This past weekend I went to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the Beyond Reality Conference at the Mt. Washington Hotel. I decided to go up a day early to test my mettle on Mt. Washington. As my alarm went off at 5 AM on Friday morning, I questioned whether this was really a good idea. Considering I already blogged about going, I figured there was no turning back now.

I got to the base of the mountain around 9:45 in the morning. Looking around, I saw that this might easily have been the finest hiking weather I had ever encountered. There were no clouds, the air was dry and warm, and my hiking boots still fit. Here’s how it went: 9:50 – I started up the Tuckerman’s Ravine trail.9:54 – I remembered just how rocky the trail was.9:56 – I realized from the amount of sweat pouring off of me that I may not be in as good of shape as I had previously thought.9:59 – Breathing heavy now, but still climbing…

This weekend I’ll be speaking at the Beyond Reality event at the Mt. Washington Hotel. I’m heading up early Friday morning to hike Mt. Washington (the highest peak east of the Mississippi) for the third time in my life. I haven’t made the climb in four years, but I’m so ready to rock that mountain. However, if my mind is more willing than my body, and I die on the mountain, I promise to come back and haunt the hell out of the conference — you’ll find my ghost near the bar.

Recently Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer from Georgia have hijacked and held the headlines with their claim of a 500-pound, 7-foot 7-inch Bigfoot body in a freezer at an undisclosed location — almost to the point where Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps was going to have to swim in a Bigfoot costume to turn the world’s attention back to where it belongs. When I first saw the photo, I admit, I said, “Wow! What if?” I’d love to believe that these two guys did in fact stumble upon this elusive creature. The photo made me want to believe it even more.

There have been many Bigfoot claims in the past. Eyewitness accounts, some photos, and the most famous case involving the Patterson film from 1967 showing an ape-like creature lurking through the woods — but that was just film. Many have argued the authenticity of that film, both sides have made good points. But Whitton and Dyer claim to have a body — and here’s the picture to prove it! It’s been almost a week since the photo and story have been released, and so far we have learned very little — and therein lies the problem.

I can understand keeping this amazing find in an undisclosed location. I can even understand hiring a publicist to manage the dissemination of information, however, something smells fishy here. Why do we only have one or two grainy photos of this body? And now there’s Tom Biscardi, the “Real Bigfoot Hunter” involved with the case. If he is a real researcher, he should have been able to better advise Whitton and Dyer. Step one: bring in a professional photographer to take about 1000 high-resolution images. Every moment is precious after the death of any creature. Decay begins in minutes, and if we’re going to learn something, time is of the essence. Next, take hours of high-resolution video of the creature from every angle. Allow the photos and videos to be viewed by both the media and scientific community immediately. Next, call one or two media outlets and show them what you have. Allow an independent (and hopefully impartial) eye to review your finding and present it for you — then go hide the body for safety. If Whitton and Dyer had taken these steps from the start, they would have a long line of legitimate scientists and researchers outside of their door who had seen the high-resolution images volunteering to study the creature and reach a conclusion.

If (and that’s a big “if”) Whitton and Dyer do indeed have a body, they are undermining their own claim with the way the information is being released. Whitton, Dyer, and now Biscardi have done a wonderful job at plugging their Internet radio show and Web sites, but not in gaining credibility. From wearing baseball caps at their press conference to drawing out the release of information, each day that goes by makes this discovery less important and more likely to be a hoax. I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon hear an announcement from this trio that the Bigfoot body has somehow disappeared or been stolen. There are already cries of, “Put up or shut up,” echoing from the public, which leaves only three options: 1. Produce the body; 2. Admit the fraud; 3. “Lose” the “body.”