Buck, a bush pilot, shared his experience from this past spring after dropping off two out-of-state clients for a bear hunt near Salcha.
With an hour or so of free time, he decided to go north and land for a hike. He grabbed his day bag with a .454 Casull on his chest and began to hike to the treeline across the tundra.
He noticed movement in the trees and assumed it was a moose. He grabbed his camera and hung it around his neck and continued to walk. As he approached the treeline, he began to get the feeling of being watched. He continued to hike across a berry patch, looking to spot the moose for pictures. He knelt down and made a female moose call to attempt to draw it out.
He began to hear objects land in the tundra around his location when he noticed one was a tiny rock. Confounded, he looks around to determine where they're coming from, then noticed the other tiny rocks. He assumed it was a hunter he missed when he was flying over the area.
He called out to the hunter, but no response, and then he was overcome with a sudden feeling of dread he's never before felt. He continued to call out and let the hunter know he's there an armed as rocks continue to drop around him. He decided to continue to the edge of the black spruce trees.
About twenty yards into the trees, he hears grunts, then decides to parallel the source with his camera ready. He heard movement in front of him and was ready for the shot when his camera suddenly died. He took his pack off to grab new batteries, when he then heard a scream that was so loud it sounded like it was going to shatter his ear drums and felt it in his chest.
He dropped his camera and drew his pistol as the scream continued, sounding like the source was standing over him. He picked up his camera and stuffed it in his pack, slung it over his shoulder, and made way back to the plane. As he backed out, he continued to catch movement in the distance but never got a visual.
Once he's back out to the treeline, he picked up his balaclava he left previously on the ground before he entered the trees, and about fifty feet away, the Sasquatch stepped out and showed itself, standing approximately 10' tall. He dropped his pack and pistol, and then dropped to his knees from the shock.
He grabbed his pistol and shot in the air, but it doesn't move. He grabbed his pack and started to head back to the plane, looking over his shoulder every few steps, where the Sasquatch seemed to be the identical distance each time. It seemed to smile each time he looked back.
He continued to make way, tripping and stumbling through the spongy moss, eventually making it back to the plane. He threw open the door, and when he looked back, it was back at the tree line, which would have required incredible speed in that span of time.
He fired up the plane and took off.
