I don't eat the hogs, have friends that do, and they make damn good tamales out of them.

There is a local legend about two German Sheppard's that went wild several years ago, and have been breeding with the local Coyote population, producing a larger hybrid of the two. I just assumed it was way to explain what I always thought were Wolves in the area, and still do. The two above did have that hybrid look, but I have seen the Wolves out here, and they are different.

Here's a 'deer' friend of mine........comes to see me everyday.

Better get back to something more related to 'The Quest', even though I think the bones & wildlife do play an obvious role. This is certainly a vibrant wilderness, with several large preditors at work, and an abundance of prey species available to them. Depending on the season, many edible plants as well.

In my opinion, and from what I have seen, it would seem that Bigfoot's migrate to some degree. Food sources and weather patterns would be obvious reasons, but I'm sure there are others. My main focus, and the area I need help with, are the Power Lines that go through this part of the Hill Country, in a North/South direction. If you were trekking through this area, it would certainly offer the easiest route, and path of least resistance.......you could really cover some ground. There is evidence of wild life moving along the Lines in the form of game trails and scat. But what I find most interesting, are the deliberate structures I find near the Power Line's, and in the woods. They are made from breaking and manipulating tree limbs in a downward pattern. When these are first made, and with the still live foliage on them, the inner room formed is nearly invisable. Water, in some form, is usually near by, and the locations (trees) choosen are on higher ground, and offer good visability.

Here are a few pictures of the Power Line that goes through the area, and a picture of one of the strange dilberate tree formations. Might be a Bigfoot Motel 6, we'll leave the light off for you!

Here's a research idea that I have been doing for over a year now. I have always spent a great deal of time in the woods, and in a lot of places, but never really completely knowing the different areas. I knew them well enough to know where I was going, and not get lost, but I just wasn't able to notice everything, and in particular, minor changes. I would liken it to visiting a friends house, knowing the layout, and where basic things are, but certainly not the intricacies like you would your own house. So I wanted to know that if I studied a particular area on a daily basis, would I ever get to a point where I would notice even the smallest changes, like you would in your own home. The answer is a resounding YES! It has become quite amazing just how many detail changes I notice
from one day to the next.......has anyone tried this? It makes all the difference in the world to find traces of out hairy friend, that you normally wouldn't notice;
especially tree breaks. Here's an example below.......it is on a game trail, and I always had to duck this tree limb......not today, something broke it over last night, and this is in a very remote area.

Here's an interesting find.....and does anyone know what this plant is? Looks to me like some type of corn. Tried to find my original pictures when this was fresh, but no luck. Back in late July, I was hiking this game trail, and came across 9 of these; they were thrown on either side of the trail 2 to 3 feet out, as if someone was walking while eating these, and throwing what's left to either side of the trail as they walked. These were not cut, and hopefully you can see where the core, or cob(?), was pulled/bitten out of the center. All 9 of the plants were on either side of the trail that covered about 75 yards. It was very diliberate looking, and any other animal wouldn't discard the leftovers in such a way, and so neatly remove the core. The area is remote, and just can't see a person doing this. What is this plant? Yes, there are 8 more of these that look pretty much the same, but didn't bother taking more pictures.

Yup it's an old corn cob, and the obvious answer is it's a person did this. All corn cobs are harvested by twisting it off then peeling the outer leaves off the cob, which is then twisted or broken off. People who utilize dry corn (there'd be a lot in that area) pick the cob, then peel back the outer leaves and leave the cob hanging up to dry hung from a few of the leaves, usually braided. This one looks really dry but has not braiding, and the cob inside has been twisted out. So presumably it was used fresh.

These were fresh when I found them back in July. My question is why were the cobs not found, hanging or otherwise? Something must have eaten those too, and who eats raw corn in such a very remote area? Something ate 9 of these, and in a short distance......why? I am on this trail several times a week, and would have noticed anything else in the area relating to these......nothing, and I looked around for any sign of the cobs.

Nice find!

I've seen pics before of hundreds, if not thousands of cobs aged and new. They were under some trees in a hidden spot next to a corn field. No sign of the husk, just the cobs.

I'm wondering if there is a hide somewere close that is used for resting/snacking purposes.

Could have been placed there by a deer hunter in hopes of stopping a deer long enough to get a shot. Just my thoughts.

