Field Report

My husband Bob, Ray, a newbie to NESRA and friend, and I, went out last night to the place we have been investigating since I got the report of the daytime crossing and the peeping Tom/BF lol. There are a few locations we are investigating. All simultaneously. Some very cool stuff has been happening each time we go to either place.

Dec. 12, 2011:
These bigfoot are masters of their domain, and know where and how to hide. I was telling someone the other day, about what happened to us while we were out scouting in the wood in the pitch dark, a few weeks ago. We were walking on a trail and I heard leaf litter crunching, paralleling to the left of us. I seemed to be the only one hearing it at the time, cuz we were walking as well and making the same, but not as loud, noises, so I stopped and had everyone else stop too, and just listened. The noise also stopped when we did. I didn't at that point tell anyone what I was hearing. We then started walking again, and again, I heard it. So I had everyone stop again, but this time I let them know what I was hearing and asked if anyone else heard it too? No one had, but again we were making our oun leaf litter stepping noise and talking. So we continued on, but a few minutes later my husband stopped and shined the light into the woods to the left of us. I asked what he was doing, did he hear something? and he was quiet for a moment longer so I asked again and he said he heard the walking leaf litter noise I had heard. He wasn't listening before I said something, but after the second time I stopped and said what I was hearing, he thought he might pay closer attention to it and see if he heard anything himself, and he did. So was something paralleling us that night? It knew to stop when we did and to not be seen. Was it with us that whole outing in the woods? I think it was. And was observing us. We didn't see it, but I'm sure it saw and watched us. We did yells and knocks, but if it was that close and didn't want to respond because of it's nearness, that would make sense, cuz that would give away it's location. So I do believe they can hide very well in the forest where they are at home. It was a little un-nerving to think something could have been following us and watching us that night, and maybe the nights we went there before that, who knows. It's a bit scary to think it just may have been, and it was so dark in there you couldn't seen your hand in front on your own face. Very interesting stuff to think about, and what a smart creature

Dec. 17, 2011:
So we went to a place night before last, at about 1AM. We went to 2 different locations in the same area. The first we didn't get any activity but the second we did. It was around 3ish AM, and I had been sending out yells and Bob did some knocking, after I let out a set of two yells about maybe 5 or so minutes later, we all hear a response. It wasn't anything I've ever heard before, and I'm sure it wasn't any animal sounds that I know like, deer, moose, coyote, fox, wolf, bear, nothing like any of those. The best way I can describe it was like a slow deep mournful howl. It happened 3 times with about 5 seconds in between each one, and then about 15 or so seconds later, it let out one single one again. It sounded pretty relaxed and not too worried that we were there, it almost sounded lonely. And it was close, probably about 25 to 30 yards away from where we were. We all heard it, obviously, and it was amazing. After that, we waited for a while to see if it was going to move closer, let out anymore howls, or see what it was going to do, but it didn't do it again. I let out a few more yells, Bob did a few tree knocks, but nothing in return. Bob did say he thought he heard one knock in the distance but I started talking just when he heard it, so he couldn't be sure about it. That was some cool stuff. The first location we went to that night, we had gone before and had a rock thrown through the trees toward us. When it happened, you could hear the thing hit the branches, and mind you, there was no wind that night, and then it hit the ground and you could hear it roll a bit in the leaf litter. Now that was amazing too. Bob then picked up a rock and threw it in the same direction, he did this twice, but nothing came back. Some really cool stuff happening in our own backyard. I think we may be going back there on Sunday night, maybe even during the weeknight this coming week too, so if anyone wants to join us, PM me. By the way, Ray went on a Bigfoot site where there are sound recordings, and told me he thought one kinda sounded like what we heard, so I went to the site and listened to it myself and it does sound very close, maybe a bit lower toned, and slower, but really close.

Dec. 19, 2011:
So, we were planning to go out last night to the location where we heard those moan howls the other night, but it was so stinking cold last night, that is wasn't fit for man nor beast.....lol....so now I'm waiting for the new Zoom H2 recorder I ordered the other day, to come it, which is planned to come on tuesday.....if indeed it does arrive then, we may, depending on the weather ie wind, rain, freezing temps, and the like, go out that night. Can't wait to see how well this recorder works. I will bring extra batts, and try to keep it as warm as possible, along with we humans.....lol.

Dec. 21, 2011:
Went out again last night to the location where we heard those moan owls, and this time I had the Zoom H2 with us, but just as I suspected, not sounds from the big guy to be heard. Toward the end of our night about 3;15 AM, Bob and Ray heard a howl scream quite a distance away and only one time, it was after 2 wood knock Bob had done, then about 30 secs later the howl. I don't think the zoom picked it up, i think it was too far away. I'm still learning the zoom recorder, I read the crash course when I got it, and it did record, but I got a lot of extra noise from us moving and stuff, not so much from the area, cuz it's pretty quiet there.....great recorder though.

Dec. 30, 2011:
Ok, so I finally listened to the recordings from last thursday night. On a few, we had some distant sounds coming in, that WERE recorded. Very intresting sounds. Someone had suggested it sounded like a whooping crane so I googled whooping crane sounds and none of the sounds I listened to, sounded like the ones we heard, not even remotely close. I wanted to rule that out. And the rock knock that a few of us heard, I wasn't recording when it happened.....a first missed opportunity, and I'm sure there will be more.....bummer there. I also noticed that I really need to put a rubber piece, or something, over the hand stem that connects to the bottom of the H2. Even though I had on soft gloves, it still picked up the movement of my hand. Toward the end of our night op, we started to get some stuff going on, but then it started to rain, just when the action started to happen, and we had to leave. But at least we got something. I want to download this SD card to my computer, but I'm afraid I'll lose the files, which I've renamed....lol, or screw something up. But I will eventually. I really can't wait to get back there, might be going sunday night if the weather is good, and see if we can get anything else recorded. Man do I wish I had this thing when we heard those moan howl vocals earlier in DEc., that would have been, not to be dorky but, the bomb......lol......I hope what ever made that sound that night, comes back and does it again so you all can hear it.

