Sasquatch Chronicles - SC EP:715 These Monsters Chasing Me

Episode Date: December 11, 2020

A listener writes "Long story short, 10 years ago I went on a 30 mile hike through the Big Cypress National preserve and encountered 7 different bigfoots 3 of which I saw. Beginning this last year I have been going back out into the swamp and have gathered some interesting photos and videos." Spoke to the witness and he describes a long night of several creatures around his camp upon leaving he saw two large creatures watching him, the creatures began to harass and stalk him. The witness said "I was a runner and I could out run anyone back in the day, I have never ran so hard in my life and every time I looked back this creature was right there. I thought I was going to die. As I was leaving I saw a smaller one sitting in a tree watching me. I stopped and looked up at it. I continued to run. I was so exhausted and overheated as I came out of the woods, I was in bad shape. I ended up going to the hospital. I was mumbling monsters to the EMT's and medical staff, this has haunted me for the last ten years, I cannot get it out of my dreams at night."

July, 2012, in the Sierra's, near Clipper Mills, California. A couple is camping with their dogs. In the middle of the night, they're awoken by strange sounds in the forest. Here's a clip of what they captured. Crazy. Not a bear? That's no dog. It's a bear.

He's a bear? I don't think so. I didn't call that much. What the fuck is that? look like somebody was bent over and had their head in the window of the deer blind. It either heard me or smelled me, and he pulled his head out of the tent and stood straight up. That shocked me. They don't make people that big.

The way it moved, almost as if it was gliding across the beach, I've never seen anything move like that in my life. They were screaming at each other in gibberish It sounded like a language And they were chumtering away back and forward, back and forwards, back and forwards, back and forwards I know what a bear looks like and there is no way on this planet But what I saw were bears What are you reporting?

Get somebody out here What's going on now, sir? That son of a bitch is about 6'9, I don't know Do you see him now, sir? Yes, I'm looking right here Uh-uh Hi, this is Carol King from Music City, and you're listening to Sasquatch Chronicles. Welcome to the show, everyone.

Thanks for being here tonight. Got a great show playing for you tonight. We're going to be chatting with Joseph, and Joseph comes to us from Florida. Ten years ago, he was out hiking and camping out in the middle of the swamps. He was on a two-day trip, I believe, and the last night, these creatures came in and surrounded his camp and followed him all the way out. And it's a pretty scary encounter. Joseph was pretty shook up by it. And even though it happened 10 years ago, he still shook up by it.

If you've had an encounter and you'd like to be on the show, shoot me an email. My email address is Wes at Sasquatchronicles.com. And if you get a chance, check out Sasquotronicles.com. There's a daily blog and you can become a member and get additional shows. Let's jump into it tonight. I want to welcome Joseph to the show. Joseph, thanks for coming on. Hey, thanks for having me, Wes.

Yeah, thanks for being here, man. And I know your encounter took place 10 years ago in the Florida Swamps. Pretty terrifying account, really. If you would, kind of take us back to that moment. Tell us what you were doing and how did all of this start? Yeah, so I was 19 years old and I made a decision to hike the Florida Trail from US 41 to Alligator Alley going. north from U.S. 41 to Alligator Alley. And I think it was June or July.

I think it was June maybe. So it was in the summer. And, you know, I just went to Bass Pro shops and got all my stuff that I needed. And off I went. So, you know, there was a two-day hike for me. None of my friends wanted to go with me. They all said I was kind of crazy. And, you know, they weren't doing it.

So I said, okay, well, I'm going. So, you know, went on this two-day hike. First day, just a regular, regular hike. We're really uneventful. And so I put up my hammock for the first night. And that's when things kind of started to get, you know, I'm in my hammock. It's twilight. It's evening.

And I hear, I hear like a whoop. Like, my neighbor, I don't want to be loud. My neighbor's anything. I'm crazy. but basically like that, just really loud. And then I started hearing a tree knocks, like something's taking a stick and hitting the trees. And then I heard it in different locations.

And before long, I start hearing, you know, footprint. Something's walking. Like something's walking. And, you know, when things are quiet, you can hear something's walking, especially when it's coming through the brush. I hear it coming from three different directions.

