It was the middle of the summer, beginning of August, about five years ago. I was camping out in the Gravelly Range, Beaverhead National Forest, south of Ennis and Cameron, Montana, not too far from Yellowstone.

I found a spot for the night about ten to twelve miles west off of the pavement of Hwy.287 on a logging/forest access road. About 4-500 yards off of the dirt road in, on what could barely be called a road, I found a clearing of about 150 yards in a small bowl valley, surrounded on three sides by small forested hills/mtns. with a clearing to the east, perfect for what i was looking for. I camped out by sleeping in the back of my little truck, back end open toward the eastern horizon, to take full advantage of the warmth offered by the sun as soon as possible. I parked in the open, front of the truck facing straight toward the trees about 20 yards away, another 10-20 yards in and the trees made for some real cover.

Just 10 or 15 minutes after the sun broke the horizon, I was awake but bundled up, waiting on that warmth, it was very still and very quiet...
when way off to my right, probably at about 150 yards, I heard a stick break...few seconds later, another. Then a few more seconds later, another break, bigger, louder, closer! and now I'm paying attention, listeningly intently. Every 30-40 seconds, I hear something coming closer, and closer, and closer...for about no more than probably 7-8 minutes, but it felt like a long time, to the point where something got to where it was directly behind me. I heard it gradually the whole way, to right behind me. Sounded like it might have gotten as close as maybe 75 feet away...I was bundled up under my blankets the whole time, not moving, not making a sound, but by this point, I remembered being concerned if I might be exhaling too loudly. I admit I was spooked, a little scared. But I was also wondering, curious.....And then nothing. No sound at all. For about five minutes, not a sound, and I'm thinking 'what the..? how the..?'...but nothing...so curiousity got the best of me, and real quickly I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my campaxe from my side, jumped out of the truck, and ran straight back into the woods 50 yards, stopped. listened. looked around. nothing. ran further another forty yards...expecting to see a bear... but nothing.

So I walked back wondering...and invigorated. Packed up my stuff and was rolling out of there half an hour to an hour later. I noted the story in my journal, but didn't make much of it.

Then, a couple of years later, I had my sighting and went from giving bigfoot little or no thought to being case-closed convinced. In hindsight, I remembered this episode in a new light. I figure there could really only be three possibilities:
1. Someone was hiking in the forest in a remote part of Montana at sunrise, casually, carelessly, making a little noise, until he noticed my presence, and hurriedly snuck away to avoid any encounter.
2. A bear, moose, elk, or maybe a deer, was traipsing through the woods, saw or smelled me, and then very quickly, carefully and quietly snuck away.
3. Or else this just might have been another encounter with a sasquatch, which I think is actually the most probable explanation.

..man...nothing.
So i share something to peer review...
'peers' at least as far as like/open-minded...
hey, what do you say?.....
crickets

so i'll try again with the questions i was going to get to anyway...

Anybody know much about Montana sightings? They seem so few and far between. I've been through there quite a bit and it seems like Bigfoot nirvana...remote, mountainous wilderness, low population, abundant game, lush forests. Relatively low population and low internet access/usage probably accounts for the so few reports of sightings...unless maybe there just really aren't many in that particular region?
Glacier National Park and The Bob Marshall Wilderness probably make up the largest mass of near-pristine isolation that is still possible, despite the tourists on the few roads, the hikers mostly on trails, the guides and hunters...

and it would seem possible that you have more than adequate wilderness to allow for virtually uninterrupted, almost unexposed migration possibilities from Yellowstone through and along Montana and Idaho, across and down Washington, Oregon to California. I would doubt that individual populations would migrate greatly, but possible, nonetheless?

but I would really think that from 'the Bob', through Glacier, over to the Yaak, into norther Idaho's deep lush forests, Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, Bonner's Ferry, Priest Lake, and then into Washington.....there's gotta be more there than we hear, wouldn't you think?

...and oh yeah, what do you think of my 'hearing?'...

