by Oubliette

If this were a regular half-hour episode of Destination Truth, the investigation would probably have ended here, with the evidence taken back to the US for analyses.  But this segment is one hour in length, and thus more time can be devoted to a further search for the Yeti.  And so it’s onward for the DT team, as the next morning they begin a day long hike upwards towards a more eastern section of the Sakteng Nature Preserve.  Here in the higher altitude and within deep and rocky canyons, a cluster of recent sightings of the Yeti have been reported.

After hours on the trail, the team comes upon a small cluster of buildings.  With a black bovine wandering around the street (we’re not in Kansas anymore!), Josh searches for some refreshments and finds what he calls “the world‘s most inconveniently located convenience store“.   Unable to obtain any gourmet coffee, he and Jael settle for a plastic whistle, a rusty knife and a huge jar of fruit gum.  But they have to stock up on something more substantial, and Josh finds some “Crack Crackers” that are “sweety salty”.  (Yum!  Gotta see if the store has a website so I can order some.)

As is usual with DT, we are treated to some interesting scenes right out of a travelogue.  Hearing the sound of chanting, the gang discovers a small temple and enjoys some quiet moments among the relaxing and hypnotic sounds of the monks.  Josh also apparently discovers the secret behind the tranquility to be found here–a bumper crop of marijuana growing right along the trail.  Hmmm..no wonder the monks seemed so content.

Back to more serious business, Josh meets a farmer, Leki Tshring, who tells how a Yeti had ransacked his village several years ago.  This was a serious event, which resulted in some children being kidnapped by the ferocious animal.  Leki describes the Yeti as having been very big and with a monkey-like face.  He points Josh in the direction of a river where it is believed that the Yeti makes its home.

Unfortunately, along the way the path leads them to a sheer cliff and Sharra has to break out the climbing equipment.  Continuing the upward hike, the team meets another farmer, Leki Phuntsho, who knew a group of people who had encountered the Yeti on top of a pass deep in the Sakteng Preserve.  This information seems enticing, as it is reported that the Yeti goes to the area in order to drink from the river.  This spot would seem to be the ideal site to set up base camp, and upon arrival they once again break open the tents and equipment, setting up the cameras in their usual configuration.

Josh decides that they should split up into two teams and scour along both sides of the river, since many people have seen the beast at this very spot.   Josh, Jael, Evan and Mike head off in one direction, while Bicha and Gabe take another route .  Everyone appears very hopeful; this area seems to be their best chance to catch a glimpse of the creature.

Jael finds a huge cave; one that would make a suitable shelter for a Yeti.  She is, however, concerned about what might be using this place for its home.  Josh assures her that his middle name is “careful”, but his last name is “reckless”.  So being carefully reckless, they come across what appears to be a nest carefully constructed of branches.  This jives with the belief that the Yeti  makes a nest out of large, torn off tree limbs.  This find presents them with a bonus–there are hairs on the nest, and these are quickly bagged as evidence.

Entering into the cave, there are two tunnels visible; an upper and lower one.  Josh states he will go into the higher opening and tells Jael to check out the lower, and much smaller, entrance.  Jael again seems very concerned and somewhat reluctant, but she crawls into the opening regardless.  Finding the inside very narrow and with no signs of any living creature having used this cavern, she makes her way back out.

Josh goes further into the upper opening and climbs up some huge rocks; the obvious difficulty and strain shows on his face, and beads of sweat dot his forehead.  Like Jael’s tunnel, this one two turns out to be very narrow and also has no signs of anything living having occupied it.  It dead ends and no further exploration is possible, so Josh also returns to the cave entrance empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Bisha and Gabe are investigating along the bank of the raging river.  It is here that Gabe spots what he thinks is an eye watching them from up above.  Bicha thinks he sees it too.  Gabe starts to climb in the direction of the sighting but whatever was there had already quickly departed.  Since he sees a cave across the river, he decides to jump to the other side as Bicha remains at their original position.  There are some scratches on the cave wall, indicating some animal at some time had been inside.  They decide to keep traveling along the river bank, but their journey comes to an end as they reach the edge of a huge cliff.

It is at this point that Josh seems to be getting discouraged.  As he states, they have gone to the river where it has supposedly been sighted, they have found the caves mentioned by eyewitnesses and the team is in the heart of the Yeti National Preserve.  Yet there is no glimpse up to that point of any large animal.  After all their arduous efforts, it does seem to be hopeless after all.  I’ve rarely seen Josh in this mode, but his disappointment is obvious.

As though something sensed his mood, there suddenly appears a large hit on the FLIR as a shape apparently disappears behind a rock.  Ruling out a yak or a cow, it must nevertheless be something huge.  And although it appears to be moving away, Josh goes in pursuit of it.  Jael is obviously very frightened at this point.  Her fear that it is a large bear makes her hesitant to follow and as if in response, the huge shape appears again as some animal makes its way up the cliff.  I actually think she might be right about a bear, as I’ve gone over and paused the image several times and it seems to be bear like in appearance.  It is definitely on all fours.

During the pursuit, Josh discovers a very fresh torn leg of a deer, obviously having been ripped from its carcass just a short while before.  Something is tearing up animals to pieces.  As they return back to the river, the team must exercise extreme caution and be on top alert for anything that might still be in the vicinity.  After all, if can tear off a deer’s leg, this creature must have incredible strength and is something one would not want to meet up with in close quarters.