And then, I mean, it walks up pretty close. And then they ended up, you know, on all directions. You know, they came from three different directions. But it turns out there was four of these things that basically surrounded me. So I'm laying in my, I'm laying in my hammock and just listening to these things. And, you know, I'm scared. I'm really scared. And several times I in the night I got up, you know, lifted my head up and looked around, turned my head lamp on, looked around,

never saw anything. And I heard them, you know, all night. And I guess I was so tired from the night, from the walking that I think I would pass in and out. which that there's part of the story that really just don't make sense even you know to me that it just doesn't make sense so but that's kind of one of the things that doesn't really make sense is I would be in and out and at one point in the night I heard this something hit my hammock but I didn't feel anything but I heard it and it turns out in the morning um it and it was loud. It hit it and then it was like a loud noise, whatever. I had hung my food bag up behind my head in the hammock, like on the tree behind me or behind my head, whatever. This is 10 years

ago. So some of the finer details, you know, are starting to get lost. But anyway, in the morning, my food bag is on the floor. So, you know, I surmised that this thing hit my food bag and it had fallen. And so anyway, morning comes. I'm scared. I'm scared. scared like you wouldn't believe scared. I, as soon as I think it's coming into daylight, I pack up everything, never see a thing, and I start on the trail, keep going north. And on my way out, I see two sets of footprints that were coming in. And this is like the swamp.

This is the Florida Everglades. So, I mean, it's a lot of mud. And, you know, there's there's footprints. There's good footprints. So there's a big set of footprints, and with a small set of footprints. And when I say small, I mean, bigger than mine. But compared to the big footprint, it was small.

So anyway, and then what I noticed that was really struck out to me was a stride. You know, if you walk and you're tracking your footprints, there's maybe like a foot, maybe a foot between your toe and your heel. this thing i mean i had to you know i'm six two i'm not small and i have to like reach to get the stride like really reach my legs like as far as i can take the stride of the bigger one so i said to myself you know hey i really want to get out of here but i said you know what this is important no one's going to believe this so i whip out my phone i take pictures of the footprints you know throw my phone in my pocket and off i go so really uneventivemental

until the afternoon. Keep going. And, you know, if you ever hike in the summer in South Florida in the swamp, it's not an easy hike. It's water and mud and it's just not easy. And it's hot. So you've got to take a lot of breaks. So I'm taking one of my breaks that I have to take. I'm leaning up against the tree and I hear the same whoop that I, that whoop or yell, whatever, that I heard the previous evening.

And it was to the north of me. So I thought, oh, okay, here we go. So anyway, so when I felt like I was good to go, I got up and kept going north. And then when I got to, you know, it'll be like water and then it'll come up on dry ground or like a higher ground. And so this is on like a higher ground and I stop again. And when I hike, you know, I'm hiking by myself. I'm just the way I do it. I'm very quiet.

But anyway, I stop. And so after, and I'm just sitting there, the clouds are kind of rolling in. I'm thinking, okay, I'm going to refill my water if it starts to rain and thinking about all this stuff. And then I start hearing footprints. I start hearing, sounds like someone walking through the woods or something. Something's coming through the woods. So it's coming through the woods and it's coming kind of like diagonally. It's hard for me to say over the phone, I can draw it out.

But this thing, whatever it was, was going to come out into the open. And I'm sitting on my butt, you know, and I'm thinking, okay, I don't want whatever this thing is, I don't want to startle anything or anything just to kind of happen upon me and be startled. So I start making noise, you know, kind of like shifting my body and my pack and everything. And so this thing stops. So I, I, I, I. get up and I start walking towards this thing because I said, I want to know what this thing is. I've heard them, but I haven't seen anything. And I said, whatever this thing is, I want to know.

So I start walking towards it. And as I'm doing that, at some point, on the way in, I had stepped in crap. Didn't smell anything. And I know this sounds kind of crazy, but this is just what happened. So I step in crap and so I'm, you know, it's looked like a giant pile of human crap that I'd stepped in. And so I'm looking at my footprint and giant pile of crap. And I just, okay, just, I don't know what to make of it. Anyway, I thought it was very odd. And so I keep going kind of like down the trail a little, a short little ways where this thing is about to come out. and I'm looking into the brush.

And if you've been in like real thick brush, you know, looking in, it can almost be like dark. It's dark. It's not easy to see. So I'm standing there. I'm looking into the brush and I see an outline of just an outline of, it looks like a person except giant. Just I would say, you know, the size of a of a door put a head on it.

and that's what I saw as far as an outline goes. And it was just standing there just facing me. And in my mind, I thought, this is real life. That's what was flashed through my mind. And I'm standing there. I must have been 20 feet. I mean, you know, 20 feet away. And I'm standing there.

My dad, before I left, he gave me a snub-nosed 38 revolver. So, you know, I've got my stumbose 30 revolver in my hand, and I'm looking at this giant thing. And so I thought, okay, this is real life. Like, I need to, I think reality kind of set in that I need to start. I need to get out of here. So I'm leaving the trail kind of like, I can't tell you over the phone, but it kind of like snakes and it goes back down into the marsh, the mud and the water. water, whatever, and it all opens up. So I was in thick stuff and then it all kind of like opens up. And when you're out there, you know, there's these things that, I don't know what they are,

but they grow on trees all throughout the swamp. And so you can think you see something and you're not really seeing what you think you see. So I think I see this another thing, you know, same shape standing there in front of me, you know, 100 yards away, what have you. And and then I'm thinking, okay, no, it's just, my eyes are playing tricks on me. And then I see this shape squat straight down. And it's jet black. And then I'm thinking, oh, crap. Like, this is, this is not good.

