Bigfoot sightings in the Uintas Tales of the "unusual" in the woods

[JulieKT]

And here I am waaaaaaay more afraid of supernatural stuff in the wilderness than of wild animals. Give me a bear or big cat any day.

 

[SKLund]

I was the second member on that trip in Cuberant, and I can tell you for goddamn sure that was no bear. It was right in our camp next to a decent size fire we had lit. It was still light enough that you should have been able to see a body but there were only the eyes. I have backpacked the Cascades, Alaska, all over Utah and Arizona. I have seen plenty of bears from Grizzly to huge Black Bears. Bears do not move like these eyes did. They way they were trying to draw us away from our camp. I've often tried to explain through imagery what we saw and I can only say that this image from the movie Predator below is as close of an example as I can find to illustrate how there was no body attached to these eyes. You could see the trees and area in our camp behind them. If there was a body, it would have blocked us from being able to see right through it. But there was not. I have plenty of experience with big animals in the wild at night and this was not like any of them. I am not saying I saw Bigfoot. I am saying is what I saw I cannot explain. Add that to the rest of the weird stuff that has happened to me or I have seen in this basin over the last decade and you'd be saying WTF too. I listed most of it a few pages back in this thread. The history of this basin consists of many reported sightings of a grey haired creature, 9-10 feet tall, including a party of 8 scouts and their scout leader Jay Barker in 1977 who all reported seeing it. The DWR has a file on that report. Also, Garret Bardsley, a kid who vanished in this basin in 2004 and was never found.

Its really easy to write off what we experience as something we can explain, that is a mechanism in the brain that we use to cope with fear.

I stand by what I saw and have seen. I am not claiming that I saw Bigfoot. But what I did see you cannot just rationally explain it away.

And I really don't care if anyone believes me. I was there, I know what I saw. I'm not changing my story.

Here is the Predator image I mentioned to give you some kind of idea how there were only eyes, not a body with them.

Solo trip to the Cuberant anyone?

 

[Dave]

Solo trip to the Cuberant anyone?

I’ve done this numerous times and never had a supernatural experience.

 

[Perry]

I’ve done this numerous times and never had a supernatural experience.

Are you disappointed? LOL


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[Dave]

Are you disappointed? LOL

Well, I don’t believe in the supernatural, so no.

 

[Deleted User]

Solo trip to the Cuberant anyone?

I was there last summer solo.

 

[Deleted User]

I've camped in Cuberant a few times, never did experience anything out of the ordinary, luckily! I personally believe Garrett walked really far away and probably had a cat prematurely end his life. Mountain lions are way more prevalent than most people realize. I used to work for the rail road as an engineer and believe it or not, trains are sneaky coming around corners. Wildlife never hears us coming until we are on them. We would spook mountain lions all the time in Colorado and Utah and the highest concentration of them is near where there were people camping! It was a real eye opener for me. Also, as a scout, we were camping at Notch Lake one time and a friends family did the short hike in to visit for the day. His mom got lost on the way back and basically walked all the way to Kamas overnight through the woods. She was not a hiker and still put down serious miles over rough terrain. I wouldn't be surprised if Garrett made it 20 miles away within 24 hours.

As for the eyes, I try not to sound rude, but I think seeing a bear do atypical things has permanently ruined my mind at night when it comes to camping. I have really missed out on backpacking due to how afraid I am at night now. I won't backpack deep into the wilderness unless there are at least a few more people in my group than just me and my wife. I personally think I would have a more super natural story my mind would be convinced of had I not seen the bear up close to know what it is. Also, when my Dad was religious, he tended to see things that no one else did when camping that made for good testimony building stories on Sunday. That all stopped when he stopped being religious. I just think minds tend to fill in blanks in odd ways. I hope I am not offending you. The last thing I need to worry about when backpacking is some mystery animal when I already get to stress out over bears doing weird shit.

Like I said, I really don't care if you believe me or not. You were not there. I'm an atheist, so you can rule out misindentification by belief in fairy tales theory.

