Forbidden Universe

Paranormal => The Paranormal & Ghost Society => Topic started by: AngelOfThyCosmos on August 13, 2019, 02:31:11 PM

Title: Our Crazy Bigfoot Expedition At Weaver Lake & Quartz Peak On 7/13/19
Post by: AngelOfThyCosmos on August 13, 2019, 02:31:11 PM
Our Crazy Bigfoot Expedition At Weaver Lake & Quartz Peak On 7/13/19

Ill tell you what the Grouse Ridge area never seems to be disappoint in regards to Bigfoot. The last time I was up in this region was a few years ago not once but twice. Both times I found some weird things so I figured the third times a charm. Little by little I am slowly chipping away at certain locations and the Bowman Lake region is full of wonders. There is just so much more to see afterall this is an area that is over 80 thousand acres so its quite vast in itself that is if you can get to it. Their are quite a few lakes, isolation, creeks and caves where anything could be living up here remaining elusive for many years.

This would be a special expedition because I wanted to take my son out alone with my older dog who really loves the outdoors. This was kind of the father and son Bigfoot adventure of a lifetime its the one thing my son and I have in common. We both love to squatch and explore id like to think were really good at it and you have to be to explore an area like this. A couple years ago I went to Bowman, Sawmill, Lindsey, Culbertson and a few other lakes. This time though id set my eyes on a a very hard to get to Weaver Lake where we would set up a camp and explore the Quartz Peak area.

I have spent to many years to count in search of Sasquatch some of my encounters were to close to call. Little did I know what I would be getting myself into by the time we completed our expedition. It does not matter how you cut it their will always be bumps in the road, obstacles and risk involved. Sure its easier to stay home but that would put us in a bubble and my research is far to important to not take a few risk to have a chance to do research in this region.

I love the NW region of Truckee its full of ghost towns, rugged roads, lakes, rivers, screams, meadows and last year ago in October I camped a half hour from here at White Rock Lake which turned out to be a great UFO case for us. The entire area is remote and when you camp here its an area your going to work for. Nothing gets handed to you here many of the roads are rocky, rugged and hard to traverse. You definitely need a jeep or 4wd truck to navigate the high sierras up here. Among the recreational opportunities the area has a longstanding history of bigfoot encounters some more terrifying then others.

There have been cases where people have gone hiking and were never seen again. With Weaver Wake there is a story about a young boy being found deceased at the bottom of a cliff laying at the bottom of Toms Creek. The young man was with a group of folks nobody seen him fall I guess he got up ahead but the hike was primitive so nobody knows for sure if he slipped or if he was thrown from the cliff or whatever. Going primitive is very dangerous its something I been doing for many years but once you enter the wilderness its fair game up in these parts so you do have to be very careful.

Despite reading about the death and finding out a few folks have gone missing forever I was not going to let it deter me from exploring such a beautiful remote place. While Bowman Lake gets many more visitors Weaver is a bit more quiet but its also perhaps a little harder to get to depending on which way you approach it from. While not many folks realize this the lake is home to one of California oldest Sportsman Clubs which sits on its own private road and is limited to 100 members so its very exclusive probably for prominent individuals who vote one another in that goes also with a bit of cost. There is a price to pay for such unforeseen beauty I guess.

Jarrod and I left in the middle of the night we wanted to make sure we found ourselves a campsite on Weaver. Since Weaver is very primitive with only a dirt road along its eastern shoreline there really is only two areas you can patch camp on the water. One area sits in this little cove has some okay views and you can kind of see the Sportsman Club far on the other side. This area is great because there is big trees for shade a nice open shoreline for fishing or kayaking. The other spot is similar but its near the dirt road but you have logs you can sit and you get views of Quartz Hill or Peak as I refer to it as since it is a fairly tall geological landmark that overshadows the lake.

Most of Weaver Lake is private so its first come first serve to camp here. Its also very primitive I am so not into campgrounds id rather just find a lake to offroad to pitch a camp or backpack in. Which is why this place has drawn so much interest because you can practically pull your truck up to the shoreline pitch camp and be grilling in no time. So my plan was to get back to Weaver and then put together a nice little adventure near the top of Quartz Peak.

I took a rather interesting journey on up here of course there are a few ways you can get out Weaver Lake one of the easiest ways right now is out due to the past winters storms. With that being said now that I know the easier back way in I can use it for future reference but for now I would take a more rugged way to get here that which is Bowman Lake then switch back over to Weaver Lake on this road that sees very few vehicles a year because the rocks are very sharp.

I started my morning off taking on the old Henness Pass Road. I love this little route through the woods it use to be an old wagon road but they improved the road so that hikers and campers like me could make it to this region of the sierras. If you take this road you can branch out from it visiting quite a few really nice remote lakes. In this case my first stop at the morning was up at the old Webber Lake Sheep Camp which is seasonal this time of year. I have not gotten to see all of Webber Lake but its an old trading post, hotel, stage stop etc well it was today its a preserved historic site that you can camp at on Webber Lake.

I stopped to take a few photos of the sheep that is when this big old white dog ran out of the woods and begin to chase me lol. The dog is just doing his job there to guard the flock from wild animals or people up to no good. But the sheep camp has a historic structure, corral and there was a few hundred of them grazing so I thought id get out for the Kodak moment lol. The dog was not to happy about that and he chased my truck right to the end of the road lol.

I think made my way along the shores of Jackson Meadows Reservoir this is far to busy of a place for me to camp at. Although they do have something like 13 campgrounds up here and an old general store that is historic which served some other purpose back in the day. Some of the campgrounds were full some were empty I was just driving along the shoreline this is a massive lake in comparison to even Weaver or some of the other lakes in the region. There was plenty of boats and fisherman out I drove over the dam stopped a few times to take some photos of the lake. Maybe when things calm down up here ill camp there are times of year some places like this are dead.

I eventually took a back road on into Bowman Lake driving along it. I love Bowman its another very large lake in the area. But despite it having primitive camps it was full down this entire rugged road along it. I enjoyed camping on Bowman had a blast we used our raft, fished, rock climbed, swam etc. Its a really gorgeous lake and at sunset Bowman Peak is glowing orange its just stellar. When I camped at Bowman I hit a few lakes in the area and I remember seeing Weaver to the north of it but the road was so bad I had to turn around so I never got to see it let alone hike up to it I did however see other cool features near Bowman including this purple, pink and gold snake it was very exotic.

