About
mid-August 1960, I was asked by a good
friend Barry to go on a two or three day
camping trip to Pitt Lake. Barry's dad Vince
Sr. had arranged a boat ride into an
isolated beach at the mouth of Debeck Creek
with his brother Joe who at the time owned
and operated several big logging operations
in the Pitt Lake region.
Note: At the time Barry and
I would have been eight or nine years old,
Barry's younger brother Terry (who also
tagged along) would have been about five or
six, and Vince Sr. would have probably been
in his late 30s.
Joe picked us up at Pitt
Lake boat launch after dropping his
logging crew off at camp one early
morning, and we traveled by speed boat
north up Pitt Lake about 15 kilometers.
Joe dropped us and our gear off on the
beach at the mouth of Debeck Creek with a
promise to keep an eye out for us when he
passed by each morning. Since the weather
was warm and clear, it was decided no tent
was required (probably because Barry and I
insisted to his dad that we camp in the
wilds just like our heroes Davy Crockett
and Daniel Boone) and we would sleep in
our bags and blankets under the stars.
Vince Sr. and young Terry picked a
beautiful flat spot on the pea-gravel
beach right near the mouth of Debeck Creek
to camp. Barry and I decided we wanted to
camp like the Indians and mountain men did
and found a spot about 80 feet away to lay
our sleeping bags. We tucked in a hole
right in under a ten foot high root ball
that was still attached to giant Red-cedar
log. The hole inside the cedar trees's
root system looked more like a little cave
just big enough for us to crawl in.
We did the usual stuff
that kids and dads do while camping:
roasted wieners, went swimming in the
lake, sat around and cooked over the
camp fire, went on short hikes up the
creek to try fishing, and generally had
a bunch of fun. We did, however, do one
thing that was a little different that
may have played a part in what happened:
while back at our hideout Barry and I
had a long wolf howling contest on our
first night there (until his dad told us
to shut up and go to sleep).
Although I can't for
the life of me remember the sound that
woke Barry and I up from a deep sleep
under our log, I do recall that it was
just beginning to break day. I also
remember that we both jumped up out of
our sleeping bags and headed for his
dad at a real quick pace.
Once Barry and I got
over to where his dad was sitting
with his .303 British army rifle
clutched in his hands, we could
plainly see he was rattled, shaking
like a leaf, and as white as a
ghost. Even though we were kids we
both knew by looking at his dad's
reaction and facial expressions that
something was seriously wrong.
Thinking back, when you see real
fear in a grown person, it's little
things like this that you can never
forget.
I remember that
Barry and I were scared stiff
after seeing his dad, but we did
ask him what was wrong. He replied
to us that he kept his loaded
rifle aimed at a big black bear
"walking continuously on its hind
legs" that had been sniffing,
pawing and circling around and
around the log that Barry and I
were sleeping under. Now even at
this young age Barry and I were
not stupid city slickers. We both
came from hunting families and
knew that bears don't remain on
their hind legs while walking. I
clearly remember that we gave each
other a look and knew that his
dad's story was pure bullshit
(excuse my language).
In any case, I
also remember that as soon as we
finished gulping down our
breakfast the first thing that
Barry and I did was casually
wander back over to our log
hideout to search the ground for
tracks. I do remember finding
some big tracks but all they
really were was holes in the
pea-gravel where something had
gone around the big root-ball in
circles.
It might be of
interest to note that in 2003
I was contacted by a B. Hay
from Abbotsford, BC, who
reported seeing a Sasquatch
not more than one mile from
where we camped at the mouth
of Debeck Creek. Also, John
Green's report (page 19
Encounters with Bigfoot) of
the two prospectors that
encountered an estimated 12-15
foot Sasquatch that left 22 to
24 inch tracks was no more
than five miles from this
location. John Green also
received a report from two men
who in 1933 witnessed a
Sasquatch eating berries about
three miles from Debeck Creek.
I also watched a private 1967
video of a prospector/trapper
named Warren Scott who lived
in a huge tree house. Scott
had built his house 20 feet
from ground level (because of
deep snow in the winter) some
5000 feet up on top of a
mountain located at the
northerly end of Pitt Lake.
Scott showed his sketches of
Sasquatch on camera and made a
comment about a Sasquatch
migration route that has stuck
with me for all these years.
Believe it or not, my
life-long friend Dan Gerak
(and 3 witnesses) who owns the
upper Pitt River Lodge (http://www.pittriverlodge.com)
once found fresh 17-inch
Sasquatch tracks in a
particular valley, and made
the exact same comment as
Scott to me about a Sasquatch
migration route over 30 years
later. Gerak told me this
after spending many hours
flying all over this country
in Jet Ranger helicopters and
noting that there is "only one
open valley" between Pitt,
Stave and Harrison lakes that
does not end in sheer cliffs.
If
I was ever going to get
serious about finding
Sasquatch - and had the time
and means to do it - I
wholeheartedly believe the
place to do it would be up
in the Boise Valley country
northwest of the head of
Pitt Lake. However, I would
never consider going into
the Boise Valley alone. Why?
My own experiences and the
following information (and
good advice) from page 22 of
John Green's book Encounters
with Bigfoot: "The mountain
country around the head of
Pitt Lake is extremely
rugged and quite a few
people have gone in there
and never come out. It is
supposed to hold a lost gold
lode of fabulous wealth,
which is why some of the
people have gone there, but
whether or not the story of
the gold is true the story
of the missing people
certainly is. I have noted
the gradual increase in the
total (note: the number
missing people is now 22)
during my years in the
newspaper business. The
terrain itself provides
plenty of reasons why lone
venturers might never be
seen again, but there are
persistent traditions that
the sasquatch have something
to do with it."
Although John Green did
not mention it (or didn't
know it at the time of his
report) the two
prospectors that
encountered an estimated
12-15 foot Sasquatch that
left 22 to 24 inch tracks,
were in the Boise Valley.
The Boise has never been
logged and has giant cedar
and fir trees over 1000
years old. It is also the
"only" valley at about the
4000 foot level northwest
of Pitt Lake that contains
small lakes. How do I know
this stuff? When I had my
guiding and wilderness
adventure company going I
was deeply involved (and
have the newspaper
articles, maps and videos
to prove it) in getting
the Boise Valley set aside
as part of a park in the
Pinecone/Burke Wilderness
Area. I was also "the
only" person that supplied
water and land
transportation into the
Boise Valley and upper
Pitt River Valley.
© Ken
Kristian
West
Coast Sasquatch Research
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TO