The Good, the Bad(lands), and the Ugly

“It's time I got off the couch and filed a report on my Dakotas trip. To summarize, it was MUCH briefer than expected and quite intense while it lasted. I have been recuperating physically and mentally for awhile, trying to figure out just what to say about the whole thing.

The Good: Equipment choices were generally quite good. The Eureka Gossamer tent was just about perfect -- low profile, easy to pitch and ventilate. Vaude Grand Canyon internal frame pack adjusted easily and carried very well -- even in high heat, my back was comfortable. Asolo Fusion 95 GTX boots were light while being very supportive and protective under both weight and on rough, uneven trail; soles did an outstanding job on dirt, sod, hard-baked clay, loose granular rubble, and rock; adjusted well to minimize effects of toe-jamming on steeps, but did reveal hotspots on heels during steep ascents (more below on this). Permanone treated long pants, long-sleeved shirt, and elastic ankle bands almost eliminated tick incidents (only three found, two on boots, one on pant leg) in a high tick zone, and helped with fluid retention (but not enough, see below). Strapping a Camelbak MULE to the outside was a lifesaver.

The Bad(lands): T. Roosevelt N.P. North Unit is starkly beautiful, rich with wildlife and geological/geographical forms. Just driving into the trailhead from the Visitor Center I saw two groups of bison and several longhorn cattle, encountered three more bison on the trail (literally, they were encamped at a trail marker on the high prairie and I had to detour a couple hundred yards wide of them). Bird life is abundant, at least in late spring, and bird song was nonstop, changing only in species from day to evenng to night to morning. Wild turkeys camped just below me in a grove,gobbling in concern when the coyotes started their evening singing up and down the canyon of the Little Missouri River. A clear night sky offered a star field that was almost too intense.

It is also a very demanding place, in a much different way than I had experienced backpacking in the mountains or the Upper Great Lakes region. There is little to no water in the backcountry. The prairie atop the high ground is easy walking, but the trail often fades away in the short grass (this is because it has few human hikers -- 11 backpackers for Memorial Day weekend, which was considered heavy use -- and the bison can spread out), while ascending/descending to/from the river bottoms and in and out of gullies and washes is quite steep and often broken up by bison; there are no switchbacks in the true sense, as the bison take a very direct approach and they carve the trail at these places, so when it is wet, they really mash up the clay and then it dries with deep hoof prints and broken clods. I did not find the geography overall to be a very comforting place for me personally. I really missed trees and water as natural features.

The Ugly: It was hot (80+ F.), sunny and EXTREMELY dry. It was drier than when I hiked in Bryce Canyon. The ranger that checked me in for the Achenbach Trail told me the advice of 1 gal. water per day was not enough. Listen to them. I had planned a two-night hike on this trail, carrying 2 gals. and replenishing at the Achenbach Spring 4.5 miles in. Under the ranger's advice, I added another gallon to the load. When I came out the next day, I had maybe a quart left of the 3 gals. and I didn't use any for cooking. By the time I got on the trail, it was noon. Bad time to face a demanding uphill less than a mile from the trailhead. Shade was nearly non-existent, and where there was a small juniper by the trail that could serve, you had to make sure there were no cacti already in residence (not to mention the snake and tick warning from the ranger). So my boonie hat was instrumental in keeping my brain from being fried, and I focused on pacing myself both in walking and fluids.

Still, by the time I reached my eventual campsite, about 5.5 miles in, I was severely dehydrated. Between the heat, extremely low humidity, off and on dry wind, and the high/deep respiration from the exertion, I was losing moisture at an alarming rate. When I settled on my campsite, I had been on the trail for 7 hours (of which about 2.5 hours were rest stops of varying lengths). I had drained my 100 oz. reservoir, so I got out a 1-lt. Nalgene bottle and added in Gatorade powder. That was perhaps the smartest move I made. After carefully sipping that while I set up camp, my body began feeling better, though I was still not hungry at all. I forced myself to eat a Clif bar with the last of the Gatorade, but couldn't stomach the thought of cooking (nor using my water to rehydrate anything but myself).

