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Ape Canyon widens out further down the mountain During one evening In 1924, a group of miners shot at a mysterious 7-foot-tall apelike ...

Rediscovering the famous Bigfoot attack scene at Ape Canyon, the quest to preserve a piece of history Get link Facebook X Pinterest Email Other Apps By Shawn - October 27, 2011 Ape Canyon widens out further down the mountain During one evening In 1924, a group of miners shot at a mysterious 7-foot-tall apelike creature that was milling around the makeshift cabin they had built in the canyon to assay a nearby claim. That night, as the miners tried to get some shut-eye, their cabin was reportedly pelted with rocks, logs and other forest debris by a band of at least three of the “Big Foot” ape creatures—the miners later measured footprints at up to 19 inches long. In the morning, the story goes, the miners came upon and shot one of the ape creatures, which fell some 400 feet into the canyon, presumably to a certain death, although no remains of any kind were ever recovered. While other alleged Bigfoot sightings have occurred throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond, the events that took place at Ape Canyon in 1924 will forever stand as the beginning of our fascination with the legend. It was previously understood that the cabin was burnt "to the ground" around 1968. But according to new evidence being gathered by people seeking to preserve the cabin's location, this may not be the case after all. For the past two years, the Dark Waters Paranormal Group have been collecting important documentary evidence that could lead them to the exact location of the cabin. Based on the evidence the group has gathered, they believe it's possible the cabin could still be around. The area is an alpine forest, and the dangerously rugged terrain makes it very difficult to get to. This may be the main reason why the cabin was presumed "lost". We recently got in touched with Marc, one of the members of the group, and ask him a little bit about their background and why they're looking for this historic location. Here's what Marc said: The importance of recovering the Vanderwhite Mine/Cabin is on par with preserving say, Mt. Vernon or Ephesus; not only as an important historical resource for the National Volcanic Monument; but perhaps, more importantly, to the body of Paranormal/Sasquatch research. We all know the "legend" of Atlantis, but what if physical evidence could actually be recovered? I got started on this project, actually, as a "test" of a theory I came across, promulgated by Nick Redfern. I was intigued with the idea that, given an extra-normal event to be researched, if one looks around at the general geographic area, or general time period, that you'd be surprised at the propensity of other, seemingly unrelated, events of "high-strangeness". I purposefully chose two stories to research at first. One was a series of events that, almost, no one knows about in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. The other was extremely well know,Ape Canyon. I grew up on the story of Ape Canyon as I grew up in the Pacific Northwest . However, the more I delved in to it, I realized that; 1) there was A LOT more documentary evidence that was not covered by previous Sasquatch researchers of the late 1960's/early 1970's; and 2) the story of the 1924 incident was on the verge of being canned into the circular file of "legend" and "tall-tale". As I began to cover the research bases of the project, I came to strongly believe that the Mine/Cabin could very well have survived the eruptions of 1980&1981. I also found that there was probably a lot of evidence still around in the form of family stories and, perhaps family heirlooms from the decendants of the 5 miners. So I started searching. I feel the prospects of recovering physical evidence of the Mine/Cabin is quite good. The location of the cabin was well known to locals, probably through the mid 1950's. The Forest Service noted it as a feature on trail maps, noting that it could be seen from the main forest service trail (the trail is essentially in the same location as prior to the eruption). Harry Reese, who ran a local Boy Scout troupe knew it well (his scout troupe called themselves the St. Helen's Apes & named the nearby lava tube Ape Cave all in recognition of the 1924 incident). However, by the mid 1960's, the knowledge of its location began to fade from local memory. Fred Beck, one of the miners, remarked in his book, authored with his son, that he understood that the cabin burnt "to the ground" circa 1968. When Peter Byrne visited Ape Canyon, circa 1971, he couldn't find the cabin; but did speak with two hikers who said that they had just come from it. I believe the reality is that after 86 years and 3 eruptions, the cabin simply became obscured. It is alpine forest after all. Even a larger logistical reality is that one has to travel another hour or more off trail to get to the cabin site (or at least where I think it is), despite the fact that it's less than a quarter/mile off trail. It is quite rugged and dangerous. This is the main reason why I think the cabin has been lost. It's just...