Hi Destination Truth fans,
As this is the Season Five Finale, and I hated it to see it end, I have taken extreme care preparing this analysis for Destination Truth. As an ardent member of Team Truth myself, my thoughts are with all Truthies around the world.
We have become a family and families stick together, through thick and thin. We have seen some things we cannot explain and watched as Josh, Ryder and Team Truth have done things and traveled to places of our dreams. We have traveled to the Great Wall of China and the ardent landscapes of Africa.
Destination Truth – Hanging Coffins and Search for the Kiyik Adam:
We have seen the Island of the Haunted Dolls in Mexico, and watched as one did a ‘wink’ at Josh; we have heard disembodied voices speak and seen images on the FLIR where no living body was standing. We were there when Josh found his first Bigfoot print while in Napal.
We have laughed, sighed, cringed and watched as we walked with Josh and Team Truth travel the desolate streets of Pompeii, the massive structures of Petra and the Haunted Forest at Mt Fuji in Japan. We have listened as voices from the past spoke to Team Truth and through them to us. They always leave us wanting more, more adventures, more special times, more laughs. Just more. This Season 5 came after over a year of us all waiting but it sure was worth the wait!
My hopes are that we once again will be traveling along on some future adventures with this group of people. But if not, I am so happy and thankful for the time we all spent with them and the memories.
I am including a link to the Destination Truth page at Syfy – There are a few Episodes available to watch online provided by Syfy! Enjoy and here’s hoping for our Favorite Monster Hunters to Return for a Season 6!
So today, right now, we get to go, at least one more time on our weekly adventure! So, Hold On Truthies – Here we go!
Pack your Passport because here we go on another adventure with Josh Gates, Erin Ryder and Team Truth! Our bags are packed and we are traveling to the Philippines. We will be heading to a place called Echo Valley. Near a village called Sagada, near here there are forests and steep mountains with caves.
Villagers here bury their dead in Hanging Coffins. They are hung and packed into cliffs and caves on the mountain side. This ritual is still performed today and is only granted to a certain few. Locals must be married, and have grandchildren in order to have this honor.
Locals report that around these coffins there are images of ghostly apparitions and sounds of disembodied voices. This sounds like a perfect storm for our Monster Hunters so here we go! Good thing Ryder is not afraid of heights! Get The Rope!
We travel 7300 miles from Destination Truth home office in Los Angeles, Ca and land in Manila, Philippines. Upon landing we head to Sagada. This is going to be 400 arduous miles of rough and not so smooth roads ahead. The drive to Sagada took a brutal 2 days on the road.
After arriving in Sagada, we take in the local market. After 16 hours on the road Team Truth needs to stretch their legs and gather supplies for their investigation! Also it seems that Josh might have physic abilities, until he admits to Ryder that he can see a reflection of the cards she has been laying on his forehead, in the camera lens!
After gathering the needed supplies Josh meets with a local eyewitness who had a first hand experience dealing with the Hanging Coffins! Byrone Villanueva reports that while hiking in Echo Valley that he saw a shadow that looked like a man, he believes it was a ghost. Josh asks him why he thinks Echo Valley is haunted and Byrone says because it’s very close to the Hanging Coffins and that many people have been buried there and he thinks that their souls still linger there.
At a nearby ceramics store Josh then meets with another local eyewitness, Egbert Dailay, he tells Josh that he was at the big cave in the dark. He says that suddenly his lamp stopped working and he felt something strange in his body. He felt coldness and his body went numb, he could not feel anything! Egbert believes that the Spirits are down there, in the big cave.
Before leaving Ryder had to try her hand at the potter’s wheel! As we find out, Ryder is much better at Monster hunting than making vases and bowls! Hey! We knew that, but who could resist? Personally, I think she would have done just fine if Josh had not tried to help!
After Josh crushed Ryder’s artistic dreams, we are headed to Echo Valley. First were stopping to get the blessing from the community leaders of the Igorot people. Upon arriving at the village we are greeted with a traditional ceremony. A dance was performed that calls forth the spirits in the valley. After the ceremony Josh sat down with the Igorot leader, Robert Pangod, to get his guidance and discuss what they should expect.
