Within our world exist other worlds. It’s easy to escape this world if one looks in the right places.
And it’s not hard to stay hidden if you know the terrain. For example, trying to find a creature that is as familiar with the thickness of the Pacific Northwest as we are with our own kitchen has proven this to be true.
Whether you believe in Bigfoot or not (and, for the record, I do), one look at where he is said to be most prevalent shows that even the most experienced hiker had better be prepared to tackle the territory. As my lovely and wise wife said, “Never mind Bigfoot, if you don’t know what you’re doing, there’s a hungry bear or mountain lion waiting around the bend.”
Nestled in the depths of the Six Rivers National Forest is Humboldt County, California. It is home to Willow Creek, a tiny town with a population of slightly more than 1,700. It was also the place where we escaped for a few days recently, scratching off another bucket list item for this Bigfoot buff.
Life is simple in Willow Creek, kind of like you’d picture a real-life Mayberry. Most every business is located on the single downtown strip – except for one very famous one we’ll get to momentarily. Everyone knows everyone, and if you’re new, well, they don’t take long to get to know you.
And they all share one common element. They live in the Bigfoot Capital of the world.
Take three steps out of any backdoor in town and you are in the forest. Heck, for all anyone knows, Bigfoot comes strolling through the town at 3 a.m. every night, long after most everyone has gone to bed – except the folks working at the one 24-hour convenience store, which he could easily bypass.
But then, should he be noticed, he’s in friendly company. The town embraces the legend.
There’s no fear that a hairy 8-foot-tall giant could be a short walk away – or more likely several such giants. This is their legend, they understand the big fella, and they don’t like it when he’s depicted as anything except a shy, misunderstood recluse mystery of the ages.
“I really don’t think Bigfoot wants to be seen,” said Melissa Frushour, proprietor of the popular Harmony Cafe in downtown Willow Creek, which has its own local reputation as serving the best vegetarian breakfast burritos to be found. “I’m sure he looks at us and thinks, ‘People? Eww!’ ”
While Melissa has not yet had a personal encounter with Bigfoot, or Sasquatch as some more formally refer to the creature (but in Willow Creek he’ll always be Bigfoot), she’s talked to plenty of folks who have. Some have actually seen him, others have come across tracks and other kinds of evidence.
Terri Castner runs the local Willow Creek-China Flat Museum, which has the world’s greatest collection of Bigfoot evidence. She was kind enough to give my wife and me a special tour despite the museum normally being closed this time of year because of unpredictable weather.
For the record, it was unseasonably warm in the lower 60s during most of our stay, though it did get very chilly at night, dipping into the 30s.
Amid the many footprint casts, newspaper articles and other assorted evidence, Castner has her own story of coming across Bigfoot evidence.
It was a snowy day and she was visiting a friend in nearby Bluff Creek when she noticed something unusual down the path.
“The snow was four inches deep, and there were large prints, too large for any human,” she said. “And the prints went all the way to the ground. I mean, all the way through thick snow. Before then I was a skeptic.
“I’ve lived here since 1969, and I’ve learned the difference between real stories and people just trying to get publicity or being high. I was NOT high, and I don’t need publicity,” she said.
Bluff Creek is the area where Bob Gimlin and the late Roger Patterson shot the famous video of a Bigfoot in 1967. It’s the clearest evidence to date, though with everyone now having a camera on their cell phone it’s only a matter of time before something even more obvious comes along.
Kelly Harris has lived in Willow Creek 30 years. She recently opened a hand-made jewelry store in downtown. In fact, we were her first customers. She has had encounters with Bigfoot both in Willow Creek and when she was growing up in Oregon.
“When I was a little girl in Oregon we were having a picnic, and we saw this big thing come out of a clearing in the woods on one side and walk across into the woods on the other side,” she recalled. “It just looked at us and kept going. I didn’t feel scared. I was young and didn’t know about all the phenomenon. But as I got older and heard all about the legend and the stories, I realized what I saw was a Bigfoot.”
Not so long ago she had her second encounter.
“My dog was barking, so I went outside to see what was going on. This big branch on my plum tree was bent and broken up high,” she said. “It was at such a high angle no human, or even a bear, could reach that high. And the strength it must have taken to break it at that angle, I can’t imagine.
“I know what it was, though. And it meant no harm. He just wanted some plums and was on his way,” she said.
That is common with Bigfoot stories. He wants no trouble.
