Yesterday, May 15th, was a break in the poor weather, so I drove nearly two hour back into Wyoming to get my book stamped for Devils Tower National Monument. It was a beautiful day! This is a photo I took near where I parked my truck on a beautiful spring day. Speaking of parking there are regular parking stalls right by the Visitor's Center and RV are welcome - just drive to the Visitor's Center and turn at the loop and parallel park where you came in. There is also a large upper and lower dirt overflow parking as well adjacent to the parking. Take your pick.
Scott and I were there a few years back when we came to South Dakota before, but I didn't have the book so I backtracked to get it stamped. However, last time, we didn't have our national parks pass and this time I did, so I was able to drive up to the monument and take full advantage of this glorious site.
You can really see the tower about 10 miles away as you start approaching the area from the east. It was a nice day - it had been cloudy for many days so I jumped on the chance to go when we had good weather.
I went to the Visitor's Center first off, stamped the book and looked around. They have two sections. The right section is the ranger area and the left is the shop.
At the ranger desk, he had a lot of interesting things to view from climbing Devils Tower, supplies used to climb, rocks and animal hides in the areas. Devils Tower does have a junior ranger program, so I'm guessing a lot of the artifacts on display had to do with this.
I wanted to do a hike around the tower so I asked the ranger what his recommendations were. He told me to take the left fork. He said most people head right and walk around the tower, and while it's the easiest walk, it isn't how the Native Americans would have traditionally walked around. They would have taken the left path because they believe they should follow the direction of the sun (clockwise). Even though going left is much more difficult because you're walking uphill most of the 1.5 mile walk, he said the finale is better from this direction as you end the walk with the overlook into the valley and the rocks at the base.
So, I took his advice and walked the left fork. Just before starting, I saw replica of how thin the walls are. If you haven't noticed, most mountains form horizontally but this mountain has vertical shafts in various areas of thinning. I put my hand in the middle right crevice. When climbers tackle this mountain, he put their hands and arms in the crevices and wedge themselves up the tower. If you want to tackle the tower, you have to register at the registration cabin before you can begin your climb.
Before I show pictures of the tower hike, I wanted to take a minute and explain the sacred significance of Devils Tower (Mato Tipila) among Native American tribes who consider this a sacred site including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Crow Nation, Arapahoe, Shoshone and Kiowa. This is an interesting article to read on the Legends of Devils Tower. Each tribe has a slightly different variation of the legend, but most facts are the same. I bought this postcard for my grandkids with the legend of the Lakota on it.
Here is a reproduction painting on display at the Visitors Center.
Online I found a very beautiful portrayal of it by Phil El Rassi entitled the Legend of Devil Tower. I love the colors.
According to Indian Country Media Network:
The Legend of Devils Tower - Feb 6, 2017 (originally published Dec. 15, 2010)
Devils Tower, also known as "Mato Tipila", which mean "Bear Loge" in Lakota, is a volcanic neck that rises 1,267 feet from the Black Hills in northeastern Wyoming. It was the very first national monument in the United States, bestowed that designation by Teddy Roosevelt on Sept. 24, 1906. In recent years around one percent of the 400,000 annual visitors actually climbs the tower.
Long before the tower was being recognized by the American government, Native tribes had geographical and cultural connections to it. They called it everything from 'Aloft on a Rock' (Kiowa) to 'Grizzly Bear Lodge' (Lakota). It wasn't given its demonic name until Col. Richard Irving Dodge led an expedition through Wyoming in 1875. His interpreter botched the translation calling it 'Bad God's Tower', which was eventually shortened to Devils Tower.
There are two great legends regarding the tower and the unusual looking columns that bear a striking resemblance to claw marks. It's no surprise that both the stories, from the Lakota Sioux and the Kiowa, involve a similar narrative. In the Lakota Sioux legend, six girls were out picking flowers when they were attacked and chased by bears. The Great Spirit felt bad for them, and raised the ground beneath their feet. The bear gave chase and attempted to climb the newly formed tower but they couldn't get to the top. The bear fell off, clawing the sides of the monolith.