This is bad. And it's right on the trail. And so, you know, you're hiking by yourself. There are a couple things you don't want to do. You know, you don't want to get snake bit. And there's no self-service out there. So, like, you break an ankle, you get snake bit, you lose the trail. you're having a bad day if one of those things happen.

So I definitely, I know, okay, I can't lose the trail. I'm not turning around and going back. You know, I'm probably at this point 20 miles into a 30 mile hike. I'm not going back. And those things that came around me in the night are behind me. I have to go forward. And I just passed one of these things. Okay, that was basically right on the trail.

So I'm like, okay, what do I do? And I think, okay, I'm going to do like a big, walking a big sea and just walk around this thing and then get right back on the trail. We keep going. So that's what I, that's what I do. And as I'm walking around this thing, you know, this thing is squatting. And it's about the size of a door. And it's standing behind like a three inch little tree. And it like pivot.

So if I squat or you squat, anyone squats. And then you say, okay, like pivot, do 180. You know, it's kind of awkward to have to do that. This thing was not awkward at all. It was, it's as if it floated around this tree, which I just found very peculiar. So it's jet black. It's got hair all over. I don't see its face.

It's the faces behind the tree. And I don't, I don't look at the face. I think, okay, I know some animals, at the time, this is what I'm thinking. I know some animals will be provoked if you look at them in the eyes. I don't even know that's true. That's what I've been told. Or I was told at the time. I don't know.

So I think, okay, I'm not going to look at it in the face. I'm kind of like watching it from my side. You know, I'm not like staring at it or anything. But I'm definitely watching it. I've got my 38 in my hand. I go around, get back on the trail and keep going. And then this thing starts following me. me. And that's when I start to really lose my composure.

It's hard to put it into words. It's just hard to put it into words that experience of having this thing follow me. And every time I would turn around, it would just be closer and just standing there. And that's when I genuinely thought that I was. going to die. I genuinely believe that this thing was going to kill me. It's not like a bear

was, you know, if someone's had a bear, follow them or a cougar, this is seeing this thing and experiencing it, it strikes in you a fear that that I've never experienced before.

Just I don't know. Anyway. You're only kind of helpless, I would imagine, at that moment. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I'm,

I'm six to, I'm an athlete. I mean, if I don't want, I mean, I even still, if, if there,

look, people, if I don't want people to, I'm a runner, okay? I'm a runner. I'm an athlete. And I'm moving.

My adrenaline's pumping. I'm moving. And this thing, it just, every time I would look back, it would just be closer and just standing there. Like it wasn't even trying.

And I'm, I'm not like a I'm yeah I said what I needed to say on that anyway I thought this thing's going to kill me and then I thought I thought okay this is like I'm going to kill myself and I know it's kind of like a dark part of the story

whatever have you but I thought I'm going to kill myself and so like I had to come to this this decision in my mind where I said I went back and forth on on making that decision because I you have to understand that I I just you know I genuinely thought that I was going to die and so I decided no I'm not going to do that I'm going to fight if I have to I'm going to fight I'm going to you know and this thing is what seven eight nine hundred I don't know nine hundred pound this thing is huge you know snum nose 38 revolver ain't going to cut it so you know I thought okay I'm going to wait

And if this thing attacks me, I'm just going to fight, do the best I can, you know, aim for the head, whatever. Wait for the last moment. And so that was the plan. And so I keep going. And as I'm looking back, I no longer see this thing, but I end up passing this very shortly after that. I guesstimated, sorry, it's kind of scattered my thoughts, but it was maybe a quarter mile that this, I estimated this thing followed me for. And shortly after it stopped, I passed a tree. And I'm looking back and I see another one sitting in the tree. And I didn't understand.

