Ron Morehead — Adventurist, Author, and the Man Behind the “Sierra Sounds”
Early Life & Path Into the Woods
Ron Morehead is a researcher, author, lecturer, guitar player, pilot and self-described “adventurist” who has spent over 50 years investigating the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon. While little is publicly documented about his early life, Morehead’s public work begins in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California in the early 1970s. He’s since described himself as a hunter and outdoorsman whose interest shifted after unexplained encounters during hunting trips. Ron went on many adventures with Peter Byrn, Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Thomas Sewid many other world famous reaearchers, such as "operation sea Monkey and expedions into Russia and China.
1971–1974: The Sierra Sounds
Morehead’s name became synonymous with Bigfoot research in 1971 when he and Al Berry, a skeptical colleague, camped deep in the Sierras specifically “seeking to obtain evidence for the existence of Bigfoot”. Over three years, they recorded hours of vocalizations on reel-to-reel tape from their remote campsite — howls, grunts, knocks, and rapid exchanges dubbed “samurai chatter” for its resemblance to old Japanese film dialogue.
Morehead called back, mimicking the howls, and claims the unknown vocalizers responded and even “slowed down their language” when addressing the humans. The recordings, later released as The Sierra Sounds, became the cornerstone of his career.
Berry died in 2012, having remained publicly uncertain. According to Morehead’s blog, Berry “thought it would have made the story even more interesting if he could have discovered how anyone could have pulled this off”. Morehead maintains the recordings are genuine.
Scientific Claims & Analysis
No peer-reviewed scientific studies of the Sierra Sounds exist. However, Morehead asserts they are “the only Bigfoot recordings that have been scientifically studied, time-tested, and accredited as genuine”.
Two figures are frequently cited:
Dr. Robert Lieberman, described as a University of Wyoming professor, reportedly concluded the vocalizations were “outside the human range and represented a creature that was at least seven and a half feet tall”.
Scott Nelson, a retired U.S. Navy cryptographic linguist, analyzed the tapes and stated, “It is definitely a language, it is definitely not human in origin, and it could not have been faked.” He transcribed 75 pages and claimed the creatures used “the same vocal apparatus as humans” with “a lung capacity that is four times larger”.
Author & Producer
Morehead channeled his experiences into multiple books and CDs:
Title
Published
Focus
Voices in the Wilderness: A True Story
2012/2019
A 40-year chronicle of his Sierra encounters; argues Sasquatch are “self-aware, sentient beings who have reasoning abilities”
The Quantum Bigfoot: Bringing Science and Spirituality Together
June 13, 2017
Explores quantum physics as a model for Bigfoot’s elusiveness, disappearance reports, and “spooky action at a distance”
Bigfoot Unveiled: Scientific Answers to Bigfoot Mysteries
March 15, 2024
Posits explanations “backed with scientific and historical data,” including relic hominid and DNA manipulation theories
He also produced The Sierra Sounds, Volumes 1 & 2 on CD. Voices in the Wilderness was later released as an audiobook.
Research Philosophy: “Out of the Box”
Morehead calls himself a “citizen scientist” with “over fifty years of research”. He’s known for bridging “the physical and the metaphysical” and publicly considering reports others dismiss — including interdimensional, alien, and quantum components. He’s quoted Tesla: “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries”.
His research expanded beyond audio. He’s “looked into the possible connections between Bigfoot and skeletons found in Peru and Bolivia as well as the Love Lock Cave and Minaret Skull”.
Global Fieldwork & Media
Morehead “has traveled from Alaska to Patagonia and from North America to Siberia in search of the truth” about how these beings remain hidden. He’s also an avid SCUBA diver who “swum with hammerhead sharks and riding the backs of giant manta rays” and served as a safety diver filming Right whales in Patagonia.
He’s been a keynote speaker at many conventions and featured on Coast to Coast AM, BBC TV documentaries, The Learning Channel, Travel Channel, and Missing 411: The Hunted.
Current Life
Morehead “now resides with his partner, Keri, in North Carolina”. He remains active through his website ronmorehead.com, podcasts, and YouTube. His peers call him one of the “greybacks” of Bigfoot research — veterans with decades in the field.
Legacy & Controversy
To believers, Morehead “comes closer than any other researcher to having a complete body of evidence”. To skeptics, the lack of peer-reviewed acoustic analysis and the unverified status of Lieberman’s study remain major gaps. Scientific consensus holds that “allegations of the existence of Bigfoot are not credible”.
Yet Morehead’s influence is undeniable. The Sierra Sounds remain the most analyzed audio in Bigfoot lore, and his shift from “biological to ethereal” explanations helped popularize quantum/paranormal theories in cryptozoology.
As he puts it: “Very few researchers of his caliber are brave enough to publicly consider the hundreds of reports that include that ‘spooky action at a distance’”.
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