Snowblind Page 9
The term “Bigfoot” was coined in the middle of the last century during a rash of sightings in Northern California.
During the last fifty years, 110 Bigfoot sightings have been reported across 37 counties in the state of Colorado alone.
The Sasquatch is covered with hair, not fur. Fur is composed of “guard hairs” and an undercoat, while primates have only one type of hair.
15% of close encounter eyewitnesses describe a foul stench comparable to the odor of smegma. Gorillas exude such an overwhelming aroma from the axillary organ in their armpits when distressed.
Field-collected handprints demonstrate marked lack of musculature at the base of the thumb, which itself is oriented much closer to the wrist. Nearly all prints demonstrate distinct knuckle demarcations, as though made by a partially clenched fist.
The mean length of the 702 footprints collected over the last half-century is 15.6 inches. (The largest was 24” long and 8” wide.) The average length of a human foot is 9.4 inches. All demonstrate a hallux variance suitable for abduction: an opposable great toe.
The average height of all eyewitness accounts is 7’ 10”. An established relationship exists in primates between chest circumference and weight. If the great ape model is applied, factoring in all physical criteria, the average Sasquatch can be estimated to weigh 650 pounds.
Scientists speculate Bigfoot is a relict population of Gigantopithecus that migrated across the Bering Land Bridge from China, where the majority of its fossils are found. Others believe Paranthropus robustus, an extinct hominin with the crested skull and bipedal gait of a gorilla, to be a more likely candidate. Still others propose Maganthropus, an Asian proto-human, whose teeth were mysteriously discovered in the Pacific Northwest, which is, coincidentally, the region with the most bigfoot sightings and closest to the theorized Bering Land Bridge.
There are more than 20,000,000 acres of largely unexplored and completely undeveloped protected lands within the boundaries of the 42 National Wilderness Areas, 11 National Forests, 8 National Wildlife Refuges, 4 National Parks, 2 National Grasslands, and 2 National Conservation Areas in the state of Colorado.
According to the World Wildlife Foundation, more than 1,200 new species were discovered in the decade between 1999 and 2009: 39 mammals, 16 birds, 55 reptiles, 216 amphibians, 257 fish, and 637 plants.
In a 2002 interview on the NPR show “Science Friday,” renowned primatologist Jane Goodall expressed her thoughts in the existence of Bigfoot. “I’m sure they exist.” Later, when faced with the question that all detractors invariably ask, “You know, why isn’t there a body? I can’t answer that, and maybe they don’t exist, but I want them to.”
I borrowed the name for my fictional diner, the Alferd Packer Memorial Grill, from the cafeteria on the University of Colorado campus in hopes that the reference to the notorious cannibal might subtly explain my theory as to why no Bigfoot bodies have ever been found.
About The Author
Michael McBride is the author of Bloodletting, Blood Wish, God’s End, Immun3, Infinity Twice Removed (with William C. Rasmussen), Innocents Lost, Predatory Instinct and The Infected, all from Delirium Books. He lives with his wife and children in Avalanche Country. For more information about the author or to explore his other works, please visit: www.michaelmcbride.net.
Table of Contents
November 21st: Pine Springs, Colorado
November 18th: Mt. Isolation
November 19th: Mt. Isolation
November 20th: Mt. Isolation
November 21st: Rocky Mountains
November 21st: Pine Springs, Colorado
Author’s Note
About The Author