The WA "Extreme" Expeditions (in a Campground) "Sleeping Bag Sasquatch" Farce

Sleeping Bag "Sasquatch"

Here is a little retrospective on one of the more ridiculous "Bigfoot" images to appear in the last few years.

The group obtaining this image are called "Extreme Expeditions," but apparently they like campgrounds and car camping. It was run by Adam Davies (of orang pendak fame) and Lori Simmons (of talking-to-trees fame).

"Extensive experience in the jungles" and such apparently didn't help him see a picnic table and sleeping bag clearly. Obviously, Adam Davies had is Lori goggles on at the time. Aided perhaps by those empty whiskey bottles? Look, he could at least have looked for footprints where there were others left by human boots. He could have released ALL the images BEFORE they and their ally Cantrall started declaring it a juvenile sasquatch or "Creature." 

The two appeared on the EXTINCT? podcast. Listen here:
http://bigfootevidence.blogspot.com/2012/10/listen-to-extinct-podcast-episode-28-at.html

Really... The Show Was Nothing But Softballs. Too much deference was paid to Mr. Davies, mostly based upon his British accent and TV-based image. Look, does he really do Science or realistic investigations, besides those acted out for TV shows? It certainly DOES NOT look that way to me. In other words... the dude is an actor. And this Sleeping Bag Sasquatch thing was a FARCE.

That sleeping bag is smoking a cigarette.

This thing goes beyond misperception and misunderstanding to outright misrepresentation? This case seems to be one aproaching an attention-seeking hoax.

Before ANY real investigation was done, this was already posted as a self-promotion:

" Lori Simmons Tracks Bigfoot and Finds Him Lori Simmons who has been searching for Bigfoot for a long time, in her father's footsteps, seems to have found the creature! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lori Simmons (1) PRLog (Press Release) - Oct 20, 2012 -Lori Simmons has a life-long legacy with the mysterious creature known as Bigfoot. Her father, Donald Wallace, a real mountain man, tracked Bigfoot for 28 years through the North Cascade Mountains. Their collaborative book, Tracking Bigfoot, is a journal of their experiences looking for the elusive creature, complete with a description of a face to face encounter, footprints and hair samples that was turned over for DNA testing. Lori recently led another investigative team to the same area and this time they were able to obtain video footage as well as photographs of an unknown creature. The video provides a chilling glance at some type of large creature looking in on Lori and Adam Davies as they slept. Lori does not consider herself a “hunter,” but rather a preservationist, following in the footsteps of her idol primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall. Seeing the abnormally large footprints, the unidentifiable hair and hearing the shattering cries and pounding noises deep in the forest leave no doubt in Lori’s experience that Bigfoot exists. “I would like to learn more about these creatures, how they live, travel, what they eat, and how they communicate with each other,” explains Lori. Adam Davies, Lorie’s research partner and expert expeditionist on Nat Geo’s “Russian Bigfoot” and “Ape-man”; Monsterquest’s “The Real Hobbit,” “China’s Wildman,” and “The Abominable Snowman,” is clearly impressed by Lori’s ability to establish communication with the creatures and their obvious affinity for her. “There is no doubt that whatever these creatures are, they recognize Lori when she approaches their area, and make quite a ruckus,” says Adam. “There is clearly something the creatures like about Lori as when others from the expedition team tried to approach the same area and imitated Lori’s voice, the forest grew silent .” Lori is at work on her second book, chronicling her continuing explorations in the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile the recent photos, video and hair samples in the hands of experts who will be providing analysis."

Really? IT WAS A HOAX, not just a farce. They wanted to believe so badly, they HOAXED THEMSELVES. Adam Davies, whatever good things he's done in the past, has now proven himself to be rather gullible, or easily swayed by the pretty ladies.

Satirical poster from Facebook

Well, it needed to be said. At what point do we stop believing everything just because "nice people" report it, and when do we begin to express legitimate doubts as to the reasonableness of their presentation? We freely call Rick Dyer a current hoaxer, so why not in this case? Maybe it is not a total intentional fabrication, but it is clear that this is being exploited without due diligence to think critically about it and present the full set of contextual data and an accurate recreation scenario. In the real fields of Science this kind of presupposition would be laughed at and cast aside.

Hence, I am bending and expanding the use of the word, "Hoax," to include situations where belief and preconception precede proper critical considerations, and where they preclude obvious alternate considerations in the name of personal belief affirmation and considerations of self-promotion, fame, and status and acceptance in a belief-based community membership. Someone had to call it like it is. These aren't personal matters. If we want this field to be taken seriously by anyone beside ourselves then we are going to have to raise the bar as far as what we accept as evidence and proper research methods. How long must we tolerate the presentation of all of this crappy claimed "evidence," and risk being called "mean" or "closed-minded," and being attacked by fanatical believers, when we simply call crap "crap"? Really, I've grown tired of this silly tease. Only real, solid evidence, with context, and critical methods applied to understanding it will do. Blobs, pareidolia, and one-frame wonders just will not suffice.

Where was the investigation, where the tracks, the bigfoot drool, the hair remains, the investigation of the surroundings for other signs? NOTHING. Just a leap to a forgone conclusion, a deceptive recreation, the bending of "evidence" to match a supposition. This is nothing like Science, nor honesty before the evidence. That is why I say hoax... they seemed to have hoaxed themselves, and then they wasted a lot of time of a lot of people into this Bigfoot thing.

Here is the deceptive recreation, with the "Creature" position totally misrepresented...

Here is how the story broke on the WA Bigfooters Facebook Group...

Thom Cantrall 2:04pm Oct 19:

On Labor Day, 2012, I completed a short sojourn with Lori Simmons and an international expedition team in the North Cascades of Washington and returned home. The following day, a Tuesday, I received a call from Lori and the Expedition Leader, Adam Davies. I was asked to return to the site to see what they had found...

On Monday night, Sept 3rd, 2012, two of the team members decided to move their beds from their tents and to sleep beside the fire in the middle of the camp ground. In the middle of that night, the trail cam they had set to cover the camp was triggered. This is one of the images from that set. It very clearly shows an adolescent Sasquatch, about 6.5' in height leaning over the two bedded campers looking at them. Below I am posting a picture of myself standing where he is in this picture and my walking stick pointing to where the beds were. He is within just a couple of feet of them.

Also in the set is a picture of him taken subsequent to this frame that shows him very clearly exhaling and the frosty air condensing that exhalation.

TALK ABOUT PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS!

Watch here and you can see all the "action" in one video:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=133382986809092

Here is a long-winded "full disclosure" that still contains the poor investigation and deceptive recreations.
http://bigfootevidence.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-full-disclosure-extreme-expedition.html

Here you may see the "Creature" smoking a cigarette:

Here you may see the sleeping bag's leg area moving under the table:

UGH.