Bigfoot Society - Trapped with Bigfoot in Bull Run’s No-Go Zone | Oregon

Episode Date: June 29, 2025

NOTE: This episode contains stories set in the Bull Run Watershed, a protected area closed to the public. We do not condone or encourage trespassing or violating posted access restrictions. Always respect local laws, regulations, and the environment.What happens when a seasoned Forest Service firefighter finds himself patrolling one of the most restricted, untouched forest zones in Oregon — and begins to feel he’s not alone? In this chilling and mysterious episode, we speak with Rick, a former seasonal fire prevention officer for the Zigzag Ranger District, who spent months deep in the Bull Run Watershed — a place off-limits to the public for over 100 years. Rick recalls the haunting silence, the oppressive feeling of being watched, and the unshakable knowledge that something was tracking him through the brush. From eerie encounters in Colorado’s Deadman Tower and Pingree Park to being shadowed near Lolo Pass and Large Mountain, Rick's story is a rare look inside the places Bigfoot might truly call home. This episode includes firsthand accounts from NF-10, Hatfield Wilderness, and Bull Run Reservoir #1 — including the terrifying days Rick worked alone, clearing fire access roads… while something watched from just beyond the trees. Don't miss this rare glimpse into one of Oregon's most mysterious regions.🗣️ Share Your StoryHad a Bigfoot encounter or strange experience?Send it to [e-mail] – your story might be featured on the show!🎥 Watch & Subscribe on YouTube🔴 Subscribe here → Bigfoot Society YouTube💬 Leave a comment & let us know your thoughts!📞 Leave a voicemail with your story → Speakpipe (Use multiple voicemails if needed)👥 Share this episode → Watch & Share🎧 More episodes → Podcast Playlist🌲 Recommended: New Jersey Bigfoot Encounters💥 Support the Show & Get Perks✅ Join the community on Patreon – Become a Member✅ Listen ad-free & early on YouTube – Join Here📱 Let’s ConnectInstagram: @bigfootsocietyTwitter: @bigfoot_societyTikTok: @bigfoot.society🧰 Tools & Partners I Use (Affiliate Links)These help support the show at no extra cost to you:Beam (Better Sleep): Try BeamWildgrain (Better Bread): Join HereSeed (Probiotics): Get SeedMedi-Share (Healthcare): Learn MoreLMNT (Electrolytes) Free Sample Pack with your first purchase! : Get LMNT🎙️ Podcasting Tools:Repurpose.io: Try ItDescript: Sign UpStreamyard: Start RecordingRiverside.fm: Try Riverside🎧 My Audio Interface: View on Amazon☕ Buy Me a Coffee – Support Here🛍️ Grab Some Merch – Shop on Etsy📬 Mailing Address:Bigfoot Society125 E 1st St. #233Earlham, IA 50072📧 Business Inquiries:[e-mail]

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Selection varies by location. See loos.com for details. Visit your nearby lows on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. This episode contains accounts set in the Bull Run watershed of Oregon, a protected area closed to the public. We do not condone or encourage trespassing or violating posted access restrictions. Always respect local laws, regulations, and the environment. Thank you. You're listening to Bigfoot Society, and I'm Jeremiah Byron.

Tonight's account comes from a man who has been. paid to patrol the most off-limits forced in Oregon, a place so locked down, the public hasn't been allowed in for over 100 years. But just because it was closed to people doesn't mean it was empty. This is a story of Rick in what he encountered while working deep inside the Bull Run watershed. So stay with us. All right, Pickfoot Society, you've got the privilege of talking to individual today. His name is Rick and reached out to me about some interesting things He experienced over the years a little bit information about Rick. He is a former Forest Service and BLM seasonal worker.

There will be some conversations about places in Colorado and also in Oregon that have come up on the show before I believe was introduced to Rick via the comments on episode 653 about Lolo Pass Road, the zigzag area of Oregon. so that will be covered as well. Rick, welcome to the show. How are you doing today, sir? I'm doing well. Thank you, Jeremiah. Nice to be here. Absolutely.

It's always a fun time to talk to people, to talk to witnesses about Bigfoot. I love it. I just got off the phone with the individual about southeast Idaho. And I'll be talking to someone about Oklahoma later. But Rick, it's so good to have you on the phone right now. And as we were talking about before, what you'll be sharing does go through a few different states. I think it'll be great to do things chronologically.

And so you're welcome to take us back to the first thing that you remember that was a little bit out of the ordinary. Okay. And as you and I talked before, some of these things just didn't even know were Bigfoot things back 30-plus years ago. But, yeah, I worked for the Forest Service, the seasonal employee in the mountains northwest of Fort Collins, Colorado, and southwest of Laramie, Wyoming. And probably about 50 to 60 miles northwest of Fort Collins is where we're talking about. and so I worked for a timber thinning crew and so the job was to go out and use chainsaws

and you know space out the trees so they can grow bigger was the easy intent so we would walk through the forest and for trees to cut down and so we were off trail in areas that the Forest Service laid out for us to go work and then as a crew we would go through and cut them so we were in the back country there we came across things that now I know are Bigfoot things where they set up the trees and the X's and the TPs and just hanging things and snapping off the trees at, you know, seven, eight feet off the ground.

