Remote north central Idaho offers ideal terrain to a reclusive, elusive, large, mountain-dwelling beast. Here's a collection of possible Bigfoot encounters from the 1960s to the present.
Early 1960s, Lolo Creek near Weippe
Some Bigfoot encounters are not sightings but unexplained sounds. Noises attributed to Sasquatch include whistling, loud howls and knocks.
David Penney, 66, was working on a survey crew in the 1960s at Lolo Creek near Weippe when he had such an encounter. His seven-man crew was on a remote game trail, all was quiet and he was using a small ax to tap a wooden stake into the ground.
“All of a sudden there was this huge roar, huge, almost like a bull elephant in a canyon,” Penney said. “I was just startled. I turned around and looked at the other six surveyors and they were all climbing trees. They were already way up in the trees, it was that startling. Right beside me was a big, old boulder that had a flat surface. I was frozen in place. I always wished I would have climbed up that boulder and looked into the canyon to see what it was. It was tremendous. It was huge. It was frightening, you know.” — Jennifer K. Bauer
June 1974, Hells Canyon
A man was at a cabin on the Idaho side of Hells Canyon near the Oregon border. On the Washington side of the river he saw a creature. “It (the Sasquatch) was about 17 to 20 feet from the top and in two or three strides it made it to the top. It immediately turned toward me and placed both hands on its hips. Of course, I was dumbfounded. I had seen lots of bear and this was not one. It stood there for several seconds and the freaky thing was I knew it was looking right at me. Finally, it turned around and walked down the back side of the ridge. It was at this moment I realized what it was by the way it sort of swayed when it walked. — The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (www.bfro.net)
August 1992, Nez Perce National Historical Park at Spalding
Around 6 p.m. eight people reported seeing a big, dark creature walking down a hillside southwest of the park’s visitor center. They described it as walking on two legs, swinging its arms. The park superintendent said a park employee had also reported seeing a large, dark creature walking down the hillside that evening. One man said it was at least 7 feet tall. Another said it was clearly not a bear. — Lewiston Tribune
December 2012, Idaho County just south of Kamiah
A woman heard her dogs barking at 3:30 a.m. and grabbed a flashlight, thinking it might be a skunk. She opened the door and saw movement behind a tree. When she shone her light, a figure broke away at breakneck speed.
“I am going to only give a description of what I saw, but not an explanation, because I do not have one,” she wrote, later adding, “even talking about it is kind of disturbing.”
... “I could clearly see that it ran upright, with long strides, swinging its arms and it looked to me like it was covered in shreds. It had a slightly pointed head, no neck and appeared light colored, almost silvery gray, but that could be from the moonlight, which was giving everything a kind of silvery sheen that night. It quickly glanced over its shoulder, but I couldn’t see any features other than noting that its head turned slightly, but it did not seem to slow down.” — www.bfro.net
Late July or early August 2005, Moscow Mountain
A couple visiting from another state was hiking and reported seeing a tall dark figure with a smaller figure “frolicking about in a manner that made them wonder if it was a cub or perhaps maybe a dog, except that it moved about upright like a small rambunctious child.” The large animal, 8½ to 9 feet tall, was walking on two legs and was shaped like a large, very heavy human covered with dark fur. They could clearly see a head, set almost directly upon wide shoulders, so that shoulders and head formed a triangular shape. Its two arms were clearly not front legs and swung as it walked. They were longer than a human’s, hanging almost to its knees.
The couple’s impression of the two figures led them to the conclusion that the pair was likely a parent and juvenile. They were reluctant to share their experience and were persuaded by friends to record a report. — www.bfro.net
