All language subtitles for Expedition.X.S03E05.Canyon.of.the.Apes.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-SLAG_track3_[eng]

That Canyon looks
exceptionally dangerous.

[Josh] Something
has been reported,

stalking the slopes
of Mount St. Helens
for a century.

The night of the attack,
creatures are trying to be
through their way in

and they started shooting.

[Josh] Could it be
an undiscovered primate?

Something dug out
the earth marking
its territory.

[Josh] With
ferocious strength.

Something had grabbed the fur
and just kind of
ripped it off.

[Josh] We recruit
renowned cryptid hunters.

Let's see if we can hear
something out back.

[vocalizing]

And reconnaissance vehicle
with all the bells
and whistles.

[man]
We have turned up top with
the thermal imaging system

with the equivalent
of a military
Blackhawk helicopter.

[Josh]
To unearth the truth.

[Jessica]
Something is there.

[Phil] Oh, yeah, yeah.

Oh, [bleep]. Okay.

[Josh] Hidden.

[man whispering]
We're not alone.

[Josh] In the canyon
of the Apes.

My name is Josh gates.

In my travels,
I've experienced
strange things

that defy logic
and made me
question everything.

Oh, my God.

Now I've put together a team
to investigate the stranger
side of the unknown.

Let's go.

Phil Torres
is a scientist who hunts
for rational explanations.

[Phil speaking]

[Josh] Jessica Chobot's
paranormal research
has made her a true believer.

Phil, you see that?

[whispers] I just saw
something run across.

[Josh] Together
we're searching for answers

[man] What is that?

[narrator] to the world's
most extraordinary mysteries.

This isExpedition X.

Okay, so when you think
of famous American monsters,

-what do you think of?
-Madman.

-Harrier.
-Ooh!

I'm guessing
we're talking about Bigfoot.

We are.
Come on get excited, Phil.

We're talking
Bigfoot Sasquatch,

the king
of the American cryptids.

And much of that fame
is due to a single piece
of film,

The Patterson Gimlin film,
which was shot in 1967
in Northern California.

And even today, more than
half a century later,

it's still reigned supreme

as one of the most compelling
and controversial pieces
of evidence out there.

But still for my money
is a guy in a man costume.

It's never been
fully debunked.

Okay,
so whatever the truth is,

most people do think
of that film
as the thing that put Bigfoot

on the map
of American folklore

but it is far from
the first reported encounter

to make headline news.

Check this out,
nearly 100 years ago,

on the slopes
of Mount St. Helens

in Washington State
something really, really
bizarre happened.

These are actual headlines,

"trappers cabin bombarded
at night
by ape men, eight feet tall."

Ooh, I like mine,

"expedition ready
to begin hunt
for mountain devils."

How about,
"strange beasts,
attack miners."

Whatever, it was that happened
to these miners happened
a long time

before the term Bigfoot
was ever coined.

And according to locals
in Washington State,

these creatures
may still be up there.

[narrator] 1924,
gold prospectors

flocked to the slopes
of Mount St Helens
hoping to strike it rich,

but a few of them encounter
something else

hidden in
the volcanoes thick forest.

According to reports,
five men find a promising spot
along a treacherous slope,

where they build a cabin
and establish
a small gold mining operation.

But one day they claim
to spot a frightening figure
across the canyon,

standing at
nearly seven feet tall
with blackish brown hair.

The men shoot at the creature
but it disappears
into the woods.

The miners are so unnerved
by what they see,

they agree
to abandon the cabin
at first light.

But in the dead of night,
the cabin reportedly comes
under siege,

bombarded by rocks.

The miners catch a glimpse
of their attackers,

which appear
to be large bipedal primates.

The miners shoot in defense,

but the assault rages on
through the night.

At first light,
the five men flee the cabin.

But Legend says,
one of the creatures follows
in pursuit.

It is said one minor
gets off a shot,

sending it toppling
to the ground.

Back in town,
front page news

and to the remote gorge
where the incident
allegedly took place

becomes known as Ape Canyon.

Expeditions are soon launched
into the wilderness

for evidence of the beasts
but little is found.

However,
in the ensuing century,

sightings in this region
have not only continued
but increased.

