Sasquatch Evidence and Sightings 2015: Bigfoot Trail in California to Become Hiking Destination
In addition to celebrating the beauty of biodiversity, the Bigfoot Trail in California's Klamath Mountains is also known for being a hotbed for Sasquatch sightings and activity.
According to its website, the Bigfoot Trail is a 360-mile route through the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains of southwest Oregon and Northern California that allows hikers to explore a remarkable diversity of plants and trees. However, the remote mountains is where many people claim to have spotted Bigfoot and set up specialty Bigfoot traps.
As a result, the creator of the trail, Michael Kauffmann, decided to use the Bigfoot hype as a way to entice more people into exploring the hiking route.
"I wasn't 100 percent sold on the name at first, but eventually, I just realized that Bigfoot is the emblem of the Klamath Mountains," Kauffmann said, according to Statesman Journal. "And if it creates some buzz for the trail, then why not?"
Kauffmann says that his goal is to sway people to visit the route, which connects six wilderness areas, three national forests and one national park on a route. The Bigfoot Trail also connects famous destinations like Marble Mountain, the Trinity Alps and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
"Most people don't know that the Klamath Mountains have the most diverse, temperate conifer forest on the planet," said Kauffmann, 41, the author of the book "Conifer Country." "The route was a way to combine long-distance hiking with a sort of scavenger hunt for all the different conifers you can find here."
Although the Klamath-Siskiyous is famous for Bigfoot, Kauffmann says he hopes this route will inspire an appreciation for the ecologically rich landscape and rare organisms that reside in the mountains.
In order for the route to become a hiking destination, he is raising money through a Kickstarter campaign that will be geared towards starting a nonprofit and providing stewardship and trail maintenance for the route.
"There are a few sections that really need work," said Justin Rhode, an expert of local trails. "One of the big issues we're going to have to deal with is trail maintenance in these very remote areas."
Rhode added: "What makes this route really incredible is the dramatic shift in the environment. You go from very dry ridgelines and plunge into wet river corridors, reach high alpine lakes and walk through ancient forests."
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