Narrator (8:09)
Clara steps carefully over a large fallen log, trying not to disturb the array of mushrooms that grow on its mossy side. She makes it over and crouches to get a better look at the little fungi. Clara takes a quick photo of the mushrooms before straightening up and hurrying down the track behind the rest of her team. She is caught in a flurry of excitement and nerves. This is her first trip as a junior researcher with the National Wildlife foundation, and it's on their very first expedition to find the elusive creature known as Bigfoot. It's a dream job for her. Ever since the first camping trip she can remember, at five years old, she has wanted to work out in the forest, protecting nature and encouraging conversation. The other members of her team are all older and much more experienced. Where she gets tangled in briars or steps in a hidden mud patch, they seem to remain at ease and mostly clean. How do they do that? Clara jogs to keep up with the others. She attempts to keep one eye on the track in front of her, while at the same time taking in the details of her surroundings. She tries to commit everything to memory. The way the trees tower above her, the sound of the birds in the thickets, the smell of the forest. The path they are following is little more than an animal track, but it leads out into a clearing of sorts. The impossibly large trees seem to move away from one another, creating wider avenues for the researchers to walk down. The bushes and thick ferns that usually crowd the ground beneath the trees have given way to a bright green carpet of clover atop the floor of fallen needles. The lead researcher announces to the small party that they will camp here for the evening and everyone sets immediately to work on their tasks. Some clear a spot on the ground and gather rocks for a small fire pit, while others spread out to find firewood. One or two people start removing tents from packs and setting them up, while still others start making their evening meal. Clara is amongst those tasked with finding firewood. She picks a direction at random and marches away. Determined to use even this small opportunity to prove herself, Clara takes her time picking up pieces of discarded wood, taking photos of interesting plants, and generally familiarizing herself with the area. She is drawn from her light hearted perusal of the forest by the sound of footsteps nearby. It is late in the day now, and the soft darkness of night has already started to descend. Not wanting to disturb any fauna in the area, Clara crouches down and silently removes her headlamp from her pocket. She puts it on her head and covers the light with one hand before switching it on with the other. She then slowly uncovers the light to better illuminate the forest around her. The footsteps disappear as quickly as they appeared, but Clara looks around nonetheless. Perhaps the animal left some footprints in the soft earth around her. After several minutes of searching, Clara finds a patch of mud only a few feet from where she was standing. The dark, soft earth clearly bears the imprint of a large foot, but there are some ferns in the way. She gently pushes aside the greenery and stares at the print. It's big, very big. Bigger than anything else she has ever seen. It has five toes. It looks like a man's footprint, only two to three times bigger. With shaking hands, Clara takes a picture of the print. Her excitement is nearly bubbling over as she takes a few more shots from various angles. Could this be exactly what the field expedition has been looking for? Clara makes a note of the location and begins heading back to camp. Night has fallen by the time she arrives. The smell of the campfire and a hearty stew bubbling away bring her out of her thoughts. Her companions laugh amiably and ask what took her so long. She hasn't brought any firewood back. Clara ignores them and goes straight to the leader of the expedition. Without saying a word, Clara hands her camera to the woman so she can see the footprint. A hushed silence falls over the camp as the leader looks at the photos and then passes the camera around to the rest of the group. The camera makes its way back to Clara and the leader asks her to guide her to the prince. The rest of the group is ordered to stay and watch over the camp while the two women go off together. Clara leads as well as she can and is relieved to find that the prince are exactly where she remembered them. The leader bends down and examines the prints with her flashlight. She tells Clara that they will need to make a mold of these prints in the morning and look for any more in the area when they have daylight. But for now, she congratulates Clara on finding the first piece of evidence in their expedition. Clara is ecstatic. The two women return back to camp. The other members of the expedition ask Clara questions about the experience and congratulate her on her discovery. As they finish eating and everyone begins to clear away their food before bed, some of the older members of the group start to tell stories. Clara listens with bated breath. Everyone in the group seems to have at least one story of a close encounter with their subject. Clara hopes that more than anything, she will have a story of her own by the end of the trip. Soon they put out the fire and everyone crawls into their tents and sleeping bags. They drift off under a ceiling of purple sky and silvery stars. The next morning, the entire camp is a flurry of activity. There are the usual chores for breaking camp, making breakfast, and getting ready for another day of exploring. But now Clara leads others to the tracks she found the night before. They are taking measurements, mixing lightweight plaster, and taking even more photos. They do not find