DAY ONE -

Thom Powell – FUTURE DIRECTION OF BIGFOOT RESEARCH

He is a science teacher who uses the subject of Bigfoot in the classroom to show how science works… doesn’t care much for the term Bigfoot, but proceeded to use it throughout his talk.

Anecdotal data is a story and basically insignificant. Bigfoot sightings stories are significant when they match up with others. We need to connect with other field researchers to see what works and what doesn’t.

Thinks we need government help and gave the example of CIA information about the ocean bottom being used to prove the existence of tectonic plates.

He gave a list of tips:

• Note everything.
• Work slowly – think not of weeks or months, but in terms of years.
• Work out a plan.
• Work an area.
• Work as a team.
• Media coverage is counter-productive, unless it attracts witness reports.
• Cameras tend to “destabilize” the situation.
• Feeding or gifting seems to work. - Herbs… produce (fresh and organic)… garlic… cooked food (chicken cooked with paprika)…popcorn… honey… peanut butter… coconuts… beer
• Hang it from a tree – use natural fiber rope, not nylon or fishing line
• Consider the weather
• Continue to do what works
• Remember creatures may act differently in different areas

Enhancers include music, women, kids, and pets – they seem to be attracted to a party.

Detractors include camouflage, weapons, electronics, and having a bunch of guys together.

Look into the trash… look for things that are out of place… pay attention to your “feelings” – they do matter. How many times have you heard “I had the feeling I was being watched?”

Beware of patterns of contaminated thinking.

He thinks Bigfoot is very intelligent, a sentient being, operates close to humans, some move around while others don’t, they may hibernate at will, they are more active during the warmer months (Aug. 15 thru to as late as Halloween).

He believes their calls can be put into three categories – booming calls for distant communication, screams for local communication, and chatter between two or more in an immediate area.

Teachers in the Woods – conducted in the Mt. Hood National Forest, OR, using government purchased game cameras. They were trying to capture the pine martin on film and were successful. They also photographed bear, bobcats, deer and elk. He noted a number of false triggers and couldn’t explain what made the shutter snap, but all seemed to include lens flare in the image.

Autumn Williams – THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SASQUATCH RESEARCH

She noted she was the only female speaker. Came from a family of long-term witnesses to Sasquatch activity. She also noted that she was born seven years to the day, after Patterson shot the film at Bluff Creek.

She is a fan of Thom Powell’s book. She had thought of writing a book, but after reading Powell’s, “I don’t need to write a book now.”

She grew up in the foothills of Mt. Rainier, WA, and said her parents were poor hippies. So poor that she and her mother would go out behind her house – “a shack” she described it, and pick up sticks and small pieces of wood to fuel the woodstove used for cooking.

One day while she and her mom were doing this task, they rounded a bend a saw two Sasquatch, an adult male and a juvenile. Her mom was wearing a mink coat she had bought at the Salvation Army and Autumn remembers the adult “frowning and tilting its head.” (Which she thought was in reaction to the fur coat.)She has bugged her mother into writing a book about this time in Orting, WA (about halfway between Tacoma and Mt. Rainer), as her mom has written many children’s books. So next year look for Valley of the Skookum - Ongoing Encounters with Sasquatch by Sali Sheppard-Wolford.

“It’s about time we pay attention to habituation.” Hunters, hikers, campers, and motorists only have brief, transient sightings. Long-term witnesses claim to have on-going sightings, and even limited interactions with Sasquatch on a regular basis.

Long-term witnesses tend to –

• live in rural areas
• lack the sophistication and/or education to “make it” in the city
• they are “woods-savvy”
• have a different perspective then do “weekend warriors”
• witnesses tend to be women and children
• open-minded
• hyper-vigilant
• reluctant to share information with outsiders
• their lives have been disrupted by their encounters

Because they tend to interpret events as encounters, she stressed how important it is to keep a skeptical view of their stories… question them as to what happened and not just take their conclusions. This can be an ideal situation for research.

She corresponded via the internet with a women in N. California for two years before finally getting the woman to trust her. The woman led Autumn and a male researcher on a two-mile hike into a box canyon (Williams would not disclose the location), then the woman pulled out an “Oscar Meyer” whistle and blew on it. “Now what?” Autumn asked. “We wait,” the woman said. Soon two sets of “bi-pedal footsteps” were heard approaching, and the woman said, “Now we leave.”