And I remember seeing some of those at the time and thinking, well, that's interesting. That's a different. I wonder how that happened. But no specific things happening, no encounters, just seeing that those things in the forest. And that's really all I have about that area. Again, we camped up in the mountains in that area. We are kind of close to if people want to locate. There's an old fire lookout tower called Dead Man Tower.

And we are probably about five to ten miles west of that Dead Man Tower. That's probably something, yeah, somebody can Google that and find it on Google Maps. that's the area we were in where we saw these things. And I know I've heard encounters from, whether it's from you, Jeremiah, or some of the other channels that I listen to, where people have talked about experiences in that part of Colorado. So, because that's about all I have is just coming across those structures. That's interesting.

And just for context, this is, I believe you said this is about 30 years ago. Is that right? Yeah. I'll say like 1989. Okay, gotcha, gotcha. Now, when you were seeing these things like the X's and all these different structures, how far out in the woods were you guys usually when you were starting to see these things? So we're quite a ways, you know, not terribly far off of Forest Service roads,

but those people who know about driving back on Forest Service Road, you go on a main one, then you get on a smaller one, and then you get on a smaller one. So we are probably a good, oh, at least five miles off of any main county road or Forest Service Road. So we'd taken some little smaller and smaller roads, and then we park our trucks and take our saws and walk back into the area. So we, you know, we could have been, you know, a few hundred yards to half a mile.

I don't think we got much more than a mile any given time when we were working away from the forest road. It's just that we were getting, like I said, down those smaller and smaller roads. When you were, so I'm imagining, you know, before you guys were set out in an area, were there ever times conversations that were had, you know, looking back with your knowledge now, you know Bigfoot information. Were there ever any conversations from higher ups where it's like, you know, watch out for weird stuff or like, you know, if you see weird stuff, don't worry about it. Did that ever come up or just kind of, you just ran into it? I don't recall that. Okay. I'm kind of looking in the area. I've got my Google Maps open right now.

I probably should have done this ahead of time on this one. So I sure did it on some of our later things that we're going to talk about to see what Forest Service roads we would have gone back on. I'm in the general area, but I don't, can't spot exactly what worlds we would have gone on. But yeah, we are in the area off

of Larimer County Road. And now I lost it again. I don't recall, 169, I think. Okay. And so then you, again, there were small, and smaller roads. They're branched off from there.

But yeah, we were never told anything to look out for this or that. I just remember walking through the woods. And I do remember those structures and the tree snaps and just thinking, wow, how did that happen? How did that get set up just like that with the structures? And again, not knowing what I was looking for at that time. But I do recall that very specifically when I was doing that work. Absolutely. So this is around 89 and you had those run-ins that would probably become more significant later on when you started. I imagine you probably saw a documentary or a picture online. You're like, oh, yeah, I totally saw that.

I've always been interested in Bigfoot since I was a kid, you know, and in the 70s and 80s and caught plenty of, well, actually more books. the library about monsters and things like that. So I was always interested in. Then as I started to catch, oh gosh, the finding Bigfoot and the BFR website and Sasquatch Chronicles, where I started delving into it more with the native internet, I did find a road. So the main county road is called Deadman Road.

It is 86. and then some of the Forest Service main arterials we went on, and we're like Forest Service Road 303, 336. But then I'm not tracking the numbers for the smaller and smaller roads as it split down. But that's the general area. Well, there you go. That information could definitely be important to maybe there's someone listening that is from that area. And they're like, yeah, we've definitely that area.

So it would be interesting if people can always email me or throw it in the comments if they've had situations happen in there. So you spent a bit of time in this area, Colorado. But then what was, did you then move out to Oregon after this? Or what would you think the next thing was? Well, so I'm from northern Colorado. Okay. But at that time, I was doing summer jobs while I was working through college. and I was working through college on a forestry degree.

So this thinning crew was a summer job that I had while I was working in my forestry degree. The next thing that I had chronologically was in like 92, and I was going to summer camp for forestry. All forestry majors are required to do a summer camp class. So we were going to Pingree Park, which is a, which anybody can Google that, Pingree Park. It's about 30 miles, pretty more straight west of Fort Collins. And it's Pingree Park is, it's a feature, a land feature, like a big open meadow area, but it's also the name of the Colorado State University Forestry campus.

and so I was up there for most of the summer, taking classes. And on weekends, the vast majority of the other students would go back to Fort Collins and do their going to the bars and washing clothes and things like that. And the vast majority of the weekends for me, I would prefer to stay up there on CSU campus and just go out and do things out in the wilderness because that's what I like to do. So I would just do solo hikes up into the mountains from Pingree Park. And I would take a trail that went to, and I can't remember the name, Fass Cirque Lake was one of them, and then, oh, what's the name of that pass?

