Professional Hunter talks about his grandfather's BF encounter and his experiences

[Explorer]

These two videos by Steve Isdahl (a professional big game hunting guide for over 20 years) tell about his grandfather's BF encounter and his own experiences.

Steve is part of the HowtoHunt organization (see link below).

http://www.howtohunt.com/blacktail-hunter-app

It is good to see the hunting community address this topic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The comments on his 2 youtube videos are just as interesting as his grandfather's story.

 

I extracted 5 stories (out of ~500) from the comments on the 2nd video that were interesting enough to share here.  Deleted names. 

 

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1.      I was up in the Adirondacks in New York bear hunting last year very remote. 20 plus miles from civilization. I took a shot just about dark on a black bear with my 30.06 bear ran 60 yards and died. But before I went to track him I gave him 20 mins to lay down and die...by this time It was dark. I began spot lighting the blood trail and as I approached where the bear had died I saw a tall figure standing about 50 yards away behind a tree watching me. It was about 7 1/2 feet tall and no it was not a bear. It ran like a man would run. The hair on the back of my neck stood up I was terrified since it was pitch black. I can not tell you what I saw but it was not a bear. This thing was massive. I'm 5'5 and this thing was at least 2 feet taller than me. I began to tell my gf what happened and she chuckled. After that I didn't even bother yo speak of it again. But I know what I saw. I've never been more terrified in my life. I refuse to hunt till dark there anymore this year I will be out of the woods at light. These things do exist

 

2.      Listening to you kind of inspired me, I have never told anybody about what I saw and I mean nobody until now. I was trout fishing in Washington decided to go north up along Idaho toward Canada. As I fish to stream and caught a few fish I was pleased, I camped up there for a couple days I woke one morning and headed to the creek, I can hear some splashing that morning being cautious I thought maybe it was a bear so I proceeded was real, caution when I got closer to the noise this thing jumped up all the water and ran into the Timber. I cannot say what I saw all I know is it mood was super flash speed and it was on two legs. I ran the other way went to camp pack my stuff and left. I don't know if it was a bear I don't know what it was all I know is it left on two legs and I will not return to that area ever.

 

3.      A friend of the family had a grandpa that was a sheep herder, anyways his land was at the foot of the Appalachians. He noticed that sheep were coming up missing, and decided to set the field overnight, he went out a couple nights in a row with nothing. The third night he never returned, his family went out looking for him and found blood and a broken shotgun stock and both shells had the primers struck, one boot, but no other trace of him. A couple decades later his kin were having problems with the same thing missing sheep, so they went out in their truck and would spotlight the wood line and they saw some huge eyes that were too far apart to be human, to high to be a black bear standing up looking back at them, one of the guys had a rifle and put it over the hood of the truck and aimed between the 2 huge eyes reflecting back and shot. They said they heard the most loud and unusual howling, and thrashing followed by the sounds of something huge running through the woods snapping branches. They went back the next morning to track the blood and find out what it was. They saw saplings 2 to 4 inch diameter snapped over and branches snapped over their heads for the first 50 yards into the woods, blood and hair but never any body. Whatever it was, was over 6 foot tall at the shoulders and very wide with brown hair. There have never been any Brown Bear in that area, and I have never seen one running off standing so that it could hit the areas on the tree that whatever it was did.

 

4.      I have no doubt that what you are saying is true. I saw one too. I was a little kid in the back seat of my Dads sedan. We were driving through the Everglades on our way home from visiting friends. My brother and sister were sleeping beside me at the time. We had to stop for some reason and I looked out the window and right there beside the road in a ditch I believe, was my SkunkApe looking right at me. When we got home my Father told me the name of what I saw. I wonder now if he saw it too. But he never doubted me or my truth.

 

5.      I had an experience close to Toba Inlet about ten years ago. I was boating with my folks and cousin and we had just anchored in a beautiful and extremely remote little cove on East Redonda Island. There are no roads, or houses anywhere on this island and it is a few hours boat ride to the nearest human settlement. The shore was very close to the boat, maybe 30 yards away due to a very sudden drop off of deep water, and we were all sitting at the rear of the boat enjoying some beverages when all of a sudden the forest went quiet and we all got this strange feeling that something was off. Suddenly a gigantic log that weighed probably in excess of 200 pounds was thrown out of the deep forest towards our boat. It landed in the water with an almighty splash about 15 yards from the boat. I emphasis that it was THROWN. It came out of the forest horizontally and on a dead calm evening. We then heard odd noises from the forest, after which my dad went and got his old winchester 30-30 from down below. We were all pretty freaked out at this point. We ended up taking off the next day and have avoided that particular bay ever since. I 100 percent believe you on these stories. Something is out there, and it is something people should be aware of.