I forgot how rugged it is up here to traverse Bowman as most of the road is very narrow at times up on cliffs but the Bowman Lake area alone has over 23k of wild lands so much to explore. Some areas of the shoreline you can camp but there are areas it just drops off and so its a rough journey. Honestly, I have seen jeeps broke down on this road but if you can get back here its worth every bit of that effort. Its a scenic blue lake and there is allot of little coves and cool places to check out. There use to be mines and not far away is an actual town known as Graniteville which is a semi ghost town in the area. I never came to Bowman Lake from this route but I am not a stranger to the road that runs along the lake.

Eventually we would turn off its a switchback road so it goes back and forth till it eventually enters a much more level road. Problem is the road from Bowman to Weaver is bad real bad. If you do not have good tires you are going to get a flat just being honest. While some roads might be mixed with dirt and rocks this road here is all rocks piles of them. There is no dirt its all rocky and very rugged. The first lake we seen to our left was Lake McMurray through the trees. Supposedly there is a primitive camp on the south end of this lake but we got out and begin to find out this was not the case. I guess someone recently bought the entire lake and some dirt road that is on the back side of it to build a house or cabin at. Because I told Jarrod maybe we could camp here afterall McMurray is so isolated it hardly ever gets visitors unlike Weaver Lake which is used by the old sportsman club.

McMurray Lake was hard to see its not very big and is surrounded by dense forest a bit off the road. We found an old stone fire pit on the one end of the lake but it would have been hard for us to carry our gear to pitch camp or less convient so we ended up moving a few hundred feet down the road from here and we could finally see Weaver Lake. There was a nice young couple camping on the south end of the lake so the first beautiful private spot was taken and by the time I got to the other end of the northern portion of the lake there was some family group spot also taken. I know it was a family spot because they had at least six to seven tents right on the beach to this cove so we turned around went back to McMurray where I seen two guys giving us the death stare sitting on there truck.

I decided the hell with it this is the national forest you can pitch camp anywhere I just prefer to be on water of some kind because I like to fish and I like views. I dont want to be in the woods where I cant even see where the hell we are at so I pulled in this huge area nestled by trees not far from the couple and drove the truck up about twenty feet on a hill and pitched my camp above Weaver Lake. I was not sure how that would work out because I did not want to interrupt this couples honeymoon I mean they found the spot first on the lake and its there little slice of heaven. But as the sierras become more dense from the folks traveling up here from the big city its getting harder to find places to camp believe it or not.

The couple both came and introduced themselves I left them know I cant find anything and that id be camping near them but on the hill above which was around 50 to 65 feet away so they could have privacy. I explained to them I am very quiet and they wont see much of me because ill be gone most of the day hiking so all was cool. But they had the fire pit we did not that was the difference but I still could see the lake from where were at so it was not to bad. I backed the truck in we unloaded and unpacked everything within an hour or so. The couple told me they been there a few days and they were happy we decided to camp near them because I guess the guys we seen in there truck a few hundred feet down the road were trying to harass the couple or intimidating them for that camp site on the lake.

It was funny to because they told me the guys would not leave them alone and I get it there are some old timers who are so stuck on camping at certain locations. Here is the thing if you do not want it to be taken simple just go on a Thursday or something but if someone finds a camp spot the right thing to do is let them have it nobody owns the mountains or forest. While the couple was explaining there horror story to me the guys drove by real slow and I gave them the evil eye as they drove by real slow they got out of there never came back. So in a sense my presence alone remedied the situation and the men left the couple along. Everyone introduced themselves shook hands and I felt pretty confident I found some good folks to camp near. Just a guy with his girlfriend camping, fishing and rafting so I felt safe leaving my camp while going out hiking in search of Bigfoot and so our adventure would begin.

Weaver Lake California

Man the water up here is so crystal clear most of these alpine lakes are. I mean you still have snow on some of the peaks up in this region which means pure snow melt. I noticed that Weaver Lakes water was not even to cold. Jarrod and I would pack our bags up we did not hang out to long at camp just enough to get the camp set up with our tents so when we came back later we could grille eat a nice dinner.

So we set on off into the wilderness walking along the Eastern shoreline we followed the road then we decided to jet into the dense forest to our right towards Quartz Peak. Often when I do an expedition we do go primitive no trail, no road, no path or anything. Just coordinates and us trying to allocate the best safe passage to that destination.

We left before noon we would not get back to camp till 9pm  So we had a long journey ahead of us you cant even see Quartz Peak from either end of the lake so how do you summit something you cant see other then generally coordinates? Especially when your in dense forest or ravines climbing? So we had our work cut out for us and my goal was really to follow Tom's Creek up near the summit and then visit this hidden lake not many folks know about.

I have to say I should whoop myself because you see the Tahoe National Forest is one of the harshest national forest in the state of California. Its so diverse that its a high desert, alpine and rain forest type of mix sometimes all at the same time which I know sounds weird but over my years of going primitive here this is one of the harshest environments I ever hiked in. There is a ton of red brush and this other foliage which will cut you up like razor wire and their is no avoiding it because their are no trails up where we were at.

Most folks really have no idea how far the Tahoe Forest goes up into California. Most believe its on the lake and its not. The forest extends beyond the NW end of Tahoe and it contains some of the most rugged terrain in the high sierras in comparison to many other wilderness areas in this range. My son and I were in for a battle to get close to quartz peak and it would not be easy.

We followed some old mining or wagon road at times it was so overgrown we had to crawl or push through fallen trees, brush and fallen boulders. Eventually we could no go any further on this old unused road so we cut to our left when it met up with Tom's Creek then followed that awhile. This was a bit of a rugged hike because we had to keep climbing down into the ravine to cross the creek and back out of the ravine to follow it for awhile then vice versa for about an hour or so.

The forest is full of rock formations but also small cliffs, granite slabs and a mix of foliage. Eventually we would come out of it and begin to hit the cliffs of Quartz Peak. Jarrod went up this 200' cliff while I took a safer route to the left then up and around. I heard there are some caves somewhere near here we never found them but their are quite a bit of rocky peaks where we were at so its hard to know they could be anywhere.