Blood curdling howls
and large footprints

are consistently reported
along the eight Canyon trail

that winds
through old growth forest.

Locals regularly find
mutilated deer in the area.

The skull has been crushed.

And hikers recently reported
seeing three hulking primates

and claimed to capture them
on video.

With modern sightings
on the rise,

and an alleged cabin attack
nearly a century,

believers contend
that Ape Canyon is ground zero
for the American sasquatch.

Are these stories
just local folklore
or something real?

To believers,
this area marks
the true origin

of the creature
we now call Bigfoot.

-So, what do you think?
-Just the history alone

of what the miners
went through,

and their story to me
is super compelling.

I just think it sounds
like a perfect story
to tell over a campfire.

Well, a couple of things
to remember,

first of all,
these five miners,

they didn't seem
to profit office in any way.
They came down,

they were ridiculed
in the press.

And they stuck to their story.

And according to authorities,
were genuinely terrified
by whatever, they encountered.

And I think
that's an excellent point.

Because why make up
a story like this,
for no reason?

I don't know
the answer to that.

But what evidence
do we really have
that this even happen at all?

We don't.
And that's where you come in.
Right?

If this isn't made up,
if this isn't a yarn,

this would be
a really compelling
and important mass sighting,

get a whole group
of people here.

But the fact is,
we don't even know
if the cabin is real.

If you could find out
where these men were,

find the remains
of that cabin,

that would go a long way
to at least putting some meat
on the bone here.

And plus, we'll have
had all that research
reports, too.

Exactly.

So, I want you guys to dig in
and see what you can make
of all of this.

And to give you some help,
I'm going to link you up
with Matt MoneyMaker,

the lead investigator
of the Finding Bigfootteam.

Nobody knows more
about Bigfoot stories
than him.

I love MoneyMaker.
I've actually worked
with them before in the past.

-Happy squatching.
-Awesome.

Let's do this.

The team flies cross country
from New York
to Portland, Oregon,

just across
the Washington border
from Mount St. Helens.

And the gorge known
as Ape Canyon.

[Jessica] Ooh,
it's pretty out here.

[Phil] So amazing.

To me as a biologist,
what I think
is the coolest thing

about Mount St. Helens,
is that it has been
studied extensively.

It was so destroyed
that scientists
were able to measure

and observe
how it came back to life.

In 1980,
a magnitude 5.1 earthquake

triggered the most destructive
volcanic eruption
in US history.

The lateral blast
from Mount St. Helens

scorched 230 square miles
of forest

and spewed 900,000 tones
of ash 12 miles high.

57 people lost their lives
along with thousands
of animals.

The devastation hit
the northern slopes
of the mountain hardest,

but much
of the old growth forests
to the south and east,

including Ape Canyon
was spared.

So, in theory,
if an undiscovered species

really has lived in that area
for nearly a hundred years,

it's possible
they survived the eruption

and even thrived
in the remote wilderness
ever since.

So, let me ask you
as a biologist
and a scientist,

is there anything out here
that could explain
these sightings?

[Phil] Bears, it matches
the description so well.

Washington State
is home to upwards of 30,000
American black bears.

Hikers often spot bears
along trails in this area.

Sometimes
even standing upright
on their hind legs.

If I had to bet,
many of the alleged
Bigfoot sightings,

could just be Smokey,
the Bear.

[Jessica]
I know, you're sceptic,

but this is the perfect
habitat for Bigfoot

'cause this stuff is thick,
and vast.

I feel like we do have
this conversation
million times, Jess,

but there's one conversation
I feel like we need to have.

What?

You're really sticking
to that hat?

What are you talking about?

Are you trying to like,
if a Bigfoot sees you

then it'll recognize you
as one of its kind?

No, I just don't understand,

why I can't
also be fashionable
while finding a Bigfoot.

Phil, Jess and the furry hat

arrived at the North American
Bigfoot Center.

It's not exactly the Museum
of Natural History,

but it is one of
the largest Sasquatch museums
in the world.

-Hello.
-Woah, look at this.

-[Phil] Wow.
-[Jessica] This is cool.

[Josh] The exhibit houses
an impressive collection

of mysterious
primate footprint casts
collected in the region.

There's even
a life sized display
of Bigfoot

that's anatomically accurate.

