06-22-08

 In May My fmaily and I were able to get back to Kendrick Peak and to the location where I found the destroyed trees. The area had changed significantly since I was there last in the fall. We did find a few new signs in the area but there appeared to be less than last time. The "X" I saw last year was gone but I found two saplings that appeared to have been used as markers. The first has been bent over into a low arch and the top held down by three or four large logs that have no bark on them.  The second is snapped at about 12 feet up from the ground. The top is still connected and points to the East touching the ground. I also took pictures of where I found the trees destroyed in the fall. That area appeared very different and the spot did not seem to be the same as when I found it. I still took photos of it though as it still shows the destruction.  Before we left we took some time to try some tree knocking. We tried three separate times and did not receive any response, it was also the middle of the afternoon.

 My family at the bottom of the trail.

This is the sapling that is bent over and held down by several other fallen trees. The next shows the other trees holding it bent over. The fallen trees appear to have been placed on the top of the sapling to keep it there. Definately does not look natural!

 Here is the snapped sapling, it is center of the photo and you can see the top leaning down towards the right corner of the photo.  I was carrying my 2 year old when I took this as the trail was so steep, I couldn't get down there as this lower than me off the trail. The following photos show closer views of the sapling.

The next series shows the area I found last year, remember when I found this most of these trees had just fallen and still had branches and leaves on them. Mostly from the heavy winter they had in Flagstaff casued the changes here.

The trail is under the logs and in the center of the photo, you can't see it.

This photo shows one of the basketball size rocks that were found strewn around this area of the trail. There is no origin of them nearby. No creeks, no drainage, and no ersion that brings them to the surface. As seen here they are just sitting in the trail.

Here is my foot on that rock to show it's size.

this last photo is looking back towards the destruction where the trail begins again. You can see my family standing amongst the downed logs. 

03-06-08

Here is a brief description of an "X" found near a possible bedding area. This was found by a friend and following are photos of the "X", the bed, and other surrounding areas. These photos were taken off the 260 highway on 03-01-08.

"1.29.2008 During my drive up north I noticed Sycamore creek is way up as well as Tonto creek looks 100ft wide at Jakes Corner. I stopped at the windmill and water tank at mile marker ~234 on the north bound side of 87 and walked around the tank then started up the hill following one of the many cow trails. I noticed some interesting prints/impressions from before the rain and followed then into the bush and heavy canopy. I was walking underneath them next to bedding areas and look up and saw two ~10' sticks from the century plant in a perfect cross right over the trail, this was not normal, i turned around immediately. my boot prints stop about 100 feet from there and I left some good mud imprints. I had my day pack on and left the 357mag  in the truck. First thing I thought was what I read on BFRO about BF marking trails so my instinct was to turn around and head back to the truck and come back later with an equalizer and/or another person and get a picture of this X.

3.1.2008 (pictures were taken)I had to stop at the water tank and go back to the area where the X was located. Someone or something did place them there as one was woven in the branches of a scrub cedar. The first one I've seen in a place where maybe shouldn't have been. While walking up there I spooked something in the brush and it took off like a rocket, never did see what it was nor did I find disturbed ground. There were fresh deer and other tracks all over this hillside."

The "X" is in the rear of the photo left of center

Above is a photo of a possible bedding area behind the "X" under a cedar tree.

 photo of area aroundwhere the "X" was found.

 01-25-08

Heres some photos that were taken by my trail cam of some elk who passed by and a squirrel. I also am posting photos of the mouth of the trail where the tree was knocked down. I hope to get up there again soon and get photos of the "spooky" area snow permitting. I can't get into the area now because of the snow fall.

01-14-08

On November 3^rd 2007 My Father, my two year old daughter, and I were on our deer hunt in Northern Arizona. Our hunt area included the area known as “area 7”. This included the area north of I-40 to the South rim of the Gran Canyon and from Williams, Arizona to the west and the Navajo Reservation to the East.

We chose the area around Kendrick Peak. This area is located several miles North and West of the San Francisco Peaks and Flagstaff, Arizona. We made our camp on the South side of the Peak about a mile from the Kendrick Peak trailhead.

We had been hunting for several days without any sign except does. Two days prior we had found an old logging trail or jeep trail that was just West of Newman’s Tank, a cattle stock tank that is situated on the North side of Newman’s Peak, a smaller neighbor of Kendrick Peak. We had wanted to drive up this trail but the mouth of the trail was blocked by a freshly fallen White Fir. The trees there were very thick and it was impossible to see more than twenty feet up the peak where the trail ascended. The trees were all either Aspens or White Firs.

I had mentioned to my Father that I wanted to walk that trail before we left to see what I could jump. On this day we decided to try the trail. I was to walk up the trail and then turn off into the woods and return down the hill side trying to flush a buck towards my Father and Daughter waiting below. My father parked in his truck on the fire road just away from the trail mouth. I took my GMRS radio with a headset and left the other with my Father so we could keep in contact. As I reached the mouth of the trail I took several moments to examine the fir that was blocking any vehicle access. The forty foot, twenty-four inch thick fir was freshly fallen. The needles were still green and moist. And where several branches had broken off the trunk when the tree fell I could see that it was still oozing pine sap freely. I then looked at the base of the tree and observed that the tree fell with its roots intact, that is basically the tree was uprooted. I could also see that the dirt and hole where the tree had been planted was still moist but just starting to dry. This fir could not have fallen to long ago.

