The search for truth extends from the courtroom to the wilderness.
4/22/2000
Reality Check showcases UFO lawyer Peter Gersten's rare perspective, one that combines legal expertise and cosmic awareness.
"The creature that has been sighted in Canada's Lake Okanagan is known to the locals as Ogopogo. This creature is considered the Nessie of North America. The numerous sightings date back to 1850 and still continue to this day. The creature is described as a large, dark colored animal with a long neck and a humped back. In 1968, Art Folden videotaped Ogopogo while it swam across the lake. In 1976, the above photo was taken of Ogopogo by Ed Fletcher of Vancouver. On that day he chased the creature up and down the lake for several hours taking pictures of it." - From http://theshadowlands.net/serpent.htm#ogopogo
I moved to Arizona in 1991, after spending 25 years in New York City trying criminal cases for a living, and suing the government for UFO documents as a hobby. I moved to the West because I felt I needed a change. But by August 1997, I resolved that it was time for a new round of geographical exploration and spiritual soul searching. So I put most of my belongings in storage, packed up my Jeep, and set out for what was to become a personal odyssey, one that would last four months. I drove along the coastlines of California, Oregon, and Washington. I traveled through Canada and back down through Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico before heading home.
I would camp out in national parks, crash in motels overnight, or be invited into the homes of strangers I had met on the Internet. My laptop computer became my best friend. It was also my diary. During my four-month personal vision quest, I saw incredible beauty, met the nicest, most interesting people, and had remarkable experiences and insights.
One month into my trip, I arrived at Lake Okanagan, deep in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. This is where the fabled sea monster, Ogopogo, lives. Believe it or not, the following story is typical of one of my days.
September 23, 1997. I am off to see the lake monster.
This has to be one of the best times of year to be a tourist, with off-season rates, no crowds, and empty campgrounds -- and definitely the best time, when the weather is this magnificent. [This was the time of El Nino.] Lake Okanagan (which means .snake in the lake.) was no exception. I selected a campsite in a beautiful wooded area, overlooking the lake. Within 15 minutes I set up my tent, snacked on some cheese and crackers, loaded my pockets with some peanuts from a large bag I had just purchased, and set off in search of the legendary Ogopogo.
The lake is large and deep - 79 miles long, 2 miles wide, and 800 feet deep - more than enough water for a creature, reported to be 15 feet long, to hide. I found a decent spot on the cliffs overlooking the lake and began my vigil. The last sighting was in 1974 when a woman jumped off a swimming raft and bumped into it. Twenty-three years later, with the motorboats and jet skis almost as common as the Kokanee salmon, I held little hope of seeing it. But you never know, just because it has been seen over 200 times in the last 300 years. Would today be the latest sighting?
After 15 minutes I saw something approximately 50 yards away. It was a disturbance in the water. I couldn.t see what it was, but it was heading my way. Though the movement wasn.t serpentine, it was leaving a trail behind, and I could see something that looked like a head. It kept coming closer and closer and I became more and more excited.
Could this be it -- the legendary Ogopogo? I reached for my binoculars and camera, but I had left them at the campsite. I looked around for some people . . . anyone to corroborate this sighting, but there was not a soul in sight. I looked back towards the lake and saw it. I couldn.t believe my eyes. It was Ogop . . . a duck! I couldn.t believe this duck had been terrorizing the villagers and fishermen for years. It didn.t even look hideous. So much for lake monsters!
About 30 minutes later I left my overlook to continue my hike, not realizing that in a cave 42 yards underneath where I was sitting were three very large and unusual eggs belonging to a creature from another reality.
Today was another beautiful day for a hike. Lake Okanagan is too long to hike entirely, but Ellison Park has about four miles of trails, with some steep sections accessing many of its natural features and viewpoints. I was determined to explore them all. Though I hadn.t seen Ogopogo, the lake was well worth the trip. After about an hour, I finally found what I was looking for. I couldn.t believe it, it was right there in front of me. And it was perfect. It was the ideal stick to roast marshmallows - long and thin, and the kind of wood that doesn.t burn. The kind you can put three marshmallows on and eat them off after they are nicely roasted.
Earlier that day I had purchased a bag in anticipation of my camping out. I was thrilled - first the dreaded duck and now the stick. Actually I had found it in an old campfire where, I am sure, it was used for that same purpose. When I returned to my campsite, I was greeted with a big surprise: my peanuts were gone. The empty bag was on the ground and shells were scattered around the site. Could it have been the duck, upset with being seen? I didn.t have to wait long for an answer, actually two answers, both as cute as can be. Two chipmunks were back to personally thank me for being so careless as to leave the peanuts on the picnic table for them. The only problem was they expected dessert, and they came right up to place their order. A couple of marshmallows did the trick.
There is something hypnotic about a campfire. This one only took about 15 minutes and four matches to start - no wet wood for this kid tonight. The roasted marshmallows were delicious. I guess it is all in the stick. Compared to two nights earlier at Lake Louise, the night felt balmy, despite a chill in the air. I have a tendency towards claustrophobia, but after my night at Lake Louise, I know better than to engage in foolish phobias with my body in a state of shivers. Once again, I had no problem encasing my entire body, head and all, in the sleeping bag. Good night my friends.