One
of our goals for our 2023 hiking trip was to finish the trails in Theodore
Roosevelt National Park that Jean had not yet hiked. Earlier in the trip we had
walked the North Achenbach Trail and the CCC Trail, leaving just the Big
Plateau and Ekblom trails on our list. We always seem to visit during the wet
years, and the loop connecting these two trails is best done starting with a ford of
the Little Missouri. 2023 was a wet year, but by coming in October we knew we
would find an easy crossing. We’d had a long hike the day before, and opted for the
shorter Big Plateau Loop, rather than the longer Lone Tree Loop.
Jean fording the Little Missouri.
Though
these would be the final trails to mark off on Jean’s map, they were among the
first that I had hiked in the park. Way back in 1988 I’d made a trip to TRNP
with Craig. On day one we did the Upper Paddock-Upper Talkington loop on the
east side of the South Unit, and the next day we crossed the river from Peaceful
Valley and hiked the Lone Tree Loop. This was the hike that really sold me on
the park. We saw tons of wildlife including bison, prairie dogs, mule deer, and
coyotes, plus more exotic badlands and lots of fossil logs and stumps. I’ve
been coming back to the park ever since. 
Across the river!
Even
when the flow in the Little Missouri is low enough to ford, the water is still
cold.
The
loop starts from Peaceful Valley with a short hike across the river bottom. Thankfully
the bottom was hard, and it remained
below my knees, and we were able to cross before we got chilled. 
Mule deer enjoying the people watching.
Our
next feature was a stop at the old Ekblom Spring in an almost deserted prairie
dog town. Most of the springs in the park were used to water cattle before the
park was created. This one has an old tank, plus a well that discharged more
water than I’d seen before in TRNP.
Ekblom spring was flowing.
Our
“loop” was really a lasso, and at the end of the feeder section we turned left
to follow the Ekblom Trail. Near the junction with the Maah Daah Hey Trail along
Knutson Creek, is the site of our only backcountry campsite in the South Unit.
In 1999, we’d hiked the Petrified Forest and Lone Tree loops from the west side,
and camped along Knutson Creek which is one of the more reliable side creeks
flowing into the Little Mo. On that trip we had attempted to ford the creek and
got stuck in thick gumbo as a small herd of bison began to move through. As
motivated as we were to move, the gumbo held us fast as the bison easily powered
their way through. A small bridge now makes the crossing is much easier, but
even it is starting to sink into the muddy ground.
The sinking bridge at Knutson Creek.
We
stayed on the MDH as the Lone Tree Loop branched left and began the gentle
climb to Big Plateau. A small band of mule deer crossed the trail ahead of us,
a few curious enough to stop to check us out. We heard the bugle of an elk off
to our west, but weren’t able to reach a spot with a view of it. Elk were easy
to find when I first visited the park, but don’t think we’ve seen one since at
least our visit in 2011, around the time that the park began to thin their
herd. Just below the intersection of the MDH and Big Plateau trails there’s an
awesome collection of fossil trees and stumps. 
Approaching the fossil beds.
We’d
just finished a day of off trail exploring for a fossil forest, but this
trailside occurrence was nearly as good. The core was a pair of giant specimens
with another dozen or so logs and stumps strewn about the hillside.
Some huge fossil stumps!
With
the exception of the well-known forest along the Petrified Forest Trail, this
is one of the largest sites in the park adjacent to the maintained trails.
Another large fossil stump.
We
took more photos and then sat down for a lunch break, grateful to be among such
wonders.
Jean at the fossil site.
We
reached the top of the upper plateau at the junction with the Big Plateau
Trail. Curiously, there are only a few wood fragments exposed in the same rocks
where the trail descends off the plateau. But while the fossil were waning, the
wildlife was waxing. We entered the giant prairie dog town that seems to
consume all of Big Plateau. To the west a coyote was howling, probably in
annoyance at our disturbing his potential prey. And off in the distance seven
pronghorn bobbed across the prairie.
It is always fun to watch the prairie dogs.
The
rest of the hike was a long walk across the impossibly level plateau, followed
by a descent down to the river bottom. 
Hiking across Big Plateau with the Antelope.
Sadly,
we passed a dead bison just as we dropped off the rim. 
Coyote at maximum resolution.
Once
back at the river, we had another quick ford of the Little Missouri River, and it
was time to celebrate Jean’s accomplishment of hiking all the park trails!
