Creature observed stepping up and over a fir sapling. witnessed in Del Norte County, California

Open Map

On 12-22-98 at about 5pm I was driving westbound on Lake Earl Drive approaching Highway 101 controlled intersection. Because it just finished snowing, my son was admiring a snow-covered area of a mountain that had just been clear-cut. Looking up also, I noticed a human like figure at the top portion of this area. This figure was walking down and appeared to be about 7 or 8 feet tall covered in reddish-brown fur. Not believing what I was seeing, until my son said "oh shit" and both of us continued to just sit there and watch this critter. As it continued down the hill, it stepped up and over a fir sapling, and stopped and looked around. It started walking again (a total of about 400 yards) and disappeared into the forest at the base of the hill. Because both of us were in total shock, we didn't notice 3 other cars that had pulled over to the side of the road to watch this animal until it had walked out of sight.