All my attention to hydration had distracted me from my feet just long enough on the hardest part of the climb to put off checking a hot spot on the outside curve of my right heel. I had planned to check it during a rest break when I found some shade, but was so beat by the time that happened that I just spaced it out. A mile or so later it was an already popped blister the size of a nickle. The boots had never rubbed my foot there in prep hikes, but I believe the angle of the climbs changed the pressure points. After treating the blister and covering with moleskin, I taped on a blister-prevention pad at the same spot on my left heel that was showing some redness. Both treatments allowed me to continue for the time being. Even with the special pad, the left heel began a small blister by the end of the second day.

The most noticeable thing about the dehydration problem was the depression it brought on. It took a lot of concentration to remember what I needed to do despite being exhausted. Being my first solo hike, there was enough on my mind already and this condition did not help. So I will reserve judgement on how I like going it alone, since this time was very negative mentally. Sleep was difficult, I was nauseous, and I felt very deeply, unpleasantly alone.

By morning, my thinking seemed clearer and I physically felt much better. However, I assessed the situation and decided advancing through a second river crossing (easy with the drought-level flow) and entry into even drier territory on the backside of the loop) with a blistered heel was not the wise approach. I had overslept and missed the coolest part of the day, so after a breakfast of dried fruit and beef jerky (that salt tasted sooo good) and Gatorade, headed back the way I'd come -- starting with a climb up from the shrub sheltered bench I'd descended to for camp. The hike out took 4 hours, with the last hour under the same hot conditions I had started in, but this time the nasty climb was a tricky-footing descent. Re-crossing the cold Little Missouri in sandals felt very good on my feet.

Analysis: I should have reined in my impatience to hit the trail, better assessed the weather report and realized I was not accustomed to such hot dry conditions. I should have detoured down to the Black Hills first, or I should have spent a day or two day hiking the nature trails at TRNP to ease into things. After I left, rain finally moved into the region and has been crossing it quite regularly, but that means that the clay parts of the trail will be treacherous and very sticky.

Obviously I goofed up on the blister issue, though I believe my application of tincture of benzoin may have contributed by actually causing friction with my liner sock. It may have retained a bit of grit from the river crossing, even though I carefully washed my feet afterwards. Also, in the hot conditions, the relatively unbreathable nature Gore-Tex lined boots created a rather moisture laden environment even with wicking liners and SmartWool socks. My heels have never really calloused so they were nice and soft for the moisture and rubbing to do their thing quickly.

The additional water weight certainly changed the effort level, though I would also advise being in better shape lung-capacity-wise than I was/am. At 8 lbs per gallon, 3 gals. put 24 lbs on my back beyond gear and food. In the Northwoods or mountains, where water is readily available, I would have been carrying 2 qts. and a filter (which I also had in case I needed to use the river -- noted by the rangers for clogging filters -- or the spring, which involved a half-mile descent). So I was carrying the most weight during the most difficult part of the hike and hottest part of the day. The former you can't avoid, the latter you can.

Once off the trail, the bad mood still swirled in my head and my heel didn't look like it was going to heal without careful tending and no rough walks. Not to mention that once I switched out of my boots and into some trail runners, my previously mild plantar faciatis in that same right heel and arch started me limping. This was not a good sign. I was not about to sit in some tourist town motel for several days to recuperate, so after a night in Bismarck cleaning up, I droved home 11.5 hours. The dehydration effects took several days to relent. The blister took a week to heal thoroughly, but the plantar faciatis has its ups and downs daily -- It may be quite a while before it can handle that much weight on my back. A pair of Superfeet insoles has helped to some extent, but I may be looking at orthotics soon.

On the plus side, my back and shoulders did great with the new pack, I had all the right stuff to address my difficulties, including my hiking stick which was absolutely essential on the steeps and rough trail, and I learned a lot. I'll see how my right foot progresses and may go back for the Black Hills later.