any other prints in the area, but they do take a plaster cast of the print. Clara is elected to be the person to care for the precious cargo. Since she Is the one who found it in the first place. They finally start the day's trek at about midday, With Clara bringing up the rear once again, this time wearing the largest smile she can manage. The day is bright and sunny. Despite the tall trees, Dappled white gold sunlight Filters down To the expedition as they walk. The beams of light Illuminate floating moats. And generally bring a cheerful atmosphere to the forest. The warmth of the day Puts everyone in a good mood. Even the birds Seem to be chirping that much louder and more beautifully. A few hours into their walking, Someone spots A fluffy watcher in the forest. A family of raccoons watch the humans pass by from the hollow of a tree. Their little bandit masks hold owlish eyes, and tiny black noses Sniff the air as they walk. Clara begins talking to one of the other researchers. She asks him how they can be sure that they have found the print of a sasquatch. The researcher explains that wild bears also have large feet with five toes. They have unretractable claws which leave distinct imprints on the earth. This print had no such claws. Other animals don't have feet big enough or don't have the correct number of toes. Clara and the researcher share a laugh about the possibility that they could just have come across the tracks of Paul bunyan. But there's no hoofprint for babe the blue ox, so it's more likely to be the elusive bigfoot. This expedition is unique because it is the first official research trip to determine the existence of a sasquatch, Also known as bigfoot. After many decades of rumors, myths, and downright hoaxes, the national wildlife foundation finally decided to conduct a real study. Clara was honored to have gotten a place on the team for her first real job out of school. She was even more impressed to discover the established careers of her fellow researchers. But the thing that really took her by surprise Was that every one of them, to varying degrees, Was a believer. Some think there's something out in the wild of the pacific northwest, but don't speculate about what it could be. Others are certain that it is some previously extinct species Or a species that we already know about that is displaying strange behaviors. And one or two of them Truly think that they are all tracking a sasquatch. Clara, for her part, Isn't sure what they are going to find for what she believes, but she approaches the project with unerring curiosity and a passion for the outdoors. In preparation for this trip, Clara did mountains of research. She can list off the top of her head Every recorded sighting and incident concerning the Bigfoot, she has watched the one minute long film about a hundred times. She has seen every blurry photograph and heard every scratchy recording. According to her research, the footprint she found last night seems to fall into the sand. Same category as all the other ones people have collected over the years. The difficulty in evidence even as seemingly solid as a footprint is that there have been so many hoaxes. Many of the famous Bigfoot prints were made by people who had bought or carved large feet out of wood and then purposefully planted fake footprints. Some of these incidents were for benign reasons, such as the man on a logging team who did it to scare away any thieves from the site. Others were purely to get people riled up. And the thing about hoaxes is that once one of them is successful, it inevitably inspires a slew of copycats and imitators. Clara would like to believe that her footprint is genuine, but she has the mind of a scientist and won't propose a hypothesis until she gets more information. The day wears on as the expedition journeys deeper into the forest. As the sun reaches its midday point, the heat of it sends a purple mist through the forest from the evaporating dew of the morning. Tendrils of mist drift slowly between the trees and cast the world in a soft focus. The atmosphere becomes peaceful and calm. No member of the expedition feels the need to speak. They enjoy the sound of the birds singing on unseen perches. The path leads steadily uphill as they reach the base of the foothills. When they pause for a brief break, the leader tells Clara that they are heading up towards a series of caves in one of the valleys between the hills. Clara nods, seeing the wisdom in this decision. If the Sasquatch does exist, it would need a large dwelling for shelter and caves make the most sense. Another day begins to draw to a close and the mist sticks around through the amber light of golden hour. As they break to set up camp for the evening, the light of sunset shines through the moist air. It looks as though clouds of pure gold are drifting here and there. Clara again sees, sets out to collect firewood. She admires the way the light paints the forest in a fiery tone. Though Clara knows that logically that she is unlikely to happen upon more evidence For a second night in a row. She cannot help but feel a bubble of excitement in her chest. Her mind brings forth vibrant images of her winning some sort of scientific award and being lauded by her peers as a great success. As she daydreams, Clara picks up various bits of discarded wood, testing it with her hands to make sure that it is dry enough for the fire. She lingers away from the camp for as long as she dares, searching the ground around her for any sign of another footprint. Finally, she accepts that the area is lacking in large prints or convenient mud patches and returns to the rest of her team. A couple of people call out to her as she joins the rest of the camp, jokingly asking if she has found the Bigfoot yet. She