BigTex..This has proven to be a highly valuable research strategy for the last approx. 1 1/2 to 2 years for me. I will say discoveries are sure to happen, what causes them will have to be thoughtfully considered, however, if you act on the environment and measure responses you should be able to see if something notices your changes. On the other hand, explaining resultant responses may be more than you can handle And, if you research a particular familiar wooded area intensely for the long haul, the catastrophic ice storm has a way of upending progress quite a bit, at least it did for me. So you will be up against environmental changes as well as natural changes. I recommend all researchers adopt a particular plot and get ultra-familiar with it......what you can determine can be quite a thrill. Just speaking from experience since you asked. Contact me by PM if you want to know a little more about tactics.

Hey Teresa, thanks for posting. The area in question is near the power lines, discussed earlier, leading into my small little town, and hunting is illegal - to close to town. I sure have seen sign of bow poachers though, but not in this area. I believe the Big guy's (and gals!) are using this path to get into town; raid the trash cans, hunt Deer, and Pets. I could hunt the Deer in town with a knife, they are VERY lazy, and a lot of dumb pets. There are signs for missing dogs & cats on every bulletin board in town, but the Coyotes get most of them. If you could have seen the 'trail of corn' the way I did, you would be impressed.....promise!

And hello Bipedalist.....no ice down here, and luckily the area just goes through seasonal change. The daily changes that I am most aware of are new scat, tracks, and tree/limb breaks. I generally have a pretty good idea of animal movement each night. My area of study is a ravine that runs several miles from the hills West of town, to the Colorado River (AKA Lake Travis, approximate mile marker 34). I hike each side, both on the low stream/creek elavation, and the hills on either side. I took this picture where I usually park, and hopefully you can get an idea. The other picture is the stream/creek that runs through the ravine.

Reminds me of a couple places.

I am using several of these out in my area; they are called 'Morty Kits' that I bought a while back from a BFRO guy. I modified them to be more stealthy by not only painting them black, but also painting the dispoalable cameras black too. I run a heavy-duty black thread between two trees on a game trail to trigger these, and set the thread about 5-6 feet off the ground......don't need anymore Deer pictures! No luck with these yet, but have found several that have been literally torn to pieces, and scattered around the area I had them placed. Interesting for sure....certainly could be human, but no obivious sign of that, and the area is VERY remote, and hard to get to.

The thread trigger is a great idea.
I'm wondering if cameras are still emitting noise though. I've read a few places that they emit a frequency similar to that a bee hive makes. If that't the case, could be they are being torn up to get at the goods.

Then again, if your to close to water, make sure you not in someones growing area for private stash.
Use to be quite a few in the lago area. I would think if it were a person they would just take it.
Years ago a couple growing spots were up Cow crk and Sandy up close to Jonestown.

Hey Wheellug, I am most fearful of running into someone's 'crop' for sure......those guys usually carry guns. I have found a few of these, mark them well in my mind, and stay the hell away. I can see where they come in, and make sure I don't place any kind of cameras in that area. They tend to be in or near an open area close to water, and I pretty much stay to the densely wooded areas......not good for growing!

This picture is the exact location of my sighting back in 1969, on the Brazos River, and in Palo Pinto County near Mineral Wells. The sighting included physical contact, which I assure you was NOT planned. At the time, had never heard of Bigfoot, so it was quit traumatizing to say the least. The area is still wild, and have had several close calls there in the last 5 years. This is another area that I know pretty well, and go to several times a year.

Pretty country and streams BigTex, looks like you got all the tactics you need if they touch, been there, had that done to me, I guess we are in a pretty exclusive club therefore.
Like you, the intensity of the experience is not one soon to be forgotten. Sounds like you've got some good equipment, can you shoot me an email at colony7302 AT
mypacks.net and tell me more about that particular set up. Thats an anonymous email I use to keep up with the field without crashing my PM box which is always close to full (no I'm not that popular just a pack rat).

A few interesting photos.......

BigTex,

Your concerns about being attacked by a big cat seem real valid. One method that has been found effective to protect yourself is to make a simple mask with BIG EYES attached to the BACK of your head. It confuses the cats, they only attack when your back is turned. This is known to work.

Try putting on a black poncho, black gloves, black pants with Army camo tar on your face (or a black hood to hide skin shine) and stay up all night in a location near the power line. Take a camera with flash and set for known distance. It would not hurt to carry heat for self protection. I'm a no kill guy too, but I don't mind self protection a bit.