PS: I just went to google and put in the search box, the question "what animal makes a moan howl vocalization sound" and it brought up bigfoot. Specifically the 1994 Ohio howl, among others, and the 2004 Mississippi howl clips, on one specific site, that sounded so much like the ones we heard that night, but not as long in duration. It also said that moans like that are thought to be made by large male Squatches. I'm starting to really wonder, if we had a BF that close that night, Hmmmmmm......but I don't want my imagination, or anyone elses who is with me in the field, to take the center stage..... that doesn't make for a good researcher. Tell it like it is and don't embellish the truth. That's how I feel anyway.

Jan. 6, 2012:
I put the finger of a rubber glove over the handle of the H2, to help quiet the noise, and it seemed to work. We went out the other day, but I have yet to listen to the results. We are planning to go out to a couple of new areas within the same forest, on Saturday. One area is near some high tension lines, and the other one is near where we got that projectile tossed toward us, about a 1/4 mile further up the dirt road though, where it's even more secluded, so we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you all posted. It's been a very interesting place, to say the least.

Jan. 30 2012:
Nothing much happened on our last night op, well except the next day I got sick with a nasty cold, and then my husband got it, and we were down for the count for about 2 weeks. But we did go out this past Saturday during the daylight hours, now that we are feeling better, to one of our locations, and scouted out a few areas. It is so squatchy there. We saw scat from deer, and maybe coyotes, we couldn't tell, but interesting still, to know that the animals that a bigfoot would hunt, and animals that would scavenge the remains of a bigfoot meal, are there in that area, and plenty of them. So it's great to know that. The funniest thing happened while we were hiking there, though. Even though it was daytime, I still let out some yells and I had my H2 ready to record in case there was any return howls. all of a sudden we heard this animal in distress sound. We didn't know what it was exactly, but I recorded it anyway. It would come and go, start up, then stop for a minute or two, then start up again. My husband said, "maybe we should go find it and help it if it's hurt or something". I said we'll just wait and see what happens. I then said, "you know what that sounds like? It sounds like something a hunter would use to call in an animal" he agreed. So, futher up the road we saw a truck parked, and knew it was a hunter of some sort, that confirmed what we had been hearing. Since we were in brown coats, and no orange on, I decieded to yell a hello, a few times to let him know we were there and he came down from the hill he was on and showed us the rabbit in distressed whistle he was using. Needless to say, I recorded that lol. But oh well. We didn't hear anything out of the ordinary that hike, but we will be going back, at least one of the places, soon.

More to come.

On October 23, 2010, during the Fall NESRA expedition, while out on what I refer to now as the "leafy knoll", along with my night OP partners Mike and Chris. I had a brief, but electifying sighting of a figure that I caught a glimpse of (that was on the move), with my Gen 2 night vision goggles.

We had made a plan in basecamp during dinner, for the MD Bigfooters to call blast..on the hour, from their position near base, while Kev and John did some observing from various positions on the road, while the three of us I mentioned took position on various observation points in the forest, on the selected knoll, where Chris and I had sat the night before. Chuck would be coordinating and noting our events, back at the basecamp.

We had heard (two of us) a softer rapping (like wood on wood), coming from behind our position. The sounds were much like.. when one would test a hand held hardwood knocker, for the best tone, on a selected tree. This came from behind us, near the blazed trail that we had walked into this position, from.

The 3rd call blast from the MD Bigfooters, came at 10PM, and was an Orangutan vocalization. I was already panning the lower areas of the forest to the west and south with the goggles. I made sure that I was observing during all of the call blasts, and as much as possible in between times.

I'm not sure of the exact time of the sighting, but know that it came in the moments after the call blast. I think Chris might be able to narrow down the time, to the exact moment...with his parabolic recording of our field session.

The actual sighting facts :

I was panning with the goggles (facing south) slowly from left to right (east to west) near the edge of the heavier forest canopy, when a dark figure emerged (in an swath of open forest floor, that was very well illuminated by moonlight) from behind a lite barked, large mature (birch or beach) tree, and moved rapidly to the west, toward the direction Chris had set out the bacon bate, hair trap, and game cam. To describe the shape of the figure, it was thin and had a forward leaning gait. During this brief observation, I saw the top of the figure rear back and then go back forward again, before I lost sight of it. It never re - emerged from behind a set of two large trees, that were closer to my location. I noticed no eyeshine or arm swing, and could not clearly define the head area (definitely was a rounded top) of the figure, from the rest of the body. I'm uncertain, if I viewed the entire length of the figure, or only saw it from the waste area...up. I say this, because I did not notice any leg movement. One thing for sure... the dark figure covered 20 plus yards, in around 2 seconds. It seemed to me... to almost glide through, in a very rapid, smooth motion. The thin moving figure, was as dark in appearance, as the darkest objects (more distant trees) in my FOV, accept for the top head and rear upper body area, that was illuminated by moonlight. The observation lasted between 1 and 2 seconds (maybe even 3), to my best estimate. Upon seeing this, I unleashed an emotional outburst, that caused me to fall forward and drop my goggles, and almost tumble down the hill in front of me. The fact that spotting this figure.. caught me by surprise, and the fact that it made no sound while on the move…did freak me out, and seemed almost unreal. It was however, very real. I was immediately joined at my position by Mike and Chris, asking me if I was alright, and what had happened, and about what I had seen. The view in the goggles, was as good as this night vision instrument gets, with some great assisted moonlight. Although there is some graininess with these Gen 2 goggles, the view was clear enough to see the details I have noted. The view was the typical green tube intensifier background. My on site estimate of the figure being 100 yds from me, turned out to be, not accurate at all, and an overestimate. This is due to the 40 deg view in the goggles, which gives somewhat of a tunnel vision, that can cause objects to be perceived as being further away, than they actually are. Here are the pair of goggles, I was using:

Shortly after the sighting, Mike walked down to the spot where the moving figure first emerged, while I covered him with the NV. After doing some comparisons to Mike, in the same position…what I saw, was not any bulkier or wider (possibly less) than Mike, and not much taller (less than a foot). That evening, and the next day…we came up with no additional evidence that anything had passed through the sighting location. The leaf litter was heavy, and the although we searched the area for signs of anything (hair, prints, breaks, skip marks on the forest floor)..we found nothing.
In addition to what I mention here, we heard the tapping knocks, some interesting howls or strange owl sounds from a distance, and a distinct (several second) growl sound, from the trail (near a creek) on our walk back to base.

