By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Patrons of Carter Caves State Park were treated to a special ‘hunt’ last week as the park organized a search for everyone’s favorite cryptid creature, Bigfoot. But why, Bigfoot? Because the legendary creature has actually been spotted inside the park, according to reports collected by event organizers and others.
“We’ve had several people come to us and say they have spotted Bigfoot on Box Canyon Trail,” event organizer Autumn Barnett said.
The idea for the hike was a joint effort of Barnett and Rachel McClurg, and was held on the same trail, giving patrons an opportunity to not only keep a watchful eye out for the reigning ‘hide-n-seek’ champion, but also learn a little bit about the creature indigenous people named Tsul ‘Kalu, Yeaoh, and Sasquatch – among others. Barnett said the Bigfoot hunt was part of the park’s efforts to come up with more creative things to inspire people to get out and visit one of the area’s natural wonders.
“We knew a lot of people are really into Bigfoot, so we wanted to test it out,” Barnett said.
And the park passed the test with flying colors, seeing over 160 individuals and families turn out for the Tuesday night event. Barnett said they were surprised by the turnout, especially on a weeknight, but it was the best of surprises. The event saw local participants but also individuals and families from other parts of Kentucky, as well as West Virginia and Tennessee.
Barnett said that in the interest of attracting more people to the park, they have also been hosting similar paranormal events. For instance, Carter Caves is currently hosting a weekly Ghost and Legends Tour.
“We take people in by lantern light to Salt Peter Cave,” Barnett explained. “And we talk about local legends and ghost stories that revolve around that cave.”
The event is also an opportunity for people to share their own experiences, Barnett said.
“I have had scratches and rocks thrown at me in Salt Peter Cave,” she said, giving a personal example of a brush with the paranormal.
“We team up with a paranormal team out of Louisville called Serious Paranormal, and we have done two events with them,” Barnett continued. “They are absolutely great. We did a tour in Cascade Cave, and the one around Memorial Day at Salt Peter Cave.”
Barnett said that interest in the paranormal has proven popular in the area.
“We expected more people to be closed minded, but the exact opposite was true,” Barnett said. “Every event like this we have had has generated a lot of interest locally and throughout the region. And there are a lot of strange things that happen around the caves.”
The public isn’t typically taken through most parts of the caves, she said, and it is difficult to really ‘know’ what is happening in the unexplored regions.
“We are definitely going to be planning more paranormal expeditions with Serious Paranormal,” Barnett said. “We are going to try to investigate the Lodge and make the Salt Peter Cave investigation a yearly event.”
Barnett said for updates and upcoming events, patrons can visit the Carter Caves website and Facebook page.
Amanda Plummer from Flatwoods took part in the Bigfoot event with her family, and shared their impressions of the experience. Daughter Ellie said her favorite part of the experience was actually searching for Bigfoot and practicing her Bigfoot howl. Daughter Izzie didn’t mention whether she had perfected her own Bigfoot howl, but said she enjoyed the hike with all the other people as they searched for the illusive cryptid.
Plummer herself said that she was impressed by the turnout and the wonderful job the staff at Carter Caves did putting on the event. She was also amazed by the amount of available Bigfoot t-shirts and bumper stickers. Husband Brennan Plummer said that being in the woods with his wife and children is always fun.
“My girls are really into legends right now, so this was an all-around fun experience,” he said. “And there were some Bigfoot enthusiasts there sharing their personal encounters,” he added, which made the experience even more enjoyable.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
