Submitted by Dyrck on Fri, 10/17/2008 - 01:17.
The months February and March are excellent times to hike in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. The temperature is perfect for carrying a backpack, no bugs, no snakes, gumbo is frozen for solid footing and the sun is low in the sky for excellent photography.
The Bullwhacker area is on the north side of the Missouri River about 65 miles east of Big Sandy, 60 miles south of Chinook and 16 air miles west of Hays. The area is the largest public land area in the Monument, 14 miles east and west and 18 miles north and south. Within the Bullwhacker are Alâ€(tm)s Coulee area in the north, Little Bullwhacker Coulee area in the east, Coal Mine Coulee/Bullwhacker Coulee in the center and Ervin Ridge Wilderness Study Area in the south. I have hiked the Bullwhacker area the last eight winters because of the wildness of the area, the books I have read about the history of the area and the unique beauty of the breaks type topography.
The Monument Proclamation says it all, which states: The Bullwacker area of the monument contains some of the wildest country on all the Great Plains, as well as important wildlife habitat. During the stress inducing winter months, mule deer and elk move up to the area from the river, and antelope and sage grouse move down to the area from the benchlands. The heads of the coulees and breaks also contain archeological and historical sites, from teepee rings and remnants of historic trails to abandoned homesteads and lookout sites used by Merewether Lewis.
This years hike in late February 2008 started out in Great Falls where I live, packing my 4 wheel drive pickup with all the gear and supplies I would need for two or three days in the Bullwhacker. I looked at the long-range weather forecast pattern - no winter storms, 35 to 40 degrees F. in the daytime, 20's at night. I then packed all the normal equipment for winter camping along with extra water and gas for my pickup. The group of people coming on the hike could stay in tents, pickup toppers or with a local rancher close to the Bullwhacker. I planned the hike using BLM maps and topo software, printing my proposed route with start and midway points for my GPS.
Our first and last day hike is usually planned as shorter hikes because of the distance to and from Great Falls. The hiking group has a plan A and plan B. For the most part, we know where we were going but we never know what we were going to see. The area is so big, you never see the same thing twice. Besides the normal terrain and vegetation one would expect to see, there is always a mystery to the area. There may be cattle that have run wild and been long forgotten, or a burial site of a prized dog some hunter loved and lost, Igneous rock containing kimberlite might be spotted (diamonds are found almost exclusively within kimberlite formations), any of the abundant wildlife might be seen, maybe there's an area humans have never passed before but always there is something of intrigue, excitement and a little danger.
The distance to the Bullwhacker in the Monument may be far and the roads may not be the best but the experience will rate at the top of your hiking experiences.