by Delta Discovery staff
The Kisaralik and Kasigluk rivers snake through the tundra together from the Kuskokwim River and make their way to the Kuskokwim and Kilbuck mountains. Hairy Man people, or Bigfoots, and/or their tracks have been seen along these rivers.
Some people or villagers will not camp in the Kasigluk (also known as Little Kasigluk, because of its Yup’ik name, Kasigluyaagaq) saying it’s “haunted.” Do we know why? There is at least one report of a Bigfoot seen inside this mountain stream, but the witnesses remain unknown. We hope they do come forth and tell their story.
Many years ago, a group of fishermen came across an unusual set of footprints along the Kisaralik River. The people were unable to determine what made the footprints, but they were large and were at least six feet apart. An ordinary man’s footprints are usually three feet apart.
Even local people were unable to determine what made the prints. In those days, little was known about the Hairy Man people, and few people spoke about them. The thought of a hairy, large human being living in the wilderness seemed far-fetched.
The story eventually made its way to a website that collects Bigfoot stories (“Bigfoot Encounters”). A photograph of one of the footprints was included.
This is what is written about the discovery:
“On or about 6 July 1999, my husband, his father and two friends were on the Kisaralik River above the Kwethluk Alaska. They observed and photographed a pair of large wedge-shaped footprints deep in the mud at the water’s edge.
“The prints are an estimated 12 to 14 inches long and were about three inches deep. No claws were evident at the tips of the toes. The prints appeared to be consecutive and were estimated at about 6 feet apart.
“Our friends are experienced outdoorsmen and neither one of them could identify the animal that made these marks. During this time, brown bear and wolf tracks were also observed.
“The area is very remote and no other boats were on the river that day.”
The woman added that on Tuesday, August 10, 1999, a friend wrote, saying “local trappers here in Kisaralik that have looked at the footprint photos say it’s the Hairyman,” but “that the tracks are difficult to distinguish in the photos and they look bigger than 14 inches.”