As I crested one of the many hills on the Redwood Nature Trail just north of Alfred Loeb State Park, my heart began racing and my stomach sank, that bitter taste of adrenaline rose in the back of my throat.

“Should I run?” I found myself questioning the woods as I stared back at it.

The trail, about 9 miles northeast of Brookings, is the northernmost trail featuring a grove of California redwood trees, making this lush forest trail a wonder in and of itself. The towering, gray-barked redwoods, Douglas fir and cedar stands and heavy ground vegetation keep the woods here dark, deep and full of mystery.

I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t want to believe it. Here I was by myself preoccupied by the stunning view of titan trees and trying to keep my sister’s dog, Django, from sniffing everything in sight.

I considered turning back, too terrified of what lurked ahead. But I pressed on, half of me thinking this was silly and another case of my own paranoia when solo hiking, the other thinking this could be the moment.

After hiking through the woods most of my life, I never thought I’d actually catch sight of it and as much as I would love to prove it once and for all, I was not ready to face a Sasquatch that day.

The mass remained behind one of the many redwoods along this verdant trail. As I gingerly stepped, not wanting to surprise or threaten this hermitic cryptid, I held my breath.

Suddenly, I found myself staring right back at a large, dark … burl, a knobby, protruding growth on a trunk or branch.

Hiking alone with a wild imagination and a general “nopeness” about encountering the unknown makes every scurrying squirrel a giant cougar in my noggin. But this was the first time that I truly felt it deep down, and I can only assume it is because the trail here in the Southwestern corner of the state has some magic to it.

Underneath the giants

Coastal redwoods (or sequoia sempervirens if you want to get scientific) are the tallest trees in the world, and they bring mystique wherever they grow. Being tied to the Northern California and a tiny pocket of the Southern Oregon coastlines, these trees grow for centuries, soaking in all that glorious humidity which, under the right conditions, also make trails like this otherworldly.

The early October day that I visited, the sun was harsh and direct, casting fantastical shadows through these giant trees and their smaller but no less impressive fir and cedar companions. And though it was only about 55 degrees, I found myself sweating quickly thanks to that humidity that keeps this part of the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest so green.

The loop trail is marked at just over a mile in total, but its 321-foot elevation gain over its shorter length and some rocky or root-filled portions of the path make it at least feel longer.

From the small, shaded parking area on the left side of the North Bank Chetco River Road, you walk up a small creek to an idyllic bridge where the trail splits into its loop. Heading counter-clockwise and up the steep, rocky hill, the redwoods dot the sides of the trail along with a variety of other coastal conifers keeping things generally cooler and moister.

These redwoods may not be as rotund or as tall as the ones that you find farther south in places like California’s Jedediah Smith State Park or the Redwoods National Park — if you are down this direction, you should check out both — but they are still impressive to see among the more common fir and cedars along our coastal trails.

The trail itself is a soft, duff-y surface keeping footsteps muffled and giving the air that delicious earthy-fresh quality. It is also quite narrow with many animal trails leading further off into the forest so its best to track your progress or download a map to help you stay on the right path.

Board House indoor skatepark effort keeps rolling

As fall slowly fades from the banana belt region of Oregon and turns to winter, the ferns, salal, sorrel, blackberries and other leafy understory plants have started to change their colors and drop their leaves, but the lushness of the hike will remain thanks to not only the trees, but the moss- and lichen-rich environment.

Over creeks and through woods

The trail has a couple more creek crossings, each with sturdy, wooden bridges. The babbling brooks only add to the atmosphere wandering through these woods.

Coupled with the rushing waters are chirping and calls from the canopy. A variety of birds that can be seen and heard here, including squawking stellar’s jays and flickers, tweeting phoebes, thrushes, warblers and robins, and flitting songbirds.

The trail eventually winds through an open section, shirking the lushness of the first part of the trail for a short jaunt under the beating sun before arriving back at the trailhead.

Walking underneath and in-between these stunning sentinels of the woods can make you feel tiny in the grand scheme of the world, but also inspired. Your mind may race or evoke images of Bigfoot or a speeder chase (Endor scenes from “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” were filmed among redwoods in California).

Or you may just allow the serenity of the atmosphere to wash over you, unobstructed and uninterrupted.