Beginning with an obsession for trees and long-distance hiking, Michael Kauffmann, Humboldt County-based author, envisioned a route that could connect the isolated wilderness areas of Northern California and reveal the numerous conifer species within them.
Kauffmann spent just under three weeks hiking the 360-mile route in 2009 and as the long-distance hiking movement surges nationwide, Kauffmann wants others to have the opportunity to explore the Northern California mountains via trail.
Inspired to open the route up to other hikers by developing clear maps and trails, Kauffmann is starting the Bigfoot Trail Alliance — a nonprofit that would support the development and maintenance of the path. “The idea behind the alliance is to create a community where we serve as an advisory board with the nonprofit for how this trail moves forward,” Kauffmann said. “My ultimate goal is that it becomes a National Scenic Trail.”
The trail stretches through six wilderness areas, starting at Ides Cove in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel, 45 miles from Red Bluff, and spanning to the Pacific Ocean in Crescent City, traversing through the Trinity Alps, Russian, Marble Mountains, Red Buttes and Siskiyou wilderness areas.
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