Well, supposedly.

And checked,
it's got big feet.

That's what you checked, huh?

[Jessica] While Phil deals
with his foot envy,

we meet up
with my old friend
Matt MoneyMaker.

-Hello.
-Hello.

-How are you?
-Good, how are you doing?

-Very good.
It's been a while.
-Yeah, I know.

[Jessica] I joined Matt
several years ago,

searching for Sasquatch
near shaver Lake, California.

He's a legend in the world
of Bigfoot exploration

and founded the Bigfoot field
Researchers organization.

And this is Marc Myrsell.

-He's the Ape Canyon
expert for our area.
-[Phil] Wow. Perfect

Awesome.

[Jessica] Marc Myrsell
has spent decades,
researching and writing

about unexplained
historical events.

And his fascination began

after his extensive study
of the 1924,
Ape Canyon attack.

I've never heard of attacks
that hardcore before.

So that's not normal.

[Matt] No, that's unusual.

Have people
actually found the cabin

-that they claim
they stayed in?
-No.

'Cause my thing
is like if we can't
actually find the cabin,

or evidence of the cabin,

then how do we even know
that this happened at all?

What we have
is a basket full of clues.

Right after the attack,

two or three journalists
actually went up
to the cabin site.

One journalist was a guy
named Jack Gregory,

he gave us in his articles,

sort of a narrative
of how he travelled

enough to get us
in the right location
to at least start looking.

[Phil] On July 20th, 1924,

journalist Jack Gregory
publishes an article
about an expedition

to not only find the cabin,
but also as he puts it,
wild apes.

He details his journey
down a sharp cliff face
into a canyon

and claimed
to find the cabin site

on a flat ledge
about 700 feet down.

Well, we want to get
to Ape Canyon.

We want to see
if the cabin is there.

But what sounds like
this cabin place,

if it exists at all,
is going to be
pretty high up a volcano.

But we've got a plan.

[Jessica] Phil and I have
arranged a chopper to take us,

Matt and Mark
along the steep slopes
of Mount St. Helens

to attempt
to identify the location
of the fabled cabin site.

[Jessica] With recent
Bigfoot sightings
and Ape Canyon

if we can find proof
of the cabin's existence,

the site would not only mark
the first documented report
of a Sasquatch,

but also helped prove
that these creatures
have inhabited the forests

around Mount St. Helens
for nearly a century.

[Phil over radio] Wow,
we are high up, right now.

[over radio]
Yeah, yeah, we are.
Yeah, yeah. Whoo!

[Jessica] That is
if the high wind stop,
banging us around.

-Oh!
-Whoa! [bleeps].

Okay.

That's...
That's some choppy air.

That's some choppy air.

[Phil] Get ready
for a fun ride, Jess.

Oh, [bleep].

How's the condition looking?

Little bit shaky.

Yeah, you could say that.

Hey, Jess,
if you're going to puke,
puke out the window, please.

[Jessica] Oh, gosh!

All right.
Ape Canyon on the left.

-[Phil] We got our canyon.
-[Jessica] Where? Where?

[Phil] Wow!

That Canyon looks
exceptionally dangerous.

[Phil] Ape Canyon
is a steep walled gorge

that plunges
two and a half miles down
the southeast shoulder

of Mount St. Helens.

So, where do you think,
the cabin would be?

On the left hand side
of the deep canyon,

that's where
we need to be looking
for the cabin right now.

Ooh! Those sides are steep.

[Phil] According
to one journalist

who claimed
to visit the cabin site
in 1924,

the cabin was located down
the side of the canyon
about 700 feet from the top.

But I can't exactly buy
the miners were attacked
by Sasquatches at their cabin

unless we find actual evidence
that this place

even existed
in the first place.

But, you know, that they did
have access to dynamites.

They were used again,
mainly to blast out
the mine itself.

But they would
have also used it

to blast out an area
beside the hill

to have a flat face to be
able to build the cabin.

Okay, so we should be
looking for a flat area.

[Josh] At first glance,
a cabin has no business

being hidden along
this steep Canyon.

But this might
have been strategic.

In 1891, German immigrants
discovered extensive deposits
of precious metals

on the slopes
of Mount St. Helens,
sparking a wave of gold fever.

