ganglian's blog

And that means essentially that the summer ends. As the new season begins I get more active in the field again. I've been out twice so far recently, with some limited items of interest. My first trip returns me to Site T, and a drive around it's greater area to see what's going on there. I found the place pretty free of human traffic, as well as pretty quiet in general.

The following is a write up of one part of what I experienced as part of the Fall Nesra Expedition in the Adirondack mountains. We got to the actual expedition base camp a little after 2:00 in the afternoon, and camp was set up after that. Having set up the rest of the evening was largely uneventful except for a suspected beaver slap in the pond that we were camped at. No beaver was actually seen but there were signs of beaver presence anyway. The morning brought discovery of an interesting impression a short distance behind our tents. Improvising, some Ultracal 30 gypsum cement was used to dust the impression and highlight it as well as we could for photos. Erosion and lack of print detail made it such that we decided not to cast it. If I remember right the measurements were 14 inches long by 5 inches wide (exact dimensions to be confirmed later in official expedition writeup.)

After breakfast another researcher and I hiked along the rim of the pond which allowed us to get about halfway around before the trail broke up into swampy wetlands. We briefly explored a swampy clearing before heading back to camp. This also gave me a chance to test out my new helmet camera set up which performed pretty well as it has on three previously hikes. WIth a full charge it seems capable of (optimistically) 5 hours of recording. Had the battery run out I had brought along a 12 volt battery and a modified car adapter set up to allow for recharging in the field. The alternative would have been lugging in a heavier inverter, while the battery fit easily enough in my backpack. The major limitation of the helmet cam is that it doesn't do night vision without help, so that is something we'll be working on.

I'll let the expedition report tell the larger version of the story as the intent of this field report was to be more of an individual account, so we fast forward to after dinner. It was beginning to get dark and to rain as two of us set off to stake out a spot about a hundred meters from camp to try and see if we could observe anything coming around to check out the campsite. The position we were staked out placed us on a hillside behind where the impression had been found. Things were not to be however, a complete lack of moon light proved to limit video equipment with nightshot capacity, and the continual background noise of the rain hindered my bionic ear's capabilities as well. After about a n hour we grew a bit frustrated and went to camp.

A short while later we were sitting under a tarp as the rain was still going off and on, and the fire had been weakened by the rainfall. The lantern we had had run out of fuel as well as if the set the scene for what was going to happen next. We began to hear from the other side of the pond what sounded like thunder at first. I found this odd, as after hearing it twice or so, I looked up at the sky to see nothing both stars. The clouds and broken up and taken the rain with it. But still the "thunder" continued. It began to seemingly get louder, or closer though and we noticed it had an almost rhythm to it. It took on a similarity to growling, as described by Chris, Mike and Corey who were getting up to check out what it was. After a minute or two it definitely seemed like it was getting closer and we were all off our seats and listening, trying to figure out what it was and where exactly it was now. What I just described is what everyone heard and experienced, but by now, Mike, Chris and Corey were heading a little ways down the trail to see if they could identify our apparent visitor.

What happened next what not so much something I initially heard as much as felt over my shoulder. I would liken it to when you feel something in your space, leading me to ask to Chuck who was still nearby, "What was that....?. Whatever it was, hopped up and ran off into the darkness from what seemed not more than twenty feet away, and did so with a loudness I would equate with a galloping horse. It seemed big, heavy and fast. The oddness of this is all the more, given the timing. Three of us have wandered away to check out am aggressive sounding noise from the opposite direction and something big manages to sneak up to practically the edge of the camp.

So what was it? I honestly don't know. We had planned our expedition at the darkest portion of the moon phase and it was about as dark as it could be. Later discussions about this have me realzing that Chris, Mike and Corey were not in a good position to see or hear it, although Mike and Chris claim they saw something small nearby, estimating it to be the size of a rodent. Chuck likened what we heard to be closer to the size of at least a large dog. Having been closest to whatever it was when it bolted, I think Chuck's estimate is conservative. I know the ground was covered in twigs and leaves and that would make a stealthy approach harder in my opinion. Could it have been a mountain lion? I tend to doubt it being a bear, or a deer, and it was loud enough to likely rule out anything smaller.

So bottom line, what was it? And what was it intending when it was being so damn sneaky....?

So I've talked enough about my overnight trip to Winsted this past weekend, so here's my field report. I started out mid afternoon on Saturday and arrived at the Campground where I secured a campsite as both Base camp and a place where I could leave my car without worrying about it too much. I quickly realized I had brought too much stuff, considered the hike to my blind spot was a 2 mile hike uphill most of the way, winding along the counters of the mountain in question. I left
the nonessentials behind, which unfortunately included some recording equipment I wish i had the next morning.