Geez, has this been a long enough report or what? I'll scan in a picture of my campsite for Phil.”

“pekka, great report!! Lots of good information. I appreciate what you've learned particularly because I'm from the same geographical area as you. I know I was surprised that the foot hills kicked my butt as badly as they did, I can imagine how the South Dakota weather conditions affected you. Thanks for sharing!!”

“Sunshine: The flip side from the Pictured Rocks trip thread is that I only saw one mosquito the two days, and that one was drilling though my Permanone treated pants -- left a nice little blood spot when I smashed it. Lots of gnats though and they loved the bits of shade I sought. My boonie hat and neckerchief were sprayed with Repel and that, along with what I smeared on my cheeks and backs of hands, kept them from landing, but some other hikers said the gnats were biting them.

I was born under the water sign, Aquarius, in the middle of an ocean and raised in the Great Lakes. I think deserts may not be my gig, LOL. Walkindude was right on when he predicted that if anything kicked my butt, it would be hot weather.”

“Great trip report Pekka. I have been looking at the Asolo Fusion 95 GTX. Now, after reading your trip report, I'm not so sure. Do you think your problem was with the boots, ill fit, sand or a combination? And would you buy them again?”

“I have Goretex lined boots and though decent, they DO make my feet sweat.
They were on sale at Nordstrom's Rack for under $100 and are narrow enough and rugged enough....made in Italia.

Plantar Fascitis....EEEEKKKKK!!!
Its been a little over a year since my right heel finished its long journey...about 1.5 years...out of PAIN.
The left had its turn from '96 into '98.
The good news is that it SHOULD be over eventually.
I don't run but I do walk 2 K to work and I can hike pain-free.

”

“Great trip report. Thanks for showing us the "other side" or at least for admitting you have one;-)”

“Thanks. Wow!”

“Pekka, good to see you back. Glad nothing really awful happened. Hiking in the heat with limited water sources sound terribly challenging. What was your packweight starting out, with 24 lbs of water? (formerly young&creaky)”

“Great, informative trip report, pekka. I get blisters with my mountain boots and they can be nasty. I found that I didn't get them on preperatory hikes when I didn't carry a load. I believe that carrying a load makes the difference in my getting blisters with those boots. When I wear them in the future, I plan on hiking under a full load long before my actual trip. That way I can blister and calous before I hit the trail.

I once did a three day trip around St. Joseph Peninsula in Florida. It was a beach hike and I carried three gallons of water. I try to avoid those types of hikes now.”

“Here I go sounding like somebody's mom again. You need to wear all terrain tennis shoes. You need to hike light and FAST to reach water in a reasonable time. You need to eat sweet and salty things every time you drink. You need to drink a lot like a cup or two not just sips when you do. That much water works you over real bad because of it's weight so it slows you down so you need to carry that much more water. It is a vicious circle. Being dehydrated makes you lose your judgment.

I have learned these things by the misery method.”

“MaryPhyl and Pekka, do you need to eat salty food and drink lots of water during the day before setting out, like marathon runners eat pasta before a race? Or does that not really help? Mary, don't worry about Momming us. There are a lot of newbies on the site that need to know about dehydration. I've had symptoms on the tennis court and at Disney World, but never out in the middle of nowhere. I doubt if I'll ever be solo backpacking, but worse, I'll be responsible for youngsters.”

“MaryPhyl: I would certainly preload on the hydration more than I did that first day. And on the issue of sweet and salty, I would definitely use Gatoraid or something similar as part of the answer. On the hike out, I mixed a liter bottle of Gatorade, and I inadvertently mixed it on the very strong side. It actually tasted salty, but I drank some of it at each rest break, along with drinking plain water from my Camelbak as I hiked, and I had a much better experience. The sodium and potassium salts appear to help a lot.

LyndyS: As for the overall weight, I didn't weigh the pack before the water, but my educated guess based on my efforts to get my pre-water pack weight to 25 lbs region means total of about 50 or so (allowing for both water and bottles/bladders). On the rolling prairie parts of the trail, it was no problem. But my quads were complaining on some of the steeps.