I've visited this Basin at least once a year since 2009. I've traveled all of it. Not just the main lakes but bushwhacked the entire west end. Never once in all my years have I seen tracks or scat belonging to a cougar in there. So not buying that as the explanation for Garret Bardsley vanishing the way he did in the location he did. If there was an animal attack where was the blood and scene disturbed by an attack? There was a huge search conducted and all they ever found was his sock in a boulder field a 1/4 of a mile from the last place he was seen. No blood was found on that sock. Cougars don't untie shoes or take off socks.

So like I said, your opinion matters not because I don't care if you believe me or not. You were not there. I know what I've seen and experienced. Im not the only who saw those eyes. I'm ok with skeptical folks. I run into them all the time trying to convince me that the earth is flat.

 

[Nick]

Keep this civil, folks....

 

[Nanda]

Where's the thread Not TO DO in 2018. Cuberant basin is going on that list.

 

[Rockskipper]

I'm in the camp that the boy who disappeared was dragged away by a cougar. His dad heard him yelling for help, though didn't realize that's why he was yelling. A cougar dragging him could easily dislodge a shoe and sock. Coyotes may have absconded with the shoe, especially if it had any leather in it. Because you don't see cougar tracks doesn't mean they're not there, especially in a montane environment. And I think you have it backwards about flat earthers being skeptics, it's the other way around. They don't know how to think critically or look at the facts. As for seeing something inexplicable, I think there are things we don't understand, but I'm not inclined to think they're Bigfoot. I'm not superstitious, nor do I believe in the supernatural. I do understand how it feels to not be believed, though, having been there done that.

 

[Deleted User]

I'm in the camp that the boy who disappeared was dragged away by a cougar. His dad heard him yelling for help, though didn't realize that's why he was yelling. A cougar dragging him could easily dislodge a shoe and sock. Coyotes may have absconded with the shoe, especially if it had any leather in it. Because you don't see cougar tracks doesn't mean they're not there, especially in a montane environment. And I think you have it backwards about flat earthers being skeptics, it's the other way around. They don't know how to think critically or look at the facts. As for seeing something inexplicable, I think there are things we don't understand, but I'm not inclined to think they're Bigfoot. I'm not superstitious, nor do I believe in the supernatural. I do understand how it feels to not be believed, though, having been there done that.

If there was an attack that close that you could hear someone screaming, why was there no blood, or disturbance from an animal attack ever found during the search? S&R with that information, would have for sure conducted a search in that area with dogs for scent. Nothing was ever found.

In 1999, Jaryd Atadero went missing in the Camanche Peak Wilderness of Northern Colorado. That case is similar to the Bardsley case and is even more puzzling in how it concluded four years after the kid disappeared. Two hikers found his clothes folded neatly on a cliff some 2,000 feet above where he vanished four years prior. It was an area that was previously searched. His clothes were neatly folded and both shoes were found. None of the items had decay on them as you would expect to find on clothing that would have been out there for four years. The shoes were like brand new. There were no tears in the clothing to suggest an animal attack. What predator in the wilderness neatly folds clothes and shoes, keeps them pristine for four years, and then places them on the top of a ridge to be found four years later? They found the cap of Jaryds skull near the clothing as well. They positively identified it via DNA to be Jaryds. Jaryd's father has all the items to this day, and swears on his life he believes his kid was not attacked by any known predator. He had the clothing examined by forensic experts and there were no signs of blood, trauma, and no rips or tears in the clothing like would expect from an animal attack. So I guess apex predators in the North American wilderness are undressing their human prey these days, then eventually returning their clothing for someone to find them?

I never said I saw Bigfoot. I still to this day stand by that. What I have seen and experienced is bizarre and at some points was terrifying. Its ok if you don't agree with or believe me. I'm not one of those Squatchers needing validation or anything. I am just a guy who loves the mountains who has had some weird shit happen when I have been on my adventures.