It didn't make sense to me because I just passed that tree. And I didn't see anything. And now I'm looking back and I see something that's obviously smaller. And how tall it was, I don't know. It was sitting in a tree like, like as if it was sitting. a kid would be sitting in a swing, maybe five, six foot. I don't know, but it was just sitting there. And I remember stopping and looking, just trying to, like, understand, like, are my eyes

playing tricks on me? What am I seeing? And I thought, the conclusion is this is just a smaller one that I, I guess I missed sitting there and it's just looking at me. and and that's maybe a hundred you know 100 yards away and the one that I passed the second one that I saw that I passed

I maybe was ended up being 25 yards away 25 yards away from it 20 yards it's hard hard to say so anyway I keep going and at this point I just kind of like lost my my head I lost my composure and just started basically like freak I just freaked out almost like I would say I would you could

almost I always say I was in a panic okay and I don't just so just so people understand I'm not one that you know freaks out very easily I'm pretty level-headed um I don't scare easy I mean I'm 19 years old I'm like I'm gonna go hike 30 miles to ever least by myself I mean who you know most 19-year-olds won't do that most people won't do that but so that's just to give you some context um i lost it i lost my composure and i thought okay i'm going to i'm going to shoot around in the air and maybe after after i pass this stuff this thing i thought maybe there's it's it's hunting season or not hunting season and if i fire shots up fwc the wildlife guys they'll think maybe they're out here and they'll hear it and think

someone's poaching and they'll come. So I fired around off in the air and then I thought, I'm going to grab my VHF radio, which at the time I was doing a lot of diving and I had my marine radio. I knew there wasn't a cell phone reception out there. And I thought, well, maybe if I get into trouble, I can, you know, reach someone on my radio. So I go into my, I go to my pack and the battery is gone on my radio. And that's one thing that I made sure, I made sure that it was charged and I knew where it was and it was there. It was ready to go.

And I go for it and the battery is gone. And I can't, that's something that's like a big question mark. I don't even know. So I rip my pack apart looking for the battery. I think, you know, it's got to be here. It's not there. So then I think, okay, I got to move fast and, you know, basically running for my life.

So I put my water canister on my belt, my water purification tablets, everything that I, my GPS, everything that I thought that I, you know, was really important, put it on my belt and I decided to ditch my pack. So I ditch my pack. I figure I need to move light, fast. And, you know, I ended up, you know, you can only move so fast in the heat for so long. before you have to stop. So I ended up just shedding clothes. I ended up, you know, I had long pants at the time, and for some reason I thought I could move faster if I had shorts.

So I ended up cutting my long pants. I had like Army-type BDU pants. I cut them down, which didn't help, I guess, whatever. Anyway, so and as I'm running out, I dive into the wall. water when I start to get hot and I start taking mud and I just start kicking myself in mud to keep me cool, you know, so I could just keep moving and stay cool. So anyway, when I, when I got out, the trail empties out on I-75 alligator alley and it comes out to like a rest stop. You got to walk west a little bit to a rest stop. But anyway, I walk over to this rest stop. There's these guys

sitting behind their truck and I just walked up to him and I just fell on the floor. And I just started crying, like bawling my eyes out. And I just was like overwhelmed because I knew it was over. And they looked at me, they called the, you know, whoever they called ambulance, you know, FHP, Florida Highway Patrol and ambulance shows up. And I'm telling everyone, these monsters are following me, chasing me, whatever. And I'm like hysterical. Um, pretty hysterical. Oh, and by the way, as I'm, as I'm running, I'm not.

stopping to pee. So when I had to pee, I just, I just pissed myself. So I'm covered. I smell like piss. I've pissed myself several times. I've got long pants that are turned into shorts, no shirt on. At this point, no shirt on. I'm caked in mud from head to toe. And I'm crying. I'm like hysterical. I'm sure it was a sight. So anyway, I'm overcome. I'm just like sobbing because I knew that it was over and that it was done. And they take Naples Hospital and they call my parents. I live on the East Coast. My parents drive over and I'm telling everyone, you know, these, this monsters chasing me.

These things are following me, whatever. And everyone's telling me, no, that didn't happen. No, you're wrong. You're just making things up, you know. And the doctor says, you know, hey, you hit your head. that's what happened. And I'm like, no,

I didn't hit my head. So he tells my parents that and he's like, listen, we want to give him a cat scan because we think that, you know, he's got a head injury or something. So they give me a cat scan.

It all comes out clear. And, you know, fun fact, both my toenails, my big toenails, fell off. If you walk through water for two days,

that's, I guess, what happens. So anyway, afterwards, you know, I would tell people, And they would just say, oh, you're eating mushrooms or you're dehydrated, you're hallucinating.

Or, you know, I've heard it. I've heard it all, you know? It's kind of like sad and frustrating because it's like, well, don't you know me? You know, like, don't you know my character to a lot of people that are close to me? They know me and they believe me. And I really don't care, you know, what people think. You know, it's just, hey, the truth is the truth. Like, this is what happened.

