AZ Field Research Forum

07-27-11 **NEW**

Over the weekend of July 22-24^th, 2011 two of our group went to one of our investigation areas on the Mogollon Rim for a weekend trip. Besides the 2 of us, I brought my 3 children with me to get 1 last camping trip before they had to go back to school.

 On Friday evening we began to have camp stalking activity around camp. We heard numerous sounds of thumps, tree breaking, etc. Several different times I noticed shadow movement.  I would be talking to the other group member when I would notice movement behind him in the saplings that surrounded our camp. I could not see any detail or shape but definitely saw the movement.

We went to bed at aboutmidnightwith the moon just rising. During the night I had bad heart burn from my spicy dinner. This kept me awake intermittently throughout the night. At2:30 amI had just closed my eyes again and was about to fall asleep. I then heard and felt loud thumping foot steps. I opened my eyes and looked up towards the top of the tent listening.

I could hear the loud foot steps running from the west side of our camp near the spruce saplings. The unknown subject ran southeast in camp and then ran a circle around the 3 tents inside the camp. After circling the tents, the subject ran back towards where it had started on the west side of the camp.

I noticed when the subject had run passed my tent that a shadow was cast against my east tent wall in the moon light. I attempted to turn over and click the radio to wake up the other group member in one of the other tents. I could hear him snoring and the first radio click did not wake him up. I clicked the transmit button 2 more times. This time he stopped snoring and the footfalls also immediately stopped.

I heard nothing more at this time. I can say the foot falls were very heavy. As I said before I could also feel the reverberations of each foot fall through my air mattress.

In the morning I told the other group member of what had happened. He said he heard the radio click but could not wake up. After the radio clicked he said he did hear a loud thump outside his tent.

Later at about3:30 amI heard a distant howl series but I could not hear specifically if it was a coyote or a squatch.

In the morning we looked for any footprints around camp but did not see anything in the leaf and pine needles.

On the next night, Saturday, we again began to hear more camp stalking noises around camp. We made several tree knocks from inside camp and once we received a single response. We also heard what sounded like loud thumps or banging noises around camp.

At about9:00 pmwe were sitting around the camp fire when we both heard a “whoosh” sound in the air. Immediately after, we heard a loud “bang” noise and looked down and saw a 12”x2” stick that hand landed between us on the ground and broken into pieces.

We both verified that there were no trees above us where the stick had come from. We also noticed both ends of the stick were soaked with water from the earlier monsoon rain storm. We figured that if it had fallen from a tree it would have at least one dry end where it broke off from the tree.

About 5 minutes later the other group member abruptly let out a scream to see what kind of response he would get. He did not even tell me and it startled me. At the end of his scream we both heard a loud “bang” noise in the saplings within 20 yards north of camp. It sounded like a large rock or large object had been dropped and created a loud noise as it hit the ground. This scared both of us for some time.

We went to bed early at about10:00as it began to rain again. Later, at1:30 amI got up to make a head call. When I began to put my boots on I was making a lot of noise. When I did this I heard a loud and close “whooo” call very close to camp. There was nothing else heard that night.

We began a gift exchange on this trip. We set up 3 wood baskets with assorted rock fruits, 1 in camp, 1 near where the “bang” sound was heard, and 1 outside of camp about 50 yards out. We left the fruit for them when we went home.

During the whole weekend our camp was almost sterile. We did not have any cameras put up or any night vision or thermal units used. We did have audio recorders turned on in camp throughout the night. We will download those media files and go through them soon.

04-15-09 

On April 4^th, 2009 the members of Desert Bigfoot.com and I were on one of our monthly outings in the Sierra Ancha Mountains. We were camped in a forest service campground where numerous reports of Bigfoot type activity had been observed by different people. In this same campground our group has experienced several possible Bigfoot activity incidents.

On this particular outing we had set up our camp and were preparing for the evening activities. In doing so we were setting up game cameras and sound recorders around the campground. One of the members and I happened upon a ponderosa pine just outside of the campground that had two automotive reflectors screwed into the bark.

Interestingly enough someone had taken these two reflectors and wrapped them in black electrical tape. The outcome of the taping gave the reflectors the look of evil eyes. Then the two were mounted so they looked like two eyes facing away from the tree. They were mounted about four and a half feet off the ground with four drywall screws. The reflectors themselves were red and framed in a silver colored metal oval frame for mounting. They looked like those mounted on trailers.

We found these reflectors just before sundown and when we stepped into the campground in daylight looking where they were we could not see them. The tree was growing on the side of the ridge just west of the campground and even though the reflectors were only four and half feet off the ground from the campground view it would be over seven feet off the ground.

