Legend or myth? High Desert Bigfoot hunt set

KTVZ.com ^ | 17 Jan 2007 | Barney Lerten




Week-long campout aimed at gathering evidence


The Central Oregon Cascades are an inviting place to visit for all the traditional spring and summer activities: hiking, fishing, sightseeing, Bigfoot-hunting...


Huh?


Glum news for those hoping to join the 25 to 45 or so Sasquatch hunters who will be looking for a week in June for signs of the elusive, legendary beast: the Bigfoot Field Research Organization's (http://bfro.net) Central Oregon Expedition is already sold out.


So is a May event in North Carolina, but if you'd like to join the crowd in Michigan's Upper Peninsula or northern Utah, those July expeditions still have room to register. And you can get on a waiting list for the Central Oregon expedition, if you'd like, in case there are dropouts.


The cost: $300 per person, $600 for two or more in the same vehicle. That covers only "the overhead costs for organizing the expedition," so you have to arrange and pay for your own food, camping gear and whatever else you need to go Bigfoot hunting.


Participants will meet in Bend before venturing out on the four-day campout and hunt for evidence in the Cascades, June 14-17, timed for a period when there's "almost no moonlight," organizers said on the Website.


"These animals seem to be more bold and approach humans closer at night, when it is very dark out and no moonlight," the group states. ‘Nights around the new moon may be their most active hunting periods."


The group, founded in 1995, chooses "territories that have a history of reports." There are a dozen reported sightings listed in Central Oregon, the most recent in June 2005, and almost 200 in Oregon.


That might seem like a lot, for a mythical beast, but the organization notes the Website reports "are only a fraction of the information we have. They are only the first-hand reports, and the ones that witnesses have allowed us to post publicly on the Website.


Those who assemble at base camp are divided into teams of three to five people, led by guides who have surveyed the terrain and studied satellite-aerial photos to "figure out the best places to listen for their echoing vocalizations at night."


"It sounds easy, but you need to have a lot of information to know confidently where to be," the group states. "You also need to know the various types of sounds they make, and how to provoke them into making those sounds, to both confirm their presence and lure them toward you."


"What happens after that needs to be experienced in person," the site goes on to say. "We don't like to describe that aspect of these expeditions in writing, partly because we do not want to influence the perceptions of fresh observers. We want to ask them what they saw (and) heard, etc. With every new person who bears witness to these animals and their behaviors, we are more sure of certain things ourselves."


Those interested in participating should know, it's not a very regimented experience. The group says some teams choose to camp the entire time away from base camp, and others stay at the central location. "You will be able to decide what you want to do," they said. "No one is forced to go anywhere, or stay out all night."


"Safety is a top priority," the group states, with no known injuries during the expeditions - "not even a sprained ankle." Participants are allowed to retain their own photos, videos, footprint casts, "hair samples, etc."
The hunt is on!