The expedition was truly amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone, and seeing the familiar faces as well! We had some really fantastic experiences. As for the activity that Leigh, JT, and I experienced along with Don and Tyler, a detailed report is being written currently and will be posted soon on the internal board, along with pictures from the trip! I can't wait to read everyone else's experiences as well! Thanks to the organizers for a job well done!

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Hello, everyone! I finally got around to typing up a full report about our experience Friday night during the expedition.

FRI, MAY 18 - Leigh Culver, JT McAvoy and I along with several members of the expedition decided to walk the Rocky Trail (nickname) to [a particular creek]. The [creek] bottoms yielded a wider variety of flora than any other area we scouted. Leigh and Keith McLain encountered a very small fawn there, so we knew that there was a deer population in the area.

The bottoms were surrounded by small, thickly wooded ridges that would theoretically serve as great hiding and surveillance points for a group of sasquatches. After some discussion, we decided to spend the night in this area. There were a few small fire pits near the creek from previous camp sites. Our idea was to plant a satellite camp in one of these sites to serve as "bait" (ie: build a large fire, talk loudly and openly, and whoop and knock loudly). Leigh, JT, and I would hide in bivouac sacks under heavy camouflage around the camp. Our hope was that if sasquatches were drawn to the campers, they would have to move by one of us, and we could view them.

Don Tart and his son Tyler agreed to be the campers. They hiked back to base camp to retrive their tent and supplies, while we prepared our stakeout points. Leigh chose an area on a ridge above the creek. He positioned himself approximately 20 yards from the trail, well hidden among the trees. If the sasquatches were to use the Rocky Trail to reach the area, they would have to move near Leigh's location.

JT and I were positioned on the opposite side of the creek, approximately 15 yards from the creek itself, in the same area that we had spotted the fawn earlier. If the sasquatches came in from the surrounding ridges, they would have to pass through the area we were in to get to the camp. There was a large pit in the ground, filled with fallen leaves, and JT surmised that it would serve as a nice hiding spot. We covered the hole with dead logs, then covered the top with fallen leaves, creating a near-waterproof shelter that was camouflaged, in that it's roof was at ground level, and disguised to look like the forest floor. To anything in the area, we would have gone unnoticed.

The two of us kept radio contact with Leigh and got into our hiding spots approximately one hour before sundown. While we waited for sunset, Don and Tyler returned. Leigh contacted us by radio to acknowledge that they were setting up camp. Once their camp was set up, and a fire was built, the sun had finally set. Ten minutes after sundown, I radioed Don, and asked him to [make particular mimicking sounds]. He did, and it was quite loud, and echoed through the area. Within about fifteen minutes, Leigh radioed to tell us that he heard distinct bipedal walking from two different individuals moving past him and toward the creek. He also stated that they sounded like they were heading directly toward the location that JT and I were in.

We waited several minutes, but never heard any movement. Don and Tyler told us that they had heard movement near their camp at this time. After twenty more minutes of waiting, JT and I had still heard no movement, or any other sounds that implied that there were animals near us. Don's camp was still active, as the movement sounds persisted.

We decided to relocate to their camp and see if we could hear what they were hearing. When we arrived, Don and Tyler relayed to us what they had been hearing. Leigh gave a more detailed description of what he had heard as well.

I began making loud [mimicking sounds] from the camp, and Don [did other types of mimicking sounds]. While we discussed what to do next, we could hear distinct, loud movement on two sides of the camp. JT and I decided to move towards the sound closest to us, and look on the ground for more firewood, thinking that whatever was making the sound might move again. We had only moved about 30 feet from the campfire when JT looked forward, shining his red headlamp on a large clump of rhododendron bushes and laurel trees. Directly behind the bushes stood a large, dark figure, that JT briefly illuminated with his red light. Its form and size could be determined by the amount of vegetation it stood behind. When JT's light first hit it, it looked like a large, dark void beyond the bushes. When the figure moved, it allowed the light to shine through the vegetation. Once the light hit it, it immediately began to move backward, quite loudly, but in a calm and casual manner.

We both stopped in our tracks, and turned off our headlamps, so as not to intimidate whatever it was. I immediately began to whoop softly at it, and speak in a calm tone. I thought that if it was a sasquatch, I would show it that we were not a threat. By using their own types of sounds, I was acknowledging to it that we knew what it was. As soon as I did this, it very calmly took about four steps toward us. I felt excited, and JT and I knew we were having some success. We backed off a bit, and it did as well. We could hear the figure walking away from us.

Tyler came over with a night vision monocular, but by that time the figure had moved beyond some trees and couldn't be detected visually, although we could all still hear it. It seemed to pace back and forth for some time, and then it stopped. We assumed that it hadn't left, since we never heard it leave, but had found a point from which to watch us.

Leigh, JT, and I examined the area where it stood behind the bushes and found some indistinct, large track impressions pressed into the leaf litter. We felt like our plan had worked, and that we had successfully drawn one or more toward us.

After a long period of silence, we decided to head back to base camp. Don and Tyler stayed behind to camp, and to keep their ears and eyes open for any further activity.

On the way back up the trail, we ran into Patty Lee and Keith, and related our experience to them. Soon after, Matt Moneymaker came down the trail, and we told him about our situation as well. I led Matt and several group members down to Don's camp. He had a thermal helmet system with him, but by then the activity had gone still.

Thanks to everyone who planned this trip, it was amazing, and I hope to see everyone again soon!