 

[Perry]

Another possibility in both these cases is abduction by another human. Either a sociopathic individual or a human trafficker.


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[Deleted User]

Another possibility in both these cases is abduction by another human. Either a sociopathic individual or a human trafficker.


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You can't rule out abduction. But not sure anyone would be carrying a 12 year old up that pass out of Cuberant. Any other route out of there is gonna be gnarly. S&R commented that they did not think this was an abduction because of the area.

As far as Jaryds case he was on a main trail with a large group and vanished right under the groups nose. The find four years later is for sure bizarre.

 

[Perry]

Everything about both cases are inexplicable with what we know for sure. And.. the more time that passes the less likely new evidence would be found in the areas where they disappeared.


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[Deleted User]

Everything about both cases are inexplicable with what we know for sure. And.. the more time that passes the less likely new evidence would be found in the areas where they disappeared.


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There are so many of these cases that defy logic. I know it's changed my protocol when I have my kids in the woods.

 

[Dave]

If you think a cat attack would have been noisy, a child abduction would have been doubly so. Plus, the abductor would then have to get the child out to the highway without being noticed.

I’ve spent a lot of time looking into Bardsley’s disappearance. I once thought he was a cat attack victim but don’t any longer. Honestly, he probably fell off a cliff. Or wandered into the bush and hid. Coyotes would have done the rest.

The benches below Cuberant Basin down to the river are tough to search/navigate (I’ve done some looking there myself). I’ve found animal remains that were probably a season or two old and were so scattered, they were unrecognizable.

 

[LarryBoy]

I saw a huge jet painted matte black flying at just above stall speed maybe 2000 feet above the ground last month while backpacking on cedar mesa. The military uses southern Utah as a home turf for a lot of exercises so I'm sure that's what it was, but still very eerie.

 

[Rockskipper]

First, mountain lions typically break the neck of their victim right off, which is a mostly bloodless and quick event. They will then drag the victim to a high hidden place to eat them (usually up in the rocks). (If you have to die by predator, ask for a lion and not a bear.)

Second, if you’ve ever been in SAR, you’ll know that clothes strewn along a trail or neatly piled are indicative of a hyperthermia (heat) victim in the final stages, as one’s skin begins to burn from nerve damage, and wearing clothes becomes painful. There are incidents of clothes in neat stacks or along the trail that have led to finding people, though usually by then it’s too late.

But…it’s also indicative of hypothermia (freezing) and is called paradoxical undressing. Here’s a link explaining it:

https://www.livescience.com/41730-hypothermia-terminal-burrowing-paradoxical-undressing.html

an excerpt:
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Terminal burrowing

It's well-known that warm-blooded hibernating animals will often dig or burrow into a small, enclosed den to spend the winter. The tight quarters surrounding their bodies can help to minimize heat loss.

Humans, in the final throes of severe hypothermia, exhibit a somewhat similar behavior known to researchers as "terminal burrowing." In a 1995 article in the International Journal of Legal Medicine, researchers from Germany described hypothermia victims "in a position which indicated a final mechanism of protection, i.e., under a bed, behind a wardrobe, in a shelf, etc."

Terminal burrowing behavior isn't widely studied or well-understood, but the German researchers described it as "obviously an autonomous process of the brain stem, which is triggered in the final state of hypothermia and produces a primitive and burrowing-like behavior of protection, as seen in hibernating animals."

Paradoxical undressing

As strange as the terminal-burrowing behavior might seem, an act called "paradoxical undressing" is even more confounding. The term describes the behavior among many victims of extreme hypothermia of peeling off most or all of their clothing, increasing heat loss.

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Here's another article with an excerpt:

“The reason for this paradoxical behavior most likely is caused by hypothermia paralysis of nerves in the vessel walls, which leads to their extension, thus giving a feeling of warmth.

According to another theory, vascular spasm, which occurs at the first stage of frostbite, leading to disruption of the vasomotor center, which in turn gives completely inappropriate for this situation, a feeling of warmth”.

https://earth-chronicles.com/anomalies/the-phenomenon-of-paradoxical-undressing.html

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It may be hard to find someone who's basically buried themselves.

