Devils Tower Trip

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Spent two days at Devils Tower. I did not climb, because there is a voluntary climbing ban on the tower for the month of June. Many people come to hike the 1.3 mile loop around the base of the tower or climb it, and that is all that they experience of it. But the power and awe of this place can be experienced more deeply by spending time in a quiet and secluded spot. In addition to being a national monument and famous climbing mecca, it is also a sacred site for many of the Native American tribes from this area. Native Americans spend much time here in prayer and meditation. Prayer bundles and prayer cloths can be found throughout the area around the tower.

The Lakota name for the Tower is Mato Tipila, or Bear Lodge. To the Cheyenne it is Bear Lodge also, it is Bear’s Home to the Crow, and Bear’s Tipi to the Arapaho. The month of June is a time when many tribes come to Mato Tipila for ceremonies, rituals, sweat lodges, and vision quests. The sacredness of this place can be felt as soon as you as you approach the massive tower of rock. There are many places that can be found near the base of the tower to have solitude for reflection, communion with nature, and to admire the majestic beauty of this tower of rock.

I left the trail and climbed the boulder field to a place where I could sit facing the tower, behind a rock where I was not visible to the people hiking the trail. There were cliff swallows flying overhead from their perches on the face of the tower. It was a peaceful, quiet, and secluded place even within the midst of all the visitors that day. For me, the tower was also a spiritual experience. I sat gazing at the Tower while playing my flute. The birds seemed to sing along with my flute playing, and for a while it was as though the birds and my flute and I were one, as the wind gently played through the trees in the background. I came away from the Tower with a lightness and peace in my soul, and a deep appreciation and sense of awe for the massive rock known to many as the Bear’s Home.

In addition to enjoying the Tower itself, the Red Beds trail gives the hiker a well-rounded look at the Park. The trail winds through Ponderosa Pine forest, through red sandstone formations, through a prairie dog town, and meanders within the lush meadows ful of wildflowers along the Belle Fouche River. This trail is less crowded that the main trail around the base of the tower, and offers additional opportunities for seclusion and quiet enjoyment of the beautiful natural surroundings.

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