Truck Driver Recalls 7'8" Bigfoot With Glowing Eyes in Oregon

There's something about a late-night highway encounter that just hits different. The darkness, the isolation, the unexpected — it creates the perfect conditions for something unforgettable to happen. That's exactly the kind of story that recently crossed my radar, and it's one that Bigfoot researchers and enthusiasts are going to want to hear about. A long-haul truck driver named E.J. Merrell shared his chilling experience from 2004 on a YouTube channel called Bushcraft Explorer, and the details are the kind that stick with you. Merrell was hauling a load from Seattle to Sacramento, making the all-night drive to hit his morning delivery. Around 3:30 a.m., he pulled off at Rice Hill on Interstate 5 to grab a quick nap, take a shower, and fuel up on coffee before getting back on the road. The conditions that night were something out of a horror movie — overcast skies with mist, a full moon peeking through breaking clouds, and that in-and-out lighting that makes everything feel surreal. The road was wet, traffic was nonexistent, and Merrell was pulling about 40,000 to 45,000 pounds through the hills south of the Seven Feathers Indian Reservation, past Roseburg, Oregon. As he was climbing a hill at around 30 mph, with a semi trailing about a quarter mile behind him, Merrell hit his bright lights to see around a curve. That's when he saw it — a figure standing right on the fog line of the highway. Long hair, head down, facing the opposite direction. His first thought? Some poor soul standing out in the rain on the side of the interstate. But what happened next is what makes this story unforgettable. As Merrell passed the figure, still in that hunched position, the being stood up — and its face came right across his passenger window. They were about six feet apart, staring at each other. The eyes? Orange. Yellowish-orange. Glowing. Merrell watched in his rearview mirror as the figure, once his trailer passed, turned around and stepped over a Jersey barrier — something that would be physically impossible for an average human. One step over the barrier, another step, and a third step into the woods. Gone. Now here's where it gets really interesting. Merrell initially thought about calling the highway patrol to report someone on the road, but the more he thought about it, the more questions piled up. If this person needed help, why didn't they try to flag him down? When he got home and told his wife's family about it, her brother — who's 6 feet tall — went out and measured the height where Merrell said the eyes crossed his window. The result? 7 feet, 8 inches tall. A friend in Eugene later told Merrell that Bigfoot sightings had been popping up around Crater Lake, which isn't surprising at all. The Pacific Northwest, and Oregon specifically, has long been considered Sasquatch hot territory. The dense forests, the remote wilderness areas, and the rugged terrain around Crater Lake National Park have produced countless reports over the decades. Researchers have documented an unusually high concentration of sightings in the Cascade Range region, with many witnesses describing the same tall, dark, hair-covered figure with reflective eyes that seem to catch light in an otherworldly way. Merrell himself has remained skeptical over the years, never fully claiming he saw Bigfoot — but he knows he saw something he can't explain. And honestly, that's the kind of honest, grounded testimony that makes these stories so compelling. No grand claims, no dramatic embellishments. Just a man who saw something that didn't fit into any category he understood. The orange eyes detail is particularly fascinating. Merrell later figured out that the running amber lights on his truck were likely reflecting off the creature's eyes — which actually lines up with countless other witness reports. Eyeshine is one of the most commonly reported features in Sasquatch encounters, with witnesses describing red, orange, amber, or yellow reflective eyes in the dark. Some researchers have theorized this could be the result of a tapetum lucidum — a reflective layer behind the retina that helps with night vision — similar to what's found in many nocturnal animals. The Jersey barrier step is another detail that raises eyebrows. These concrete barriers are typically around 32 to 42 inches tall, and stepping over one in a single stride while maintaining that kind of composure suggests either incredible athletic ability or something with a much longer stride than a human. This is one of those stories that reminds us why these encounters deserve to be taken seriously. Merrell wasn't out looking for Bigfoot. He wasn't trying to prove anything. He was just a working man doing his job, and something crossed his path that night that he still can't fully explain twenty years later. If you want to hear the full story straight from Merrell himself, definitely check out the video on the Bushcraft Explorer YouTube channel. It's worth the watch, especially if you're into those quiet, late-night highway encounters that leave you thinking for days afterward.