But up into the Comanche Peak Wilderness is where the trail headed. And so we would take a Mummy Pass is the name of the trail. Mummy Pass, Cirque Lake Meadow Trail. So I would do that one often. There were many trails around the area, but that's the one I would do most often. And one of the times I was doing a solo hike up to Mommy Pass and back down to the Forestry campus,

I do distinctly remember being paralleled on the way down. And the classic case of, I hear something. something 30, 40 feet off to my left. And what the heck is that? I'm hearing something stepping. Is it an elk? Well, it doesn't sound like an elk. It sounds like bipedal. And it's, I stop, it stops, I start, it starts. But, you know, always be a step or so off. So you can always hear that, oh, there's a step. What is that? And I'd always look over. there and trying to get what it is. I remember my called

hello who's over there and no response and just decided, okay, am I crazy? And just going on with the hike. But I remember that happening along that trail outside of Pingree Park. Was there anything else

that was out of the ordinary about the hike? Any weird smells or sounds or lack of sounds or anything I thought? it was really quiet but no no strange smells no no vocalizations um but yeah it was it was very quiet in the in the woods at that point um which it it's not usually you always have when you're up in the mountains in that part of colorado you totally get pine squirrels making their chattering noise regularly and uh you know the jays and other birds um chirping and squawking and it was

quiet. I do remember that. Interesting. In your time at Pingree Park, was the subject of Bigfoot, anything that ever came up or not really in that situation? Not really. And I think just as in the case when I was working for the Forest Service in the summer, I think not a lot of people really knew or thought about Bigfoot and being in Colorado. It was always Oregon, Washington, British Columbia kind of a thing, California, not in Colorado. And it's only been since the advent of the BFRO website that I, at least me finding it, that I thought, oh, there's, actually, there are Bigfoot sightings in Colorado and Wyoming and Montana and all the Rocky Mountains area.

And so I, and I've read stories of people being paralleled, and I said, oh, that's what it was. or I don't know if we're positive, but I'm strongly suspected. That makes me less crazy. I guess the thought is that at the time, is, am I crazy hearing things? And now, you know, that's an explanation that makes sense. As you kind of progressed in your work in, you know, going towards forestry and things, was it in the back of your mind at all that you wanted to also work in, Or were you even working in the hopes of maybe a big foot interaction with this?

Or just weird stuff just happened to happen as you went along in your journey? I think there wasn't really a desire. There was a, but there was always the wondering. There was always the knowledge in the back of my head well, especially once I moved up into the Northwest. On this episode of Plant Killers, we'll explore One Nation's most notorious fruit and vegetable killer. Bad dirt. What makes bad dirt so bad? The answer? The ingredients. But fear not true crime enthusiasts. This story has a happy ending. Miracle Grow organic raised bed and garden soil. It's made with quality organic ingredients from upcycled green waste like compost and aged bark. Unlike the other guys who can't say the same, looks like bad dirt's murdering days are over. Thanks to Miracle Grow. Join us next time on plant killers.

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Nothing that I remember ever happened when I was that young in Washington State. But it's always been on my mind and just didn't think about that being a thing in Colorado. Absolutely. Did being followed like that? that, did that affect how you were in the woods after that scenario? No. I mean, it's been a question that's stuck in my mind ever since. I've never forgotten that.

But I love to hike and I love to be out in the wilderness, and it didn't cause me fear at all. I just kept doing what I was doing. But I seem to remember that there was another occasion or two, when I had that same situation and I was going, huh, there it is again. But it was another place in Colorado and on a different hike.

And I just can't remember the specifics of where that was at this point. I do just remember because as Pingree Park, which was an area that it became very familiar with, that that was the one occasion. I think that was the first one, and that's why it stands out so much to me.

Absolutely. Absolutely. After spending this time in Colorado, did you then next head out to the Northwest, as you'd kind of alluded to before? Yes. So I finished my forestry degree. Didn't find the kind of work that's like permanent. You're going to keep doing it day and day out year after year, but went to go see what kind of jobs can I get was definitely. interested in going back to the northwest part of the country. Not specifically with Bigfoot in mind, but again, it was in my mind when I was moving up there. So I actually had two jobs for the Forest Service in 1995. And so I started off first doing some work in the coast range of Oregon, almost straight west of Portland area.

But I don't recall anything big happening there. Of course, we were working right around some areas that were being logged, so lots of people, lots of noise. So I wouldn't expect there to be much. Or if the Bigfoot was over there, it was super stealthy. I don't remember anything of that. But then later that same year, I moved to take on a job as a fire prevention officer

with Zigzag Ranger District West, or not west, east of Portland. And I'd been working fire jobs. I'd done the one timber job, the timber thinning job, but most of my jobs that I'd done for summer jobs while I was still in school were firefighting jobs. So I'd gained quite a few years of experience with the Bureau of Land Management doing firefighting

around the Rocky Mountains. And so I took the opportunity to go out to forest, the Forest Service in Oregon and landed this job as a fire protection officer which put me in charge of a fire engine but also my main job every day was to patrol

parts of the forest the Mount Hood National Forest east of Portland and so my job was just to patrol looking for fires to be there on the spot if a fire was occurring to see people who might be

not being careful with fire and talk to them or if it was egregious enough, write a ticket for that. I also, because I guess the main thing that was about what I was doing, that was my job, but mainly where I was, I was in an area east of Portland called the Bull Run Watershed. And the Bull Run Watershed is an area that is locked off to the public. The public is not allowed. It's been over 100 years. since the public has been allowed into this Bow Run Watershed.

