Somewhere in WI 2011- Part 3

I woke at 6:30 this morning excited about the hike/exploration that my boyfriend and I had planned for the day.   We packed our gear and drove the hour and a half to our destination while listening to a podcast from blogtalk radio with Thom Powell as the guest....to set the mood.   We had been going to this particular area since 2008 and just recently started cataloging the trails as we explore them.
Unfortunately it had been raining off and on before we arrived but I thought... hmm,  maybe that's in our favor, the ground would be soft enough for impressions.   The forest floor is rather spongy so no prints would ever be found there and the trails gave us nothing. However we were able to soak up enough water that it looked as if we went wading knee deep in the nearby stream and our waterproof hikers felt as though we had.  So much for waterproof. 

As we explored the trail and at times off trail to venture deeper into the woods I began to notice a lot of the typical tree bends, v breaks and interwoven trees.  I also began to notice there just may be a pattern.   It seems to me that when I come across something that looks like a nest or shelter so to speak, there are many of these bends and breaks in the area surrounding the assumed shelter.

I had camera in hand and truth be told I was looking for that "what in the world" find but unfortunately all I found were the bends,breaks, weaves that are already found in mass quantities over the internet and possibly a few old abandoned shelters where the leaves have fallen away leaving only a skeleton of what it once.

Pictures really do not do any of these any justice at all.  These are something that a person has to see with their own eyes in person to really be able to take it all in.  When you come into an area that is filled with these though, there is an eeriness all around which also plays into how these are perceived. At least I believe it does.  Anyways,  I really didn't want to  fill this blog with more of the same old same old as far as tree structures, but I will share the pictures I was able to get today.

This tree bend was just one of many that we had seen during our hike.  One side is braced by a Y branch almost as if to keep it from bending too far down,  the other side is held down by a birch tree that had been broke off. 

Same bend but viewed from opposite side.

There were tons of so called "V" breaks, although this one is probably natural, I thought it was pretty cool just because! :D   What a beautiful area huh?

I thought this was interesting because two smaller trees off the side are pulled in towards each other and another tree placed over the top as if to hold them in place.  You can barely make out the smaller tree to the left of the pic that is pulled in.

Closer view of the above pic where you can see the tree to the left better.

Just another shot of the trees

I do apologize because these pictures really don't do this justice and without being there this looks more like a simple tree fall than anything else.  In the background you can see some smaller trees pulled downward.  I tried to get some of those in these shots.

Portion of the tree pictured just before this one: If this tree still had it's leaves and the branches placed over the top still full of leaves this would have made a wonderful shelter.

Big tree!  Again the same small trees in the background. I just noticed the small white area the the left of the tree.  Possibly a bug from my flash. With all the bugs out, I'm surprised that this is the only time I captured this.

Another tree bend located near the above possible shelter.

Same tree bend, different angle showing the broken branches holding it in place.

This is the pile of broken branches holding the above tree bend in place.  The top of the tree is to the left and tucked under the bigger branches.

I don't know when my boyfriend and I will get the chance to get out there again but I hope we do real soon.  I also hope that my finds will be a little more exciting.

Chimp behavior vs. bigfoot: Nest building

Lately I have become interested in behaviors in chimps that resemble reported bigfoot behavior and remembered that Jane Goodall had spoken publicly about her belief that bigfoot exist.  So I decided to start my quest with her.   My search had led me to a web site called osareal.com a very informative site created by Pearl Jo Prihoda who has spent years researching bigfoot. She had made mention of Jane Goodall and had posted a very interesting diagram created by Izawa/Itani  in 1966 depicting various types of chimp nests.  These diagrams are very similar to what I have seen and photographed here in Wisconsin and Michigan.  With her permission I am re-posting this diagram here to share. 

Courtesy of Pearl Jo Prihoda @ osareal.com- Artist: Izawa/Itani 1966  home.worldcom.

                                                                   Thank you Pearl Jo!

