A magical day amongst the misty, fog-shrouded buttes and formations of Palmer Creek. This is a small sampling of the landscape photos from the day. Photography was challenging due to the constant mist and resulting high humidity. To read about the adventure, see previous post, April 8, 2013.
Palmer Creek is part of the South Unit of Badlands National Park. The land lies completely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and is co-managed by the Oglala Lakota Tribe and NPS. Remote and difficult to access, there is just one road that leads to the unit, and it is a private road that runs through ranch land. Visitors are to contact land owners for permission prior to attempting the roads. Riding along with park law enforcement rangers on patrol, this isn't an issue. But it is my understanding that it can be extremely difficult to reach land owners. These roads are very rough and should not be attempted without a high clearance, four wheel drive vehicle. Even with such a vehicle, it is very possible to become stuck, as happened to the chief ranger and me just last week. Luckily the rangers have radios and can contact the south unit ranger who has a large rig, winch, and anchor. But for the common park visitor, no such easy call for help is available. Where we were stuck was a good 11-12 miles from the nearest real road where one might reasonably expect to locate assistance.
While in the South Unit, one must be aware and alert for unexploded ordinance of all sizes, remnants from the time when this land was used as a gunnery range. Cleanup efforts exist, but it is a slow and tedious process. The Badlands Bombing Range was a stretch of more than 340,000 acres of land on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that was federally acquired in 1942 for training during WWII and beyond. From stories I have been told, tribal residents were given three days' notice to vacate their homes - that's the residents whom the government managed to find. Others had no warning until the bombers began flying overhead. Many were left homeless and without occupation, unable to find replacement ranch land for livestock. In 1968 most of the bombing range was declared excess property by the air force, and discussion began over what to do with this land. Contentions remain today over the addition of large portions of this range to Badlands National Monument, which then gained national park status. The current general management plan for the park includes separating the south unit lands to form a new park: the first Tribal National Park. Meetings and planning is underway, but it will be a long process with many issues to solve. On today's hike, we were a couple or more miles further in.
Visiting this place is such a privilege, and quite an experience. The Palmer Creek unit has no fence line, making it rather difficult to tell where the park begins and ends. Ranch lands surround the unit, and cattle and horses freely graze well within park boundaries. There are just two roads on the map that run within the unit, though others do exist. All are rough two-track, and it can be difficult to keep track of where you are. While we were trekking through today, we used both a topo map, GPS, and google maps to keep track and record locations so that we can map these other roads. As far as I know, there is just one park employee who knows these roads. Neighboring ranchers and certain people from the tribe undoubtedly know these roads, but if park rangers had to respond to an incident, most would be lacking critical information.
I post the following images as a visual overview of Palmer Creek. Visitors should take care to do research and make contacts before attempting to visit this portion of the Badlands. The roads should not be attempted in snow or when wet unless you are knowledgeable and experienced. Badlands mud is something to behold; it is extraordinarily slick and sticky. In my own research on this area, I have found very little information and few photographs. I hope to spend more time here and build a photographic tour of the unit so that others may enjoy the views.
Palmer Creek is part of the South Unit of Badlands National Park. The land lies completely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and is co-managed by the Oglala Lakota Tribe and NPS. Remote and difficult to access, there is just one road that leads to the unit, and it is a private road that runs through ranch land. Visitors are to contact land owners for permission prior to attempting the roads. Riding along with park law enforcement rangers on patrol, this isn't an issue. But it is my understanding that it can be extremely difficult to reach land owners. These roads are very rough and should not be attempted without a high clearance, four wheel drive vehicle. Even with such a vehicle, it is very possible to become stuck, as happened to the chief ranger and me just last week. Luckily the rangers have radios and can contact the south unit ranger who has a large rig, winch, and anchor. But for the common park visitor, no such easy call for help is available. Where we were stuck was a good 11-12 miles from the nearest real road where one might reasonably expect to locate assistance.
While in the South Unit, one must be aware and alert for unexploded ordinance of all sizes, remnants from the time when this land was used as a gunnery range. Cleanup efforts exist, but it is a slow and tedious process. The Badlands Bombing Range was a stretch of more than 340,000 acres of land on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that was federally acquired in 1942 for training during WWII and beyond. From stories I have been told, tribal residents were given three days' notice to vacate their homes - that's the residents whom the government managed to find. Others had no warning until the bombers began flying overhead. Many were left homeless and without occupation, unable to find replacement ranch land for livestock. In 1968 most of the bombing range was declared excess property by the air force, and discussion began over what to do with this land. Contentions remain today over the addition of large portions of this range to Badlands National Monument, which then gained national park status. The current general management plan for the park includes separating the south unit lands to form a new park: the first Tribal National Park. Meetings and planning is underway, but it will be a long process with many issues to solve. On today's hike, we were a couple or more miles further in.
Visiting this place is such a privilege, and quite an experience. The Palmer Creek unit has no fence line, making it rather difficult to tell where the park begins and ends. Ranch lands surround the unit, and cattle and horses freely graze well within park boundaries. There are just two roads on the map that run within the unit, though others do exist. All are rough two-track, and it can be difficult to keep track of where you are. While we were trekking through today, we used both a topo map, GPS, and google maps to keep track and record locations so that we can map these other roads. As far as I know, there is just one park employee who knows these roads. Neighboring ranchers and certain people from the tribe undoubtedly know these roads, but if park rangers had to respond to an incident, most would be lacking critical information.
I post the following images as a visual overview of Palmer Creek. Visitors should take care to do research and make contacts before attempting to visit this portion of the Badlands. The roads should not be attempted in snow or when wet unless you are knowledgeable and experienced. Badlands mud is something to behold; it is extraordinarily slick and sticky. In my own research on this area, I have found very little information and few photographs. I hope to spend more time here and build a photographic tour of the unit so that others may enjoy the views.