Eventually Jarrod and I made it up to Quartz Lake it sits probably a few hundred feet below the peak. There is at least three peaks that surround the lake and if you can make it to the ridge which is almost straight up you can follow it to the peaks but again very steep. We simply did not have time to climb Quartz Peak but we did make it to the lake or should I say pond between it and the other peaks just below them. Its very dangerous to climb around here lots of loose rock and sheer cliffs but if you want to see places like this going primitive is really the only way.

The lake is well hidden you have the backdrop of the cliffs while a hundred feet away you have these granite overlooks above the forest and off in the distance you can see Weaver Lake. Everything from up here looks so small and you can even see Pyramid Peak from afar which we were above mind you high above really. Did not realize how much we climbed to get up here but it was worthwhile.

We sat on the lake had a nice picnic which included jumbo subs, fruit, beer and other treats. We always eat good on our hikes and we bring good food. It stays nice and cold in our packs to since we pack ice with it so the food was fresh and yummy. The lake up here is like a mirror although most of the shoreline is marshy there is even an island with trees out in the middle. Its a very shallow lake but it reflects the peaks behind it and there is trees that grow along the shoreline. We sat on a log and had our lunch!

I was not at the time sure which peak was Quartz Hill to be honest because the picture I seen did not show me very much prior to the trip. I would not realize which peak was what till the next day when I hiked on the NW side of the lake and was able to see it in the full view. But the lake sits between two peaks one of them being Quartz so we were fairly close to it. We simply did not have time to progress further on the hike so we figured we would spend an hour at the lake look for tracks, eat a lunch, hang out and chase nature that sort of thing. I heard what sounded like whispering but some unknown language and yes Bigfoot has its own language in case people were to ask. They do communicate with one another although they use tree banging more often my son and I tried this over and over without ever hearing a response back.

We were about 120 feet from these overlooks so a few times we went to the cliffs and overlooks to take some nice scenic photos on the tripod. We were so far from Weaver Lake and it looked so small. All we could see below us between us and the lake is dense forest, rocky faces, granite slabs with cliffs and brush growing everywhere. We then realized how far we came and well we would be going a different way out of here so I was trying to think of how we could do this. I mean its tiered meaning that you will hit some flat forest then cliffs, then more forest then more cliffs etc. Their is some skill in going primitive because you have to decide the safest paths and even those are not that safe you still have to navigate cliffs whether you climb down them or find a safe passage around.

Jarrod and I after taking some photos went back to our luncheon area on the lake that is when a huge tree limb snapped. I did not think much of it other then to tell my son maybe its an animal. But I also told him maybe its a big animal but it was close like 100' close in the woods beyond the lake near us. Looking for tracks on this lake was a bust not even deer tracks so I found it strange a branch broke because it means a big animal was out there yet the animals do not appear to be using this lake as a water source therefore my thought is what is something like this doing out there and the thing is that whatever it was had to be very large. I just found it strange we had been here for an hour then all of sudden nearby was this big crisp snapping sound. But it was once snap not as if something was just passing through more or less like it accidentally stepped on a limb then stopped dead in its tracks.

Jarrod and I packed everything up it was relaxing this was a hidden lake nobody really knows about up on cliffs it does not get better then that. But we knew if we did not go now it would be dark and trust me you do not navigate this place at night there are cliffs, ravines and yes Bigfoot. The reason most folks do not encounter him up here is because they do not go into these parts at night they stay camped around there fires. So we had to begin our descent so we could get back to camp cook dinner and get some rest.

Jarrod and I spent awhile climbing off the cliffs below the lake then we followed the ridgeline below Quartz Peak. We were so close we could see the peak just above us if we had more time I had found a way up there but we just did not the sun was going down fast. We descended into the forest which was really rough at this point. There was some areas we could not get through without pushing through dense brush some of it was 8' tall and I was crawling, climbing and snapping brush. Both my legs had gotten cut up bad over 50 cuts blood running down both my legs did not even think about it my son had to point it out. He is like your a beast dad and at the time I was my mind was set going back to camp to eat some hot food lol.

In the forest we would come across cliffs that we would have to climb down off of or go around safely. Its really tricky back here I mean afterall a 16 year old boy fell to his death back here. He is not the only one people have died back here this place can kill you if you do not have climbing experience or know how to navigate around things safely. The woods were so dark and dense eventually we came out on an old road. This portion we did not traverse but eventually after pushing through fallen trees and brush growing on the road we found the portion we hiked on earlier which took us on the road which runs along Weaver Lake well a small portion of it does.

Soon as we had gotten onto the dirt road heading to Weaver Lake we hear this massive vocalization and more brush snap. Something followed us quietly from the cliffs of Quartz Peak all the way to the road. I was just amazed because its hard to descend back down to Weaver Lake from up here and you cant do it without making allot of noise to much foliage. Yet this thing had followed us for a couple hours sure we heard a few limbs break on occasion but we thought nothing of it till we got onto the road or out of this area of the forest and hear the vocalization. I cant say what it is but its not a bear and its not a mountain lion so it has to be bigfoot.

There was some sigh of relief when I left the forest knowing something was watching and following us. I went about a quarter mile up the road hit the NE shoreline of Weaver Lake. There was a huge group of folks camping there with music on, grilling and partying. So were out of the woods but man whatever this was followed us to the road just a little ways away from these folks camping. I bet they have no idea either most folks do not believe in Bigfoot lore nor have they seen these creatures or dealt with them. I have!

I followed the road along the lake and eventually I seen the campfire the young couple made on the SE portion of the lake. Then you cut right down this hill and your in this little cove where they were camped and I was on the hill above them so we were back just as the sun went down. The entire lake looked pink, purple and all the trees looked like black dark solid shadows. The water was glistening and calm their was a sigh of relief to be back at camp. I know something followed us we were in a place that gets very few hikers and we caught something's attention up there.

That night I cooked these steaks smothered in seasonings and steak sauce. I also made a healthy stir fry along with that we had apple sauce it was a decent meal. We had lanterns but no fire I did not build a pit and well its really no longer allowed thanks to all the arsonist and wildfires. If you have a ring put there by the forestry you can have one we did not have one since the primitive spot was taken by the couple using it so that was kind of a bummer but its all good I can go in my tent do some reading or whatever. So that is what I did set up my night cams on trees then turned in for the night I was exhausted.

