Bigfoot Enthusiasts Share Wildlife Stories, Plan Adirondacks Return Trip

If you've been around the Bigfoot community for any length of time, you've probably heard the name Vogel Brothers. Eric and Trisha Vogel have been putting in serious work out in the field, and they recently sat down for a long, laid-back chat over on Donna Copas's channel. What came out of that conversation was equal parts fascinating and wildly entertaining. Right out of the gate, Donna shared something that gave me chills. She told a story about being just six years old in the Shawnee Hills, where her father whispered to her not to be afraid because "the watchers are near, but they won't betray." She described seeing their eyes in the fading light and spoke about them not just as creatures, but as spirits. That kind of childhood encounter sticks with a person for life, and it's the kind of testimony that deserves to be heard. The Shawnee Hills region, straddling southern Illinois and parts of Missouri, has long been a hotbed of Sasquatch reports, with deep-rooted Indigenous legends about tall, watchful beings that predate any modern Bigfoot craze by centuries. Then the conversation shifted to the Vogel Brothers' own neck of the woods. They're working with around 1,300 acres up in Massachusetts, and let me tell you, the wildlife activity alone is enough to keep anyone on their toes. They've had bobcats sneaking into the barn, a bear that finally moved on after destroying a few feed barrels, and even a mountain lion spotted just ten minutes up the road from their property. A friend actually texted them a photo of the big cat on a ridgeline, and they hopped in the truck to go look for it. They didn't find it that day, but the fact that these apex predators are roaming that close to populated areas in New England says a lot about how the ecosystem is shifting up there. The Vogel Brothers also got into the bear problem in Massachusetts, and honestly, they nailed it. Hunting traditions have faded in New England, and the bear population has been multiplying unchecked for roughly twenty years. Now they're showing up in suburbs and towns that never had to deal with them before. It's a pattern researchers are seeing all over the country, and it raises an interesting question. When you push into their territory and they push back into ours, what else gets displaced or pushed into the open? Plenty of researchers have noted that spikes in Sasquatch sightings often correlate with disruptions in wildlife patterns, and the Vogel Brothers' property sounds like a perfect case study. One of the most exciting parts of the whole conversation came when they mentioned they're planning a canoe trip back to the Adirondacks in New York, the exact spot where they had their original Bigfoot encounter. For anyone who follows their work, you know how significant that location is to them. The idea of them returning to ground zero with fresh eyes and fresh purpose is something every researcher should be paying attention to. The Adirondacks have a long, rich history of Sasquatch reports, with loggers, hunters, and hikers all coming forward over the decades with consistent descriptions of large, hair-covered beings that move through the dense forest with an almost supernatural silence. Of course, they also had to talk about self-defense for the trip, and this is where things got fun. Traveling from Massachusetts to New York means they can't bring their firearms across state lines without a whole legal headache. So what did they come up with? A flamethrower torch. Yes, really. One of them saw a video of a grill-lighting torch that shoots a four or five foot flame, and the logic was simple. Light that thing up and anything in the woods is going to think twice about coming closer. Bear spray and rock salt blasts were also discussed as deterrents, but honestly, the torch idea might be the most creative piece of fieldwork gear I've heard suggested in a while. They also touched on the topic of live trapping bobcats, which led to a hilarious story about welding up a giant trap and then realizing they had no idea how to release the animal safely. Plywood shields, careful rope work, and a whole lot of common sense came into play. It's moments like these that remind you how hands-on real fieldwork actually is. It's not glamorous. It's muddy, it's unpredictable, and sometimes you're standing in your own barnyard wondering how to let a very angry cat go without losing a hand. The whole conversation has that easy, family-like feel that makes Donna Copas's channel so worth following. The Vogel Brothers are the real deal, and hearing them talk openly about their property, their encounters, and their upcoming plans makes it clear that they're not slowing down anytime soon. If you want to hear the full thing, head over to Donna Copas's channel and check it out. It's a long one, but it's the kind of sit-down that reminds you why this community matters.