As I reflect on my 2013 year of squatching, I have made several conclusions that I consider important:

• Never assume anything while out investigating.  Usually what you expect is the opposite of what will happen.
• Being in the right place at the right time does pay off sometimes.  
• Persistence and the willingness to be out in the field almost every weekend help establish your presence with our forest friends.
• Being respectful of the forest and all who reside in it.
• Able to read their signs in the forest is crucial.
• The most important conclusion that I have made that had a huge impact is being unpredictable while out in the field.  

Why would being unpredictable while out in the field be important?

My three visuals of BigFoot happened because I was being unpredictable while out investigating.  Some of the best eye shine I have ever seen was because I did the unexpected.  When you factor this into the equation it makes sense.  What many in this field fail to realize is that our forest friends are primates. What is a couple of the primate's innate characteristics?  Curiosity and the drive to figure things out.

How was I being unpredictable?

I was following a track of 14 inch prints along a game trail.  I was measuring and taking pictures when I suddenly glanced up towards the cliffs.  I stood still and just looked at where I thought I saw movement.  I suddenly saw a grizzled brown Sasquatch leaned down from standing next to a tree and watched me.  I saw the hair on its head swayed back and forth from its movement to lean down to look at me.  Then it turned around and climbed up the rock behind it.    

 What was I doing that it wasn't expecting me to do?  I was engrossed in the prints, talking loudly to myself and taking my backpack off/on.  I suddenly looked up towards the cliffs and not at the ground or the area right by the game trail.  I don't know why I looked when I did.  I think corner of my eye caught its movement.

An hour later, a black one was peeking at me.  It stood between the large boulder and a tree.  When I leaned to the left it leaned the same way.  When I leaned to the right it leaned to the right.  At one point I leaned a bit further to the left and when it did the same thing I clearly saw the whole head and both shoulders.  I think it came to peek because I was playing an instrument when I spotted its movement up and to my right.  Since I saw both on the same day I consider this one visual even though I saw 2.  

 At this location, my husband and I was following signs down a ravine.  At this spot we found these trees that looked like they were dragged and placed between the trees in the ravine.  You could tell that the trees did not break off and fall that way.  We couldn't find the bottoms.  Surrounding this structure was 3 tree breaks.   After exploring and taking pictures we continued down the ravine.  Just past this point the ravine splits to the left and to the right.  We had been staying to the left of the ravine much of the time.  I decided to go to the right while my husband was back behind me and to the left.  In fact I moved quickly.  Ten feet in front of me on the embankment I saw a BIG mahogany brown one watching me.  It quickly moved to my left , then turned and then left.  I only saw the chest, shoulder and head.  The face was a lighter color than the body.  IT WAS BIG. 

At another location, I found this pathway that had some large impressions coming down.  We were camping down below this spot.  Later in the afternoon we took food to the gifting area that has been used many times in the past for this group of Sasquatch.  After placing the food and calling them in, 3 people were walking around the food but I had turned and moved away from the food area.  I decided to look up in the direction of where the pathway of impressions I had found earlier in the day.  I figured they may be coming down through there to watch us.  My hunch was correct.  I spotted 3 black ones watching us.  The one in the middle was the biggest.  It swayed back and forth the whole time.  It turned its head to watch one of us move closer.

  At this location, I spotted eye shine within 100 feet.  I was sitting by the camp fire by myself.  My husband decided to go sit in the jeep to hear the hockey game.  I was just sitting there playing with the fire with a stick.  I suddenly looked up and saw eye shine that flared when I saw it.  I stood up and watched it.  I knew it was fairly close because it was pretty big.  I saw it moved to my right.  I quickly went and got my husband.  We watched the eye shine from at least 2 off and on for 2 hours moving around our campsite.  When we moved unexpectedly the eye shine would flare.  Several times we were able to see the eye shine change colors.  That was how close they came.

The common denominator from these encounters was doing something that caught their attention and then doing the unexpected that caught them off guard.  Their curious nature gets them to come in but being able to catch them off guard when they are not expecting it is the key.

I love this adventure!  Who knows what 2014 will hold for me and our forest friends?

SQUATCH ON!