Notch Trail — Attraction in Kadoka

This is probably a moderate hike for people who actually hike. However, for me, this was the hardest hike I’ve ever done. But I knew this ahead of time and I was prepared. I had gloves for that wooden ladder, I had plenty of water, a hat for sun protection and sturdy hiking shoes. I still wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get up that ladder. Ahead of us was a couple with a four year old and the woman was carrying a baby in a strap on baby carrier. I thought I cannot wimp out if they can get up there. And I did get up the ladder. I’m older, overweight and a smoker. If I can do it you probably can too.

Other things to note. I heard my first rattlesnake. Let me tell you, you will know exactly what that sound is. Even if you’ve never heard one before. Did you notice I said heard not saw. That’s because I walked as far away and around that rattle snake as I could. Everyone else on the trail including my son was getting closer to see the snake. Not I. I took a couple of pictures of where the snake was at, hoping I could see it later in the picture. But you cannot. It’s under that tree in the pictures. And what looks like a snake in the pictures is actually a wooden branch.

One of the hard things about this trail is there are a lot of places that you have to take tall steps up from one rock to another. I found this kind of hard because I’m not very tall. My son had no problems as he is 6’6”. He helped me a lot. But sometimes I wouldn’t use his help because I didn’t want to pull him down and make him fall. Many times I had to resort to getting up onto the next level onto my knees because I couldn’t step up that high. Other places you have to really watch your footing on loose ground or step into narrow cracks to continue onwards. Often you’re on narrow ledges. So the trail was actually harder than just that wooden ladder. This is not a place for children unless you have children already conditioned to this type of thing. I can’t imagine having to keep my eyes on a child and watching where I step at the same time.

It felt like it took 2 or 3 hours, but looking at the time stamps on my pictures it only took a little over an hour. I wish I had taken more pictures of the interior part of the hike. My pictures are at the beginning, the summit, and the end. Although it was beautiful in its own way, I didn’t feel like I saw anything different that you couldn’t see elsewhere in the Badlands. With that being said, the Notch Trail was a fun and rewarding experience if you’re into this...

I hiked it in 92 degree heat, and definitely needed all the water in my Camelback, but the experience and scenery were worth the heat! The first 1/3 of the hike is pretty easy, until you reach the ladder up the cliff face. It's not so hard to make it up the ladder, I walked up it, but it expels a lot of energy, and heats you up. The rest of the trail gets rougher after that, as your up on the ledge and it's up and down, and sharp angles with most steps. Definitely recomend hiking boots! We went about 3 pm, which turned out to be a blessing, as the cliff wall on your West, allowed some shade spots to stop and get relief from the sun. The final point is an awesome over look, then back the same trail. Going down the ladder is worse than up. Most everybody I saw went down backwards. I found it easier to hang on to the metal cables on the sides rather than the log rungs, as they were taught, and gave a positive hand hold with significantly better grip. When you get 2/3 of the way down it's not steep anymore and you can stand up and turn around and walk down if you feel comfortable with that....

This trail was a lot of fun. I was a bit worried about rattlesnakes but did not see any. I would say the trail is overall a moderate difficulty, though it isn't too tough. There are a couple of sectipns where you are up high with no railing and should not go too far to the edge because if you fall, there's no coming back. Fortunately, if you follow the path and stay to the side, you will be fine, but those who do not like being up high should be careful. There is also a 50-foot ladder that starts on the ground and goes up. If you are someone who does not like heights, this is a good stopping point because the trail is very easy up until here, where it becomes just a little harder. If you are remotely fit, the ladder isn't hard, but you do have to go down it just like you went up. You might have to wait because it's the main way to climb the path, and people going up and down have to take turns and wait for those in front of them. Once you get to the top, this is a really cool place to take pictures. If you wear a hat, be aware that the wind might...