I’ve been to the top of Pike’s Peak as a boy – in a car – and many tens of thousands do this every year. I remember (barely) when Cripple Creek was a ghost town. Things are far, far more built up today. I find it hard to believe that a troop of napes would live right on the shoulders of that mountain. I could see, maybe, one passing through from the Sangre de Christo.

As to the tapping one of you heard. Are you sure it wasn’t a woodpecker? It’s been a while since I’ve been out there. How familiar are you with that region, and the behavior of its wildlife – including alarm calls?

BTW, the Knights Templar were a thoroughly Roman Catholic order, but they became so rich that the King of France craved their gold and he, not the Pope, disbanded them.

The Freemasons were invented by 17th century Deists such as the famous George Herbert’s brother. They do not go back to the Knights of the Temple. Anytime anyone becomes famous, it seems like the Freemasons claim that person was a member.

Hey mystery_man, that sort of dismissiveness is pervasive.

I know from my own personal experiences and I have a number of accounts from individuals as well who tried to contact officials with reports of encounters, only to be casually dismissed, mocked or ignored; it happens all too often.

Often the response is: “So what do you want me to do about it?”

Or: “It’s probably some of the locals joking around…”

Or: “Bigfoot doesn’t exist, so what you saw must have been something else…”

Or (the most common response): “………………………………….”

There are only a few from whom I have gotten positive responses. Most, not all, but most, are just indifferent or not at all comfortable discussing it.

Here’s to hoping the episode is a good one.

I can imagine the scenario that this could lead to next.

Me: So have you ever come across any supposed physical evidence of Bigfoot at all?
Officer: Well, we have come across some strange hairs left at the place of a sighting.
Me: Where are the hairs now?
Officer: Same place the sighting reports are.
Me: You didn’t keep them?
Officer: (After a thoughtful silence.) No.

The footprint test was good and the one biologist had a hard time disproving the footprints found in the soil.

Thank you put the notice up of this episode! I would have missed it otherwise, and this one hits close to home as it’s, well, my home, and I’ve had two experiences in these hills which I attribute to the CO bigfoot (jokingly to my friends, sincerely to myself).

The first was about four years ago, hunting near some beaver ponds about 15 miles outside of Lake City (where I grew up). I found some tracks that struck me as mighty strange, and didn’t match up with anything that I knew of. I went back a couple of days later and took some pictures, but as they’re not incredibly distinct I’ve only shown them to my friends, figuring there’s already plenty of blobfoot prints floating around already. That is what sparked my active interest in cryptozoology and brought me here.

The second was about a year ago. My sister and I hiked into the San Isabelle Natl. Forest for some high action one on one paintball. We were a couple of miles in, far away from any possible innocent bystanders, and we began calibrating our paintball guns (shooting them against trees and such to get the right velocity). After a dozen shots or so, we were both surprised to hear our shots being answered by what sounded like sticks beating together. I judged it to be coming from about a quarter mile away, off the trail. We stopped, and listened. The pounding repeated randomly a few times, then stopped. We shot off a few more rounds, and it started again. This went on for a good 15 minutes, and I thought the sound to be moving towards us. That might have been my imagination. I was an outspoken bigfoot advocate by that time, and I jokingly voiced my hopes for an encounter, but as it turns out, the possibility seemed to feel a bit more likely than were were comfortable with, so we vacated the area. I still wish I had the guts to investigate.

Very nice female Division of Wildlife officer: “Occasionally.”
Me: “What do you do?”
Officer: “We take down their information.”
Me: “Do you keep it? Is there a file?”
Officer (politely) “No.”

Pike county Ga. with the county seat of Zebulon is named after Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr.

Elkins Creek runs through Pike Co. and empties into the Flint River.

Elkins Creek is the site that one of the best bigfoot footprint cast came from. The cast contained dermal ridge detail and was inspected by Jimmy Chillcut.