They say a picture is worth a thousand
words… well here’s two words that are probably worth a
thousand pictures: Kinney
Coulee.
What exactly is Kinney Coulee? Its the shortest of three nature
trails in Makoshika State Park, the largest state park in the State
of Montana. But don’t let the length of this trail fool you,
it is the most technical hiking trail in the park… by
far.
There are parking coordinates below, and when you look at your
GPS unit from where you park the car, you’ll probably be
amazed that you are only 0.2 miles away from the cache. Lets
face it, a 4 difficulty has GOT to be farther away than a quarter
mile. It is. The only way to get there ‘as the
crow flies’… is by being a crow.
Bring lots of water, I would suggest 40 oz, per person AT LEAST.
This cache, thanks to Kinney Coulee Trail, lives up to its name as
"Heck of a Trek". After walking
approximately .3 miles from your vehicle, you’ll be half way
to the destination (your GPS should read that you are about .18
miles away) and 300 feet below the elevation of where you left your
car. This is also, however where the trail markers can be few and
far between at times, you sometimes can't see the trail until
you're right there, and some "unofficial" trails branch off of and
later rejoin the official trail. This is one of the beautiful
things about Makoshika State Park - You’re allowed to go off
the trails, encouraged to explore the badlands on foot at far as
you want to go… I really enjoy this park, and I hope this
cache will take you somewhere you’ve never been before, a
small hide-a-way that not too many people dare to explore.
While *NONE* of these items are required for this cache, I would
*STRONGLY* recommend them:
- 40 oz of water OR MORE, per person. Especially if the temp is
above 75, there’s a lot of climbing involved with this
hike.
- Bug Spray.
- Sunscreen on sunny days. You’ll warm up fast, and
there’s little shade while on the trail.
- A walking stick. This will really save your feet and lower back
from a lot of hurt later. Its amazing what a little piece of wood
can do for you in ‘back country’.
- Trail Mix, GORP, Snacks, whatever you call it. It’ll help
recover some spent, and sweat out energy on the trip back out.
- Good Shoes. You don’t need mountaineering equipment, but
I would suggest bringing something with good traction, there are a
few places where, ‘sliding on your shoes’ is the only
option, but you don’t want to go sliding off the side of a
hill.
- While we’ve never needed it, I would STRONGLY Suggest you
ALWAYS travel in Makoshika WITH a First Aid Kit that includes a
Snake Bite Kit. Prairie Rattlesnakes and Gophersnakes (or more commonly called Bullsnake) are
in the area. A bite received from a bullsnake will bleed freely,
but causes only superficial cuts and is not serious. However, if
you are bit by a Rattlesnake, you’ll want to administer
first-aid (CORRECTLY!! Cutting open the wound to suck the blood out
with your mouth then slapping on a tourniquet is the WORST thing
you can do for a viper bite), and seek immediate medical attention.
We’ve never seen snakes on Kinney Coulee, but we have on the
other 2 trails in Makoshika, its just a matter of time before one
crosses our path on Kinney.
- Finally, a Camera. You’ll be wanting to take a LOT of
pictures.
IF you are in GREAT shape, in a hurry, and don’t want to
waste time taking in the scenery of this walk, you’ll be able
to get to the location of the cache in slightly less than 30
minutes. If you’re in AVERAGE or other ‘less than
great’ shape, or you like taking lots of pictures, or just
taking in the fresh air, doing a bit of wildlife watching, or any
of the other things that make hiking enjoyable, I would then
suggest you give yourself the better part of an hour or two to get
to the cache location.
Once you get to this cache location, you’ll find it is
camouflaged *VERY* well (The park manager was VERY impressed with
it). If you have trouble finding this cache, feel free to contact
me through my profile, but everything you need to know to find this
cache is located ON THIS PAGE. The area of the cache is a
wonderful place to take a break.
After finding the cache, you now have 2 options, continue down
the trail (it doubles back onto itself, so if you keep going
straight you’ll end up at your vehicle), or, head back the
way you came.
Heading backwards the way you came will probably expose you to
sites and views you may have over missed during your trip out to
the cache, which is a good thing, also, it’ll be terrain that
you’ve already traveled on, so you’ll know what to
expect… Which is also a good thing.
However, continuing down the trail, you’ll get new views
to the amazing Kinney Coulee Area… but the trail will also
get *A LOT* more technical. The last half of this trail (depending
on how what path you decide *IS* the trail) becomes less marked,
more tricky, and an adventure you won’t soon forget.
When you find this cache, please sign the log book, and also, if
you could post pictures of your trip down Kinney Coulee Trail, in
historic Makoshika State Park. I would love to get hundreds of
pictures of the area (please leave pictures of the cache itself out
of the images you post of the area, lets leave that to be
discovered by people actually visiting the area).
Kinney Coulee is one of my favorite places in the world, and I
hope this cache will make this trail, and the park itself, one of
your favorite places as well.
Which ever path you choose to get to the cache. Good Luck, and
enjoy the view.