A Bigfoot Trail Alliance volunteer crew spent a week restoring remote trails in the southern Yolla Bollys while sharing camp with former Mendocino National Forest employee Vaughn Hutchins. His return to the mountains he helped steward decades ago became a powerful reminder that trails connect landscapes, memories, and generations.
Bigfoot Trail Town Guide
The new Bigfoot Trail Town Guide brings together essential information for hikers traveling through Northern California’s Klamath Mountains and redwood coast. From resupply and lodging to local attractions and transportation, this free resource highlights the communities that help make a Bigfoot Trail journey possible.
Lower Wooley Creek Trail Work
Each year we reopen the lower Wooley Creek Trail, cutting through brush, logs, poison oak, and ticks. This season, our crew cleared nine miles to Fowler Cabin—restoring passage through a once-lost corridor. Beyond lies deeper wilderness, where the trail fades again and the work continues, mile by mile, with care and commitment.
2026 Trips Announced
Bigfoot Trail Alliance summer volunteer trail trips are now open for sign-ups. Join us in the Klamath Mountains to give back to the trails and wild places that inspire us. No experience necessary, and scholarships are available. Come work alongside a great crew and experience the healing power of community and place.
Edges for the Quiet Work Ahead: Crosscut Saw Training
Preparing for trail season begins at the sharpening bench. Jacob Shinners worked with a Forest Service specialist to tune crosscut saws while reflecting on the enduring value of primitive tools and the judgment required to keep wilderness trails open, quiet, safe, and deeply human.
Fire on the Bigfoot Trail: Reading the Landscape Through Flame and Forest
Along the spine of the Klamath Mountains, the Bigfoot Trail winds for 360 miles from the oak woodlands of the Mendocino National Forest to the fog-washed forests near Crescent City. It crosses six national forests, a national park, and a state park. It passes through one of the most botanically rich temperate regions on Earth, […]
A New Era for the Bigfoot Trail Alliance
Fifteen years after imagining the Bigfoot Trail into being, Michael Kauffmann has become the Alliance’s first Executive Director. With new board leadership and expanding programs in stewardship, education, and youth engagement, the BFTA enters a transformative era—committed to protecting the Klamath Mountains and building a community of lifelong caretakers.
The First Female Hotshot Firefighters, Culture in the 1980s, and the Bigfoot Trail with Mary “Fireweed” Kwart
Thank you to The Trek on Backpacker Radio for featuring Bigfoot Trail Alliance board member Mary “Fireweed” Kwart. As one of the first female hotshot firefighters and a passionate Bigfoot Trail advocate, Mary shares powerful stories of resilience, trail stewardship, and the importance of protecting biodiversity through long-distance hiking and conservation.