And after the event, man, I, I could. I didn't want to sleep alone. You know, I had nightmares. I had nightmares for a long time. I still have, when I talk about it, I still have dreams, you know? I can imagine it. It definitely stays with you. And you and I were talking about that the other day, you know, after an encounter,

most people have nightmares for months afterwards. It's such a, there is PTSD. And I don't want to take PTSD away from anyone who's served in the military, but it is a form of PTSD that people go through. was there any details from any of the creatures that you saw that really stood out to you I know you're in the Florida swamps and you know there's tree cover and there's a canopy and everything like that but was there anything that really stood out to you when you were looking at any of these creatures? They were jet black like the it was it was hairy and just jet black and I got the sense

that these things were intelligent they that were very very, intelligent. In the night, I don't know how to describe it other than this. In the night, I got the feeling, I can just say it's a feeling, I guess, that they were curious. The second one that I saw that was behind the little tree that ended up following me, I got the feeling from that one that it was curious and that it did not want me there. That there was some aggression. I don't want to say aggression, but I got the feeling that it did. didn't want me there. What do you make of, I'll ask you about the intent as far as what you think they were doing, but you know, you describe your bag being hit and then the, the ham radio or the

UHF radio that you use, you know, when you're out on the sea, the battery being missing. Do you think maybe you didn't put the battery on it or do you think it was taken in the middle of the I only, I mean, obviously only you would know. I know for sure that it was there and it was ready to go when I started because I knew that if something bad happened, that was my lifeline. And so that's something that I took very seriously. So, you know, I know for sure that it was there when I started. The only time that that radio was out of my site was, when I was, when I passed out.

and that's and that's the detail that I think is important because you know when you're past you don't know what's going on around you when you're passed out yeah there's an account your account reminds me of uh I believe it was in Washington state this guy was in his hammock and he was middle of nowhere and he woke up I can't remember if it was early I won't say it was early morning he woke up and um he said one creature was standing over the top of him looking at him and the other one was going through his pack and there was a were stealing stuff out of his pack. And if you listen to his description, he's describing what sounds like a Sasquatch. But he said they were upright, just like people would be. One was going through his pack. The other one was kind of giving them the stink eye looking at him. And he let him obviously take whatever they wanted to take. It's terrifying, man, especially going out there, you know,

Sasquatch aside, it's dangerous going out what you're doing out in the middle of those swamps, 30 miles deep, you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's, you know, I guess when you're 19, you don't make the best, the best quality decisions, you know what I mean? Yeah, you're going to live forever when you're 19. We've all been there. Yeah. What do you think the intent was? I mean, do you think the intent was, if you hang around too long or if you stopped for too long, they were going to hurt you? Or do you think that they were just trying to push you out? What's kind of your take on what was going on there? on the one that was well the first one i think it was just by chance that i think that was just

kind of a chance encounter um where we just i just we just stumbled into each other i guess and then the the second one same thing um i think it started to follow me because looking back on it and i didn't form this opinion until years later when i you know after um but the second one was following me, I think because there was a smaller one that I was walking towards. And so it just wanted to, it wanted to get the point across that I needed to just go and keep going. And that point, that point came in loud and clear. So I, if it wanted, if these things wanted to, I could have disappeared. So if they wanted to take me, I think they could have.

You know, my my parents, my parents were praying for me a lot. You know, I just talked to my dad recently and brought it up. And he, you know, he told me that. And my grandmother, my grandfather. And my aunt, my aunt calls my grandmother. And she says, hey, Joseph's really on my heart, on my mind. Is he okay? And she goes, well, actually, no, he's, he's not.

He's out, you know, in the swamp or whatever. And, you know, going on a two-day hike is for a lot of people, that's just nothing. That's just common, that's a common thing. Not a big deal. But I think for whatever reason, you know, they were very concerned about me. And I think if it wasn't, if it wasn't for their prayers, I don't know if I, if I would be here, you know, if I'd just be missing, disappear, what have you. I mean, if these things wanted me, they could have had me. They would have had you.

Yeah, no doubt. When they were pacing you out, was there any vocalizations that you remember as far as, I know you heard the whoops, but as you were making your exit and they were following you, was there any vocalizations that you remember? Nothing. Nothing. I mean, there's footprints. There's footprints all over the place. That was, that's really struck out to me. struck out, stuck out, I'm sorry, stuck out to me.

Nothing. As far as vocalizations or anything, you know, I didn't say anything. It's terrifying, man. Your whole encounter is terrifying because you don't know what's going to happen next. And it doesn't feel like they want to hug at that moment. I'm very, very curious. What was kind of your take on the whole Sasquatch subject prior to having this encounter? Yeah.

So I had gone on the BFRO website prior to this. And just because, you know, hey, what's up with this Bigfoot thing? I wanted to just, you know, you're just curious. Just so I found my way onto that site and just read several of the accounts. And I came to the conclusion that they're real based on the eyewitness testimonies and reading through. And I just thought, okay, they're real and they're out there because there's too many people saying the same things, too many eyewitness accounts that corroborate with each other. And so I thought there's got to be something to it.