They walked about a half-mile down the path and stopped. The woman spread a blanket on the ground and indicated that they sit down. Again Autumn asked, “Now what?” And again the woman replied, “We wait.”

They were approached by what Autumn described as five sets of loud footsteps and whatever was making those steps formed into a “star-shape” around their blanket. Autumn said one of them snuck up near her location and blew three “hot, stinky breaths at her. It smelled like when my parents pumped out the septic tank.” Her male partner saw what he described as a “silhouette run between the trees,” while Autumn saw nothing, only hearing and smelling the creatures. She said they were constantly whistling back and forth. Finally the woman said, “We have to go now.” One of creatures was heard following them as they left the area.

The woman said, “We have to let them remain in control of the situation.”

She discussed the differences between men and women – she said men prefer a women’s face when she is ovulating, while a woman who is suffering from PMS “is likely to prefer a man, doused in gasoline, set on fire, with a pair of scissors jammed into his temple.”

She said men are the natural hunters and protectors and as such they don’t have time feel, but only to react. Many times these are angry reactions, because men react to fear with anger. Bigfoot is scary.

The Bigfoot field has been dominated by men, with the assumption that Bigfoot is a North American primate. Men sneak around in camo gear, and think Bigfoot will respond to poor-quality audio recordings. And we think we can trick Bigfoot into leaving evidence for us to find.

Jane Goodall gradually achieved the trust of chimpanzees, as did Diane Fosse with the mountain gorilla. Both allowed the animal to remain in control of the situation.

She talked about her experience as host of Mysterious Encounters. She was invited to go Minneapolis, Minnesota to audition and was told “if we pick you, we will pay you travel around the US to hunt the Bigfoot.”

But instead of research, it was turned into, at the network’s request, more of an “MTV-fear-docudrama, with more nostril shots then I care to remember.” She said the best thing about the job was interviewing the witnesses.

She plans a month-long field expedition, at allocation based on 15 years of research, with two full time researchers, one part time researcher, and a videographer. She plans on using unique, non-threatening attractants, and hopes to attempt interaction with Bigfoot, while always letting the creature to remain in control. She will shop the documentary around only after she has finished it, which will allow her to remain in control of her situation.

She said she will use a form of call blasting, but not use Bigfoot calls, but rather, she will use the sounds of babies crying and birds chirping.

Kewaunee Lapseritis – social scientist, author of The Psychic Sasquatch

He believes the Sasquatch is very keen and apparently psychic… it seems to sense when a gun or camera is around. He said he doesn’t believe there is a psychic connection with Bigfoot, but “is documented by science.” Yet he said this is an empirical element not discovered by science. He acknowledged his belief “does muddy the waters a bit.”

He said he believes there are two different races –

The Sasquatch with their conical heads and very intelligent… more intelligent then the great ape.

The Ancient Ones, which look, like Sasquatch but are more human-like.

He believes the two races do interbreed, and have bred with Native Americans and runaway slaves.

He claims to have had seven physical encounters; five times he has been touched. He described the touch as “feeling as if a vibrator was touched to his skin.”

He told a story of investigating a sighting Tennessee and sleeping into a barn. He climbed up into the hayloft where he had placed his sleeping bag, crawled in, put his flashlight next to the bag, and went to sleep. The next morning the women in the house asked him if he had slept well, because they saw the flashlight shining all around the barn and had even spotlighting them across the barnyard.

He displayed photos of gifts he said were given to him by the Sasquatch [I am not clear if they came from Tennessee or not.]. Gifts included rocks and arrowheads (which he was “told” was made by the Sasquatch. He also displayed photos of a track shot in Texas after a nighttime rain and he showed four pictures of Sasquatch hair, which had a very thick medulla and has scales, which are closer together than human hair. A chemical analysis of the hair indicated sulfur to be the largest chemical by percentage, but noted the hair was both similar to human hair and had animalistic qualities.

He showed some QuickTime movies made in Texas which shoe a dark figure 1) walking through a cornfield, 2) walking back the opposite direction and can be seen stepping over a fence in a very smooth motion, 3) near a shed that was occupied could be seen popping up out of a cornfield, and rocks back-and-forth, as if it is looking around a tree, and 4) something with very long hair moves in front of the camera and appears to look into the lens… at least, what seems to be one eye can clearly be seen.