We advised the entire group of our find and showed them all. The newest member of the group stated that he had seen them before and saw when a “Mr. X” placed them in the tree back in the summer of 2008. He stated Mr. X did so saying that he was putting them there so he could scare some family members with them that same night when the sun was down using a flashlight.  Our member thought nothing more about them and had forgotten they were there until we found them almost a year later still posted on the pine.

When the sun had set and it was dark out we took our night vision equipment and tried to look in the direction of the eyes. At first we did not see anything however once we turned on an IR light source the reflectors shone very bright and were impossible not to see with the night vision equipment. In fact the reflectors appeared as two eyes shining against the IR light source. They looked just like the eye sine video that is posted by the BFRO, except brighter.

Now this was not a big deal at this point, a person that our group knew, Mr. X, placed these reflectors to scare some family members. He then decided to leave them or forgot them. No biggie right? Well we are not so sure. The members of Desert Bigfoot had been camping in the same location in December of 2008 and had met up with Mr. X, who was later known to have placed these reflectors. We had originally set up the meet with Mr. X to meet him as none of us had ever met him. We wanted to see if we could learn anything from him or somehow assist each other in our work. We had some reservations on this trip before meeting Mr. X, however we figured we would give him one meeting and then decide if we were going to accept him as an associate or distance our work from his.

On that December trip we had watched as Mr. X placed an IR flash game camera next to a stock tank where he left some honey as bait. Later several members of our group went back to look at this bait station with him and as they did this Mr. X stated he could see eye shine through his night vision. A member of our group scanned the area he had pointed out with a thermal camera and could not find anything giving off a heat signature. Before leaving he decided to turn on his night shot camcorder and see if he saw anything. After not observing anything he turned it off and returned to camp.

Several weeks later he was looking through his video footage and found that when he recorded this moment the camcorder picked up some eye shine. We thought we may have recorded some great eye shine footage and began to talk about the video clip within our group. One member of our group was skeptical as he had posted behind the group as they had returned to the bait station and was above the group documenting them from behind. He observed one of Mr. X’s family members ascend the hillside for a moment and then regroup with the others. Shortly after Mr. X stated he could see some eye shine.

The member of our group who witnessed this also said the location where the person went up the hill began to reflect in his night vision adapted camcorder as soon as that person walked back down the hill to rejoin the group. He thought this was very odd.

After these two separate incidents we began to piece two and two together and we think Mr. X may be trying to hoax us and others in the area. What other reason would there be for these two separate instances to have happened and what would they help to prove if anything?

We cannot prove Mr. X was trying to hoax us or others but the different instances do not add up. In fact we had spoken to Mr. X, asking him his perceptions on Tom Biscardi as we were still upset with someone who had taken some of our pictures and sent them to Tom without any permission. That was a different topic however and Mr. X stated he was also upset as he did not want any possible evidence to go to Tom. To us he stated he did not want anything to do with Tom or his organization. We have since learned that Mr. X has been a guest on Tom’s internet talk radio show. Who is he telling the truth to?

Now the reason for this post is because we are appalled by anyone who would ever try and hoax any person or group. The Bigfoot subject and research field already has too many stigmas because of the many hoaxers and jokers who have poked fun at or tried to make a quick buck off Bigfoot. They have given us all a black eye and we want no association with them or anyone who participates in such activities.

Desert Bigfoot and its members have no associations with these individuals and strongly disapprove of any such activity.

We took the time to take these reflectors down from the pine. We photographed them on the tree prior to doing so to document them. If anyone wants to claim them we have them and will keep them as evidence of a possible hoax. We had hoped that those searching for Bigfoot in Arizona would have stayed away from such a disgraceful activity. Integrity does not mean much to some people!

On December 20^th, 2008 the researchers of Desert Bigfoot and I returned to the camp ground in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness where we had camped on December 6^th, 2008 . During this trip we planned on staying for two nights instead of the single night trips we had been doing. When my wife, daughter, and I arrived at the camp ground John and Bernie were already there and had chosen to set up camp in the furthest south camp ground. There was three to six inches of hard packed snow on most of the ground at this location. The creek that paralleled the camp was running very heavy and created a loud ambience as water poured over the rocks heading down stream. The cold evening set in with the temperature being so low not too many preparations were made for the night.

We returned to camp and John, Bernie, and Vic went for a walk towards the closed fire road at the end of camp. During this time I sat talking with my wife at the campfire. As we were talking we both heard a distinct sound of what sounded like someone walking down the creek in the water. The sound stopped and started several times. As we were concentrating on listening to the movement over the loud creek my wife stated he heard two distinct low and drawn out growls coming from the same direction as the walking noise in the creek. We were about twenty-five feet from the creek and the lantern that was on in camp illuminated most of the creek bed along the camp.

