Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Tyler Miller | NORFOLK, VA (Dec. 20, 2023) Dale Hastings, the air operations department...... read more read more
NORFOLK, Va. — The mysterious cryptid Bigfoot has been sighted by Sailors and civilians on the Turtle Park trail onboard Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk since 2006.
The beast is said to be 8-9 ft. tall, covered in dark brown hair and has glowing eyes.
Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is described as a 6-10 ft. tall ape-like bipedal creature that is covered in shaggy dark colored hair. Sightings of the elusive beast in North America stretch back post-ice age period to modern day and the creatures are seen as a “wild man” or “hairy man” and are touted for their aggressive nature and cleverness. The term Sasquatch comes from the Halq’emeylem, a language spoken various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast, word ‘sasq’ets,’ which roughly translates, to “hairy man.”
The term Bigfoot originated in 1958 when members of a logging company, in Humbolt County, Calif., discovered a 16-inch human-like footprint in mud at the Six Rivers National Forest. From then on, sightings increased exponentially, either being tracks or actual encounters with the beast, with famous examples including the Patterson-Gimlin film.
So was this creature really sighted by Sailors onboard NAVSTA Norfolk? Is there really a giant ape-man lurking in the wooded areas on base?
While there is a Bigfoot on base, the one here is immobile and made of wood, foam and chicken wire. The Bigfoot statue, along with the trail system it is on, is the brainchild of Dale Hastings, the Air Operations Department Communications Branch Head, and Joseph “Joe” Crider, Air Operations Department Work Center Leader, who both work onboard NAVSTA Norfolk, and it has a history just as interesting as the real thing.
“It was my idea,” said Hastings. “When I first got here there were no real trails and I used to walk in the woods a bunch. I told Joe one day ‘Hey it would be kind of neat if we put a Bigfoot and just hid it back in the woods.’ It came about and said ‘Joe, I’ll make the head and you made the body.’ ”
After they had the idea put together, Hastings and Crider would pool their personal resources to build the beast.
The original statue was built and brought to the installation in 2006 by the duo and placed on the original Turtle Park trail. The trail was originally a small walking path consisting of cleared area and a metal bridge built to keep people off the road when crossing parts of the base, however the duo expanded it to a 400-meter trail.
“Originally we were going to put him across the water from the trail,” said Hastings “I brought in my hip-waders and I took one step and sunk up to my waist. I was like ‘Whelp, it’s not going there,’ so we ended up putting it somewhere else on the trail.”
It sat on the trail for several years, but during that time, Crider cleared more areas of trail to make it easier to hike back toward the statue. However, tragedy struck the original statue as termites consumed its body. Taking the remaining head, the duo created a new body for the creature.
After a decade of work, the Turtle Park Trail, also informally now known as the “Bigfoot Trail,” encompasses two miles of paths and keeps clear of debris through the volunteer work of Crider.
“I’d call it the Joe Crider Trails, if I could,” said Hastings. “Joe comes out here every weekend to take care of things. He keeps the brush and leaves off the trails. It’s really thanks to him that the miles of trail exist back there now.”
In addition to Bigfoot, the duo added many other colorful critters to the trails menagerie. These beasts can be found along the trail, and include a Chupacabra, a Woodpecker, a Giant Gopher, a Troll and a swamp creature. However, among these, Bigfoot remains the most popular
“People get shocked at the size of it and ask where it had come from,” said Hastings.
The Bigfoot is an unofficial mascot of the air operations Christmas celebrations and is decorated for the season with help from the department’s Sailors.
“Everybody in the division helped pull him out of the woods and decorated him,” said Crider. “People get excited when we have it out for Christmas. That’s usually the first thing people go to get pictures of when they drive by.”
The duo of Crider and Hasting continue to upkeep and expand their creation and they are always looking to expand it in fun new ways. The two also hope more people will come out to hike the trails and catch a glimpse of their elusive monster.
For more news from Naval Station Norfolk, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nsn/.
| Date Taken: | 01.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2024 10:08 |
| Story ID: | 462400 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 159,097 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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