Bluff Creek - The Munns Report Meets The P-G Film Site Project

Bluff Creek, July 25, 2012 - Hot summer (not) in the city.
You are so far in at this spot that you feel a world away.

Making our way upstream towards the P-G film site.

In yesterday's post, we had just started down into Bluff Creek hiking from the dead-end berm of forest road 12N13H. It's a steep hike of about 3/4 mile and then you begin the trek upstream through some thick undergrowth until you emerge at the creek. You are still a little ways downstream from the location where Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin filmed the bigfoot on October 20, 1967.  And it looks nothing like it did in the film.

The group makes its way carefully over the rocks on either side of Bluff Creek.

Bobo and Terry walk with Bill up Bluff Creek.

45 years of foliage growth and creek erosion have occurred and so you can only admire the few remaining artifacts from the film. It took two years of regular visits by the film site project to identify several trees and several stumps that are visible in the P-G film that could be used in Bill Munns' digital survey of the film. By measuring the distance between key trees in the background of the film and several stumps located in the foreground of the film, Bill was able to lock in his measurements and determine exact locations where Patterson filmed the bigfoot. He was also able to determine where comparison films (by John Green and Jim McClarin) and photographs (by Rene Dahinden and Peter Byrne) were taken.

Looking upstream along Bluff Creek 200 yards above the bat box.

The Patterson-Gimlin Film Site as it looks today - this is where it all started.
The path the bigfoot took walking away from them is on an overgrown sandbar nearby.

The group discusses what will happen that afternoon.
First plan of action, show Bill Munns the "Big Tree" from the background of the film.

Steven talking with Rowdy, Daniel, Bart and Terry in the thick growth near the Big Tree.

The Big Tree as it is today - it is a key feature in the background
of the Patterson-Gimlin film.

Bill Munns at the moment he realizes he's looking at a key piece of the puzzle.

The outing participants assisted with the measurements and others pruned a few branches to allow the 300 foot long measuring line to make it through the trees. The photographs will merely provide you with a one day view of Bluff Creek on a fairly hot, sunny afternoon with difficult contrast between light and shadow.  The participants all worked throughout the day to accomplish as much as possible on Day 1 of the site survey.

The work continues - we have made it 180 feet through the growth on the sandbar.
Now Terry is in the creek (without a paddle) ready to line it up with the other side.

Bill Munns pointing to still frame from the P-G film explaining what we would identify
and measure that afternoon.

We exited the canyon of Bluff Creek around 4 p.m. and began the arduous ascent back up the trail to the vehicles.  That was one tiring day - but was very successful according to Bill Munns and the members of the film site project.

In sharp contrast to the bright, hot sunny areas, a beautiful shaded spot
along the creek.

Bluff Creek in the evening light. It was great to be there!

This is just downstream from the film site. A good example of the thick
growth along the creek today.

Bluff Creek with the late afternoon sun beaming through the trees.

End of the first day of the P-G film site survey.

Louse Camp as we arrived back on Wednesday evening.

The camp scene that evening back at Louse.

Getting Back to Bigfoot Country with Old Friends




Bobo, myself and Scott - ready to roll!
(Click on any of the photos to see a large version.)

 
We took to the road a week ago to attend a reunion of sorts at Louse Camp on Bluff Creek in the Six Rivers National Forest. It was a sentimental journey as well as it had been nearly 3 years since we were last there.  Scott McClean and James "Bobo" Fay showed up right on time last Monday night and we headed north on the Redwood Highway putting as much distance as we could with the Bay Area before stopping for the night.

Seeing our reflection in the back of a tanker truck...Hwy 101.

You gotta get through Willits to get to Humboldt County.

The next day we leisurely toured through the Humboldt Redwoods on our way to Eureka, California.
We have some favorite stops along that route that include the Legend of Bigfoot gift shop in Garberville, CA and a 12 mile stretch of the Avenue of the Giants from Miranda to the Founders Grove. We saw old friends for lunch and some very old friends - that is, the redwoods - afterwards. 




no caption needed...





Scott and the latest legend bigfoot statue -  striking a pose!





Avenue of the Giants - one of the best drives in America!






Giant redwoods and little cars.





that's one big tree! what am I looking at?



Bobo & Monkey - Scott in background.

Mountain Monkey

By the time we dropped Bobo and Monkey off at their place, shopped for 4 days in the woods and drove into bigfoot country it was getting late. An hour or so after sunset, Scott and I arrived at our destination - Louse Camp. There we met up with Terry Smith and Todd Hale who had driven up from Long Beach, CA that day - as well as many others who were there to participate in a Patterson-Gimlin Film Site Survey.

the junction sign at the G-O Road and Cedar Camp Road.  The place to meet anyone if they're coming into Louse Camp.

We made camp by lantern light and were glad when Bart pulled in with his homemade spicy clam sauce for the spaghetti dinner we enjoyed! That night we enjoyed a happy camp - caught up with old friends, played some songs and chatted around the campfire and generally had a great time.   After a long day of travel, we were all soon in our tents. 

Bart and Terry -  cooking up some great meals!



Playing "Brown Eyed Girl" with Jamie at the campfire.



Robert played drums while Francis and Bobo enjoyed the tunes.



Scott drew a crowd like moths to a lantern...
He was showing his latest archival newspaper articles about bigfoot.



The next day was the first day of the P-G Film Site Survey and our contribution was to get Bill Munns there. We ended up meeting him driving up the G-O Road and with Terry's assistance, walked with him down the steep, demanding trail into Bluff Creek. There we met up with the participants of the site survey that included Steven Streufert, Robert Leiterman, Rowdy Kelley, Jamie Schutmaat and people that were along to assist - Dick LaVen, James "Bobo" Fay, Todd Hale, Daniel Perez, Bart Cutino, Cliff Barackman and Francis Leiterman.

the blue pool in Bluff Creek at Louse Camp.   Good, cold swimming.



the majestic view over the Bluff Creek drainage.





Cedar Camp Road near the G-O Road



Todd Hale, Bill Munns and Terry Smith - the moment we met!



Walking down into Bluff Creek.






In Bluff Creek, with Cliff, Bill, me, Daniel and Bobo.




As I process more photos, I will update the journal from the week out in Bigfoot Country. I can say the site survey achieved all of their goals and was very successful. You can read more about that at Bigfoot's Blog and the Munns Report website. We enjoyed being back in the forests where many of us first spent our "formative years" in this endeavor - it was a week to remember!

Great hat... there was indeed!