Over the next several decades,
thousands of miners poured
into the area,

forcing many prospectors

to climb higher up
the steep slopes
of the mountain

to stake a claim of their own.

Are you seeing anything, yet?

[Marc] Nothing yet.

[Jessica] I don't
see anything.

[Marc] Wait.
Look right there.

[Phil] So, I see
a little black area.

-A blackish area,
do you see that, Jess?
-[Jessica] Oh, yeah, I do.

[Phil] Maybe, it's this area,
right here.

Anywhere, along the ridge.
That's about 700 feet.

[Jessica] Well, obviously,
there's no way

to put a chopper down
on that ridge.

[Phil] The area
we've identified
matches the only description

of the cabin site
ever documented.

It's hard to get a sense of
how big that shelf
is from the air,

but I'm determined
to find out firsthand.

I want to get on the ground
to see if we can find
any evidence of the cabin,

'cause I've not seen
anything up here.

Maybe me and Marc can Hike up
and then you guys can tackle
from down below.

[Jessica] Yeah, that works.

I like that plan.

[Phil] Back on the ground,
we'll split up
to maximize our efforts.

Jess and Matt will head
into the valley of Ape Canyon

at a lower elevation
to start hunting

for any evidence of Bigfoot
in the area.

Meanwhile,
Mark and I have
a very long hike

4000 feet up the mountain

to reach the coordinates
the potential cabin site
we spotted from the air.

And the whole way,
we need to keep an eye out
for bears,

cougars and these guys.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
look at that.
What have we got?

We've got two mount goats
ahead of us.

Yeah, keep your distance.

Last year here in Washington
just north of here,

a hiker was hiking.

The goat didn't want him there
and the goat killed him.

Whoa, boy.

When we walk through here,
we need to keep one eye
on the trail

and one eye on those goats.

Okay.

[Phil] As we gain elevation,

we've hit
a dense old growth forest
filled with towering trees.

Many of these massive timbers
are over 500 years old.

So, it's clear
this thick forest was spared

from the catastrophic eruption
in 1980.

Ooh! We are going higher
and higher up here.

How much higher we got?

Probably, another 600 feet.

[Phil] After hiking for hours,
we reach a dangerous dead end.

Whoa.

Check this out.

Whoa.

This is Ape Canyon, Phil.
We've arrived.

-Wow.
-We are in the clouds of here.

We're about 4000 foot
elevation right now.

So, you think
somewhere down there
is where the cabin is.

-Hopefully,
and that's why we're here.
-All right.

[Phil] With darkness
nearly upon us,

it's too dangerous
to rappel down
into the canyon tonight.

What do you say
let's set up tents,
maybe, we get a fire going.

[Phil] So, Mark and I will
establish a base camp
and contact Jess and Matt.

[Matt] Okay, so Ape Canyon
is kind of a cross
into the right.

[Jessica] After an hour
of hiking,

Matt and I are finally
in position

at the bottom of Ape Canyon
after dark,

approximately 2500 feet
directly below Phil
and Mark's position.

And based on recent reports,
this is the prime location
to investigate.

Should we burst out the flare?

That might be a good idea.

[Jessica] So, I'm busting out
the FLIR camera

to help identify
any heat signatures
moving in the brush.

Phil, your copy?

Yeah, we hear you.

Awesome. Okay, well,
we're in position
so we're ready to get started.

[Phil over walkie-talkie]
Perfect.
So, what you guys' plan?

We're going to kick off
some howls here on our end.

And I want you to let us know
if you hear anything in reply.

Copy that. All right.
We'll be listening.

Sounds good.
Here we go.

[Matt howls]

[Jessica] Matt is
literally mimicking

what he believes
is the sound
of a Bigfoot howl.

He thinks
these creatures communicate

with one another
over great distances,

much like a coyote pack.

I'm keeping my eye on the FLIR
to see if these calls
draw anything in.

That sounded fantastic.

Yeah.
We're going through good.

So, it's going
to carry a long way around.

Phil, did you hear
Matt howl up there?

-Well, we hear you.
-[Matt] Okay, cool.

[howls]

[Jessica] Have you guys heard
anything respond?

[whispers]
You hearing anything?

No.

[Phil] Nothing, yet.