The theory and speculation of this sighting:

The three of us have discussed this incident on site, both Saturday night, and the following day on the revisit. The exact route of the figure, was in question. We all saw where it probably came from, and the route it took, based on what I saw. It is on the question, whether this figure was responsible for the tapping knocks, that we had heard, earlier in the night OP session. It is also a theory, that the figure did a sharp turn, and headed back south into the deeper forest…possibly after hearing my outburst, from my location on the knoll. More theory could be, that the call blast (orangutan vocals) done by MD Bigfooters..could have put it on the move. The timing was certainly right. Whether this call blast had a positive or negative reaction on the figure, would be impossible to even speculate. In my case, if this call blast did indeed put this figure on the move…it was certainly a positive thing.

Summary thoughts:

I refer to this sighting as a “figure”. This is what I saw, a dark figure. Nothing that I could see from this distance and brief sighting, could define this as a sasquatch. I did however, think about something I saw on a website report, that very much resembled the shape of this moving figure. This is what I was thinking about in the field, soon after the sighting, and it stuck in my mind:

Dusk sighting on shoreline of Lake George at Deer Leap

Only the overall shape of the dark figure I saw, resembled the top sketch, in this BFRO report from 1990. I saw no face, arms, or even leg movements…which make me wonder, if the legs were in a depression, and out of my line of sight. The figure I saw was very thin, and when I compared it to Mike (from the same viewpoint)…was not any bulkier, and possibly less so. Please note also.. that the image below of the creature seen around the Whitehall, NY area.. was drawn by Eric Miner. It was attached to this post, to only note and compare the general shape and posture of the seen figure, in relation to how the head sat on the body. This was similar to what I noted, when the figure first emerged, and I got my best (but very brief) view of the upper body and head, that was illuminated by moonlight.
Any skeptical thoughts (including my own), that this could have been a man moving that fast... in that kind of terrain, out in the dark forest with no light, and making no sound...is laughable. Whether others chose to believe me, is totally up to them...and bothers me not, either way.

This sighting offers no proof of anything to anyone, but confirms for me…that something is definitely out there, in this area. This was a team effort by all involved in the expedition, and the NESRA members that scouted this area, and have also had experiences there in the past.

I’ve had a great couple years in the field, and consider myself very fortunate to have had any of this happen. My Thanks go out to the NESRA folks here, that have shared their own experiences and information, and these outstanding Adirondack locations, with me.

The following spring of 2011, our NESRA team returned to the same location and did experience some interesting activity near the base camp, On the night OP.. things were quiet this time, and no call blasting was done.

We took some photos of the sighting location, and also made some key measurements, that were not taken during the fall 2010 outing after the sighting, due to bad weather, the morning after the sighting. From the point I first saw the moving figure emerge, to the point I lost sight of it... was a distance of 77 ft. ! A fantastic distance to cover in a couple seconds.. but it really did happen. Whatever it was, was certainly moving at full speed. The distance I estimated the figure was, from my OP position... was overestimated the night of the sighting. The actual distance, was closer to 45 yards away. This error in judgement.. was probably due to the darkness, and the depth perception using the night vision goggles, that have a more narrow field of view (40 degrees, at 1X), than using one's own eyes, with no optical assistance.

If anyone is interested further, I was invited as a guest ( April 2011 ) on our friend and NESRA member Steve Kulls internet blogtalk Squatchdetective radio show. Mike, who was also with me during the sighting, joined in the conversation and added even more insights. In addition, Mike and Steve both discuss other very interesting incidents that took place in the same general location. that has a history of squatch related incidents and sightings. There was also some interesting comparisons made, to what a researcher saw in Kentucky, in my discussion with the co-host, (Chris B) :

Bill

The most impressive (and almost heart stopping) event that happened to me so far in the field, from the time I decided to join in on the search and investigation of unknown hairy bipeds that possibly inhabit our forests and more mountainous regions here in the Northeast.... would be a vocalization that took place on Oct. 31, 2009 while camping in the southern parts of the Allegheny NF, in Elk Co, PA.

We (my camping partner Floodman, and myself) had chosen a spot back in off a dirt road that had an open area, with deciduous forest surrounding, and a stand of pine forest and ridge line to our west and north. The map showed a creek on the other side of the ridge. We had selected this general area, based on a sighting report that took place, back in the spring. While my partner relaxed by the fire, I walked off a short distance and found a tree that I had selected earlier, to do a few wood knocks...hoping for some response. I did several sets of them, spaced apart...with no replies, as my recorder was rolling. A while later, I thought about doing a vocalization, with my best effort at a whoooooop (much to the entertainment of my more skeptical partner) , also in hopes of some response. My vocalization to the east, got none. After waiting for a while, I tried another to the west, and heard it echo in the distance. Waiting quietly for around 20 minutes, I looked at my watch and saw it was 8PM, and decided it was time to eat some dinner.