The view

I lost a little time getting reorganized but got underway and made the hike up the mountain to a spot I estimate to be about three quarters of the way up. The site itself bears a little description. It is basically a flat bluff, fifty feet over the area just off the trail. From this spot you get a decent view underneath you going out a few hundred feet, and given there was still a decent amount of foilage on the trees I was out of sight from the most part to. The reason I called this "Hobo Camping" is that I was also testing out a piece of equipment that allowed me to forego a tent. I had recently gotten a Hennesy allweather
Hammock, which serves the same basic role but it is much more friendly to traveling light.

Another View

I got set up much more quickly this way, and set about getting in an afternoon nap, to get rested for the night ahead. I still had with me a nightvision capable video camera, and an IR spotlight to amplify it's range as well as a parabolic microphone to hear approaching animals, or our big hairy friend. Waking up just around dusk, I got things set up and set about call blasting every hallf hour or so, using a whooping sound that mimicks the sounds I've heard here before, including an
incident last year, when I was "followed" by some wood knocking after using a similar vocalization. By followed, I mean the source of it was not staying stationary but seemed to be moving closer at the time.

Down the hill

The night itself, was quiet, and maybe a little chilly, but I did have good moonlight over me. Sadly, no activity occurred turing the night so I turned in around four thirty or so. ANd i slept until sunrise woke me up. The morning was spent doing some hiking in the area to see if I had any visitors bit found no tracks, etc. Later in the morning I began packing up and stopped to observe a group of hikers walking through on the trail underneath me and a little off in the distance. It was after
they had passed by about ten minutes after, that I did in fact hear another of these "whoops" from a distance of a few hundred feet. It was close, and made the noise only once. In leaving with my gear packed up, I checked the area around where I had heard the vocal, but found no tracks either.

Yet another view

I have heard these whoops several times in this area, and have yet to see the source, so they remain a mystery. I would think they are most likely a bird, but know of none in the region that make such a sound. The positives I took out of this are getting over the apprehensions of doing a solo outting and will hopefully will learn from the minor
mistakes that I made this time out.

The Campsite

Acting on the knowledge of the extensive history of reported Bigfoot activity in northwestern Connecticut, NESRA members from Massachusetts and Connecticut converged on the area for some preliminary scouting.

During one such scouting trip on September 7th, 2005, just after sunrise, myself and another NESRA member heard the "whoops" that are often attributed to Bigfoot. These "whoops" started immediately after I did some wood-knocking while deep in a swampy and forested area of Winsted.

One of the swampy marshlands that is common to the region. Click to enlarge.

We could determine that the "whoops" were coming from at least two, and possibly three, separate locations up the side of a mountain. As the "whoops" continued, they seemed to get farther away from us, as if they were traveling in a fanned out pattern. The "whoops" lasted about 30 to 45 seconds until they either stopped completely or were just too far away for us to hear them any more.

An example of the rugged terrain. Click to enlarge. An example of the rugged terrain. Click to enlarge. An example of the rugged terrain. Click to enlarge.

An impression in the form of a
large footprint. Click to enlarge.

On September 17th, I returned to the same area for more scouting. I was examining a muddy area near a stream that leads into a swamp, where I saw what appeared to be two different footprints. One was small, about 12 inches in length, the other was larger, at 16 inches. I also noticed many deer tracks in the same area.

Another large impression. Click to enlarge. A smaller impression.
Click to enlarge. Two 16" impressions at base of fallen tree. Click to enlarge.

A 16" Cast of the tree-base impression. Click to enlarge. Another view of the cast.
Click to enlarge. The large tree that fell.
Click to enlarge.

Another view of the tree.
Click to enlarge.

I continued walking downstream towards the swamp. As I walked, I heard something moving in the thick brush ahead of me, so I slowly continued to walk in that direction. I then did some "wood-knocking", three "bangs", nothing in response. A few minutes later, I tried it again. This time, within seconds of my "knocking", only 50 yards away from me, just over a small ridge, I heard; "BANG, BANG, BANG" on a tree.

A picture of the tree on a return trip.
Click to enlarge.

On the third BANG, I heard a very large tree come crashing to the ground. Although this was very close to me, the thick brush and the ridge blocked any view I might have of what had just transpired.

I stood silently for a minute, trying to sort out what had just happened and listened for what might come next. I didn't hear anything else after that.

More of the landscape that makes
up the region. Click to enlarge.

