Joaquin Miller Park

(set: $sassy to false) You roll into Oakland with a spring in your step. Joaquin Miller Park is your next destination and it has no shortage of epic trails to traverse. You’ve been jonesing for some quality time on the trail. You put down <a href="http://www.sasquatchracing.com/diary-entry-joaquin-miller-park/">a few thoughts in your diary</a> before you get rolling. This awesome park is also on your radar because of the rumors surrounding the ‘mystery woman’ who (allegedly) haunts the park on foggy nights. Legend has it she was tragically killed during a roadside accident (on a foggy night) and has been haunting the area ever since. But, the sun is high in the sky as you make your way through Oakland towards Joaquin Miller Park. There’s no sign of fog as of yet. If fog is part of what draws the mystery lady out, today might be a total bust. Your phone buzzes. It’s a text from Tommy. [[Respond to Tommy.]] [[Ignore Tom and continue towards Joaquin Miller.]]

‘Hey Sis, how goes the tour?’ ‘Well, it appears I unleashed some kind of weird ‘running zombie’ called ‘The Nur’, I pissed off about 100 ghosts at Agnews Hospital, and helped a prom queen find her way to the other side. So…..it’s been pretty uneventful thus far.’ ‘Yeesh! Wish I was there to be your wingman, but I'm neck deep in Sasquatch country. No sightings as of yet, but a few hints that everyone's favorite, furry cryptid might just be out here.' 'Speaking of Sassy, do you know what park I'm about to explore?' [[Continue|Continue text]]

You tuck your phone in your pack and continue towards Joaquin Miller Park. Tommy once spent some time in the park in search of Sassy. While he didn’t find the furry beast, he found some footprints, skat, and other 'possible' signs of him. If the mystery woman doesn’t make an appearance, maybe Sassy might? You round the corner and find yourself not too far from where the alleged mystery woman was killed. An inexplicable bank of fog starts rolling in. You feel that old familiar buzz on the back of your neck. The fog grows thick in a hurry. You can’t see more than a few feet in front of you. You slow to a walk and try to make your way through the now nearly impenetrable fog. It reminds you of the beginning of one of your creepy favorite flicks, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mist_(film)">The Mist.</a> [[Continue|Joaquin Miller start]]

Disgusted, you try to scrape the poop off your shoe on a nearby rock. You make some progress, but there’s still tons of it on your shoe. You grab a stick and scrap a bit more off. After cleaning off most of the poop, you take a few steps down the mysterious trail. While you’d love to run, the fog is still pretty thick and the trail is pretty technical. An eerie silence has descended along with the fog. You are about to take a step when you notice a MASSIVE footprint directly in front of you. [[Take a closer look at the footprint]] [[Head further down the trail.]] [[Head back and head towards the sound of the creepy moan.|Venture deeper into the fog towards the sound of the creepy moan.]]

You venture towards the sound of the eerie moan. The fog gets (impossibly) denser as you venture further. Yet another eerie moan reverberates down the trail. Your ghost buzz spikes so hard you nearly fall over. The moan dissipates and the buzz quiets down a bit. You take a few more cautious steps down the fog drenched trail. Rumor has it that the woman resides in some kind of hut in the park. No one has ever found it. But, it’s unlikely anyone was crazy enough to follow her creepy moans deep into the park. You venture a few more steps until the trail comes to a seeming dead end. It ends at a steep drop off. You glance down, but can’t see anything due to the fog. A load moan right next to you startles you. You stumble and find yourself tumbling awkwardly down the drop off. You crash through bushes, branches, and all kinds of foliage. [[Continue.]]

You bend down to get a closer look at the footprint. It’s enormous. It’s easily twice the size of your own foot. There are clearly five individual toes. This ‘could’ be the footprint of a human...assuming said human was about ten feet tall. You pull out your phone and take a few pics. You try to shoot Tom a text. The send fails. Of course, you've lost your signal. Well, you can send it later when you venture back out onto the road. [[Head further down the trail in the direction of the massive foot.|Head further down the trail.]] [[Bail out and head back out onto the road.|Head Back to the road.]]

The mysterious trail narrows a bit and you find yourself having to contort your body to navigate it. The trail switches back and forth a few more times through the fog. You round a corner and see a large branch extending right across the middle of the trail. Something’s hanging from it. [[Take a closer look at what’s hanging from the branch.]] [[Head back and head towards the sound of the creepy moan.|Venture deeper into the fog towards the sound of the creepy moan.]]