I bet there are a good amount of squatches in Montana, but there's nobody around to see them. At least, not as many as in other areas like North California, Oregon and Washington... I agree with you about it being prime Bigfoot territory, it seems like they would be at home there... I was actually also wondering why there are so few reports that come out of Montana. Could just be a coincidence I guess...

You may want to check here. but I think that the numbers would be less than 5 people per sqaure mile..With most of them being in the larger population centers....not very many people and a large area of mountainous and foressted area...not very conducive to sightings imo.

Thanks for sharing that Sojourn. I know I would have been skeered pea green.

I did not see your post until today, Sojourner, when it got bumped up to the top. There are WAY too many threads to read here and not enough time to read them. I also agree that there are most likely lots of BF in Montana. Like Jim and The Forest Ape said, the population is pretty small and MT is a big state. I'm sure that's why we don't hear about more sightings.

That's probably true in the case of Montana but I've always wondered if there are just some places where the native population is especially reluctant to talk about such things. In particular, I wonder about West Virginia. Ohio, right next door, seems to record a decent number of accounts and there's an active research group based there but not WVa. The conditions, especially the rugged terrain over much of the state, seems entirely suitable for Bigfoot but on Web sites I visit, there just don't seem to be many reports from there.

sojourner, just out of curiosity, have you been back to that area since the incident or have any plans to?

Thank you guys for your responses.

This happened in the last few days of July or first few days of August of 1998. I passed through the area again without stopping in July/August of 2000. And actually, I didn't even think of it again at the time. My sighting was elsewhere in June of 2001, and now I'm always thinking of and looking for bigfoot when I'm out and about. Whole new motivation to go out now...

I'll try to pinpoint the location, in case anyone wants to know a little more precisely:
Not too far from Yellowstone National Park. From West Yellowstone, north and west along 287 about about 40 miles. Turn west off the highway, across the Madison River, past a public campground (why would anyone go that far, only to camp in a parking lot just off the road with a bunch of other people?), south along the river for a little bit, then turning west and uphill into the Gravelly Range, north of Flatiron Mtn. on the approach to Big Horn Mtn. just barely getting into the remote area, ten miles off of pavement or so, but you could easily go another 60 miles and see very little evidence of people.

Hopefully, I can get about a week in Montana/Idaho next summer...
But my primary focus is now in what I believe to be BFRO's southern Colorado/northern New Mexico location.
But my brother moved to Alabama, so I'll probably visit there in the spring which means roadtrip Denver to Prattville, with a night or two for a first look in SE Oklahoma. Any suggestions for AL, Forest Ape? Then, on the return, I'd like to stop in East Texas.
Wouldn't it be great to somehow actually really dedicate yourself to this pursuit full- time. Yes, I would like to travel and campout and get paid for it, too!

i wanna hear the story behind THIS

come on, share......
gael

http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=6552

I mentioned it elsewhere here once before, but this is what settled the matter for me.

thanks for the link. i hadnt read that one before. i'm impressed that you pulled off the road shortly after the sighting to sleep. seeing something like that would keep me awake for days.

gael

I even thought that at the same time.
...but I had turned around and gone back the opposite direction a little ways, and the mid-size bigfoot was was heading briskly in an away direction...
...and by now, it was late, the end of a very long day which began at sunrise on the western edge of Zion National Park,rode the bus up and down Zion Canyon, did a super-fast race around the Grand Canyon a bit, then crossed all of the Navajo/Hopi reservation(They sure do like Metallica!)...and I really needed to find any suitable place to camp/park/hide for the night, and had been trying for about an hour up and down this road...very long incredible day and I really, really needed to crash.

Probably the single most incredible day of my life, now that I'm thinking about it in detail. Forgive me this story. Drove way up the night before, end of a dirt road which put me on the fenceline that is the western Boundary of Zion. Spectacular motel room! Sunrise like you wouldn't believe. Into Zion Park among the first, catch the first bus up the canyon. Rode on an empty bus except for a beautiful, blond teacher from Connecticut and her sister and brother, had a great time, hit it off well, but no, it couldn't be..so...