Somewhere in WI 2010

View from side

Another view from the side

Different angle from side side

Back end

Area I measured in red circle

Measurement of tree diameter

View under tree structure canopy

Another shot of back end of structure

Another side view angle

Red arrow points to a tree with top broke off.  Top of this tree is perched on top of the tree structure as if to hold it in place.  White arrow points to another form of structure placed in the tree line.  Note the angle to which the top of the this tree had come off did not match up to the final resting place of the top.

Area of woods leading up to location of the above structure.

You can sort of see the top of the tree that was placed over the tree bends.  Note that the tree that it came from was to the right of this photo and quite a distance away.

Another shot of the back side of this structure. My partner in crime who is about 6' 1 - 6' 2 stands next to it.  Again the red circle is where I measured the diameter of the tree.

              These photos were taken last year in September after a big storm had moved through the area.   The photos just do not do what I came upon any justice.  All these trees were pulled together towards the center with brush and a huge tree top placed over it.   In hind site I should have measured the distance from the structure to the tree with the missing top and also measured the total size of this.
               Now just for the record, I do not believe that every fallen tree in the shape of an x is bigfoot related.  It takes something that is a little harder to explain to pique my curiosity.  I am also not saying that these are in fact bigfoot related but it was strange enough to make me wonder.  As for my above partner,  it takes more proof for him... like seeing an actual bigfoot build one.  Until then, I continue to annoy him with my fascination of these types of structures. :D

Somewhere in WI 2008

Deer leg~ I know this has nothing to do with trees but I found this to be interesting.  In 2010 I read a great book by Thom Powell called the Locals.  At one point he talks about a sighting by a career wildlife biologist in California who had a bigfoot sighting.  As he described his account he mentions coming across a fresh doe carcass.  The right leg ripped off from the body.  Of course this wasn't the main piece of the story but I point it out because while reading this I remembered this photo.  Again I am not saying that this photo is bigfoot related but it was enough to make me wonder.

Close up of area where the bone was snapped.

The branches that were bent down were between 5- 8 inches in diameter.  They were all bent down towards the ground creating a covered area under the tree.  There was also fallen tree that added as extra cover underneath but I have been unable to locate the picture.

Branches at the top broken downward.  I found the exact same thing frequently during my expedition in Michigan.

Pine bent over blocking a pathway

          These photos were taken in the same area as the other Somewhere in Wisconsin but in a different location within forest.

What started it all~ Michigan 2008

Top of tree with branches broken down towards ground. Very similar to the one photographed in my "Somewhere in WI part 2" post.

Okay, so I said I don't really photograph x's found. This is due to the fact that the possibility of tees falling and ending up in this pattern is very high.  I only photographed this because it was found located next to the following structure.

Located next to the above X

This one caught me off guard.  It was the last day of our expedition and the group had headed back home. My boyfriend and I had decided to stay one more night alone.  We went to town to stock up on some supplies and when we came back this is what we found located right next to where we had been parking our vehicle.  I am 5' 9 and I had to stand on tip toes to reach the branch that is wedged between the two trees horizontally.  That branch was wedged between them so tight that I could barely break it free.  There were no friction marks on the branch or the tree where they were wedged together.  It was like some one or something had pulled the two trees far enough apart and dropped the branch in.  This structure made for an uneasy night as it had not been there when we left for town.

Found by campsite~ More angles to follow

This small structure was found in the morning by our campsite.  Note that this area had been covered by others while looking for downed wood for a camp fire and had not been there the night before.  Just to add to my uneasy last night in the Michigan woods.

Branch twisted like a pretzel around a tree right next to the small structure displayed above it.

Located just feet from the asterisk found by where we parked our vehicle.

End of tree bend showing another tree holding the bent one in place.

Another view of tree bend and how it was held in the bent position

Side view of asterisk shaped structure found by vehicle.

While on an expedition in Michigan I was introduced to tree structures.  This created a fascination with the possible behavioral aspect of bigfoot.  From this point on I was hooked. I look forward to more expeditions (just me and my guy) to discover more of these anomalies of nature.