He played two vocalizations – the first occurred after a dog walked past, and sounded like “dog, dog, dog” said over and over, first high-pitched, then lower, then higher. Lapseritis said the Ancient Ones like dogs, unlike the Sasquatch. The second repeated the sound “waddo,” which he said means wildcat in some Native American, as if it were calling a pet. A “45-pound cat” was seen nearby.

He also showed a film capture of the Sasquatch stepping over the fence.

In closing he said the key to solving this mystery is telepathy… “We need to change the paradigm.” He said he had received 111 reports of Sasquatch and 26 years of research.

Al Berry & Ron Moorhead – the Sierra Sounds

Berry was a newspaper reporter for the Redding Record-Searchlight. Peter Byrne told a story coming out of the Sierra-Nevadas… Warren Johnson had a deer camp in the “roof-top of the Sierras” and something was coming into the camp and Warren had made some crude recordings.

When he went to the deer camp, Berry said he heard the sound of rocks struck together, sticks breaking, and what he characterized as “very violent screams.” The company that analyzed the Watergate Tapes analyzed recordings.

In 1977, a study of some of the recordings done at the University of Wyoming was delivered at an academic forum at the University of British Columbia, which conclude some of the sounds had made by with “a very talented voice.”

They have recorded sounds at the camp since 1971. When asked if it was still on going, Berry said, “I’m not at liberty to say.”

In 1996, they released the first CD, narrated by actor Jonathon Frakes.

They played four cuts from the CD –

[Please note: these are my descriptions of what I heard.]

• A growling back and forth, as “if they were arguing,” Berry said. “We thought we were studying them, maybe they were studying us.”
• Whistling by Johnson is answered back… intermixed with growls.
• An “Owhoop, Owhoop” answered by “OOOwhoop, OOOWhoop.”
• Two calls, which are answered by Berry, then answered back by ”ape-like” sounds

Moorhead said he saw one on a moonlit night, moving very fast and very agile as “it ran through the trees.”

John Andrews, Rich Grover, Darrold Smith, and some guy named Doug-

These four men played some vocalizations they recorded near Stevens Pass, WA.

Andrews, who has been interested in Sasquatch since the 1950’s said, “You can’t expect to get results the first night you go out.”

He said the best time for activity is between 10 pm and 2 am, “that’s when it happens.”

Other helpful factors include the dark of the moon, cloud cover, and heavy tree growth. Also, allow time for your senses to become attuned to the dark… maybe as much as hour.

Recording 1- …sounds like far-off gunshots, but are believed to be rocks being struck together – followed by a series of calls. This occurred at 10:30 pm, estimated to have begun 600-700 yards away in a swamp. Then two screams are heard, and more rock knocks with a long interval in between the knocks.

They demonstrated the rock knocking. Two small rocks, approximately 6” or less in diameter, when struck together make a high -pitched sound, while two large rocks, approximately 18” in diameter, create a much deeper sound. Andrews noted that it took two humans to knock the large rocks together, but he supposes it might not be a problem for a Bigfoot to carry, and strike, two large rocks together.

Recording 2- … campfire is crackling… faint calls are heard…then six or seven wood knocks in arrow are heard… then Doug vocalizes (TIP: don’t call blast, but use your own voice) and gets a longer call in return.

Recording 3- … this was recorded when “it was too scary to stand out there,” so they sat in their vehicles with the windows down. Suddenly there is the sound of a large tree crashing down to the floor of the forest. “Holy S***!” one of them shouts. No wind and this happened in mid-October.

Recording 4- …for over an hour (we only heard four or five minutes of the recording) they hear almost siren-like screams. They noted the frogs quit croaking while these vocalizations were happening. No breeze, absolutely still. Then a series of “primate-like” screams, then a long scream and another and another (evenly spaced out), then two more back-to-back. “Holy Moses, they’re coming at us!” Then a lower and longer moan, which seems to get deeper near the end.

They believe these vocals were made by a large body and not by a human being.

Andrews showed a metal warning sign (as seen at the end of a concrete barrier or a bridge – four feet by one foot with diagonals painted on it. He said they found it “rolled up into a ‘small’ tube.” The Forest Service came along and apparently “ straightened it out and reattached the bottom to the post. John brought a new one and traded it for the damaged sign.

An audience member asked if they had ever had a blind person accompany them on their expeditions. Andrews said no, but added, “That’s a good idea.”