After a few more minutes, I made my way through the woods to the fallen tree. Interestingly, it was blocking the road I had driven in on. The tree was rotted so I was able to move some broken pieces out of the way enough so that I could drive back out. Just in time, as a severe thunderstorm started within minutes after that.

I returned the next day to examine the tree. I found two 16 inch prints at the base of the tree, the exact size and shape of the print that I found previously in the mud by the stream.

This area has since proven to be very "active" and we are confident that this is an area of a significant Bigfoot presence in Northwest Connecticut.

END

Sidebar By: The Ganglian 03/15/06

I would like to add that this is basically within a mile or so of an experience I reported on the NESRA forum last weekend. I had a similar incident involving my hearing a falling tree approximately three weeks after what Hollywood is describing.

Also, most of the activity to date involves the same general area within a estimated two mile range, much of which follows the line of the mountain located there. There are also large tracts of private land adjacent to the forest on both sides. I have scouted (inadvertently) onto one of these tracts, and that area is just as woodsy as the forest itself and keeps going for a quite a distance. I have a theory that whatever is generating all this activity is possibly traveling in a kind of "circuit." This is possibly based on food availability around the forest regions of the greater Winsted area and possibly even the greater CT-NY-MA border area. If something were moving in a circuit around that area, it might explain the relatively quiet nature of the winter season. That said, be aware this is all conjecture on my part, based on what I've observed.

The high-pitched whine of two motorbikes echoed loudly through the recently logged forest. Tom, Kevin and myself paused and awaited their approach. As they appeared in the distance, I waved my arm and flagged them down. Seeing my signal, they slowed their bikes, came to a stop and shut off their engines.

“What’s the easiest way to get back to this location?” I asked the lead biker, showing them both a digital picture on my camera of a sign that read, ‘Mad River, flood control area, D.E.P., Connecticut.’

“Just follow our tracks, they’ll take you right to it,” he answered.

“Thanks,” I replied. “My friends and I are out here investigating reports of the Winsted Wild man. Have either of you ever seen or heard anything strange in these woods?”

“Yes. Actually, in the wintertime we often hear strange cries and howls, but we’ve never seen anything other than deer out here,” the lead biker acknowledged as his friend nodded in agreement.

“If you ever hear or see anything unusual again, please contact us at NESRA.net.”

“We will,” the second biker responded, starting his engine again. Off they sped, leaving us to ponder their words.

Two Teenagers Witness the Wildman

Tom had taken us to this location because it lead to the backside of a small reservoir where two teenagers, David Chapman 18, and Wayne Hall 19, had heard and seen a hairy creature ambling around, making noises that they described as being a cross between a frog and cat. It happened early one morning on July 24th, 1972. David and Wayne observed this strange creature for 45 minutes as it went about its business; they described it as being about eight feet tall and covered with hair. Both teenagers insisted that it was not a bear and that it walked upright like a man. They were able to clearly discern its limbs and its head, but none of its facial features. It crossed the road and meandered around Albert Durant’s horse barn, appearing and disappearing as it checked out the area. Eventually the tall, hair-covered figure lumbered back across the road and vanished into the forest.

Hall described the strange figure like this: “It was kind of stooped, but more upright. It was hairy. I would say black. It never crouched down; it always stood upright. Once and a while it would reach up and scratch its head.”

Two Terrified Men Approach a Winsted Officer

Two years later, on the morning of September 27th, 1974, two terrified men flagged Winsted Police officer, George Corso down at about 2:30am. Apparently, they had been parked near Rugg Brook Reservoir with their girlfriends when the so-called Winsted Wildman made its appearance again. As one of the men exited the car, a strange creature stepped out of the woods and into their line of sight and began walking directly toward their car. According to one of the witnesses, its eyes reflected the moonlight in an eerie way. They estimated that it was at least six feet tall, weighing at least 300 pounds, and was covered with dark hair. The initial witness quickly reentered the car and they sped away from the creature quickly.

Officer Corso drove the two terrified men back to the sighting location. As they neared their destination, one of the men exclaimed, “There it is!” The officer spun the cruiser around to get a better look but it had slipped back into the woods and was gone.

“I believe these men were terrified,” officer Corso admitted. One of the witnesses was later quoted as saying, “I will never in my life go up there again!”
Even if the monster wasn’t real, the fear these men expressed was absolutely genuine.

An Entire Century of Wildman Activity

“On the trail of the Winsted Wildman,” Tom declared enthusiastically as we huffed along, bushwhacking our way up and over a treacherous and rocky hill towards our destination. I liked the title--The Winsted Wildman--It had a “ring” to it. The locals of Winsted, Connecticut had been tossing that name around for over a hundred years.

