Bigfoot at the Coast: A Pacific Northwest Cryptid Encounter During a Bear Attack

Story transcript: “Bigfoot at the Coast” by Bruce Haney, narrated by Henrique Couto. Edited from an automatic transcript; minor transcription errors may remain. Host segments, music and advertising omitted.

Bigfoot at the Coast by Bruce Haney A highlight of every summer for Tom was the week he went camping with his best friend Arturo at the beach. His friend's parents were nice enough to let Arturo bring along one friend every year. Lucky for Tom, Arturo was his best friend. The annual trip always included a stop by the Tillamook Cheese Factory, bonfires on the beach, and many trips around the campground on their bikes where they tried to make friends, especially with girls.

The social hierarchy was different on vacation. At school, they were loners. But at the beach, they made friends with everybody. And even girls would talk to them. Something that would never happen at Barclay Elementary. Arturo's family was well-to-do, so he always had a nicer bicycle. But this last year, Tom had been saving the money he earned doing extra chores around the house and begged his parents to take that money and put it towards getting him the bike of his dreams for his birthday.

They agreed, so Tom got his own Presto 4500, a true BMX bike. It was his most cherished possession. It was a thing of beauty. It had minimalist graphics, a sky-blue paint job, and it was fast. It was nothing like his old thrift store Huffy. It had all the bells and whistles, too. The upgraded spiked metal pedals and foot pegs so he could give a buddy a ride if needed. The lady at the bike shop tried to talk him out of the pedals he chose.

You sure you want a set of ankle biters? Ankle biters? His worried mother asked. Yeah. Do you see the spikes on those things? The spikes are a fourth of an inch taller than any other pedal on the market. It used to be that about half of these that were sold would be returned a week later and exchanged for plastic ones. Oh, dear. You sure you want these? His mother asked. They do keep you on better for jumps and whatnot, right?

Tom asked the lady behind the counter. They do. So? He got them. Before they left, his mother asked the cashier about the return policy again. You said that they used to get returned a lot. Why don't they anymore? New policy. No return on metal pedals. Oh, his mother said. I was getting tired of cleaning teenager blood off of them. The cashier explained. Tom was excited to ride the bike around the campground to see all the other kids look at it in awe from atop their discount department store bicycles.

Though he had a nice bike, he was still a lower income kid. So it took him a while to go through his clothes and pick the best outfits for the camping trip. He wanted to make sure there was nothing to stop him from impressing the girls. Last year's trip was the closest Tom had gotten to kissing a girl. He thought that just maybe, with a bike this cool, a girl could look past his looks and he could get that ever-elusive first kiss.

A thing that both boys were excited about as well with the trip was the recent Bigfoot sightings they had heard about. The Pacific Northwest has always been a hotbed for Bigfoot activity, which is where they were. But you usually don't hear about them at the beach. Why wouldn't Bigfoot want to go to the ocean? Arturo had asked Tom. Well, for one, it's a tourist spot, which means it's a good place to get spotted.

That's one reason that he wouldn't. Plus, what can he do at the beach? I doubt he can swim. He certainly can't surf, Tom said. Wouldn't it be rad if he did, though? Arturo said and laughed. That would be cool if Bigfoot finally shows himself to the world and he's on top of a surfboard catching some waves, Tom joked. Cowabunga, dude! Arturo said while pretending to be a surfboard riding Bigfoot. They both laughed.

Then, Tom got serious. If Bigfoot wasn't at the coast, how do you explain that mutilated dead body that was found? The two boys started begging to ride their bikes as soon as they pulled into the campsite, but they had to help unpack and set up the tents first. By the end of the day, they had ridden the whole park a dozen times, made friends with a couple of kids, and picked out who they thought was the cutest girl around the campground.

Her name was Melissa, and she was their age, but they felt she had a sophistication to her because she wore a chain wallet and a rock t-shirt over her long-sleeved shirt and had purple streaks in her hair. Lucky for them, she was the slightly older sister of a kid named Ricky, whom they had befriended. After they had eaten dinner that night, they were allowed to go on one last bike ride and say goodnight to their new friends.