Loren Coleman – “Sex and the Single Bigfoot”

ue to a pressing call of nature, I missed the his introduction… by the time I got back to my chair, Coleman was showing a series of drawings of Bigfoot and Yeti, none of which showed any genitalia. He thought this might be due to societal taboos. He added it’s not like we don’t see this in nature, showing a photo of a chimpanzee with an erection.

Coleman said ancient drawings, as well as sculpture, are full of sexuality. He said the satyr, across Europe, is considered by some to be a “mytholicalized” Bigfoot tale. “We are a prudish culture,” he said. “Our view of Bigfoot is in fact viewed by how we view ourselves.”

In the Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti, and Other Mystery Animals, he included a drawing of the Minnesota Iceman, showing its genitalia, and received much criticism for doing so. Several more of the drawings in the book appear to include male genitalia.

He pointed out the Playmate Video shot in N. California needed it’s name to be changed to the Redwoods Video before it was discussed seriously.

Although tales are told of kidnapped human females, Coleman told the conference, “It seems Bigfoot also kidnaps young males.”

It seems to him that it is easier to talk about the breasts then “penis, penises, or is it ‘penii’?” R. Crumb’s Fate Magazine cover with a Bigfoot wearing a tight t-shirt, artifacts with breasts, even MK Davis’s blow-ups clearly show breasts.

Although he knew of no reports of Bigfoot copulating, Coleman noted, “A sighting [of Bigfoot] is only a small slice of the Bigfoot’s life. We must string together…” information from all these sightings to come up with a picture of Bigfoot’s life.

“It takes a human and a Bigfoot to have a sighting, but it doesn’t take a human for Bigfoot to exist.”

Robert Alley – from Ketchikan, Alaska

He showed a series of photos taken along a favorite trail, where he looks for Sasquatch sign.

A sword fern tied into a knot 25 feet above the ground. Another look at the bent fern leaves after it had been “untied”.

Tree breaks – in his opinion “sharp spears” at the break are in indication of ice damage.

Alley said that on “the wet side of the mountains the breaks will remain wet longer and look as new for far longer, then they will on the dry side of the mountains.”

He told of sighting of a Bigfoot at the edge of a clear-cut, by hunters. “It sort of waved at the hunters as if to say, ‘ha ha, I saw you didn’t get anything.”

He showed pictures of “bend-downs” of branches versus “bend-ups” and noted that it would seem very difficult for breaks “to occur in opposite directions then the natural lean of the tree.” He also said bend-ups are unlikely to made by weather.

Small breaks, by themselves, may be bear, especially if found in conjunction with other bear sign.

Said he tends to see “patterns” of three breaks.

Asked if he had seen any “sticks placed in geometric shapes?” – He answered yes, sticks crossed. He pointed out if you find large rocks that appear to have been moved, try to find the rock hole it was taken from… Sasquatch may be moving rocks while looking for food.

Alley noted, “Alaskan Sasquatch apparently are not disturbed by boats.” He told of seven people on a cruise ship having a sighting of a 9-foot-tall creature on the shore.

Asked if there could be other explanations for the tree breaks he has seen. “Yes, they could have been a moose, but one would leave more damage,” he answered

Lloyd Pye – involved in Bigfoot research for over 30 years

Self-described as “an academic researcher… a shade-tree hominid researcher.” He said it’s “no fun getting along… that’s the kind of family this is.”

He presented his own personal ideology… talked about the “tail-less” monkeys then the monkeys took over in the last eight-to-ten million years.

He believes the tail-less monkeys did not go extinct, although that is the establishment’s position.

He also said he doesn’t believe in the commonly held belief of human evolution which happens as a “transition” – rather he believes our evolution happened in a series of “radical transformations.”

Pye said the commonly held belief is that the fossil evidence found in Africa was of human ancestors. Depictions of “Lucy makes her look human, because that is where the grant money is.” All these fossils share similar traits – “night-vision eyes and wide nostrils.” Artist’s concept drawings are similar also – “butt-ugly faces on human-like bodies.”

He listed at least 10 ways humans differ from primates. 1) Our bones are thicker, 2) our muscles are 5-10 times weaker, our skin is adapted well to direct sunlight, 4) we have ten times as much adipose tissue, 5) our body hair is, for the most part, missing 6) our hair and nails need to be trimmed, 7) our styles of locomotion are different, 8) our speech is completely different, 9) no typical estrus changes in humans, 10) humans have over 4,000 genetic disorders.