And the reason being, at least the Giv, is that this is the area, the Bow Run Watershed is where water for City of Portland comes from. So they wanted to keep people out of there so that the water doesn't get tainted or polluted in any way. So it's just the only people allowed in this Bull Run watershed are Forest Service employees and city of Portland Water Company. The Bull Run watershed runs pretty much from the eastern suburbs of Portland. Between the Columbia River Gorge on the north and Highway 26 on the south, and it runs all the way to the Lodol Pass Road,

that was the episode that caught my ear when you had that a month and a half ago or whatever. whatever it was. So I was like, Lolo Pass Road. I know. I drove that road every day. I'm going into the Bull Run, heading from the Forest Service Office to the Bull Run. So that's the area. It's over 100 square miles where there's just a few people in there every day. Very, very few people. So that's a place. No logging is allowed, except on a very case-by-case basis. And it's really for more of a, the Forest Service was to remove some trees here or there for whatever reason. So they let an area get cut down, but it's generally not logged. And the summer I worked there, there was no logging occurring at all.

But you could see evidence that this area of trees was shorter than that area of trees. But other than that, yeah, it's a largely untouched area that's locked off from the public. Absolutely. And there's a few things I want to jump in here with. with just in case the right people are listening. Because this area, as you said, only the right people can get in there and, you know, make sure stuff is okay. It is one of these perfect areas that if a Bigfoot was wanting to hang out where people were not able to mess with them, it would be this area. So if there are individuals listening that also maybe had similar jobs and had experiences in the,

this area, Bull Run. I'd love to talk to you. You can always reach out to me. It's also, I'll throw in this as well. If anyone has had any things happen up on Large Mountain, that's kind of in a similar area, maybe not super similar, but it's up there. I'd love to talk to you as well. But, you know, you provided some interesting photos. I'm going to put those in the YouTube version of this episode as well. I think it's pretty, it's not, normal to be able to see photos of Bull Run, I believe I'd have to do a little bit more research.

But they are very cool photos from the 90s. So, you know, Rick, I'd love to hear maybe a little bit about what were some things that you noticed that were out of the ordinary in this Bull Run area. So

yeah, I worked for the ZigZag Ranger District, and I know I'm being pretty specific, and there were two of us that did this job. I worked in the Bull Run, and that area and the other one worked more around Mount Hood to the east. We crossed sometimes he would come with me

and I would go with him sometimes, but most of us we were solo. So we, again, to explain, there's maybe 10, 12 city of Portland water people that work in there on a daily basis. They stay more towards the Portland metro area.

There's some dams and some reservoirs and that's where they would stay. There was one other Forest Service employee. He was the staff for a fire lookout tower and we'll talk about that in a little bit. And then then me. And that's it because even most days,

Forest Service didn't send anybody else in there. So again, yeah, as we were saying, the perfect place for if Bigfoot wanted to be alone, they can be alone. So the first thing was early on in the summer, they had me going to the roads because nobody drives through here.

They had me going to the roads that cross through the bull run. There's only one main one, and then there's different side roads that you can catch a portion off the main road and come back to it in various places. There's a road that heads out south that comes out, you know, somewhere around Mount Hood Village or something like that. And there's one that comes out the north end, close to the Columbia River Gorge. But mostly it's just one east-west that winds all over the place.

If somebody we're looking at the map, we're talking about NF10 is what they label it on Google Maps. And that one, it traverses the area east-to-west, west-east, but it just it curves all over the place. So anyway, so I had to clear that because, you know, those of you were from the Northwest know that with the rain, things grow like crazy. So if you go for a season without people really going in there and driving on the roads, the brush encroaches on the roads quickly and pretty well. So I was supposed to patrol, but I was also supposed to find these spots and just cut the brush back. and vines growing across the road and cut those backs of the road was clear and you could drive through.

So it was one of the days earlier in the summer that I was doing that, creepy spot number one. And so this was an area where I was just out cutting back the brush. And so I remember when I was working, this took me a few days, maybe two or three, to cut the brush back in that area

so that it was satisfactory off. the road and anytime Forest Service or Portland Watercrues wanted to go through they could without having to worry about trying to squeeze through on these narrow roads. So I was in there working and I just remember that feeling of

the hair raising on the back of my neck and feeling like someone who's here, who's watching me. And I remember looking up, looking around, I don't remember particularly calling out, but I do remember that feeling that someone's watching me. It persisted. and I remember coming back the next day, and it wasn't immediate, like, as soon as I get out of my truck,

but it was that it would appear someone, someone, something showed up and was giving me that feeling, and then the next day, it came back. So it wasn't the whole time I was there, but it was, it was an amount of time, and it was definitely persisted for some time. How long would it approximately take for you to drive into that area? That, not too far.