The Winsted Wildman was first reported in the area on a hot and humid day, in August of 1895. A Winsted dignitary and Selectman named Riley Smith was walking with his trusty bulldog down Losaw Road, heading to Colebrook to transact some business. While on their way, the distinguished Selectman occasionally stopped to pick blueberries. During one of these frequent stops, in an area named Indian Meadow, Riley’s dog began to squeal and cower at his master’s side. Without warning, a tall and hairy Wildman burst out from the bushes, gave a loud cry and then retreated back into the forest yelling and screaming the whole way. Needless to say both the Selectman and his dog were startled beyond measure.

Upon returning to town, Riley shared his story and by the end of the month it appeared in the Winsted Herald. Larger newspapers in New York and Boston quickly picked up on the story and soon the whole town was in hysteria as swarms of news reporters swept into town wanting to find the Wildman. Before long, sightings of the “Winsted Wildman” were coming in from every direction. A search party of over a hundred people was even formed, but they failed to capture the mysterious visitor. The following is an excerpt from a newspaper article that describes the frenzy that took place during that time.

“One Sunday morning over 100 men and boys met at the corner of Lake and Main with all sorts of weapons and ready for the hunt. The areas to be hunted were Injun Meadow, Cobble Hill, and Losaw Road. But when they returned it was discovered that the only living thing encountered was Riley Smith's pigs running wild through the woods.

Reported sightings included George Hoskins, who said he saw the Wild Man leaving his hen house with two hens under his arms.

Jim Maddrah proclaimed he took a Kodak picture of a man with a mass of hair on his head, but none of his body. Jim explained this condition by stating his camera was so frightened it couldn't see straight.

Two ladies from New York, while in town, witnessed a large animal cross their path, turn, stand on its hind legs and stare at them. They were in belief that the Wild Man was an ape or baboon.

The chief of police, Steve Wheeler, claimed he tracked a gorilla-man into a swamp before he lost the trail and scent.

Edward Perkins of Norfolk declared he had talked with the man, and in
September, at the Agricultural Society Fair held at the Lakeside Driving Park, people expressed disappointment that they could not display the elusive Wild Man.

One taxpayer, probably a descendant of Joe Pfaefflin, expressed the hope that it was really the Devil trying to scare Selectman Smith so he wouldn't spend so much of the town's money.

The Winsted Herald noted that Smith saw a remarkably agile man who appeared to be muscular and brawny. They remarked that no ordinary man could capture this being, while suggesting the selectman should look into this incident.

Mr. Rodemeyer of the Danbury Dispatch said that the Winsted Wild Man was evolving backward." The distinction between a man and a monkey is so plain as to admit of a possibility of mistaking one from the other, even in Winsted, despite the proclamation of the Winsted scientists. We shall cling to the belief that the truthful and sober gentleman knows a man from a monkey, and that he actually saw a naked and hairy wild man in the woods near Winsted."

The Hartford Sunday Globe ran a story of an insane artist who escaped from a madhouse. It surmised the wild man was Arthur Beckwith, who escaped from Dr. Buel's sanitarium in Litchfield. Those who observed Beckwith put forward the description of the wild man that fit the madman they knew.

The Waterbury Republican gave Winsted a dig with a remark that this wild man could be Winsted's variety of the new woman. I get the feeling this remark was related to the fact that Winsted had a weekly newspaper called The Advocate, a voice for women's suffrage.

The Winsted Herald ran a story in September called ‘The Wild Men Are Coming.’

A postcard received by George Spencer: "The Skaneateles Fusileers (100 strong), with two Gatling guns and a military balloon, together with the Chemung Calvary (50 men), will arrive at West Winsted on the Vestibule Limited Train (gilt edge) via the Reading R.R. on Saturday, to inaugurate a campaign against the 'Jabberwock' or 'Wild Man.'

"Please have a very strong cage built as we expect to get the above mentioned individual and exhibit him in a dime museum. Very Truly, Colonel, Commanding."

These and many other stories about this incident made Winsted popular for many years.

Explanation of the postcard: George was being gigged by an out-of-town friend. He stated he was sending an obsolete army with edible muskets along with a chemical shoddy calvary to catch a chattering perverted man.

Note: I am convinced the original story by Mr. Smith was factual.”

NESRA is still on the trail of Winsted Wildman. If you, or anyone you know have had Wildman sightings or encounters in or around the vicinity of Winsted, Connecticut, be sure to contact us with your information.