Pye then introduced five predictions, ideas that aren’t currently accepted by the science establishment. He believes they will become accepted, but isn’t sure this change will occur during his lifetime.

Prediction #1 – Pre-humans are “non-extinct” Miocene apes. Apart from bi-pedalism they share nothing with humans.

As evidence, he believes the Laetoli fossil tracks found in Africa do not show atypical human function. Instead, the ankle appears to him to have been more towards the middle of the foot then ours is.

Pyle said the being that left the tracks at Laetoli appeared to walk in a more efficient manner than we do. “If it was good enough for them, why the evolutionary change to our style of walk,” he asked

Prediction #2 – The pre-human stride is not like a human… instead they are so far apart, there is no comparison.

Pyle talked about the discovery of the giant panda in China, in a province roughly the size of WA State. The panda was black and white and lived for in a green world , yet after the first was brought back to London, it was another 60 years before another was brought back.

Pye talked about seeing the Minnesota Iceman, in St. Louis in 1973 or 74. “They moved us through very quickly, wouldn’t let us stop and study it. I went through three times in a row. And I am convinced it was real.

He said every hair was perfect… real hair growing out of real skin.. From his brief, three-part examination, he thinks it was shot in the back, rolled over and shot through the left forearm and the left eye - presumably from the same bullet. The right eye had popped out from the force of the wound to the left eye, and he believes if he had been able to see it, the back of the skull would also have been blown out. It was bleeding a plasma-blood mix, from its nose, mouth, eyes, and the wounds. This mixture trailed from the wounds, rising to the surface where it pooled up.

Prediction #3 – Hominids are the earth’s only indigenous bi-pedal species.

He compared the Laetoli track way to human tracks and those of Bigfoot, and believes they match those of Bigfoot more closely. A human track shows pressure shifting from the heel, up along the outside of the foot, before going across the ball of the foot, and lifting off the big toe. A Bigfoot track appears to show pressure in a relatively straight line from the heel to the front of the foot.

Prediction #4 – The fossil record all the way back to the Australopithecus do not resemble human’s, but rather are the bones of hominids that walked right out of the Miocene Period.

He talked about humans have about 100 trillion cells, each of which contains 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs..

He then talked about cheetahs, which date back to the time of the Egyptians. He said they are susceptible to dog-only disease, as well as cat-only disease, and he therefore believes they are clones… which brings us to his final prediction…

Prediction #5 – Along with many plants and animals, humans are not native to this earth, but have been genetically engineered by outside intervention for unknown purposes.

He finished the presentation with photos from Oklahoma. Said to look for “teepee-like” formations, which may be a signal to other Sasquatch. Other sign to watch for include tree trunks set into crooks of other trees, saplings wrapped around other saplings – these may also be twisted. These will usually above the level of a human head or at ankle level.

He displayed pictures of fence posts -heavy metal posts shaped like an “L” which had been bent down as if something had pushed down on them from the top. He also showed what he said is called “a Sasquatch fence” – a barbed wire fence which is added upon to a height of nine feet… What are they trying keep out?” he asked. Very common in parts of Oklahoma, Pye said.

In closing, Pye said the Bigfoot community should gather around a larger view in the Bigfoot world, whether it is his or someone else’s.

Matt Crowley – Investigations into casting and subsequent artifact discoveries

Matt said he was first introduced to Bigfoot when he saw what was probably the original Patterson movie in 1969 or 70, but lost interest in the mid-70s. In 2000, he discovered the story again and spent much time getting caught up with what had been going on since had last looked at it. His attention was caught by “dermal ridges.” And began doing experiments making casts in his basement.

“To capture fine detail, you need a fine medium,” he told the crowd. He used “fly ash”, a by-product of coal burning. In practice casts of his own foot, Crowley could see dermal ridges in the heel of the cast, but also some “artifacts” in the middle of the cast. A small, circular spot could be seen in the approximate spot that the pour began.

He wondered if the

He tried using a large (brick-sized) very smooth acrylic surface to see what he would find.

One of his findings – the thickness of the slurry makes a difference in the final cast. Fissures develop when the slurry stalls and is “over-run by the following slurry,” Crowley said. More importantly, “ridges” often followed these fissures.