Thanks Gordon, but I will take my chances. Besides, I don't have any black clothes, and love my camo stuff! Here's an idea, and this might sound silly, but it has worked twice for me. I have researched animal attacks of all kinds over the years, and noticed that more than half of the victims were armed, and often heavily. Problem is, most of attacks are from ambush type predators, and there just isn't enough time to unholster a pistol, unshoulder a rifle, chamber a round, get the pepper spay ready, or pull a knife. The attack will usually come from your blind side too. What I have done for years is to carry a rock in my throwing hand at all times, as you can get a rock 'on its way' almost instantly, as long as you are paying attention, and watching your back. I carry a few more in my pocket as well. When something is going to jump you, it gets 'in the zone', and has a single minded purpose to get you. However, a well place rock, even if you don't hit the animal, will startle him (or her), and send him packin' the other way, or give you enough time to pull something more substantial. I have stopped two rather large hogs from charging me......it works. I was always a deadly rock thrower as a kid. So if you like the idea, PRACTICE!

Here's another idea to try......I have made a few camp sites in my area, and decided to leave one of them set up after I left, leaving the tent, and a chair. It remained undisturbed for several weeks, but on one return, the tent was destroyed, and the chair missing. This is down in a remote valley, and weather could not have caused this, plus there hadn't been any storms. I did find the chair several weeks later, and several miles away.....it looked like it had been through a meat grinder! Didn't have my camera that day, and when I went back several days later with one, it was gone. Haven't seen it since.

bIGtEX your too much. I can't wait to get back in the lonestar state and give you a call again. It may be spring time around march when I start going back to Austin but I will be there. Your research area definitively has something going on. I left my tent out for 30 days and the only thing that bothered it was the snow so I hauled it back in. I may bring it with me and we can set it up in your area for another animal to play with.

A question....is there any signs or indications that this is a seasonal thing, yearly, bi-yearly or is it all the time?

Hey Willie......good to hear from you, and hurry back! Some interesting photos; first one is some type hand or foot scrap heading up a muddy embankment, about a 45 dgree angle. Second photo are the rear legs of the weird wolf type creature I found, and discussed earlier. The third picture is some type of track, possibly a huge Hog......does anyone know for sure? Might be hard to see detail, but it is some kind of hoofed animal.

Here are a few animal nests.......large bedding areas, with deliberate looking construction; first is an area cleared out in the middle of thick reeds; second is an older cedar (juniper) nest, with the branches broken a certain way to form a shelter, and the third is an inside view of another cedar shelter, with the branches used to form the inner area.......all are more impressive in the flesh.

Wonder if the old Indian way would work. Indian meaning India not Native american.

Big cats and maybe other animals...not sure on that... wont attack if they think you are watching them.

Thus they wear masks facing backward on their heads. Tigers have been seen to follow for miles but not attack those wearing the masks.

Thanks for the tip Bauctrian, but folks might think I'm even crazier if I wear a mask backward. I'm not really worried though......can you say Rhodesian Ridgeback? They were breed to hunt Lions.....he's got my back.

lol.
You are looking for BF most people with think you nuts already!

BigTex, the mask does not need to be a full face type. An 'eye mask', commonly called a predator mask , fits nicely on the back of a hat. They work. I have several, and they cost about $2 at a costume & display store. I wear one all the time. I do not worry about black bears. I am in cougar areas, bobcat, possibly lynx. I do not worry about the smaller cats. The cougars are a concern.

If you wear an eye mask, I promise not to call you crazy. I will call you four eyes though.

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentWhile hiking this past Sunday in one of my normal areas, I walked past the cave pictured below. I always walk in front of this cave because it is relatively large, and always seems to have sign of animal activity, disturbed earth kinda stuff. I have only gone inside twice in 3 years with a good flashlight, and there is plenty of room in there to bed down to get out of the weather. After I had hiked past this cave the other day, and roughly 100 yards West, heard one of the creepiest screams ever - high pitched, very loud, good sized lungs, and coming from the exact area where the cave is. The scream, or high pitched yell, repeated 4 times, and in between screams I was answering with a whistle, as I was making my way back to the cave. As I got closer, no more screams in reaction to my whistles. The cave is down in a ravine, and on my return, I stayed on the top side of the ravine about 30 feet up. On my normal hikes, I walk right in front of the opening, but was a little too creeped out to go down there. I threw some rocks down there, but no further noise of any kind, and I left the area.

The 'end' of the line for some unfortunate local pets.......don't know if you can see the detail, but it's two piles of poo full of hair......yummy!

Went looking for caves in my area this weekend........nice and roomy!

