YEAR: 1985

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: unknown

STATE: California

COUNTY: Del Norte County

LOCATION DETAILS: Our camp was located just a short way up Patrick Creek road, maybe just 1000 feet up from Hwy 199. We camped near the creek in a small clearing. We arrived at dusk and left just after breakfast the next morning.

NEAREST TOWN: Gasquet, CA

NEAREST ROAD: Patrick Creek Road

OBSERVED: I live in Humboldt Co. CA and have heard night screams that sounded like an incredibly loud out-of-control frat party in 1985 when a friend and I were remote camping in a heavily wooded unihabited area around Patrick Creek in Del Norte Co. just north of Humboldt. There were voices in deep male tonations as well as slightly higher and higher still [juvenile?] I've heard coyotes, bears wolves etc etc. I've also spent time with my sister who was doing her graduate project in anthropolgy on primates at the San Diego zoo. The closest I can compare the sounds to were Howler monkeys, but controlled. The voices almost sounded like a dialect but none I've ever heard; like I could almost make out words. The sounds were definitely primate in nature though definitely not human.

At the time, my wolf-hybrid dog who traveled 300+ miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone with me and who at the time was a veteran of wilderness encounters and very bold [never would hesitate to tree the largest bear] was trying to bite a hole in the tent to get in. Once I let the trembling dog in the tent she actually tried to climb inside of my sleeping bag. She refused to go back outside and remained whimpering in the tent with me until dawn. At one point in the night, I awoke to hear a very heavy body tramping just outside the tent. I heard breathing, very deep like in a broad-chested animal. I dared not go outside until light. Upon first light I went outside and saw what looked like a stampede had been through our campsite. The duff was heavily scuffed with signs of foot traffic, which hadn't been there the night before.

I've read a few Bigfoot stories and I've noticed that sometimes the sound of children playing has attracted sighting situations. I once had a problem with a mentally ill person who was sneaking in my horse barn at night and letting the horses out. After months of frustration and being told I was paranoid, I got a remote camera that had some infrared capabilities. As expected, I caught the man and turned in a point-blank video to authorities of him. If your researchers want a good chance at getting Bigfoot on film, why not set up a week-long or so remote campsite with tents etc. and install a infrared video camera to view the camp. Have recordings or better yet, actual children squealing in play through the hours of the night. Review the tapes each day and see what you get. It worked for me. From the sound of how intelligent the Bigfoot may be, the more 'natural' you make your camp appear as just a family outing, the more likely you'll get what you're after. That's why I think using real children would work. Good luck getting any brave enough to do it though!

ALSO NOTICED: Only that many years later I talked with a man who lives up Patrick Creek road whose name I forget, but he is a retired police officer so his credibility can be assumed. He reported that the sounds we heard then are common to his experience and that he has actually seen Bigfoot families cross the road to where his house is!

OTHER WITNESSES: Yes, my roomate was with me. We were both just recreating, cooking over a campfire, laughing at jokes and going to sleep.

OTHER STORIES: Yes, just what I've reported above.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Sounds were heard at around 11:00PM. It was pitch black with a drizzling light rain. The sounds seemed to come from the top of a nearby ridge to our campsite

ENVIRONMENT: Mixed hardwood/coniferous forest. Madrones, douglas fir and maybe a redwood or two. The terrain is hilly, and mountainous at points. There was a creek nearby. We selected the spot to camp because of it's unused and remote look.