Podcast Host Recalls 1984 Bigfoot Encounter in Washington State

So I just stumbled across this gem on YouTube from a channel called The Cryptid Podcast, and let me tell you, this one hits different. The host, Dano, finally opens up about his own personal run-ins with Sasquatch, and the backstory on why he kept quiet for so long is almost as compelling as the encounters themselves. Here's what got me hooked right from the jump. Dano explains that he had absolutely no idea what a Bigfoot or Sasquatch even was when his first strange experience happened back in 1978 or '79. We're talking pre-Patterson-Gimlin fame era for him. He was just a kid whose dad took him out to a hunting camp northeast of Aberdeen, Washington, up in the Pacific Northwest. His dad always carried a firearm when heading into the woods, which tells you something about how remote this area was. The setup is classic Pacific Northwest Sasquatch country. They drove down a logging road, parked on the side, and hiked about 40 to 45 minutes into the woods on a trail until they reached a camping spot that clearly saw regular use. They made camp, ate, went to bed, and got up before sunrise the next morning to head to a deer stand his dad had placed on a tree along a windy path. Now here's where the discussion cuts off, but Dano is building up to something significant. He's describing two paths near the deer stand, and you can tell from his tone that whatever happened next stuck with him for decades. And I mean decades. He mentions holding onto his story for 33 years before finally sharing it publicly. What really got me about this video is the context Dano provides around his 1984 sighting, which happened when he was 12 years old. He had seen the Patterson-Gimlin film around age 10 or 11 and was already fascinated, but he genuinely didn't expect Sasquatch to be in Washington State. He figured Northern California, maybe southern Oregon, but not his backyard. Then life happened, and he sat on his encounter for over three decades because every time he tried to tell family or close friends, he got laughed at or accused of making things up. That part honestly broke my heart a little. Think about carrying something like that around for 33 years, knowing what you saw, and being too afraid of the ridicule to speak up. Dano finally emailed Wes from Sasquatch Chronicles and ended up on episodes somewhere in the 460-480 range, and from there he started connecting with more researchers and podcasters. The more he listened, the more things started clicking into place, especially sounds and behaviors he experienced as a kid before his 1984 sighting that he couldn't explain at the time. The way he structures this episode is smart too. He says he's going to walk through his encounters one by one. The first two, he's upfront that he can't say for certain they were Sasquatch, but he'll let listeners be the judge. Then he'll get into his actual sighting, followed by his last two encounters. He's not overselling anything, which honestly makes it more believable. If you're into firsthand accounts from people who actually host the shows and interview witnesses, this is worth your time. Dano has spent years talking to other people about their encounters, and now he's finally putting his own story on the table. The full breakdown of what happened at that hunting camp and what he saw in 1984 is something you'll have to hear for yourself, but trust me, you'll want to stick around for this one. Check out the full episode on The Cryptid Podcast channel and drop into the comments over there. Dano's chat community is apparently pretty welcoming, and he's got solid moderators keeping the trolls in check.