Loess Hills Weekend

[clutch146]

I did a two-night trip to the Loess Hills in western Iowa over the weekend with a buddy and our dogs. We got there at about 6:30 Friday evening and packed in about a mile before nestling into a valley out of the wind. There are no water sources, so we had to pack in 2 days worth of water for the 2 of us, plus our dogs - I think I had 2 gallons in my pack. Since I had all that weight already, figured why not go ahead and bring the cast iron too! Big ol greasy burgers for supper (so this trip may have been as much about eating as it was about camping...)

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It dropped to 19 degrees Friday night. One of the dogs felt like he needed to growl at the darkness most of the night... Saturday we woke and had a delicious skillet of hashbrowns, eggs, chorizo, and peppers that fueled a 9-mile hike through the area. Some awesome scenic looks, a couple wicked ridgeline scrambles, and lots of wind. Late afternoon siesta when we got back to camp.

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Supper was NY strips and sauteed peppers. The rest of the evening was spent in front of the campfire. Saturday night only dropped to 48 degrees - huge difference from the night before. I was very toasty all night.

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We had to get back home early Sunday morning, so we had camp broken by 6:30 and hit the trail. We had a great time. I live in northern Iowa and had never been to this area before; it's really quite the landscape if you haven't seen it. Definitely recommended!

[twodollars]

Thanks for the update and the pics! I'm just starting with this obsession and the Loess Hills is definitely on my wish list. I've camped with scouts at Little Sioux Scout Ranch a couple of times but that was before I started hanging and most of the time scouts car camp. I'd also like to get out to Preparation Canyon sometime...

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