The Kiowa legend follows a similar storyline but includes astrology as well. Seven little Kiowa girls were out playing, spotted by several giant bears, and were chased. The girls prayed to the Great Spirit, and sure enough the ground rose beneath them towards the Heavens. The bears tried to climb the rock but only managed to leave their deep claw marks on the side. The girls reached the sky and were turned into the constellation Pleiades.
Here are all the oral Native American histories.
For those interested in the geological formation of Devils Tower, click here.
So, now to photograph the hike. While many photos may look the same you can see how the tower changes as you hike around it. Below in the map is the inside circle - this is the Tower Trail hike that I did along the bottom of the tower. The hike is 1.3 miles in length but with all the off shoots, I'd say it could be up to 2 miles depending if you take them out and back. There were also trail markers and historical info as you walked. Some walkers said they did it in 1/2 hour (going from the other east side - mainly downhill) and other people said it took them an hour. Note: Dogs are NOT permitted on the pathway. Wheelchairs are not recommended due to the hilly nature of the tour.
The trail, as the ranger said, was pretty much all uphill. It was very hot - 76 degrees but I stopped to photograph the changes in the monolith as I walked. At the beginning of the hike, these signs were posted. When I saw this, I decided just to take all the time I needed to do my walk around Devils Tower in respect to those who consider this site sacred.
First, I hike the west end of the mountain and this sign.
As I started going around, more and more trees dotted the landscape where there were less boulders.
Soon, I came to a little trail just off the main trail to gaze upon the west side of the tower. Here I met a cute couple from rural Louisiana. They were kind enough to take my photo. From this vantage point, we also spotted two climbers on the mountain. Do you see them?
I continued my journey heading to the northwest side of the tower. You can how the shape of the tower is changing. I also saw this sign about the quiet and stillness. So, I closed my eyes and just took in all the smells and sounds around me. Birds, slight wind rustling the leaves and scurrying prairie dogs in the distance. While there were a good group of people at Devils Tower, the paved path is so large that you only run across a pair of walkers every little bit so to stop and listen was easy.
Down a bit more on the path was a sign regarding the burn here and fire ecology.
As I continued on my journey, I'm about half way around and now on the north side.
And, then a came to an interesting part of the northeast side with the way the rock had fallen. You are now directly under the tower - right up along the base, which was a fun take on the tower.
Opposite this area, you can see the side of the cliff overlooking the beautiful valley.
I'm about 3/4 of the way around and starting to see more of the tower and more beautiful views of the valley stretched out before me in the east side.
It was here that more hikers were scaling the tower with a telescope for viewing. Also here was the location of where the wooden ladder was placed at Devils Tower back in the early 1930s. Some of the hikers were here looking through the telescope, but I could see them easily on the cliff ledge.
From here, the climax starts to occur where you can really see out over the valley and the shape of Devils Tower changes again with a gentle sloping at the base.
I'm coming closer again to the end of the journey, yet the landscape changes again with more striking views of the valley and tower.
I can see the south face now so I know I'm nearly back to the beginning and the climactic rock finale is approaching. But, before I can see this, I spot a couple more climbers on the south facing part of the tower. These are the ones I saw at the beginning but I can see them easily here and also their voices carried all the way down to the floor! It was here that I took a photo of a cute little family.
Now, I came to the "Boulder Rock Garden" as I call it.
I was now finished with the hike. I think I spend a good couple hours at the tower. It was a great experience. It was a glorious day and as I started back to the entrance of Devils Tower, I stopped at the overlook. Most people don't go over here because it's a narrow dirt trail heading to another hike, but it has amazing views!
On the way down, I took a couple last photos. This is the red rock area.
Then, I stopped at Prairie Dog Town. It is acres of grassy meadow with thousands of Prairie Dogs. I stopped and some let me take a few photos. There is a pathway so I just stayed on the path. They were cute and have the tiniest ears!
Last stop was the Devils Tower Trading Post where I got a well-deserved ice-cream cone and a long-sleeved t-shirt.
I loved being at this site. Anything in the mountains just changes my perspective. It's been said that I have Native American blood on my dad's side in me and there is one line I can't break through. Perhaps this is it. Maybe that's why I love nature so much and the forest calls to me. At any rate, if you even are even an hour from this site, take the time to see it. You could easily spend a whole day here! It's breathtaking from the distance standing prominently proud. What a site!
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