While
tales about the legendary Bigfoot are scattered around
the world, southern Oregon has its very own claim to
fame thanks to a decades-old Bigfoot Trap nestled within
the Applegate Ranger District of the Rogue River National
Forest.
As primitive as it may sound, the giant
contraption was built only in the early 1970s as an
attempt by some locals to validate the elusive creature's
existence as well, allegedly, as to spare them its wrath.
The one-of-a-kind trap has waited decades
for a furry creature with 18-inch feet and a larger
than life shadow, outlasting many of the men who built
it.
The trap was constructed, according
to forest service records, when a short-lived group
dubbed the North American Wildlife Research firm applied
for a special use permit in the early 1970s.
It stands today, almost-but-not-quite
as solid as the day it was built, measuring 10x10-square-feet
and of heavy wood slats and reinforced steel bolts and
plats, anchored to huge lumber pillars.
Former Applegate resident Sharon B.
remembers vividly an uncle who could not let tales of
the eight-foot monster fade away.
"My uncle was convinced to the
day he died that Bigfoot existed and that he smelt him
once when he was out hunting deer," she said.
"Did
he? Who knows. Some folks think its kinda fun to believe,
but some were more passionate than others, God rest
their souls."
The now Medford nurses aid recalls being
told she could not go on a camping trip with a group
of friends in the Applegate as a teenage for fear Sasquatch
may strike.
"Everyone had a friend of a friend
who swore they'd heard proof he was real... a friend
of a friend had seen a footprint, smelt something, heard
noises in the woods. I thought it was pretty ridiculous
as a teenager. Thirty years later, it borders somewhere
between that and a little creepy."
Jeff LaLand, historian for the Rogue
River National Forest, said interest had hardly faded
in the trap that never seemed to net its eight-foot
tall target. Interest in the trap, he pointed out, seemed
to outlast interest from those obsessed with Bigfoot's
capture.
"They were granted permission to
build this thing in early 70s. They would hang a deer
carcass or something real stinky and the critter was
supposed to go in after it and when he pulled it the
trap would come down and set off an alarm," LaLand
explained.
"I think they might of caught a
bear at some time. The thing was in operation for just
a few years then they didn't renew their special use
permit. I think the whole thing kind of went belly up."
LaLand said the trap's construction
was nothing to scoff at.
"The trap has remained all this
time. It's built very, very solid with creosoted planks
and posts... these people were evidently sincere in
what they were trying to accomplish," he added.
"After almost 40 years or so of
Bigfoot lore, the more information that comes out, the
more indication that all this Bigfoot stuff was, well...
the film, the footprints, maybe they all were hoaxes.
It's too bad I guess not to have that little bit of
mystery out there. We have it up there on the trail
because it's just a nifty thing, kind of an interesting
little symbol of southern Oregon history."
To get to the legendary Bigfoot trap,
Take Highway 238 from Jacksonville onto Upper Applegate
Road towards the Applegate Dam. A pull-off along the
right side of the side the road is used for parking.
Hike just over a half mile to an abandoned miner's claim
and follow a dirt trail to the 1974 structure.
You might not find any large hairy creatures,
but it makes for a nice afternoon drive, gorgeous countryside
and some interesting southern Oregon history.
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