I think we should
just give another shot.

Do you mind if I try?
It's been a while.

Okay.

Okay, Phil, Jess is going
to do one of her screams.

[Phil] Copy that.
I'll be listening for it.

Okay.

[Jessica howls]

[howling in the distance]

Heard it. Heard it.
Heard it.

That was crazy.

What did we just hear?

[Marc] I don't know,
perhaps coyotes.

You think this high up.

-That's a good point.
-I don't know.

I don't know.

I just saw something move.

[Matt whispers]
We're not alone.

I just saw something move.

-[Matt] What did you see?
-I don't know,

it just moved
from right to left

it just kind of like
went across was right,

coming through here.

Oh, look, look, look.

Oh, where did it go?

Damn it.

[Josh] Phil and Marc
are near what could be
the location of the cabin,

where the first
alleged Bigfoot sighting
was reported in 1924.

Jess and Matt
are 2500 feet below them

in the valley
of Ape Canyon,

a hotbed for recent
Sasquatch sightings.

[Phil] There's [indistinct]

Well...

Let's just see what it was.

Hey, uh...

Look at that.

Oh, yeah, that's fresh scat.

Look at this.

Almost like something
like dug out the earth.

Seems like something
was marking its territory,
with his scat.

What's your guess,
is it herbivore?

It's pellety like [indistinct]

It's...
It is a little pellety.

Look, we got real pellet
scatter right here.

-Yeah.
-This is something different.

This one seems more omnivore.

Hey, guys,
we got something up here.

-Whoa.
- Very, very fresh scat

with some like
scratch markings right below.

Of course,
Phil had found the poop.

[Matt chuckles]

[Phil] We have a sample
that we could send back
to analyze

and just at least,
see what it is.

Whatever,
left this scat behind
could still be in the area.

So, after collecting
our sample

Marc and I continue searching
for anything
out of the ordinary.

-[Phil] All right.
Let's keep going.
-All right.

[Phil] After another hour
of investigating,
the forest has gone quiet.

[Jessica] I am not
seeing anything.

Before calling it a night,
I set up a few trap cameras.

Maybe, whatever I picked up
on thermal,

will come back
and we'll get
a better shot of it.

[Phil] As the sun rises
on the next day,

Marc and I set off
to investigate a flat area

along the sheer
Ape Canyon Cliff
that we discovered from there.

Oh, wow.

[Phil] We're searching
for any physical evidence
of a cabin

that was supposedly abandoned
by a group of miners

who claim they were attacked
by sasquatches.

I know
Jess is already believer,

but if I can find proof
the cabin was down there,

it would help convince me
that this whole story
isn't just another tall tale.

-That is steep down there.
-Yeah.

-All right, let's get to it.
-Let's go.

[Phil] With Marc acting
as my safety from above,

I'm starting my descent
into Ape Canyon
to search for the last cabin.

It might not look like
an ideal place
for a gold mining venture,

but throughout history
men have put their lives
on the line,

blasting tunnels and trails
into sheer mountain sides

with hopes
of finding a potential fortune
hidden in the earth.

[Phil] This is a crazy story
about miners

being in here
being attacked by Sasquatch,

but I think the craziest part
is this damn descent

into this canyon.

I mean, what were
these people thinking?

The cabin better be here.

Okay, feeling good.

Just got like
200 more feet to go.

[exhales]

[grunts]

That's what I get
to climb down all fancy.

At the bottom
of my 700 foot descent,

there appears
to be a small flat area

hidden by a cluster
of heavily leaved trees,

which explains why
we couldn't see it
from the helicopter.

Okay. Well, I got to admit,
this place
doesn't look like much

but it is at least flat,

especially flat
for Ape Canyon.

So, if these miners
would to have a place
to work to build a cabin,

I mean I feel like
this got to be it.

According to news articles,

the cabin was located
on such a steep cliff

that you needed a rope
to get to it.

This location
definitely lines up
with that description.

We also know that
it was a small basic cabin
made with logs,

some wood planks
and building paper.

There's been
countless snowstorms
and wind storms, rain storms,

but maybe
there's something left behind
that we could find.

That will be a bit of evidence
to say

at least some
of that Ape Canyon story
is true.