Jael claims to hear rocks falling, as if an animal is walking nearby.  The sound of the river can be heard and they make for it, but come up to the edge of a cliff with the water raging 200 feet below them.  Josh refuses to give up the chase as the image appears once again on the FLIR (to me it looked even more like a bear this time around).  But how to get over to the other side?

Spotting a trail, Josh follows it and comes across what he calls a “bucket of death”-a structure suspended on pulley wires that traverses the river from one sheer cliff to another.  Jael balks at getting into it, and I can’t say that I blame her.  It looks ten times more dangerous than the rotting and rickety bridges that they have used before.  Josh checks the pins and bolts; he assumes that the wire pulley is strong.  After much coaxing, Jael gets into the bucket.  She clings to one of the bars for dear life as Josh cuts the rope and this strange contraption begins to travel above the river so far below them.

Of course what can go wrong will go wrong, and they lose their forward momentum, hanging suspended halfway across.  For some reason, this scene conjures up in my mind the James Bond movie that finds him and his female companion suspended over the ski slopes far beneath as Jaws prepares to cut the pulley =:0 .  But in this case there is no villain, and Josh is able to pull them by hand safely over to the other side.  This is one of the riskiest things I can ever remember him doing, and I think if he had to do it over, he might have thought twice about it.  I agree with Jael when she says “You are insane”, to which he replies “I gotta get me one of these things“.  Mr. Carefully Reckless strikes again!  Josh, I don’t know whether you are insane or insanely determined but Indiana Jones has nothing on you.

At any rate, this crazy adventure proved to be for naught.  The trail ended on some slippery rocks, water gushing all around and another sheer cliff ahead.  Whatever it was had eluded them, so the only thing left to do was return (very carefully) to base camp.  Everyone seems more than happy to turn in for the night, letting the cameras continue to roll on.  It’s a good bet every team member was glad to see the morning sunlight again.

Back in LA, the photos of the large vertebrae had previously been sent to Dr. Jim Dines, another familiar face to watchers of DT.  Matching the bones up with some from his collection, he was certain that the lumbar vertebrae belonged to an Asian black bear.  But there was still hope yet.  Josh personally takes the hair samples to the Diagnostics Forensics Lab in Timpson, Texas.  And it is here where he receives information that has made all the hard work, miles of hiking and dangerous risks that the DT team took in the Sakteng Yeti Preserve all worthwhile.

Forensic Analyst Dr. Melba Ketchum (her credentials are impressive and her lab is world renowned for myriad methods of DNA testing, both animal and human) began the discussion stating that she felt something akin to “here we go again-not another supposed Yeti finding”.  But the genetic markers told the real truth–the hairs are from a primate–as Dr. Ketchum says, a “very large primate”.

Even more thrilling, the hairs did not match any of those that are in the animal species worldwide DNA database.  In other words, this find might have come from a possibly new, unknown animal.  But is it from a Yeti?  Dr. Ketchum informs Josh that more hairs would need to be collected and analyzed in order to establish that there is a relatively large number of these unknown animals living in the Bhutan region of the Himalayas.

Josh is justifiably excited about this news.  This is the second important find involving evidence of the Yeti that he and his team have discovered.  In 2007 the cast of the footprint mentioned in the beginning of this review has been the subject of study and debate and has certainly added fuel to the fire regarding the existence of the Yeti.

But it is not yet time to rejoice; there have been letdowns in the past, and one very similar to Josh’s experience and evidence.  In 2003, a similar incident occurred in which hairs submitted for analysis also did not match the hugely extensive database of known species.  But before the fanfare could die down, the real source was found–a Himalayan goral,  which is a type of goat.  There is also a possible contender for the hair Josh submitted for analysis.  The Himalayan langur, a primate whose range includes Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal, has fur very similar to the sample that Bicha took from the tree.  However, I was not able to discover whether or not its DNA is included in the database Dr. Ketchum used.

Although most hair samples collected during the last 100 years or so have come up as inconclusive, there is good news when one considers what the DT team has found.  Since 2003, many more samples have been added to the worldwide DNA species database.  Many past mistakes are likely not to be repeated.  Also, the majority of these inconclusive hairs all appear to match each other and are therefore of the same species.  I suppose that only time, more samples and extensive research will provide the answer as to the existence of the ever fascinating Yeti.

This episode of Destination Truth was one of the most thrilling in a season of exhilarating segments.  The one hour format worked very well, mainly because the show was exciting on many levels and the subject matter of interest to people around the globe.  I felt that Josh was getting a bit perturbed during the filming that more evidence of an actual, in the flesh Yeti did not occur, especially given the dangers and extensive travel this episode entailed .  I also have to wonder why he did not return to the region near Kathmandu, where he took casts of the now famous footprints.

But all in all, this entire season of Destination Truth did not disappoint.  The only downside, in my opinion, was the inclusion of members of Ghost Hunters.  To many they are not considered experts and are certainly not trained scientists.  There are other, better audio and video experts that could have been consulted, perhaps with better results.  I think it has become apparent that DT can and should stand on its own merits.

Congratulations to Josh and every team member who all pulled together to give us an absorbing, fun-filled and highly exciting season.  And now the long wait begins for the show‘s return, but we can rest assured that Josh and company will be back.  Some episodes have already been filmed, and more are being worked on as this is being written.  Who knows what new discoveries might be waiting in the hot, humid areas of the Amazon or in the frozen regions almost at the top of the world?  Only time will tell.