On November 16th and again on November 23rd, my friend John Campbell and I traveled to Dutchess County upstate NY. We were there following up on an encounter report from last year which occurred at a lake along the Appalachian Trail in this area.
A married couple, the husband’s sister, her two children and two dogs were camped overnight at the lake when they had their encounter. Around midnight the husband heard bi-pedal footsteps coming from the woods heading towards their tents. He noted that although it was a very dark night he saw no light source in the direction the footsteps were coming from. No flashlight or headlamp beams were seen, no light at all. The witness knows this area and has hiked there on a number of occasions. The area is remote and the terrain rugged which makes it seemingly impossible for a human to hike through this area in the dark without the use of a flashlight or headlamp. The witness is convinced what he heard that night was a Sasquatch as it walked right past their camp unseen but not unheard in the dark of night.
On our first trip to this area on Sunday 11/16, John and I arrived at a trail head parking area near the encounter location around 12:30pm. The weather was cold and windy at times with temps in the upper 30’s but when the winds picked up the wind chill made it feel much colder. We helped ourselves to some maps of the area that we found in a small metal container in the parking area marked “MAPS”. We quickly studied the maps and made plans to hike the section of the Appalachian Trail where the encounter had taken place to look for any signs of possible physical evidence that may still be in the area. With our plan worked out and our gear ready to go, we strapped on our backpacks and left the trailhead at 12:45pm.
We began our hike into the forest and quickly found ourselves all alone. We followed the trail looking for any signs of possible activity as we hiked deeper into the forest. When we reached the lake we knew we were now at the encounter location. We searched the immediate area but found nothing unusual there so we decided to hike further into the forest to have a look around.
After hiking a while we stopped and I checked the time, it was 2:45pm. Although I wanted to keep looking a while longer I knew that at this time of year the sun sets around 4:30pm so at that point we decided to turn around and start hiking back out before it got dark. There are many rocks, sticks and tree roots on the trail that made it a challenge at times to safely navigate even during the daylight. I would really hate to have to hike this trail in the dark with only a headlamp and flashlight to help guide me.
On the way out we still kept scanning the forest on both sides of the trail looking for anything that looked out of place. But being mindful of the time and the impending sunset we tried to spend more time hiking and less time stopping to examine things than we had earlier on our way in.
We were both glad when we made it back to my car while it was still light enough to see where we were walking. We had timed it perfectly and reached the trailhead parking area again at 4:45pm just as it was getting dark. We packed up all our gear and left the parking area just before 5pm heading for home. Because we had gotten a late start and had only arrived at the trail in the afternoon, we decided that we would return again next weekend to conduct a more thorough search of the area.
On the following Sunday 11/23, John and I returned to hike the Appalachian Trail in this area again but this time we entered the forest from a different route. We parked our vehicle at a different location and had arrived in the morning instead of the afternoon hoping to cover more ground than we had the last time out. It was even colder this weekend than it had been the week before but thankfully it wasn’t as windy. But even without the high winds, when we first stepped out of John’s nice warm van to prepare for our day hike the cold air that greeted us heightened our senses and made sure we were now fully alert.
We already had the trail maps we picked up the week before and had figured out our hiking route before we drove up so all we had to do once we parked was gear up and begin to hike into the forest. We strapped on our packs, double checked our gear and off we went down the trail.
The first section of the trail near the parking area where we entered the forest was relatively flat so it was a pretty easy hike for a short while. But the trail quickly started to become a little more challenging once we were past the very first section. The trail then began to become much more of an uphill climb as we started to hike up the side of a mountain.
We followed the white blazed Appalachian Trail as it wound its way towards the top of the mountain. We then came across a yellow blazed trail which split off the AT and continued up the mountain but seemed to veer off to the right side where the AT went to the left side. We decided to try following this yellow trail since it looked like it might be heading more directly towards the top of the mountain even though initially it bent to the right.
This yellow blazed trail lead us to the base of the steepest part of the mountain. It was here where we had to do some real mountain climbing pulling ourselves up and over the many huge and occasionally ice encrusted boulders in front of us. Then for no apparent reason the trail just seemed to end. We looked all around but couldn’t see anymore yellow markers in any direction so we decided to blaze our own trail up the rest of the boulder strewn mountain side. We were holding onto tree limbs and bushes as we climbed steadily upwards and at times the going was really tough. We got to one section that was so steep we had to crawl on our hands and knees grabbing rocks, tree roots and downed trees just to help us keep moving forward.