...Gas stop in Kanab, where sparrows jostled for position in picking wet and delicious bug guts off the front of each newly arriving buffet.
..Raced straight to the North Rim of The Grand Canyon, wandered around there for awhile, walking fast, and again, getting along impossibly well with a different girl...very nice looking busty brunette who was definitely much too young for me...definitely a charmed day!..took a look from the overlook road to the east and south...

..and kept flying...past the Vermillion Cliffs, down to Tuba City, on the res.,where I stopped for gas and grub again. Had a very cool brief meeting with an indian guy who was admiring my new Nissan pickup, while I was admiring his real old, real nice pickup...very cool cruising road 264 to Ganado, top off the gas again, piece of jerky, smiles when I hold the door for the group of indian girls.

Our flight continues north on 191 as it is getting dark, 70 mph I think it was.
When at dark, I see a truck parked off on the shoulder, no hazards, I let off the gas, when suddenly there are sheep all over the place..
I barely have a chance to touch my brakes, when I swerve slightly, and pass through about five on the road, but thread the needle between two so close it was amazing!

Whoa! Slow down, catch my breath, thank God.

Now I'm cruising comfortably haul-assedly again. As you get near Chinle, the road turns left and then a long downhill just before a hard, wide right. Just before the right bend, there is a road that comes on from the left. I'm getting close, when a truck comes up. I'm thinking "no, no way, don't" but he does and turns in front of me so close that rather than slowing down drastically I decide to shoot around him since I had long, open, visible road. Well, he gets on it as much as he could to not let me get by but I actually pass him at like 80 through this big corner. Then he gets right on my ass, real close. I slow down to let him go then, but he doesn't, but stays as close on me as he can. I speed up, so does he.
So this had to stun him. I quickly veered onto the dirt shoulder, hit my brakes, and he could do nothing but look at me as he passed. The two indian guys kept on.

Back and forth through Chinle a little, and then I head up 7 along the southern edge of Canyon de Chelly, trying to fing a sleep spot. One close above town, almost like a park, too much traffic.
Up another dirt 'road' not too far back when a small house with no lights, and a dog running out fills my headlights as I turn to head back...
..another dirt road, go back a ways, and again a unlit house suddenly is before me, with two people standing in an open doorframe, and I turn around again.
..another dirt road, finally a spot that will work, and then in my headlights, four side-by-side dirt mounds with flowers on them. Aahh! Uh, no! I'm not camping out next to indian graves...

Back out on 7, heading southeast and mostly gently uphill, really wondering what I'm gonna do. This is all private property on the reservation, not like camping in the national forests.

I'm driving slowly now on this dirt road, when somebody comes racing up behind me, real close. I don't change at all and they back off. Way off. Then it happens again, but then they pass me and race ahead. Now that's getting a little concerning. I suspected it might have been the same guys again but couldn't tell for sure. Then a little ways ahead, up ahead about a quarter-mile, I see a car stopped. I didn't like it and quickly turned to head back in the direction I had just come from. No further encounters with them.

So I'm heading back, desperately now, to go back to a possible spot in mind. Back about halfway, when Iturn aroun again. Must've missed it. Driving slowly. Looking.

and bigfoot walked across right in front of me, in my lights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if I wasn't going so slowly, I very well could've hit it.
I was so stunned, I just kept going. Camera at my side. Just saw where it walked across a dirt road and may have left great tracks. But I didn't even think of it.
I thought , ape! And I thought, ape?
Bigfoot!

and real soon thereafter, I turned around yet again, back to where I got on pavement, took a right just a little ways to it s end, on Canyon property, at the edge or close to it somewhere, a finally force found a spot to duck into the trees. Took another ten minutes to hurriedly unfurl my bedding and gear, and as tired as I was, as long and incredible as the day was, I was up for a little while yet... thinking and stargazing...and listening...'till about midnight.

Yep. Come to think of it, I'd have to say that was definitely the single most incredible day of my life. Absolutely true.

and I gotta get some sleep....

http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=6574

...and if you throw this in also,
this thread contains the sum of my experience in the field,
and I'm definitely hooked!