Devils Tower, an important landmark for Plains Indians tribes long before the white man reached Wyoming, was called Mateo Tepee or Grizzly Bear Lodge by the Sioux. A number of legends describe the origin of Devils Tower.

“One legend tells of seven little girls being chased onto a low rock to escape attacking bears. Their prayers for help were heeded as the rock carried them upward to safety. The claws of the leaping bears left furrowed columns in the sides of the ascending tower. Ultimately, the rock grew so high that the girls reached the sky where they were transformed into the constellation known as Pleiades.” — information sign along Hwy 24

Devils Tower rises dramatically 1,280 feet above the picturesque Belle Fourche River. Recognizing its unique characteristics, Congress designated the area a U.S. Forest Reserve in 1892 and then the nation’s first national monument in 1906. The tower was a centerpiece in the 1977 Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

When you spend three weeks on the road visiting many of our nation’s wonderful wild attractions you are bound to have some days when the weather isn’t ideal. My brother Dave and I were really quite fortunate to have mostly bright, sunshiny days for our adventures. Not so, however, on the day we visited Devils Tower. There was a low cloud cover that obscured the top of the tower, and a drizzly mist was falling throughout the time we were there.

We did put on the rain gear for the must see 1.3-mile walk around the base of the Tower though. It starts across the parking area from the Visitor Center. A short, steep section leads you to a junction where you can go either way to walk around the base. The trail goes through ponderosa pine forest and the talus field of fallen boulders. Evidence of periodic prescribed burning can be seen within the forest, the last in 1998.

I did manage to get a few pictures as we approached the tower from miles away on Hwy 24, and from the Tower Trail. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments area below the gallery. Enjoy!

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

The Forest Service is conducting the burn as part of the Grandfather Restoration Project, an 8-year project designed to restore 40,000 acres of the Grandfather Ranger District. The project is restoring fire-adapted ecosystems by enhancing conditions for a variety of native plants and wildlife. The Grandfather Restoration Project also works on controlling non-native species, restoring watersheds, and protecting hemlocks against hemlock woolly adelgids.

Operations will begin Tuesday afternoon and last through Thursday afternoon. The public can expect to see smoke in the area through Friday. Smoke may be visible from Highway 181. The Mountains to Sea Trail from Steels Creek to New Gingercake will be closed during operations. Roses Creek Rd (FS 210) will also be closed.

The safety of the public and firefighters is the highest priority during a prescribed burn. The public is asked to heed signs posted at trailheads and roads and to stay away from burn areas and closed roads and trails.

The NC Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Department of Transportation, and Burke County Emergency Management are assisting in the prescribed burn.

The agency will conduct the one-day burn near the Woodlawn Township, north of Marion, NC along the Clinchfield Railroad. The objective of the burn is fuel reduction.

The Forest Service is conducting the burn as part of the Grandfather Restoration Project, a 10-year project designed to restore 40,000 acres of the Grandfather Ranger District. The project is restoring fire-adapted ecosystems by enhancing conditions for a variety of native plants and wildlife, controlling non-native species, and protecting hemlocks against hemlock woolly adelgids.

The Mountains to Sea Trail from Dobson Knob Road to the footbridge over the North Fork of the Catawba River will be closed during operations.

The safety of the public and firefighters is the highest priority during a prescribed burn. The public is asked to heed signs posted at trailheads and roads and to stay away from burn areas and closed roads and trails.

The NC Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy are assisting in the prescribed burn.

The prescribed burn will reduce the amount of dead grasses and woody debris on the forest floor reducing the frequency and impacts of wildfire thereby reducing risks to nearby communities. The burn will also improve habitat for fire-adapted botanical species and provide vegetation management to keep the Max Patch bald an open scenic area.

Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority during a prescribed burn.

No roads or trails will be closed during the prescribed burn, but visitors to the Pisgah National Forest should be aware of smoke and fire engines in the area.

The Forest Service is conducting the burn as part of the Grandfather Restoration Project, a 10-year project designed to restore 40,000 acres of the Grandfather Ranger District. The project is restoring fire-adapted ecosystems by enhancing conditions for a variety of native plants and wildlife, controlling non-native species and protecting hemlocks against hemlock woolly adelgids.

The safety of the public and firefighters is the highest priority during a prescribed burn. The public is asked to heed signs posted at trailheads and roads and to stay away from burn areas and closed roads and trails.