That weight, on the bad parts of the trail especially, is definitely too much for light weight, low cut shoes. I would have really hurt an ankle once if I had not been wearing ankle-high boots, supportive boots. BTW, it was so dry that the soil in some parts of the trail was fissured like a small earthquake had hit. And that wasn't the clay sections.

Now if I could lose 40 lbs off me, then assemble enough good karma so I would feel good about trimming the weight of my first aid kit (going solo, it was one of my heaviest items after water, the 2.75 lb. tent and food), and stuck to food that needed no preparation (jerky, energy bars, dried fruit) and therefore no stove/fuel, took no spare clothes, I could have gotten 2 to 4 more pounds off the pack, but that doesn't lower the need for water under those conditions. And the weather is very changeable in N.D. While it was hot during the day and stayed that way right up to sunset, once the sun went the temp plunged, eventually getting down to about 40 F. A few days after I left, the hot spell broke, and thunderstorms swept through. Hard to go ultra light and truly "be prepared." An umbrella for shade would have been welcome.

I met some BPers on the trail from Minneapolis who had done the Achenbach Trail three times before, including the previous two Memorial Day weekends. The year before they said it had been just as hot, but with high humidity. And they said if it rains, the bentonite clay makes the trail nearly impassable in places, slick as Vaseline and caking to your boots in immense amounts that won't knock off. No speedy hikes out then. They also said they had never seen any other hikers on the trail in prior trips, so you can find yourself quite isolated if things turn bad. The rangers would face the same bad conditions trying to come in, even on horseback. A very challenging place.”

“Leatherneck: Sorry, almost forgot your question about the boots. As I noted, they had very strong points for support and protection, and for good soles, while being pretty light weight. If I was going somewhere where I knew for sure it would be that dry and hot, I would not pick those boots. But I was looking ahead to the Black Hills, where thunderstorms are likely that time of year, and to future hikes in the Great Lakes region, and I couldn't afford two pairs of new boots.

I think the blister came from a variety of elements, and I will be taping my heels before I wear them with a load again, especially if there will be much up and down. But the toe room ended up being among the best I've experienced, with proper lace adjustment, and I usually have a hard time with my fourth and fifth toes on each foot getting squeezed together in shoes. So we'll see ...

In the meantime, back to day hikes with light loads and hopes to rehab my plantar f. pain, at least by fall so I can camp during my favorite Northwoods season.

Getting old is starting to be a real b!#ch. To top it off, my eye doctor told me today I had the first faint signs of cataracts. Yippee. A few more years and I'll be both lame and blind.”

“Pekka, I give you credit for toughing this hike out. I've been dehydrated before in a mountain bike race and it's no fun to be sure. Also, it takes your body about 2 weeks to get used to operating in the heat. Hope your next hike will be more pleasant.”

“Sorry to hear your trip ended too soon. That heat in the Dakotas can really drag you down. Sounds like you learned a lot. It's a painful lesson but the lesson is priceless. I'm glad you had the Gatoraid to chug. If you ever go to the Grand Canyon, TAKE PLENTY!!
I wish you could have made it to the Black Hills. Next time head straight there. I think after a good swim in Sylvan Lake, You'd have been good as new!
My next trip out there, I may not even visit the Badlands till I'm heading home.

One thing about being in the dry prairie when it rains, The ground does turn to muddy sh!t but in no time it's bone dry again. I've seen it.”

“Great report! Sometimes I think I like the reports where things did not go as well as expected, even better than the so-called successful ones. It is reassuring to know that other people have problems too, and still have the motivation to go out and do it again. Our family backpacking trip to Colorado three years ago was cut short by altitude sickness and too much snow (early June), but I still have wonderful memories and am glad we tried to do it.”

“Last time I was in the Badlands I went fossil hunting. After a while of searching I found a tooth. Knowing that things usually roll downslope (duh!) I searched upslope from that spot. Two more loose teeth led me to a skull that was half exposed. Dug the skull out, but it didn't make it through the next 5 weeks of Field Camp.

