Two Hikers Recount Terrifying Close Bigfoot Encounters in Oregon and California

Two hikers, two separate encounters, and both stories share some eerily similar details that are hard to ignore. A recent video posted to YouTube by The Bigfoot Sightings channel features two firsthand accounts from people who claim to have had close encounters in the mountains of Oregon and Northern California. If you're into Sasquatch reports, this one is worth checking out. The first account comes from Wade Merritt, who decided to take a solo hiking trip through a remote, mountainous area of Oregon in the fall of 2023. He had spent weeks studying maps and chose a little-used route that crossed several valleys surrounded by ancient pine. The first day went smoothly, but things took a strange turn on the second afternoon when he left the main trail to photograph the sunset from a ridge. That's when he noticed a series of footprints pressed into a patch of damp soil. They looked human but were much larger than anything he'd ever seen. He tried to convince himself there was a logical explanation, but the unease stuck with him. That night, while preparing dinner near a rocky outcrop, a foul smell hit him out of nowhere. He described it as something like wet clothes forgotten for weeks mixed with the odor of a soaked animal. He searched the area for a carcass but found nothing. The smell eventually faded. Then, sometime during the night, he woke up to slow, heavy footsteps circling his tent. The ground seemed to vibrate slightly with each step. The foul odor returned, much stronger than before. He stayed frozen inside the tent for what felt like an eternity before the sound finally stopped. When daylight came, he found deep footprints surrounding the campsite, some only a few yards from where he had slept. They didn't resemble bear tracks. The shape was far too human. As he descended the mountain, he felt that unmistakable sensation of being watched. Every few minutes he turned around, but the forest appeared completely normal. Then, close to midday, he saw it. Between several pine trunks stood a dark figure, enormous and covered in tangled hair, with incredibly broad shoulders and unnaturally long arms. They stood motionless, locked in what he described as an intense stare. Eventually, the figure simply turned and walked back into the trees without running or showing any aggression. The second story is told by Corbin Reigns, who went on a three-day hiking trip with his cousin Leland in Northern California back in October 2022. They weren't looking for anything strange, just hoping to photograph the autumn landscape. The weird stuff started when they left the main trails to explore a valley from an old forest map. They came across several young trees bent near their bases into impossible arches, all leaning in the same direction. They weren't broken by storms or snow. They looked like they had been slowly forced into that position. The forest became uncomfortably quiet after that, with birds and small animals seemingly absent. Even the wind seemed to avoid that hillside. Then they hit a foul smell, similar to what Wade described, like a wet animal left out in the rain for far too long. Shortly before sunset, they reached a small clearing and found something that still haunts Corbin. At the edge of the clearing stood a structure made from thick branches and fallen logs, woven together into a rough wall standing over seven feet high. Some of the logs were far too heavy for a single person to move easily. There were no belongings, no signs of campers, nothing that explained its purpose. While they were examining it, Corbin heard a sound behind them. It wasn't a roar or a scream. It sounded like a deep exhale, as though air was leaving an enormous pair of lungs. About 60 yards away, between several tree trunks, he noticed a dark figure partially hidden in the shadows. At first, he thought it was a bear standing upright, but then he realized the figure remained on two legs, with shoulders extending unnaturally wide on both sides of its body. The creature took a few steps forward and emerged slightly from behind the trees. Corbin estimated it stood well over eight feet tall, covered in dark hair with brown tones mixed throughout. Its arms seemed far too long for any human being. What struck him most was the way it moved, with a strange confidence and no clumsiness or aggression. It watched them with an intensity that was impossible to ignore. Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Fear arrived gradually, like a tightening pressure inside his chest. They slowly backed away without taking their eyes off it. When they reached an area with heavier tree cover, it turned its body and disappeared into the vegetation with a silence that still seems impossible for something of that size. Both stories share some fascinating parallels. The foul smell, the heavy footsteps, the feeling of being watched, and the calm, almost human-like demeanor of the creatures. For anyone who has spent time researching Sasquatch encounters, these details line up with patterns reported by witnesses for decades. The structure Corbin described is particularly interesting because similar constructions have been reported in various parts of the Pacific Northwest, often associated with areas where Sasquatch activity is suspected. The bent trees are another detail worth noting. Researchers have documented tree structures in remote forests that appear to be deliberately arranged, sometimes called "tree nests" or "bed sites." While some skeptics attribute these to natural causes like snow load or wind, the consistency of the bending pattern Corbin described, with multiple trees leaning in the same direction, is harder to explain away. Both witnesses mentioned the creatures' eyes and the way they maintained eye contact without aggression. This behavior matches numerous other reports where Sasquatch are described as curious observers rather than threats. Many longtime researchers believe these beings are intelligent and simply prefer to avoid human contact when possible. The video is definitely worth a watch if you want to hear these accounts straight from the witnesses themselves. The pacing and detail in both stories make them feel authentic, and the similarities between the two encounters, happening in different years and different states, add an extra layer of intrigue. Check it out and see what you think.