After returning from the opposite end of camp the group walked back to the stock tank where we had left the honey. They spent some time near the tank and returned some time later saying that they had seen some eye shine with the night vision equipment but did not state further what they saw.  We all stayed up fairly late into the night waiting to have some kind of experience around the camp. We all went to bed without any such activity noticed or recorded.

The next morning we all drove up to the upper elevations attempting to gain entry into the bowl area above the camp. As we progressed through the box canyon the snow deepened to the point that there was almost two feet of it on the road. The group stopped in the second campground and waited as my family and I continued up the road slowly to check and see if the forest service gate was open. I drove through the thick snow until the snow forced me to stop as my truck in four low would not forge further. I knew I was several hundred yards from the gate so I walked the remainder on foot. The gate of course was still closed. We returned to the group and drove back down the canyon to the highway below.

We decided to try and attempt to ascend the next box canyon north of where we had been. This canyon had less snow on the ground but the creek and surrounding area was flooded with water. We again drove up the canyon ascending in altitude until the lead truck that had no four wheel drive was unable to continue. In this same area where we stopped we found numerous tree breaks in the small oaks and white firs that lined the road way. Many of these breaks were left hanging on the trees and several of the limbs had been twisted.

We returned to the highway slowly searching the forest for any sign of tree structures or tree breaks. We did find an unusual tree that had fallen into a crook of another tree leaving it leaning against the other tree. The tree that was leaning was over fifty feet long and the branches that had been on it were stripped. The unusual thing about this log was that there was no stump on the ground near the location where the tree was touching the ground. We looked around the surrounding area and did not see the stump for this particular tree. It appeared as if someone had placed this tree or log into the crook of the other tree.

At this time we again returned to the campsite and took some time to relax for the coming evening. It was during this time that my wife asked that we return home this evening instead of saying the second night. She had been too cold the night before and was unhappy in having to stay another night. We decided to pack up and leave. Victor had already left as he had another commitment to attend to.

We began packing at about six o’clock in the evening. At about six twenty we were packing up our tent when a series of loud but far howls were heard very distinctly to the east of camp on the ridge. The howls continued in a series of about five or six. Each howl lasted about three to four seconds in length and was separated by three to four seconds of silence. The howls themselves sounded very similar to a coyotes howl yet seemed to be mixed with a bit of a scream sound. My wife stated that to her it sounded like a woman was on the ridge screaming down at us. Everyone in camp heard the howls. John had his Edirol recorder on and believed he may have picked up the howls.

My family and I then traveled home. John and Bernie contacted us later the next afternoon and stated that the second night was very quiet and no activity was noticed.

Several weeks later John had been watching his video from the trip when he came upon a scene that he was unaware he recorded. When the group of men went back to the stock tank and some saw eye shine with night vision equipment John had recorded the forest facing him with his night shot video camera. The group also had used the thermal camera in this area when they saw the eye shine but the thermal camera did not pick up on anything in the area. John found that he had recorded two eyes or something that reflected as eye shine. In the video clip you can see the two possible eyes in the upper right corner of the screen. Just before the clip ends the eyes or reflections are seen turning to their right and slightly up. This movement leads me to believe that the reflections were indeed eyes that he captured with the camera but of what is unknown.

The Edirol recorder picked up the howls very faintly but the distance that they were led to a very hard to hear recording. The howls themselves were very intriguing to me and so I set out surfing the web looking for similar sounds. I found several recordings on the web that matched almost perfectly to what I had heard. I found the “

Illinois howl” recordings on the web site run by Stan Courtney. Stan had recorded these howls in Illinois . In his recordings you can hear several coyotes that are howling in the background. Then a different subject begins to howl and it sounds like the new subject is not making a very good attempt to copy the coyotes. Stan had these recordings analyzed and they were said to have been recorded by an unknown source that it did not match the coyotes in the recording.

 I shared the Illinois howl recordings with my wife and the rest of the group. They all stated that the howls on the recording were very close to what we heard the evening of the second night before my family and I left.

Illinois Howl Recordings

In preparation for the upcoming and past winter storms delivering a plentiful amount of snow to the area, the guys and I decided to take some time and scout out the area of Cherry Creek. On January   ,2009 the Desert Bigfoot crew decided to go and scout out possible lower altitudes where a Bigfoot may go to follow the migrating food sources and to avoid the snow and extreme cold of the upper elevations.

We met at the Salt River Diversion Dam Recreation site in the morning. When all had arrived we drove to the Cherry Creek Road turn off. We drove north through the Cherry Creek canyon heading to the back side of the Peak. The area below the Peak near the turn off was mostly high desert with typical desert fauna. As we progressed north and higher in elevation the canyon bottom fauna turns more into a chaparral landscape. This particular forest road ends just east of the city of Young almost to the top of the Mogollon Rim. The east side of the canyon borders the San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache reservations. The west side of the canyon borders the mountains of the Sierra Ancha Wilderness.

