From the Skookum Cast to the Edges of Science: The Work of Thom Powell

Many Sasquatch enthusiasts have heard of the Skookum Cast, a plaster body casting that purportedly reflects the body impressions made by a Bigfoot lying down in the mud, but few have had the opportunity to meet firsthand with someone who was there when it was discovered.

Thom Powell was there. In the year 2000, he was an on-site researcher who helped discover the impressions in Skookum Meadows, near Mt. Adams in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington State. Powell, along with a group of researchers, had spent several days in the forest trying various methods to study Bigfoot, including playing recorded vocalizations, using pheromone lures and thermal cameras.

One evening, the team placed fruit near a muddy patch by the road and the next morning, they discovered they had collected something significant- what appeared to be the body print of a Sasquatch! To this day, the Skookum Cast is considered to be one of the strongest pieces of physical evidence for the existence of Bigfoot. 

Powell’s Sasquatch-related work did not end with the Skookum Cast. A career science teacher from the Portland, Oregon area, Powell has decades of research under his belt and has written several books, including The Locals, a well-regarded volume of interviews with Bigfoot witnesses. It contributed to the Habituation Method of studying Sasquatch and has become an essential text for aspiring researchers.

Another Powell book, Shady Neighbors, entails a fictional account of a rural family whose peaceful life is threatened by a looming project to develop the land around them, while members of the family experience strange, otherworldly occurrences that seem to be from an unknown force. 

Edges of Science, Powell’s most recent book, documents eyewitness encounters of paranormal experiences that have reportedly occurred in conjunction with Bigfoot encounters, such as cloaking, mind-speak, orbs and UFOs. 

Powell will be a featured speaker at Sasquatch The Legend’s upcoming event, the second annual Forks Sasquatch Days, held in Forks, Washington on Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28, 2023. For tickets or more information, visit Forks Sasquatch Days. 

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