The Free Radical

I’m no true Trailer Park Boy– almost– but perhaps there’s something to this “Samsquamch” thing! I found another footprint…

I’m six feet tall; I wear size 11 (43 European sizing) shoes. Each of the toes in this footprint is as big as my big toe, and the overall print is quite a bit wider than mine. Also of note is that you can’t make out any definite claw marks in front of the toes– which usually is the case with bears. Maybe I’m being hoaxed, but this appears to be a genuine mystery!

If I assume that these are indeed bear prints, then that means that there are at least three adult bears in the immediate vicinity… the two different sized prints I’ve found in the last two days and the young bear my Mom spotted a few days ago. That in itself would be a very odd occurrence. Despite what that lying bitch Goldilocks would have you believe, bears don’t do the whole family thing. Cubs stay with their mothers for two seasons, and daddy bears… well, they tend to eat their babies when encountered. Bears are fiercely territorial– the exception being when there’s an over-abundance of food, like at a dump site. You simply won’t find Mama Bear, Daddy Bear and Baby Bear all hanging out amicably in the same area.

So I don’t know what to tell you. All this week I’m out in the woods with three dogs; I’m dog-sitting, so the chances of us actually seeing a bear out there is rather remote due to my traveling circus. But the tracks in the mud are intriguing to say the least!

And then there’s the whole problem of trying to determine the symbolism for Bigsquatch! He’s not typically listed in the relevant anthologies and manuals.

Intuitively, this speaks to me of fierce independence and self-determination. Also of note is that the two large and somewhat inexplicable footprints are both facing the opposite direction to the direction I always travel. Bigsquatch isn’t eluding or fleeing; he’s choosing to meet us head on.

I don’t really know if I’m being totally silly or not… but I can say for sure that I’m looking forward to getting out there again today!

Where is he?