H I K I N G tj|tl|in|ca|st
H I K I N G
tj|tl|in|ca|st

S A D D L E   P A S S   T R A I L

Badlands National Park
Southwestern South Dakota

Tuesday, August, 24, 2004

Hike: #4

Location: Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Distance: 1 mile

Elevation Change: 200 feet

Tread: Dirt trail

Miles/Time/Avg: 1.0/0:30:00/2.0

Rating:   (5 max)


Being the second of my two hikes in Badlands National Park, this one will be a quick jaunt. It'll be a short 1 mile round trip, with a 200 foot elevation gain up and over the eroding formations. This hike promises more views of hoodoos, more so than on the first hike. Funny name, a hoodoo. It sounds like a name coined by a California surfer. Regardless of the name's origin, a hoodoo looks like a rock mushroom of sorts. The crown is composed of sandstone rock and the stem is comprised of clay sediment. The unequal rates of erosion cause this odd, seemingly unstable structure.

When most people think of the Badlands, they think of the eroded formations. Well, I've got news for them, the park itself holds so much more. A good portion of it is actually grassy flatlands. The geology of the area is rather interesting. There's a lower and an upper grassland plain, and in the middle is where you'll find the eroding formations.

My hike today will take me from the lower plain, up through the formations, then to the upper plain. It's fascinating to me just how quickly I will traverse the varied geological zones.

Are you ready to blast through multiple zones of geology with me in record time? You are? Great! I'm off now, catch me if you can.

Description & Pics


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