Greenwater, Washington State -- About twenty miles from Enumclaw, WA, which has a long and continuing history of sasquatch sightings. ...May no researcher ever have the misfortune of running into a gun-happy camper like this one, who unloaded two weapons into the darkness out of fear...at least that's my take on this story... Bobbie Short

This story is true! It happened in September of 2001in the mountains near Greenwater, WA. I was camping with my girlfriend and her two kids overlooking a small lake from above on the ridgeline. From our camp we could see down to this small lake, and see Mt Rainier behind us in the other direction. It was about 1 a.m. the second night we were there when we were awoke by the sounds of crashing through the forest. I remember that whatever it was, it sure made a lot of noise. It scared all of us pretty good! I thought that it might be a bear or an elk at first making all that noise and it got quiet so we all settled back down for some sleep. About 10 minutes later is when we could actually start to hear strange "vocal" noises from outside near our camp. I exited the safety of our pick-up camper with a 1 million-candle power spotlight in my left hand, and a fully loaded .40 caliber Glock in the other. I scanned the area around camp with the spot light and saw nothing. I then threw some more wood on the fire, which was down to a glow by now and went back inside the camper. I assured everyone that it was probably just a bear looking for a free meal, and crawled back into bed. Once again within about 5 to 10 minutes, we could hear noises that resembled grunts and groans and sometimes a sound like a horse makes when it snorts. And it was close! My Lab was now cowering under the dinette bed. My girlfriend insisted that I go out and chase off whatever it was because it's starting to scare her and the kids. Not to mention that I too had hair standing up on the back of my neck. This time I put the Glock in the holster on my hip, and secured the spot light to the barrel of

my 12 gauge with electricians tape and exited the camper. This time I decided to venture a little farther from camp to get a better look in the trees above us. I had that spotlight virtually scanning a 360-degree pattern the whole time. Now this is one very bright light and will throw a beam of light for at least a hundred yards even in the black of night. As I got closer to the tree line, I suddenly noticed two eyes glaring back at me from the trees. By now, I had flicked the safety on the shotgun to the fire position and was ready to defend myself against whatever it was. I decided to get closer still thinking I had encountered a bear. I was right up to the tree line by now, my light scanning everywhere at once. I then heard the "vocal" noises again followed by several huffs like a horse makes.

Then all of a sudden and without warning, it starts to move through the forest making more noise than a herd of buffalo. My spot light was now trained on the right spot. I saw two huge eyes glaring at my light now through the darkness only about 50 feet away. I hear a loud roar as it starts making its way in my direction. This thing was huge! And it made so much noise. It only took a few seconds for me to see what I was looking at. I swear that this creature was as wide as it was tall.

I cut loose with the 12 gauge and fired 3 rounds from a distance of maybe 40 feet. It made even more noise when it turned and started running down hill and away from me. I emptied the clip from my Glock as it ran away. By now the girlfriend and kids are freaking out. My girl friend wants to know what I shot at and I couldn't answer. I just threw our stuff in the camper and down the hill we flew. I consider myself to be of sound mind and body, and I know that what I saw could only be this legendary creature. I am not with that girl friend any more, and I believe that my encounter with the creature is the reason for our break up. To this day I still see her from time to time, and I have never told her what it was that I not only emptied my shotgun but the 11 rounds in my pistol on. I have never been back to that camping spot either!

I do believe that all 3 shotgun blasts probably hit home as this thing turned and run away from me downhill and it moved really fast. It was only loaded with birdshot and probably only pissed this thing off. The amount of noise it made crashing through the forest is something I will never forget. The spotlight was attached to the shotgun barrel, which I had dropped when I grabbed the Glock. I emptied the clip firing through the darkness at the movement as it ran away. I doubt that any of the pistol rounds had any effect, as it was basically "spray & pray" fire. It still gives me chills every time I think about that night. My trusty Lab is getting older now, and even though I don't have the girlfriend and kids either, Duke still sleeps under the dinette when I go camping somewhere. I have not been back to the site since, and I often wonder if I could find any physical evidence after about five years. A friend of mine seems to think that we should be able to at least recover the 3 shot shells and empty.40 caliber rounds from the area. I'm thinking that there should also be some evidence such as broken branches and such. However if I ever do return to that spot, it will definitely not be alone, and I will also be more heavily armed than I was that night. I bought an SKS rifle from a friend several years ago that came with two 40 round magazines. Now that the federal ban that was imposed by Bill Clinton is over, I want to find some high capacity mags for my Glock too. And if I ever do decide to go looking for this guy again, maybe invest in some night vision and heat seeking equipment as well. I was a cub scout. Be prepared.

Tim Kirk
February 21, 2006

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