They bolted to Ricky's campsite. He wasn't as cool as the other kids they met, but it would give them a chance to talk to Melissa. At their campsite, Melissa and Ricky were sitting by the campfire, roasting marshmallows. Seeing the two boys, Melissa set hers aside like she was too cool for roasting marshmallows. This was good for them. It meant that she thought enough of them to worry about being perceived as cool.

The conversation between the four kids came easy, especially between Tom and Melissa. It seemed they had a similar taste in music. In Utero is a far superior album to Nevermind, Melissa said. No way! Nevermind has so many hits, Tom argued. What album has Come As You Are on it? Ricky asked. Nevermind, Melissa, Arturo, and Tom said in unison. That's the best one, then. Case closed, Ricky said. You're both wrong. In Utero is so raw and full of angst.

It's his most personal album to date, Melissa argued. Being that none of the other kids knew what the word angst meant, they decided to let her win. It's a rad record either way, Tom said. Their conversation about music was interrupted by rustling in the bushes. They all looked over and saw nothing and then looked back at each other. Melissa gave a little giggle to pretend like she wasn't startled. Did you hear about the man they found?

Arturo asked Melissa and Ricky. No, Melissa answered. Just a couple of weeks ago, at Oakley Park, just a mile up the road, a man was found with his arm ripped from his body and his chest caved in, Arturo said. Nuh-uh, Ricky said. Melissa looked over to Tom to gauge if Arturo was lying or not. It's true. We almost didn't get to come because his parents were so freaked out, Tom said. For real?

Ricky asked. Yes. And they never caught who or what did it, Arturo said. Do the police have any suspects? Melissa asked. Just one, Arturo said. Bigfoot! A voice screamed behind them. All the kids started to scramble and out from the bushes came a man. Dad? Melissa and Ricky said in unison. You scared the crap out of me, Melissa yelled. You know I hate when you say that word, her dad said. Sorry, Dad.

You scared the dookie out of me, Melissa explained. That's so much worse, Tom said. Now who are these two boys that are trying to frighten you, her dad asked. Tom and Arturo, Melissa said. We're not trying to scare them. It's true, sir. There was an attack, Tom said. It's Jerry, not sir, Jerry said. Did you know? Melissa asked. Yes, but I didn't want to ruin our trip. We've been looking forward to it all summer, Jerry said.

Maybe you have, but I would have rather stayed home with Mom, Melissa said, and then got up and stormed off to her tent. She tried to show her anger by zipping up the flap as quickly as she could. But as a gesture of frustration, it's a poor substitute for a slammed door. Well, you boys better be off. It's getting late. And you wouldn't want Bigfoot to get you, Jerry said while walking to his daughter's tent to try to smooth things over.

This trip means a lot to him. Our parents got a divorce and he only gets us every other weekend, Ricky explained to Arturo and Tom. Aw, man, I'm sorry to hear that, Tom said. It's whatever. He goes all out on birthdays and Christmas presents now, so that's been nice. Fingers crossed that I can get him to get me a bike like yours for Christmas, Ricky said. Her father was right. It was time for them to head back to their camp.

Arturo's parents would be looking for them soon. After they got on their bikes, they heard rustling in the bushes again. They looked to see if it was her father, but he was by Melissa's tent talking to her through the flap. Tom, who led the way with his expensive new bike, quickened his speed, which Arturo struggled to keep up with. They heard no more rustling or strange sounds on their ride back or while sitting around the campfire with Arturo's parents.

It wasn't until after they went to sleep that they heard any weird noises again. Neither awoke from the sounds of breaking branches outside their tent, but Tom awoke at the sound of rapid scraping on the side of their tent. Tom shook Arturo to alert him. The heck? Arturo said. Then they heard a soft voice. Tom? Arturo? Is this your tent? Melissa asked. Dude, it's Melissa! Tom whispered. Weird, Arturo said. Is that you two?

I hear you whispering. I... I need your help. It's us, Tom said. I woke up and my kid brother Ricky was missing. I thought maybe you two could help ride around with me to look for him. Dude, should we go? Tom asked. Dude, it's late. We could get in trouble, Arturo said. Yeah, dude. But it's Melissa and her kid brother is missing. The two argued back and forth like this for another minute until Melissa interrupted them.

