Tag Archives: research

Out and About

Research,

Today, January 25, 2015, a group of us went out to an old stomping ground for me; a location in the lower mainland which none of my friends had been before.  I myself had not been back to this area for over a year.  New logging and hydro projects, cutting too many trees for my liking, were ongoing so this particular Forest Service Road (FSR) had been put on the back burner for a while.  Also, being January, I did not really expect that we would be able to to get very high in elevation, as deep snow would prevent us going any further.

But with this being one of the mildest January’s in recent years, we were able to get much further than expected.  I was pleased with some new course changes that had been made on the road in general.  One rock strewn, steep climb which was always nerve-wracking at the best of times, is now bypassed.

It was a good day condition-wise; a bad day footprint-wise!  Not only were there no Sasquatch tracks found, but no tracks of any kind were found in some of the best conditions here in a long time!  Deep snow, about 12 kilometers in, stopped us in our tracks.

I look forward to returning to this FSR in the near future, to find how far the new bypass will go before reconnecting to the old road.  If it goes to where I think it does, then this will be a good place for some of our future trips and expeditions.

Thomas Steenburg

REMEMBERING RENE DAHINDEN

Video, , ,

Rene was Rene. That really, in a nutshell, was the only way to describe the man.  We were good friends – I loved the guy.  So, when I was asked about him during a recent outing, the memory came back of two trips with Rene, in the same general area that we were now standing.  I was much younger then and at times my inexperience would show.  Something Rene would never, and I mean NEVER, fail to point out!

Rest in peace, my friend – I miss you.

SCAVENGING SASQUATCH

Research, ,

On my youtube site someone asked me if I had ever heard of any reports of Sasquatch observed in or around public garbage dumps?  That got me thinking, as I have noticed a change in such reports since the 1980s.

I have spoken to witnesses who claimed to have seen a Sasquatch rummaging through human garbage but every story that I am aware of is now at least 30 years old.  There are a few more recent ones where the subject was observed rummaging through people’s garbage cans but these too have been few and far between.

So I wondered, ‘Why have reports of this creature in garbage dumps stopped?’  The answer became clear, at least here in Western Canada (Alberta and BC).

In the early 1980s, various levels of government decided that the long standing practice of open pit dumps would end.  The main reason for this decision at the time was the increasing number of what was officially known as ‘spoiled bears’.  Bears that became so used to easy picking of human food in the dumps that such scavenging had become the norm.

A spoiled bear can quickly become an aggressive problem bear when that food source is cut off.  This became a huge issue in 1980 when a large, problem Grizzly, which was a known garbage feeder, killed one man and seriously mauled another in Banff National Park.  The National, and later the Provincial Parks, led the way in shutting down the open pit dumps – a rule communities soon followed suit.

There was a period of time for the bears to go though a sort of, ‘No easy pickings, withdraw’, but today nobody even remembers the outcry.  Remember when suddenly one could  just drive to the local dump and drop off a bag or two for free?  Or going to the dump in the early hours of the morning to do some bear watching?  This was the norm.  So, of course, there were a few reports of other creatures seen in and about the dumps, too.

Today, the dumps are like little forts!  High fences all around; steel containers; everything separated for recycling; or everything trucked in or out; staff there almost ’round the clock to keep an eye on things.  And the biggest change of all: trash is now weighed and you have to pay to leave it there!  No bears anymore – just ravens, crows and seagulls.  At least that is the way of it here, where I live, in Mission, British Columbia.

So, to conclude, I feel even though there were a few reports in the past of Sasquatch in and around community open pit garbage dumps, that has indirectly become a thing of the past – like the dumps themselves, for the most part.

Thomas Steenburg

ALONE OR A GROUP – WHICH IS BEST?

Research, , ,

I have done a great deal of both during my years of research and I have found advantages and disadvantages with both.  The best advantage to going into the bush alone is the ability to remain quiet.  Logic would suggest you are more likely to see wildlife this way though I must admit that coming across large animals, like deer and bear, have occurred as often in the company of other researchers as it has on my own, with the exception of the one good sighting I had of a cougar in the Alberta Rocky mountains in the early 1990s.

The biggest disadvantage of going alone is the safety factor.  I have often thought, looking back at all those times I was by myself, nobody knowing where I was, if something unforeseen would happen well, needless to say, the jig was up.  A reality which hit too close for comfort during the summer of 1986! That is a tale for another day…

However, sorry to say, I didn’t really learn my lesson and continued to just go into the back country on a whim when the urge to look for evidence hit me – and it still does, too often for my own good.

Researching with others of a common interest has mutual benefits as far as personal safety is concerned.  This goes without saying.  But the greatest advantage of searching with others is simple and straight forward – more eyes continuously scanning the immediate surroundings makes it less likely that something will be missed.  It won’t guarantee it, but in my opinion it does tip the odds a little more in the researchers favor!

Thomas Steenburg

HIBERNATION

Video, , ,

I have been asked many times in the past what I felt on the issue of Hibernation and whether I felt that this may be an explanation for the sharp decrease of reports during the winter months.  This short interview was recorded by Jason Cain on a recent winter outing, Sunday January 18, 2015 and expresses my own views on the subject.

Thomas Steenburg

TURN ON THE COMMON SENSE SWITCH

Investigation Tactics, ,

We are flooded with claims of encounters today which sound too incredible to be true. With the internet making it so easy for the tellers of wild yarns to make false claims so readily available to a ever increasing numbers of the gullible, so-called researchers are more interested in attention than whether or not such a creature exists.

“IVAN MARKS SYNDROME”. To the public in general it must seem that the community of Sasquatch research more resembles an Asylum being run by the inmates!  And this tragic situation seems to be getting worse rather than better.  In this mess, what advice can an old timer like me give to a young guy or girl who really wants to become involved with doing their own research?  How does one advise how to avoid the BS?

Well, you can’t. All honest researchers have to learn how to spot this stuff on their own. The best way to do this is when you are investigating a claim from a witness or on going claims from other researchers, take in all the information you can, stand back and turn your common sense switch.  View everything with a healthy dose of skepticism. Skepticism is the best quality a researcher can have.   After all, we are researchers trying to find an answer to a mystery; we are not some kind of religious leaders trying to push a faith.

Thomas Steenburg