You warily step towards whatever is on the branch. The fog seems to get denser as you get closer. Only when you’re inches from it does it become clear what it is. It’s a clump of stinky, dirty animal fur. This branch must have pulled it off of whatever came through here. You have to wonder if it was the same thing that dropped a giant load back at the entrance to the trail. You suddenly feel as if you've just entered <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devolution_(Brooks_novel)">Max Brooks' book about the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre!</a> Suddenly, off in the foliage you hear a noise unlike ANYTHING you have heard before! It’s like a weird amalgamation of growling, howling, and shrieking. It's definitely NOT human. The hair on the back of your neck stands up on end. Something is out there. The ghost buzz has not kicked in yet. So, whatever is out there is likely NOT the mysterious ghost lady that allegedly haunts the park. [[Head down the trail towards the source of the ungodly noise.]] [[You’ve had enough fun on this trail. Head back out to the road.|Head Back to the road.]]

For who knows how long, Dad (and Tom) have been fixated on finding Sasquatch. Whatever made that noise might not be Sasquatch. But, the giant mound of scat, the massive footprint, and the clump of fur on the branch suggest SOMETHING big, furry, and NOT quite human is out there. You move slowly down the fog covered trail. You’ve barely taken a few steps before you hear it again! The bizarre howl/growl/shriek sounds like it is right in front of you. You creep ever closer to the source of the noise. Whatever thing made it is very close. The fog is so dense here, you can barely see more than a couple feet in front of you. You fail to notice a dry branch on the trail and step on it. The branch snaps and a loud crack echoes down the trail! You hear the a low growl and the sound of branches snapping and breaking in front of you. [[Continue.|Chase Sassy.]]

You’re neck deep in the fog. You hear another faint moan off in the distance. The moan triggers a faint buzz on the back of your neck. You take a few steps deeper into the fog and find yourself on a trail that leads deep into Joaquin Miller Park. While you’d love to run, the dense fog makes it impossible to do so. Another eerie moan off in the distance triggers a loud buzz at the back of your neck. You’re close to whatever ghostly presence is making this noise. It’s gotta be the mysterious woman (or what’s left of her) you’ve heard so much about. [[Continue deeper into the fog towards the eerie moaning.|Venture deeper into the fog towards the sound of the creepy moan.]]

Finally, you come to rest at the bottom of the drop off. The back of your neck is buzzing strongly. Just a few steps away is an old, ramshackle hut. Could this be it? You pick yourself up and cautiously head into the hut. There’s a hammock in one corner of the hut, a small table next to the only (broken) window, a small wood burning stove in the other corner, and a table covered with newspaper articles. You slowly head towards the table. It’s covered with old newspaper articles and photos. ALL of them are about Sasquatch! [[Continue.|More Sassy Hut.]]

'Joaquin Miller! If I can't find Sassy here, I'd bet money he's somewhere in your neck of the woods.' 'How much money do you want to bet?' 'Sis, I'm a starving (post grad) student. How about we just wager a six pack? ;)' 'DONE. I Gotta run, T! Talk soon.’ [[Continue|Ignore Tom and continue towards Joaquin Miller.]]

You trip over an unseen rock and find yourself on your hands and knees. Right in front of you is a barely discernible trail. You pull yourself up and take a cautious step forward only to step into a MASSIVE mound of feces. Something very large did this. It's a 'Sasquatch' sized poop. Before you can shake the poop off your shoe, you hear a low moan off in the nearly impenetrable fog. The buzz on the back of your neck intensifies. That moan sounded like a woman. [[Explore the mysterious trail (after you clean the poop off your shoe).]] [[Venture deeper into the fog towards the sound of the creepy moan.]]

(set: $sassy to true) Swallowing your fear, you run blindly towards the noise. You hear the continued breaking of branches just a few feet ahead of you. You come to an abrupt halt as the trail dead ends. Ahead of you are countless broken branches, clumps of stinky hair, and giant footprints. Off in the fog, you can stil hear the thing tramping through the woods. Sigh. There’s no way you can follow it. There’s no trail to speak of and the trees, bushes, and foliage are nearly impenetrable. [[Head Back to the road.]]

(set: $sassy to false)

Nothing here has been used in years. The newspaper articles are so old, you don’t want to touch them. They could easily disintegrate. You pull out your phone and take as many photos as you can. Dad and Tom will be thrilled to learn about this hut. You hear another low moan outside the hut. She must have led you here. She wanted you to find her hut. There’s no way you would have found this place on your own. A noise to your right startles you. You glance over and a ghostly woman's face has appeared in the lone broken window in this old hut. She looks exhausted and mournful. 'I've been looking for him for so long. Have you seen him?' You don't need to ask what's referring to. The contents of her hut tell you all you need to know. 'I haven't seen him, but I think he's here. I can show you.' You motion for the ghost to follow you. [[Show the ghost what she seeks.|Sassy's path]]