Okay. I don't think it's a couple of miles. Okay. But, you know, I sent you the picture of the Lolo Pass Road Gate, and that's probably not more than 20 or 30 feet off of the Lolo Pass Road. So barring a vehicle,

and certainly if somebody parked their Forest Service people would notice of vehicle. So, but as far as hiking it probably wouldn't take terribly long to get there. There was also that road. If you see the place on the map, there's an NF, oh, come on, where the number, I'm trying to zoom in where the number will show up that goes above that road. And it winds up the mountain and I'm following it, but I'm not getting it to show me what number. Oh, nope, that's 43. That's a little spur. So there's a road that, that was above it on the slope of ways.

And in that area, the trees weren't terribly thick. It could be. Okay. I was going to say, I thought it was going to be a 10-something. Oftentimes, forest service will just add a number to the end of the road it's coming off of to number it. So it's coming off of NF10, and it's to the north of NF10 on the map, and it kind of does his hairpin turning, goes back east.

And that actually overlooked, I sent you a picture of the Bull Run Lake, and the one where I got the look overlooking from up above, I took from that road. Okay, got it. So with that area, it might have been that side road that I was clearing. But it was right in that area.

And I think you can even tell on the map, there's some thinner. There's some thinner trees if you're looking at the satellite view. So that's where I was working. And yeah, definitely had that feeling like I was being watched. And I think at the time I chalked it up to a bear or a mountain lion. And I was just very wary to keep looking over my shoulder. You know, at the time I did think, well, I wonder if it's Bigfoot.

So because, as I told you before, I knew Bigfoot. I was a believer already. And so just knew that could have been a possibility. It's extremely interesting because, you know, as you've already said, it is a rare occurrence to be even able to talk to someone who has access to this area. So I'm just glad that you were able to come on the show to share more context about it. you know, the normal public, we're not going to have even that contextual information, which is really cool. I think I keep thinking there has to be plenty of Sasquatch in this area.

I just never actually had a visual encounter. And so, but I keep thinking, well, if I've driven through there at night, I keep thinking that would have been a really good possibility. but yeah that was definitely something that happened at one spot where I had to clear the road I had to do a similar project to this this was a lot the second spot that I label creepy spot number two is way down close to the first on this episode of plant killers we'll explore one nation's most notorious fruit and vegetable killer bad dirt what makes bad dirt so bad the answer the ingredients but fear not true crime enthusiasts

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text IHeart to 50505. And with a qualified purchase, you could receive up to $15,000 in free gold or silver. Simply text IHeart to 50505. First, they call it Bull Run Reservoir number one. So one of the major reservoirs that supplies water to the Portland area. And the road at this point is kind of paralleling the reservoir, but it's probably a good hundred yards back from the reservoir, at least. You can't see the reservoir from that point. You can just tell from the map that you're paralleling it. And the road widens in and out and follows the contours. So it'll wind away from the reservoir when you cross. a creek because he's following the contour of the elevation there. And so one of those places

were across the creek, there's a spot where the Forest Service had built a just a little, I don't know, I want to say between a 20 and 30 foot stub off of the road. And that was a place where they had dammed up the creek cascading down from above to, not to damn it permanently, but just enough to make a little pool of water stand there. And the purpose of that was to be able to back a fire engine up to the back of the stub, and you can then pull water out of that pool to fill your tanks. So if you're fighting a fire prolonged, that you can have to go back and fill your tank. You don't have to drive all the way back to the Forest Service station to use a hose.

you can just draw it with your engine from a pool of water. Well, that had become completely overgrown. You could see where the pavement turned towards something else off of the main road, but you couldn't even get a foot or two into it. It was just that overgrown. So my job was to completely clear that, which was a lot of work. That was, I can't remember. It was a week, two.

I don't think it was two weeks, but it was more than a week's worth of work to clear away all the brush and vines from that so that it was open again so that an engine could get to it. And clear it away, so again, around the pool and that sort of thing so that, again, so an engine can get in there and draw water if it was needed. So I was doing that task, and I had the same situation where definitely started to feel. And the forest, the brush was right up next to where I was working, whereas I felt like there was a little bit more openness in that first area that I felt something watching this, the forest is right up on you. And I definitely felt that feeling that I was being watched and something's there and I better be on my guard.

And just as we talked to before, like when I was being parallel, But I do remember at this spot for sure that everything was quiet. The forest felt kind of dead and empty. And I had that creepy feelings while I was working there. And it's several days in a row. So something was in the area and came back to check on me. That seems a little odd for a bear or a mountain lion to me. Yeah, absolutely.