He explains that during olden times, nobody was allowed to go there. It’s a taboo. He says that there are spirits in this place. Whenever you go to the burial caves, you always feel that they are there.
Josh explains that the team wants to go there and show great respect for the place and asks how they are to proceed. Pangod tells Josh that the team will be allowed to go there and that they should just try to commune with the spirits. Give them respect and try to feel their presence.
Josh, Ryder and Team Truth took off early the next morning and ventured into Echo Valley. The narrow roads leading to the Hanging Coffins are carved out of the cliffs, presenting danger and hazards in every turn. A recent storm had also left the road slippery with no room for driver error.
After driving the treacherous road for as long as possible the 4×4 finally came to a stop. Josh says “It’s on foot from here”! Team Truth loaded up with their equipment and began the hike to Echo Valley.
They reached a river that should hopefully take them right to the Hanging Coffins. With their rafts inflated and life vests on it’s to the river route we go! We do notice that Josh is using an automatic pump while Ryder has to use a hand pump.
After an hour on the river they reach the area just below the Hanging Coffins. They beached the raft and continued on foot. With night coming they commenced setting up base camp. They positioned night infer-red surveillance cameras, remote microphones as well as sensitive trap cameras throughout the area. After everything is setup they set out on foot to explore the coffins and the caves!
It is 11:03pm and Josh, Ryder, Kyle and Adam take off! They are hiking through rough terrain that is uneven, muddy and slippery. Ryder takes a fall and Josh rushes to make sure she’s okay! She almost went completely off the side of a cliff, a 20 foot drop! Once they get Ryder back on her feet they hear low voices. Josh leads the way and they hurry towards these sounds where they find a huge cave opening. They head into the cavern which is supposed to go clear through to where the Hanging Coffins are.
Meanwhile, Katie, Richie and Dave are seeing and hearing flashes from storms in the distance that seem to be moving into the area. Katie asks Richie if that could be an ominous sign and Richie says ‘Yes, obviously’. We hear Richie say “Holy #@&^ just as they come upon a group of about 6 coffins.
Okay, then there’s an obvious ‘Groan’, we hear it too and it’s freaky! Gave me chills totally all over my arms Truthies! Katie comments that the locals say that hearing the groans are a sign of the spirits and ghosts around you! I’m a believer. Let’s go now. Not Really! Katie decides to take some digital pictures because sometimes cameras can see what the human eye cannot! She’s a brave girl!
1:08 and were back with Josh, Ryder, Kyle and Adam. Were going through the cavern and hear something, okay its bats! Thousands of bats! Josh says that the bats sound like voices and whispering, and they do!
This might be a debunking of the voices people have been hearing in this area. They come upon an underground waterfall which is their way through this cavern. Josh goes first, its slick and treacherous going but they make it!
They come upon hundreds of coffins, stacked and crammed against walls in the cave. Ryder comments that this tradition goes back so far that allot of coffins are totally exposed with remains falling out.
Josh initiates an EVP session, so we commence! Josh begins with asking if anyone is with them in the caves. He continues with saying that they have been told there is an extreme presence in this cave and can the spirits let that be known.
Just then Ryder’s flashlight goes crazy, without her touching it! Then while the camera is recording it, her flashlight, blinks! Chills again Truthies! Josh asks if that is you, the spirits, and are they affecting Ryder’s light?
Then Josh asks if it is possible for the spirits to speak to them and let them know that they are in the cave? Holy Hold On! Just then Kyle’s camera totally turned off and stopped recording!
They put a new tape and battery in the camera, to make sure that was not the problem. Kyle’s camera is running again when Josh says ‘If that is you doing that that is very good. Can you make a noise for us as well? Are you able to make any sort of noise or speak to us’? Then Josh sees a huge black shadow behind Kyle! As we all see, there is a coffin right where Josh saw the shadow.
The shadow totally freaked Josh out and they had to give him a minute. We can see he is sweating. Ryder comments that she has never seen Josh so shaken. Just then Tristant radios Josh that he is seeing a bright light outside of base camp, on IR camera 2, and that it is too bright to be an insect and that nobody is over there for it to be a flashlight.
Josh relays that they have also been seeing strange happenings in the burial cave. Josh, Ryder, Adam and Kyle head out of the cave and back to the. They need to see if they can discover what or where that light could be coming from.
