- 2 hours ago
PLEASE JOIN ME ON SPOTIFY -
https://open.spotify.com/show/07qxzWtJlXUdFbtuwKwXi7?si=MkURrBjkR6e5w1I1_uZ2BQ
APPLE PODCAST - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bigfoot-project/id1896156984
THE BIGFOOT PROJECT: BOOK 1 -
https://a.co/d/00D067S3
https://open.spotify.com/show/07qxzWtJlXUdFbtuwKwXi7?si=MkURrBjkR6e5w1I1_uZ2BQ
APPLE PODCAST - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bigfoot-project/id1896156984
THE BIGFOOT PROJECT: BOOK 1 -
https://a.co/d/00D067S3
Category
š³
AnimalsTranscript
00:03I'm Lynne Smith and welcome to The Bigfoot Project.
00:15Before I start, let me give you my background.
00:18I'm 50 years old, have two kids and two grandkids,
00:22have been married for over 29 years,
00:24and have been a Toronto police officer for over 28 years.
00:28I started shooting when I was 7 years old,
00:30started hunting woodchucks and rabbits when I was 9 or 10.
00:34I did a lot of fishing, canoeing, boating, camping and hiking when I was a kid.
00:39I started hunting deer and bear when I was about 14 or 15,
00:43and have every year since, and started hunting moose about 14 years ago.
00:48My parents are Salvation Army officers and were all transferred all over Canada.
00:53I've done all of the above all over Canada during my younger years
00:57and continue now in Ontario, where I permanently reside in Ajax,
01:01which is just 10 minutes east of Toronto.
01:04For the last 10 years, I've hunted moose about 30 miles northeast of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario,
01:10near a small town called Searchmount, near Northland Lake.
01:16Over the years, I've seen all kinds of wildlife,
01:18but never laid eyes on what I saw last week while hunting moose.
01:22I thought I was losing my marbles,
01:23and that thought was reinforced when I told my brother-in-law,
01:27my hunting partner, the story.
01:29I later told my wife over the phone, and she was intrigued.
01:33She apparently told a co-worker,
01:35and found out that there were several sightings in Ontario.
01:38That's when I realized that maybe I wasn't just seeing things or losing my head.
01:43Anyhow, to my story.
01:44Sorry, it's a little long, but it doesn't make sense if I don't tell it all.
01:50My brother-in-law and I were hunting moose just northeast of Sault Ste. Marie.
01:54On Tuesday, October 14th, 2003,
01:57I went up an old trail to where it came to a dead end.
02:00I got stuck on my ATV in the mud,
02:02but managed to get out and turn around.
02:05I went partway down the trail to where I found a clearing
02:07and parked on the west side,
02:09where I could see about 200 yards north and south.
02:12I stopped there at about 7.45 a.m.
02:15I put out some moose cow in heat urine scent on the surrounding trees,
02:19and a few minutes later, did a moose cow call on my horn.
02:23I looked at my watch, which said it was 8.05 a.m.
02:26At about 8.15, it started to rain.
02:29I didn't want to get my gun wet,
02:30so I put it back in the gun boot on my ATV.
02:33The rain helps hide my scent,
02:35but at the same time makes it noisy in the bush
02:37with the water hitting the ground, leaves, trees, etc.
02:41At 8.30 a.m., I start hearing footsteps
02:43and snapping twigs coming from the northeast of my position.
02:48The rain noise disguised this noise until it was very close to me,
02:51and because of this, I wasn't ready.
02:53My gun was still in the boot.
02:55All of a sudden, I heard the distinctive sound
02:58of a bull moose raking his rack on the brush very close.
03:02I looked to my left and saw a huge bull raking his rack about 70 yards from me.
03:07I reached back and pulled my gun from the boot,
03:10but dropped the boot cover on the top of my ATV,
03:12which made a banging sound.
03:14When I turned back to where the moose was,
03:16it took off back into the dense brush.
03:19I thought it was a bit strange
03:21because I've seen several moose in the past that just stood there.
03:24They don't seem to be afraid of anything and just stand there.
03:27I've had them stand in front of me for several minutes
03:30before walking off into the bush in the past,
03:32and I couldn't understand why this one took off so fast.
03:36I stayed there for about an hour hoping he'd come back.
03:39During that time, I called on my horn
03:42and heard him rake his rack on the bush twice
03:44and grunt at me as he headed off in a southerly direction through the bush.
03:49It turns out there was a gully just out of my line of sight
03:51that he used to walk around me and disappear.
03:55I was later able to raise my brother-in-law on the radio
03:58who showed up and went to where I had seen the moose.
