YEAR: 1993

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

STATE: Georgia

COUNTY: White County

LOCATION DETAILS: the upper hooch

NEAREST TOWN: Helen

NEAREST ROAD: Poplar Stump Rd (FS Rd 44)

OBSERVED: In May of 1993 Some of my friends of mine and I decided to go trout fishing above Helen, Ga.. After fishing for a couple of hours one guy and I decided to go upriver to find some new spots. So we started walking up an old roadbed that followed along the river. We eventually got to a spot where ther was a gully across the road, at one time there must of been a bridge. While me and my friend were standing there we heard a loud thud behind us. As we turned around there was a big ten foot log (about the diameter of a car tire) laying there. Take into acount just a second ago that log was not there. We climbed over the log and started to head back down the road when all of a sudden we heard leaves shuffling above us. Both my friend and I had a strange feeling as we looked at eachother. At the same time we bothe looked up above us and there was a Bigfoot standing 10-15 feet from us. We halled ass out of there. We finally made it back to where our other friends were, and told them what happened. They wanted to go see, the guy that was with me said no and went back to the vehical. I took the other two guys to show them, and on the way there we saw a footprint in the mud that looked like someone walking barefoot except it was appro. 18 inches long. We walked back up and saw nothing else.
Now I am 6'3" and 290 lbs., and this thing dwarfed me bigtime. It was at least 9 feet tall and about 4 feet across at the shoulders. It had to way around 800 lbs., It really looked like a big human covered in long shaggy black hair. The thing that got me was its reddish brown eyes. It took years for me to go back up there fishing, and when I did I would not go alone. It is wierd cause sometimes when up there you feel safe, but other times it feels like something is watching you. Since then I have heard wood knocking, vocalizations, and had rocks thrown at me. I do not hesitate to go up there anymore, but I will not go alone.

ALSO NOTICED: footprint on that day, and woodknocking, vocalizations, and rock throwing at several other times.

OTHER STORIES: I have heard of a few.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Mid day, partly cloudy skies

ENVIRONMENT: rugged mountainous terrain, up a steep river valley.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matt Pruitt:

I have spoken with both the primary witness ("J") who submitted the report, and the secondary witness ("D") who accompanied him. After having heard this account from a mutual friend several years ago, I contacted the primary witness and discussed his encounter, and his many forays into the most remote portions of the Chattahoochee National Forest. We have discussed his sighting several times over the last two years.

The witnesses are avid trout fishermen. They both constantly follow feeder creeks and tributaries into the wilderness areas of Northern Georgia in the pursuit of unexploited fishing spots; spots that other fishermen rarely venture into.

This particular location is in a steeply sloped and narrow valley on the upper Chattahoochee River. Accessing this location requires parking a vehicle on the Forest Service road, hiking down to an old road bed that parallels the river, following the road bed, crossing the river (which can be precarious if the water is high and fast-moving), picking up the remnants of another road bed that parallels the river, and following it until it diverges from the river slightly and climbs a slope.

On the day of the sighting, the two fishermen had walked along this particular road bed until it climbs slightly away away from the river up a slope. The road terminates there, and across the river, one can see that it picks up again at the same elevation. The two stood above the noisy river postulating that a large bridge must have been located there at one point in time (likely related to logging operations). As they stood talking, a large dead tree trunk fell across the path behind them. Both men realized that this hadn't been across the path moments before. While stepping over the log, a noise in the brush drew their attention up the slope, and there stood a very large sasquatch.

The primary witness had the closest, and clearest view of the animal. He described it as having massive shoulders and a narrow waist, with shaggy, matted black hair. It stood roughly nine (9) feet tall, and towered over the witnesses as it stood on the embankment. The animal was breathing heavily as it looked at them.

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I have done a thorough study of the immediate area where this incident occurred, as well as a multi-year exploration of the surrounding wilderness. The scenery is the most dramatic and beautiful in this particular valley. During my last visit to the site, I traveled upriver for quite some distance and marveled at the area.

The BFRO receives a good deal of reports from the upper Chattahoochee River. We encourage our readers who have had experiences in the area to submit them via our Report Form. Likewise, we encourage people in the area with information regarding these rare animals to email us at Georgia@BFRO.net

The Southern Appalachians provide sanctuary for the planet's second richest temperate zone flora; only eastern China is more diverse. The range's rich habitat and rugged terrain constitute a viable refugia for these megafauna apes.

About BFRO Investigator Matt Pruitt:

Matt Pruitt grew up in the mountains of Northeast Georgia, and has been conducting active sasquatch research for several years in various parts of the country.

Matt has attended/organized the following expeditions:

North Carolina - 2007
South Carolina - 2007
North Carolina - 2008
Georgia - 2008 (Expedition Organizer)
Washington (Cascades) - 2008
Washington (Olympic Peninsula) - 2008
Georgia - 2009 (Expedition Organizer)
Washington (Cascades) - 2009
Washington (Olympic Peninsula) - 2009
Oregon - 2010 (Expedition Organizer)
Washington (Olympic Peninsula) - 2010
Georgia - 2010 (Expedition Organizer)
Oklahoma - 2011 (Expedition Organizer)
North Georgia (1) - 2011 (Expedition Organizer)
North Georgia (2) - 2011 (Expedition Organizer)
Arkansas - 2012 (Expedition Organizer)
North Georgia - 2013 (Expedition Organizer)
North Carolina - 2013 (Expedition Organizer)

Matt is a trained visual tracker. During the summer of 2007, Matt co-instructed a tracking course for BFRO members in the Southeast. In 2009, he co-instructed an updated version of the same course for BFRO members in Utah. He currently lives in Northeast Georgia.

He can be contacted at Georgia@BFRO.net

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