How long would it take to get to this particular area? This one's a longer ways. So to traverse this road by miles, I usually went in on the east side from Lolo Pass Road. That's why I was familiar with the road. I went in from that side and would drive to the west, and then I would pick another route and drive back east and come back out at Lolo Pass most of the time. Sometimes I would try this way or that way to come out a different way. But as I said earlier, there's really only four ways.

out in and out of the bull run. It's just that Lolo Pass was closest to where the Forest Service office is in zigzag, at least it was in 1995. So that was the easiest access to the bull run. So at this point, I don't know, so it's 20 to 30 miles by road across, but it would take half a day to drive it because you just have to drive that slow on these narrow twisting roads with a fire engine. So it's probably, it's about 30 miles from end to end. I would say this is closer to 20 miles in by road.

And the forest is incredibly thick at this part of the bull run. Yeah, it's just incredible. I mean, you think about it's 95, so you don't have, I mean, you don't have a cell phone. It probably wouldn't even work if you did. You know, I mean, did you. there was a radio in the truck radio okay okay so you at least had that wow holy mackerel that just blows my mind actually had a problem one of the days that i was working on this the um problem with the drive shaft and so um i wasn't able to leave on my own i had to call for help to come in and get me um so the tow truck

had to come a long ways into the bull run uh to get my truck out. So it was a long wait. But yeah, I could make contact with somebody if I needed something, but there's nobody to come talk to or see you or help you for hours. It just took that long drive in there. Interesting. I was going to ask if there were stories passed around with the people you worked with in this area. But then I'm thinking like there's not a lot of people to even pass around stories. I mean, so there were,

but nothing, nothing with detail was kind of, I heard it, so I heard stories from my colleague who did the same job I did,

except for not in the Bull Run, because he'd been working there for many years prior to me, and I think he worked there a many years after me. And so he'd been around the Forest Service for a while,

and he's just the things that are whispered around the office, kind of a thing. More specifically, and I think I alluded to this in my email to you right after the episode for Lodopass Road aired, that another one of my jobs weekly, there's a one fire lookout that is still in the Bull Run. And it's called Hickman Butte is the name of the fire lookout. People can Google it, and you'll find pictures of it and find information about Hickman Butte Fire Lookout.

This, the one that has survived because most of those with the advent of technology were torn down and not staffed. And so Hickman Butte was still staffed. There was one volunteer young man who stayed up in the tower 24-7 for weeks at a time. And so one of my jobs was to run up there once a week, grab his garbage, throw it in the back of the engine. but also to bring him about four, I don't say four or five, five gallon containers of water. So he had 20 to 25 gallons of fresh water once a week because there's no water to the top of the, to the top of the Butte where the lookout is. So that was my job once a week to drive up to that lookout.

And like I said, take him water and take his trash. and so the first time I went up there, my colleague who did not work in the bull run drove with me or rode with me up there guiding me how to get which road to turn where to get to the lookout. And so he went up with me and we climbed to the top of the tower, met the volunteer or the employee who worked there.

And I remember looking out, we're on the catwalk around the top of the tower, and we're looking off to the north, northwest, and there was a ridge off in the distance. And they're in a couple of the pictures I sent you. It's about the farthest ridge you can see in those pictures. He pointed at that ridge, and he says, there's all kinds of rumblings about, from the Forest Service employees, about Bigfoot being up over and there. So that was a very clear acknowledgement. Again, the Forest Service, people in the Forest Service know.

They don't share it with the public, but they know. So they talk about amongst themselves, and this is an area that's known, if you want to see Bigfoot, that's where to go. And I've told you, looking at the map, I think it's a wilderness area or really close to one, which means you would have access by foot. You just have to have an adventurous person who would want to walk up in there. This day and age is called the Marco Hatfield Wilderness. I think you had a different name back in the 1990s. But the Hatfield Wilderness is where that ridge line would be just by looking at the pictures

and what the viewscape from that lookout tower would be and where the ridges would be run. It has to be that area. So again, people can get up and of there. One of the last sets of things I sent you were for Nesmith Point, and there used to be a fire tower there, and my friend, colleague,

took me there to that spot, just to show me where the fire tower used to be, and there is a trail that comes up from the Columbia River Gorge, and there's definitely places up there at Nesmith Point, where you can look out, and you can see the Gord down into the gorge in the river and across to

Washington State. the trail takes off from the Elawah, I don't know if I'm saying that right, Elaw Falls parking lot. It is Nesmouth Point Trail, number 428, takes you up to that point. And I hiked in that area, got out of my truck and walked several times because there's no road that takes you right there even from within the Bull Run. Well, the trail, you can tell, is an old two-track road, but it's been abandoned for a while, and it's, and it's, and it's, closed off to vehicle traffic. But, yeah, up in that area is a place that is accessible by trail. There's definitely some knowledge of Forest Service employees of Bigfoot in the Bull Run.

Oh, I just remembered on the fire tower. There was a week when the guy who worked with that, he was married with kids, and he was away from them all summer, and he took a week. week off from Manning the Fire Tower to go back and be with family for a week. And so it fell to me to be up in the tower all day, every day. And so for that week, and I want to say that was in August, I was up in there. And I just, most days I would just drive up and climb up the tower and sit in the tower and watch for smoke during the day. There was one night out of the bunch that I, I decided, no, I just want to stay up here for the night.

