Sasquatch watch: Bigfoot believers gather in Kennewick

Derek Randles’ life changed on an August evening in 1985.

Then 20 years old, he was backpacking with friends in Olympic National Park.

“We’d worked our way up to a ridge off-trail, gotten to a small clearing. We decided to make camp there for the evening,” he recalled.

As they pulled out their bed rolls, “rocks started landing around us,” Randles said.

They weren’t at the base of a cliff, where they might expect rock fall. They were in a meadow.

Something or someone was throwing the rocks. After several hit nearby, they took off.

Randles stopped mid-getaway to grab the pistol in his pack. As he did, he stole a glance behind him. That’s when he spotted it:

A big, hulking figure — standing upright, with long arms and big chest, maybe 8 feet tall.

“It was enough to just absolutely terrify me,” Randles said.

He believes it was a Bigfoot, or Sasquatch. In the years since, he’s become dedicated to researching and investigating the mythic creature.

Randles, co-founder of The Olympic Project, which is committed to “documenting the existence of Sasquatch through science and education,” is one of many researchers and enthusiasts taking part in this weekend’s International Bigfoot Conference in Kennewick.

The event kicked off Friday and wraps up Sunday at the Three Rivers Convention Center.

Randles, who had a steady stream of fans coming up to his table Saturday, said he believes the Sasquatch he encountered all those years ago was trying to scare off him and his friends, perhaps to protect family nearby.

It was a transforming experience — one that totally reshaped his life, he said.

Researching and investigating Sasquatch “is a blast,” he said. “It’s always been a blast, for 32 years.”

This year’s conference celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin film — famous footage of a large, hulking creature running through the California wilderness. It’s been called “the cryptozoological equivalent to the Kennedy assassination’s Zapruder film.”

Bob Gimlin, a Yakima cowboy who captured the footage with his friend Roger Patterson, is a conference headliner.

Several other speakers also are on hand, along with a slew of vendors offering everything from Sasquatch T-shirts to cross stitch.

Russell Acord, who organized the conference, said it’s a fun mix. The conference is in its second year, and Acord plans to make it an annual event.

Jamie Thompson of Kennewick brought his daughter, Autumn, 6, on Saturday.

Thompson is interested in Bigfoot and thought the conference would be a fun way to bond with his girl.

Autumn said she was having fun, as she perused jewelry and other Sasquatch items. She wore a Sasquatch T-shirt.

A few tables over, Jonathan Sumerlin stood watch over several casts of large footprints and hand prints.

A map set up at his table showed the location of regional sightings and tracks.

Sumerlin’s grandfather, Wes, was a believer who encountered many Bigfoot in the Blue Mountains, Sumerlin said.

Sumerlin had his first personal encounter as a teen while camping. Now, he runs the Blue Mountain Bigfoot Research Organization in Walla Walla.

In between talking with conference-goers who approached his table, he shared about his encounters, about learning from his grandfather, about the fun of Bigfoot.

He acknowledged there are skeptics and plenty of unanswered questions.

To him, “the mystery (is fun),” he said.

“I love nature. I’m not a people person. I don’t like crowds. I don’t like being in the city. Every chance I get, when I’m not working, I’m in the mountains. It’s peaceful. It’s relaxing. The idea of having something out there, it’s kind of cool,” he said. “I just love the mystery of it.”

The conference concludes Sunday. Doors open at 8 a.m. More information: internationalbigfootconference.com.

This story was originally published September 2, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Sasquatch watch: Bigfoot believers gather in Kennewick."