04:00He checked the bush and found fresh tracks
04:03which showed the moose had gone around me in this gully
04:05which was just out of my line of vision.
04:08He suggested that I sit near where the moose had come out
04:10and see if he would come back.
04:12I then crossed the clearing and sat on my ATV
04:15about five yards from where I saw the moose and sat facing east.
04:19Again, I sprayed some moose-cow-in-heat urine scent on the trees around me
04:23and did a few calls on my horn.
04:25By this time, it was around 12.30 p.m.
04:29I decided that I would sit there for the rest of the day
04:31hoping to see the bull moose come back.
04:34While there, I ate my lunch,
04:36got off the ATV a few times to stretch my legs,
04:38had a few cigarettes, and even had a little snooze.
04:42During this time, my back was to the gully
04:44that the bull had used to walk around me.
04:47At about 1.30, I started hearing heavy thumps behind me every now and then.
04:52Every time I heard one, I would turn around,
04:55but there was nothing there.
04:56I should mention that it was still raining.
04:59The sound of the rain hitting the ground or the leaves
05:02was quite loud, but these thumps were much louder.
05:05They sounded like a stone or something heavy hitting the ground,
05:08but every time I turned around, I saw nothing.
05:13At about 5.25, I got off the ATV to stretch my legs and have a smoke.
05:17I put my gun on the front bag of the ATV to make sure I had it within reach
05:21and stood in front of the ATV, face in the gully,
05:24which was to my rear prior to this.
05:27While I was having my smoke,
05:28I started hearing the distinctive sounds of footsteps coming from the gully,
05:32snapping branches and leaves crunching.
05:35I kept my eyes on the gully while I reached for my rifle.
05:38I thought the bull was coming back.
05:40When I looked into the gully, about 40 yards straight in front of me,
05:44I saw what I thought was a man walking towards me.
05:47He was stooped over and looked like he was having trouble walking in the bush.
05:51He grabbed a tree and swung himself around and ducked or dove behind some thick brush.
05:56The total time of this took 3-5 seconds and he disappeared.
06:01He looked to me as if he was dressed in all black
06:03with a black toque or a balaclava on his head.
06:06The reason I thought he was wearing a toque
06:08was his head seemed to be long at the back like a man wearing a toque.
06:12It looked like he was wearing a jacket
06:14and the front of his jacket was open halfway
06:16and I could see a different color of lining showing around the neck area.
06:20It looked like it was a light gray
06:22or almost blue on the chest area in the shape of a V.
06:26I couldn't really say how tall it was
06:28because his legs were behind thick brush
06:30and I could only see to mid-thigh.
06:32But I would have guessed at the time
06:34that he was anywhere from 5'8 to 6 feet tall.
06:38But he was about 40 yards away
06:40and it's hard to judge height or size in a bush
06:42when you're not sure of the distance.
06:45His arms seemed too long for a man
06:47but he was extremely muscular like a bodybuilder
06:50with the typical V-shaped build.
06:53There was definitely no fat on him at all.
06:55I could see the different muscle groups on his upper body
06:58and arms bulging out
07:00and I could see that he had a washboard stomach.
07:03When he grabbed the tree
07:05I saw that he had hands, not paws.
07:07He swung around the tree and dove for cover
07:10as if trying to hide from me.
07:12As I said earlier
07:13it was a dull day and was raining
07:15and he looked wet.
07:16He was covered with black or dark brown hair
07:19and it looked like the hair was stuck to him
07:21fairly closely because he was wet.
07:23What also gave me the bodybuilder impression
07:26was that he seemed to have no neck
07:27or he had so much muscle on his shoulders
07:30that it gave that appearance.
07:32On top of all this
07:34his shoulders were extremely broad.
07:37There was a line of dense brush
07:39leading off to my left
07:40where it dove into
07:41which carried on for about 30 to 40 yards.
07:44About 10 to 15 seconds
07:45after it went behind this brush
07:47I heard a hoarse, raspy cough
07:49followed by a long horse, sad sounding howl.
07:52It sounded like a wolf howl
07:54but much deeper than any wolf I've ever heard.
07:57The sound came from about 20 yards
07:59from where I first saw it dive for cover.
08:02When I first saw it
08:04I thought it was a man
08:05maybe lost in the bush
08:06but my first thought was
08:08why isn't he wearing any orange
08:09and if he's lost
08:11why doesn't he just ask for help?
08:13But the howl made me realize quickly
08:15that this was no man.
08:18The next thing going through my head was
08:20what the heck was that?
