Arizona Bigfoot

Hannigans meadow bigfoot encounter

Time: dark – night/raining

Month: May

Year: 2009

Location: Near Hannigans meadow, white mountains Arizona

Subject: strange vocalizations in the night

Until 2009 I had never given thought to Bigfoot or any other such thing.My first encounter with wilderness paranormal was Back in 1990 while working at a wilderness school in Utah. My partner Luke and me had a group on Boulder mountain. This Mountain is the highest wooded plateau in North America, 11,000+ feet in elevation. In the rocky mountains most tree lines are around 9000+ feet or so. This makes Boulder Mountain unique. Anyway, we were bringing our group down off the plateau and moving toward the Awapa plateau when we discovered some huge barefoot , human looking tracks in the snow and mud. These tracks gave me cause to think about who or what had made them. I have been racking up similar experiences ever since.

In 2009, I was hitch hiking back to southern Arizona from visiting friends in Utah. I had been stuck at a place called witch well several miles south of Sanders ,Arizona on highway 191. For 2 days I couldn't get a ride. Luckily there was a water spigot at the witch wells tavern and I was able to keep hydrated. On the morning of the 3^rd day an elderly Navajo couple in a pick up truck stopped and offered me a lift. They were going to Tucson and were headed all the way down Hwy 191 past Benson, Az where I needed to go.

Cool! I hopped into the back of the truck and we were zipping down the road at about 70 mph when the window opened up and I was handed a chicken sandwich, some chips and a dr. pepper....I love hitching, it is the only endeavor I can think of where this type of thing occurs. One minute you are about dead from heat stroke and dehydration and the next minute you are zipping down the highway sipping a cold beverage and eating a sammich! Love it.

I was enjoying my sandwich and cold beverage while taking in the scenery. My “hosts” pulled into a circle K in Saint John, Az to fuel up , so I hopped out and went inside to buy, water, some bananas, a couple of bean burritos, and various other sundry items.

We took off and headed toward Alpine where we stopped again and got some coffee and had dinner at the bear wallow cafe.

The surrounding hills at Alpine made me decide to stay longer in the mountains so I told my “Hosts” that I would bang on the roof of the truck when I was a nice looking spot to camp. About maybe 10 or 12 miles down the road from Alpine, I saw a great looking spot with aspens and ponderosa pines – it was beautiful.

I banged on the roof as agreed and the driver pulled over. I hopped out and grabbed my pack, then stood chatting with these folks for a few more minutes. Before they pulled off the Mrs. handed me a bag of stuff like soda pop, sandwiches, chips, cookies, etc. I gave them a hardy thank you! And we waved good bye as they sped off down the road.

It was indeed a pretty place! I had never been in the white mountains before. I grabbed my 2 one gallon water jugs and bag of munchies then headed back into the woods.

I walked a pretty good ways back away from the road – maybe 800 yards or so. On the walk in I heard what sounded like someone hitting a tree with a stick, like whack!, whack,whack! I found a decent place to set up camp near an old oak tree, with a good flat area. I built a shelter or poncho hooch as we called it in the Army. As I was making the “Hooch” , I kept hearing the tree knocks and they seem to be moving around me in a arc or circle. The sound seemed to always come from a different place.

I cleared an area for a fire and got a blaze going. I heated some water and made some coffee and corn chowder, and ate a burrito. Not bad! As I was tending the fire, I heard thunder and saw some pretty threatening clouds building. I do love rain, especially when Im camping. The rain held off until about dark then it began to pour and I dove into my poncho hooch and forted up for the evening.

I loved laying in my shelter and hearing the rain beat down, it was comforting , I was warm, dry and secure in my shelter, I had some munchies close at hand (no I didn't hang a bear bag). Soon, I fell to sleep to the sounds of rain and rolling thunder.

Later on in the night I was awakened to by some odd and scary sounding vocalizations. The rain had stopped and so did the thunder – and it was pitch black. I cant really describe the way the vocalizations sounded but I can say they sounded like gibberish with whoops and whistles, snarls, stick banging, and even something that sounded like a question – yes, a question, but in a language that was not understandable. It sounded something like “Whaaaadu wadda wah” and it was repeated 3 times....Honestly, at first I though someone was out there in the dark fucking with me, but I remembered how far I was from the road and I was pretty well hidden among the trees.

It was scary, I will admit, and marks the 1^st time I was ever truly scared in the wilderness. Except for maybe that Grizzly bear encounter in Montana back in '84.

These shenanigans kept up for a few minutes then just faded out. I don't remember any smell good or bad. Had I been thinking I could have turned on my camera on video mode and at least got some audio of this strange encounter. I have never been in the habit of carrying a head lamp or flashlight with me camping. Why? Its simple, when its dark I go to bed.....

Needless to say but, I didnt sleep any more that night....I stayed wide awake for all the rest of that eternal night....it was the night that lasted for several nights. Or so it seemed. I was wondering who or what it could have been that paid me a visit, nothing “Normal” that's for sure.

As soon as it was light I took a long look around, opting for an aggressive stance rather than a submissive one. I went to the area I thought the “Beast” had stood and looked in the pine duff for any tracks, distinct or otherwise. I did see some depressions but couldn't say what they were for sure.

So, with a shrug of my shoulders, I started packing up my gear and lit a shuck for the highway. I went back to Alpine. I got a ride from a lady that worked a fire tower in the area, she told me about the mogollon monster that had been sited in the area since the 1860s. Especially around Hannigans meadow where I had been camping....Later on I did some research into the Arizona Bigfoot, and there are numerous sightings and encounters dating, as I was told to the 1860s. Even a few deaths.

You can check it out yourself, A simple internet search will reveal lots of great stories referencing the Arizona Bigfoot.