When I heard the whoop and I heard the wood knocks, I thought, you know, it brought me back to, you know, what I had read. But it's one thing to read about something. And it's another thing to, you know, I mean, really experience it. So, yeah, so I had, in theory, thought there was something to it prior to this. Have ever gone back to that area? So that is a, to get there, to get where I was, that's a, you know, you kind of have to commit to at least an overnight trip. And that's not something I'm willing to commit to.

I have gone back on the south side and the north side. of I-75 on the Florida Trail. And I just do day hikes. I don't go alone. I bring people. I'm armed. And we've gone in. We've seen footprints.

We have pictures and all sorts of stuff. And I didn't go back until this last year, 10 years later. And I brought my brother with me. And he saw, you know, it's like you're walking and you don't see any footprints. And then all of a sudden you see giant footprints out. You know, I'm talking like, miles and miles in, you start seeing giant footprints. You know, it's, what can you say?

What is there to think? You know, so that was kind of nice to be, because for so long, people think that, you know, you're just a whack job or you're nuts or maybe he's telling the truth. Maybe he's not. But when you have someone in your family that's like, well, I don't know how to explain these footprints, you know, it's kind of, it's been, it's been very, nice to have that. It's been nice to have that, yeah. Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. You know, and you and I were talking about this the other day, you come across to a mother bear and her

cub and you're dead. You're not going to outrun it. You're not going to out swim it and you're not going to out climb it. You're a dead man. Bear's going to kill it. Any real wildlife, if it has its young nearby, you're in big trouble. What's weird about Sasquatch is they don't really seem to react like you would think most wild animals would react. You know, if you're heading towards it's young, it's just going to kill you. But it's weird that Sasquatch would follow you out, but you hear it time and time again where people have run into younger ones, you know, and the Sasquatch don't seem to react. As long as you don't do anything, they don't seem to really react like you would think an animal or, you know, an animal

would react. Why do you think they didn't hurt you? I genuinely, I mean, you were talking about just my personal belief. I personally believe that they would have if it wasn't for my family praying for me. I firmly believe I firmly believe I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for their prayers. I think that God was protecting me. Maybe it had angels around me. I don't know. but I think I don't think I don't think I would be here.

I think they would have. I think honestly, they would have. I just, that's just what I believe. I don't know if that's right or not, but. Yeah, it's a fair answer. You know, it is odd in a lot of situations to where they come just on the edge of killing you and then they don't, which is weird to me. But they'll definitely intimidate you and they'll make you afraid and they'll make you want to leave. You know, you're already leaving at that point. It's weird that the Sasquatch would follow you

and make sure you make your way out. But you hear that all the time too. You hear people who are being followed out of the woods. And it isn't until they get to the edge of the tree line. These creatures stop. Over the last 10 years, how has it affected you this experience? That's a great question. When I came out, I had a complete, I know this kind of sounds so, but I had a complete different kind of almost an outlook on life. So when I went in, you know, I wasn't, I wasn't living probably the way that I should be. And I came out really valuing life. I even looked at water differently.

You know, I just saw everything is more beautiful and something to be like life as to be valued and cherished. And so it really, that's what really spurred. so I'm a Christian and that's what really spurred me that was kind of like the catalyst in my life in my personal spiritual journey that that that's what really made me to start taking my faith seriously I came out of there like okay you know with with a purpose and a drive in life that I didn't have before so really like a beautiful um and people who people who people who know me can attest to that. I mean, they can just, in my family and everyone,

they just can attest to that. So it's like I had to fight to live. I had to fight to live. I know that sounds silly. But it's like I had to want it, you know? And I felt like I was in a situation where, and on my way out too, I almost stepped on, you know,

the whole time I didn't step on any snakes on my way out, I almost stepped on. Maybe it's because I was hysterical and moving fast and not paying attention. but I almost stepped on a few water moxins. And then, you know, when you get close, they kind of, they'll curl up and then their head will come back. And they'll, you can, they'll open up their mouths and you see, like, their white mouths. And I came real close to stepping on a few of them. And I didn't.

So, I don't know. I forget the question, but. No, that's all right, man. I think you're lucky to be here because you were an easy target. It is a terrifying account. I know 10 years is a lot of time to heal. And I want to ask you, would you ever want to see one again? Yes and no.

Yes and no. So I think I would. And at this, let me see one. Let me see one. And then I'll let you know. Let me see one again. I'll tell you. You know, I'll answer that question.

I don't. I kind of have mixed feelings, to be honest. Yeah, and that's understandable. I think a lot of times people who even have terrifying encounters, after some time passes, they go, you know what, I would like to see one again, maybe from a distance and maybe it not chasing me. Yes. But there's this moment, I think, after you've had an encounter to where you know what you saw and you know what you experienced.