08:22That was no moose
08:24it was definitely not a wolf or a bear
08:26and it was like nothing I'd ever seen
08:28in 35 years of hunting.
08:31What it looked like to me
08:32was a gorilla
08:33or very close to one
08:34but it walked upright
08:36not on all fours.
08:38I stood there motionless
08:40for almost an hour
08:41and waiting to see
08:41if it would show itself again.
08:44During that time
08:45I remembered a show I saw
08:46on the Discovery Channel
08:47about a month before this trip
08:48about a man and his son
08:50that were hunting in BC
08:51where they saw
08:52a very large animal
08:53throwing rocks at them.
08:55They took off
08:56and reported it to whoever
08:57and they later figured out
08:59that it might be a Bigfoot
09:00warning them to get out of his area.
09:03I then thought about
09:04the loud heavy thumping noises
09:06behind me
09:06and realized that maybe
09:08this creature was throwing
09:09something at me.
09:10After a while
09:11it started to dawn on me
09:13that I may have just seen
09:14a Bigfoot
09:15and I started to get
09:16a little scared.
09:18I normally leave the bush
09:19after dark when hunting
09:20but this night
09:22I left about a half hour prior
09:23to make sure
09:24I had lots of time.
09:25I was going to get back
09:27to that area the next day
09:28looking for that bull
09:29but couldn't bring myself
09:30to go anywhere near that spot.
09:33That's the first time
09:34in 35 years
09:35I've ever been afraid
09:36in the bush.
09:38Since then
09:39I've wondered if this thing
09:40I saw was what
09:41scared the bull away.
09:43Like I said earlier
09:44I've seen many moose
09:45in the bush
09:46and I've never seen one
09:47run from me like that.
09:49From where the bull ran off
09:50to where I saw this creature
09:52was only about 50 yards.
09:55Another thing
09:55I don't know if this means
09:57anything or not
09:57where I was sitting
09:59I saw a large
10:00probably moose leg bone
10:01lying on the ground
10:02about 5 feet from my ATV.
10:05It wasn't cut or sawed
10:06it had been broken
10:07or snapped
10:08and it looked to be
10:09about at least a year old.
10:16My wife and I
10:17are amateur naturalists
10:18with our home
10:19being filled with books
10:20and artifacts
10:21from years spent
10:22hiking in the woods.
10:23We have pressed
10:24leaf and fern collections
10:26castings from wolves
10:27and other animal tracks
10:28and all kinds
10:29of other oddities
10:30collected during
10:31our many excursions
10:32throughout the years.
10:33We have handmade lamps
10:34made from tree limbs
10:35that we gathered
10:36in the forest
10:37and some of our furnishings
10:39are handcrafted
10:39by artisans
10:40from the forest
10:41to our north.
10:42I only mention this
10:44so that you can
10:44kind of get a feel
10:45for the type of people
10:46we are.
10:47At the time of this sighting
10:49our two children
10:49were 9 and 12 years old
10:51Sophie being the oldest
10:53and Eddie was our youngest.
10:55At least twice a year
10:56we would all go camping
10:57but we spend many other days
10:59hiking and scavenging
11:00a variety of locations
11:02together.
11:03One of our favorite locations
11:05is the Helen Bar
11:06Lookout Trail
11:06in Mississauga
11:07Provincial Park.
11:09It's not too far
11:10from Toronto
11:10and it's an absolute
11:12exceptional place
11:13to hike and camp
11:14having been there
11:15more than a dozen times before.
11:18The trail takes
11:19a few hours usually
11:20so we generally
11:21bring a picnic lunch along
11:22to eat once we reach
11:23the midway point
11:24typically in an area
11:26known as the
11:27Second Lookout
11:27which is close to a lake
11:29named Helen Bar.
11:31There are many animals
11:32in this region
11:32including deer,
11:34moose and wolves
11:34and it's not uncommon
11:36to see wolf tracks
11:37on this trail
11:37because it's also used
11:39by the pack at times.
11:40In fact
11:41this is where we have
11:42taken casts
11:43which we have at home.
11:45Many people are afraid
11:46of wolves
11:47but that's an unfounded fear.
11:49They are actually
11:50quite shy
11:50and have extremely keen
11:52senses of both smell
11:53and sight.
11:55The only indication
11:56of a wolf's presence
11:57that most people
11:58ever experience
11:59is their howling
12:00which we've heard
12:01on many occasions.
12:03This time
12:04we decided to travel
12:05in September.
