BIGFOOT'S BLOGMid-Late July 2012 Edition
Members from the Bluff Creek Film Site Project finally made it back into the Patterson-Gimlin film site area over the June 23-24 weekend (and of course, despite it being June, it rained on us). We found many changes in the creek had occurred over what was a fairly mild winter. This was due in large part to the fine job the US Forest Service had done when closing down the former dirt road down to the creek. They tore out the culvert and made banks for the small feeder creek that enters Bluff Creek just below the filming area. This was supposed to be the new creekbed, hence destroying the old road and any vehicle access down to the site itself. The creek, however, wasn't having any of it, and tore out a large portion of the gravel, grass, groundcloth and branches that were supposed to prevent erosion. This debris all ended up in the "big gulch" at the bottom of the general film site area. A dam was thus created, which forced the creek to flow into its northern channel, right up at the edge of the lower sandbar. Hence, access down into the creek has changed, and a whole course area was closed off with gravel and sand. Now there is more log hopping and less wading involved in getting across the creek and up on the sandbar. Some good aspects, and some bad; but it shows how things can change in a major way in just one season.
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| PGF Site Features as of 2011. See how things have changed! Click to Enlarge. The upper middle creek course is now gone, as are the features seen in the upper right two photos. That pool and creek course are now gone. |
We were happy to find that the upper sandbar, where the PGF was actually shot, was still intact and unharmed. Our survey flags were all still there, save for a few chewed up by animals, and the test tracks we had made in the sand were still there. This latter confirms what John Green said, that he and Jim McClarin had returned to the site in June 1968, upon its first opening after the winter right after the October 1967 film was shot, and that they found the trackway of the film subject based upon tracks still visible in the sand and gravel. Well, folks and debunkers, it IS POSSIBLE. We proved it. We left our test tracks uncovered, in unsheltered areas, and dug them down to the approximate depth of the PGF creature's tracks. They were easily discernable after the eight months elapsed since we'd left them in late October. If our tracks lasted, there is no reason that the ones left by the film subject could not have. This means that this part of the claims of debunkers is wrong. Bob Gimlin did not lie about the tracks being covered, as Titmus found and cast them in good condition. Green and McClarin almost certainly did not lie about the trackway being found the following summer, and in fact could have replicated the course of the subject accurately. They could even have found the boot tracks of Patterson at his filming spot, for that matter, if they were dug in distinctively and deeply in one area. The sand of the Bluff Creek bar does in fact have the capacity to hold disturbances for a number of winter months, it is now undeniable.
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| First Track Test, still showing clearly. |
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| Track in the Ground, larger context. |
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| The Second Test Track, showing clear depth and shape retention. |
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| Front End of the PGF Site, near where the first frames were shot. Also looking past where the test tracks were made to left. |
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| Area Below the Pool at the Crook in the Creek, below the PGF sandbar. This is near where the creature would first have been seen. The pool is now gone, and that flow of the creek a mere trickle; the main flow now is toward the top of the photo. |
The following photos were all taken by me, and copyrighted, even though they are often kind of blurry due to the low light conditions in the overgrown sandbar woods, which my tiny cell phone camera does not like too well.
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| Below the Site, Looking Toward First Sighting Spot, just upstream from the previous photo spot. This is where Bobo walked in the Finding Bigfoot TV re-enactment. |
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| Our geologist, Jamie, in front of the Big Tree. |
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| Jamie with Tree, looking toward the northeast and the Middle Tree, past the Maple. |
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| The BIG TREE. |
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| Big Tree and Maple, from the east somewhat. |
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| More Big Tree |
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| Middle Tree and Spiky Snag. |
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| Closer up to the Big Tree. |
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| Small Wash Creek, that flows into the northeastern end of the PGF Site sandbar. |
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| Me, with the "Bowling Alley" behind, end of film site. |
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| Jamie Snowhorse and Rowdy Kelley, at edge of "Bowling Alley," Bluff Creek is seen flowing in the background. Eastern end of site. |
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| Lovely Bluff Creek with alders and vine maples, near where the PGF subject retreated, either up the creek or across to the other side. The old fir debris piled here is an example of the remains of the 1964 flood and salvage logging of 1965-66, still present on-site. |
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| Site growth density, showing how thick it is in there on the sandbar. It also shows how difficult it is to get a non-blurry handheld photograph in there. |
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| Jamie in the Creek, looking upstream below PGF Site. "Where Bobo Walked" in Finding Bigfoot. |
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| Rowdy in the Creek, looking downstream past the trickle coming from the former big pool at the crook in the creek. Log Jam still present. This is where the creature was first seen, approximate camera location. |
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| Rowdy, showing new creek course behind him, near Gimlin's first sighting spot. |
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| The former pool at the crook in the creek, now just a trickle. This image shows the height of the 1964 sandbar, compared to current creek depth. |
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| Close-up, showing the nature of the PGF site gravel layering and accumulation. |
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| Downstream from the pool, looking at the logjam and the spot where the film subject was first seen squatting by the creek. This was the main bed of the creek's flow last fall. Now look at it... a trickle. |
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| Blurry it is, but look to the very center... that pink flag is where Gimlin stood last summer and identified the spot where they stood and first saw Bigfoot. The flag is on the small side-leaning branch at middle. |
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| In failing light, here is a blurry view leaving the PGF Site and heading downstream. |
I will leave you with a better photograph from the next day's investigation of the Dry Lake BFRO Thermal Sighting. More on that in the next blog entries....
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| View of the Klamath River Valley, with Bluff Creek stemming out to left. Taken from the ridge south of Bluff, near Dry Lake. All photos above copyright 2012, Steven Streufert. |
"McClarinJ, July 19, 2012 6:57 PM
Oh boy, I'm not a liar ;-) Let me say that the tracks John and I saw in the summer of '68 during our recreation shoot were not distinct enough to have been recognized as Bigfoot tracks by us if I had not seen them shortly (two weeks?) after Titmus had been there or if we had not recognized the site from the film."
Hey Jim, I'm always happy to prove that the good old boys were telling the truth!
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ANGRY BIGFOOT SPEAKS!
What me Angry? That be my name. But me not angry, for real. Me say thing I heard hu-man say, which make sense good. "I used to be disgusted, now I just try to be amused."
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This blog is copyright and all that jazz, save for occasional small elements borrowed for "research" and information or satirical purposes only, 2003-2012, Bigfoot Books and Steven Streufert. Borrowings for non-commercial purposes will be tolerated without the revenge of Angry Bigfoot, if notification, credit, citation and a kindly web-link are given, preferably after contacting us and saying, Hello, like a normal person would before taking a cup of salt. No serious rip-offs of our material for vulgar commercial gain will be tolerated without major BF stomping action coming down on you, hu-man.