About 3 maybe 4 am I heard this walking behind my tent it was heavy and it kept me up a bit. Something was outside my tent in the woods behind the tent. I cant tell you what it was but I got this feeling that whatever followed us off of the peak earlier was now in our camp. Bigfoot creatures are curious if you visit them they visit you. They just are more elusive then humans therefore whatever this was came around when I was sleeping. I had the food locked up in the truck in case of bears and well this sounded like something bipedal so I knew it was not a bear.

I woke up early in the morning did not find tracks and the cams revealed nothing which makes sense as to why something stayed behind the tent to also stay off the cams. That morning we had breakfast I made hot coffee then packed my gear as we were getting ready to hike again. My goal was to hike through the woods behind us maybe hit up Lake McMurray. So we set on off into the forest behind our camp which took us over a hill above the lake where we took the road and found a little road down to another really nice camp site with a stone firepit. Even though there are signs posted everywhere it was evident nobody follows said signs because the camp was destroyed people leaving garbage bags, bottles, plastic, cans etc But if I would have known the gate going down this primitive road to the lake was not locked I probably would have stayed here over night instead.

The sportsman club owns most of the lake and its shoreline however its evident they were not using this primitive camp. The camp was shady just a few feet from the water so you could fish and yes Weaver Lake is stocked with some fairly large trout again its a sportsman club. The stone fire pit, big trees and soft earth made it inviting. It sat in an area that was private not even really boaters can see this camp. It was a nice find to bad we did not find it the day before. Its ashamed people are dumping here no wonder why its posted but people camp here anyways and then they abuse it how freaking disheartening this is to see.

Jarrod and I hiked south along the primitive shoreline of Weaver Lake. I threw Rocky in a couple times there are areas along the shoreline that it drops off 6 to 8' and is clear all the way to the bottom perfect for swimming or letting the family dog go for a dip. I could see to the SW the sportsman club they have a bunch of docks for boats and if you look north behind the lake is Pyramid Peak. Half of the peak protrudes above the lake the other half  the mountain descends down into this valley below Weaver so when you look at it you think oh that is just a little geological formation but its not its an entire mountain that your only seeing the crown of.

There was people on boats fishing at first I thought that this was Lake McMurray I mean both lakes are side by side. I figured ehhhh hiking through the woods that is where we were at but that was not the case. Weaver Lake is a big kidney shaped so there is much more lake to see then where were camped at. I did not realize how big of a lake this was but this part of the lake was much larger of a portion then where we camped at and now I got to see the entire lake. I continued to hike along the SE portion of the lake through the woods which we came across a season creek then eventually giant granite rocks and marshland. It was becoming inhospitable so we had to turn around most of the shoreline is very rugged, primitive and full of brush which can cut you up. Across the other side of the lake are just cliffs everywhere and foliage growing while we were on the woodsy side to Weaver.

My goal was to find anything bigfoot evidence wise but we did not find much. The shoreline is full of big trees, roots, rocks and harder earth. There are some little areas you can climb down to and sit on the lake which I did do but we did not find anything. We did not make it past the marsh through the brush to get to Lake McMurray either. However, we did get the full Lake Weaver experience and this really is an awesome lake now that I got to see more of it. Its just a hard lake to camp on there is not many spots you can pull of pitch a tent. The club owns most of the lake and hell they have there own private road going to it so in a sense they have it mad but its all inclusive so if your not a member here most of the lake is off limits.

We did hike primitive ended up at camp actually on a portion of the lake trail where we came out in front of our camp site below on the lake. I decided we would cook lunch then pack up camp and do our second hike of the day which would be on the northern end of the lake around Pyramid Peak if possible. So I grilled these spicy sausages with garlicky spinach and apple sauce. It was a good lunch with some hot coffee and a bowl of dreamstar bud. I was ready for anything after that lol well almost anything! While we at I put my truck battery on the charger yeah charging my stuff overnight drained the vehicles battery it sucked but lucky for me I carry a portable battery charger just in case and it worked like a charm.

We packed up camp got everything loaded then decided to climb out of this area. Problem is there is two roads one had a bunch of big boulders which I did not feel like driving around but I should have because it was easy to go around or move the boulders and it was less rugged. The other road was steep, rugged, rocky and had a tree growing half way across this road.Well since I took the rugged dirt road in I thought I could take it out problem is there is this two foot dropoff and tree root growing on top of it. So you have to climb over this tree root and two foot edge my truck was not able to get the back end over it grrrr so frustrating because we were right there.

Well what happened is I kept backing up then revving it to climb it but my truck would not go. To make matters worst I hit that tree growing in the road put a dent just above my brake light on the passenger side lol. My son was on his phone was not spotting me so I could not cut it without hitting it because it was in my blind spot. I tried again to go up and over but my wheels ended up getting stuck in the soft earth then I bottomed out. My truck ended up being wedged on a steep hill leaning against this tree while all the wheels were buried with earth. I looked under my truck and I was bottomed out and we were stuck really bad.

I had to dig out all four tires then put it in four high and low of course the low was not kicking in as a matter in fact my four wheel drive was not kicking in at all. I kept gunning it forward then backward and the truck would move a hair. The problem was that I was wedged between the drop off and this tree so gravity had done what it needed to do. I could not get enough traction to go forward and I could not go back because I was up against this tree. I tried multiple times and nothing the couple camping told me they would call for help when they left soon over at Bowman Lake or when they got to the bottom of it. They also told me maybe I could hike to the sportsman club and see if someone could help me.

Well I took a ten minute break then I tried again my four wheel drive finally was kicking in so I was able to pull a little forward turn the wheel then let it roll back down this rugged road and out onto the flat area. It took a bit of work getting the truck out the camper even told me its a miracle I got it considering how I was wedged between the dirt, rocks and this tree. But my tires had grabbed and I just managed to get the four low to kick in so at that point I knew I was out of here. The campers were nice in helping us he helped me shovel the truck out lent me his fire shovel and so really it was awesome to camp next to these wonderful people. Little did I know that at the time getting stuck led to a more serious issues.