I walked back to my vehicle, and leaned the knocking stick on the tailgate, and made the poor decision of pushing the pause button, and placing the little Zoom recorder on a tripod (also sitting on the tailgate)....on standby. Just as I joined Floodman at the fire, and sat down to help prepare our dinner, I got my reply...and what a dooosey it was. The vocalization came from a NW direction in the area we estimated was at the top the the ridge line. It started off as a "woooooooo" sound (almost identical to the pitch of my voice ), and then transformed (rather quickly) into a higher pitched scream...that echoed past us, with a force that left us both speechless.... and quite nervous. The scream had a kind of waivering, wailing, insane sound, like nothing either of us had ever heard. It produced an echo that could be heard in back of us, in the forest to the east. The hair was standing up on the back of my neck, and arms, and my mind was racing, and thinking..." something IS out there". I tried to make eye contact with my buddy, that was sitting across the campfire from me...just staring into the fire. The look on his face, was one of those priceless moments, that I'll never forget. All of a sudden, I thought about the recorder, and got up to take it back off pause, while nervously shining my headlamp into the trees that surrounded our camp...looking for, who knows what. As I returned to my camp chair, Floodman finally looked up at me, and said " you shouldn't have called that thing in here.....it could be watching us right now....maybe we should pack up, and get out of here".

I know my friend didn't want to hear this at the moment, but after a long pause and much scanning of the tree lines with our lamps, and much uncertain thought...I replied "this is what we're here for. I don't think we're in any danger...so let's relax, and eat...first". I had no idea if my reply was really correct, but after a while, the fears eased up...and I assured him that I wouldn't be whooooping anymore, for the rest of the evening. Before we turned in for the night, I got up the stones to take a walk in the direction of the scream, and place my H2 recorder in a select tree, recording for the overnight. Floodman would have no part of that little nocturnal walk in the woods, and to be butt honest...I was still terrified, and shining my headlamp everywhere. No results, other than a couple known species (that I needed to , and have since, identified) were recorded. I've had the winter to think about this, and can't come up with anything known , that could have produced this vocalization. If the vocalization was in the capabilities of a very talented human....than it would of HAD to be assisted by some form of amp or powered megaphone. Sure, it was Halloween, and we were out camping....but there were no roads in the direction of the vocalization, for several miles. If it was a prank, then it was quite the production, with someone trail blazing up to the ridge, through at least a mile of forest. There was a pickup truck that drove past us later, several times on the dirt road below....with spot lights, looking for deer or other animals...which is not at all uncommon.

I'm done beating on myself, for not getting this strange and powerful vocalization recorded. Yes, it was a big disappointment, and one I'll just have to chalk up to experience. It was a vocalization that could have been studied further, compared to known animal and human vocals, and analyzed. One of our NESRA members and note keeper, has the right idea....to Never turn off the recorder, and record on a lower format, with the largest memory card you can, and carry several of them. I've purchased a 2nd portable recorder, and one will be designated for just that purpose. After hearing some recorded vocalizations from Ohio, by several other researchers.... I have made some comparisons and found some similarities to what we heard, both in pitch and in the wavering sound... although every one of the vocalizations recorded (that I've heard so far), seems to be unique.

The first official NESRA expedition of 2009 took place the first weekend in May. This time around we had chosen the central region of the Adirondack Park of upstate NY as our target research area.

May 1st

As usual I was up very early Friday morning preparing for the long drive upstate. I finished packing some last minute items and double checked all my gear while waiting for my good friend and fellow researcher John Campbell to arrive. Once John arrived he and I carried my gear out to his van and crammed it in the back beside all his gear. The van now packed, John and I hit the road to begin our long drive north. Leaving Long Island we took I-495 west into NYC then turned north heading for the Adirondacks.

We met Chris, Dave and Kevin at our predetermined meeting location which was about a 30 minute drive from the expedition area at 11 AM. Another team member Bill did not meet us at this location but would be joining us at base camp sometime Saturday afternoon. John and I both grabbed a quick bite to eat as we talked with the rest of the guys about our plans for the weekend. When we were all ready we once again got on the road at 11:45 AM driving towards our final weekend destination.

We arrived at our base camp location around 12:15 PM and began to set up camp. Once our tents were up and our gear unpacked we made plans to scout the surrounding area. We broke up into two teams and headed out searching for physical evidence as well as also looking for good locations to set up our night time observation posts. John and I hiked into the area south of camp while Chris, Dave and Kevin all headed north.

We spent several hours exploring the surrounding area before meeting back at base camp in the late afternoon. John and I didn’t find anything of interest south of camp or even a location we thought would make a good spot for an observation post. Chris, Dave and Kevin had better luck and found a good location for our night time observation posts along a ridge line north of camp.

Back at camp we made our plans for the night, got our surveillance gear ready and cooked dinner. After dinner we cleaned up, got our gear ready to go and divided up into two teams. Chris and Dave were designated Team A, Kevin and I were Team B. John stayed back at base camp in order to watch over the camp, man the camp radio and take notes on our night time activities and radio communications. This was the first time John was manning base camp. Usually the job of base camp commander falls to Chuck, our resident chef, Adirondack guide, all around outdoorsman and expedition scribe. Chuck couldn’t join us this time so John stepped up to take his place at camp and did a great job taking expedition notes and manning the camp radio.

Our gear ready to go, we shouldered our packs, grabbed our chairs and hiked out of camp heading north towards the ridge line at 8:05 PM. To get to the ridge we had to cross several small streams/creeks and navigate through the forest in the dark of night using our head lamps to guide us. We reached the ridge and began our climb to the top. Kevin and I headed west down the ridge line once we reached the top to set up our observation post. Chris and Dave went to the east end of the ridge and set up their OP about 100 – 125 yards from our own.

Once Kevin and I were at our chosen OP location I radioed John at base camp to let him know we were in position at 8:29 PM. Team A called us to let us know they were now in position at 8:46 PM. I then reported to John that both teams were in position and set up at 8:48 PM.

At 8:53 PM Team A radioed Kevin and I to ask if we had just tried a wood knock. We replied we hadn’t and asked what they had heard. Team A reported they heard what could have possibly been two soft, weak sounding knocks as if they were made on a rotted tree.

9:10 PM John in camp called both teams to let us know he had just heard a sound in the distance that sounded like either a motor bike or possibly a chain saw.

9:14 PM I radioed camp to ask John if there are vehicles driving past our camp as I can see what I thought were headlights in the distance on the road through the trees. John acknowledged I had indeed seen headlights and replied a truck drove past camp.

