Bigfoot in Wyoming
While the Pacific Northwest has laid claim to Sasquatch, it’s far from the only region in the world where tall, hairy, two-legged creatures have been spotted striding through the woods. In fact, Bigfoot in Wyoming—or at least reported sightings of the creatures—are more common than you might suspect.
Over the last 50 years or so, according to Cowboy State Daily, Wyoming has been the site of at least 28 reported instances where people have reported a tall, dark-haired, long-armed creature that leaves behind huge footprints. And while that description fits both Chewbacca and my college roommate, one of those is a confirmed fictional character and the other can’t account for every sighting—giving credence to the possibility that there really might be a hairy cryptid or two wandering the wilds. The same source claims that belief in Bigfoot is on the rise (up to 13% of the Wyoming population!) and the most frequent sightings of Bigfoot in Wyoming have occurred in Park County, followed by Lincoln County and our own Teton County.
From that source we also get our first few stories. In 1972, Wyoming Game and Fish biologist John Mionczynski had an intense encounter with a creature he believes could have been Bigfoot in the Wind River Range. Around midnight, Mionczynski heard snoring sounds and, thinking a bear was near his tent, struck it through the tent wall. This feels like an uncertain idea at best, regardless of whatever large animal is in your campsite, and the figure, despite Mionczynski’s stern warning, kept returning. When he hit it a third time, he noticed the silhouette of a tall, upright creature with a long, hairy arm and a hand with distinct fingers. The creature then collapsed his tent. As Mionczynski huddled by the fire, it began tossing pine cones toward him for nearly an hour before disappearing. Bears don’t really toss pinecones.
In 1978, two geologists driving west on Highway 14 toward Yellowstone at 1:45 a.m. encountered a "large, dark, shaggy figure" emerging from a ditch. As they approached, the creature looked toward their vehicle, reflecting yellow light from its eyes, then turned its head in a motion they described as both inhuman or un-bearlike, with its shoulders, chest, and head moving in unison. They estimated the figure to be six to seven feet tall and between 600-800 pounds. Both were sober and (as men of science) skeptical of paranormal claims, and they were certain it wasn’t a bear.
Our next two “Bigfoot in Wyoming” stories come to us from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, which is 100% a thing and full of people who take their hobby very seriously. (Peruse their website for even more stories.) In 2007, a Wyoming tribal government worker reported a recent spike in Bigfoot sightings within the community, echoing similar accounts from years before. Historically, these sightings were viewed as bad omens, but recently several colleagues have seen a large, hairy figure in daylight near riverbanks and wooded areas. One sighting involved a woman and her sister who encountered the creature on a dark road and felt frozen as it turned to face them in their headlights. The witness also recalls a personal encounter as a teenager, seeing a massive, fast-moving figure cross a road in a snowstorm. The recent increase in sightings—now reportedly at least four known to that particular tribal worker—suggested that this creature may indeed be real.
The most recent account we could find was from 2008, when a camper in Medicine Bow National Forest noticed a mysterious black figure moving quickly and smoothly near her campsite early one morning. At first, she thought it was her husband, but realized the figure was smaller, slender, and moved far faster than he did. (This story is notable in that the creature in question is shorter than the others—a pygmy Sasquatch, maybe? Or the Sasquatch that other Sasquatches stuffed into lockers in high school?) The figure, which seemed hooded with no distinct head or neck, appeared briefly between tents before vanishing. Despite damp ground, there were no footprints around camp, and her father mentioned strange nighttime sounds by the creek. Though hunters were nearby, she couldn’t imagine anyone entering their camp unnoticed, leaving her puzzled about what she’d seen.
We also found several more undated stories. Bear in mind these are from a radio station, not a scientific institute, but this is Sasquatch we’re talking about, so they might as well be from Neil DeGrasse Tyson. In the first account, two brothers—both experienced hunters—were cutting timber between Cody and Yellowstone when they spotted something unusual moving up a nearby slope. Familiar with local wildlife, they were sure this wasn’t an elk or bear. Through binoculars, they saw a creature roughly a quarter mile away, walking upright and standing up to 10 feet tall. It was too large to be mistaken for a bear and continued lumbering over 100 yards. What it did after that we're not told—maybe it darted off into the brush, or maybe it climbed aboard the Millennium Falcon and flew back to the planet Kashyyyk.
In the second undated report, two other men were setting bear bait in the woods when they came across an unexplained animal carcass in their path, with no predators or scavenging eagles around to account for it. As they neared their destination, they heard breaking timber along the tree line. While one initially thought it might be a moose, the other suspected otherwise. When the sounds repeated, they realized the creature was walking upright and (this is becoming a theme) was far too large to be a bear.
What do you think? Have you ever seen a Bigfoot in Wyoming (or anywhere else, for that matter)? Let us know in the comments.
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This post is brought to you by Flat Creek Inn.
Ryan Kunz is a copywriter and freelance writer who writes on a variety of topics, including media, the outdoors, and whatever else strikes his fancy. He doesn’t believe in Bigfoot, but he doesn’t not believe in Bigfoot either.