I guess all that gunning the gas in four wheel drive was not a good thing to do because my truck was smoking and overheating. When I got it unstuck the first thing I did was shut it off for a half hour then we moved two boulders so we could just drive out of here without any obstacles there was no way I was going to try the road I was just stuck on. I went with a much easier drive out of here so if anyone goes to Weaver make sure you know there is two ways down to the SE portion of the lake and only one of those roads is in decent shape. The other one is in bad shape its easy to take in but to climb out of there on it is difficult.

After temps cooled under the hood I left Weaver Lake parking on the other side of the lake closer to the dam directly across from the cove we camped near just a quarter mile on the other side. I did not look under the hood of my truck just figured it overheated earlier and we would hike a few hours let it cool completely. I had no idea at the time that because of gunning my gas in four wheel drive to the max it caused a hose and connector piece to blow. Again at the time just figured I overheat from trying to get unstuck had no clue to the events that were about to unfold.

Jarrod and I hiked along the northern part of Weaver Lake. There are no trails you just push along the shoreline through brush, over rocks etc and eventually you come out near the dam. Its pretty deep water near the dam and behind it is the creek which was flowing down into the canyon below. We crossed the dam and there is some really nice open areas along Weaver Lake on the northern side cleared of trees where you can picnic at or just sit back enjoying the views. From the Northern Portion of the lake you can get some awesome views of Quartz Peak and the ridgeline on both sides of it along with a few other peaks. The view is much better on the dam side of the lake rather then the woodsy side we camped on.

Some young guy on his boat went pass me with two hot blondes holding up his beer. I was also drinking a beer so I held mine up to. There was also two girls on paddle boards on the lake making out a blonde and a brunette both in little bikinis that was pretty hot too. These folks are club members maybe even family members of the club members ya know rich kids lol. I hiked along the lake shore through some woods ended up right above the docks and the sportsman clubhouse. There was pretty women walking around in bikinis, folks grilling and well it appeared they were having a party. Since its a private place we had to turn around but not before I checked out some cute ladies lol.

I went through the woods found actually a hiking trail which took me up this hill and huge open area or clearing. We found a helipad where we took a break at for about a half hour. From up here we could see Pinoli Peak, Pinoli Ridge, Poorman Valley and views of Pyramid Peak. We really wanted to climb Pyramid but there was this saddle you had to climb down into then you had to climb back up and well this peak is super intense because its nearly cliffs straight up and down. The back side is less steep but to even get on the back side would take a considerable amount of time. When you stand on the helicopter pad you only see from the Weaver Lake area  the top half of the peak but on the back side this peak goes fairly deep down into Poorman Valley. So we had to scrap it because we decided that we did two solid hikes and due to us overheating and getting stuck sundown was setting in.

So my son and I decided we would wrap up and id take the back road out of Weaver Lake to Route 41 which is this road that follows the crest of the sierras. Its an old wagon road that follows the eastern crest of the sierras or at least goes over it so the road goes nearly to the top of the sierras. Due to a bad winter I read that the road had trees across it and areas with snow still. I thought ehhhhh its July the forestry should have taken care of that boy was I wrong. But I figured at the time id take McMurray Lake Road to the NW then come out onto 41 and take that East descend onto Jackson Meadows and then the Henness Pass Road out to the highway. Jarrod and I were talking about going to dinner at Panda Express up in Truckee which is about 34 miles away not bad if you can make it to the highway.

So when I arrived at the truck I got my things ready such as drinks, snacks, took my meds etc. It is kind of spooky up here on a Sunday evening. There are no campers, hikers, boaters or fisherman we were up here all alone by the time we got back to my truck. I took the rugged road out of here which took me to route 41 where the road slip three ways. By the time I got to split I was not sure if I should go to Graniteville which is a semi ghost town about 13 miles to the SW or we could go straight or make a right head east which would take us back to Jackson Meadows where there is a ranger station and quite a few campers if I needed help. I did not want to go to Graniteville to many hills and it was a much further drive then going to the reservoir and the other road who knows where it went but I was not taking any chances because by the time I got off of McMurray Road my truck was heating up and smoking again. Just so everyone knows I did investigate the old Graniteville Cemetery its a cute town but I never felt welcomed here which is what deterred me to try to go elsewhere where I thought id get the most help if necessary.

At that point I did not think much of it other then I lost coolant when I overheated at Weaver Lake so I begin to put some of my water in the radiator just in case stopping every once in awhile. There was some moisture around the air and heater hose near the dashboard but nothing looked out of the ordinary but I suspected maybe a small leak so its possible the fluid was just gushing out as I was driving. I guess that where this bracket or fitting goes into that hose underneath it had broke off or had a huge crack through it. I just could not see it at the time but because of that fracture I must had lost all my coolant and did not even know it and here I thought I was just low. I went right past Weaver Creek and could have filled up or stored a few gallons of water. But at the time we had no idea a hose busted we figured a gallon or two of water will get us through and once we get to Truckee will buy some actual coolant boy was I wrong.

We got about a mile up the road and I was smoking bad. Every time I would overheat id put more of my water in the radiator then let it cool for fifteen minute go another .2 miles it was very slow going. The sun was setting we were up on cliffs, edges of ravines with mountains to our right or cliffs with woods then to our left steep dropoffs above the forest floor. I could look north at sunset and see for fifty miles nothing but mountains and woods. The trees looked like dark shadows the skies were turning orange and pink. I told my son we need to find a water source fill up our jugs etc that way we can fill the radiator when it overheats. Problem is every .2 miles id shut the truck down go into the woods around us to seek out water yet to no avail. It is July so most seasonal creeks stop flowing some of the seasonal creeks are trickling barely.

We could not find any water and we were burning through ours quick. Just before dark we found this steep cliff 200' down we talked about climbing down there to get water as we heard a rushing creek but it was not only dangerous but nearly dark out so once we were to go down there in the dark we would have to climb out of there to. Not a good area to be stuck at in the dark so we skipped the plan I figured id just find water in a safer place along the road which we never found any. Not because there are not ponds or creeks but because it was getting to dark. The road was getting worst and worst also here we are almost at nightfall hood open on a dirt road without a person coming to our aid in miles.

