Re: New Contest...........TN's Best Liar!!!
Before I was into metal detecting, I was an avid Indian settlement searcher. About ten years
ago I decided to hike into an area that I had done extensive
research on in the Wisconsin Northwoods. The site was about eight miles on
a dirt road , into what is called the "Hogs Back". This is a wilderness area that is
filled with huge timbers,rocky crags; the river switchbacks across deep ravines and valleys.
I was able to drive in and then had to walk another 3/4 mile to where I needed to be.
This area was right on the edge of a flowage ,divided by many beaver dams and then a man made
dirt dam. I set up my small camp on the dirt dam and made a fire,started to boil some water
for tea, then prepared my maps and notes for the next day.
The sun was just beginning to set across the flowage when I noticed that the woods had
become eerily silent. A small flock of ducks hurriedly splashed across the water and up onto my
side of the bank. I searched the far side of the water (about 150 yds away) when I saw it.
I will call what I saw "It" because to be honest I have absolutely no clue to as what it was.
Coming down the steep embankment was a huge ,hairy beast,standing upright and side stepping down the hill.
My very first reaction was that it was a joke....that one of my friends were being funny.
I started walking back across the dam to get a better look .Taking my binoculars out, I focused in
on this "It" . IT didn't seem to be aware of my presence at all, but made its way to the waters edge and
squatted down ,exactly like a man would do,then began scooping water to its mouth. It would drink,then look
back and forth, and drink again. By this time I was becoming a little leery.
I was raised in the Northwoods and had plenty of encounters with Black Bears...this was definitely not a bear nor anything that I had ever seen. I would say that it was at least 6 ft and I am saying that because I had seen
it stand next to some saplings on the bank and it was about as tall as they were. It was
a deep dirty reddish brown with matted hair.
The head was very large and its nose was elongated...not like any ape or bear that I have seen depicted.
I don't think it looked like a man,....more like a wolf face. Although I knew IT must see my fire,
I didn't think It had focused on me yet. I was just trying to figure out what it was. My brain kept
telling me it had to be a bear,but my eyes were telling me different.
I continued to the end of the dirt dam and got to the top of the bank...then like a maniac
I ran to my truck as fast as I could.I was basically having a heart attack and had left
all my supplies and gear back at the camp,including my camera.
I knew that I had a small disposable camera in my truck and I was hoping to be able to get
a couple of pics before IT moved.Once I reached the truck,I felt safer and tried to calm down.
Driving the truck back up to the edge of the dam,darkness was really setting in and I was ..
..hmmm...lets says 'scared', but being a Pandora , my curiosity was winning out over my
fear. I tried to peer over the embankment and see it, but I couldn't...and I wasn't going to climb down.
I had just started back up to my truck when I heard a low grunt noise and IT
stepped out of the brush. Instantly I
was able to snap one pic of It.Now I did run. Got into the truck and backed out.
I was heading down the road ,
when I spotted a Logging truck backing out of the woods. I flashed my lights,signaling it to
stop. I dont know what
the guy thought,but I went running
up to his truck and began telling him what I had seen.I wanted him to go back with me
as a witness. He basically laughed and said that his logging team had
been seeing this thing for the last several years and had reported it in the beginning,
but the DNR,police etc had laughed at them, so now they just didn't bother. He said it never bothered them, so they just left it alone. I told him that I was camping out there and that
I needed to stay the night.He thought I was nuts and warned me not to go back.
But, being the fool that I am , I was going to. He said that their crew would be
coming in with trucks about 5 am and he would have his guys check on me.
I spent a long,sleepless night in that truck .I could see my campfire from where I was parked
and throughout the night I imagined I could see shadows
going back and forth in front of it. I tried to catch something in my binoculars
but was unable to . Every noise jolted me and as morning broke across the flowage I finally began to relax.
Soon I heard the rumble of a logging truck and was happy to see a big logger pull up behind me.
Even happier to see as he walked toward my truck that he had a thermos of coffee and a rifle.
He told me that his boss had called him and told him what had happened. He said he never expected
to see me still there.As we walked back across the dam to gather my gear
I kept a nervous eye out along the banks....but nothing. My camp was exactly the way I had left
it except for one thing...my coffee pot that had been on the fire had been flung down the bank.
Nothing else was touched. As I climbed down the bank to retrieve it, I found one footprint that
I was able to photograph.
When I got back to civilization, I reported what had happened to the DNR, who basically said
That even tho I had the pictures, that I still had no proof. I asked about the other reports
that I knew the loggers had made....DNR said "No Comment" They said "the picture is so out of focus
that it must have really been a bear.
Since 1997 I have returned to this spot many times.Yet never have seen a glimpse of what I saw that night again.
I have seen the pictures that the DNR copied from mine
circulate the internet many many times over the years ,always attributed to someone else's sightings.
Do I believe it was a Bigfoot? I really don't know. But there are
so many people out there that do not believe in these types of Unknown creatures ,
I think I have convinced myself that it was anything else other... than an " IT"
I have shown these photos to and told this story to several authorities....
each time being told I am a liar or I hoaxed the photos....I guess thats why I decided this thread
seemed like a great place to put it and let you all decide for yourself!
LATITUDE / LONGITUDE:
(45.36833, -90.62)
