"I'm fortunate to live in Wyoming, one of the most beautiful, pristine places in the world." - John Barrasso (Senator - WY)
Welcome to Wyoming
During my brief time in state of Wyoming, I cannot disagree with the quote from Mr. Barrasso. I spent a day exploring Devil's Tower, which is about an hour and a half drive from Rapid City.
First, a little background info on this breathtaking wonder on the plains of Wyoming. The tower itself was named the very first national monument in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt!
There are a few theories as to how the tower formed, but the simplest details a stock made of magma that cooled underground. This stock of magma then became visible after millions of years of erosion leveled the surrounding landscape.
This location has been home to ancient peoples who lived around tower for thousands of years. Oral histories about the tower have been passed down by various Native American peoples. Even today there remains a physical and spiritual connection to the tower.
With all of this in mind, I wanted to take my time hiking around the territory.
There are three main trails near the monument: Tower Trail, Red Beds Trail, and Joyner Trail. There are also a few other small side trails, but I decided to combine the main three into one epic hike.
The easiest of the hikes is the Tower Trail, which loops around Devil's Tower. The trail is mostly paved and is only about 1.3 miles. The ease of the trail makes it the most trafficked. There were people of all ages and abilities taking advantage of the wonderful close-up views of the magnificent tower. I even saw a motorized wheelchair scooting around the trail! the picture above on the left is a view typical of the Tower Trail.
The other two trails require a bit more effort to traverse. Red Beds Trail is a larger loop around the tower (roughly 2.8 miles). The trail offers more elevation changes while going through both wooded areas as well as open prairies. The trail can be easily combined with the Joyner Trail.
The Joyner Trail is a small loop of about 1.5 miles that sits at the end of the Red Beds Trail. It is an easy trail that cuts through both prairie and woods. This trail is the least trafficked of the three and offers the best views of wildlife. It also provides some spectacular views of the tower from a distance. The picture above on the right as well as the picture of Devil's Tower above are both taken from this trail.
I combined all three trails by beginning with the Tower Trail and completing it. Then, I immediately switched to the Red Beds Trail, which begins near the entrance/exit to the Tower Trail loop. Once you get about two-thirds of the way through the Red Beds Trail, a split occurs. You can either continue the loop and finish the trail, or you can split off and head towards the Joyner trail, which intersects tangentially to the Red Beds Trail. Complete the Joyner Trail loop, head back the way you came, and then finish the rest of the Red Beds.
There was a trading post and a café with all sorts of souvenirs and snack items just as you enter/exit the Devil's Tower park area. It's a good place to rest and reset before you travel back to wherever you traveled from (in my case Rapid City).
I highly enjoyed my time at Devil's Tower and would definitely recommend visiting the mystical wonder that sits in northeastern Wyoming.
No comments:
Post a Comment