So, let's get started.

Wood planks from the cabin
are most certainly rotten away

from the cold
and damp climate here,

but there would
have been nails

or other metal hardware
from the cabin.

On top of that, the miners
would have been using
metal sitting pans hammers

and other
mining equipment here.

So, I'm going
to use a metal detector

to see if anything like that
may have been left behind.

That's not something there.

[metal detector beeps]

Oh!

Okay, got something here.

What the hell?

[Josh] Phil is in Ape Canyon
on the eastern slopes
of Mount St. Helens.

[metal detector beeps]

Oh!

Okay, got something here.

[Josh] Searching for evidence
and investigating

the 100-year-old legend
of the first reported,
Bigfoot attack.

Oh!

That's a rock.

That's another rock.

Hold up!

Oh, my God, look at that.

That is 100% man made,

that you can see
there'd be nails going
in this side,

there probably be nails go
into this side.

This is a bracket
that would hold pieces
of wood together

pieces of wood like
you would use
to build a cabin.

And it is old.

Look at all that corrosion
that we're getting here.

This thing is easily
50 to 100 years old.

[Phil] The condition
of this bracket
makes it hard to date.

But the one attached nail
offers a clue.

Because the material
and the shapes of nails
have changed over time,

archaeologists often
will use a technique
called nail chronology

to date historical structures.

So there's a chance
I'll be able to see
just how old this really is.

And after finding the bracket,
the floodgates open.

Wow.

I find several
more pieces of metal
all very weathered and old.

I'll send all the samples out
for analysis

to see if they date back
to the same time

as the alleged Bigfoot attack
in 1924.

There is no way
that it is just a coincidence

that all of these really,
really old pieces of metal

ended up in this flat spot
where purportedly
there was a cabin.

Now, I'm not saying
that means Bigfoot is real

and that they were attacked
by Bigfoot.

But something
might have happened to them,

and we are in the right spot
to figure out what it was.

Let me see what else I can
find before I have to climb
back up that cliff

to then hike back down
this volcano.

[Jessica] Phil's discovered
potential evidence

that there could
have been a cabin
in Ape Canyon,

which in my mind
only corroborates the story

of the sasquatch attack
in 1924.

Last night,
we heard strange howls
in the same canyon.

And I managed
to capture something
on thermal

in the valley of Ape Canyon,

the same area where
locals have reported
large bipedal creatures.

We need to hit
that location again
even harder tonight.

But in such dense forest,

we'll need
even more surveillance tech

and vehicles
to navigate that terrain.

So, we're hoping Josh
can hook us up with the gear

we need
to finally get video evidence
of these animals to prove

that they've been living
in Ape Canyon

since they were first reported
a century ago.

Hey guys, how are you?
How goes it in the land
of the ape man?

-It's going awesome.
-It's going great.

-What did you find?
-Well, we went up
Mount St. Helen's,

propelled down
to the purported cabin site.

Sure enough,
we found some really,
old pieces of metal.

So, it seems like something
might have happened
100 years ago.

Okay, so, Phil,
are you becoming a believer?

Well, you know,
I still am thinking

that the most likely
scenario back then was a bear.

Jess, you don't look impressed
by that theory.

I'm not terribly impressed
by that theory.

I mean, I was out there
with MoneyMaker,

we actually
started calling for it

to see
if we would get a response.

And sure enough,
we ended up
hearing a response.

And at one point
I actually picked
something up on the thermal.

So, we possibly have
some confirmation there.

Yeah, I mean, that being said

the only other weird thing
that happened to us, Josh,

you're going to love this,
I got some scat heading
your way.

Phil, why are you
always mailing me [bleep]?

You know
if I find some mystery scat,

I got to throw it in a bag,
Josh.

Share the smell
of the adventure,
a little bit.

Okay. Well,
we'll send it to the lab

and we'll see
if we can ID it.

[Jessica] I mean
the bottom line

is that we need
to get back out to that spot

with some upgraded tech
as soon as possible.

That way
we can get a clean photo
of whatever we saw and heard

while it's still in the area.

Yeah, we could use
all the backup we could get.

There's a guy up there
I would love for you
to link up with.

His name is Joe Bongiovanni.

Not Jon Bon Jovi,
very easy to confuse.

