Bigfoot Encounters

The Mountain Foothills of Pasadena, California

Report from Mrs Diane Vaughan, dated May 1989 as told to Peter Guttilla: This concerns a bigfoot sighting on May 17, 1989, at 5 p.m. in mountain foothills above Pasadena, California.  At about 12:30 p.m. I parked my car at the top of Lake Street and hiked to the end of the road which goes through the Cobb Estate.  Here I found an underground reservoir covered with a metal roof and a hiking trail leading off to the right at the other side of the reservoir.  The short trail led to a living-room sized area with a small stream running through it and a wash directly to the left.  I hiked up the wash about fifty yards to a spot where it was covered by an overhanging tree.

At this point I sat still because I heard footsteps directly overhead to my right as I faced the wash.  Stones were being thrown or kicked down just beyond the tree, so I waited a few minutes until the steps went away and then I proceeded.  A few yards later I saw a ridge leading up to the left with some trees fifteen to twenty feet apart growing up to the side of a ridge.  I proceeded to climb the ridge from tree to tree.  During the climb, I heard a loud "chopping" sound.  Looking across at the other ridge, I could see nothing at all.

The top of the ridge was covered with brambles.  I found a place where an animal had made a tunnel through the brambles and crawled about twenty-five feet through to the top of the ridge, where I found an old path.  I walked up to three electrical towers and rested for a while, looking down on Lake Street.

The path up from the towers had been washed away and required some "hand over hand" hiking for about forty feet.  The path at this point was better, although occasionally rutted.  The path ended in a "T".  The left fork went about thirty feet and stopped at the edge of the ridge in some bushes.  The right fork continued about 100-150 yards to a rock wall above which was the Mount Lowe fire road.   There was another path which I took a couple of days later and which led directly to the fire road.  It's a much easier access to the area from the end of Cheney Trail.

I went to the end of the trail, with ridges on either side dropping down into canyons and the rock-face at my back.  I sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I watched the clouds roll in, and figured it was about time to follow the path back down to the car.  I walked down and turned left at the "T."

Just then I saw a movement in my peripheral vision.  I turned and saw a "being" around six feet tall in height as it appeared to almost dance back and forth down a slight rise in the path I had just been on.  It's arms were out and it was leaping from side to side down the path.  It was completely black (and covered in hair).  I ran up the path toward it and it ran off the side and down the bushy ridge.  I looked down after it but could not see any sign of it.

"It's okay," I called.  "Come back."  Then I returned to where I was standing when I had the sighting.  The bigfoot reappeared on the path, just where he had left it.  We stood looking at each other.  I wanted to get closer, but didn't feel that was possible.  After a few minutes, I realized I had to head on down the ridge because I didn't know where the path came out on the Cobb Estate, or its condition below where I had joined it on the ridge near the towers.  I raised my arm its full length and slowly waved at the bigfoot in a grand gesture, from one side of my body to the other.  He turned and faced toward the fire road visible from the path on his right and waved the exact same way I had.  He walked off and I heard the "chopping" sound again.

Diane Vaughan, Eagle Rock, California.

Note: Diane Vaughan told Peter Guttilla about her encounter the same day it happened.  The next day he went to the site and found one good castable print.

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