I decided to try some vocalizations and called both Team B and base camp at approx 9:28 PM to tell them that I would be doing 2 whoop calls. At 9:30 PM I did two loud whoop calls. Both Team A and John in camp acknowledged they heard two whoops. We listened for any possible return calls but heard nothing.

At 9:38 PM I radioed Team A to tell them Kevin and I had heard movement in the valley below and to the left of our OP. Dave replied that Chris had been walking around looking for a stick to use for wood knocking.

9:39 PM Chris made two wood knocks. We again listened for any possible response but heard nothing.

I decided to try another vocalization and told Team A and camp at 10:15 PM that I would be doing a long, low pitched howl this time. At 10:16 PM John called me to tell me he had heard my howl clearly at base camp.

10:23 PM I advised Team A that I had heard a faint sound from the west but that I wasn’t sure what it was. Being that I had just heard something, Team A decided to try some more wood knocks hoping to get a response. They told Kevin and I they would be doing 2 more wood knocks.

At 10:44 PM Team A did two wood knocks but again we hear no direct response to the knocks.

The wind had started to pick up over the last hour or so and by this time the sky was cloudy and it looked like it was going to rain. Team A called us at 11:00 PM to say that they were packing up to go back to camp since we hadn’t really had any definite activity and now it looked like rain was coming. I acknowledged that rain was likely soon and that it seemed quiet as far as signs of activity so we would be packing up as well.

At 11:05 PM I radioed John to tell him both teams were packing up and would be heading in since we had no activity and it looked like it was about to rain. The two teams met up and began the short hike back to camp.

We walked up the hill returning to base camp at 11:27 PM just as the rain started to fall. We got back just in time too. Not long after we had returned the skies opened up and a steady heavy rain came down. It rained heavily a good portion of the night but the sun returned by Saturday morning.

May 2nd

Saturday afternoon Chris, Kevin, Dave, John and I all decided to hike in to a remote pond located several miles from our base camp. We were going to the pond to search for any possible tracks that we thought might be found in the mud around the edge of the pond. There are no trails to this pond so we followed a stream for a while to get us relatively close then turned and hiked directly into the forest guided only by GPS and compass. As we bush whacked our way through the forest we kept our eyes open looking for any other possible signs of physical evidence we might find on our hike in to the pond.

The hike was rough going as we had to climb and descend many hills and ridges while beating our own path through the forest. It was several hours before we finally arrived at our target destination and the remote pond came into view. When we reached the one end of the pond we split up our five member team into two teams. Chris and Dave searched one side of the pond while Kevin, John and I searched the other.

Unfortunately once we began searching around the perimeter of the pond we were all disappointed to find that there was absolutely no mud around the edge of this pond what so ever. The grass just grew directly right out into the water with no mud in sight so there would be no hope of finding any tracks at the waters edge. After searching in vain we then took a short rest break before we started the exhausting hike back out of the area.

As we hiked out we received a radio call from fellow NESRA researcher Bill who had just arrived at base camp. He asked us for directions to where we were located so he could come out to meet us. We told Bill to stay put as we were almost out of the forest and would be joining him back at camp soon. A short time later Chris, Kevin, Dave, John and I returned to camp to find Bill there waiting for us. We all exchanged greetings and then told Bill that our exhausting, tough afternoon hike in search of tracks that in the end had been a wasted effort.

Back at camp we all relaxed for a while before getting ready for dinner. We ate an early dinner and talked with Bill about what we had done Friday night and what our strategy would be for Saturday night. After eating we checked our gear in preparation for our night time surveillance ops. Then we split up into two teams again with Kevin and I staying together as Team B while Bill replaced Dave and joined Chris in Team A. On this night Dave had decided to stay back in camp to help John monitor the radio traffic and take notes on our activities.

At 6:30 PM Chris, Bill, Kevin and I headed out for our surveillance area leaving Dave and John in base camp. It took almost an hour for both teams to reach their individual OP’s and be fully set up for the night. This time Kevin and I decided to set up on a plateau just south and towards the east end of the ridge. Team A set up on top of the ridge as they had done Friday night.

I radioed base camp at 7:23 PM to report Kevin and I (Team B) were in position and set up. A few minutes later at 7:27 PM Team A (Chris and Bill) reported they were also now in position and set up.

Being mindful of the heavy rain we experienced the night before, Chris checked the weather on his Garmin Rino 530 and reported rain was again in the area at 7:46 PM. We just hoped the rain would stay away for a while to give us some time to conduct our surveillance.

At 8:10 PM Team A reported their audio gear was up and recording and that they were now going “silent” at their OP which meant that they were going to sit as quietly as possible to listen with only minimal radio communications as needed.

About 20 minutes later Kevin and I heard a “snorting sound” down by the stream closest to our location. The noise repeated several times then stopped. It sounded to me like it was most likely a deer snort and I reported hearing the sounds at 8:33 PM.

A few minutes later at 8:39 PM I called Team A to ask if they wanted to try any wood knocks or vocalizations in an attempt to get a reply. They replied they would do 3 wood knocks. Two minutes later at 8:41 PM Team A did 3 wood knocks. Both teams then sat in silence and listened for a reply but none was heard.

With no apparent response to our wood knocks, Kevin decided to try using his electronic game caller to see if he could cause some type of reply or action. At 9:14 PM he advised Team A that he would be trying the game caller in the next 30 seconds. Kevin played his game caller then we sat quietly for a while listening but heard nothing.

Team A called Kevin and I at 9:31 PM and asked us to try a wood knock or vocalization. I decide to try a whoop and after a 30 second warning to Team A I did my whoop at 9:34 PM.

Team A called us back at 9:40 PM and asked me to do another whoop because they thought they heard a growl sound after my first whoop. After telling them I would do two more whoops I did a double whoop at 9:43 PM. We heard no answer to my whoop calls.