12:07October and September
12:08are the rutting seasons
12:09for moose
12:09and we were hoping
12:10to stay out of harm's way
12:11and actually see a moose
12:13on this outing
12:13which is easier said
12:15than done.
12:15As large as they are
12:17it's extremely rare
12:18to see one here.
12:20I will do my best
12:21to give you an idea
12:22of what we were seeing
12:23and what you would see
12:24if you were there with us.
12:25The trail is a large
12:27oblong hoop
12:28which heads out
12:28towards Helen Bar Lake
12:30then swings back around
12:31to the return leg
12:32along the side
12:33of Semi-White Lake.
12:35These are two entirely
12:36different bodies of water
12:37with Helen Bar
12:38being very shallow
12:39and Semi-White
12:40being deeper.
12:42Semi-White is home
12:43to lake trout,
12:44whitefish
12:45and a lot of minnows
12:46most of which
12:47like deeper water.
12:48While on the other hand
12:50Helen Bar is less than
12:5115 feet deep
12:52at its deepest point
12:53but it does support
12:54a robust population
12:55of brook trout.
12:58As you enter the trail
13:00you get a real sense
13:01that you're leaving
13:01the world as you know it.
13:03Like entering Middle Earth
13:04or some other fantasy forest.
13:07As you begin
13:08to move uphill
13:08there are many boulders
13:10that are left behind
13:10by the glaciers.
13:12One of these rocks
13:13which had more than likely
13:14been dragged
13:15hundreds of miles
13:15by the ice
13:16is of immense size
13:17and proportion.
13:19There's also quite a lot
13:20of ferns growing
13:21both on and around
13:22this huge boulder.
13:24Passing the boulder field
13:25you start to enter
13:26into the heart
13:27of an upland forest
13:28an area filled
13:29with red oak
13:30yellow birch
13:31and sugar maples.
13:32All of these trees
13:34are at the extreme
13:35northern limits
13:35of where they grow
13:36and thrive.
13:38Directly alongside them
13:39you begin to see
13:40what is known
13:41as a northern boreal forest
13:43where spruce and balsam
13:44first take over.
13:46While on the trail
13:47you walk at the very cusp
13:49of the transition zone
13:50between the two
13:50different forests.
13:52As you continue
13:53you also begin
13:54to see many stumps
13:55which are remnants
13:56of the logging
13:57for white pine
13:58which occurred here
13:59years ago.
14:00As you continue
14:01along the route
14:02you'll see a large swath
14:03cut from the forest
14:04which was done
14:05intentionally
14:05by the province
14:06of Ontario.
14:08The young growth
14:08which springs up
14:09in this area
14:10provides reachable
14:11and edible food
14:12for the deer population.
14:14As you approach
14:16what is known
14:16as the first lookout
14:17you're confronted
14:18by steep rock faces
14:19which stand
14:20in stark contrast
14:21to the beautiful forests
14:22that surround them.
14:24From both the first
14:25and second lookout
14:26you can see the shallow
14:27and lovely Lake Helen Bar
14:28between the two lookouts.
14:30There are many large trees
14:32which have been uprooted
14:33by the wind
14:33leaving their enormous
14:35root balls exposed.
14:37On this day
14:38we began our descent
14:39from the second lookout
14:40and walked a quarter
14:41of a mile
14:41passing many of these
14:43fallen trees
14:43when just up ahead
14:45a large bull moose
14:46emerged from the forest
14:47more than likely
14:48after a trip
14:49to Lake Semiwhite
14:50which is one of their
14:51favorite feeding zones.
14:52They love the aquatic plants
14:54that grow in the shallows
14:55at the lake edges.
14:56He was right on our path
14:58making mating calls
14:59as he lumbered along
15:00and we didn't want
15:01to get too close
15:02so we started to backtrack.
15:04As we did
15:05we snapped some pictures
15:06and tried to enjoy
15:07the moment
15:07while remaining
15:08very cautious.
15:10He seemed as though
15:11he wasn't going to move on
15:12anytime soon
15:13so we decided to back up
15:15near the area
15:15of the fallen trees
15:16and hang out for a while
15:18since our only other alternative
15:20was to hike
15:21all the way back
15:21the way we'd come.
15:23As we were waiting
15:24Sophie told me
15:25she had seen something
15:26come out from behind a tree.
15:28There was quite a few
15:30dead trees
15:30so I asked her
15:31which one
15:32and she pointed
15:33to a large root ball
15:34maybe 150 feet away from us.
15:36As we all stood there
15:38focusing on the giant root ball
15:39my eyes were drawn
15:40to a large
15:41black furry arm
15:43that was wrapped through
15:44and around
15:45some of the old roots
15:46extending from the side
15:47of the root ball.