(if: $sassy is true) [ You head back towards the Sasquatch poop you stepped in. The ghostly woman follows close behind. You motion to the poop as you head onto the trail. Glancing back, the woman's expression looks a bit less mournful. A bit further down, you show her the massive footprint. You could be wrong, but she looks genuinely excited upon seeing it. You navigate the technical switchbacks back to the branch and eventually reach the branch hanging across the middle of the trail. She sees the clump of hair hanging on it before you can even point it out. A huge smile breaks out on her face. [[Continue.|More Sassy Path]] ] (else: ) [ You head back towards the Sasquatch poop you stepped in. The ghostly woman follows close behind. You motion to the poop as you head onto the trail. Glancing back, the woman's expression looks a bit less mournful.You’d love to run down the trail, but the fog is still pretty thick and the trail is pretty technical. An eerie silence has descended along with the fog. You are about to take a step when you notice a MASSIVE footprint directly in front of you. [[Take a closer look at the footprint|Examine footprint with ghost.]] [[Head further down the trail.|Head further down the trail with ghost.]] ]

You can't help but smile back. 'There's more just a bit further down.' You state. Finally, you arrive at the dead end. You motion towards the broken branches, footprints, and clumps of hair hanging from the branches. 'I know it's not the same thing as actually SEEING him in the flesh (or should I say 'fur'), but it's close!' The ghostly woman smiles. 'Thank you so much! You've given me what I need!' Abruptly, she heads down the trail and disappears into eternity. [[Continue.|End.]]

You bend down to get a closer look at the footprint. It’s enormous. It’s easily twice the size of your own foot. There are clearly five individual toes. This ‘could’ be the footprint of a human...assuming said human was about ten feet tall. You exchange a knowing smile with the ghostly woman. You're onto something BIG. You pull out your phone and take a few pics. You try to shoot Tom a text. The send fails. Of course, you've lost your signal. Well, you can send it later when you venture back out onto the road. [[Head further down the trail in the direction of the massive foot.|Head further down the trail with ghost.]]

The mysterious trail narrows a bit and you find yourself having to contort your body to navigate it. The ghost has no such problems given her ethereal form. The trail switches back and forth a few more times through the fog. You round a corner and see a large branch extending right across the middle of the trail. Something’s hanging from it. [[Take a closer look at what’s hanging from the branch.|Take a look at the branch with ghost.]]

You warily step towards whatever is on the branch. The fog seems to get denser as you get closer. Only when you’re inches from it does it become clear what it is. It’s a clump of stinky, dirty animal fur. This branch must have pulled it off of whatever came through here. You have to wonder if it was the same thing that dropped a giant load back at the entrance to the trail. The ghostly woman hovering behind you looks elated. You feel as if you've just stepped into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devolution_(Brooks_novel)">Max Brooks' book about the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre!</a> Suddenly, off in the foliage you hear a noise unlike ANYTHING you have heard before! It’s like a weird amalgamation of growling, howling, and shrieking. It's definitely NOT human. The hair on the back of your neck stands up on end. [[Head down the trail towards the source of the ungodly noise.|Check out ungodly noise with ghost.]]

For who knows how long, Tom has been fixated on finding Sasquatch. Whatever made that noise might not be Sasquatch. But, the giant mound of scat, the massive footprint, and the clump of fur on the branch suggest SOMETHING big, furry, and NOT quite human is out there. You move slowly down the fog covered trail with the ghost right on your heels. You’ve barely taken a few steps before you hear it again! The bizarre howl/growl/shriek sounds like it is right in front of you. You creep ever closer to the source of the noise. Whatever thing made it is very close. The fog is so dense here, you can barely see more than a couple feet in front of you. You fail to notice a dry branch on the trail and step on it. You grimace as the branch snaps and a loud crack echoes down the trail! You hear the a low growl and the sound of branches snapping and breaking in front of you. The ghostly woman's eyes are wide as plates and her mouth is slackjawed. Then, the ghostly woman smiles broadly. 'Thank you so much! You've given me what I need!' Before you can say 'you're welcome', she abruptly heads down the trail towards (what is presumbably) Sasquatch and disappears into eternity. [[Continue.|End.]]

While you failed to get a quality look at Sassy, there's no doubt in your mind. Sasquatch is for REAL. You fire off what few pics you snapped to Tommy. If only he'd been here! You can't help but wonder how his search is going. You also can't help but feel bad for the woman whose obsessive search kept her here far too long. You're not one for giving up. No one likes a DNF. But, sometimes it's best to walk away and live to run another day. Just as you're about to roll out, your phone lights up. It's Tessa. She describes an experience that sounds eerily similar to what happened to Joey back at Winchester. She was running. She felt an odd chill. Her legs got heavy. She fainted. When she woke up, she couldn't run anymore. -End.