After about 15 minutes of sitting quietly with nothing heard I radioed Team A at 10 PM and asked them if they had heard anymore possible growling. Chris replied that they hadn’t heard anymore growling and that they now thought the growling sound was most likely just the wind whistling over a rock overhang near their OP. I suggested that they try some more wood knocks at 10:10 or 10:15 PM.

Team A did 4 wood knocks at 10:10 PM. We listened but heard no reply. After waiting a while I called Team A at 10:35 PM to ask if they have heard anything at their OP but got no reply. About ten minutes later at 10:43 PM we got a short reply from Team A but their radio cut out in mid sentence. I tried calling them back but could not reach them. John tried calling Team A from base camp and also got no reply.

At 10:45 PM Team A tried to answer our radio calls but their transmissions were completely garbled. I called John at camp and told him that if we haven’t heard from Team A by 11 PM I would go to their OP location and check on their status in person.

Just before I was going to hike out to Team A’s location, Kevin and I saw headlamps moving around on the high ridge where Team A was set up. Kevin and I decided to pack up our gear and head over to where we see Team A moving around. Just as we got ready to hike out of our OP we noticed Team A’s headlamps appeared to be moving down the ridge towards our OP position.

By 11:17 PM Team A had joined us and we then found out that both of their radios weren’t working properly. Chris’s radio had stopped working and Bill’s radio was transmitting in what sounded like the Klingon language from the TV series Star Trek. With no working radio for Team A and with both of our OP positions now fully compromised we all decided to head back to camp.

Both teams hiked back to base camp together. Bill tried to figure out what was wrong with his radio and eventually figured out that it was some how set to a scrambled frequency. Unless all of our radios were set to the same scrambled channel it was impossible to understand and communicate with Bill since his radio was set on scramble.

May 3rd

Sunday morning John and I both got up about 8 AM to find the rest of the team already up and beginning to pack up their gear. John made some coffee and we had a quick breakfast before we also started to pack up our gear. We hadn’t heard or seen anything unusual the entire weekend at this location. Once we had finished packing up and said our goodbyes to our fellow researchers, John and I decided to drive to another nearby pond to have one last look around in the area. We spent about an hour at this pond but found nothing except for a nice view. At that point we decided to head for home so we drove out of the expedition area heading for the interstate and the long drive south back to Long Island.

Below are some of the pictures I took during this expedition.

A view of the river we followed into the forest on our Saturday hike into the remote pond

My friend John on a rock beside the river further upstream

A shot of me climbing over a tree as we hiked in towards the remote pond

One of the many hills we climbed on our exhausting Saturday hike

Chris climbs over a tree blocking our path on the way to the pond

John is right behind him

A view of the pond after we finally reached it only to find no mud anywhere and the grass growing right into the water

A different view of the river on our hike back out of the forest

A typical small Adirondack stream

A group shot back at base camp - from lower left to lower right are: Bill, Mike, Kevin, Chris and Dave

Another group shot to include John who took the first one: John, Mike, Kevin, Chris and Dave

The other pond John and I checked out before we left the area Sunday afternoon

Well it's August already and I've been neglecting my blog for months now. I should have posted 3 months ago when we held our spring '09 expedition on the first weekend of May. I should have written my report on that expedition and posted it much sooner but I didn't. I did start my report and had every intention of finishing it and getting it posted here but we all know how even with "the best of intentions" things don't always go according to plan. Well in any event, as I said I am working on the report from our spring expedition and will get it posted, eventually.

Speaking of expeditions, we just recently returned from another one in the Adirondack Park. So now I have a second report to write for this latest expedition even though I still have yet to post the first one, yikes! I guess I better get busy then.

I’ll give a really brief description of the first few hours of our latest field research trip here. There won’t be very many specific details related here now, though I will post a much more inclusive full expedition report eventually. The reason I’m posting this now instead of waiting to post my full report later on is simple. The NESRA team was lucky enough to get some very interesting audio clips recorded during this expedition and we wanted to get these audio clips out there for everyone to hear as soon as possible. So that’s why I’m not waiting until my report is ready to post these clips because otherwise you would all be waiting quite a while being that I still have to finish the first report I’m still working on.

Okay so here is a brief description of the first few hours of our most recent expedition and of the events that led up to the recording of some very interesting sounds at our base camp location.

The weekend of 7/31/09 – 8/02/09 the NESRA team was on expedition again in one of our favorite research areas in the Adirondack Park of upstate NY. The first afternoon of the first day I was at our chosen base camp location alone for several hours until the next member of our team arrived. The small clearing was choked with high grass and weeds and was much smaller than it had been the last time we had been at this location. I drove my truck back a forth through the clearing trying to flatten as much of center of the clearing as possible to make room for the other vehicles and our tents. After doing this I parked my truck then got my Zoom H2 recorder and some of my other gear ready.

Fellow NESRA researcher Bill was not scheduled to arrive for at least another 60 – 90 minutes so I found myself alone with some time to kill. I decided to do a quick recon of the immediate area around our base camp and also to try some wood knocks since it was so quiet in the forest, except for the sounds of the rain that is, with nobody else there.

I hiked around for about an hour or so just to see what I could see. I figured it was better than just waiting there at camp for Bill to show up. At least this way I had something to do for a while. As I scouted the surrounding area, I had my recorder running the entire time. I narrated everything I was doing as I did it and described everything I was seeing as well to create a complete audio record of my first hour in the forest. I found a small unusual rock pile not far from camp, a game trail that seemed to have seen some recent use and a flattened down spot in the high grass where a large animal (probably a deer) had obviously bedded down. I didn’t find much else of interest on this initial short hike but it’s not really what I found but more what I heard that is important to note.

I kept checking my watch and when it was close to the time that Bill was scheduled to join me I headed back towards the clearing. Near the end of my hike when I was close to our camp location I decided to try some wood knocks just to see if I would get any type of a response. I really wasn’t expecting a response but thought it was worth trying anyway. “Hey, you never know…” as the saying goes, right?

So I did a few wood knocks on a good sized downed limb just off the trail. Then I hiked the short distance back to the base camp and did a few more knocks about 8 minutes later. Well almost exactly 2 minutes after the last wood knocks I did and approx 10 minutes after the first knocks I certainly got a response, and what a response it was!!!