If you still want companionship, I might be able to help you out depending on how often you go. I live in San Antonio so Austin's only 45 minutes/an hour away and I don't mind making the trip. I would love to spend some time with you out in the woods looking for our hairy friend. You've definitely got some interesting activity going on. And I had no idea they might be so close to home.

I'll check this thread often but a faster way to get in touch with me is via email at shadoangel@gmail.com

Thanks,

- Andrew

Nice caves, can you give us an idea of size? Watch out for snakes... and other things.

All the caves shown are nice and roomy, plenty of room inside. The entraces are easy to get through, and most open up inside. The picture above was taken around 1:00AM on one of my night hikes, and in some very remore woods. It was a fairly fresh kill of some type of bovine.....I think. Night hikes are cool because the woods just seem to 'come alive'.......not for the faint at heart though. I don't do those alone, not a good idea.

Sent a PM/email...

Very interesting and exciting work you are doing...

Been having some needed rain.......good for finding tracks. This appears to be some type of heel print, very large, and I couldn't get my 215 pounds to even make an impression. Located along a remote creek.

Well the track shape looks a bit bovine to me...

not seeing a cleft from a hoof. If the hoof's were close together it would be more oval and not spread out.

The 2nd pic shows a cedar over the wash. I don't believe bevo or bovine would care to scuttle about in that.
that and only 1 print is visible. Would think if it was a 4 legged beastie there shoud be an offset step close to the other.

I should have given more detail, and Wheel is right, there just isn't enough room for a bovine to maneuver under the fallen cedar branch. The impression is just on the other side of the fallen branch. As I approached the branch, I grabbed the top with both hands and swung under it to the other side. That's when I noticed the impression, as I landed on a heel right next to it, but I didn't leave even the slighest print. I looked around for addition sign, but could find nothing.

However, all was not lost, and I would like some feedback on this........one of the very creepiest things I have ever seen in the woods. Found this new area, a beautiful ravine, dense brush and a creek running through the bottom. Very nice until I came upon a killing zone. There are at least 40+ animal carcusses, mostly Deer, all dragged to this one area - and they don't appear to have been killed here - and systematically eaten! Some were just days old, others a year or more. What does something like this? Most of the predators around here make a kill, tear it up, scatter it a bit, but generally eat it very close to where it was killed. Not here, something is dragging their kills to this area....there are bones scattered everywhere. Here are some of the yummy pictures........I have over 30 pictures from this place, all of different sets of bones.

Initially I was thinking big cat. Now I'm more inclined to think big cat. Also, if there just isn't enough room for a bovine to maneuver under the fallen cedar branch, how can a BF traverse there and leave tracks? Are you suggesting that the branch was placed there afterwards to cover the carcass?

I like the pics and the approach, but I just can't put enough pieces together to have a convincing argument for or against at this point.

whatever is dragging the kills there, you need to find out! How exciting is that, to discover a feeding area.

Hey Night, the print and the bones are in two different locations about 3 miles distance, and the Cedar limb has been there a while, and fell naturally.

Thx BigTex,

Thx for clearing it up for me!

I've seen so many programs recently describing cougar\ML attacks that it concerns me for you to be out there. In these instances these things were upwards of 150lbs and hit these people at running pace trying to break their neck and tore their scalps, crushed their facial bones etc. I now you're a big experienced guy and all, but as a concerned citizen and former Texan, please accept my hopes for your safety.

If you don't mind my asking, were these kills also near the caves? You wouldn't happen to be able to show it on a map would you?

Cheers and thx for your excellent posts.

Thanks Night.......the Caves are everywhere in the hills West of Lago Vista, but most of the ones I photographed earlier in the post were close to the Colorado River, near Bend Texas......it's another amazingly beautiful & wild place I have been hiking and exploring. The Cougars do worry me some, as I have seen a few, but much more of their tracks.....so they are around. I've never heard of one dragging kills back to a certain area though, and over such a long period of time. I have a good friend who has several 'pet' Cougars, and they are truly super-human in what they can do. I know his cats, and they know me, but it's a little unnerving when they silently jump nearly 20 feet in an instant.

Here's something else I ran across the other day, and is definitely something to consider when hiking.......illegals! This is an old camp, but look at how they fabricated certain items, such as the top of a can of paint with a small handle, to fry up the corn tortillas. These camps can be dangerous if you come up on them LIVE, and they see you. Also took 2 pictures of markers that point to these camps. The illegals make much bigger and more noticable markers than the pot growers.

