It seems you are the one having filtration issues. It seems you already made up your mind and is convinced that it was a bigfoot. You don't seem to be willing to consider any other alternatives, dismissing them immediatly.
Note some of the many weak points of your account:
1- It happened decades ago, when you were a teenager or a child. Memories do change with time. You may feel offended by this statement, but your recollections regarding the incident may be flawed.
2- You never actually saw what caused the roar.
3- You never actualy saw what made the animals flee.
4- You never actually saw what created the trail of fallen trees.
5- The footprint you found was not exactly well-defined.
6- The roar, the fleeing animals, the fallen trees and the footprints, each piece of your experience may have had an independent source. They may have been isolated and unrelated things.
I can't tell what happened there with what was presented. I bet no one can, including you. We can present possibilities, we can say what
may have happened. Want my take? Here it is:
You saw some animals crossing the road. Then you heard a sound you could not identify (What made it? Dunno. An elk, maybe? The folks building the house?). You linked and interpreted the facts, assuming the animals were fleeing from whatever was the cause of the roar and that the roar was directed to you. You heard something moving through the forest (What was it? Dunno. Elk? Bear? Wind? Birds? A tree falling? The folks who were building the house?), assumed it was trying to catch you and was the source of the roar. You run away from it. Later you came back, found an undefined footprint, interpreted it as human-looking (What made it? Dunno. Bear overstepping? Someone else's boot?) Found a path, assumed it was created by whatever made the footprint (what made the trail? Dunno. Bear? Elk? The guys who were building the house? Maybe it was a game trail?).
Later, as time passed, your initial memories changed and details were added to fill blanks (check the links I previously presented for details on the proccess).
The whole experience may have been nothing but a series of coincidences coupled with memory flaws.
If you don't like what is being presented here, then you should reconsider your goals when it comes to discussing your experience here.
You want confirmation that you saw a bigfoot?
You will not find it here. You have not found it at BFF. Perhaps you should start considering why not, since that's a place where people are much more receptive to the idea that bigfeet are real animals.
You might try telling it at The Search For Bigfoot forum (
http://www.searchforbigfoot.org/), MABRC's forum (
http://www.mid-americabigfoot.com/phpbb3/index.php) and BFRO forum (
http://s2.excoboard.com/exco/index.php?boardid=18679). Since it seems several of the folks at Melissa's place are also at BFF, expect no major differences. MABRC and BFRO, from the little lurking I made, seem more uhm... [strike Eager to accept[/strike] Receptive to your account as a real bigfoot encounter.
JREF is a skeptics forum; we try hard to be as unbiased as possible. Here we seek answers without being afraid if they are or not compatible with our personal tastes and views. If this approach is not the one you are seeking...