BFRO's Skookum Meadow Expedition

The weather was excellent again. Sunny and warm. High temperature was in the upper 60's.
Noll, Randles, and Fish stayed near camp in the morning, but they decided to explore the area in the afternoon. Noll took the group to a location along Forest Road 30 where over 80 trees had been broken along a stretch of road 1/3 of a mile long. Most of the trees, averaging around 8 to 10 feet in height, were broken at between 4 and 6 feet above ground, and the broken tops were all pointing in the same direction, which was northwest. In addition to these roadside trees, there were many trees in the same condition that appeared to be following a line away from each side of the road.

The group travelled south on FR 66 along the western edge of the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area. They happened upon a trailer, where an older gentleman and his wife were living during the summers. Their reason for being there was that they worked as security personnel for a logging company that was operating in the area. Their job was to stay on site for several months at a time, keeping an eye out for vandals. The group inquired as to whether or not the couple had seen or heard anything which they may believe was related to a sasquatch, but neither had. The wife did mention that she had heard something that she could not identify walking through the woods near her while she had been huckleberry picking one time, but did not see anything. However, the couple did have an oddity that they considered to be sasquatch-related to show the researchers. They had found a growth on the side of a tree near their camp that looked strikingly similiar to a sasquatch face and head. This was good for a laugh.

Bigfoot Tree. Photo by Rick Noll

Noll, Randles and Fish then proceeded into the nearby town of Trout Lake, WA, to refuel Randles' truck. They then proceeded up along the western flanks of Mt. Adams, towards a location on FR 23 where some prominent rock cairns were erected alongside the road. Also of note were the words "MONKEY ROCK" spray painted many years ago on the cliff opposite the cairns.

While travelling back towards camp along FR 23, the group noticed an impression in the embankment next to the road. It appeared as though something had jumped off of the road, landing a good distance up the embankment, before scrambling the rest of the way up and into the trees. It appeared as though whatever had jumped onto the embankment had left both footprints and a possible handprint, although neither were definitive enough to be conclusive. Noll photographed the impressions.

Roadside Impression. Photo by Rick Noll

Meanwhile, Powell and Moneymaker were making final arrangements in Portland with the Storyteller Productions film crew. They were picking up supplies and testing the sound system sent up by Freitas. The film crew needed a day off, as they had been working for about 10 days straight without a break. This prevented the rest of the group from arriving at camp on Monday.

At approximately 6 PM, Bambenek arrived at an unoccupied base camp, and began setting up his tent and supplies. Lemley and Lee returned to base camp at about 7 PM. A very thick fog had moved into the area just prior to their arrival, making the final mile of the drive somewhat treacherous. They unloaded the remainder of the food and water supplies that they had brought with them, and proceeded to make dinner. Noll, Randles and Fish returned to base camp at approximately 9 PM.

Introductions were made between team members who were not yet aquainted with each other, while Noll, Randles and Fish filled us in on their findings from the previous 2 days. The conversation quickly turned to Bambenek's pheromone experiment. After giving the group a quick overview of plan, everyone decided to go ahead and place one of the chips soaked in the pheromone solution in a nearby tree.

Dr. LeRoy Fish ties a pheromone chip to a tree.
Photo by Rick Noll

Around midnight, after some fireside chat and story trading, everyone retired to their tents for the evening. The night passed without incident.

Expedition Report - Day Four

Expedition Report - Front Page

BFRO's Skookum Meadow Expedition

Day Three