An account in Washington County, Oregon

10/14/01 3:30pm Partly sunny 65 degrees I was hunting the Wolf creek Rd area. 3.5 miles up the road is a clearing. I decided to walk down into the timber stand about 1/2 mile down the side of the slope. The path then cuts right and follows the wood line and the creek at the bottom. I am always looking for any signs of our big friend. I am involved in ongoing research in the Salmonberry area, so my eyes are always scanning. About another half a mile up the trail I caught sign of pretty big print. I measured the print to the following dimensions. 17 inches long 6 inches wide Could count all five toes in the print I am 282 pounds and left no impression in the soil. This print left a 1-inch depression in the soil. In scanning the immediate area I could see the trail it followed up from the creek bed. The print was heading in the westerly direction down the trail where I was heading. No odor was detected and no scat was found. Foliage in the area was low to the ground so I observed no broken tree limbs at an unusual height. I will be returning this weekend with some fruit and will try to work more of the bottom of the timberline and see what can be found deeper into the tree line.