We were high up in the sierras with steep cliffs to our right with peaks and to the left overlooks with nothing but wilderness no services in miles. We came to this area where a tree had fallen across the road and my truck barely went underneath it that is when things became strange. I had my hood up was letting it cool keep in mind I had 13 maybe more 15 miles till Jackson Meadows Reservoir yet I could only go .2 maybe . 3 miles at a time every fifteen minutes. My trucks meter would hit the red in seconds then it would tell me to turn off engine warning me of danger so once the truck begin to shake or explode id turn it off for a bit add a little water let it cool then go .2 or .3 miles gunning it to get as much distance in as I could.

Well the area the road was out which I got past I had the hood open and all of sudden above us on the hill in the woods is this massive scream or vocalization. It was almost completely dark out so we could barely see. I was in the middle of putting new batteries in my tactical lights so we could get out search for water at night in the woods since ours was running out fast. The bellowing vocalization I did not hear as well as my son did but he got scared jumping in the truck and was like dad lets get the hell out of here that is close real close. I decided to put some distance between whatever this was and us since we were all alone up here with no where to go let alone escape. I figured if I put a half mile distance between whatever this was and us it would just come through here and keep heading down off the mountain above us over the road and into this valley leaving us alone.

I believe it was bigfoot I told my son the king is here and he is the king of the North American forest. This is his forest his rules if these creatures want to they can make you disappear. Something like this could have taken us and pushed our vehicle off a cliff nobody would have found us or seen us again. This was a big boy the most common bigfoot experiences around Grouse Ridge and Bowman Lake are strange vocalizations. Most of them occur just at dusk when then sun goes down this is because they are nocturnal and when they come out of there dens they do vocalize. I believe this thing seen us broke down from the top of the ridge and was either scaring us out of the area or it just woke up and was letting out screams. Just like any wild animal these creatures do hunt, gather and traverse great distances over short periods of time. My son loves bigfoot but this time around he was scared whatever it was had to be enormous in size and it was close roaming around on a dark woodsy steep mountainous hill just above the truck.

I was lucky to get off a text to Tammy back home to let her know were in big trouble. I let her know there is something big up here running around and were not alone. I let her know were leaking coolant running out of water and I can only go .2 miles at a time and that it might take hours into the next day to reach a highway just to get towed. I let her know the coordinates where we were at and let her know I loved her. My text went through as we were nearly at the top of the crest but that is it we lost signal again as quick as we had gotten it so we were on our own up here to brave whatever this was and figuring out how to get out of here without frying my engine.

When I put some distance between us and this thing I sat in the dark vehicle off listening in silence. That is all I could do is drive .2 miles then sit in the dark this went on all night. I kept my window a bit down recorder running figured id record these vocalizations I never was able to because they were so random but I tried. I am always a cryptozoologist even when broken down I did not panic but I was concerned because something was up there with us and we had no help at all. I was thinking all night long how much I wanted some Chinese food honey walnut shrimp to be precise and well since I am not patient .2 miles is nothing but a two minute jaunt then you have to let it cool off.

The forest along this road are not friendly there are cliffs, most of it was uphill which causes me to overheat faster, giant open areas with huge rocks the size of SUV's and dense creepy woods with so much foliage you can barely see even into them. Some of the most intimidating woods I ever been in and I got some good tactical lights. They are so dense and the thing is anything could be out there or hiding in them. I was not going to leave my son, dog or truck I figured id just keep traveling wagon route 41 and eventually descend down to Jackson Meadows where I could maybe get a signal at or have a ranger help me.

Well it was nearly midnight and I was driving my .1 sometimes .3 miles it varied id take cat naps just little 20 minute naps then wake up start the truck go a little bit then shut it off. Well at one point when we were nearly at the top of the sierras there are some little dead end dirt roads they show up on my GPS. Well as we were traveling we seen two lights no it was not a flashlight or a vehicle. They were two lights chasing my truck but not behind us but out front to our right and my son said to me hey dad there are flashlights or campers. I knew otherwise those were UFOs or willow wisp as some refer to them as. But imagine two giant glowing balls of lights going through the woods traveling right towards you. Talk about the sheer terror there was no vehicles up here, campers and certain these were not a couple folks shining lights on my truck. This was something else something paranormal! The lights were coming towards my truck fast all different directions like probes or globes of energy it was intense.

I gunned it did not care if it was UFOs or humans at this point I mean here I am traveling down this road never once seen a vehicle to get help or coolant did not even know why till almost sunup which ill get into in a bit. But I knew that whatever this was it was not there to help us first we had the bigfoot experience hours before now we were getting the whole UFO abduction experience. Reason why I say this is that I managed to put a half of mile between where we seen the lights and further down the road. I dozed off for awhile longer then I should have then jumped out of my sleep startled to death put my key in the ignition instantly peeled out of there.

Just before the sunup I begin to hit patches of snow and parts of the road were out. I was driving along cliffs and had to avoid fallen tree limbs, snow and rocks. Eventually I came across a massive wall of snow we could not go any further my GPS showed us being two miles from the reservoir it was downhill the entire way past this snow. I knew I could not drive over it there was cliffs to the left that could be bad slipping on it then rolling off. There was no way to get around the snow it went for about 50' maybe more and it was a hilly dirt road so where the road went down hill and back uphill the snow was 10' deep in that area so really if I were to shovel it id be there all day especially since I only brought my small shovel. So I sat there on the road in front of a huge wall of snow it was starting to get light out but barely.

I got out walked over the patch of snow and ice I never felt so hopeless. I spent the entire night driving to get to this point we had no water really and we were in deep. My son wanted to hammer the snow away I said to him good luck with that this snow had been up here now for almost a year it was not going anywhere. Hell this is why I never seen any vehicles come from the east because this road was out and for the first time in years I am reading its been out. This is one of the back ways into this wilderness area from this road you can access Bowman, Weaver, Jackson Meadows Lakes and Graniteville. But we could not make our descent down to the reservoir.

Man, I had gotten out of the truck to look around went above the road and around this ice sheet. I stood on this cliff and realized we were nearly at the top of the high sierras. I looked over the edge of this cliff and before me the crest of the sierras. There was this massive canyon and for miles peaks covered in snow. There was nothing for miles I felt very small when I walked above the road and realized there was this massive cliff on the other side which gave me a 50 mile view of snowcapped peaks. We were truly in isolation with no end or help in sight I was discouraged. I was more so discouraged knowing that id have to go all the way back to Weaver Lake over ten miles away almost therefore if it took all night to get here I figured it would take all day just to get back.

