YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: February

STATE: Alaska

COUNTY: Anchorage County

LOCATION DETAILS: Up near powerline clearings east of Potter Marsh in Anchorage.

NEAREST TOWN: Anchorage / Hillside

NEAREST ROAD: No real roads in the area

OBSERVED: I and two of my friends were bored one night so we decided to do a little snowmachining. Though it was illegal to snowmachine in Anchorage, there were some good trails to ride on a little north of my house.

We took off at probably 11 pm, rode up the road about a quarter mile, and cut off on the trails. It had snowed about 10 inches a few days before so there was fresh snow, with no tracks.

I was leading the way for about a half hour, then we stopped and talked for a little bit. We took off again and kept cruising on some sort of game trail that led to an opening in the woods. I rode off into the opening with my friends following about fifty yards behind me.

I came over this little mound and saw strange tracks leading to this spot in the snow where it looked like something had pushed aside some snow and layed down. I figured it was just a moose or something. But I followed the tracks over the next small hill and as I came down the far side my headlight pointed right on the back of a bigfoot.

It was only about 10 to 12 feet in front of me. It was running in the opposite direction. I slammed on the brakes because I was scared out of my mind. It continued to run away, jumped over a dead log covered in snow and disappeared into a group of trees and into the darkness.

I was so surprised and scared I quickly turned around and rode back toward my friends. I met them back by the first mound and said "We need to get out of here," and rode back towards my house. When I told them about it back near my house, they laughed and told me it was probably a bear or someone in the woods. But I was 100% positive that is was not a bear or anything else.

The way it was running through the deep snow made me sure that it wasn't anything human. For a long time I was made fun of and everyone told me I was crazy so I didn't like talking about it.

ALSO NOTICED: Some tracks in the snow, and a clearing in the fresh snow where it looked like a large animal had pushed snow aside and layed down.

OTHER WITNESSES: My two friends were snowmachining behind me but did not see it. If it had been light outside they might have seen it, but it was pitch black outside. My only light was from my snowmachine.

OTHER STORIES: I have not heard of any other incidents in Anchorage.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Middle of the night. The only light was the headlight from my snowmachine.

ENVIRONMENT: In the middle of the woods, in a clearing covered in snow, with only small shrubs and bushes sticking out of the snow. In the middle of the night.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Dr. Wolf H. Fahrenbach:

The animal was running from the approaching snowmobiles.

It was running smoothly with angled elbows, totally unimpeded by the fresh snow, which was about a foot deep and still falling on top of a deeper base.

It was dark brown in color, with a messy, matted coat and no perceptible neck.

The area of the encounter lies near a clear-cut lane for a pipeline and is within about a mile of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge and Potter's Marsh in wooded terrain.

About BFRO Investigator Dr. Wolf H. Fahrenbach:

Hair analysis since 1965. Field work since 1989. Sasquatch courses given in Oregon and Arizona (3-10 weeks duration); Published in Cryptozoology.