<ir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-085ad54f-0cfd-dc35-2b26-8f4b981821e2">As the chilly fall winds blow in causing shivers and extra hot chocolate orders at Sayles, so do some spine-tingling reports of unusual activity in the Arboretum. In the past several weeks, conversations have been stirring around a mysterious presence in Northfield. Emma Dempsey ’19, Bigfoot enthusiast, reports that farmers she spoke with at Northfield’s Harvest Stomp this past Saturday told her of cow-tipping they believed to be linked to Bigfoot. “The town is very concerned,” she told me, and she believes that Bigfoot may be spending time in the Carleton Arb.
While I am unable to substantiate these claims, I can say that this is not the first time we have had conversations about Bigfoot on campus. There has not been a serious discussion of this topic since March of 2015 when extremely large tracks were found in snow in the Arb. These tracks were later identified as having been created by snowshoes. It is important, however, to consider reports in neighboring areas. The nearest sighting reported on the Bigfoot Field Organization website was in 1972 and occurred 65 miles north of the Arb in Washington county.
When I reached out to Graham Early ’17 of CaSPER (Carleton Society of Paranormal and Extraterrestrial Research), he expressed that Bigfoot falls outside of the club’s scope. He followed up with, “However, by saying he’s not a ghost, I guess I’m definitely admitting that Bigfoot is alive and well.” Whether Bigfoot truly frequents the Arb is up to further investigation. Dempsey will be leading an expedition into the Arb this Saturday to search for Bigfoot. She invites anyone interested in joining her to meet at the Rec at 6:30pm with flashlights and a sense of adventure.