I never felt so hopeless in my life feel like I failed like this was all for nothing. I should have just turned around camped another night on Weaver or tried to leave out another way at least id had a water source. So I ended up turning around that is when I noticed my cell phone had the wrong date and time, my clock on my trucks time was off and my sons time on his watch was off. I believe that we were abducted by aliens up there and whatever it was took advantage of us being stranded. It was not like we could go very far all night long we were sitting ducks not moving ones. I cant explain while all our dates and clocks were off but that is not normal especially on a wrist watch. Could the vocalizations and lights be related? I have no idea I just know we were not alone up here.

I went back down the road its amazing how different this place is during the day its serene, scenic, peaceful and much more friendly. I found this pond amazingly just off the road a little with clear water. If you drive along 41 there are a few areas you can pull off set up a camp site and this small pond was a nice place you could do that at. I may have to go back up here once 41 is open pitch a camp here then do some woods exploring see what I could find. Speaking of finds I hiked down one of the dead end dirt roads nearby and found a mans ripped hiking boot as if that is not anymore intimidating above all I experienced.

 I also seen across this massive valley the sierra buttes which is one of the Tahoe National Forests tallest mountains. The buttes are home to over 50 miles in mines, dozens of lakes that are below it and even a few semi ghost towns. We have done a ton of projects, hikes, explorations etc around the buttes it was weird standing at the top of the sierras looking across miles of wilderness and just seeing the cloud covered buttes that morning the sun came up which really put things into perspective for me about how remote of an area we were at. We were so high up that I was nearly as high as the buttes were to the north. You sort of feel so small when you explore places like these there are so many areas up here humans have not explored which is why I continue to conduct my bigfoot research out here.

Anyhow, Jarrod took duct tape because the hose and the bracket were broke at this pond we filled our water up at. We figured we could tape the two together it would not be a good fix but it would for awhile slow down the leakage so we do not overheat as fast. I was not thinking at the time but the plastic crumbling piece was broken off inside the hose. I did not bring my tools or I could have taken a screw driver got rid of the piece that broke off inside then stuck the hose on the fitting. I still had an inch fitting left but could not get the hose on because part of the fitting melted and broke off inside the hose. No less we put the two together taped it up and made sure we had enough water to keep it running cool enough to get to our next water source. Sometimes when we get in sticky situations we have to do temporary fixes or fix it where we are at I did my best. But now that I think about it I could have just tried to get the melted piece out of the hose and stuck it on the fitting probably could have driven home like that but I guess gunning it on 4 high caused it to go or that led to its demise because of all the pressure, heat and exertion I put on the truck trying to get unstuck.

The water helped we filled the radiator completely to the top then our jugs and water bottles. My son went to sleep then I put my truck in neutral turned it off and conserved the engine. I nearly road seven maybe eight miles back to Weaver Lake. Most of the journey was down hill no power brakes no power staring at one point I hit a boulder so hard I hit my head on the roof of my truck. The problem is yeah I was not overheating but the ride was rough real rough could have broken an axil, tie rod or something else like my exhaust underneath. So I was worried more so since I would have to take Lake McMurray Road back to Weaver which is so rugged and that you cant coast on you have to drive it.

I saved all that water in the radiator for driving it which was enough to get me to Weaver Lake and do the 1 mile rugged jaunt then I figured I could fill up at Weaver. So I came back to my old camp site filled up water again drove down the rest of McMurray then shut it off riding the rocky road down to Bowman Lake. I had extra water stored so I would drive along Bowman Lake stop fill some water up then proceed. I was not sure if I did any damage to my wheel wells or whatever because driving McMurray down was hard its all rock so when you hit these boulders you hit them hard but in neutral with the vehicle off it saved me a new engine.

I did drive along Bowman Lake Road eventually leaving the lake behind me which is eight times bigger then Weaver Lake. Keep in mind eventually you begin to go around the dam which the bridge was out so you drive this alternative route and over this place known as Windy Point Cliffs. Bowman Lake for miles is unforgiving lots of holes, big rocks etc not an easy road to navigate try it without any power steering or brakes sheesh. Your up on this curvy rocky road descending down along this massive cliff to your right and a rushing creek to your left its intense. I mean its a single lane road big enough for my truck so when I overheat people trying to go around me is next to impossible and if they did id have to pull the truck right up to the edge of the cliff its just so narrow. Some lady told me she overheated a few days prior coming up to Bowman I mean it is steep, narrow, rocky and its not meant for anything less then a jeep or truck.

I had about eight miles of dirt road downhill till it changed to pavement. The dirt road ends at the turn off for Lindsey Lakes which is a place we explored a couple years ago. I figured if I could hit the pavement id at least be able to get a tow truck to two me home maybe even a signal. So after a few times of filling up at the creek once we began our steep descent I was able to put it in neutral again letting it coast. The curves are so tight it took all my strength to brake and steer my truck around the curves which follow Little Canyon although its not very little and then there is Celina Peak and ridge you have to navigate around.

Once I hit pavement after riding downhill on dirt roads for miles and hitting rocks hard because of the lack of control like power steering I felt some relief. I knew I could be towed out of here and if not I could at least ride the curvy road for eight more miles to the bottom in a place known as Emigrant Gap which btw has a long history of Bigfoot sightings, tracks and vocalizations. This is as hard to ride on pavement down to the bottom below the Bowman Lake area as it is over the rocks. This is because there is a ton of traffic on this road mostly folks heading to Bowman Lake.

But there is a few other dirt roads that go east that take you out to other lakes and campgrounds worth checking out Lindsey Lakes is one of those roads. So lots of folks around a curve I almost hit a vehicle coming around the corner I had to brake so hard as he came around the blind spot then six more cars followed directly behind him so this is not a great place to ride your truck with no power going to it but I did not want to overheat rather save the water in the radiator for the places the road does not go down hill so I could start it up drive .3 miles then turn it off and let it coast some more. People speed up the paved portion so you have to be careful and here I am coming down the mountain like the wheels had come off and people are just speeding past me. I had to do everything in my power to keep the truck from hitting someone or going off the cliffs its not the best of roads going up to Bowman or leaving it.

