My Sasquatch encounter before it is lost from memory forever.

It has been over two decades ago since Three young teenage men were walking thru some light forest late at night being well, teenagers.
I cannot say exactly what we were doing, but we were not quiet, not looking for anything in particular we were just bored and finding entertainment as country boys will do.
We had walking sticks and clubs, and we were bashing the shit out of other sticks and generally being morons, laughing joking and telling stupid stories.
It was very late at night, around 1 AM if I remember correctly, the moon was out and it was mid winter adding to the ambiance of our hike.
We were going thru an area which we had traveled a million times, and hell an area I had grew up playing in and even sat next to the creek doing homework in my years prior to graduating.
We walked thru a clearing and I remember looking down swinging my stick at the tall grass and not really focusing on anything.
The individual on the far left looked suddenly left and explained "Hold on, what is that!" I looked and there maybe 30 feet away next to a willow tree was a big hairy man kneeling on one leg. It was white in color, with one arm draped over its knee as if it was simply observing. It was in the open, not really making an attempt to not be seen, but it had been holding perfectly still as any wild creature not wanting to be seen will often do.

We were dumbfounded, shocked and hell who thinks you are going to see a hairy ape man while you are out walking in the woods late at night?
It stood up in an instant, turned and ran, each moment its foot touched the ground it seemed to shake the earth, it ran straight thru the Trees behind it crashing as it went just wanting to get away.
I cannot tell you why, but we gave chase, yelling wildly and running after it.
We stopped at the tree line however, none of us wanting to venture into the thick brush where the only evidence something big had entered would be broken branches and twigs, almost making a tunnel if you will.
And there we stood, all breathing heavy, all of us kind of in a daze, then I said "What did you see?" there was a pause, then the individual who saw it first would say "well, I am not sure what I saw, what did you see?"
Individual number two "well what I saw is not supposed to exist"
"Yea I think we know what we saw, this is fucked" i would chime in.
There we stood still looking, our minds struggling to unravel the mystery before us.
I will not bore you with any real description of the beast as any hairy ape man with broad shoulder description will do. It was white, its eyes piercing and dark and its face now something blurry to my mind, there was no noticeable smell however.
There were sounds which now I can associate with what it is, chirps of a sort if you will, and there were several in different directions.
Maybe they were birds, I do not know, what I do know is we would walk to the middle of the clearing, our every sense on edge as our hair stood on end as if forming its own sort of radar hoping to detect that hairy beast.
We would sit there back to back in something of a Triangle so we could all see the edge of the woods, our eyes hurt from straining and tired, our bodies were cold as it was winter.
The moon would touch those three young men that night, adding to the shadows, but giving us just enough light to illuminate the clearing and keep the beast or beasts at bay.
We would wait until the sun peaked over the horizon to venture back to my truck, we walked as if on water on the path, hoping to see it again and confirm the mystery, yet hoping it would not appear to make the terror in our minds real.

Of course we all made it out safely with nothing more eventful of that night, save empty beer cans clattering to the floor as we talked about our good fortune and adventure.
We would venture again and again seeking to see once more, but no more sightings with those two fellows whom I will keep anonymous for now.
One is probably usless, as he seemingly cannot remember yesterday, and the other went somewhat crazy, although now that I reflect he always was.

I cannot explain fully why I did not attempt actual evidence, we did go back with a gun but decided we would end up shooting something that did not need to be shot. I also made a conscious decision to not gather hair or even make an attempt at photographs, hard as though it woudl have been at night during those days.
I guess we all decided sometimes a Legend was best left a legend. Science in all its glory simply would have located, poked, prodded and genuinely made something beautiful miserable. I did not want that suffering, nor did my friends at the time.

I will continue as to why it will be found and documented in my next blog.

A side note. I am not someone who is an occasional fireroads adventurer, I am someone born and raised in Rural Montana. I have spent my entire life exploring the wilderness around me, so I am well versed in animals and their sounds.
I know what I saw, as do those with me, it was beyond clear and ever so close.
So please, please leave the "well maybe it was something else" out, It was not something else, I know exactly what I saw as do my friends
thanks :)