This guy is like
the Mount St. Helens
Bigfoot authority.

He has been up there
for years.

He knows
all the back country up there.

He has a huge array
of investigation equipment.

I think meeting up with him
could be invaluable
for the next investigation.

-[Jessica] Yeah, for sure.
-Okay, I'm going
to text you his info.

Good luck
and stay safe out there.
All right?

-We will.
-We got it.

Happy hunting.

[Josh] With the team
heading back
to the valley of Ape Canyon

where they already encountered
something the other night,

I'm calling in some backup

that have designed
state of the art tech

specifically designed
to search for Bigfoot.

-Well, hello there.
-Welcome.

Jon Bongiovanni,

founder of the Cascade
Sasquatch research
organization

has been hunting Bigfoot

since he claimed
to have encountered one,

near Mount St. Helens
in the year 2000.

And along with his colleague,
Jim Snodgrass,

built a custom Humvee equipped
with over a 1,20,000 dollars
worth of state of the art,

military grade search
and reconnaissance gear.

It's the perfect vehicle
for tracking at night

when the majority
of sightings take place.

When I'm looking at this
and I'm seeing a lot of things

that do not look like
a typical modifications
on a Humvee.

What do you set up here?

So, one of the things
that we've been doing
looking for Bigfoot

is to try and make us
as not noticeable as possible.

And the best way to do
that is to not use any light.

We have a turned up top
with a thermal imaging system,

the equivalent of a military
Blackhawk helicopter.

And then
there's an IR illumination
system on it.

We use this
to look 360 degrees.

The idea is,
is that if we see something
on thermal,

the operator
can turn on an IR spotlight
and light that target.

Most of the time we use that
to eliminate the variables

and say
this wasn't the Bigfoot,
this was something...

-That's great
-...more common alive.

And then I drive
using night vision equipment,
or IR illumination.

[Jessica] So, here's the plan
for tonight.

We're targeting the area
where I captured
the large heat signature

in the valley of Ape Canyon.

I'll be on patrol
in the tricked out Humvee
to stay mobile

in case we need to move fast.

[Phil] If they manage
to scare something up
in the Humvee,

I might be able to see it
from my position.

I'll be surveilling the area
from 100 feet

over the forest floor
in a tree standing...

...in the middle
of our search zone.

This is pretty high.

Any big animal
that's down below,

when they're looking
for any threat or any prey,

they're going to be looking
to the left and to the right,

they're not necessarily
going to be looking up.

That's where I'll be...
if I can get there.

I'll also be equipped
with a thermal camera

to help me see anything
that might be lurking below
in the dark.

All right, Jess, I'm up.

Really good view up here.

If anything's broken down
below here,

I think I'm for sure going
to get on the thermal.

[Jessica] With our eye
in the sky in place,

and the Humvee
in stealth mode...

...we start our patrol.

You can see
that road real good I hope.

I can see it perfectly.

[Jessica] And along
with the Humvee's
mounted thermal camera,

we have
multiple handheld thermal
and IR cameras

to help us spot anything
hiding in the forest.

All right, Phil,
how you doing up there?

All right, I'm, uh,
settled in.

It's dark, it is [indistinct],
but I got the FLIR going.

We have all
of our equipment running.

So, we're going to see
what we can pick up.

All right, good luck.

Thanks. You, too.

Let's see what we have got?

This is, uh,
trickier than it seems

because I can't actually
see where the edge
of this platform is.

Because it's completely
dark out here.

This is the only light
I have so,

here's to
not falling off the edge.

I'm hoping,
we spot a big animal.

Did you guys get any
on your side?

I don't see anything ahead
in the night vision.

Nothing yet here.

How about you Matt?
Are you getting anything
on your end?

Nothing over there.

Wait, hang on.
I think I saw
something over there.

Stop.

[Jessica] Whatever Jim saw,
we can't get a visual on it.

So, we're going to send out
some calls and hopefully,
draw it out of hiding.

Okay, let's see if we can hear
something howl back at us.

You ready, Jim?

And Joe?

[howls]

Oh, lots of echoes.

[howling in the distance]

Do you hear that?

-Something's up in the canyon.
-Yeah.

Yeah.

Something, right there.