I still have the teeth!”

“But what was the fossil of? Can you take the teeth to a university and find out? I hope it wasn't an indian burial that you found.”

“I purchased a book of the types of remains that can be found in the Badlands and if I remember correctly I think it was a small dog-like animal.”

“Oh, so you have ancient prairie dog teeth! Not many spirit curses associated with those.”

“Just be glad the Park Service didn't find out that you took those teeth. They'd slap ya with a massive fine.”

“Walkindude, pardon my ignorance, but is there anything you are allowed to take, like neat rocks, or daisy seed heads? My kids always want to pick stuff up on hikes, and so far I've told them NO,but as a kid I always collected things, including rocks with fossil impressions, and broken geodes.”

“Your not allowed to take anything.”

“Except for any trash you find that is. Any thing Natural is to be left out there. However, I did snag a big clump of Buffalo hair I found once. (not attached to the buffalo though).”

“You can take things...just don't get caught!”

“Great trip report Pekka... I too love the ones that everything doesn`t go as planed. They`re the ones that teach us the most and stay with us long after everything else fades away.

I hope you don`t let this experance keep you from going it alone again sometime. It`s good to go with good friends, or new ones, but when you go it alone, you find out what you`re made of and that`s worth more than all the other trips you`ll ever do.

It sounds like you went well prepaired for an adventure and found yourself a great one.

Good on you......and the best of luck with your next adventure.”

“The ranger was very clear during backcountry registration about NOT taking ANYTHING out of the park. I didn't even pinch one of the bits of bison hair snagged on most trail markers. The buf use the trail posts to rub on, so many of the metal marker tags are polished free of the Teddy R. symbol and tufts of hair are caught under them, or the tag is gone altogether. There are wallows near many of the posts, too, and the first and longest climb topped out into a wallow. I wondered what I would have done if I had crested into a bison taking a dust bath.

One piece of "optional" equipment I was glad I had were my little 7X20 Nikon binoculars. I carried them in a shirt pocket (camera in the other) and in big open country like the prairie/Badlands you can scan alot of the territory around you, including the trail ahead. The compressed telephoto view actually helped sort out the faint "trail" across a couple grassland passages by emphasizing the slight difference in the grass where someone/something had been walking.”

“I have e-mailed Phil a photo of my campsite, the Gossamer glowing gold as the morning sun crests the canyon rim and begins heating up the countryside. I'm not used to having a pack as tall as my tent, LOL. And everything looks greener than it seemed at the time.”

“i loooooove my gossamer.”

“Is the Lil' Missouri water safe for Sarabelle to drink? If we hafta pack enough water for us BOTH next month, we will be packing quite heavy - even for a one niter...

I could filter her water, I suppose, and save the tap water all for myself...”

“gojo, I'd check with the rangers, since they do deal with horseback riders who have to water their steads, though inside the N.P. boundaries Sarabelle would not be allowed in the backcountry.

But I'm not sure what the regs are for the surrounding National Grasslands, though I believe they are not as restrictive. I know that some of the springs, such as Achenbach Springs in the N.P., are considered okay for livestock, but require filtering for humans. The river water is generally quite silty and though it was very low and clearer than normal, the rangers were still not optimistic that it wouldn't clog a filter pretty quick. So how much sediment might be tolerated by Sarabelle is another question.

The natural water sources apparently are quite high in dissolved minerals. The water at the picnic grounds where the trailhead was located had a warning notice that it exceeded EPA standards for flouride. It had a mineral taste as well.

Down in Badlands N.P.there is no water that is considered potable, even with filtering, due to dissolved minerals, according to official sources.”

“I've been in e-touch with TRNP and learned - at no surprise - that Belle ain't allowed in the backcountry. We're gonna do Bulion Butte instead.

Mebbe I'll be able to strain Belle's H2O thru my shirt, then filter. Like you suggested - I'll check with the Rangers...”