A Strange Encounter in the Woods That Changed How I See the World

I’ve seen Big Foot before.

It’s the only Bigfoot encounter I’ve ever had, and it completely changed how I see the world.

It wasn’t just the typical “hairy ape man” people claim he is.

This was something more.

Something that completely changed my perspective on the world.

I’m not sharing this because I’m turning my business into Big Foot hunting.

I’m not even sharing this to try to convince you Big Foot is real.

I’m sharing this because it reinforced one of the guiding principles of my life: we don’t know what we don’t know. We should always come at things with curiosity and an open mind.

This takes place in October of 2021.

Me, my best friend (Abbey), and one of our coworkers/friends (Alex) were going on a camping trip.

But this was no ordinary trip. This was not just a “let’s go hang out in the woods for fun” trip.

Alex had been here before. And he knew what was up.

In fact, the reason he invited us was so that we could have an experience and see Big Foot.

It’s not that Abbey and I were big into Sasquatch. It’s not that I didn’t believe they could exist, it’s just not something I really thought about.

It was that Alex knew both of us were open to woo woo things.

I prepared for the trip by doing some research. Alex had had an encounter every time he visited this location, even with other friends, so we thought the likelihood of seeing something was pretty high.

I read some books and listened to podcasts of people who had had encounters before. I honestly wasn’t that interested in people who just said “I saw a big hairy ape man.” There are a lot of those by the way. But this wasn’t what Alex had described.

What Alex described was supernatural. Like hearing voices speaking to him in his mind. These beings knowing things about him and having vast knowledge of the universe.

I looked for resources that had these kinds of stories. People who heard these beings speaking inside their heads, saw them walk through walls, perform advanced reiki, and even some who claimed a connection with aliens.

Not gonna lie, I got a little freaked out. Some of these accounts talked about people (especially women) being taken by Sasquatches. I didn’t want to be the bride of Big Foot. But Alex assured us it was safe. We even brought gifts to show we were friendly and to encourage them to show themselves.

The time finally came for the trip.

We hiked out to “the spot” and set up camp. Abbey and I shared a tent and Alex created his own tarp shelter. We spent the afternoon exploring and looking at places Alex had seen *them* before.

What happened next was wild.

The night was literally ushered in by an owl.

It was starting to get dark and an owl swooped right over Alex’s head and perched on a tree, staring at us from across the river.

It was like it was simultaneously telling us to get ready but also judging if we were worthy of the experience.

We sat on the river bank a little longer but I was actually not feeling 100% that day, so I decided to go lie down in the tent.

This is where things started to get unbelievable.

As I was laying there, I am certain that there is some sort of presence just outside the tent behind my head. This was not anywhere near Alex’s shelter, the fire pit, or where Alex or Abbey or anyone else for that matter would just be “hanging out.”

Abbey eventually comes to join me in the tent and we talk for a while.

But we’re interrupted when Alex calls out to us “guys, they’re here.”

We get out of the tent and are met with two blue glowing orbs of light.

When I got home, I looked up if this could be some sort of plant, animal, or insect. The only thing close was only out in the spring and in a completely different region.

Abbey and I went to join Alex by the firepit to watch the orbs and look for more. Alex told us they had floated down from the trees.

I looked behind the orbs, to the spot where I had earlier sworn someone or something had been, and there it was.

It was hard to make out by looking at it directly. Strangely it seemed easier to see if I looked out of the corner of my eye.

Standing in the exact spot where I had felt a presence was an outline of blue light in the shape of a very buff looking creature, something like an ape man.

I immediately asked my friends if they could see “that,” intentionally not telling them what I saw to see if they saw it too.

They responded “The blue outline of the buff Big Foot? Yeah I see it.”

It was both thrilling and terrifying. I wasn’t sure what to do. I kept looking over at it. Should we try to talk to it? Leave it alone? Ask it to leave?

We all stayed at the firepit and just sort of marvelled at the whole experience.

It only stayed visible for about 10-15 minutes. But it was there.

I spent the rest of the night terrified to go to the bathroom.

It’s not that I thought these things would harm me. I just didn’t know WHAT would happen.

We “slept,” then left early the next morning. Not because we were afraid. But because we got what we came for.

I left there with more than a story about Big Foot.

I left with the reinforcement of the idea “we don’t know what we don’t know.”

If anything, from Alex’s experiences, I was expecting to see a solid being or hear voices in my head. But I saw something else completely.

If I had been closed off to the idea that Big Foot could be anything other than something between an ape and a human, I wouldn’t have had this experience. I would have ignored the feeling that something was behind my head just outside the tent. I would have insisted that the orbs were just some weird kind of lightning bug. I would have thought the Big Foot itself was just my eyes playing tricks on me.

But I was open, curious, and fascinated.

Experiences like this are one of the reasons I’ve always been drawn to exploring consciousness and the deeper layers of reality.