laughs back that she suspects a few of their company of being Sasquatches in disguise. The group is merry and in good spirits as the evening falls. Once again, they fall asleep under the stars, though this time the sky is streaked with wispy clouds. Clara shifts in her sleeping bag. She decided to forego a tent because it it was such a lovely evening and her sleeping bag itself is waterproof. She opens her eyes blearily, wondering vaguely what could have awoken her. The world around her is dominated by the lavender haze of predawn. Only the brightest stars will will shine in the face of the rising sun. The air smells crisp, and fresh dew alights on every leaf and twig, as if the entire world is bedecked in pure crystal. Clara is not yet free of the soothing tangles of sleep, but she can sense movement just outside the circle of tents and sleeping bags. She can even hear the soft sound of something moving stealthily through the ferns. Clara's mind pulls up an array of possible sources. It could be a herd of elk creeping through the glade, or perhaps it is a family of foxes looking for any leftover food. It could even be a curious young bear drawn to the strange smells of the group. Clara, careful to move slowly, pulls her head up slightly so she can peek at their visitor. The weak dawn light illuminates little more than a large shape under the eaves of the trees. To one side, the mysterious creature unheeding her moves on from shadow to shadow, never quite appearing in full view. Clara's mind races with possibilities. Should she try to wake someone? Or perhaps she should try to get a photo. If she stands, she'll surely scare the animal off. What if she wakes someone and it isn't even the Bigfoot? Anyway? The creature is turning away from the camp now, and Clara has just one chance. She pulls herself out of her sleeping bag and gets slowly to her feet. The large creature is some distance away. It is barely more than a shadow between the trees, but it stops moving and seems to turn in her direction. Clara stares, too stunned to move. She has no idea how much time has passed but eventually, the shadows she's been staring at appear to be nothing more than some vegetation. Hesitantly at first, but with growing confidence, Clara makes her way towards the spot where the creature is. Never taking her eyes from the shadows, Clara arrives at the place where she could swear she saw it. But there is nothing there. The ground here is hard packed earth with no signs of footprints. Clara makes her way back to the camp. Deep in thought, she barely notices when the others start stirring and waking up around her. She decides not to mention anything to her companions. For the third day in a row, the group follows their trail once again. They camped last night at the base of the foothills. Today, the trail leads up and is more strenuous. Clara enjoys the workout. Each breath of fresh air into her lungs feels like a blast of invigorating energy. The creature from the morning still appears in her mind every once in a while, however, around lunchtime, the expedition arrives at the first in a series of caves in the foothills. They put down their packs and have some lunch, excited by the chance to explore a new landscape. This is the best possible location to find proof of the Bigfoot, if there is any. As the others chatter like the birds in the trees, Clara takes an apple and wanders into one of the nearby caves. The cave is dark and warm, which surprises her. She can hear the cheerful splashing of a spring spring and wonders if there are perhaps hot springs that keep these caves so cozy. The walls are covered in hanging ferns and moss. Clara goes slightly deeper and waits for her eyes to adjust. What she sees near the back cave wall surprises her. There is a patch of thick, bushy moss growing like a carpet in one spot. As Clara peers closer, she can see that it contains all different kinds of mosses. It is as if someone transplanted mosses from the forest to this spot in the cave. There is also another area with a collection of strange items. Roughly carved bowls and cups are clustered together next to to some other utensils. Everything is either carved or fashioned from stones. The area has the distinct feeling of being regularly used. A little further into the cave, Clara finds her suspicions about the hot water are confirmed. There is a small pool from which steam gently rises. Clara dips her fingers into the pool and finds that the water is like a warm bath. Just then, a sound makes her look around, but she sees no one else in the cave. Clara returns to her companions and tells them about what she's found. They spend the rest of the afternoon photographing, measuring in, documenting the discovery. They are careful to put everything back where they found it once they are done with their documentation. Towards the end of the day, the leader of the group tells everyone that they will need to walk back down to the base of the hill to camp. They don't want to disturb whatever creature lives in this cave by camping on their front doorstep. Everyone agrees and they pack up to leave as usual. Clara brings up the rear. The rest of the group disappears down the path and under the COVID of the trees. Clara pauses and turns to look back up at the remarkable caves. In the cave opening, there is a tall figure staring at her. Clara, caught by its gaze, feels an overwhelming sense of peace overcome her. The figure stands taller than a man. It appears to be covered in dark brown fur which blows gently in the wind. Clara is too far away to see any more details. The creature lifts one arm slowly, as if in greeting. Clara finds herself raising one arm as well. They share a moment together before Clara turns to leave, satisfied that she has made a friend.
