Discovering the Nests with the Olympic Project

Eli Watson with Shane Corson, Todd Hale and Rebekah Slick of the Olympic Project

In April 2021, I had an opportunity to join the Small Town Monsters crew to the Olympic Peninsula and see the “Nest Site”. The Nest site is a series of nests that are believed to have been constructed by Sasquatch in a remote part of the forest.

The only reason the Nests were discovered was due to a timber surveyor who stumbled upon them. He contacted his friend and cofounder of the Olympic Project, Derek Randles, to come in and take a look. Needless to say, it was remarkable and turned into a multi year effort of studying these nests.

Talking with Derek Randles and Seth Breedlove at the OP Cabin

I was struck by the Olympic Project for two reasons. One being the fact that they all took this subject matter seriously, to a degree that I had not yet seen from anybody or any other group in the United States. Secondly, I was amazed at their genuine kindness and desire to refrain from all the drama and infighting that plagues this field.

This attitude stems from their leader, Derek Randles, who has a no nonsense attitude about the subject of Sasquatch. He’ll be the first one to tell you he believes in Bigfoot without a hint of a smile on his face, but that’s not to say he is humorless. One of my most cherished memories was when Derek made me a rum and coke and talked with me about a missing 411 case in the Olympic Peninsula. A case that he was personally involved in.

From left to right: Marc Myrsell, David Ellis and Derek Randles

I was one of the first people ever to camp at the actual nest site (well, a good 100 yards away) along with my friend Aleksandar Petakov. Joining us there was Shane Corson, Todd Hale, Cindy Caddell, Rebekah Slick and Chris Spencer.

Shane has become the public face of the Olympic Project over the years and he even hosts a podcast called Monster X Radio. I’ve had the pleasure of camping with Shane twice, once in the Olympics and another time in Mount Hood National Forest. He is an incredibly humble person. His knowledge of the forest and the wildlife in it, as well as animal psychology is truly astounding, but he’ll also crack a joke with you too.

Todd Hale might have become my favorite member of the whole bunch. Todd and I come from the same place in Southern California and that quickly made us friends. Todd downplays himself in an unbelievable way. He approached the brink of death in a dirt biking accident and has recovered and now researches Sasquatch. I mean it when I say that Todd is one tough dude.

Todd Hale

Chris and Rebekah make a dynamic duo of sorts. Chris analyzes audio finding vocalizations and knocks in hours worth of audio, while Rebekah can probably name every plant you find in the forest. Both of them are incredibly kind and while they may not seem like it, they are just as rugged and tough as anyone else in this group. Aleks and I have sent audio we’ve recorded all over the country to Chris for analysis. His opinion is one I respect.

Cindy I connected with over our mutual art form of photography as well as my (basic) understanding of anthropology. Her knowledge of primate behavior was so refreshing, because she dives deep into the subject matter and avoids surface level analysis. I was also deeply affected by her kindness in gifting me the book A Primate’s Memoir by Robert Sopolsky.

I guess you can say that we instantly connected and I’m proud to call them all my friends. At the time of the writing of this article, I am planning to head back up to Washington over the summer of this year with Aleks Petakov to do an Ape Canyon episode of Beyond the Trail.

While I could go on and on about how amazing this group is, you should definitely listen to the latest episode of the show to get a better idea of how awesome they are.

If you want to know more about my adventure in the Olympic Peninsula check out the video below.

Aleksandar and Eli head to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state for an in-depth exploration of the purported Bigfoot nests discovered by the Olympic Project! They meet up with the "OP" and learn more about the nests, as well as their possible uses. Along the way, they become the first people to ever stay overnight in the nest site.