Eventually when I got two miles from Emigrant Gap which is near the highway and the expressway my phone got a signal when I reached the south fork of the Yuba River. I found out Tammy was out looking for me and thought shit if she tries to take that route 41 from the other way she is going to hit that wall of snow then after my night of horrors I was worried sick about her no place for a woman to be alone at not after the night I had. She actually got clamps, radiator fluid etc and was out looking for me. I managed when I got to the bottom of Bowman Lake Road to find a shady area to park it and I called for a tow. I did what I set out to do get the truck to pavement so it could be towed and fixed. I was so drained did not sleep well just cat naps in the truck and had to many close calls with shit. But I kept the truck running cooler doing downhill for miles then uphill all night long and we were off the high sierras and saved. Then Tammy call me she was in a town nearby she had to turn around it got to rugged she was surprised that I made it out because the truck was out.

Within an hour the tow truck came and we were saved but boy was it an adventure. My truck was covered in mud and what is surprising to me is I never got a flat tire. When you hit sharp rocks going that fast down hill usually you get a flat and my tires were not in great shape because of all my recent trips they were heavily worn. But they survived the intense offroading experience and I got lucky only thing that my truck needed was a new radiator hose and a good cleaning lol. But it had been a very tiring experience I was all cut up blood on my legs, tired and my quick thinking got us out of an impossible situation. It sucks to blow a hose or even anything to do with the radiator when your in such a remote location.

The first tow truck driver I did not like he drove us to Truckee there company cant drive to NV so I had to wait for a second tow truck. That guy was a dick he was texting while driving swerving in Donners Pass nearly got us killed and made my dog ride in the truck rather then with us. He is a 25lb little dog quiet and harmless yet the dude would not let him ride with me. Then the second guy that picked us up in Truckee was much cooler he actually ran the air conditioning so we were not overheating and he let the dog ride in the tow truck since there was plenty of room as this truck had a back seat in it too. The second guy though was a perv he took us through Tahoe so we could check out all the blondes walking around in bikinis everywhere because as most of you know Tahoe has some of the most beautiful women in California and since there are beaches all over around it you will get women walking in there bikinis everywhere because you have to hike down to the water to swim.

Both tow truck drivers ran my battery down you see they are suppose to turn the vehicle off once they get it on the flatbed. But since the first guy left the keys turned on it drained my battery badly and I could not recharge it. They actually blew a cell in my battery so I had to go out buy an entirely new battery once I got the truck home. They should pay for it I mean my battery drained at camp once but it did not get to low I think because of the tow my battery got so low that it damaged a cell because it would not hold a charge anymore. So when I got it home could not even start it once I fixed it because it was dead lol. Grrrrr I hate dealing with tows always a hassle no matter where I have lived. But on got top quality triple AAA and this is the first time in years I had to use it knock on wood!

On a good note I had my truck fixed the next day bought a new hose did not even try scraping out the fitting that broke off from the inside. I bought new hose clamps the ones with tabs you can turn manually that way down the road if a hose goes or something I can try to maybe cut it and fix it. I have extra hosing I bought in case this ever goes again I can just cut the hose and reclamp it. But what you cant fix is the fittings which are made of this plastic material the hose fits onto then you clamp it. So if that ever goes you sort of are screwed. Not sure why they make everything with plastic the female fittings should be metal that the hose fits over not plastic because that is what crumbled on me. I also will be more careful when I am stuck never to gun it or let it get that hot the key to getting unstuck in patience problem is I was not patient in the beginning and when I took a break then got back in trying to get it unstuck I was much more clearheaded which got me out of the jam but by then it was to late the fracture already occurred.

Boy was I glad to be home relaxing I ate a couple TV dinners that evening played a game with Tammy watched my show and turned in for the night. I am not sure what happened up on Pinoli Ridge that night but I am almost sure that we dealt with Bigfoot wanting to eat us and aliens wanted to abduct us all in the same night welcome to my world lol. This was a great adventure but shit happens truth be told its a risk going primitive or remote if you break down your screwed and if you have no experience on how to even temporary fix it your going to have to do that walk of shame or abandon the vehicle.

 Lucky for me I still have my truck id hate to leave it behind with a nice stereo system, my drones and gear that would have sucked. But I fixed the vehicle it runs better now then it did then and that's not bad considering I filled the engine with creek and lake water. The water is very cool up around Bowman Lake and it has so very few impurities so it really cant hurt the engine more or less it kept it running and that is all I needed it to do till we could get out of there. Hopefully, I never have to go through this again but things happen does not matter how prepped you are. If your going to take 50 mile dirt roads in the mountains here and there your going to run into some hurtles.

I am a survivor I just wish none of this happened but little things turn into bigger things. We had some pretty close encounters with the paranormal on this trip. The views, food, offroading etc were great the only part that sucked about the trip is overheating. It was discouraging hearing my truck ring like crazy when the truck had gotten hot being stuck in the woods at night with no aid in site. Things like this have not turned out so well for overs up here so I am lucky but also thankful that I did not panic. This is some rugged country if you study maps there are mines and a few old ghost towns where nothing remains around Bowman so imagine what the pioneers had to endure up here that is why such towns died out.

Ya know another thing I forgot to mention is when I was in the forest exploring I found a few deep holes like eight inches down into the hard earth. Its possible a bear was looking for roots or bulbs then again could it be bigfoot doing this? I did not find any tracks well I found an old one but it was to heavily weathered to log. I think the strong points were being followed, branches breaking, strange vocalizations and of course the balls of light chasing my truck at the top of the sierras. Like I said we are lucky some people who have those encounters are never seen again and now I can tell my story to all of you.

For me its just another day at the office but the main thing is nobody is hurt and we can take such experiences to advance our own knowledge in case something like this happens and will be ready for it! Sometimes you have to take a few risk to get to the reward I know something is living up by Weaver Lake and it is the king of the forest! it would not scream at sunset if it did not want to make its presence known I will never forget what I experienced and heard up here all the more reason to eventually return in the future! We came out of this allot stronger and knowledgeable which makes me all the more stronger of an explorer! Re silence is strength and strength