I do not want to believe in Bigfoot. It is too scary.

Having said that, I would be remiss to ignore any mysterious experiences along the Bigfoot Trail.

D Camp

D Camp is a very important place along the Bigfoot trail. On the first day of the first section, D Camp lies about half way to Frying Pan Lake. It is just at the point where one runs out of water.

There is not much of interest that we could find at D Camp. It is not particularly comfortable. It is a spot on the side of a hill. We never found anywhere to make a nice camp. We were thinking that we might want to bookmark it as a potential stop to divide the hiking day.

The water available here is crucial to the success of making it in a ten or more mile day one. However, it comes in the form of a scuzzy little hole filled with insects, frog eggs, and decaying pine needles. The spring fills a tiny pool that is about 2 ft in diameter and 2-3 inches deep.

When one dips for water, he stirs up the mud and muck from the bottom and the water tastes gritty and dirty.

Not only did we not enjoy D Camp. Owen and I got very strong “bad vibes”. We both decided we should get out of there as quickly as we could.

On our hike back out, we made the obligatory stop at D Camp to get water and eat some lunch.

As we were eating, I noticed something fall beside Owen. He turned around and asked who threw a rock at him. A rock had “fallen” right beside him. But how does a rock fall from the sky without having been thrown?

Shortly after, Owen blurts out “oh, gross”. A dead chipmunk was laying just beside where we had been eating. Flies had just begun to swarm.

I believe that my friend Loren would suggest that the “bad vibes” we felt were a warning from Bigfoot. He believes that people get a bad feeling when they are around. I have heard him suggest that Bigfoot can actually emanate vibrations that can warn or even stun people.

I believe that Loren would also claim that a rock could be thrown from Bigfoot as another warning. The rock did not seem to be thrown hard but it did land just at Owen’s feet and we both noticed it.

Loren could also suggest that the chipmunk might have been left for us as a gift or another warning. We did not particularly enjoy this gift. Loren claims that no animal will touch anything left by Bigfoot.

We packed up and left D Camp as quickly as we possibly could.

Frying Pan Lake

Nothing but good vibes at Frying Pan Lake.

I did find a dead squirrel laying in the dirt adjacent to where my tent had lay the week before. This carcass was somewhat rotten. I am no crime scene investigator, but it seemed that it might have been rotting there for five days or so. Placed, perhaps, when I was just there?

Animal Sacrifice

It was certainly out of the ordinary to uncover a site that was used in some sort of dark magic ritual.

I thought the empty shoebox was litter until I turned it over and made a discovery of several artifacts and noticed the detritus of a bird slaughter.

There were sea shells, dead butterflies, various rocks, fruit (a grapefruit and a lemon), a bouquet of flowers, and feathers of various birds.

I was thinking that the bird feathers were probably from a chicken brought out to sacrifice but I sadly discovered the severed head of a woodpecker.

While I looked around and considered why this site was used ritualistically, I noticed that there was a very large log jam adjacent to the altar. If a portal to another plane exists or if a den was created by Bigfoot, it could certainly be here.

Is this where some kids were getting their kicks in the woods? Probably. Is this where a secret coven appeases a dark spirit? Possibly. Is this where someone in the know keeps a monster at bay? Unlikely.

Soaked Shirt

Day three of Section 2 started off with a mystery. The mystery was solved later in the day.

When I woke up and started getting ready to hike, I could not find my hiking shirt anywhere. I had set it by my head as I got in my sleeping bag to go to bed. I specifically remember taking it off and laying it down because it was still damp from hiking (and snow sliding) and would have been uncomfortable to sleep in.

It was gone.

I mentioned that I lost my shirt to the guys. David must have thought I was a klutz because I did leave my spoon during lunch on the Stuart Fork (I am going back for it). Loren cheerfully set out to look for it.

It was then that I noticed that my hiking gloves were sopping wet. I did not really think that much about that at the time. I must have thought that they did get wet while I had been snow sliding.

Loren found my shirt. It too was sopping wet.

Loren told me that he found it crumpled up between a couple of rocks.

My head was spinning: I wondered if it had blown into the lake and some campers had found it and pulled it out. But then why would they have thrown it between two rocks instead of laying it on the trail to be found? I looked around for puddles that it could have blown through. There was absolutely no water on the bluff overlooking the lake.

The shirt was sopping wet. I had to wring it out. Clearly, the shirt had been submerged in water. What kind of creature would soak a shirt in the lake and then drag it back up 20 feet to throw between a couple of rocks?

The morning was too cool to put on a shirt that was sopping wet. I decided to hike in my camp shirt and let my hiking shirt dry off. David teased me, “Be bold. Start cold.” I was still scratching my head about what could have happened with my shirt.

The only thing that I could think of was someone or something playing a prank on me. I did not think that either of my companions had the heart to play a prank like this. Loren’s voice kept creeping into my head. “Bigfoot plays mean pranks on people.” He has told me that many times.

As I hiked along the trail, the only thing that I could think of was that Bigfoot had malevolently and mischievously played a prank on me.