Time to do some forensics.

Check the skulls/bones for puncture marks. The skull/jaw or neck vertebra may show puncture marks/holes. This would make it a cougar kill.

Short ribs chewed up would be more indicative of coyote/dogs ( the bones should be dispersed much more)

Broken legs, back (vertebra twisted/disjointed) may display more of a force/trama attack. Something more closely associated with BF.

Seperated legs cut at the joints, possible nick/cut marks may appear. Possibly someone making a quick/illeagal kill.

Excellent idea Wheel, and I'll take some close-up pictures as well. Took a ride on this baby a few weeks back.......what a thrill!

Cool ride! Any large leg bones cracked for marrow?? Also, it's time to stake out the killing zone with game cams and camera traps, wouldn't camp too close to that area though.

Tonight with the moon out, and weather permitting....me and a buddy will be doing a little night hiking, and stake out the 'killing zone'.....hope we don't end up in the bone heap ourselves!

Speaking of that......does anyone else do the night hikes on a full moon? Obviously you can see better, and at least in these woods, flashlights are not needed.

I will do this in a couple of emails over the weekend.......hiked over to the Kill Zone earlier today for a few hours, and here are some more observations and pictures.

Picture #1, and just hope they are in the same order, is a fresh Deer kill, less than a week I think, and the legs are terribly twisted.....a few of the other fresh ones have this same twisted appearence that I am not use to seeing. I have seen many kills over the years, and these are just weird. I looked for canine marks, but couldn't see any. Of course, all the little nibblers have left their mark, and there are buzzard feathers and pooh everywhere, plus the dirt in the entire K-Zone is VERY disturbed, could be hogs I suppose that did that.

Picture #2, this is a rather fresh Deer skull, and is just shattered.......couldn't find any canine imprints that would have caused the skull fracture, it's almost like it took a severe blow.

Picture #3, this is a Deer neck, again couldn't see any bite marks, and it looked broken/twisted to me.

Picture #4, hadn't ever hiked up the West side of this ravine, and within 30 yards of the top and out of the woods, this nice field.......now the kill zone makes sense, this is where they are probably being ambushed as they graze.

Picture #5, this is a beautiful hidden lake abouit a half mile from the K-Zone.

Don't know how many pictures are allowed per post, so I will post more later. Also, anyone that wants a particular photo, I will be glad to email those to you so you can see more detail.

Personally I have had better luck with the crescent just waxing or waning (makes for some spooky times but better stargazing), I have noted less moonlight seems better for close encounters, but that is just my experience. Also, weather around full and new moons is how the farmer's almanac seems to work oftentimes, so bad weather can occur if you're on extended camps/outings around those lunar cycles. When you say twisted legs, do any of the leg bones ever get snapped for marrow? Full moon would definitely be good for full visibility night hikes and snake detection.

A few more before I sign off.......and is some type of dwelling for something at the top of this ravine, in the wooded area right by the field;

Picture #1, I would call this the 'entrance' to a creepy little hide-out.

Picture #2, this would be the 'door' a little further down the entrance way.

Picture #3, finally inside, nice and roomy, soft leaves to strectch out on.

Picture #4, the backside, facing the ravine looking down, and the familiar Cedar branch broken and manipulated to form the back wall.....hmmm......the whole thing is being used by something, and parts of it look dilberate for sure.

Howdy Bipedalist......and this is for you, sorry it took me so long - been doing a lot of work, the kind that pays the bills! I'm still in the woods 3 or 4 days a week, and have some new pics that need to be down loaded.

Question, and anybody else who might read this please chime in.....you guys getting sick of this, are you interested in more pictures?

Also, I have mentioned my knowledge of big cats a few times.....here is a link to my buddies place, and is a non-profit rescue operation for big cats : www.bigcat.org .....any donations are greatly appreciated! I have been associated with them since the early 90's, and is a wonderful place.....anyone in the area should check it out, call, and go see the cats!

The picture below is one of only a few cracked Deer leg bones in the kill zone that I have found.......and I am sure something is after the marrow........no scratches or teeth marks.

As far as the moon, I like the cresent moon too, but have to use a flashlight. The woods around here have a lower tree canopy, and make a full moon hike light enough to NOT use a flashlight, which is what I am trying to do.

When I had my first encounter I was camping with my brother and our two Rhodies. I have often wondered what would have happened if they hadnt been there with us. They gave our angry squatch something else to focus on while we got out of there.