They still had another few days of hiking to get to Campbell River where they would fish for salmon.
Joseph knew how quickly the weather could turn, he had recieved a stark reminder yesterday.
Bright and sunny one minute, freezing cold and pouring with rain the next. They didn’t want to be out in the open when a big storm came rumbling along.
As they headed away from the settlement, Joseph shuddered. Looking back, he saw a shadow dart across the ground.
Just my imagination, he thought, as if to reassure himself. Still, with the events of the last couple of days, he couldn't help but wonder.
That night they set up camp by a large river, near Elk Falls. The river was running silently by, unconcerned by its new visitors.
Joseph was thinking about the accident and how scared he had been. He had accepted that this was how he was going to die, and waited for the perilous pit to swallow him up.
He didn't know what Peter was thinking about. He usually kept his feelings bottled up inside.
“Folk around these parts say that a Sasquatch roams the woods and has been known to attack horses, dogs and even people.” Peter was keen to start a conversation.
“So I've heard.” Joseph said, only half listening.
He glanced up at the starry sky and listened to the gushing water. It was a very still night and he heard a fish jump out of the water in the river about twenty feet away.
14
He didn’t know why, but that made him smile.
They had tried fishing the river earlier, on small handmade rods but had no success.
A frustrated fisherman his entire life, Joseph had never caught anything, but he still enjoyed the tranquility of fishing.
When he was young, he went fishing with his dad, who usually caught quite a few good-sized salmon to take home with them. Often he would tell Joseph to pick out a fish to show his mother that he'd caught one. They all knew it wasn't true but they played along, and it was a big seafood platter that night for tea.
Smiling at the distant memory, Joseph threw dirt on the fire and went to sleep, dreaming of the one that got away.
Dawn.
The sun shone down on Joseph's face and he awoke almost immediately. He found it hard to sleep in when he was camping whereas back home he could easily sleep in until midday, much to his mother's disapproval.
Looking up he saw that Peter was fishing. Deciding to join him, he was just about to reach for his clothes when he noticed something.
Something that made his blood run cold.
Something that made him quiver in a mixture of fear and excitement.
There, on the ground, was a pair of footprints, unlike any that Joseph had seen.
Human-like but larger than his or Peter's.
Much larger.
And then there was the matter of the claws.
Five small claw marks at the end of each small stubby toe. Peter had joined him to see what all the fuss was about.
“What is it?” he queried.
“I don't know. Some sort of animal footprints.”
He had an inkling of what it may be but he dare not utter it aloud.
It couldn't be.
Surely not.
It was the just the stuff of wild stories from people with too much spare time on their hands.
15
Peter was taking photos, like a seasoned detective at a crime scene, moving around and enthusiastically snapping away at different angles, the shutter clicking in the crisp morning air.
“Something to get the locals excited,” he said, as Joseph watched on.
It certainly did get the locals excited.
Their two-hour journey to the small town Campbell River was uneventful and they headed straight to one of the local watering holes, The Sticky Wicket Hotel.
Upon seeing the photos, the locals excitedly gathered around the two to get a closer look, like a press scrum keen to get some juicy quotes from some big name celebrity.
“Them's Sasquatch tracks” one particularly old guy offered upon seeing the photos.
Joseph thought he could smell Rum on his breath.
“I seen the same thing back in '86 and I'll never forget it.”
That’s more than twenty years ago, Joseph thought to himself. He wondered how long they lived, or just how many of these creatures were out there.
Or if they even existed.
“I'll give you $1000 right now,” someone else offered which Peter politely declined.
It was nice to see and hear other people again and they tried to steer the conversation away from mythical creatures. It had been several days since Joseph’s mother had dropped them off at the edge of Elk Falls Provincial Park with a big hug and kiss for each of them.
“What is the main income of the town?” Peter inquired.
“Tourism," the middle- aged man behind the counter replied as he handed them their food.
"We are the Salmon capitol of the world," he added with a big toothy grin.
Curiosity got the better of Joseph.
“Where do you usually see these Sasquatches?” he asked to no none in particular.
“You’re guess is as good as mine,” the old rum smelling guy replied in a gruff tone.
“Sometimes they’re spotted deep in the mountains, sometimes on the edge of town, scrapping for some food. Sometimes late at night, sometimes early morning. They don’t really have a particular pattern, which makes them so hard to track.”
Later on as they sat in their cabin on the northern outskirts of town, Joseph put forward his idea.
“Let's spend a day looking' for one”
“I don't know...” Peter was a man who liked to stick to a plan.
16
“C'mon it'll be fun” Joseph knew if he pestered long enough he would win.
And sure enough.
“Alright but we're back here by Tuesday.”
What could possibly go wrong he thought to himself as he lay in bed that night, appreciating the soft bed.
Their bad luck couldn't last forever could it?