But having said that, it's this weird human psychology to where we think, I didn't really see that. Did I dream that up? Did that really have? It feels like a bad dream. And it's so hard to come to the reality of, yeah, that's actually what I saw. You know, but there's that you fight with your own inner self being like, there's no way that actually happened. Maybe I didn't see that. Maybe it.

But at the end of the day, you can't lie to yourself. You know what you saw. So I think a lot of people, even if they have terrifying encounters, they go, yeah, I would like to see one again. maybe from about 300 yards away and I'm on top of a mountain and there's no way for it to get to me. You know what I mean? Just to kind of prove to yourself, like if I could go back, I wish I could see it longer or maybe film it or I think that's what drives a lot of people after they've had an encounter, especially a terrifying encounter. Yeah. For me, there's no question.

There's no question about, you know, did I really see that? you know there it's like there's no doubt in my mind and if if if i saw one again i hope it wouldn't be a terrifying experience but i'm a more i'm mentally prepared now i go out with you know i go out armed i got more i have more than a 38 snub nose revolver when i go out and i don't go out alone so i i feel i feel comfort when i do and when i do i don't go go out, you know, I went out once to set up a trail cam in a wildlife management area. And I just felt so uneasy. Just being there by myself, just everything, just, I'm watching my back every time.

I'm jumpy. I'm anxious. It's just not fun. I just can't do it. I just don't want to do it. So just being with a, you know, a small group of people that I trust, you know, and if we saw one again under those circumstances, you know, Yeah, I think that would be, that would be cool.

Under different circumstances, no doubt. I'm always jealous of the people that are like, yeah, I was driving my car and it was on the side of the road, you know, and they're passing it. And, you know, that's the encounter I'd want. You know, when you're in your car, you're heading, you're doing 50 miles an hour and, you know, you're relatively safe. What do you think that they are, Joe? What's kind of your personal opinion? Well, like you say all the time, you know, I don't have one. in my garage that I'm studying.

And I like that because, look, nobody really knows. We can speculate. So my best guess, my speculation from my point of view and from my worldview, I kind of think that they're in line with what the Bible talks about with the Nephilim in Genesis chapter 6, where these fallen angels came and had sex with women or whatever. And then the offspring was Nephom. So I think that they're human hybrids. I think they're my personal opinion, okay,

I think that they're half angel, evil, fallen angel, and half human. And that's just my, me guessing. I don't know, but based on, you know, some of the things that I've heard, other people on your podcast and whatnot with mind speaking, cloaking. And even when I saw them, like, you know, there's, I came out with an impression that they're extremely intelligent. When I say intelligent, not like an animal intelligent, I'm talking like a person or smarter type of intelligence.

So, you know, that's just what I think. I think that they're evil human hybrids is what I personally think that they are. Yeah, and that's a fair answer. It's like I said, no one really knows. I'm just kind of curious on your opinion. And you're right. I mean, you could be right. there's a lot of weird accounts of them doing bizarre things.

I just talked to a cop who he's sitting in his patrol car. And this, he sees what appears to be like, you remember the movie Predator? Yes. And he sees that. And it's walking. And he's looking at it and he's in shock. What's fascinating about his account, so he's watching this saying, and it's not far from his patrol car. And he's terrified at this point.

and it stops and kind of looks back in his direction or he felt like it was looking at him. And then it takes off and it runs behind a pillar next to this church. It's kind of a long story, but it's next to a woodline. And he can still see it behind the pillar. He can see the shoulders sticking out. But he said, Wes, it reminded me of a distortion in the air. It did not appear to be, you know, physical, but it was there. And then it took off running.

And the moment it took off running, he said it looked like what people describe as Sasquatch. He said all of a sudden it became very physical. And, you know, not that a cop is more credible than anyone else, but a cop has more to lose by coming forward and talking about this. But that sort of experience, you hear time and time again from people who specifically have these things on their property. A lot of people who have encounters, your encounter lasted a lot longer than, And most people, it's a quick glimpse and it's gone.

But people have been around them for a while. They'll describe bizarre things like that or their eyes glowing. I've talked to many hunters who, you know, they know when there's eye shine and when there's eye glow. They seem to do bizarre things that defy a normal animal. And in my opinion, I think there's more to the story. There's more going on here than you'll hear from quote unquote Bigfoot research experts. who got an answer for everything. You know, when someone has an answer for everything,

don't ask any follow-up questions because their theories start to fall apart the moment you do that. But it's hard to pass off some of this weird stuff that goes on. I don't think that they're the nephalum, but I can see why you would think that. You know, and again, I could be wrong. You know what I mean?