All of a sudden from behind me came these sounds which I heard even over the fairly loud background noise of the falling rain on the hood of my rain gear! What I heard was the sounds of 3 quick “bangs” (which I believe are most likely wood knocks) followed immediately by a single “heavy crash” sound (that I’m not sure about but I’m leaning towards it being a tree falling or possibly being pushed over or a large heavy object being thrown down). I had my recorder on and was able to document these sounds over the background noise of the rainfall. I remained quiet for some time after recording the sounds I had just heard in case there were more. But those would be the only unusual sounds I would hear for the rest of the day.

After waiting around a while I decided I wasn’t going to hear anything more so I got back in my truck to get out of the rain for a while. I was really hungry by this point so I figured it was time for some lunch. I ate my lunch and just when I had finished eating I heard the sound of a vehicle approaching.

Bill drove up in his truck as I got out of my truck to greet him. He had arrived quite a bit later than he had originally planned. Dave was the next member of the NESRA team to show up and he arrived shortly after Bill did that afternoon. Later that evening we were joined by fellow field researcher Chuck.

Once I returned from the expedition, I listened to my audio clips and edited them down a bit. Then I sent the shortened audio files to Bill who uploaded them to the Soundcloud.com website he likes to use to host his recorded audio clips. So follow the links after each brief description over to Soundcloud to listen to these sounds and see what you think of them.

This first clip is the full 2:18 real time clip which I edited down from the original length recording to isolate the last wood knocks I did in base camp followed by the response I received about 2 minutes later. Because this is a real time clip, there is approx 2 minutes of near silence as I’m waiting to hear if there was any reply. There are of course some noises like the sound of the falling rain, a few handling noises of my fingers on the exterior of the recorder and me moving around a bit but that’s it until the response occurs at the end of the clip.
NESRA Expedition 7-31-09 - 8-2-09 1 edit 3 wood knocks and crash real time 2 18 clip 7 WAV by imonacan

The second clip is a very short clip which I edited down from the first real time 2:18 recording to only 6 seconds to isolate just the four sounds of the “bangs” and “heavy crash”.
NESRA Expedition 7-31-09 - 8-2-09 1 edit 3 wood knocks and crash WAV clip by imonacan

The third clip is an enhanced version of the second short 6 second clip that fellow NESRA researcher Chris Bartow modified using Steinberg Wavelab software to remove most of the background noise of the rain. Though much of the rain noise has been removed, the “bangs” and “heavy crash” sounds themselves have taken on artificially created tones. As a result of removing the background rainfall noise, these tones are significantly deeper sounding than the actual tones I recorded but it does make it easier to hear the four sounds more clearly.
Chris B Enhanced 3 wood knocks and crash 6 sec clip 7 b WAV by imonacan

So what do you think made these sounds?

Since October, 2008, I have been doing some carefully chosen searches for the south Georgia and north Florida "Skunk Apes" up here in the regional river and swampland areas near my home town of Tallahassee. I want to specifically talk about some of my expeditions into a local river swamp area that is found inside the massive WMA and National Forest. This area runs along a major river basin as it comes out of a local lake. The river runs down through the national forest and into the Gulf of Mexico.

"Skunk Apes", as they have been historically known, have been seen and reported to exist in this area for centuries. Local legends, handed down through the ages from Native Americans and Pioneer people of the region, tell of numerous encounters with these "swamp devils", "skunk creatures", "swamp boogers", etc. Now here I am trying to find the elusive, secretive, quietly existing southern Sasquatch amid upteen thousands of acres of forests, swamps, and many, many miles of roadways, both paves and unpaved. The task is interesting in that one has to be constantly aware of numerous dangers - not from the Skunk Ape creatures - but from all the other local "nasties" living out in this wilderness. Added to this task is the ever possible unpleasantries of becoming injured or lost as I seek the evidence needed to prove a modern family of Bigfoots are here, now. If you don't think you can get lost messing around in the swamps, just read my blog story about loosing it in south Georgia!

I am out here conducting my own research, investigations, and expeditions mostly alone. What I wouldn't give for a couple of trusted NESRA people out here with me running around and having so much fun. Up until this summer, I have been doing all these things under the guise of hunting and fishing! As of now I'm out of hunting season, so I'll continue the research under the heading of fishing. I am not one of these investigators who like to write about their expeditions in the form of a police reports. Unfortunately, local horrific rains caused the river system to flood out of their banks and prevented me from accessing all my research areas early in the spring. It is likely that the Swamp People reestablished new habitat on higher ground and I cannot find any evidence so far to justify launching any more expeditions until they give me some signs.

In the meantime, I have been busy reading reference materials in the form of new books and maintaining contact with my mentors in an effort to learn more about how to approach these beings. There are no shortcuts to a continued relationship with any of these Shadow People. Learning what must be done to show respect for their way of life, their surroundings, their personal space, and methodologies of appropriate contact details have become my prime directive! In effect, I had to back up a few steps in order to create the correct mannerisms of approach in order for them to trust me when I do reestablish contact again (sometime soon I hope) with the Swamp Folks. One major benifit about living in Florida is that the temperatures remain elivated, not crashing into the freezing degrees such as the north, east, or western regions. It may be too rainy here sometimes, but the weather is always unpredictable no matter where you live and choose to research these people. My point being that these "Swamp People" stay active all year long.

Blog revised 7/30/09.

The following events occurred on Monday, December 15, 2008 at approximately 3:00 PM along a waterway in Southern Georgia.

Report Filed By: NESRA Field Investigator & Researcher, Reggie Roddenberry

Environmental Description and Weather Conditions at the Time of Incident:
Partly cloudy skies and the air temperature in mid 70’s during the afternoon made for some semi-humid conditions. The wind was mostly out of the east at around 5-10 mph. The encounter occurred while investigating an island on a large freshwater waterway.

