Backcountry Camping in the Badlands

---

It's easy to romanticize the Badlands. The narrow canyons beckon travelers to explore the echoes of solitude. Fifteen years ago, looking into the wrinkled surface of the earth from a tourist platform, I fantasized about hiking and camping there, but I didn't have the knowhow, the gear, or the fitness.

So now that I have all those things, this was a place I wanted to revisit during the coronasummer, on my way to Wyoming with my friend Dan. When I told my dad about my plan to explore the area more, he bought me David McCullough's book Mornings on Horseback, an origin story of Teddy Roosevelt, culminating with the time he spent in the Badlands grieving the deaths of his wife and mother, and further developing a Hemingway-esque code that catapulted him to becoming the youngest president in U.S. history.

But then there's the reality. During the summer, temperatures often exceed 100 degrees, and when the sun is high, there is basically nowhere to hide from it. There's no water either, so you have to pack in a gallon of water per day per person, which gets heavy very quickly.

The only reasonable compromise we could think of was to arrive in the late afternoon, hike when the sun is low, camp in the backcountry, and return in the morning before the sun is too high.

We spent the night before on the banks of the Mississippi in La Crosse, WI. After the nine-hour drive, we were itching to do some walking so we got off I-90 and parked at the Fossil Exhibit Trailhead (see photo of map below) in the late afternoon when the heat was waning, and ventured out with packs and a gallon of water apiece to spend the night in the backcountry along the Castle Trail. There were a few others on the first few miles of the trek, but then it was ours. We ventured off the trail to find somewhere to camp, looking back and taking photos often to make sure we could find the trail the next day. We didn't see any dedicated camping sites but found plenty of suitable areas to set up camp in the sandy soil. The high winds shook our tents all night. It was loud and uncomfortable but the morning was beautiful. We got back to the car by 9:30 AM and headed toward Wyoming.

---