I don't know at all. I could be 100% wrong. They could be the nephalum. But they seem to do weird things that defy a normal animal. And you're right. Until you experience them coming around you, it's not like a normal animal. It's almost like a human intelligence, but smarter.

Right. Yes. 100%. You say that, and it's hard to understand until you've experienced it to really know. You know, the level of fear and to experience the sense of intelligence, it's hard to put it into words. Yeah, and your encounter, man, is terrifying, especially when you're by yourself. For me, you know, I think it'd be terrifying, Sasquatch aside, terrifying just to go hang out in the swamps of Florida, 30 miles deep. Because you know everything wants to kill you. I mean, you got water moccasins, you got gaiters, you got, you name it, everything wants to kill you. And then on top of that, you throw these creatures in.

You wouldn't catch me out there. So I got to give it to you for going out there on a 30 mile hike, man. Well, anytime you want to come and go for a little walk in the woods out there, you know, we've started to go back. You know, I've started to go back out just on day hikes. And we have a good time. So if you ever want to, you know, you're ever in South Florida and want to challenge and come on, let's let's go. How about we hang out at the beach and drinks are on me?

All right. You got a deal. Yeah. We'll go diving. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, I appreciate you sharing it. because it is a terrifying encounter, I mean, to be run out of there. And you're talking about a long period of time to where you're not really sure if you're

going to make it out or not. You know, I know you were nervous about telling the part about, you know, killing yourself. But if you're in that moment, you know, I used to joke on the show. If you shoot one, save one bullet for yourself because you might need it. And it was a half joke because there was some truth behind that. And I think the way you were just trying to exit. you didn't, I think if you would have started pointing your gun towards them and maybe fired off, I think you would have been, I wouldn't be talking to you.

I think you're probably right. I think you're probably right. I know when I was walking past it, I had the hammer cocked back and I wasn't, I was trying to do anything but provoke for sure. And if I had, and some people, some, I've told the story before and some people say, why don't you shoot it? And they, you know, those people that say that, they just don't understand, And, you know, they're definitely not hunters, and they just don't understand, you know, you know, try shooting a 200-pound bear with a 38. It just doesn't, it's not going to go good for you, much less a 700-pound or however much this thing weighed, you know, giant thing, monster, you know. Yeah, you're just going to piss it off as what you're doing. You're just going to make it mad, exactly, yeah.

Yeah. It really is a good thing that you didn't shoot. I think in that situation, you would have been, and then, you know, I mean, you saw three of them, but the next. night before when you were sitting in your hammock, you had the impression there was more than three, didn't you? Yeah. So I distinctly heard four around me. And they were, you know, one to the north, one to the south, one to the east, one to the west. And so they were around me and they were, I could hear them very close. I knew that they were very, very close. And I distinctly heard the footsteps, the bipedal walking. And, you know, they're in thick brush. You know,

I mean, it's loud. I'm hearing them walk through the brush. It's loud. You can hear each one of them. So there was definitely four of them. And like I said, I didn't see them that night, but I definitely heard them. Definitely heard them walk. Yeah, last question I want to ask you.

How many knocks did you hear when you were in your hammock? How many wood knocks did you hear? Do you remember? You know, Wes, I don't remember. I wish I would have paid attention, but I just honestly don't. don't remember. Yeah, and that's okay. That's okay.

Don't know. It's terrifying, man, especially to have them around you, and you really are at their mercy at that moment. And you hear it from the cop I was telling you about earlier, you know, cops are armed to the teeth, and he had the impression that it was a paperweight,

you know, was pointless. It was useless compared to what he was seeing. It's scary account, man. I really appreciate you coming forward because, you know, you're not the only guy this has actually happened to and I think a lot of people after they have an encounter like this they think I'm the only one that's seen this and people are going to think

I'm crazy if I talk about it and it couldn't be farther from the truth well I agree west and let me just thank you man for having me on for talking with me you know most people don't know how much work that I'm sure goes into this you told me you skipped dinner lunch You've been at it all day. You're at it every day. And I'm sure there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. So, man, thanks for the work that you do, the time that you put in. I think it's important. And you do a fantastic job. The platform that you have, you have quite a large platform. And it's for good reason. You know, you put in work. So, man, thanks for having me, Wes. And thanks for everything you do. Thanks so much, Joseph. You know, it's, it is a lot of work. and but it does help people you know help me to listen to people's encounters after I had my own and I hope it helps someone else but thank you for coming on all right thanks Wes and that's it for tonight everyone remember if you've had an encounter shoot me an email my email address is

Wes at Sasquatch Chronicles.com and if you get a chance to check out Sasquatch Chronicles.com you can become a member and get additional shows until next time everyone