Everyone involved in these efforts agrees that it's not a good idea to publicly disclose specific areas where important scientific work will likely occur in the future. A few areas identified during this expedition will undoubtedly receive that type of attention at some point. They should not receive undue attention before then, so they will not be identified in this article with specificity.

The general area is the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. On any map of America you can see this peninsula. It is the far northwest corner of the continental U.S.

In the months prior to the expedition, various zones of reports on the peninsula were discussed among those involved in the planning for the trip.  In one of the sighting zones there was some recent information from local residents, and a tip from a government scientist who monitors salmon runs on the peninsula.

The initial attention was focused on a set of valleys near the base camp, where some locals residents reported occasional vocalizations. The expedition soon became focused on a different set of valleys, 15-20 miles from base camp, where the government scientist tip directed us.

Not all of the incidents described in this article (or the recordings) occurred in those distant valleys, but a majority of the incidents happened there. The two locations in that zone are referred to as Ridge Camp 1 and Ridge Camp 2 (RC1 & RC2).

RC1 was the site of two intense days and nights of activity. RC2 had three consecutive nights of multiple-witness Class B incidents.

Among the various sites, participants witnessed the following:

Class A daylight sighting - 1

Class B sightings (low light, compromised definition) - 4

Vocalizations (Tahoe-type, siren-type, growls, whistles) - 5

Wood knock interactions - 2

Camp circling and stalking - 7

Branch breaking, stomping tirade - 1

Vocalization with a tree fall - 1

Brush structure ("teepee" style)- 1

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Wednesday Night :

Nine people had arrived by Wednesday night. After setting up camp, one group of people drove up some logging roads to get familiar with the area. Another group probed adjacent roads and trails within two miles of the camp. Nothing significant was seen or heard.

Thursday Night:

By late afternoon most people had arrived and were briefed on the initial plan. Areas within walking distance of camp were the primary focus. A smaller group headed out to a remote mountainous area previously suggested by a government scientist who had a sighting there several months before.

At sundown everyone near the base camp was to spread out and keep in contact via radio. Coordinated sounds, similar to those made by sasquatches moving through a valley, were produced in sequences from various points. One possible Tahoe-style scream was heard from across a clear cut. A few possible wood knocks were also heard.

At Ridge Camp 1 (RC1):

The location suggested by the government scientist was roughly 15 miles away, along a treacherous mountain road, 600' above a deep, steep gorge. The area had excellent echo acoustics.

A party of three was dropped off. They went 300 yards off the main logging road along a ridge high above the main gorge. They set up two tents not far apart.

Tahoe screams were broadcast into the canyon below. By midnight some loud brush breaking noises indicated the camp was being circled by one or two large animals.

After the sounds stopped, the trio turned in for the night. Shortly before 4AM, one of the sleepers awoke to the sound of a rodent trying to burrow under the tent. Shortly thereafter a much larger animal was heard approaching the tent.

The tent's rain fly was not on the tent. Through the mesh netting the witness observed the silhouette of a tall, upright figure move slowly toward the tent and lean over the top of it. It stood there for several seconds then walked away quietly.

After fifteen minutes of quiet, the witness roused the two people in the nearby tent. One of the two people who got up (Ric Hjertberg) observed a pair of "red eyes" in the tree line about 30 feet away. Ric watched, and moved from his head from side to side for a few seconds, to see if the red eyes were some kind of reflecting objects.

He looked away momentarily to gesture to the others to look in that direction. When they all looked over toward the tree line again, the "eyes" were gone.

Nothing else happened that night.


Friday :

On Friday afternoon, participants were briefed on the recommended target zones. They chose where they wanted go, based on how late they wanted to stay out. Those who wanted the option of returning to base camp at any time stayed within walking distance of the base camp.

Several participants elected to camp at Ridge Camp 1, including the newspaper reporter from London.

Ridge Camp 1 was set up on the protruding knee of a spur ridge above a deep canyon. On this knee there was a football-shaped clearing, roughly 30 x 60 feet, surrounded by thick second-growth conifers and dense underbrush. The brush was so dense that illumination from a flashlight or spotlight could penetrate only 3 feet or so into the edge growth.

