meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
What if it's True Podcast

Panning for Gold in Bigfoot Country

What if it's True Podcast

Cameron Buckner

Drama, Fiction, Science Fiction

4.81.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Panning for Gold in Bigfoot Country
A lifelong outdoorsman from a Texas cattle-ranch background (former pro rodeo rider, music teacher, avid camper, fisherman, hiker, and fossil/rock collector) recounts two eerie, unexplained experiences that ultimately convinced him Bigfoot is real. While renting a remote 26-acre cabin outside Kerrville, Texas, he regularly fed local wildlife. For several nights he heard loud slapping/banging on the cabin walls; one night the impact was so violent it shook pictures on the wall beside his bed. His dogs were terrified. A trail camera later captured a large, shadowy face peering through the brush exactly where the noises occurred. Around the same time, a reported Bigfoot sighting happened just eight miles away. After moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico, he had a similar feeling of being watched while alone with his dogs on the remote Holy Ghost Trail (an area locals call haunted); the dogs bolted back to the Jeep in fear. In March 2021, during a solo gold-panning trip to Willow Creek in the Santa Fe National Forest, he discovered a set of enormous fresh footprints paralleling the creek—16 inches long, 5 inches wide, with a 4.5-foot stride. His dogs froze, staring into the brush; he felt intensely watched. He measured and photographed the prints (with his foot for scale) before racing back to his truck. Subsequent research revealed dozens of Bigfoot reports in both the Texas Hill Country and northern New Mexico locations where he had lived and hiked, including one near his old cabin on the exact night of the slapping incident. A hunter had also gone missing in the Willow Creek area, later featured on a TV show. Now living on the Texas coast (where sightings are also reported), he remains an enthusiastic outdoorsman but never hikes or camps without a firearm and keeps a close eye on his dogs. Though he never had a clear visual (Class A) sighting, the cumulative evidence has made Bigfoot “always on his radar.”

Join my Supporters Club for $4.99 per month for exclusive stories:
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/what-if-it-s-true-podcast--5445587/support

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

We live in Diego, South Korea.

0:13.7

I'm 100% sure I'll pronounce that wrong.

0:17.5

And I'm 100% sure I'm about to mispronounce the name of this mountain, but let me start over.

0:23.8

We live in Diego, South Korea on the side of a steep hill that butts up to Apasan Mountain.

0:31.9

One day I took Riley, my golden retriever, out to the trails because she had been inside for most of the day.

0:39.8

A light snow had fallen and the mountain was quiet. I headed up the steep hillside under the

0:45.4

road tunnel and I walked toward the trail. I think it makes a loop somewhere but I don't speak

0:50.7

Korean and every time I go I get lost, wandering in circles, never knowing

0:55.9

which way to go. On this day, that's what happened. Riley and I made it to the trailhead

1:02.8

and pressed on and started wandering. On every mountain in this country, you will see grandmother's

1:09.6

blazing new trails off the main path

1:12.2

in search of mushrooms. That day, I realized I had gotten misdirected onto such a trail.

1:19.4

The surrounding mountainside looked a bit different than the normal loop I usually took, but I knew

1:24.8

where the landmarks were, so I kept walking.

1:31.9

Halfway into the hike, I heard footsteps approaching from behind me.

1:37.2

Normally, there are a lot of other hikers on these trails, so I called Riley over,

1:39.9

hooked her leash on her, and I stepped aside.

1:45.0

When no one passed me, I turned slightly to see an empty trail. I was puzzled, but I brushed it off and I kept going.

1:49.6

I released Riley again and she took off ahead of me.

1:53.6

Fifteen minutes later, I heard another round of footsteps coming up behind me.

1:58.5

I did the same thing.

1:59.8

I hooked up my dog, stood off to the side, and I waited. Again, nobody was behind me. I did the same thing. I hooked up my dog, stood off to the side, and I waited.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Cameron Buckner, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Cameron Buckner and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.