15:48No sooner than I began
15:50focusing on that
15:51than a large head
15:52jutted out
15:53from behind the ball
15:53looking right at us.
15:56Almost instantly
15:57my daughter and wife said
15:59oh my god
16:00look at that.
16:01The head started twitching
16:02back and forth
16:03in a crazy manner
16:04moving back and forth
16:05incredibly fast
16:06and then the arm
16:08was pulled back
16:08out of view.
16:10My daughter told me
16:11that she was scared
16:12and both children
16:13moved closer to us.
16:14I reached down
16:15to grab a large piece
16:16of branch
16:17breaking it off
16:18into a club
16:18and as I did so
16:20this thing took off
16:21running through the trees.
16:23It moved so quickly
16:24that it was almost a blur
16:25and we could hear it
16:26crashing and thrashing
16:27through the trees
16:28as it ran.
16:29We were absolutely
16:30in shock
16:31and my daughter
16:32was so frightened
16:33that she was in tears.
16:35After a long minute
16:36we started to walk back
16:38to where the moose
16:38had been
16:39looking back
16:39over our shoulders
16:40the entire time.
16:42Thankfully
16:42when we reached
16:43the area again
16:44the bull moose
16:45had moved on.
16:47About 45 minutes later
16:48we were back
16:49at camp and safe.
16:51Though brief
16:52we got a good enough
16:53look at the creature
16:53that I can describe
16:54it in detail.
16:55I would estimate
16:56that its arm
16:57was over 5 feet in length
16:59and heavily covered
17:00in what seemed
17:00to be thick
17:01blackish brown fur.
17:03When its head
17:04moved into view
17:04we could see
17:05a portion of its body
17:06through the root ball
17:07of the downed tree
17:08and it looked like
17:09a big gorilla.
17:11But of course
17:12we all know
17:12there are no gorillas
17:13present here
17:14or anywhere else
17:15in the states.
17:17Even if one
17:17fell to the earth here
17:18it would never
17:19survive the climate.
17:21This was
17:22a Bigfoot.
17:23The head
17:24had longer hair
17:25than the rest
17:25of the body
17:26and when it started
17:27flipping its head
17:27left to right
17:28we could see
17:29the long hair
17:30flipping back and forth.
17:32It looked like
17:32a lead guitarist
17:33in the middle
17:34of some mad jam session
17:35performing this
17:36twitching motion
17:37so fast
17:38that it was hard
17:39to comprehend
17:39why it would do so
17:40but it was.
17:42When it ran
17:43into the woods
17:43it led with its arms
17:45and hands
17:45plowing everything
17:46out of its way.
17:47It was a whirlwind
17:48of activity
17:49as it parted
17:50the brush
17:50and pushed forward
17:51through the undergrowth
17:52slapping saplings
17:53and brush aside
17:54with seemingly
17:55no regard
17:56for getting hurt.
17:57We could clearly see
17:59when it moved
17:59out of the covered roots
18:00that everything
18:01about his body
18:02was tall
18:02well formed
18:03and muscular.
18:05The biceps
18:06and forearms
18:07looked like tree limbs
18:08and from front to back
18:09its upper thighs
18:10must have been
18:1116 inches deep
18:12but its butt cheeks
18:13stuck out well beyond
18:14the thickness
18:15of its thighs.
18:15It was completely
18:17different from
18:17a human's buttocks.
18:19Its hands and feet
18:20were extremely long
18:21and when its feet
18:22were lifted
18:23as it stepped
18:24I noticed
18:24that their bottoms
18:25looked like leather
18:26shoe soles
18:27with fur coming
18:28down the edges.
18:29At no time
18:30did it show its teeth
18:31and when it disappeared
18:32we could faintly
18:33hear it thrashing away
18:34for a fair amount
18:35of time
18:36before everything
18:36went silent.
18:38Of course
18:38we don't know
18:39if it had broken
18:40into a clearing
18:40or if it was just
18:42too far away
18:42for us to hear it
18:43but at that point
18:45the encounter
18:46was over.
18:51Thanks for joining me
18:52on The Bigfoot Project.
18:53If you enjoyed
18:54today's video
18:55here's one
18:56you don't want to miss.
18:57Also
18:58if you have a story
18:59you'd like to share
19:00on this channel
19:00email me
19:02lynn smith
19:02at
19:03thebigfootproject
19:04at mail.com
19:05I hope to hear
19:06from you soon.
19:07I hope to see you
19:09I hope to see you
Comments