An Introduction to Field Research Thoughts

Hello! My name is Mark and I have recently joined Moonshadow Investigations. During a fairly recent attempt to investigate a locally reported creature sighting, I contacted Raven. I wasn’t actively attached to any paranormal or crypto-zoological group and I was concerned about following through with this report alone, so I contacted Raven to see if she would be interested in this local hunt. She of course was…we were previously acquainted through another web-site AND as she is semi-local it seemed like a good match. Well, the creature investigation fell through after the reporting party seemed to get cold feet, but the relationship with Raven and her partners blossomed! I am now part of the team. I am really stoked about this and I look forward to future investigations!
What I bring to the ‘team’ is a few year’s worth of field work and a genuine interest in crypto-zoological study. I have been searching in the forested areas on the Michigan side of the Michigan / Ohio border. I have not actually seen ‘Bigfoot’, but I have spoken with those who say that they have and I have seen track photos from the search area. All of this was made possible after a good friend of mine (Gerry, who I met online on another site) introduced me to his friend, who I will call “Bigfoot Bob”. Both of these fellows are great people and great company. They took me under their wings showing me the ropes. I owe them both a great deal of thanks for trusting me enough (the green horn!) and including me in their journeys afield.
However, this blog is not about whether Bigfoot actually exists or not. Obviously I think there is something to the reports or I wouldn’t be out walking the woods of Michigan. Since this personal activity started, a close friend of mine has stepped forward and recounted her run-in with a ‘Dogman’ type creature along the shoreline of Lake Michigan some years back with her uncle. I have since learned that there are multiple types of strange creatures reportedly roaming the woods and fields of this State that I call home.
And it is about this roaming that I now write to you. Not the ‘creatures’ roaming, but yours. If you are like me, you may one day say to yourself: “I have watched enough TV shows on the subject - read enough internet accounts - I want to get involved!” (At least that is how it worked for me.) On my first trip into the woods with Bigfoot Bob, I learned that Mark needed to get into better shape AND wear two pair of socks! The blisters weren’t any fun after hiking along the trails with my new hiking boots. We humans visit ‘the woods’. The creatures that inhabit the woods live there and are quite at home. We are at a disadvantage from the get-go. Our eyesight isn’t as keen, and our sense of smell is almost worthless when it comes to detecting the animals that are silently watching us as we stumble along the trail. As I already mentioned, a good pair of comfortable trail rated boots are a must. It will be difficult to pay attention to your surroundings if ‘your dogs are barking’ with discomfort.
Good, loose clothing that wicks moisture away from your body would be good, too. Forget the tight jeans. Layers that can be peeled away are a great idea because you will perspire once you are hoofing it along the rough trails.
Carry water. You need to keep hydrated.
I have a mini battery operated strobe light that rapidly flashes red in my fanny pack. I don’t plan on being out after dark, but things don’t always go as planned in the woods! An emergency strobe might get help to your location quicker than screaming yourself hoarse.
A good coach’s whistle will carry further than your vocal cords and it will sound out-of-place when blown in rapid successive blasts in the woods at night.
Tell someone you trust where you and your partner or party will be and what time to expect you back. Your partner or party? You didn’t go into the woods alone, did you? That is a BAD idea! Unless your name is Rambo, I advise against this. You will be walking trails or maybe even off-trail some of the times. This isn’t the city or suburbs. Something as simple as a twisted ankle (a definite possibility on uneven ground) can be huge trouble even a half mile from your vehicle. A severe sprain in the woods alone and you are in deep doo-doo.
I grew up watching those wonderful Disney films. All the fluffy, cute forest creatures dancing and playing with each other! Forget that too. Some of those fluffy forest creatures are predators and you may look like ‘home delivery’ to them. I spoke with a DNR agent in Ludington Michigan this past spring. I asked him about the cougars that the DNR officially deny exist in Michigan. He told me that ‘is’ the ‘official’ stance, but the field agents have already acknowledged amongst themselves that the big cats are out there. YOU are prey for something like that! Read about some of the attacks online in states where these cats are officially recognized. A big cat attack is fast, furious and pretty horrific for any casual hiker that they come across. Then there are black and brown bears. And wild feral swine are becoming a problem in more and more counties in the tri-state area. If a boar hits you at full speed it can rip you from stem to stern with those nasty looking tusks! So, what do you do about that? Well, I have a CCW and my firearm will be where I can access it fast if need be.
That being said, forget the macho stuff. A big cat or boar attack will happen extremely fast if it happens at all. The shot that I take will likely be an afterthought if I survive the initial attack. That may sound pessimistic, but my (and your) survival under those conditions may depend on how much time you have to react. The attacker won’t signal you first, it will be a sudden burst of speed from a boar or a leap from an overhead branch in the case of a large cat. Your awareness of your surroundings could be the thing that gives you that precious second or two that you’ll need to react and avoid disaster. Be aware of overhead perching spots. Also, watch out when you approach heavy undergrowth. Don’t own or carry a firearm? A good solid walking staff and some pepper spray may be just enough to help you survive.
But give these things some thought. A local wooded patch that you are familiar with in your area may not be as safe as you think either. I live in a subdivision in a heavily populated area. Two blocks from my home I saw a dead coyote on the side of the street at a major intersection, hit by a car. People in my area are losing their pets to these wild beasts. A young and pretty female hiking in Canada was killed by coyotes just last year. She was a singer of some notoriety to the Canadian youth. Now she is dead. The public hiking trails are not as safe as people think.
Now that I have convinced some of you to stay home, the rest of you need to think about the pace of your stride as you walk the trail. What’s the rush? A nice, slow, easy stride - watching both sides of the trail and listening to the sounds around you, that is what the local deer do. Take note of and become familiar as you enter the woods to what the norm is. Is it spring, summer or fall? Or winter perhaps? Each season, indeed, each month changes the woods around you. Get a feel for ‘the business as usual’ of your environment. And then you’ll ‘feel’ if something ‘isn’t right’. When the woods goes from birds twittering and flittering in the trees, insect buzzing and chirping, to dead quiet - the forest creatures are telling you that the something has changed. Stop – Look – Listen. That is what the prey creatures are doing - follow their lead. When it comes to the woods, many of us humans just blunder in not fully realizing that life and death struggles go on every day in that place.
There are many other thoughts to share in future posts. However, I say ‘go for it’! With some forethought, preparation and awareness, a walk in the woods is a fulfilling and rewarding experience! Next time: Signs that maybe something unusual lives in those woods…
Until then - Live life! Go and be a part of it all!

Mark