After surfacing and heading towards IR camera 2, Josh picks up something on the thermal camera. It’s a wall of coffins, all bolted, tied and stacked onto the sides and edges of a cliff. This is the direction that the IR camera 2 is pointing at. Josh called Richie, who is the most experienced climber of the team. Josh had Richie and Katie come to them and bring the ropes. Seems were going to do some climbing, come-on lets go!
Richie and Josh are ascending the cliff to get nearer the Hanging Coffins. Josh and Richie make the climb and get level with the majority of the coffins. Josh says climbing this wall was tough enough but hanging next to 25 coffins makes it even worse! We are ready for the world’s scariest EVP session!
Josh begins by saying ‘We have heard that there is a powerful presence at these coffins and these cliffs, can you make that presence known to us’? Josh continues ‘We don’t mean to disturb your resting place, can you just give us some sign that you are here’? Then Richie sees his tri-field meter go from normal to a 2 and then we, yes we, hear the same sound that Josh and Richie hear. It sounds like a coffin opening!
With the coffins not giving up anymore noises and their fingers numb from hanging on to the side of the cliff, Josh and Richie descend to terra firma. They join the rest of the team and began their journey back to the Destination Truth home office in Los Angeles, Ca. to review the findings.
With all the evidence gathered, between weird EVP’s, noises and things that the team saw. Josh called it a feeling of presence, or a fleeting shadow in these sacred caves, between the compelling personal experiences and disturbing EVP’s, yes this all helped build the case.
But when all is said and done, this picture, this astounding photo taken by Ryder pretty much says it all. This represents some of the most chilling and compelling paranormal evidence ever captured by Josh Gates, Erin Ryder and Team Truth. Josh says that this picture is perhaps a spirit that the coffins cannot contain.
The Search for Central Asia’s Bigfoot the Kiyik Adam:
Pack your bags and come with me as we travel to Central Asia with Josh, Ryder and Team Truth. Were headed to Kazakhstan and from there to the Tien Shan Mountains near the town of Almaty in search of Kiyik Adam, Central Asia’s Bigfoot! We take off from Los Angeles, Ca and travel 7000 miles east, landing in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Locals report that the Kiyik Adam is an aggressive and hulking beast. Eyewitnesses report that the beast is over 9 feet tall and attacks without provocation. This could be the largest Bigfoot in the world with broad shoulders and massive limbs.
The Kiyik Adam leaves 15 inch footprints and is well camouflaged with dark fur and lethal fangs for tearing apart its prey. He has lived in isolation for ages but recent reports are that he is expanding his territory.
Kazakhstan is the largest land-locked state in the world. One of Team Truth’s first stops is to visit with Alexander Zhdanko, Senior Zoologist at the National Academy of Sciences.
He tells Josh that he has had a personal experience with the creature. He said he was camping in the mountains with his assistant when they heard some strange noises from something big and heavy. It stopped about 30 meters away from the tent and it screamed very loud.
Then the creature stood there for a moment, and then it moved away. By the sound it made, Dr. Zhdanko said he could tell that it was not a known animal. He goes on to tell Josh that there have been many sightings of the creature, it lives in those mountains and they believe it is the Kiyik Adam.
During the teams research they learned that a nearby farmer had an experience with the creature just days before. Josh and the Team head for the local market where the farmer sells his goods.
After exploring the market they meet up with Murat Nusipov who told Josh that he was in the mountains with his dog and found a footprint in the snow. He looked around and saw this huge human-like creature about 8 feet tall that had grayish fur. He told Josh that it made a whistling sound. He told Josh that he absolutely believes these creatures live deep in the mountains.
From Almaty the team travels 160 miles to the Tien Shan Mountains. Once they arrived they were treated to a traditional ceremony by the locals. After the ceremony Adam tried out the locals musical instruments and they had an improvised jam session!
One of the local eyewitnesses told them that the story of Kiyik Adam is many centuries old. He said that hunters and shepherds are still seeing this thing and they believe it is there. Josh asks him where exactly the recent sighting had been happening at. He told Josh that they would have to go deeper into the Altai part of the Tien Shan Mountains. He said that they need to talk to the hunters and shepherds that live there.