Dudes? You going to help or not? Tom unzipped the flap and crawled out. Luckily, they had both finally given up wearing pajamas the year before. But the sleep shorts and oversized shirt look wasn't a great style either. Tom had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt and Arturo was sporting a faded Batman one. Geek culture wasn't as mainstream back then and Melissa would have ripped on both of them if it weren't for more pressing issues.

How did you know our campsite? Tom asked. No one else in this park is riding around on a new Presto 4500 in baby blue, Melissa said while pointing to where their two bikes were leaning against the picnic table. Sky blue, Tom corrected. Okay, Melissa said with a dismissive tone. When did you last see your brother? Arturo asked. I'm not sure. At some point he got up to go to the bathroom and never came back.

Why come to us and not your dad? Tom asked. He's heading to the campsite host's spot now to alert them and call the cops. Melissa explained. Okay, well that's good, Tom said. But I figured that it wouldn't hurt to look for him ourselves in the meantime, Melissa explained. Hopefully it's not Bigfoot that's got him, Arturo said. Tom elbowed him in the stomach and Melissa gave him a dirty look. Sorry, just joking.

Trying to lighten the mood. They decided to split up. They all knew the paths well. Arturo would take the left road and Melissa would take the right. Tom was feeling brave and told them he would take the trail. It went through the woods but crossed over the other two main roads in a few places. So they should cover a lot of ground and have opportunities to meet up and update each other.

Because of this bravery, he would be the first to greet the danger. Before that happened, he had ridden most of the trail. When he crossed the left road, he saw Arturo, who just shook his head no, and continued searching. When he crossed the right road, he ran into Melissa. You see anything? She asked. Nothing yet, Tom replied. Me either, she said. Don't worry, I still have the other trail to explore, Tom offered.

Then Tom made his way to the other trail. He dreaded this one because it went deep into the woods instead of following the beach. The trees were older on this side and larger, so only a small amount of moonlight made its way in. This made for a less illuminated trail that was filled with shadows that moved as the clouds passed over the moon. The soundscape was more active as well. He could hear unknown animals move through the bushes and could hear an owl hoot in the distance.

Tom was letting the atmosphere get to him, and he wanted to turn back. But then, in the distance, he saw something on the trail ahead of him. He rode over to it. It was Ricky's jacket. He thought about turning around and finding Melissa or Arturo, but was afraid that maybe that little bit of time, backtracking, would be enough of a time loss to not save that poor kid. Further down the trail, he saw prints on the ground.

But they didn't seem to be as big as what he thought a Bigfoot would produce. As he was inspecting the prints, he heard a voice in the distance. So he jumped back on his bike, intending to go full speed towards the sound. But his foot slipped, causing those fancy metal spiked pedals to smash into his ankle. Since he was wearing shorts, there was no buffer between the spikes and his legs. He started bleeding, but adrenaline helped him get back on the pedals and move forward.

Damn ankle biters! He muttered to himself. Tom not only slowed down, but came to a complete stop when he spotted Ricky, up a tree, with a giant black bear at the bottom of it, making moves to climb up after him. Tom stood in shock, not knowing what to do, but knowing he had to do something. When the bear started climbing up the tree, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. Presto 4,500, you better be as fast as they claim, Tom said to his bike.

His plan was dumb, but was well executed. He rode right up to the bear and kicked him as hard as he could. For a moment, he thought he was going to lose his balance, but corrected at the last second. The bear jumped down and chased him. Tom was able to get his bike up to full speed, but the bear was fast and was quickly lessening the gap between them. Tom took the trail onto one of the main roads, where he ran into Arturo and Melissa.

Bear! It's a bear! Your brother is up a tree! Bear! No! Chasing me! Tom yelled fast as he rode away, hoping that they heard it all. Melissa jumped on her bike and started heading in a different direction. Arturo followed Tom. Once the bear showed itself and followed the two boys, Melissa headed down the trail to find her brother. The bear followed for a while, but began to lose steam, and eventually, the two boys lost him.

During this time, Melissa was trying to talk her brother down from the tree. Come on, Ricky! It's not safe! Ricky said. It will be once you get back to camp! Melissa yelled. I'll take my chances. Get down now or I'll tell Dad about those magazines you have hidden in your bedroom! Melissa threatened. How do you know I... Does it matter? Melissa interrupted. Okay, okay, I'm coming down! Ricky said while climbing down the tree.