Crowley said, “These ridges look similar to those seen on the Onion Mountain cast as seen in the Legend Meets Science DVD.” He thought this might have some relevance to the real Bigfoot world. He found a tiny ring is formed where the slurry first touches the track, and concentric rings may be formed as the slurry moves laterally.

He then tried a smaller, wooden block as an impression-making tool, using umcompacted fly ash.. Crowley found fissures don’t seem to occur in uncompacted ash, but only in ash that has been compacted, like by a foot.

He believes this is caused by four factors – porosity, plasticity, moisture content, and capillary action.

Crowley sent samples of his casts to Jimmy Chilcutt, who noticed, unlike Green’s cast, which had rounded ridges, Crowley’s casts had ridges with flat tops.

Crowley noticed larger ridges then the photographs showed in the casts. Chilcutt said, “This is what happens when the cement sets up before casting.”

Further experimentation, lead Crowley to believe small ridges in the track would produce flat ridges in a cast, while larger ridges would result in rounder ridges.

A small, arched furrow in the center of the Green cast can be seen, but Crowley it shows up better in Jeff Meldrum’s “fingerprint” plot of that cast.

The implications of these findings are

– they usually happen in very dry soil, although Crowley admits some ridging has occurred in casts from wet soil.

he believes the Onion Mountain cast, and perhaps other casts, contain ridges which are the result of artifacts

Dr. Jeff Meldrum commented, “I believe Matt Crowley is too tentative in his conclusions. It is a slam-dunk that Matt is right. Excellent work!”

Matt closed by advising the audience to always take lots of pictures of tracks before casting.

Thomas Steenburg – author of three books, as well as co-author of Meet the Sasquatch

In evaluating eyewitness testimony, remember witnesses are confused and often don’t know what to do. Reports come in, in strange ways… “A guys brother has a friend whose cousin, whose uncle…”

He told of interviewing a female witness in BC, and after finished with interview, she broke down… someone had finally taken her seriously. “Remember,” Steenburg reminded, “ridicule comes from a position of ignorance.”

He has tried to find patterns by studying the reports, but said he doesn’t find much of a pattern, although he did say he doesn’t see much, if any evidence of hibernation. He also reminded the conference, “Statistics can change depending on whose data is used”

Steenburg labeled the Manitoba footage as “disappointing.” He added that it does prove why we should always have a camera with us the PNW, if you are camping or just driving through the woods - if you see one you must be prepared to take the picture

When he started in Alberta in 1978, he was the Sasquatch investigator in the entire province. He advertised for witnesses and “…it was like the floodgates opened up.”

Asked about the late Rene Dahinden, Steenburg said, “He was Rene, what can I say?”

“I don’t like to think of shooting one,” he said, “but it may have to happen.” Steenburg laughed and added, “Rene would say, ‘Tom, don’t say that!’”

John Kirk – President of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club

He has been part of a team of investigators that have searched for cryptids such as Ogopogo, Sasquatch, and Cadborosaurus in the province of British Columbia.

In his presentation he chose to concentrate on the role of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as they pertain to Sasquatch. He has worked in a civilian capacity with RCMP for several years and believes police investigation techniques are very useful in the search for Sasquatch.

#1 - Record every detail!

He thinks DNA evidence is the next best thing to a Bigfoot or its body. As far as kill or not, Kirk’s position was clearly no.

“If you kill one and it determined to be an unknown animal, it will fall under the protection of the Canadian Wildlife Act and would be sure to be charged with breaking some law if this occurred across the border in the US,” he said. “ If it is determined the body is human, then it is homicide!”

He talked about the importance of DNA evidence in the identification of missing women’s bodies in a mass grave on a farm outside of Vancouver, BC. The RCMP was able to sift through the soil of the farm and identify 27 of the 68 who were missing, based on “micro amounts of DNA.” The science is there, he noted.

Other tips – just hunting for it doesn’t work… we need both organization and planning.

“There are no real vs. non-real methods of investigation.”

If hair is found, put the evidence inside a paper envelope. Putting it inside a sealed plastic bag may create moisture that can degrade the hair samples.

Christopher Murphy – author of three books, most notably, Meet the Sasquatch

He said the book was designed to accompany the Vancouver Museum exhibit last year.

As he knew many of the conference attendees hadn’t made it the exhibit, “I’ll bring to you… with stuff left on the editing room floor,” he added with a laugh.

