I’m of the persuasion that several factors were at play and that may have lead to the encounter.

1) Territorialism: I believe that sasquatch males are highly territorial of other male sasquatches, much more so than any territorial behavior directed towards the average human male. I feel certain that many woods travelers are observed by sasquatch every day, but very few allow their presence to be known. Matthew’s size would certainly become very interesting for any dominant male sasquatch in the area. As we see, Matt’s physical stature is well outside the norm.

2) The need to breed; Like all males the sex drive is one of the strongest if not ‘the’ strongest natural instinct. The fact that Matthew was accompanied by a female would probably instigate heightened curiosity. Matthew may have been very close to an aggressive / confrontational challenge for his wife. The chuffing heard by every family member would lead me to believe that the sasquatch wasn’t particularly cautious about being observed. I mean absolutely no disrespect towards Mrs. Johnson, but I have to wonder if her obvious attractiveness may have caused even a more heightened interest.

3) This speculative scenario among others is bore out by the observation by all the Johnsons of the oft reported typical sasquatch odor. As we know, in male gorillas, the large apocrine glands produce a viscous fluid that when oxidized by contact with the air create a horrendously rank, (and probably individualistic) odor. The release of this fluid seems to be controlled by the individual and as studied by primatologists has definite social and sexual significance. In a side note it would be interesting to study the possible correlation between the approximate 45% of observations reporting a foul odor and the proximity of females in those reports.

If any of the above has any merit we have to wonder why the challenge never took place. Only the big guy (the hairy one) really has this answer. If we construct a crude timeline of the encounter we might conclude that;

1) The sasquatch was aware of Matt and his family before they were cognizant of his presence.

2) The sasquatch probably behaved exactly as he would have if he were observing a competitor in his territory, probably, in sasquatchese; vocalizing and giving his intruder an opportunity to vanish.

3) Having not persuaded the intruder to leave, his next reaction was to observe the prize and assess his options, then he became disinterested in Matt, having decided it was no real contest in any vie for dominance.

4) Turning his attention to observing Mrs. Johnson and her children, perhaps, out of some unspoken code of sasquatch ethics, the alpha male departed.

Yes I know this last speculation is a stretch, but in my opinion, worth a thought.

I have been of the opinion now for a long time sasquatches commonly observe humans in their territory. The vast majority are never aware of the creatures presence as the sasquatch chooses almost invariably to remain hidden and unseen. Its only when there is specific cause for close or prolonged investigation that we might become aware of the sasquatch. This is not to imply that these creatures aren’t diligent in maintaining the integrity of there territories—they are. I believe that they are able to discern trespass on an almost sub-conscious level. There senses are so finely evolved that we may not even be able to speculate as to their acuity.

We should consider this when ever we enter the deep wilderness. I know that in the case of brown bears, as huge and lumbering as they are, they know how to remain inconspicuous and hidden, sometimes within a few yards of a spot I had just passed. This has never much concerned me while in the woods, but afterwards when reviewing the days or weeks activities/hunts, I often have my own apocrine gland episode, with hair standing on end at just the thought of what transpired…or didn’t! How much finer though the abilities of an adult sasquatch to detect and evade than even the knavish brown bear..

I have a environmental scientist friend who reported finding a child’s naked feet tracks along a mud riverbank, deep in the woods by the small town of Yale on Vancouver island, in an area with no public access or roads, far from any settlement. He was perplexed by the find.

It’s very likely what he indeed found was a juvenile sasquatch’s tracks.

I found 14 inch tracks on Mt. Provost near Duncan BC, in more than one location. 14 inch is approaching human foot length, especially in a padded snow boot, and so you can easily see when the tracks drop into the 13 to 12 inch category they quickly fall into the ‘noise’ of human tracks. If I hadn’t found the clear toe impressions in the fresh snow tracks, I would have had to regard them all as inconclusive.

And I would also say that it’s just as common to find juvenile tracks beside adult tracks as it is to find them embedded within tracks. Jeff Meldrum indicated at the Harrison Hot Springs conference that the individual known as ‘Patty’ was matched to identical tracks that were found a month or so before the Patterson video, walking with two juveniles, in an area near Bluff creek.

@Cryptoz -We can’t address the relation of bigfoot to known humanoids. They MIGHT not be a relative of any. They might be a new hominid, but they might be a wombat. Until there is a body, or a scientifically studied classification (C’mon, Dr Ketchum…we’re counting on you!), all we can do is conjecture.