Sometimes, but not often, a sighting or a reported footprint find comes your way within 12 hours of the incident or finding.  That was the case recently when I had stopped by “The Happy Prospector” store just outside of Harrison Hot Springs, BC on July 17, 2018.

Steve Turnbull, owner and well-known artist in the area, and I were discussing a possible sighting he and two others had a year ago (August 2017) at the north end of Elbow Lake ( Steenburg File # 10210).  As we were talking, a visiting American family from Washington State (Malone) had entered to look around. The father, Kevin, had heard part of our conversation and told us that earlier that very day while he, his wife (Janine) and their daughter (Jenna) were hiking on Bridle Loop Trail, which is located just on the eastern part of town at the bottom of Bear Mountain, and found what looked like footprints. They took a few cell phone photos, one of which is below:

A number of photos were taken by the family near one of the trail’s small wooden bridges. To me looking at his cell phone, I thought they were worth investigating. Kevin also said he would email me the pictures when they got back.  He also drew me a map of the approximate location along the trail where he thought the tracks were.

I set out to find them an hour later just going by his map and what I could remember seeing in the surrounding area in the photos.  Well, I came across a number of small trail bridges along the trail whose purpose I believe is to let hikers avoid deep muddy parts during wetter times.  Not a problem this day. I found a number of impressions at different locations and everything from human boots prints to bears tracks and horseshoe tracks as well. Finally, I found the right ones. Below is my photo of the same possible track as Kevin took:

My 9 inch trail guide book in place were Kevin’s foot had been. There were a number of impressions at this location, mostly right on the trail itself. Placed there at a time and date when the surface was wetter and therefor softer. I have doubts that these footprints are Sasquatch in origin, but it is possible.  None in my opinion showed clear toe impressions and one would think they would judging from the depth they were in the ground at the time they were made? I can see why the Malone family thought they could be Sasquatch prints and why they caught their interest in the first place. However, looking at them on the ground did not impress me as much as they did in the cell phone photos. Later that day when I got home and checked my mail Kevin, true to his word, had sent me his cell phone photos confirming that I did indeed find the ones the family found.

So, in my opinion it is possible that these could be footprints left by a Sasquatch? Possible but I doubt it.

Thomas Steenburg