Bigfoot Hunt 2004
From The Extended Group
Revision as of 09:30, 15 January 2006
Bigfoot hunt refers to a series of excursions mounted in the summer of 2004 into forested areas of western Washington State. The overall intent was to catch a glimpse of the cryptid known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch locally, a large 6-9 foot tall primate weighing an estimated 300-700 lbs that some say may be a descendent of Italic textGigantopithecus Blackii"Italic text. There were two major excursions, one to the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsula, and another along the I-90 corridor in the Cascade Mountains.
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The Olympic Peninsula
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This excursion was launched at some point in the middle of the night. A team made up of Brett, Kevin, Jamie, and Lukas assembled and acquired food from what most sources would say was a "Jack in the Box". The team then departed Shoreline in Bretts car, a Volvo S-60 semi-luxury car featuring a turbocharged inline-5 engine capable of 205 bhp maximum output. While driving southbound, the music consisted primarily of a repeating loop of Weezer, Ozma, Muse, and a CD of songs from the television program "The Simpsons". At Tacoma, the car turned towards the Tacoma Narrows and crossed the bridge onto Kitsap peninsula, heading north. None of the team members were aware of how to access the Olympic National Forest, so it was decided to simply continue driving north until a suitable side-road was found. At long last, one was located around 3:30 AM and the team drove up a narrow, winding, rutted dirt road. At one point the car (which was ill-suited to primitive road-conditions) lurched to a halt with the high-beams paying out across a small lake which was shrouded in mist, with bats swooping down into the light from the darkness above. A small frog was sighted near the shore, and the team was filled with a deep sense of foreboding. Ignoring Lukas's pleas to stop so that he could urinate, brett attempted to drive away and almost became mired in loose dirt at the bottom of the hill. After a harrowing drive up the hill, it was decided that the team had experienced enough of the woods, and despite finding no evidence of the elusive cryptid, it was decided to make the long drive home. Although it would have perhaps best befit the team to wait until the early morning Kingston-Edmonds ferry began running, the team decided to drive south around the Tacoma narrows. After a brief stop for gas and to finally urinate,(where driven by fear, Jamie, Kevin, and Lukas were forced to pee very close to one another)the team drove back around the narrows, finally returning to Shoreline around 5:30Am.
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The Cascade Mountains
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A second expedition was launched at some point later that summer to drive into the deep wilderness of the Cascade Mountain range off of I-90. A team consisting of Brett, Gavin, Terry, Kevin, and Lukas departed Shoreline in the aforementioned Volvo and headed southbound to take I-90 east into the mountains. After a brief stop for gas at North Bend, the team began searching for a route deep into the mountains. The first road attempted brought the travelers up a narrow winding road that went up a fairly steep hill. In the tunnel of tree's, visibility was limited and the pace was slowed to avoid running off the road. At once while rounding a corner, an owl was sighted, which was later determined to be either a Barred Owl or a Northern Spotted Owl. After observing the owl for several minutes, the travelers proceeded to continue driving up the hill in the less-than-roadworthy S-60. At the end, there was a small parking lot for a trailhead. Parking there, windows were rolled down, and the engine as well as the headlights were culled. Pitch-darkness descended upon the group who sat in silence, which was punctuated only by Bretts somewhat labored breathing and coughing. After several minutes, it was decided to try to stimulate an encounter with the Bigfoot by calling to it. While several in the car had heard tape-recorded vocalizations, no one knew how to accurately simulate them. Brett then released a mournful, gutteral howl that penetrated the darkness but illicited no response. A gradual paranoia overtook the group, and it was decided that perhaps it would be better to search elsewhere, after all, there were other vehicles in the parking lot. After driving back down to I-90, it was decided to drive further along. Following Lukas's Washington State atlas and gazetteer, it was decided to follow I-90 further along, past Snoqualmie Pass to the Kachess Lake road. The road tracked north along the shore of the resevoir through darkened pine and fir forest eventually veering into fairly remote territory, crossing intermittent logging roads. At one point there was a paper plate tacked to a sign with the single word "orgy" written on it. On Gavins advice, we did not stop, but continued on. (Was definitely the right decision) The road widened into another parking lot approximately 10 miles from I-90, which was the end of the line. Upon exiting the car, the group noticed how greatly enhanced the view of the stars was. The group proceeded to walk around the lot looking at stars, and after a while, decided to return to the car to listen for signs of bigfoot. Hearing none initially, Brett once again let out a mournful howl. This sound had the effect of further frightening the already on-edge group, illiciting whispered oaths from both Gavin and Terry. After several tense moments, when it was thought that something was heard through the trees, it was decided to drive back again. On the West-side of Snoqualmie pass, Brett began experimenting with the acceleration of his car, speeding to nearly 100mph while listening to Muse. This was notably dangerous because of the curving nature of the road, and the lack of streetlights. Group members commenced singing loudly to songs by Ozma and Weezer. The mood was mixed however with some members objecting to the loud music. This came to a head when crossing the I-90 floating bridge over Lake Washington. Bretts heavily laden car accelerated to nearly 120 mph on the flat surface of the bridge, an dangerous move which illicited hushed quasi-swearing from Gavin. All members were taken home unharmed somewhere around 4 AM after a very eventful evening. (note, feel free to segment into paragraphs or edit any other way)