[NOTE]: Open your copies of the book and follow along if you wish.

The entrance opened into a number of stone carvings (p. 10) and a stone carving of what may be a depiction of a Sasquatch hand (p. 12). Wooden carved masks can be divided into categories – painted, which Murphy believes are mythological in origin and unpainted, which may be inspired by Sasquatch (p. 17-18). He talked about First Nations petroglyphs and pictographs found in such far-dispersed places as BC, New Mexico, and central California (the infamous “Hairy Man” drawings – p. 19-21).

He talked about what he termed the Sasquatch classics, showing Albert Ostman’s original notebook where he first detailed his encounter (p. 30), the Ruby Creek incident (p. 35), William Roe experience (p. 36), and Jerry Crew & the Bluff Creek tracks (p. 37).

As he began to touch on the Patterson-Gimlin film, he said he had talked to a radio talk show host on Vancouver Island who told Murphy, Kal Korff and company are “shady characters.”

He showed his tabletop filmsite model (p. 58-62) as well as the “wood fragment” found years later at Bluff Creek (p. 68-69) and detailed the reasons he believes it is the genuine article.

When David Daegling asks Why not use the foot to determine the height of Patty? Murphy answered, “I did!” And he used the head to determine height (p. 99). He

He wanted to display a “Bone Clone” cast of what might have be interpreted to be aboriginal in nature, but the museum vetoed the idea because of the implication that aborigines might be related to Sasquatch.

He also displayed photos of the original Bourtsev statue of Patty, Rene Dahinden’s plaid coat, and what Rene claimed, before his death in 2002, to be a Sasquatch nest… carefully separated into three plastic bags – debris from the, sticks up to 12” in length, and bear grass.

He attempted to show Daniden’s Kokanee Beer commercials, for which Rene won an award. Unfortunately the computer wouldn’t cooperate.

Murphy said in his opinion Bob Heironimus’ arms are too short and his legs are too long to have been able to hoax the P/G film. As he noted, “You can make arms appear longer with extensions, but there is no way you can shorten your legs.”

And he said he believes he can see eyes, lips and teeth in the P/G film.

Owen Caddy – more study of enhancements of the Patterson-Gimlin film

Caddy began by sharing a commonly held belief about the film; there is no more information, which can be seen in the film. When high quality screen captures were made from John Green’s second-generation copy of the film, Caddy looked anyway, and he feels the results are interesting.

Caddy gave the conference some background on the camera and the media, which have been used to view the film.

He said a paper print contains half the information a transparency and with a paper print, the exposure and color channels can be changed, but not at the same time.

Transparencies have two times the information of paper prints and all info is contained within.

Variables in the camera used include 1) the lens, 2) contrast, 3) distance from the subject, 4) focus, 5) camera movement, 6) exposure levels, 7) density, 8) the light source, 9) human judgment, 10) emulsion resolution, and 11) environmental conditions.

Concerning the camera, Caddy explained the Kodachrome II film had a recommended ISO of 25, meaning it was recommended for well-lit locations.

This type of film was constructed in layers

Blue

A yellow filter

Green

Red

The antihalation layer

Note: the following is added by your note taker and comes from the Kodak website and was not part of Owen’s presentation –

Light penetrating the emulsion of a film can be reflected from the base- emulsion interface back into the emulsion. As a result, there is a secondary exposure causing an undesirable reduction in the sharpness of the image and some light scattering, called halation, around images of bright objects. A dark layer coated on or in the film base will absorb and minimize this reflection, hence it is called an antihalation layer.”

The red layer is closer to the focal plane.

Caddy said two first generation copies of the original film were made, with one given to John Green and the other retained by Roger Patterson.

From the Green copy at least four, second generation copies were made, one going to Darius Swindler, one to Rene Dahinden, another went to an individual in California (this is the one that has been offered on E-bay for $1,000,000.00).

From Patterson’s came at least two copies used on Patterson’s tour and a final copy which is in the possession of Patricia Patterson, and from which all media receive their third generation copies.

Cibachrome, while tough is still subject to the limitations of print. On the plus side, cibachrome has no scratches. However the “no-scratch” applied to the film, which blurs out the scratches may also blur out some detail.

It’s hard to get digital access to film – there are eight bits in each of the three-color channels.

Caddy points out the first 5 frames as seen on the Legend Meets Science DVD were not shot at Bluff Creek.

