Track way Education

I'm just writing a little post with some details of my track way investigation today. Got a text late last night from my son saying that a couple of his buddies were looking for a place to camp this weekend in the area that I do my "research" in. They were in a panic because they found what they believed to be Sasquatch prints. They took a couple of pics and a little video and to say they were excited would be an understatement! The first thing I thought to myself was that these guys were playing a trick on my son for one reason or another so I didn't get overly excited about it myself. I didn't get a chance to talk to my son until this morning when he explained that these two kids were dead serious and that they swore they were not joking. The area that they found these prints in is an area that we get a ton of activity in. I already detailed the area in a previous blog post titled "Do Bigfoot Play Hide and Seek??" It's the same area that I had one of my close encounters in.

So I blow off work today to go check these prints out. I eventually find them about a 3/4 of a mile from where I parked my vehicle. At first glance I was pissed that I was duped into missing work  for some human foot prints. The largest print I measured was 10" long, 2-1/2" wide at heel, and 4" wide at the widest part. Well within the size range of an average sized person. There were probably 3 or 4 different sized prints in all. The prints went back and forth on the trail for probably 1/4 mile until I lost them for a couple hundred yards. I then picked up a single set continuing down the trail for a while until I lost that one. This routine happens a couple more times until I come to a large muddy area with huge puddles of standing water. I find several of the different sized tracks again coming into this muddy area from different angles...not the main trail.One of the sets goes right through the deep mud puddle and the others walk around the water but directly through the mud. Why would people do this??? I had traveled at least a mile by this time and my mind starts to wonder. Could these be Squatch tracks???

I'm puzzled to say the least. I am having a hard time believing that anyone would walk bare footed, this far, through pretty crappy terrain. I picture myself walking in that crap and I would probably be tip toeing and at least show some sign of my uncomfortableness (yes I made that word up), but these ones absolutely do not!!

I have to admit that I'm starting to think these might be the real deal. They obviously are not mature adult Sasquatch, but most likely a couple juveniles out for a walk. I'm inventing this whole scene in my head and I'm forgetting about thinking clear and analytically. I'm most definitely not a track expert and these are the first ones that I ever studied. So I have a lot to learn about tracks and the differences between Squatch and humans. So I posted some pictures on Facebook with the hopes that someone who actually knows these differences would respond. I was elated when Tyler Bounds gave me some help and stated that they were human tracks made when the ground was soft...most likely during or right after it rained. His advice is what brought my mind back to reality and what I had known all along. A little later Derek Randles, who I am a huge fan of, reiterated Tylers opinion that they were indeed human. He even shared a cool little detail about one of the tracks. The two smallest toes were squished together, which shows that they were crammed into tight fitting shoes over a long period of time. I had never even thought of looking for that.

Even though the reality was that these were human prints I still wanted to continue my education by casting a couple of the tracks. I had never done it before and it would be great practice.

Most people would of looked at my day and thought that it was a huge waste of time, I don't. I learned a lot from two expert Squatchers, practiced casting a track,and most of all I got into the woods.