Description

It's not every day that you get to see a legit bigfoot trap, but you'll get the chance on this hike! Shortly after entering the woods, you'll drop down a short, rocky hill, cross some streams or dry stream beds at the bottom, and then begin to climb.

In less than a mile, you'll come to an unmarked split in the trail.

The trail to the left leads up a short, steep hill to the trap. According to the [US Forest Service](https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/rogue-siskiyou/recarea/?recid=70156), this is the only bigfoot trap **in the world.** The trap was built in 1974 by the North American Wildlife Research Team because "Miner Perry Lovell reported that he discovered 18-inch, human-like tracks with a 6-foot stride in his garden near the Applegate River." The trap was originally baited by hanging deer carcasses over a period of about six years.

While they managed to catch a few bears, the team never did manage to catch a bigfoot... From here, the hike continues uphill on the main trail, ascending a steep switchbacked singletrack.

Shortly after the bigfoot trap, you'll pass several entrances to old, abandoned mines directly off the trail.

The trail itself isn't technical, and there are no major obstacles to overcome, but it is steep and strenuous, and the soil can be loose in places. At the top, the trees open up to provide expansive views of the surrounding mountains.

Once on top of the ridge, you can choose to enjoy the view and return the way you came, or you can turn this hike into [a loop](https://fatmap.com/routeid/2693013/collings-mountain-loop) instead.

Do note that instead of a 4.1-mile out-and-back, the loop measures 9.9 miles long with almost double the amount of vertical gain.