Distinctly Montana Magazine

22 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 4 A HIGH-COUNTRY RANCHER is surprised by an indescribable wail emanating from the timber adjacent to his southern pasture near Libby. A former deputy sheriff is jolted awake by an unimaginable roar from the ridge above his home near Missoula. Two children fishing with their grandfather stumble upon a line of 17-inch man-like barefoot tracks along a stream near Brown- ing. A late-night truck driver is astonished to encounter a biped- al hair-covered humanoid figure crossing the highway near St. Regis with a dead deer under its arm. These are just a few experiences, amongst dozens, being re- ported by fellow Montanans across the state, describing encoun- ters with what is commonly known as sasquatch or bigfoot. I can hear you now, "Oh, c'mon, those aren't real!" But have you ever asked yourself, truly asked, WHY they can't be real?... Person- ally, I am convinced that we have been conditioned for decades by the wide array of media to brush aside this type of story as a ridiculous myth or tabloid farce. I have been involved in bigfoot research for 25 years and I am here to tell you that if you peel back just a couple layers of that saturated mockery and really look at the information available, you might be surprised at what you find. During my 40 years in Montana, have I seen one? No. But, let me share with you per- sonal experiences and compelling arguments that might help explain why I believe: My story began while on an eight-year hiatus from Montana, teaching high school in central California in the late '90s. Whoa, we got internet for the first time! Little did I know, my explo- ration of this new-fangled web, via the earliest search engines (remember AltaVista?), would land me two months later dining in a roadside lodge in a remote area of northern California, sur- rounded by a dozen complete strangers ready to kick off an actu- al bigfoot expedition… Led by former police officer John Freitas, and promoted through the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organiza- tion (BFRO), "Mission Night Scream" was the first of its kind; "call blasting" recordings of purported bigfoot vocalizations through the hours of night in hopes of hearing, and recording, return calls, with a response team at the ready. Did we discover an unknown primate? No. Was it terrifying? You bet. But, after- wards? Man, am I in! Searching the darkest forests on Earth at night in pursuit of a giant hairy monster?!? All in. The defining "hook, line, and sinker" experience for me, how- ever, occurred several months later, when I, with five friends, initiated my own expedition to the Bluff Creek drainage in northern California. After blasting a few calls across the canyons, we hiked miles from a locked gate to a mountain lake, not another soul within 25 miles. At about 9:30 p.m., after setting up tents and cooking some dinner, we suddenly heard a weird whistle across a small meadow 50 yards away. It was immediately followed by the most intense, aggressive scream you can by KELLY BERDAHL ROBERT RATH Why I - - Believe

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