They came from Clancy and Boulder, Helena and Bozeman, Bellingham, WA, and even Las Vegas, all seeking the hairy beast of myth long thought to stalk the northern Rocky Mountains.
After reports of a local Sasquatch sighting, more than 100 people – teenager to septuagenarian and every age in between – descended on Tings Tavern in Jefferson City on a chilly, full-moon Saturday night to find the seven-foot-tall creature said to be more ape than man.
Energy levels were high as hunters gathered in the early evening. Bartenders rushed to deliver drinks as participants swapped stories and hunting plans. “My strategy is to throw my girlfriend on my back because I can run faster with her on my back than dragging her along – she gets distracted,” said Kevin Farren, a 35-year-old Helena handyman.
He had previously participated in a similar hunt in Elliston – which ran for decades and became a local tradition, attracting hundreds – but had never won a prize. Fellow Helena resident Sherry Tyhurst, 39, had also done the Elliston hunt, which inspired her to establish three rules.
“Be quick and don’t go into the marsh,” she said, taking a sip of beer. “Also, to be a little more nimble, a few drinks beforehand definitely helps.”
Tings owner Angel Molyneaux said a friend who had helped organize the Elliston event, which last ran in 2015, urged her to relaunch the hunt. Tings inaugural event last May drew 60 hunters, while this year’s attracted nearly twice that many, plus two cover bands, Swanny’s food truck to provide sustenance, and Willie’s Distillery to offer liquid courage in the form of whisky tastings.
Boulder resident Ben Hecht, originally from Las Vegas, planned to closely follow his friends and jump in at the right moment to grab the prize. And if he were to bump into the Sasquatch while wandering the forest? “I’ll make friends,” he vowed.
Few were as excited to get hunting as Matt Mahan, a retired Northwest Energy supervisor from Bozeman who has a cabin on Homestake Pass and had come with his wife and another couple. Since receiving a letter from an outfit called Bigfoot Field Researchers years ago, asking to put Sasquatch surveillance equipment at his cabin, Mahan has embraced the lore.
He has collected countless Bigfoot hats and T-shirts, turned his outhouse into the world’s smallest Bigfoot Museum, and purchased a full Sasquatch costume – which he wore while playing guitar during a pre-hunt jam session. “It was very hot in that suit, but I got a good reception,” he said, recalling how he responded after learning of the hunt. “I called my friends because I like to drag them into debacles like this.”
Hunters were outfitted with a wristband to prove participation, a flashlight to guide their way, and a whistle for when they came upon any of their three costumed prey. A human-sized pickle and pickle jar, in addition to the Squatch, awaited participants on the five-acre hunting grounds across Interstate 15 from Jefferson City’s Main Street.
Alcohol and weapons were banned and Tings, which is more than 150 years old, encouraged designated drivers and placed security on the grounds. Still, a Sasquatch on the loose hinted at danger. “Be careful,” Molyneaux warned participants just before the hunt, “he’s out there.”
Mikaela (24) and Mckenzie (22) Belik, from Bellingham, WA, had no fear. The sisters were in town visiting their father, who lives in Jefferson City and won Ting’s inaugural hunt last year. They thought a Belik family repeat might be in the cards. “We hope so,” said Mikaela, sitting on a haybale as their trailer truck pulled into the hunting grounds.
Once all participants had arrived and warmed themselves by the bonfire, the event’s co-organizer, Buck Herron, raised a pistol. “Is everybody ready?” he shouted, receiving wild whoops and hollering in response before firing a blank into the air.
Hunters hurried eastward toward the hillside, some wading through the creek and others sprinting across a wooden bridge. Random shouts of instruction and encouragement, as well as questions about potential hiding places, echoed through the forest. Minutes later, a piercing whistle blew along the burbling creek: Sherry from Helena had found the pickle.
“I did exactly what I said I wouldn’t do, go through the marsh,” she admitted with a grin, standing next to Kyle Madison in his pickle suit. “But I noticed the creek line was really deep there and I thought that’s where I’d hide. Then I saw the bright green of his pickle shirt sticking out from a few logs and grabbed for my whistle.”
After another hunter came upon the pickle jar, nobody found anything for an hour. As the night grew frigid, many hunters returned to the starting area to commiserate and warm up by the fire. Along the ridge, dozens of flashlights continued to move silently through the darkness. A brilliant full moon slipped out from behind the clouds.
Finally, a shout and a whistle blast from halfway up the hill. Todd McMillan, a Helena electrician, had achieved the impossible and found the mythical Sasquatch, winning a $100 Murdoch’s gift card, a Coho Cooler, and several Bigfoot knickknacks.
“I’d heard a funny noise and went down to that area, turned off my flashlight and sat next to a tree,” McMillan, an experienced elk hunter, said back at the bar, enjoying a celebratory beer with his wife and friends. “I heard some branches break above me, so I turned on my flashlight, looked up and shouted ‘He’s right up there!’ It was pretty cool.”
For the man in the Bigfoot suit, Maxwell Straight, from Helena, it was a bit less cool. He had climbed some 20 feet into the tree before the hunt began and stayed there, as still as possible, for nearly 90 minutes. “My legs fell asleep a few times and I almost fell out,” he said afterward. “I just kept leaning against the tree and holding on.”
Strait, who was paid for his services in free drinks, also played Bigfoot last year. This time, after hunters had failed to find him for an hour, he decided to get fully into character and did a few Bigfoot growls. “You gotta make it real,” he said. “After hearing my Sasquatch calls, they camped out underneath my tree.”
McMillan, sitting a few feet from his captured prey, revealed the secret to successful Sasquatch hunting. “Staying absolutely still,” he said. “And you gotta have a bit of luck.”
