Photos of a track shared to Facebook by O’Neal. *(Jennifer Powell O’Neal / Facebook)*

Jennifer Powell O’Neal of Spokane Valley, Washington, shared a series of photographs showing large, unidentified tracks taken near Mount St. Helens to the Washington Bigfoot Facebook group last month.

According to statements made by O’Neal, she was driving along Ryan Lake Road on the Windy Ridge side of Mount St. Helens when she saw these unusual tracks going up a steep hill.

"I looked over and saw these going up a hill," she said. "I had to climb up a bit to get to the first print. There were three total…and I couldn't safely get up the rest of the way to check at the top of the hill."

The hill, O'Neal said, was so steep that she "walked on almost all fours to get to [the tracks], and then had to pretty much [lie down to] get to them, as there was no way to stand straight up."

O'Neal explained that she was wearing a size eight men's shoe in the picture above, and after returning home she "used a piece of floss to get a proper measurement," only to discover the impression was 21.5 inches long.

The third print found by O'Neal, pictured here, was sideways in the brush near the top of the hill. *(Jennifer Powell O’Neal / Facebook)*

Some viewers thought the tracks might have been left by a bear, pointing out that sometimes the prints from a bear’s fore and hind paws can combine to form the illusion of a single large print.

However, O'Neal said, " I thought of that, and I did look at all toes for signs of claw impressions and didn't see anything. I really wish I would have thought to take a pic from the road, because it doesn't seem possible for a bear [to have started leaving tracks] from where the first print appeared."

She expressed regret at not measuring the distance between prints and said she wished she "would have thought to go the the other side of the road, which was straight down, to see if I could have found others."

Those who were more impressed with O’Neal’s find argued against the bear track hypothesis.

"Very nice," said Larry Garver of Vancouver, Washington. "[Just my opinion, but] a bear's front and rear paw in-line would not likely measure 21.5 inches. Also, you would see a definite ridge between the toes and the pad. I know that mountain well and have had many experiences and findings there."

O'Neal also considered the possibility that human pranksters might have been to blame for the tracks, but ultimately decided "it would have been impossible to have made them with no actual foot prints leading up."

Like others who commented to share their encounters, this wasn't O'Neal's first experience with the unknown in this area.

“A few years back, I also took photos of other prints I found on this same road, and [a] few years before that, while camping, we heard calls that at that time I didn't realize could have been from Bigfoot all in this area," she said.

The Bigfoot Researchers Organization has so far recorded over 700 reports from the State of Washington, going back decades, more than any other state in the Union. Of those, over 60 have come from Skamania County, which includes Mount St. Helens.

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

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