Just for some background, around August of last year I was working for a gun/hunting rights organization here in California. I was working a hunting camp one weekend with my employer at a Boy Scout camp in Ventura County, California. We were in the Los Padres National Forest about 75 miles outside of Los Angeles near the community of Frazier Park. One day, I was talking with the ranger for the camp who lives up there full time and oversees the camp in between visits from various groups. I casually asked if he had ever experienced anything weird while living in this area, and he said yes. He stated that one night around 11pm he was out on the cabin porch talking to the previous ranger who worked the camp, when he noticed a figure that looked like a person walking in the trees in the distance. The former ranger asked what he was staring at and he told him he saw someone walking in the woods. This old ranger then said “oh, that must be the Sasquatch that frequents here. We have all seen it.” We meant the other former rangers and full time staff.
Additionally, the ranger has also stated that deer, rabbits, and other animals are often startled by something in the forest, but he is only able to hear whatever it is run off.
Additionally, the valley is former Chumash land and there are archeological sites throughout the area, and many hikers who make the trek to this area have often reported hearing strange sounds and feel like they are being watched.
When I was up there I didn’t see anything for myself, but if there is any creature, I am sure they were scared away from the camp after days of shotguns going off.
Thanks, TF
I received other information from Los Padres National Forest about 1 1/2 years ago:
Recently I saw one of the most elusive creatures which may inhabit the Los Padres National Forest: Bigfoot.
The sighting was on the evening of Dec. 28 last year while watching a herd of deer grazing in the oak woodland immediately north of Lake Casitas (not burned by the recent Thomas Fire). The herd of eight deer abruptly stopped their grazing and looked up in alarm, the sun had just set and as darkness came in a large, upright walking furry figure appeared and was moving along
the edge of the woodland toward the herd.
The deer moved to the other end of the woodland. The creature, which has been seen in the Casitas Watershed area many times over the years, did not appear to be in a hurry, but did disappear back into the shrub cove. The creature was about 8-9’ tall with light brown fur and walked upright. RB
The following strange account occurred in the same area:
Michael Herdman, 36, went missing June 13, 2014 when he ran after his dog in difficult terrain in Los Padres National Forest. His body was spotted 1,200 feet above his campsite among rugged cliffs. His dog was found alive on Sunday in the parking lot where Herdman left his car 12 miles away.
A California firefighter who went missing two weeks ago during a camping trip after he ran after his dog has been found dead among rugged terrain in Los Padres National Forest, authorities said Friday.
Michael Herdman, 36, ran after his black lab, Duke, the night of June 13 while he was barefoot and wearing just a T-shirt and shorts.
The wayward pooch was found Saturday in a parking lot where his owner had parked his car — about 12 miles from where Herdman and buddy Taylor Byars, 27, had set up camp along a river bottom in woods outside the city of Fillmore. There was more at Search for missing firefighter narrows after backpack, footprints found
The Making of Bigfoot: The Inside Story
Bigfoot, Yeti, and the Last Neanderthal: A Geneticist's Search for Modern Apemen
The Hoopa Project: Bigfoot Encounters in California
Bigfoot Terror in the Woods: Sightings and Encounters, Volume 1
Lon's Suggested Reading List - Books & Films / DVDs