Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Management Area

 I've got some use or lose leave that I need to take and so I had the day off today. I decided to get out for a bit of hike today and to take Rosie along with me. I wanted to explore a new area, but I didn't want to drive too far. I opted to head north to Harrison, NE and see if I could find the Devil's Den, a surprisingly deep and narrow canyon in the Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Management Area. 

It was an uneventful drive past Agate Fossil Beds and through seemingly endless grasslands to Harrison. Just north of town we finally entered the ponderosa pines. I parked at a parking area with a pit toilet and after using the facilities, Rosie and I hit the trail. Almost immediately we crossed a ravine with a stream flowing through it and large trees growing along the banks.

Then, we crossed a dry ravine and headed through a meadow,

before climbing a ridge to awesome views of the surrounding Pine Ridge 

and plains down below.

We descended off the ridge and then made our way down to a logging road below.

We followed the road for a while and then made a left turn into a pretty deep canyon. The canyon was choked with downed trees and vegetation and made for some pretty slow travel. Eventually, Rosie and I climbed out of the canyon and took a break just above.

The views from our break spot were pretty nice. 

Soon, we found another road, which we followed to a gate. We then followed the fence line, inside the public lands to a few ridges that offered wonderful views of the surrounding landscape.

We even followed one ridge out to a small natural arch.

Until this point, we hadn't had any luck finding Devil's Den. I pulled out my phone and was surprised to find that I had cell service and so I opened up All Trails and used it to navigate towards where I figured the canyon would be. This method worked, and soon we found ourselves just above the canyon. 

It was a steep climb to get into it though. After slowly making our way about halfway down, Rosie refused to go any further. I opted to head back to the car at this point. Because I had found the road on the way in, we followed that most of the way back through areas where forest thinning operations had taken place.

Soon, we were back to the car for the drive home. I fully expect to head back to this area soon, and climb down into the canyon.