This is a small island, about ½-mile in length, by ¼ mile in width. It is situated in the middle of a river that flows into a lake. The ground conditions on the island were extremely damp from recent rains and covered in wet leaves and pine straw.

The island is partially forested in large pine trees with many large oak trees bearing several species of acorns. There are many varieties of deciduous “scrub brush” growth amid some tangled masses of vines along with plenty of thick underbrush vegetation.

This island is surrounded on the north side by a large bayou (bay area) with huge amounts of cattails and marsh grasses growing along the parameter that separates it from the mainland. There is also a huge amount of water plant growth mixed in with the cattail vegetation.

The area along the south side of the island has hardwoods extending down to the waterline in most places, with smaller amounts of cattail growth, that separates it from the other mainland. The river flow is extremely high at this time with great masses of floating trees and other brush/plant life flowing downstream towards towards the lake.

Noteworthy Information:
My partner and I beached the boat on the south river side of the island approximately 2:30 p.m. He immediately went into the island’s interior following a northerly course while I remained at the boat to allow him time to safely leave the area. I shouldered my backpack, activated the GPS, loaded my rifle, and started still hunting in a westerly direction away from the boat (and my partner).

As I traveled along the shoreline, I began turning inland towards a northern direction. Approximately 300-yards from the boat, at about 2:55 p.m., I heard a loud crash to the left of me located 100-yards from my position near the shore of the island. At the time, I thought nothing about this guessing it to be a falling tree limb.

The Encounter:
At 3:00 p.m., as I quietly entered a clearing amid a large stand of pine trees, with some big oak trees and lots of vegetation, I spied movement: Something was standing beside a big pine tree about 50-yards away.

A “creature” quickly went from a standing position, beside the pine tree, into a four-legged stance, and rapidly fled along a thick screen of brush going to my left. I noted an orange/brown colored furry animal estimated at 150-pounds bounding away from me in the manner of how I have observed apes to run – this was no deer or hog! The being disappeared from my view in less than 3-seconds! I made note of the being looking at me as it rapidly ran away inside the brush line.

My best description of its facial features would be to say that it appeared to have two, large, rounded eyes with a flat looking, dark orange colored face – no long, protruding nose seen which eliminates it being a deer or a bear! Unfortunately, a better observation of this creature could not be ascertained because of the thick brush screening its features and the intense speed at which this animal disappeared from my view. In affect, the body was a blur of brown-orange, longhaired flowing motion.

Post Sighting Details:
I have seen numerous deer, hogs, bears, cats, dogs and multitudes of other large animals, wild and domestic, run in my life. No animal I have ever witnessed has disappeared at such a rapid pace as this creature. As soon as I approached the pine tree where the creature ran from me, I detected a slight “skunk-like” odor in the air. This smell then rapidly dissipated as the wind blew away the odors. It was only then that I actually realized that the creature I had observed was possibly a small “Skunk Ape”.

I spent the next two hours in a natural sheltered blind observing the area. First, I spent a couple of minutes on hands and knees searching the immediate area for any possible physical evidence, such as tracks, scat, or hair. I found no physical evidence. Then, I spent a few minutes placing several “cover and attractant” scent wafers around me. Finally, I set up a “natural blind” using tree branches and folage at the exact location where the creature fled from me. I constantly scanned all the trees and the surrounding bushes in the area with my binoculars looking for nesting sites or possible creatures peering at me. Nothing more was seen of any questionable creature nor any unusual sounds heard. There were plenty of bird and squirrel noises, but no other sounds detected.

As the daylight faded around 5:15 p.m., I collected my scent wafers, packed up the gear, and left the area quietly to rejoin my hunting partner at the boat.

Post Script Information:
I have not said anything to my hunting partner about this encounter because I have serious doubts that he believes in the existence of these creatures. Further investigation of this area is pending. I have planned another hunting trip onto this island and will cautiously research the area for more evidence of any questionable creatures as soon as a trip can be undertaken. The photographs that were taken by me are pending developement and I intend to post some of these when they are ready.

Future Plans:
This is the second time in my life that I have had an encounter. The last time, 44 years ago, as a teenager, with a gun in my hand (again), the creature was in slow motion. It really didn’t see me until I alerted it to my presence. This time, apparently, the creature was forewarned, and it saw me first.

I am overwhelmed with caution at the extreme speed that these beings can run away to or from us. This evidence gives me serious pause to consider future encounter potentials. I really should be careful when approaching an identified area of habitation (hot zone) – like this island’s interior. I don’t ever want to have to use a gun to defend myself against one of these animals. So, I have decided that, if I feel threatened, in any way, I WILL leave the area rapidly in order to avoid a confrontation. I remain undeterred in my quest to find more of these creatures will go forward. I want to record as much evidence – pictures, physical findings, sound recordings, anything that the scientific world will acknowledge – without sacrificing my life or that of a creature.

As long as I can stay within their realm without provocation, I shall gather as much evidence for future data as possible based upon physical, time, and weather constraints. As an update from this report, I have had to retreat from this area until next fall. Major rain storms have flooded the river system and wiped away all evidence of their existence. This expedition has been shelved until the fall of this year when I can hopefully reestablsih contact with some of these Swamp People. I have no doubt that they remain in the area, probably on higher ground, but until the river system flood waters recede, I cannot even begin to think about going near any of those islands! Revised 5/30/09.

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.

On Saturday November 1st, 2008, fellow NESRA investigator Kevin Humphrey and I traveled to Hartford County in northern Connecticut near the Massachusetts border. We were scouting out an area there Kevin has been researching. He has heard some distant and questionable/possible wood knocks there in the past, so this was the reason for our trip.

The audio file below was recorded on the morning of Sunday September 21st, 2008 at about 11:15 a.m. in Washington County New York. It was recorded while taking video with a JVC camcorder. The video was transferred to DVD a few days later. The DVD and original video tape were then sent to C.Bartow of NESRA who extracted and enhanced the audio file. The audio recorded contains a number of possible woodknocks, growls and moans of interest.