Many people enjoy the stunning beauty of North Dakota's badlands from highways and roads.

But not as many get off the pavement to get up close with the rugged western region of our state.

And even fewer take the kind of trip Jim Olson took recently.

He and his good friend and camping veteran Jeff Rudy of Minot spent two days and nights hiking off the marked trails to see parts of the badlands that are hidden from easy view.

Here's the story of their weekend, Exploring the Badlands.

Our adventure begins in Medora - the ranger station for Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit. And it's here I realize how primitive our camping trip is going to be.

"Need to get our back country pass in here. This is your last opportunity for flushing toilets for a couple of days, so..."


Inside, the ranger gives us the rules for back country camping, warns us of rain in the forecast, and notes our itinerary - I suppose that's so they can come and rescue us if we don't emerge from the park by our scheduled time. Then we're off to a place called Halliday Well.

"Right up in this valley, we're going right up the middle of the hillside."


My friend and guide for this trip, Jeff Rudy, loads up our backpacks

"We don't want you to die on the first afternoon, so I'm only going to have you carry a couple of things, OK?"


And our trek begins - headed almost a mile into the hills in search of our home base - the place from which we'll venture out into the heart of the park. Early in our hike up, I realize we're not seeing any prairie dogs.

"Probably down in their holes where they can't see us, because they're not dumb when it's raining..."


And finally, having climbed more than 200 feet in elevation, we're at the spot we'll make our campsite. Seeing elk and mule deer beds in the grass, Jeff proclaims if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us.

"We'll drop most of our gear here and go out on a hike."


Because our first mission of the day is to explore the middle of the park - but not following any marked or public trail. Instead, we'll walk the path the animals follow.

"This is the primary run or animal trail we're going to follow a couple of miles into the heart of the park."


And within 20 minutes, our first wildlife encounter - mule deer on a ridge across a valley from our trail.

"We got three bucks, and one doe."


As they lope off to safety, we're headed into the valley, meaning a slippery descent on a mud-covered hill - it requires concentration on every step.

"Kind of hard to see the sights when you have to look down all the time so you don't fall on your rear. It's slippery."


But before long, we get our reward - elk on a nearby butte, checking us out, and I'd swear this one posed for me on top of the rise. We also saw a huge owl in this area, but I didn't capture it on tape. Then, it's up and down through more rugged territory, again struggling to keep upright.

"Feels like I should have skis on."


And finally, with prairie dogs watching, we reach a marked trail, the Lower Paddock Trail, that runs along the Paddock Creek. And it's here we encounter our first bison - but it's no threat - it's dead. The carcass was near the creek, down a very steep cliff that made us think perhaps it fell trying to get to the water. Kind of makes me even more careful with my walking. But we're on a flat spot now - heading for our car and the end of our 5-mile walk. Then, it's time to reload our packs and make that climb I've come to hate - up to our campsite where tents must be set up and dinner prepared. In our case, that's an MRE, a meal ready to eat, prepared for our military.

"I'm having chili with macaroni" "Also known as ChiliMac."


As we watch the sunset on our first day, we realize the weather forecast back at the ranger station was right - desipte clear sky to the west, the rain has been coming from the east and - even though we get a nice view of the moon on our first night, the rain keeps up its pitter-patter on our tents, leaving us to wonder how much more wet we can get on our second day exploring the badlands. Jim Olson, KX News.

Tomorrow, Jim and Jeff visit the highest point in the park - and encounter more bison, both dead and alive. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list