Oh, there are stories about him throwing rocks at people, a common form of defense for Bigfoot. Also, knocks on trees in the deep woods could be either a scare tactic or a form of communication, but as a rule, Bigfoot is not considered dangerous – certainly not by the local folks – and he certainly does not eat people, as some movies have indicated.
“People did not like it when Bobcat Goldthwait made him out to be mean,” Castner said, referencing the 2013 movie Willow Creek, written and directed by the comedian, himself a Bigfoot buff.
Actually, until the end, which I will not reveal here, I thought the movie was well-made and extremely frightening – not because of Bigfoot killing anyone or such (in fact, it’s what you DON’T see that makes the movie terrifying) – but because what happens is believable, considering what we’ve heard about Bigfoot through the years.
Of course, I mean believable if you believe in Bigfoot.
Long before Willow Creek came into existence, Native Americans in the area were familiar with the legend of Bigfoot. The nearby Hoopa Reservation and its residents have plenty of stories to tell, some their own and many from their ancestors.
“I’ve never seen one myself, but I’m Native American, so I have to believe,” said Sarah Campbell, a member of the Karuk Tribe.
Laura Belle Markussen recalled an encounter she had one day while walking with her grandmother in the woods.
“She said, ‘Something’s watching us,’ “ Markussen said. “I turned around and saw it standing in the middle of the creek. It was at least 8 feet tall and very large, too big to be human. But it didn’t seem dangerous. I wasn’t afraid. It actually seemed as curious about us as we were about him.
“When we got back I asked my dad, and he said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve seen him several times.’”
John Michael of nearby Weaverville had a frightening encounter he’ll never forget. He was working in the forest and off the beaten track when he pulled his car to the side of the road on a dark night. Then something grabbed the side of his car and began to shake it, as if trying to move it out of its path.
“My car was moved. I don’t know what it was because it wasn’t in front of the car where my headlights were, but it was big, and all I could see were its eyes glowing,” he said. “It was pretty terrifying, and when it let the car go I took off.
“Looking back now, though, if it wanted to hurt me it would have been easy to break through and get me. I think I was just in its way.”
Through it all, the legend continues to grow. Willow Creek continues to get visitors who just want to see what it’s like being in the heart of Bigfoot Country. Some, like Bigfoot Hotel manager Kelly Burnett, even moved there because of the legend.
“I took the job because I wanted to be in the middle of it all,” she said. “And I love it here, not just because of Bigfoot, but it’s just a great place to live. It is exciting to be in the middle of Bigfoot Country, though.”
And yes, we stayed at the Bigfoot Hotel. Where else are you going to stay in a town that’s known for Bigfoot lore?
And you can’t visit Willow Creek without stopping by the famous Early Bird Restaurant, just a short drive out to the edge of town. Owner Sil Brander will personally make you a Bigfoot Burger – a huge sandwich made even more famous by the Willow Creek movie, in which the lead couple stop in for one.
“That movie sure brought us a lot of attention,” Brander said. “Myself, I’ve lived here since 1977 and haven’t seen one, but I know people who have. I’ve heard a lot of stories, too many to not think there’s something out there.”
The burger, by the way, was as delicious as it is legendary.
While the restaurant is just a small cafe, the mural on the wall is interesting. Like several throughout town, it depicts what life might have been like for Bigfoot before mankind began to interfere.
One mural on the side of the local Ace Hardware store even shows Bigfoot and humans working side-by-side, almost as if to say, “Someday …”
And who knows? Maybe someday this will happen.
The skeptic in me says it is unlikely because of our fear of the unknown, society’s desire to dissect and destroy as we attempt to learn more of the world’s mysteries. Meanwhile, the dreamer in me would like to see a world where all creatures get along, Sasquatch or human.
But truly, while I would love to see a Bigfoot with my own eyes (My wife says it would scare me half to death; true, but the half that was still alive would be thrilled), there’s a part of me that is fine with him remaining a mystery. He’s eluded mankind, for the most part, this long; why ruin his streak as the world’s reigning hide-and-seek champion?
But if you ever find yourself in Willow Creek or Humboldt County, walk a short distance into the woods. Stop, look around, and though you may not see anything, you will get the feeling of being watched.
It could be a bear or a mountain lion or any number of other wild creatures. But it could also be the Big Guy, hiding behind a tree, deciding whether to turn you into one of those folks who suddenly have their own encounter story.
The greatest part of history are legends. Some mysteries should never be solved, and perhaps this is one of them.
