Originally Posted by
ObdewlaX
Makes sense, especially regarding the weather. Back in '05, I did a trip there with my son & one of his buddies and camped at Winding Stairs for a night where it rained pretty heavily the entire night. Late that afternoon, two couples hiked in & set up camp right along the river. During the night, I thought heard screaming but with all the nasty weather, it was hard to tell & I wasn't sure. By the next morning, the river had risen dangerously close to our campsite during the night & as I was surveying things, the two couples came walking up the trail with nothing but the clothes on their backs... no shoes, no gear, nothing. It had rained so hard for so long & because they camped so close to the river, all their belongings were washed away in a flash flood during the night and the screaming I heard was them realizing almost too late, they were in serious trouble. They were very lucky. The Little Missouri had risen so high, we couldn't make it across to get back to the trailhead at the Albert Pike Recreation Area campground. Had to hike out the opposite way & wound up hitchhiking back to the car.
I learned a big lesson on that trip and as you say, always play it safe.
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