[BobbyO]

I say brave as he’s put himself on the line here and open for some huge ridicule both personally and professionally, but he clearly doesn’t care. 

 

Video’s were released part week and no, they weren’t  released on the 1st !  

 

 

Part 2

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_vCwgVnYhi0 

[BobbyO]

Great minds and all that....;)

 

Delete my post please admin, Explorers has much better detail. 

[Patterson-Gimlin]

Thanks for sharing. Great stories. 

[MikeZimmer]

My neck of the woods. Many of my wife's family worked in those forests. Could be some of them know the grandfather.

 

[norseman]

Patty’s thighs are the size of McClarins waist.

[Doug]

He is quite the hunter. I've seen his videos before. Definitely dedicated to the art of hunting mature blacktails. It would stand to reason that he would have encounters with Sasquatches if they were there.

[ShadowBorn]

Why should we care what people think to what some of us have seen out in these woods. I agree with what he is saying and every thing he has said.  I have felt the very same thing as what he has said and have had no problem coming out with my own encounter. Except I still hide behind a avatar on this very forum. But I have openly come out with my encounters in my state with everything that has taken placed. I know all to well about the ridicule that comes with having an encounter. I know that some times it is better to stay silent about what one has encountered. But some times it is better to open up about it and let it go. 

 

So thank you for him and his encounter and for having the guts to come out in the open. Yes, it sure is a brave thing what he is doing . 

[SWWASAS]

I found it interesting that Isdahl  admitted how he feels about the experiences he has had.    I have never admitted that when my encounters started getting more threatening,   fear crept in.    Although I have had some serious illness in the last couple of years,    it has been mostly fear that has kept me out of the woods.   Like him,    I am not at all sure I want to have more encounters solo.    When hunter becomes hunted,   it is a real game changer.     

[Explorer]

There are ~776 comments on the first video. Many of them are encounter stories by hunters and/or people camping in the wilderness.

I extracted about 10 of them and list them below.

I listed mainly those that state a location, explain what the witness was doing and have some nugget of interesting information.

Amazing that these stories come from all over the country.

I removed the names associated with the stories. Kept the mis-spelling and grammar as it was.

I doubt that many of these stories are in the BFRO database.

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1.      I lived and worked all my life in Idaho's backcountry. I'm told Idaho has the largest continuous area of uninhabited wilderness in the lower 48 states, which in my mind creates an environment for things unknown. I've had several lone Bigfoot encounters and on two occasions there were other people with me. On all occasions, I had a dog and horses/mules with me that took the events without being nervous but watched closely with heads high and ears up. With deer, elk, moose the mules wouldn't have reacted at all. With bear, cougar or wolves they would have been edgy. When trying to relate Bigfoot encounters to other people I can't seem to find words powerful enough to match the actual experience and satisfy my psyche. Anyway, over the years and with tongue in cheek anything I couldn't explain I began to say "It was Bigfoot." Until we find proof positive, what else can ya do... ;-)

  

2.      I've seen it twice, the first time was at lost lake, about 25 miles west of Sisters Oregon back in 1988. The second time My wife and I watched one cross a jeep trail, around Shelburg falls near Lyons Oregon. That was about 2 years ago, we have not returned to those woods since.

  

3.      Been there Same sentiments here Coastal Plain Eastern North Carolina I ve seen 1 small Female and 1 gigantic huge male They are very quiet I think they winter here.  Scared the shirt out of me I’m never going back in deep woods alone Ever.  I would not harm them unless threatened But they are big quiet and very Ominous and frightening The small female must have been a curious teenager The big male seen months later was the size of a gum tree

  

4.      Hey, I've seen them twice in my life. Once when I was seven and again when I was twenty three. The second time every person on my fire crew saw it at one time or another over the week and a half that we were spiked out on a ridge in the wallowa mountains in NE Oregon. My dad saw at least one, but much like your grandfather wouldn't tell until after he had his stroke. I was thirty six at that point. I'll be waiting here for you to finish.

 

5.      grey one in Southeast Missouri back in January of 2013. Not grey like an old man, but like the color of a darker timberwolf. He was about 8 feet tall and had to be a thousand pounds, as it's shoulders were wider than the biggest body builder. I would guess about 4 and a half feet across. Thank you for your story.

