SHAWNIGAN LAKE, B.C. -- They're as old as time, perhaps inhabitants of this planet longer than us. Some native North American tribes refer to them as naxnox, or supernatural beings, and have encountered them for centuries. Fishermen, loggers, hikers and day trippers claim to have seen them on occasion.
We're talking about Sasquatch, Bigfoot or Wildman -- it doesn't matter what you call them, it appears they're here, living among us. Unless, that is, you think every one of the thousands who claim to have seen them are charlatans. April fools? Hardly.
For five years now, Sasquatch enthusiasts, or those simply looking for an unusual adventure experience, can head out into Vancouver Island's deep woods on expeditions inspired by a man who has spent more than three decades obsessed by the mysterious creature. For 35 years, during a career as a wildlife biologist, John Bindernagel has collected Sasquatch lore and "evidence." He has written numerous papers on the subject and a recent book, North America's Great Ape: The Sasquatch.
He's so serious about his passion that he doesn't even like the term Bigfoot. "I use Sasquatch instead of Bigfoot, because the latter has such a jestful connotation. Bigfooters see the creature behind every tree," Bindernagel told me late at night, in a bed and breakfast owned by Michael and Elly Ruge in Cowichan Valley, on the shores of Shawnigan Lake about 45 kilometres north of Victoria.
Michael has set up a unique tour business under Bindernagel's guidence. The latter's mother was Ruge's nanny once and, though he's now in his mid-forties, he has maintained close ties to the bright, affable and deadly serious Bindernagel.
"Knowing him as I do, I really believe in John's work, so I wanted to create a business around his research," Ruge says. "Bigfoot Safari was the answer."
For five years now, guests can head out into the deep woods and isolated mountain country of the Island. Individuals or groups drive 4x4s such as Land Cruisers to areas where there have been claims of Sasquatch sightings.
"The odds of finding something are slight, especially on the shorter trips," Ruge said. "But you never know."
I took a Land Cruiser out for an afternoon, with Ruge as my guide and Bindernagel as our passenger. I struggled with the wheel of the powerful vehicle as I learned how to manoeuvre it over fallen tree trunks and along old logging roads. We didn't happen across anything unusual, but the exhilaration of off-road driving and the lush scenery was thrilling enough.
Ruge also books week-long excursions, with participants living and sleeping in the wild. As he says, you just never know. It's a matter of faith, I suppose, whether you believe a humanoid throwback like Sasquatch truly exists.
For Bindernagel, the author of numerous papers and a recent book on the Sasquatch, there is no doubt. Ontario-raised and educated at the University of Guelph, where he graduated as a wildlife ecologist, he came to B.C. primarily to search for Sasquatch. He was also fed up with the prevailing attitudes on the subject.
Every year, until winter snows make it difficult, Bindernagel is out on field trips for days on end, looking for signs such as Sasquatch nests, hair, spoor or footprints, such as the ones he made castings of in October, 1988. He discovered the tracks while hiking on the shore of Lake Helen Mackenzie, in Strathcona Provincial Park.
Back at Ruge's B & B, Bindernagel pulls out a box, reaches inside and lays an assortment of castings on a table. They're very human-like in appearance, but huge: 15 to 16 inches long and five to six inches wide. The implications are rather unsettling, as is the image of encountering a creature reputed to be seven to 10 feet tall.
The biologist's biggest challenge is to find an actual specimen or some other irrefutable proof to garner respect from his peers.
According to Ruge, the purpose of Bigfoot Safaris is to support Bindernagel and his research whenever possible. "We also help expose people to the research that has been done, through the excursions we take into the wilderness of Vancouver Island," he said.
That night, I slept in fits and starts. Though very comfortable in a modern, fully equipped upper loft-like hideaway the Ruges call Taj Lodge, I kept picturing an eight-foot tall Sasquatch coming out of the forest behind me and peering into the window above my head as I slept. About 3 a.m., I was wakened by what sounded like a rock striking the log wall of the building, making a hollow, ringing sound. I'll never know who or what flung that projectile, but it certainly fired up my already swollen imagination and had my heart break-dancing until I nodded off again.
The next morning, I had an encounter along the Victoria waterfront that really had me pondering the mystery again. Vendors, mostly Canadian natives, sell various goods here during the summer months. I jokingly asked one artist if he had any Sasquatch sketches.
"I had a couple last summer, but I haven't drawn any more this year," said 68-year old Thunderbird T-Thedu. "We saw one, my wife and I, just outside McKenzie Creek." He went on to relate a chilling tale of how, while mushroom picking, he and wife, Margaret Summers, stumbled upon a large, hairy, humanlike creature foraging for food at the base of a hill about two hours from Victoria.
When they called out to the creature, it "jumped up the hill very fast, or so it appeared," he says.
Minutes later, Summers comes by. "Tell him about the Sasquatch we saw," her husband prods. Her details are exactly the same.
Summers also told me that they met "this guy who saw the same thing two years prior to that, a mile down the road. Ken and his wife, Sandy, both saw it. And around that time, their rather hefty dog, a cross between a Saint Bernard and a German shepherd, disappeared."
The couple found it later, dead, appearing as if it had been strangled, a fact later confirmed by a veterinarian. "That really gave me the chills," T-Thedu comments. "That was a dog which could easily defend itself."
Sasquatch Hunter's Rule No. 1: Leave the family pooch at home.
Pack your bags
HUNT FOR SASQUATCH
Bigfoot Safari: 2374 Renfrew Rd., Shawnigan Lake, B.C.; 1-866-553-3668 or 250-733-2233; http://www.bigfootsafari.com. A one-day adventure in a 4x4 costs $199 a person; Friday night to Monday morning is $999. A week-long safari for groups or individuals is $5,000 a person.
WHERE TO STAY
Shawnigan Shores Bed and Breakfast: 250-733-2233; lakebb.com. Rates are $200 to $300 a room, double, in summer and fall.
SASQUATCH INFORMATION
John Bindernagel's website: http://www.bigfootbiologist.org.
Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization: legendmeetsscience.com.
MORE INFORMATION
Tourism B.C.: http://www.hellobc.com.