We came to the merge of the Medicine Root and Castle trails. We would complete the loop via the Castle trail and expected the walk to be much the same. We were pleasantly surprised. Where the Medicine Root took us through the grasslands with view of the formations, the Castle took us through the formations. We passed several fairly deep valleys and walked along meandering, slow flowing streams. An isolated hawk soared above. Soaring even higher were vultures riding imperceptible currents aloft. Just below a canyon rim, we spotted a small ground squirrel. It hung on the side of the rock then scurried into the shadows and disappeared into a crevice.
The sun has risen overhead in the late morning. The chess pieces of black and white have neutralized into hues of sandstone; browns and tans. The clouds play shadows across the rock facades creating a drama of light and color.
Back at the Saddle Pass trail we took a moment to check once more for the big horn sheep. As the traffic through the pass had increased, the sheep evidently moved on to a quieter neighborhood. Where we had been only two of maybe four or five hikers earlier, the trail and surrounding rocks were alive with hikers of various dress, sex and age. The narrowness of the trail creates single flows of traffic. We negotiate the steep, slough filled section of the trail and continue to the bottom of the wall. At one point I looked back up towards the steep section. There was a line of perhaps a dozen people waiting on those above them, struggling to make the climb. On our way down, we had seen young women in sandals, guys in flip flops, elderly couples with their hiking poles. Now we wondered if those we had seen were perhaps some of those struggling in the steep section?
Having spent the morning on the trails, we decided to drive out of the park to the north, then head west to Wall, SD. We reentered the park via the northwest entry, south of Wall and drove the loop road back through the park. This route has much more color in the rock creating some excellent vistas. The morning’s blue sky with cotton ball clouds has devolved to towering nimbus bringing an early close to the afternoon. Lightning dances cloud to cloud, occasionally jabbing a hot finger earthward. While we’re dry, areas of rain are visible on the near horizon. The sun behind us lights up some of the rock formation, creating a negative silhouette of white against the ever darkening sky. A memorable finish to a day complete with nature’s best displays.
Photos compliments of lifeinanrv.tumblr.com