When Tom and Arturo made it around the loop again, they were relieved to spot Melissa and her brother speedwalking back to camp. Melissa didn't have pegs, so she couldn't carry him. You got him down! Rad! I can ride him back to camp on my... Tom began to say, but was interrupted by Melissa yelling, He's back! The bear jumped out of the woods near Tom and Arturo. Tom sped up and skidded to a quick stop in front of Melissa and Ricky.

Ricky, get on my pegs! Everyone else disperse! He can't chase us all! Tom yelled. As soon as Ricky was on the pegs, Tom was off. Arturo hadn't stopped, so he was now in the lead. Tom took off in the opposite direction in hopes that the bear would follow him instead of his friends. But the bear followed Arturo, and almost as soon as they were both out of sight, he could be heard screaming.

What do we do? Ricky screamed in his ear. Fudge! Tom said, and looked around for options. He spotted a solution, and smiled to himself. There was an outhouse. He sped over to it and slammed on his brakes. Ricky was not ready for this, so he flew off and tumbled to the ground. Okay, get in the bathroom, lock the door, and be quiet! Tom yelled, and took off before looking to see if the kid had listened.

Tom hauled butt towards where the bear chased Arturo. He knew it was a risky mission, but he also knew that Arturo was his best friend. Things were not great. There was a large gash from the bear's paw across Arturo's chest, and the bear was chewing on his arm playfully. But it did appear that his friend was still breathing. So, once again, Tom tried the trick from before. He rode by and kicked the bear even harder than he had before.

Then went to take off, lost his balance, and the spiked pedal slammed into his ankle again in the same spot. This time ripping an even bigger hole, piercing an artery. Tom couldn't push past this injury. He screamed and fell to the ground as blood gushed from his leg. The bear took notice, stopped snacking on Arturo, and made its way towards the now helpless kid who had kicked him twice. Tom looked up at the bear with its bloody snout and waited for death to come.

I should have listened to that lady at the bike shop. But then, the strangest thing happened. The bear rose off the ground. The heck? Tom said to himself. And then, he saw it. It was Bigfoot. And he was bigger and stronger than he had ever imagined. Strong enough that he was able to pick up a rather large black bear. After lifting it up, Bigfoot threw the bear against a nearby tree. Then, he began to head to where the bear had landed, to finish the job.

As he was deciding what his finishing move would be, police lights lit up the area and the familiar whoop whoop could be heard. Bigfoot then looked at the two boys. And then, back to the bear, which seemed to be down for the count anyways. So, Bigfoot shrugged and took off into the woods. That is when Tom passed out from blood loss. When he woke up, he was in the hospital. Across from his bed, he saw his friend Arturo was there, too.

That bear had hurt Arturo badly, but only enough to put him in the hospital. Not enough to put him in the morgue. Tom was hurt, too, but just from his own beloved bike. I guess the camping trip is over, Tom said to Arturo when he woke up. Yeah, and you still never kissed a girl, Arturo said and laughed. There's always next year, Tom said. Next year? I think I'm done camping, Arturo joked.

Then, a knock was heard outside their hospital room. It was Melissa. Is that all you boys think about? You survived a bear attack, and all you're thinking about is that you didn't get to kiss a girl? Melissa laughed. Tom looked over at Arturo, who blushed. Then, they all laughed. I just wanted to come by and say, thank you. You saved my brother's life, Melissa said. Don't mention it. I did what I had to do, Tom said.

Yeah, but that bear almost killed you. Thank God the police showed up in time to shoot it, Melissa said. Thank God for Bigfoot, Tom proclaimed. What? Arturo asked. Oh, my God. Don't tell me that neither of you saw that giant Bigfoot pick up that bear and throw it, Tom said. Wow, you did lose a lot of blood, Arturo laughed. How many drugs do they have you on? Melissa asked. I saw him, I swear, Tom declared.

Sure, well, sorry I can't stay because of the situation my mom is making my dad bring us home immediately. But I just wanted to say thanks to the two of you, Melissa said. Then she walked over and kissed Arturo on the forehead. Arturo smiled over at Tom. Tom's jealousy only lasted a couple of seconds because she walked over to him and kissed him on the lips. Before she moved away, their eyes met and Melissa said, I believe you.