  

6.      I feel the same way. Wish I never saw what I have seen in Colorado. Tracks scat and been followed in the South San Juan mountains. I know they are real and it changed my thoughts on the woods.

 

7.      About 5 years ago in middle Tennessee me and my stepbrothers and stepdad were raccoon hunting with our dogs one night in the absolute middle of nowhere. We were up on a ridge trying to listen for our dogs who got off after a bobcat and we all heard heavy walking coming up the side of the hill we were on. We didn’t think anything about it but it kept coming just far enough out of flashlight range. I had my .22 lr with me knowing that it wouldn’t hurt anything but it gave me the comfort knowing that at least I had some kind of weapon with me. About 15 or 20 minutes had passed since we had last heard our dogs so we were getting ready to move to go to a new spot to listen for them. About 3 or 4 minutes before we got up we had something come back up the side of the hill and it growled. This growl was one that just shakes you to your core. As a 12 year old boy when this happened you could say I was shitting bricks. The next thing that happened will stick with me for the rest of my life. I didn’t get to see the whole creature or being or whatever it’s was because it was to dark and it was over the side of the hill but I did manage to see it’s silhouette in the sky light as soon as we stood up. Right before we got up to left all hell broke loose. Rocks the size of dinner plates started coming over the side of the hill. Hellish sounding growls and grunts were coming from the spot where this thing was as well. We decided at that time we were gonna be in big trouble if we didn’t get out of there. So we all got up and took off as fast as we could and have never been back to that set of woods that we use to hunt religiously for over 5 years now. We later found our dogs running down the road at another spot half a mile away. I don’t care if anyone on here believes me or says things about what happened to me but I know that whatever it was that attacked us it wasn’t human. It didn’t affect my stepbrothers and stepdad as much as it did me but they all still live with the same thoughts as me in the back of their head. I don’t go into the woods or go duck hunting anymore without at least 1 person with me and with at least a shotgun now because I have that thing in the back of my head that never wants me to have another encounter like everything that was said in the video. Like I said before I don’t care who believes me and who thinks I’m full of crap but I know what attacked us wasn’t human or even a bear. As a 17 year old kid now I am still shaken at the core anytime I even go out hiking.

  

8.      2 years ago my 3 teenage kids and I had an encounter while bow hunting in northern AZ. That day my life changed and I have the exact same feelings you described. I grew up in the outdoors and I struggle now always looking over my shoulder and my kids do as well. I am sad that the they will never have the serenity of the mountains I grew up with, until the day we saw this small group just 45 yards away. EVERYTHING YOU SAID I FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME ABOUT. They are real and do exist. Thank you for sharing.

 

9.      I was a forest service hotshot for 8 seasons..., I saw two of them in 2005 while camping in the sierra nevada... so I know what you mean..

 

10.  I ran into 3 sasquatches on the PCT Trail, where it comes closest to Mt Shasta. One 10-11ft alpha and two smaller males. They are absolutely real! They harassed us all night, throwing rocks, shaking trees and the roaring.... omg the roaring was the worst... Still to this day, I wake up in at night in full adrenaline hearing the roaring in my dreams. It will blow out your ears and rattle your rib cage at the same time. They are so fucking big, you can feel every step they take, they make ground tremors when they run. I’m lucky, I had a friend with me and we were both heavily armed. We shot over their heads ( warning shots) when they would start getting too close. Our head lamps kept them back at first, we had super bright 18650 lipo style head lamps, but our batteries ran out around 1AM and that’s when we built up our fire, which was a mistake, the fire got so hot we couldn’t stay close and forced to look away from it constantly. That’s when the roaring started... straight up, piss your pants, roaring. At one point, the alpha was roaring, shaking trees and over all making a huge amount of noise. My cousin and I stood, white knuckle gripping out rifles, pointed in its direction waiting for it to charge... just to have another Sasquatch sneak up behind us and explode our fire with a huge bolder it threw. No person could have thrown a rock that big... I snapped around and let 5 shots go high. Since I couldn’t see It, I didn’t feel right aiming low. We used our guns to keep them back, yes they know what a gun is, we burned through prob 30 rounds in warning shots till sun rise. The next morning we left the area in a hurry... later that day, we came across someone who was camped 3-4miles away and he could hear our shots and the roaring. Later that year, I moved to the only state to have ZERO Sasquatch encounters... HAWAII!

 

It really depends on what time of the year you go to the PCT. We went during mid fall, during the change of season. We were completing it in sections and worked our way towards Oregon. In the summer months, we saw choke people on the trail, mid fall we saw maybe 1-2 people per day. We always camped away from the trail at night. Kept our rifles wrapped with our tent and we both had pistols inside our jackets. My cousin who was with me, has kept searching for them again, he says that the Mt Shasta area is a “hot spot” so go camping there in early Nov if you dare lol.