We drove about 15 miles into the canyon and had to cross the creek twice. At the first crossing location the forest service had built a spillway area where the water slows and spills over the cement road crossing at about eight inches deep. The second crossing was higher up into the canyon and this crossing had no spillway or bridge. The creek at this location was about three feet deep and the crossing location was river rock and sand. When we arrived at this second crossing we found another person verifying the depth of the creek so that he could cross. The four trucks crossed together without any incident. The crossing was a bit of a nail biter though.

Once we were all on the opposite side we found that the forest road condition changed drastically. The road had been washed out in several places by flooding and the road had not been maintained in some time. We continued on our journey slowly.

Our goal was to reach the back or north side of the peak to check out several canyons that led from the peak to the bottom of Cherry Creek Canyon . We arrived at the first canyon and our north progression was halted.

The first canyon crossing was the Devils Chasm Canyon . This canyon leads from an area just below the peak and off to the northeast. The other man who crossed the creek in his truck with us was going to this canyons trailhead. He stated to us that he had hiked up the canyon before and that there are old cave dwellings up in the cliffs of the canyon. He also stated the canyons hike was almost three miles up. This canyon appeared very treacherous and the man stated the hike was very strenuous. We decided the canyon may heed a future hike after the snow melts and the temperatures rise.

When we reached the area of Devils Chasm the taller pines and fir trees could be seen. A strong flowing creek flowed through the center from the elevations above. The creek had washed out the bridge that once crossed it leaving the culverts down stream. The road and creek bottom were too narrow for some of the trucks to cross as they would have become stuck against the sides of the creek. After taking photographs of the canyon and the trailhead area and doing some walking around we turned around and headed back down the canyon.

When we reached the desert floor we decided to investigate a second forest road that led up to a shelf or plateau that was just south and east of the peak. This shelf dropped several thousand feet from the bowl area yet was still several thousand feet above Cherry Creek. The escarpment overlooking the canyon was made of beautiful yet dangerous red rock cliffs. The forest road that led to the top was narrow and only passable by one vehicle at a time. There were no guard rails and the drop led over the red rock cliffs to the canyon below.

Once we reached the top the fauna was mostly chaparral. We followed the road until it ended at the Sierra Ancha Wilderness border at one of the wilderness’s numerous trail heads. At this trailhead we could over look the majority of the Coon Creek and Oak Creek Canyons . Coon Creek Canyon is a wide pine covered valley that roles over the top of the bowl above near the falls and gradually flows onto the top of the shelf. The Coon Creek then flows to the east and over the shelf into the Cherry Creek canyon below and joins Cherry Creek.

By looking at this valley from our position we figured that the Coon Creek Canyon would be the easiest and most natural way out of the bowl and peak areas above. If these creatures do follow the deer and elk out of the snow and cold temperatures to the lower elevations then this spot would be the best location in our eyes.

When we turned back to go back to the canyon floor we stopped and investigated an “X” that Bernie and John had found when we were driving up the road. The “X” was found on the south side of the road and was made up of two century plants flower stocks. These two stocks were then crossed and lent against a tall manzanita bush. A third stalk was then lent against the same manzanita and pointed off to the west. This third stalk seemed to be pointing to a large wide trail that meandered into the manzanita and juniper trees to the south. When we checked the opposite side of the road there was no other trail found.

It appeared as if this “X” marked a trailhead. This trail was worn to the dirt and about three to four feet wide, however there were no animal or human tracks seen. Either way, the “X” and its location were definitely out of place. On the other side of the “X” from the trail was a tall juniper tree. A part of this tree was dead and the dead branches were bent down to the ground. Placed inside the open area of this tree was a long piece of sandstone or flagstone. The rock was about eighteen inches long and rested on top of several of the dead branches.

We checked the area around the trail and the “X” and found that there were no century plants anywhere near the location. Therefore the stalks had to have been brought to this spot to create the “X”. At this time it was just passed two in the afternoon. We decided we wanted to investigate further the Coon Creek Canyon area. We drove back to Cherry Creek and then back down to the highway. Once we reached the highway we drove up to the opposite side of Coon Creek and entered into that area off of another forest road. This road was more treacherous and almost impassable by anything but a 4x4 truck. When we reached the edge of Oak Creek just south of Coon Creek the road ended at another trailhead at the edge of the wilderness. In this area of Oak Creek we passed an old cattle ranchers cabin named “Oak Creek Cabin”. Two deer hunters were using the cabin as shelter and smoke was seen coming from chimney.

After taking some time to make future plans and go over the areas we went through that day we decided to call it a day and head for home.    

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