YEAR: 2013

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 7th

STATE: California

COUNTY: Shasta County

LOCATION DETAILS: South side of Whiskeytown Lake, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. We were riding the roads from the boat ramp area.

NEAREST TOWN: Old Shasta, CA near Redding

NEAREST ROAD: 299 West

OBSERVED: Three friends enjoying an all day ride up to the snow in Whiskeytown National Park. We were all on horseback. We spotted what appeared to be Bigfoot tracks in the snow. We got off our horses for close examination and could clearly see the toes in the snow. Two of the witnesses are RN's. I am an Appraiser. What made this sighting of tracks credible to me were the existence of so many other tracks, including bear, that gave good comparison to other critters and size. The tracks came up out from the gulch, followed the road a bit, then back down into the gulch. Also my friend noticed smaller Bigfoot tracks coming down from a very steep draw on the left of the road. There were no tracks going up, just coming down, as if to "join" the others. It was still very cold when we first saw these tracks, but they were melting when we rode back through this area many hours later.

ALSO NOTICED: Lots of critter tracks in that snow for about 1/2 mile. We also saw, bear, cougar, deer, dog, hiker boot and small critter, (maybe racoon?) We also saw at least 3 sizes of "Bigfoot" tracks. The largest being about 17 inches long and as wide as a truck tire.

OTHER WITNESSES: Three horseback riders saw these tracks.

OTHER STORIES: Yes, a Forest Ranger working at Whiskeytown personally told me that they get reports of Bigfoot activity on a regular basis.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early afternoon.
Mixed clouds and sunshine. Temps in the 50's.

ENVIRONMENT: Pines, Fir & Oak Forest; steep terrain with gulches and creek drainage. Tracks seen in snow on Peltier Road.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Tom Yamarone:

I spoke with the witness by phone in late January. We discussed a variety of encounters she has experienced or heard about from a lifetime of inquiry into the bigfoot subject.

She stated that she is very aware of her surroundings when out in the woods and regularly examines all of the animal tracks they see while riding. The discovery on January 7, 2013 of bigfoot prints was a result of this practice.


I can add the following details about the tracks seen and photographed on January 7th:
- There were three different sizes of bare foot tracks in the snow. They ranged in size from 17 inches to a very small track only 8 to 10 inches long. (note: tracks were found after the snow melted and refroze. This can be seen in the photos.)

- The trackway originated from a gully on the right side of the road and continued along the berm for approximately ¼ mile and then went back downhill into the ravine.

Other tracks were seen on this road during a November 2012 ride.

These photographs provide good images of what was seen and we are thankful for the effort to document evidence. They also serve as a reminder to other enthusiasts to use a scale item when photographing possible evidence. (A dollar bill, a quarter, your driver's licence, etc. Any item of a known size - and not your shoe or boot.)



Single track from directly above. Witness estimated the length at 17 inches.


Boot next to prints in snow.


View of general scene from January 7th ride along snowy road.

About BFRO Investigator Tom Yamarone:

Tom resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He conducts field work primarily in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains and in Humboldt County.

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