He feels the red channel can be clearly be seen as the best view.

Possible distortion on the day of the film include camera movement and hot air rising off the sandbar. In talking to Bob Gimlin during the conference, Caddy was told the air temperature was about 70 degrees. With different air densities, some frames appear in sharp focus, while others are fuzzy.

Caddy displayed some of the frames he had enhanced. “I picked the ones that seemed to show the greatest detail,” he said.

Frame 339-240 - the mouth appears to open and close

FR 342-343 – again the mouth opens and closes, with no teeth seen

Caddy points out a feature found on many great apes – a shadow can cast a shadow creating what appears to be a “fake mouth”. To him, the mouth he sees on the enhancements looks more simian.

He rotated the image so it is more vertical versus the forward tilt, which we are all familiar with and did more enhancements.

FR 362 – show what Caddy called a “pressed lip display” – the mouth position is higher then other frames – frowning?

FR 370 – from which a super secret source, an enhancement was made and appeared on a website he didn’t want to identify, but he did let slip the initials “E” and “B”. He had no idea where this photo came from, until Chris Murphy spoke up from the side of the room. Murphy said the original photo was made by Jeff Glickman. Murphy took a 35 mm photo of that enhancement. He said Eric “bugged me until I gave him a copy of the photo.”

Owen Caddy’s conclusions based on the enhancements he made –

• the mouth is lower on the face and more simian in nature then previously believed
• the nose is quite flat
• the mouth opens and closes
• the eyes can be seen

Caddy said either a first generation copy, if not the original, needs to converted into red, blue and green on special film.

He thanked Rick Noll for his help in the research.

Dr Jeff Meldrum – Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State University - SASQUATCH: More on the Mid-tarsal Break

Meldrum began with an update on the Legend Meets Science book. He said, due to many reasons it will not be out by next Christmas, but should out by mid 2006. He said it would be more then just a companion book to the LMS DVD. “The documentary had some shortcomings,” he said. “But, it did bring data to the lab bench.” Dr, George Schaller, has reviewed the manuscript and has written the forward to the book. “Much evidence concerning Bigfoot has been accumulated,” Meldrum said.

He said much of his talk would seem to be a Part 2 to his presentation at the Willow Creek Bigfoot Symposium.

He discussed the hominoid foot, with it’s grasping toe, calling this a “grasp climbing adaptation.” The human foot is adapted differently, as we are running animals, capable of long distance running.

The primate foot allows the heel to lift off, as the mid- and front-foot remain on the ground. This mid-foot flexation can be seen in footprints.

He talked about Jason, the test chimp used to make the footprints “learning” what Meldrum was doing. After examining the prints the sand box was raked smooth. Jason seemed to discover if he raked the prints from the sandbox, he wouldn’t have to go back into the cage.

The primate foot seems roll off the heel towards the great toe. Meldrum said the mid-tarsal break didn’t show up very well in the sandbox, but every so often it would appear.

The Laetoli track way – he doesn’t agree with Daegling’s photo interpretation.

He noted that gorillas walk at times with the great toe at a 90 degree angle to the other toes, while at other times with the great toe aligned with the other toes.

Discussing the Patterson-Gimlin film –

- If it is as big as the gigantopithicus – it may be either bipedal or quadrupedal.

- Bob Hieronimus copies the widely believed swing of arms, as well as what Meldrum labeled - the “OK” forefinger–thumb formation.

- In his opinion, the P-G footage is impressive because it is of something walking through an area and leaving tracks. Lyle Laverty saw one clear line of tracks, casting ten, two of which Meldrum believes clearly show the mid-tarsal break. The animation of the foot can be seen in both the photos and in the tracks.

He told a story of Bob Titmus running low and plaster and casting the final track, making an “egg-shell” cast, which he backed with toilet paper.

- A projecting heel seen in the film can also e seen in the Skookum Cast, along with a well-developed Achilles tendon, as well as a pronounced heel.

Some of the “half-track casts” show that Bigfoot runs on the front two-thirds or half of the foot. A human runs on the ball of the foot.

Meldrum holds the Bossburg (“Cripple-foot”) tracks to be “stunning evidence. If these are fakes then we should give up on track evidence.” The long toe is evident in the original cast..

“An elevated heel, a flat-flex sole and relatively long toes are an elegant adaptation to an animal moving across broken and steep ground.”

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