Not long after arriving at the site, the Friday-RC1 group was reporting via walkie-talkie that they were hearing sounds of some large, unseen animals circling the camp. The stalkers could be heard parting trees and brush, and snapping large branches.

The intermittent movement suggested the animals were positioning themselves around the perimeter to get different views of the camp. The stalkers would be motionless for several minutes before moving again. They were not quiet when they moved, but would hold still for long periods, apparently watching the people.

At one point the walkie-talkie traffic from Ridge Camp 1 was nervously reporting the sounds up to four animals moving around the perimeter on different sides.

Bears are not patient or stealthy. They will walk clumsily around a camp, and will either move on or come closer toward the smell of food until they are chased off. The animals around RC1 seemed to be watching the campers patiently, and not moving for long periods.

Everyone present was keenly aware that there are a few different species of large animals in the Olympic Peninsula, so the group watched and listened carefully for any indication that the stalkers could be elk, bears, mountain lions, coyotes, etc.

Some decent recordings were obtained at this location and will likely be posted at some point.


At Ridge Camp 2:

A larger group had gone to establish another satellite camp in the adjacent river gorge. This was Ridge Camp 2. A group of six participants set up three tents on a level clearing with grassy spots. Twenty yards to either side were tree lines shrouding mountain slopes.

One of the party headed 200yds down the hillside to set up his own camp a good distance from the other tents. Some BFRO members in the main group began making sounds around dusk, imitating certain patterns heard in other areas.

Response vocalizations were heard within two hours. Radio contact, via relay to Ridge Camp 1, allowed Camp 2 to ask if the response vocalizations could be heard in that canyon. Camp 1 was not hearing, nor making, any sounds at that point. The two camps were at least three miles apart, separated by a high mountain ridge.

There was a point during the evening when both camps were reporting the sounds of 3-4 large animals circling the camps. At Camp 2 the stalking animals snapped large branches and made low growls and briefly whistled to each other.

All of the participants had been previously asked not to take any defensive and aggressive actions if this sort of thing started happening. The objective was allow the activity to continue for as long as it might continue, and observe and listen passively, and to record sounds if possible.

The people in both camps eventually went in their tents and slept. At 4AM, one person in Camp 2 heard one of the figures approach his tent and make a low, rumbling sound that became inaudible, but could still be felt viscerally. He said was a very unfamiliar sensation, and he described some difficulty moving his arms and legs while it was happening, and for a short while after it ceased.



Saturday:

The areas around Camps 1 & 2 were examined the next morning for tracks. No tracks were found, but the soil was too rocky for any tracks, including the tire tracks of the vehicles.

By mid-morning everyone who had spent the previous night at one of the satellite camps had returned to base camp to shower and eat and share observations.

In the early afternoon several people drove to a native village on the coast to ask about recent sightings, etc., in the vicinity. Locals from various coastal tribes were at the village for a gathering. Some had heard of the BFRO. They provided us a good bit of information, though most it was not recent, and all the locations were far away from our target area.

The best info gathered at the village pointed to a long inland valley several miles away. In the past it was a favorite deer hunting area among the tribe. One tribal member told us her father used to tell her that he had personally seen sasquatches in different parts of that valley at least five times throughout his life.

While part of the group was talking to people in the village, two BFRO members decided to kayak to an area where some Class B incidents had occurred the year before, two miles from the base camp, and not far from the major game trail in the area. The two set up their tents, ate cold food, talked at normal volume, and turned in for the night without doing anything more overt to draw attention to themselves.

At 10:30PM, one of the two campers awoke to sounds of someone walking along the trial in the direction of the tents. He lifted his head to read his wristwatch but decided to stay down, listening. The walker approached the tent and abruptly stopped. After a brief pause it suddenly sprinted past the tent and down the hillside. Heavy footfalls shook the ground as it ran past.

Most of the participants spent Saturday night at or near Ridge Camp 2, hoping the camp stalkers would return. After dinner, five people ventured uphill to a nearby clearing. After making several loud vocalizations in the characteristic pattern, they settled into chairs and listened. 30 minutes later a single whistle was heard, and then came clear sounds of footfalls and stick breaks.

