If you are traveling along the Elk River Trail, you may find yourself face-to-face with BigFoot! Some of the students in the woodworking class at the Clay County Learning Enrichment Summer Program may know more about this--especially since they were the creators behind the scene!

Allen Hamrick, Clay County High School teacher, said they came up with the idea last year when the summer students created several hand-engraved, customized benches that were placed along the trail. This summer’s 10-day project was a bigger undertaking for sure! 

The BigFoot carved statue is 10.5 feet tall and weighs over 1800 lbs!  “We started thinking we’d create a 6-foot BigFoot,” he said. “Then we went up to 8 feet and then we were up to 10 feet!” The final project commands quite the presence on the trail.

“BigFoot wears a size 37 shoe,” according to Hamrick. “His foot is 27 inches long and 16 inches wide. “He added, “The students laughed and said it would be a XXXX extra wide for sure.”

Jaelyn Murphy was the youngest student who worked on the BigFoot creation. She is a seventh grader at Clay County Middle School. Two Clay County High School students, McKenzy Taylor and Dennis Mullins, took the lead on the project, working tirelessly in the hot summer weather. 

The lumber (hemlock) came from Wilderness Wood Company. It arrived in large segments and the class and the instructor cut it into 12” x 12” sections. Hamrick and the class then chain sawed the carving from there. “We started with the legs; next we created his upper body which we then glued and screwed together to create BigFoot’s torso,” said Hamrick. “The original wood weighed 2,100 pounds when we started.”

The class used chain saws and grinders to construct the unique BigFoot. Hamrick said, “We also used some hand tools to detail his face.” The class used a torch to char the wood in order to achieve the brown coloring. “We had to burn it three different times to get it dark enough,” said Hamrick. He also taught the students how to shade by burning in order to achieve a 3D look on BigFoot’s chest, under arms, etc. 

The class decided to donate the BigFoot to the Elk River Trail so it can carry on the BigFoot legend in Braxton County. For decades Braxton County residents have reported sightings and evidence of a large, hairy, humanoid creature, commonly referred to by some as a sasquatch or Bigfoot. There is even a WV Bigfoot Museum and annual Bigfoot Festival in Sutton each year.

So if you are walking or riding on the Elk River Trail between Ivydale and Duck, BEWARE! You may find yourself face-to-face, well, maybe face-to-knee, with BigFoot.  Just hope it’s the one with a wooden finish!