And so I did and got permission to do so. And it was definitely interesting. And I remember going out on the catwalk and straining to look with binoculars and scopes, is there anything moving out there? Can I hear anything? I don't recall that anything like that happened while I was up there, which was disappointing, honestly. Because that was one time I was hoping to see a big foot, really truly thought about

wanting to see one. And it's just looking at the pictures of that area. And I mean, I know I have heard of things happening up in that Hatfield Wilderness that you talked about. I believe I've had conversations about that area in the past. And also it comes pretty close to that whole Larch Mountain area, too, that comes up a lot. Yep. Yep. Yeah, you just said Larch Mountain.

Oh, my goodness. I just remember that now. I remember that colleague of mine saying over there is Large Mountain, Thayer's Bend Bigfoot there. Really? I mentioned the name, Large Mountain. So he confirmed that. So he was a seasonal employee like me. He's just one that returned year after year.

I think he worked for the Oregon Department, Highway Department, on snow plows in the winter and did Forest Service firefighting in the summer for years after year. so the uh the episode that we've referred to um that you heard um that you heard um is that anything are you familiar with the area that they were they were talking about yes yes i am so that was in the area that my colleague on this episode of plant killers will explore one nation's most notorious fruit and vegetable killer bad dirt what makes bad dirt so bad. The answer? The ingredients. But fear not true crime enthusiasts. This story has a happy ending. Miracle Grow organic raised bed and garden soil. It's made with quality organic ingredients from

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about how precious metals can fit into a retirement strategy, including options to hold them inside an IRA. To get your free wealth protection guide, text IHeart to 50505. And with a qualified purchase, you could receive up to $15,000 in free gold or silver. Text IHeart to 50505 today. Did the patrols, the dividing line was the Lolo Pass road. He was west of it and I was east of it. But as I said, there were some times that we crossed over and he would come with me on my patrol.

And I go with him on his patrol. That happened a few times. Not a lot, but a few times. And so part of his patrol was to drive that muddy fork road, which is the name of the road that comes off the Lolo Pass road where there are campgrounds. There's several campgrounds back on the Muddy Fork Road off to the east of the low-low-pass road. In fact, there was one time where there was a nasty rollover accident that happened in the middle of the night. And he and I had to get out of bed and go respond to that emergency situation. And so we were out there right in that area.

So somebody had taken a turn too fast on the Forest Service road. roads and rolled over in there. So I spent some time in there. I know where the campgrounds are. I know where the creek is. I remember looking down over the creek that they were talking about in that episode. And that's, again, part of what prompted me to write you is like, oh, I can remember that spot.

Yeah, it's, I've never had, I'm just, I'm thinking of that. I'm not sure how I feel about that one is it makes me a little nervous. it's um that it's i don't know man um i don't know if i would go out in that area i mean well you did it for years i mean it was your job going out in that area by yourself uh just a radio and you're i mean it sounds like you did it for years no i only did it for one year okay i did those kinds of things for years in different parts of the country i was kind of the adventurous sort that wanted to just well let's go try getting a job in this part of the country and let's go try this part of the country just to see the country sort of a thing.

The other guy who did the same job as me had done it for years. So I had his experience, and again, he's the one who's saying, yeah, big puts up on large mountain kind of a thing. So, yeah, I don't, not sure what else to add there, but that area where the campgrounds are, that wouldn't be too concerning. And I guess I was out there in that bull run day after day for about six, months. I did that job. I don't know. Maybe like five

five months. And they're just about every day. And I don't know. I didn't ever worry about something happening to me. I guess I always thought I know where the road is and I know where I have a radio and I did have a walkie-talkie

that would connect into the same network radio if I was off the truck. I just guess I didn't really worry about it, didn't think about it. But it was definitely adventurous to be in this area where nobody was. You know, the occasion I remember coming across people a couple of times that were in there, but they were, they had lighter vehicles than I, and one of them was a motorcycle. There's no way I'm catching up to a motorcycle on these roads with a, with an engine. So,

yeah, I did encounter people a couple of times. I never actually talked to them. Okay, so you were, You encountered unauthorized people in this area then? Yep. Wow. Oh, man. Any idea what they may have been doing in there? I'm guessing they're just, well, the one was riding a dirt bike. I'm sure they were just riding their bike back in there and seeing how far they could, I'm guessing they were exploring.

I'm trying to remember that area of Bull Run. There's power lines that run through there, and there's a power line cut. We heard plenty that Bigfoot likes to follow power lines, cuts just because it's easier walking for him or her. So, yep, I found the cut. If you find Ames, Oregon, actually, which is close to the town of Bull Run, Oregon, and you can find a straight line that runs across right,

large mountain. So that would have been an interesting place to look in there between, yeah, the little town of Ames, Oregon, and Large Mountain. It comes out on the east side near Bonneville Power Station, which is the Bonneville Dam Powers. Yeah, Bonneville Dam Hydro Power, Hydroelectric Power. Sure, that's right. But yeah, I remember the dirt bike took off down that.

