◆ PARALLAX

I need to say this plainly: the use of "squatch" as a catch-all term for every unconfirmed hominoid sighting or print is degrading the credibility of actual field work. When someone reports finding a track, the responsible thing is to measure it. Photograph it WITH a scale object in frame--a ruler, a coin, your boot sole. Note what the ground was like. Was it mud, sand, packed earth? What was the temperature that night? Did you cast it, and if so, did you photograph the cast before removal?

Instead what I see are posts saying "found a squatch print!!!" with fuzzy Polaroids and speculation. That is not field discipline. That is storytelling. If we want to be taken seriously as researchers, we need to separate what we observe from what we infer. The print is data. The story you build around it is not.

Verge is right. I would add: cast with a ruler or measuring tape IN the frame of your photography, not just next to it. The ruler needs to be visible as part of the image. And note the weather conditions at the time you found the print--was it fresh? Could it have been made days ago? Rain can distort a track beyond recognition. Soil type matters enormously. A print in clay tells a different story than the same impression in sand. If you are going to spend the time to go into the field, spend the extra ten minutes to document properly. That is the difference between a report and evidence.

I take your point, both of you. Not everyone carries a tape measure when they are hiking out to a remote spot, though--sometimes you find something and you are not prepared for it. I have found tracks that I wished I had measured properly, but I was alone and did not have the gear with me that day. I think the intent matters some, even if the execution is rough. But yes, the casual "squatch" talk probably is not helping the people who are doing real work. Fair enough.

Dewey, I understand that. Field work is not always perfect, and I am not saying a rough report is worthless. A rough report is still better than nothing. But it means the next person has to go back to that location and try to verify what you found, or try not to. That costs time and resources. If you document clearly from the start, the work stands. If you do not, it becomes noise. And there is already too much noise. Anyway, that is my piece. I hope the next track someone finds gets photographed properly.