The beauty and mystery of Bigfoot research

When I began my journey into Bigfoot research, I did not know were it would lead me. Into the woods, perhaps. That goes without saying. I really believe I was searching for something. Yes, I was looking for the Florida skunk ape, but I found so much more.

The Beauty And Mystery Of Bigfoot Research
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I have been a city dweller all my life and after thirty years in Florida, I had yet to see little of what it had to offer. Most of my vista views were confined to the interstate highway. I was not prepared for all that I would soon discover.

There is an abundance of nature that I had only seen photographs of before I went into the woods. There were trees and plants and swamps and 'gators and birds and smells and things I was only beginning to find out about.

There was a sense of solace and peace that I needed desperately. The last few years have been tough economically, but when you go out to the remote areas, all of that is left behind. My friends wondered why I wanted to go on my camping trip last March. If you have to ask, you cannot understand.

A poacher caught on trail cam

This hunter walked right by the trail cam. It was at night and I guess he did not see it
I am glad because I think he was a poacher.
This was a SWIFMUD area clearly marked NO HUNTING.  When they do allow controlled hunts, it is also clearly marked.
If he was a poacher, he could have easily destroyed the camera.

The Olympic Project

The Olympic Project lead by Derek Randles of Washington State is begining to yield some interesting results. Their stealth campaign of deep field trail cam deployment in one of the most ambitious projects in the history of bigfoot research.

The idea for the Olympic Project was first thought of by Richard Germeau and long time Bigfoot researcher Derek Randles. Richard, a Washington native, has an extensive background in law enforcement and investigation. Derek, a landscape contractor and wilderness guide in Washington State, is currently a field investigator and tracker with the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO). Wally Hersom, the main benefactor for the BFRO, provides all the equipment to make this effort possible. Expert woodsmen and big game trackers, Brian Rasmussen and Robert Johnson, round out the Olympic Project team. This five year study will hopefully provide the first clear pictures of Bigfoot along with photographic documentation of many apex predators and ungulates living and moving throughout their natural habitat.

They have deployed 30 deep field digital trail cams that are set at a height of over 4 feet to eliminate triggers by low level four leggeg beast. This project has already began to yield results such as the image above that may indeed show the right front side of a sasquatch that is raising its arm.

What the trail cam last spring yielded

This was six months ago before this area became a lake. The pig would have been under water. The last deployment taught us that wildlife loves the swamp area when its dry and that pigs don't swim. Without critters, the big guy stays out as well. :
We went back to trail cam "C" after three weeks in field. We loaded new batteries and switched out the media card. This game cam will sit out until November. That will the only time it will be possible to get back in there. The storm season is upon us in Florida and the water in the bugs will prevent any real access to this area. That is exactly what we want.

If this animal is a swamp beast, this will be the perfect environment for him. You can see by these pictures that the area is teaming with wildlife and other predatory animals. Food sources abound. Combine water, cover, vegetation and meat and you got a skunk ape paradise.

A Wiley Coyote

He sees the camera..damn that Wiley boy

A mother in her child on a misty morning

A black hog

A wild turkey (bottom left)

Kevin and I exchanged the old batteries for the new Copper Tops that should provide enough life until November. The purpose of this trial cam project is long term and months left in field is the ultimate goal. Short outings, even up to a month, is not reccomended by people with lots of experience doing this. The criptid can smell man like deer can. Your scent is left behind up to five days after you have left the area. You really want the area to be clear of your presence and let the trail cam "settle in" and become part of the environment.
For example, Derick Randles of the Olympic Project says they leave their cams in field for six months in very remote locations. It often takes overnight backpacking trips to reach them. They have to be marked with GPS coordinates so they don't lose any units.
That would be our ultimate goal with this project. Areas north of the Green Swamp such as Ocala National Forest would afford overnight backpacking to reach areas in the wilderness areas, far away from any campers with RV's.

Strange night at a trail cam

 
In the above image you see its clear in front of the camera. Suddenly, something moves in front of the camera mounted 5 feet off the ground (look below).

Something now blocks the screen. It was gone in the next frame.

This is trail cam number one and it has been up for one month.  I visited the site Sunday and I am glad I did because some strange things have been going on, as you can see above.

First, the cheap batteries are down to 61%. There is no way that will keep the camera charge through storm season.  Second, there were 301 images on the Reconyx conferming my belief that this was a nature rich area.

After downloading the media card, there were images of hogs, deer, turkeys, racoons and something Kevin and I cannot explain.

In a one second interval, something moved in front of the viewfinder completely obstructing the lense on a dark, cold night (the same night we were camping in another area).

These images above are from a two interval set when the camera fired for 24 seconds.

The image does appear white, but keep in mind that animals close to the Reconyx RC60 will cause the camera to flare giving it a bleached out look. I don't know what kind of animal could obscure the lense at over five feet. Kevin does not know either.

We do not represent this as anything Skunkape related. It is what it is.

Check out my new blog at http://www.timfasano.net/

First trail cams images from the Reconyx RC60

Night thermal image looking for Bigfoot

On March 5, 2012 the Reconyx RC60 shot a series of images at 3:33 - 3:34 AM. The images are clear and what you would expect with a night optics camera. However, I cannot see anything moving that would have set the camera off. Perhaps someone with a better eye will.
I believe an animal may be on the periphery of the camera, either under it, or to the left or right. The same thing happened on March 10 on a sunny Saturday morning. Again, nothing can be seen moving during the three frame shoot. Better luck next time, I guess.

The same area at daylight

On the night shot, something may have been out there. I just can't tell. The daytime shot is a mystery. It could not  have been wind. We have been under a high pressure system and you can see in the images nothing is moving, like tree branches. I still believe something was on the edge of the camera.

I have left the camera up and it is on permanent assignment. With good batteries, you only need to check it every six months. That will be the goal for all my cameras.