Finally we clawed our way to the top of the mountain and stood looking back down the way we had just come up. It had been quite a challenging climb and we both felt a great sense of accomplishment staring down the steep slope we had just conquered. After gulping down some water and taking a much needed short rest break we continued on hiking along the top of the mountain looking for any signs of any possible activity and also for the AT since we knew it ran across the top of the mountain.
We found the white blazed AT and began to hike it once again in the direction of the encounter area we had searched the weekend before. We hiked the trail for a while but once again we saw nothing unusual. After taking another rest break we decided to turn around and hike the AT back towards the mountain where we had entered the forest. We hiked along and soon found ourselves walking on top of the mountain again. We passed the spot where we had blazed our own trail clawing our way up the mountainside and continued down the trail.
We came across a little unmarked side trail that split off to the left towards the front side of the mountain. According to the map there was a scenic overlook somewhere in the area so we decided to follow this little trail to see where it would lead us. Sure enough just a short distance down this trail we came to a small clearing where the trail ended on the edge of a craggy rock outcropping. We stepped out onto the rocks and were treated to a spectacular view that allowed us to see the surrounding mountains and the entire landscape for miles in three different directions. From this vantage point we were able to look over the border into Connecticut which is just a few miles to the east of this mountain.
We stood enjoying and commenting on the view before taking some pictures to document it. After finishing taking all the still pictures I then put on my helmet cam and switched it on. I had debated earlier in our hike about filming our climb up the steep mountain slope but was now glad I had resisted that urge. Because it was so cold I knew the rechargeable battery wouldn’t last very long and would soon be dead once I began filming. Nothing drains a battery faster than exposing it to cold temps for a prolonged period of time. Since I knew this to be true I did what I always do and carried the battery in my pocket the entire hike until I was ready to use the helmet cam. My pocket held the battery tight up against my body so the heat my body was generating from the exercise of all the hiking and climbing we did would keep it warm. This way the warm battery would retain most of its stored electrical charge and would then be able to power the helmet cam for a longer period of time before going dead.
I switched on the helmet cam as I slowly panned my head from right to left and back again to film the view John and I were enjoying. I carefully inched my way to the edge of the sheer rock cliff to look down and film the steep drop to the forest floor below. Satisfied that we had completely documented the view from this vantage point we strapped on our packs and followed the small trail back to the well marked AT. I kept the helmet cam on hoping to film as much of our hike back down the mountain as possible.
We hiked a short distance further on the trail then it began to descend the mountain. It bent around to the left hugging the edge of the slope and continued down heading back towards where we had originally entered the forest. We passed a few creeks that had just recently begun to freeze over due to the sub freezing temps. The edges of these creeks were already covered in thin layers of ice but the majority of the water was still free flowing. Eventually the trail curved back around to the front side of the mountain and we found ourselves back in the same spot where we had split off the AT and taken the yellow trail straight up the much steeper section of the mountain earlier in the day. The hike down was of course much easier than the hike up had been and we made good time.
We arrived back in the parking area around 3pm and John immediately dropped his pack, opened the side door and collapsed on the floor of his van exhausted. It had been a tiring day of hiking and climbing for both of us but especially so for John. Since he’s a smoker his diminished lung capacity makes this type of strenuous activity so much more taxing on him than it is on me.
After allowing John some time to rest a while and collect himself, we then stowed our gear and began the drive south back home to Long Island. Although we failed to find any physical evidence in this area at this time we may return sometime in the future to try again. Field research has always been very hit and miss and you miss much more than you ever hit. That’s just the way it is and as field researchers we know this before we ever set foot in the forest each time we go out. But we’ll keep searching until we find the answers we seek because as serious researchers we are dedicated to eventually solving this great mystery one day.
The lake where the encounter took place
I take a look uphill across the narrow end of the lake
Passing between a huge split boulder
The Appalachian Trail heading up the spine of this rocky ridge
John Campbell poses for a picture on the slope of the mountain
John behind the camera, me on the same slope
I check out a small "cave", really just a small space under the overhanging boulder
John at the top of the mountain
Me at the top of the mountain
John lies in his van exhausted at the end of our day long hike (sorry John but I just couldn't resist posting this picture)