I followed him on the road for a bit, and then he took off down that cut off road. There's no way. I'm not going to try an age, and I'll just break it or get stuck. The other time was up in that northern area, because people, that is, there's a road that runs out to the north end of, Yep NF National Forest Road 20 and there's actually a place on the map where the large mountain road

also connects in which I believe the large mountain road is public like a county road or something like that and there's a Forest Service entrance there where Forest Service Road 20 takes off and it's called the North entrance

oh I labeled that salmon berries because there were a lot of salmon berries in there and I stopped and eat them. They were really good. But yeah, there was an area there and to the bull run in that area. And so somebody was in that area. They parked along the large mountain road. I think honestly, that one, I don't think. I think they were in their gathering berries.

So they were not very far from the entrance at all. there were just those vines in there with the berries on them. Such an interesting area. I know there's just a ton of encounters from this area. You just have to talk to the right people. But wow, it has been so enlightening being able to talk to someone who spent time in this area. Rick, I want to make sure that you were able to share all. the things that you had come prepared to share today?

I think so. I think we hit the highlights. Fantastic. Again, I appreciate you, you know, sharing some things from over your years in the forestry service. And if this jogs the mind of anyone listening about places like Larch Mountain or Bull Run, I would love to talk to you. You can reach out to me at bigfoot society at gmail.com.

Send me an email. and I would love to talk to you about what you experienced as well. But Rick, thank you so much for coming on the show today and for spending some time with us. I appreciate, Jeremiah. You're welcome. I was calling about the Bigfoot story and Garden of the Gods. And I just want to tell you that everyone calls them Sasquatch around here.

But not only that, I'm telling you, I don't really know much, but why it was calling is because, yes, I live in Harrisburg, Illinois. We have statues of it outside of our courthouse and went uptown so people could take pictures with it. We have Sasquatch festivals. I'm not sure what Murphy Spurl does, but I do know this. And I could give you gas station phone numbers. I could give you a courthouse number. I can give you the best ways to get to some of the more.

beautiful towns. If you are interested in that, I guess you could either text me. I probably won't answer a call. I don't know. And maybe send a text beforehand. That might work. But I can lead you to people who could lead you to people. And if that's any of, if that tickles your fancy, let me know. I'll do it for you. Thanks so much. My name is Beth. If you'd like to share a voicemail to be potentially featured on the show as well, head over to Bigfoot Society Podcast.com and hit the share your encounter button.

Just want to take a minute to say thank you for listening to this episode of the Bigfoot Society podcast. Rick's story is one of those encounters that lingers, not because of what was seen, but because of what was felt, that deep sense that something else was out there and it was watching. So a huge thanks to Rick for giving us a rare look into the Bull Run watershed, a place most of us will never see, but one that may be hiding more than just old trees and locked roads. And if you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to us on YouTube, hit the bell icon so you don't miss any new episodes, and share this one with a friend who's in a Bigfoot, off-limits forests, or accounts from Oregon. If you're listening on Apple Podcast or Spotify, make sure you're following the show, and please leave a review if you can, five-star positive. reviews help more people find these encounters. And hey, if you or someone you know, I said a Bigfoot encounter, especially in Oregon,

there are places like Lolo Pass, Mount Hood, or the Bull Run watershed, I'd love to hear your stories. Please shoot me an email at Bigfoot Society at gmail.com. One more thing, Sasquod Shummerfest is coming up really soon, July 11th through the 12th at Greenwater's Park in Oak Ridge, Oregon. I hope to see you there. I'll be there in person listening. people share their Bigfoot accounts. Bigfoot Society listeners can grab a two-day pass for the price of a one-day admission with code BFS at checkout. Tickets are available now at www.sasquatch Summerfest.com. Thanks again for being part of the Bigfoot Society. Until next time, stay curious, stay

safe. And remember, just because of place is off limits doesn't mean that it's empty. See you in the woods. On this episode of Plant Killers, we'll explore One Nation's most notorious fruit and vegetable killer. Bad dirt. What makes bad dirt so bad? The answer? The ingredients. But fear not true crime enthusiasts. This story has a happy ending. Miracle Grow organic raised bed and garden soil. It's made with quality organic ingredients from upcycled green waste like compost and aged bark. Unlike the other guys who can't say the same, looks like bad dirt's murdering days are over. Thanks to Miracle Grow. Join us next time on plant killers. Plan B made over-the-counter emergency contraception

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Use as directed. With record U.S. debt, ongoing geopolitical tensions and constant at market swings, many people are rethinking how to protect their savings. Physical gold and silver have been used for generations during uncertain times to diversify, not replace traditional investments. Preserve gold helps Americans understand these options. Text IHeart to 50505 to get your free wealth protection guide and explore how precious metals may fit into your retirement planning. Plan B made over-the-counter emergency contraception legal more than 20 years.

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