I climbed over the tree and began to ascend the trail which climbed straight up the face of Newman Peak. I noticed that the trail was very primitive and not well used. I was able to observe that a few quads had used the trail not very long ago as there were several newer quad tire tracks on the trail. After ascending about fifty yards the trail split with another trail heading off to the East perpendicular to this main trail. I followed the main trail and as I did so I continued to find more fallen trees across it. There were four in all at different points of the trail and each was in different ages of decay from being freshly fallen like the first fir to almost decayed and rotten. Each of these four trees was either uprooted as the fir was or snapped off at the base of the tree about six to eight inches from the ground. They all were also fallen directly next to their stump.

When I had reached about three hundred yards from the mouth of the trail I came to a point where three trees had fallen across the road in the same place. All three were lying across each other, two from one side of the trail and the third from the other. Their stacking blocked the trail with a barrier of more than three feet high. I stopped here briefly and turned around to look at the area around the barrier. On the East side of the trail I could see small fir saplings bent over to the ground all pointing to the West or towards the trail. On the West side I observed a tall “X” made of the trunks of two aspen trunks. The “X” was over 30 feet tall and the two Aspens used to make it were at least eight inches thick.

At this point my thinking changed, I began to wonder if I was not trespassing in or near the area of a Sasquatch.  I climbed over the barrier of trees and noticed that the trail made a ninety degree turn towards the West. The actual turn was obscured by a thick growth of trees at the bend of the trail so as I could not see where the trail went once it turned from where I was standing.

When I reached the turn and passed the trees the trail opened up from all sides and the trail disappeared under a mass of fallen trees, branches, and boulders.  I looked in awe in all four directions and observed that the forest in this location had been destroyed. An area of about a half acre appeared to be the site of a bombing or other destruction.  I began to take in what I was seeing and could see that all the trees, all being white firs and aspen, inside this spot were all fallen. They were all lying over each other not in any pattern or specific direction. These trees ranged from saplings to full grown twenty-five to thirty inch thick trees. The degree of time they had fallen was also different as some of these trees were beginning to decay and ranged up to freshly fallen like the fir from the mouth of the trail.

Next I noticed that all these trees were broken off at their bases, not cut, or were uprooted. Those that were broken off from their stumps were so from ground level to about six to ten inches above it. I would estimate over a hundred trees in all were fallen in this half acre of destruction. They crisscrossed in all directions laying over one another making it nearly impossible to remove them from their locations without cutting them where they held each other down. 

I began to climb over and weave my way across this place and in doing so noticed that there were basketball sized sandstone boulders mixed into the mess. I looked around to see if I could find where the boulders originated from but the forest floor was covered in its normal litter of leaves and pine needles. Where the ground could be seen I found fresh green leaves and green needles showing me that some of this had recently occurred.  I could not find any place where the soil had been disturbed or any outcroppings where the rocks may have come from. I also thought that this location was a crossing for a wash or other run off location. It was not and there were no signs of erosion.

I could also see in the areas where there were fewer trees that there was a great amount of animal sign, mostly scuffs but occasionally a few discernable deer and elk tracks were observed.  It appeared that the local fauna used this spot quite often.

I looked passed the mess of downed trees and could see that the forest beyond this isolated location was normal and showed no other signs equaling where I was standing. I commented on my location and its condition to my Father using the radio and he acknowledged he heard me and cautioned me to be careful.

I finally made my way across the pile of trees and found myself on the other side where a more primitive form of the same trail continued. Twenty or so yards farther the trail changed as the trees changed from an Aspen and  Fir mix to mostly Ponderosa Pine. I continued my trek and then began to feel the uneasiness that something was not quite right in this place. I stopped in the trail again and looked around myself. This time I observed that there were more trees that had fallen. Here was different though. These trees appeared to be stacked against other living trees. To explain better it appeared as if someone had taken all the fallen trees from the ground and leaned them up two to three against the trunks of other living pines. I have never seen this before as was my feeling in the prior location of all the destruction.

I no longer felt comfortable continuing on this trail so I turned south and walked off into the trees towards the slope down and began my attempt to drive a buck towards my Father below me. Once I left the trail and began my decent down the side of the peak I felt as normal as I had the entire hunt and as I was before entering this trail.

I reached the truck and my Father some ten minutes later and again recounted to him what I had seen. I had forgotten my camera back in our camp and I advised him that I wanted to return tomorrow to document the destruction on the trail.

The next morning came early and I awoke with the thought and anxiousness of taking pictures of what I had experienced the day before. My Father apparently had thoughts about my intentions as well and told me that he had had a dream during the night and that I should not return to that place as it was not safe. He would not elaborate on the dream but I could see in his eyes that it upset him and he was very concerned for my safety if I tried to approach that place again.

I finally succumbed to my Father’s wishes although it upset me. I did talk him into allowing me to go to the mouth of the trail and photograph the fallen tree that was blocking the entrance.  I thought about that place for some time and I can honestly say I have never seen anything in the forest as that. I cannot think of any simple or complex reason for how those trees were destroyed in the manner and design as they were except that they were purposely made to look like that. I cannot think of any person that has the strength or skill to down those trees without any form of tool or saw to assist them. None of the trees there showed any marks of tools or saws. So what could have done that or why?

In my opinion this location was possibly a barrier to keep trespassers out. The tree at the mouth being the first “No trespassing” sign. I have read other reports where Sasquatch’s have been reported to knock trees down over trails to block the path from trespassers or to mark a trail for others. These are only theories as to why these beings would do this as we have no firsthand knowledge.

You may wonder why I believe this account may be attributed to Sasquatch and I will respond by saying that this account of what I discovered on the trail was not the only evidence we found. Throughout our weekend there we had many times where we had the feeling. That feeling someone is watching you. On the first evening at our camp we heard several single knocks and a few unknown vocals some distance from our camp site. Each of these occurrences was observed by either my Father or me at different times.