose are always turned on.  Walking in the woods after dark has become a little too much lately.  Silly how the bushes and trees can start to look like something they are not.  Never gave any thought to big cats before visiting this site.  Now I am nervous about them.  Oh, and the hogs- well, I don't climb trees very fast so that would be BAD.  I remember what happened to Ol Yeller!

[Guest]

I have to admit, the last thing i would want to happen while i was in a treestand, bow hunting, would to have one walk up to me, that would probably be the end of me.

It often makes me wonder, that when they find a hunter dead from a heart attack, that the last thing he seen, was what gave him the heart attack.

Man, I never even thought of that! I always chalked it up to the exertion of lugging around gear and climbing up a stand with probably little sleep and lots of bad food on top of it. You've put a whole new perspective on it.

[Cotter]

Simply put, no, I am not afraid to go in the woods. 

 

However, I have a deep respect for all aspects of Mother Nature than can kill you quick, including BF.  When I'm in bear, or lion, or BF country, I keep an eye out for the signs of the animals, as well as take care to look at the more natural death traps (widow makers at camp, gulches that could flash flood, etc).  I try to be more mindful of potential BF evidence, moreso than bear or lion.  So I guess that my awareness toward all things BF is ratcheted up.

 

I would love to have a sighting.  Face to face?  Eh, not so much, but I wouldn't want to have a face to face with a cougar, bear, or crazy hillbilly either.  A comfortable observing distance would do fine.  If a face to face happened, would I be afraid?  Probably.  But only when the face to face occurred, not the minutes/hours/days leading up to it.  Respect until that time.

 

Are we fools for heading into their domain.  Some would say yes, some would say no.  Are 'we' fools for launching people into space or sending people to the bottom of the ocean?  Or swimming with sharks?  No such thing as a fool in the quest for knowledge (IMO).

 

In closing, I'll share with you a song lyric from a Mr. Mike Cooley:  "Living in fear is just another way of dying before your time".

 

Enjoy the outdoors, when yer numbers up, it's up.

[LeafTalker]

Some wonderful posts here. And I really appreciated this (so hard to do! but such a great thing, too):

 

 

If a face to face happened, would I be afraid?  Probably.  But only when the face to face occurred, not the minutes/hours/days leading up to it.  Respect until that time.

[georgerm]

Yes. My experience in the outdoors over the past couple of years has changed. I'm always looking around, up on the ridge, in the trees, and up in the canyon to see if there's something out there.

 

I realize I should not let my belief in bigfoot ruin my time in the outdoors, but I do go to places where I know they exist. I detailed my experience with a footprint here a couple of weeks ago, and now I am afraid to take a tent in that area and actually try to sleep for a night.

 

 

This is my hang up since I like to camp in areas where BF lives.  Sleeping in a tent with the fear of BF coming around is not inviting. I went to a hot spot and slept in my Ford Explorer and every two hours I woke up to look around.

[Sasfooty]

I don't see any reason to get paranoid about the possibility of them being in the woods. They were always there & if you weren't paranoid before, why get all worried now?

 

I'm more afraid of running into a rabid skunk, fox, or raccoon around here. Even that is less of a worry now that they hang around, because they keep them run off.

 

I think it depends on a person's attitude toward them. If you're hostile or afraid, you might have something to worry about, but if you don't think of them as being dangerous, they probably won't be. Mostly they believe in live & let live & generally they're not bad neighbors if they like you.

 

If you meet one face to face, he'll probably just look you over & walk away. So, what's there to be paranoid about?

[LeafTalker]

I think it depends on a person's attitude toward them. If you're hostile or afraid, you might have something to worry about, but if you don't think of them as being dangerous, they probably won't be. Mostly they believe in live & let live & generally they're not bad neighbors if they like you.

 

I agree. I think BF -- just like everything else in life -- is kind of a "rorschach test" of our own beliefs. We see what we want to see (and then we get more of whatever it is we see). The question is (and this question is for myself, as much as anyone else), when will we get tired of being afraid? Wouldn't it be great to expand beyond the fun of scaring ourselves to the greater, more rewarding fun of spreading a sense of peace (which is the condition that allows for clearer thinking/being, and therefore more meaningful, purposeful, helpful action in the world)?