 

Yea but, we saw two pretty good. The big fakka mostly, faskine saw an 8 footer that sneaked behind us and a smaller one still big tho but not as wide kinda skinny compared to the other two. Brah.... I know the smell you talking about, like rotten aku in the trash and it lingers like a wet dog smell. It’s like a THICK STINK! It’s so strange how the smell comes and goes. One moment, you like palu then it’s just gone... they left us alone for about 30min to an hour at times but we knew when they came back by the smell. The roar is like a deep sounding lions roar X10 volume and that freaky high pitched scream too... it’s like a scream and laugh at the same time... if it wasn’t so f..ing big... I would think it was a new type of gorilla... they even rock side to side like monkeys do but slower. I could see it’s eye shine swaying side to side but it could of been my legs shaking.... lol. Da size tho, da big fakka we saw could prob pickup an elephant and throw it. Just the way they breath sounds like a horse... it’s like they force the air in and force it out. When I tell my wife about it, I tell her to imagine two refrigerators side by side and that’s how wide it is, and 12ft tall. I’m originally from Hawaii, born and raised on west Oahu, I moved to Cali to attend college and spend time with family. I attended USC for two semesters but after seeing Sasquatch, I transferred back to UH. I had to take a semester off to get comfortable being back home, being in the dark... still to this day tho, a dark patch of trees makes my hands sweat. My cousin who was with me, has become obsessed with finding them again but he goes into the forest with a bigger gun and never alone. He too says we must have been too close to their family pack or interrupted their hunt for them to be so aggressive. I do try to forget about it, accept it as a 1:1000000 chance that won’t happen again... but the memory will always haunt me.

 

[NatFoot]

Wow. Some of those are intense. I've not had a chance to sit down and watch the video in it's entirety - keep getting interrupted by babies and kids.

 

What we did he actually see? I've not gotten there yet.

[NatFoot]

3 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

I found it interesting that Isdahl  admitted how he feels about the experiences he has had.    I have never admitted that when my encounters started getting more threatening,   fear crept in.    Although I have had some serious illness in the last couple of years,    it has been mostly fear that has kept me out of the woods.   Like him,    I am not at all sure I want to have more encounters solo.    When hunter becomes hunted,   it is a real game changer.     

 

The comments that are being pulled out in the other thread are interesting. Outdoorsman with little desire to go back out alone.

 

@gigantor can we merge the two threads?

[Doug]

Number two resonates with me simply because I camp a mile or so down the highway from Lost Lake and it was across the highway and west of of Lost Lake where I believe I had an encounter in the form of a night time Sasquatch visitation.

[Doug]

After finding Sasquatch hand/arm, butt and heel prints, from that day on I never went into the woods alone, until, I was at church and the Pastor preached a sermon that changed my thinking on solo hunting 3 to 6 miles into the wilderness. He said that no one in that church should be driving a car due to the dangers of it. Not to leave the house because it could get robbed. Not to have friends because they might betray you. OR, go out and live life to the fullest, conquer your fears and LIVE! Those things might happen, but then, they might not! Drive and travel and have friends. Celebrate the positives and learn to deal with the negatives that come along with it.

 

I now hunt about 60% of my time solo 3 to 6 miles from the truck. When I hunt with a buddy, we part ways when we leave the truck in the morning darkness and meet back at the truck in the evening darkness. I am on constant high alert and have that same fear of encountering one again. I have had numerous encounters (not sightings) with no ill effects to myself and I believe statistically that accidents are more likely to harm me than a Sasquatch, though, not out of the question.

 

On one occasion, I fell while dressing a deer and narrowly missed my knife and barely avoided a potentially fatal outcome. I learned to keep my knife sheathed when not in use.

 

Sometimes I get that overwhelming feeling and I just can't deal with it and I hoof it back to the truck. I love solo hunting and it scares me pretty bad most of the time. The joy of it outweighs the fear of it, however, I have never dealt with a hostile Sasquatch, so, that could be a game changer for me.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Doug
spelling errors and added words of clearification.

[NatFoot]

58 minutes ago, Doug said:

Number two resonates with me simply because I camp a mile or so down the highway from Lost Lake and it was across the highway and west of of Lost Lake where I believe I had an encounter in the form of a night time Sasquatch visitation.

 

Have you shared that with the members here? If so, where can I read it? If not, can you?