They suggested that Josh go next door and talk to Paul Pfander a local falconer who hunts regularly near the mountains with the aid of a trained falcon, and who encountered the creature last week. Mr. Pfander said the creature was a very big shape, reddish hair and that his falcon was very scared and he was afraid that she would fly away.
Josh asked him where this happened at and he pointed to a nearby gorge. He then agreed to lead Josh, Ryder and the team to the place where he ran into the creature. He told Josh that they would need some horses. After securing horses from a nearby farm they head out!
While heading towards the location Josh, Ryder and the team kept searching the surrounding areas for any signs of the creature. After 3 hours of riding they had not seen any evidence of the Kiyik Adam.
After coming up empty handed they headed back to the village and headed further up the mountain in the SUV. The roads were nearly impassable and after traveling as far as possible they had to leave the SUV and make the remainder of the journey on what the locals use to get around, their version of 4×4’s!
After traversing rough roads that were rarely traveled, with deep gullies and trenches they arrived at the base of a cliff. At this point Josh realized that this cliff face seems to completely surround the area where he and his team needed to be. So, Richie, Get the Ropes!
Richie carefully worked his way up the cliff then the remainder of team, one by one, made their way up the slippery rock wall with all the equipment for the investigation. After a short hike they found a place to call base camp. Local reported that in these higher elevations is where the creature called home, thus more likely to be seen.
With base camp setup, sensitive trap cameras setup, IR cameras positioned around as well as a thermal camera, it was time to begin the investigation. Richie explained that they would all need to be on their guard. Roaming bears, packs of wolves, steep ridges and deep rock walls would just be a few of the dangers they would be facing. Kyle said that as they had a full moon, that it would help, as they would be able to see more than normal in the dark of night.
Ryder split the groups into Katie, Richie and Kyle, they are sent to explore a dry riverbed near base camp. Then Ryder, Josh, Adam and Dave head into the nearby forest to see what they can find. Ryder was mentioning that almost every culture has their own form of the Yeti or Bigfoot in their history.
After entering the forest Josh pretty much right away sees a heat signature in his thermal camera off behind where Ryder was standing. The only direction that the image could go is down, vs. a straight wall, so here we go!
Katie, Kyle and Richie are searching the dry riverbed. We all hear what sounds like a breathy whistle; this matches eyewitness reports of a noise the creature makes. Richie sees a dense tree line in the distance and they all decide to head in that direction to see if they can find anything.
Josh, Ryder, Adam and Dave are headed down tracking the image seen on Josh’s thermal imager. Josh says ‘So much for the full moon. It’s an eclipse’. They have lost the light from the moon and it’s getting pretty dark.
Just then Ryder notices some crushed down and bent grass, on a trail. There doesn’t seem to be any prints but it does look newly done. The ground shows up warm on the thermal camera so they decide to follow the trail and see if they can catch up with whatever made it. Ryder takes a few photos of the area and they keep moving. 
As they head up a trail Ryder sees it first, but it’s a pair of glowing eyes amongst the trees.
They pan the camera over there and get just a glimpse of them. When they look again, the glowing eyes are nowhere to be seen. They continue up the trail. They did see something and we saw it too! After searching the forest and surrounding area whatever they had seen had backed off and never emerged. When the sun broke Team Truth traveled back to Los Angeles, Ca to put the pieces of the investigation together!
Josh sat down with Mike Dee, former curator for the Los Angeles, Ca Zoo. They examined the footage of whatever it was Josh saw moving around in the forest behind Adam and Dave. They did determine that whatever had been seen was too small to be the large bipedal animal that locals had been reporting about.
When they listened to the whistling sounds that were picked up, and heard by both teams. Mike Dee said that his guess would be that this was not a large animal sound and was probably a two local types of birds.
Mike did admit that the thermal image that Josh’s team picked up seemed to be a large animal perhaps it was a bear or an elk. Mike said the locals could be mistaking this animal for the Kiyik Adam.
But when all was said and done Mike did say that there very well could be an undocumented primate living in this area because of the remoteness. Mike said that not allot of scientists have explored that region and there could be another chapter to the story!
Many thanks to Kenn for image staging, additional image selections, and video and even more thanks to you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency
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