There’s no high strangeness to finding clothes on/by a trail out in the backcountry, unless you also see naked people running around (which I have, but that’s another story - I once ran into a couple in Moab who train naked for the Senior Games—some of you may know who I’m referring to).

 

[DrNed]

Last summer I spent a day in Cuberant for the express purpose of identifying the
Mystery Trail above the basin, but also to wander off trail and get a sense of what
Garrett would have been wandering through.

Bushwacking off trail, the ground was so undulating and in spots dense with growth.
Walking through this I kept asking myself, "how did he disappear so quickly and so
cleanly?"

I think all explanations have to consider certain points.

1. He doesn't respond to calls for him which begin, I believe, within :15-:30 minutes.
2. No remains are found to date.
3. While not impossible, it's highly unlikely that he walked out of the basin on his own.
4. Keeping in mind #3, it unlikely that he was abducted and taken out.

I think he must have lost his life shortly after he disappeared.
Whether that was by falling off a cliff or tripping and knocking his head on a rock.
This is why he never hears the calls of those searching for him.

Then,

a. Some point later his body is taken by animals.
b. Or his fall puts him in the Weber River.

Neither a or b is very satisfying to me.

Then I think of Eric Robinson, who apparently fell and lost his life.
His remains went unfound in a field of boulders for five years and
the only reason he was found was a piece of gear was spotted.

My current hypothesis is that Garrett fell off a cliff and lost his life
shortly after having disappeared and that his remains are still within
the basin, most likely among boulders below the cliffs on the southwest
side of the basin.

Forgive me if in my speculation I've been disrespectful to Garrett and the
real loss suffered by his family.

 

[Deleted User]

My current hypothesis is that Garrett fell off a cliff and lost his life
shortly after having disappeared and that his remains are still within
the basin, most likely among boulders below the cliffs on the southwest
side of the basin.

Forgive me if in my speculation I've been disrespectful to Garrett and the
real loss suffered by his family.

Garrett was not abducted by a human. I'd like to see someone carry a 12 year old boy up an over that pass and make it to the road without being seen or heard. That section from the top when you descend to get to the Kamas Junction is hard enough with a 25 lb pack let alone a 12 year old. That is a busy area, so I am also not buying the kidnapping theory. Honestly I think there is something more sinister at work here. I too feel for the Bardsley family. I have kids. I feel like its my job every time I am there to keep an eye out for anything in there when I visit.

What would be even harder to to explain is the Jaryd Atadero case. Especially the clothes and shoes found showing no signs of being in the wilderness for four years. A tooth and cranial cap were also found at the scene. Here is a picture of Jaryd's father Allyn holding the shoes found four years after his child vanished in Colorado. The shoe laces are still white and the evidence tags are still on them. I feel horrible for Jaryd's Dad. I have two kids and I cannot imagine the grief he has had to live with.

"They sent all of Jaryd's clothing to the bureau to locate blood. They didn’t find any blood on any of the clothing. The CBI stated that the cranium had degraded DNA, causing the 85% return, but a DNA expert from Ohio told Allyn at a later date that the tooth was contaminated with more than one persons DNA. Personally, I have no idea what they mean. All DNA experts know that you cleanse the item prior to testing to eliminate any contamination. The sheriff also sent the hair they collected off Jaryd’s collar to the lab. They told Allyn that the hairs were non-human and not Mountain lion and not to worry about it. They never gave Allyn the hair report and never told him what the hairs belonged to. Think this through clearly. You are the investigator and you are attempting to understand what killed a small boy. Wouldn’t you want to know what those hairs belonged to? Hair and fiber experts know what every animal hair looks like. They have a guide to every hair in the wilderness and it’s their job to match them. Why wasn’t this completed? Why wasn’t Allyn given a copy of the hair report? He was given the DNA report and every other imaginable report, but that one. He still doesn’t have it."