There are three rules when you’re camping in Sasquatch country: Take the high ground, let them come to you and remove any potential weapons from the area. Sasquatch are known to throw rocks—big rocks—when they’re mad. (The Iroquoian Stone Giants of upstate New York, quite possibly a native American legend of Bigfoot, are described as "employing stones for weapons.") On a two-day expedition several weeks later, I was glad I listened to my own advice.

At approximately 7:30 on the first morning of my second stake-out, I took a short walk through the woods. On my return, I sensed something was amiss. The energy around me was strange, as if something was about to happen.

And then it did, and very quickly.