CONFIRMED HIKE:
Saturday, April 25 -- NCT: Bowman Lake Trailhead
Three of us ventured out early Saturday to this trail which was about 1.5 hours North of Grand Rapids. The temps were warm, skies were gray. A half hour into the hike it started to drizzle and then the heavens opened up. We all got soaked. Since the air was warm we continued hiking. There was a little bit of thunder and a few scary cracks of lightening. We still continued hiking. An hour later we were hiking in a steady drizzle and we decided to head back. Good thing we did because another torrential downpour came upon us soon after we got back to the car. Despite the rain, we managed to get in approx. 11 miles and I think everyone had a good time. On the ride home we cranked the heat, drank coffee and rehashed what we had seen on the hike. Good times!
Pictures from hike:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105124&id=550722462&l=0c98b8eac6
Tuesday
COMPLETED 2008: Aug/Sept - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND
We started the hike on the Lower Padock Trail. We took numerous breaks because it was a really hot day. It turned out to be the only hot day of the trip. The rest of the week it was cold and rainy. We camped out on the Upper Paddock Trail and the next day we cut this hike short and went back to Medora as one of us had a wet sleeping bag and it was raining continually. I'm pretty sure that in North Dakota you only get extremes in temperatures -- either super hot or super cold!
We saw large herds of elk and antelope. The antelope are swift and it was fun to see them running around us. At night we heard coyotes and owls. We saw a lot of buffalo too. I've included a picture of some that I snuck up on. That was probably not the smartest thing to do. You need to take great caution with wild animals. I had somewhat of an encounter with a rattlesnake while crossing a muddy stream. Thankfully it just gave a warning rattle and slithered away.
We waited out the weather and then started our two day hike on the Petrified Forest Trail. It was still wet and muddy. The mud here is called "gumbo" and it would stick on our shoes in huge clumps (see photo) which we were continually poking off with our hiking sticks. I felt like a cartoon charactor with huge feet. The Petrified Forest Trial lives up to its name -- you really do see a lot of petrified wood.
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To find out more about the trails, visit these websites:
http://www.nps.gov/throw.nps.gov/thro
http://www.mdhta.com/dhta.com/
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Permits: It is easy to get permits. I picked up our permit from TRNP Park Station in Medora.
http://www.nps.gov/throw.nps.gov/thro
http://www.mdhta.com/dhta.com/
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Permits: It is easy to get permits. I picked up our permit from TRNP Park Station in Medora.
Total miles hiked: 40 (approximate)
Driving time from Grand Rapids, MI to Medora ND is: 17.5 hours
4 hikers
Training Hikes on the North Country Trail, Manistee River Trail Loop 2008
To test my new gear and learn the ropes of backpacking, I did a number of hikes on the 20 mile NCT/Manistee River loop. I think I've hiked this loop at least four times and here are pictures from those hikes. I learned a lot. I learned to keep my pack light, what sort of food to take along, how my gear worked, that you can't sleep in just a bivy sack (you need a sleeping bag too!)
My Dad, David (nephew) and niece (Bethany) did the first ever hike on this loop with me (see picture). We all walked 10 miles the first day and all of us were exhausted! Now I am used to walks like that, but back then I wasn't.
This is a fairly well known section of trail and you'll usually see people on it. The Manistee River Trail is used more because of the views on this section of trail.
On the way home (Grand Rapids, MI) we always stop at Sally's restaurant in Whitecloud for some grub. Good times.
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