The stalkers had returned. Pairs of "red eyes" were noticed briefly in the tree line. This small group decided to throw some food toward the stalkers in the trees. Mangos and candy bars were used. A few times it sounded as though the stalkers rushed over to where the objects had fallen.

Subsequently the group began hearing sounds like murmuring speech. At first the group thought members of the nearby camp were approaching. Everyone was accounted for by radio. No one was nearby. Every person who was with that group later described "weird talking" sounds that were low pitched, soft and mumbling.

Footfalls were heard from the tree line. An upright silhouette was seen crossing an open space. After about 20 minutes or so the voice-like sounds got closer, advancing to about 30 feet. A huge crash was heard. The group's first assumption was that one of the unseen stalkers had fallen, but then it quickly made at least four powerful stomps to the ground. All present heard and felt the stomps, and collectively agreed, without much discussion, that the stomps was from a heavy animal that was trying to intimidate them. There was a collective agreement at that point to pull out and return the next night better prepared.

Professor Tom R. had four digital recorders deployed Saturday night. They were set up at different locations. There are still several hours to listen through but he says at least one of the units recorded some very interesting sequences. He'll try to dub the clips to MP3 to keep the file sizes as small as possible. Those clips will be posted eventually.

Early Sunday Morning (after midnight):

With the main group at Ridge Camp 2, nine people had been hearing snapping noises. A few human-shaped figures were seen silhouetted against the night sky near a prominent stump uphill from the camp.

Above a creek bed one mile from the coast, a group of six established a camp on a narrow dirt road in dense forest -- the Creek Camp. Some surveillance cameras and audio recorders were set up at this location. The cameras got nothing, but the audio devices did capture many of the sounds.

Tents were set up in two areas approximately 100yds apart. Some vocal calls were made in the characteristic pattern. Within one hour crashing noises from nearby bushes was heard. "Bear" was the first guess but unmistakable bipedal crunching followed. Two or three individuals were heard stalking the drainage immediately below the road. Sounds from the other side were also heard. A fast moving silhouette was seen against the starlit sky, moving along a low ridge nearby.

At 3:30AM, one tent occupant heard a large animal approach to within five feet of his tent, but then retreat.

At 5AM, some clear wood knocks were heard a few hundred yards down the drainage. Two distinct tones appeared to be answering each other. These exchanges were also recorded.

Back at Ridge Camp 2, at 7AM, after sunrise, one of the campers left her tent to find a place in the woods to relieve herself. While thus occupied, a sasquatch was clearly viewed for 15-30 seconds from about 200yds. It was a medium brown color. The head and fur appeared slightly peaked. The figure was cautiously following another participant (a marine scientist) from a safe distance along the remnants of an old road. He was not aware he was being followed.

The figure followed him at a distance of roughly 100 feet. It moved in an agitated way back and forth across the old road at points, looking up and down the hill. When the man walked into camp, the follower moved out of sight.

Rough height comparisons were made from the same point of view where the observation had occurred. The witness, a botanist from Seattle, said the figure must have been about seven feet tall.

Most people had to leave on Sunday. They packed up, exchanged numbers and addresses, and made tentative plans to return to the area to look around further.

A dozen people decided to stay one last night. They rested most of the day.


Sunday Night:

The twelve remaining people occupied Ridge Camp 2 and set out the remaining surveillance devices along the portion of road where the figure had been observed that morning.

The night was uneventful, except for a vocalization followed immediately by a major tree fall. The recording of the vocal and tree fall revealed what may be the sounds of the tree being pushed repetitively prior to the fall.

Aside from the vocal and tree fall event, the overall activity on Sunday night was minimal compared to the night before. The cameras got nothing. The recorders got some other things faintly. More and better sound recordings were gotten the night before.



August 14:

Two BFRO members returned to the site and looked around in the woods. They discovered a tepee shaped brush structure. It was just inside the tree line where the intimidating activities had occurred on Saturday. Logs had been moved into place to make the formation. It was difficult to determine how long the structure had been there.