Nebraskaland

48 Nebraskaland • June 2021 important on this day, as a fellow hiker had told us no other water sources exist between this point and Deadhorse Road. From the windmill, we headed south over Chadron Creek Ranch Wildlife Management Area. It is a beautiful piece of property I love to explore, but the trail passes along the fence at its lesser scenic western border. We welcomed the level terrain, however, and the U.S. Forest Service recently had been in with chainsaws to clear burned pines fallen on the trail — a task that has kept workers busy since the 2012 fi re. We will be eternally grateful for their work. With 40 pounds strapped to your back, the last thing you want to do is step over a bunch of logs. After leaving Chadron Creek Ranch and re-entering Forest Service property, the trail descends to Deadhorse Road. I had driven this county road countless times, and yet this 2-plus mile section seemed so much longer on foot. Each step became a challenge, but we knew we had to keep moving to make camp before dark. Sweating profusely, we were wishing we had been a little more careful about rationing that water. Two men working at the sawmill along the road gave as a holler as we passed. "On a hike, eh?" "Yep. Started at Spotted Tail this morning," I said. "You've been at it a while, then. Looks like you might get a little wet," one said with a grin. We raised our weary eyes, which had been fi xed on the road, to see the dark clouds creeping over the canyon. We felt a new sense of urgency. Like children in the back seat during a long road trip, we often repeated a question. Instead of saying "Are we there, yet?" the question "Where is the butte?" became our refrain. After what seemed like an eternity, we saw magnifi cent Coff ee Mill Butte against the sky above, and at 7:08 p.m. reached the trailhead where we planned to camp. We sat down for a break, but with the encroaching storm clouds, we knew we could not rest long before fi nding water to drink. Looking back, we should have had a better plan. A topographical map showed a spring nearby, but we found none in that spot. It was either battle the brush to get to a marshy area below our campsite, which may or may not have suitable water, or head back up the road to fi lter some beneath the last creek bridge. We did neither. With the wind picking up and lightning becoming more frequent, we cowered to human comforts and headed down the driveway of friends who lived nearby. We saw some amazing views over the weekend, but their garden hose may have been the most beautiful sight of the entire journey. With our bellies and containers fi nally full of water, we hurried back to camp to set up our tents and crawled inside with the storm fast approaching. Despite all the wind, rain, lightning and thunder, it felt so relaxing to be off our feet. The wind continued all night and made for a rough sleep. When recounting the fatigue, thirst and weather of the fi rst night, Sawyer would later tell me, "That was one of the Sawyer uses the Squeeze fi ltering system, coincidentally manufactured by the company Sawyer, to drink water from Indian Creek. The Pine Ridge Trail takes hikers up and down a series of ridges and drainages, through standing forest, grassland and burned pines.

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