When the Ape Canyon story
made headlines back in 1924,

newspapers called
the mysterious creature
ape men, beasts,

and even mountain devils,

because, well,
the iconic name Bigfoot

wouldn't be coined
for another three decades.

In 1958 Jerry crew,
a bulldozer operator

for a logging company
made a shocking discovery
in Northern California,

unusually large human
like footprints in the mud.

The Humble Times
picked up the story

and ran it
on October, 5th 1958.

But it was the first time
the name of Bigfoot
was officially put in print,

and so began
a worldwide phenomenon.

Sure, it was revealed in 2002
that hoaxers made those prints
by walking around

in oversized feet
carved out of wood,

but, hey, one fake event
doesn't diminish
a genius bit of branding.

So sorry, mountain devils.
You got the boot.

Bigfoot is here to stay.

[Jessica]
What the [bleep] is this?

There's something
right, there.

[Josh] My team is searching
for the truth

behind sightings of Bigfoot
in the shadow
of Mount St. Helens,

and the hunt is heating up.

Right there.

-Oh, yeah.
-Yeah.

There's two. There's two.
There's two.

There's that one that's big,
and there's one over here.

[man] Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

[Jessica] Yeah?

Can't see it at all, now.

I think it took off.
It's not there anymore.

[Jessica] The two
anomalous heat signatures
are nowhere to be found.

It's like
they were watching us.

And once they realized
we had eyes on them,
they disappeared.

The question is,
where did they go?

[whispering] Nothing, so far.

Oh, [bleep].

I think we've got something.

Is it moving, though,
is the question.

Yeah, I think it's moving.

Holy [bleep].
We've got something.

What is that?

[Jessica howling
in the distance]

Okay, I just heard Jess
and MoneyMaker call
at the distance

I want to see
if this thing reacts.

Oh, it's changing directions.

This is definitely an animal.

[bleep],
let's go behind this branch.

Hey, you.

Let me try to...
Let me stand on this thing.

Oh, come on.
What the [bleep]!

Okay.

Okay.

I think we'll stand low...

from here on out.

But I got it.

[bleep].

Where is it?

Damn it.

Come on. Come on.

That slip may have cost me
a chance to get a full picture

of what's lurking
around Ape Canyon.

I don't know
where this thing went.

Damn, I think I've lost it.

[Howls]

[Jessica] If there
were sasquatches
in the area,

I think after they got
to look at us, they moved on.

[whispering]
That's so frustrating.

[Jessica] We send out calls
and continue
to patrol the area

into the early morning,
but with no luck.

Whatever was out here
is long gone.

You having fun, Phil?

Not really.

You guys,
the tree platform.

-That's a serious thing
right there.
-Yes, it is.

[Jessica] After a long
exhausting night,

we call it quits.

So, we reconnect with Phil
and head back to civilization.

How do I have it
in front of me,

and yet it still manages
to get away?

It's so frustrating.

-Welcome to Bigfoot.
-Right.

[Josh] For many people
of the Pacific Northwest,

the legend of Bigfoot
is all too real.

But is Ape Canyon
along the slopes
of Mount St. Helens

truly ground zero
for the origin story

of the elusive creature
known as sasquatch.

Holy [bleep],
we've got something here.
What is that?

[Josh] The team did capture
multiple unidentified heat
signatures on thermal cameras,

but are
they truly legendary beasts
or just unknown species?

After lab analysis,

the scat sample
that Phil recovered turned out
to be from a bear.

However, after wildlife
experts analyzed

the strange sounds recorded
in Ape Canyon,

they could not be identified
as a bear, wolf or Coyote.

In addition, the nail
and metal fragments
Phil discovered

at the alleged cabin site

all date back to late turn
of the century
between 1900 and 1930.

That is 100% man-made.

[Josh] This suggests
the cabin did exist,

and miners were likely
in this area

at the time
of the reported attack.

This adds credibility
to their story,

but it doesn't close the case.

However, the trap
cameras Jess set up
are still rolling right now.

With all
of the strange activity

the team experienced
in the area,

something unknown
could be out there.

So, if a strange animal
does inhabit Ape Canyon,

we may be just one snap away
from proving it.

For more information
on Expedition X

head to
discovery.com/expeditionx.