- The prairies and the grasslands are truly an underrated part of the ecosystems of the planet.

You're a firecracker, Mr. Roosevelt.

- Those guys look so cool up there.

- Oh my gosh, oh my, oh my gosh, okay.

- The Maah Daah Hey Trail is where the romance of my life began.

- [Nick] (howls) Woo-hoo.

- [Eric] That is a good sound.

Should we make camp here?

- [Kristi] I absolutely think so.

(crickets singing) - [Eric] I really just had no idea what was here.

Oh man.

It's getting real out here in North Dakota.

Let's get low.

I am Eric Hanson.

When I see a trail, I see more than a path from point A to point B.

A good trail is the ultimate opportunity to explore, to discover new landscapes, and to challenge myself.

When I don't have a pack on my back, I'm thinking about my next big adventure because my mission is simple.

My mission is to discover the world's most epic trails.

Funding for Epic Trails is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette guided travels since 1918.

The Alinker three wheeled walking bike.

Assisting people with an active mindset to regain mobility and access the outdoors.

Keeping users active and engaged in life.

More information at Alinker.com In4Adventure.com Inspiring, educating and encouraging outdoor adventure and by these additional sponsors.

North Dakota is famous for sprawling prairies and grasslands, and is home to the largest beasts in North America, the infamous American Bison.

While North Dakota may not be the first state people think of when it comes to adventure, I've learned that just about every place has a surprise in store if you go with open eyes.

Driving into Medora, you enter into this town, and it's just immediately got this vibe and atmosphere that's just kind of different than most other towns anywhere that I've been.

It's a quirky, fun town that has this cowboy vibe, very retro atmosphere to it that's rather interesting and it was very inviting right off the bat.

And I felt right at home pretty quick.

North Dakota played an integral role in Teddy Roosevelt's life, who later went on to establish the national park system.

So I've come with my fiance, Kristi, to hike, camp and explore Teddy Roosevelt National Park and the surrounding badlands.

This is gonna be good.

We have a pretty unique opportunity today 'cause we are going to be hiking with a bit of a local important fellow.

- Hello, I'm Joe Wiegand.

In Medora, every summer I lead guided hikes on the point to point trails named for Theodore Roosevelt's favorite game: Hiking Point to Point.

- Hiking with Joe is a bit of a whirlwind.

He's got a ton of energy, and he just brings so much enthusiasm and persona to his ability to really revive Theodore Roosevelt.

- He embodied him to the tee.

(chuckles) It was beautiful, it was fun, it was quirky, it was interesting, it was high energy and you just felt like you were bouncing around the trails just like Theodore Roosevelt had done.

(country music) - [Joe] Hello, Medora!

(Eric and Kristi laughs) (speaks in foreign language) See, I even get a wave from the chief of police.

- [Eric] Oh, hey.

You're a firecracker, Mr. Roosevelt.

- If you haven't done it yet, this isn't the biggest bush, but if you haven't, just have a little, oh, a little sniff of sage.

(sniffs) It smells so good.

- Yeah.

- I love that.

- Oo wow.

- Oh my gosh, I can smell it from here.

- That is pungent.

- [Kristi] Theodore Roosevelt went through some big hardships, losing his loved ones, and then coming out here and trying to be able to heal from these adversities.

And I absolutely loved kind of putting myself in his shoes, romanticizing this place as this sanctuary.

- For Roosevelt conservation meant the wise use and utilization of our natural resources.

TR said it was the right and duty of every generation to use the natural resources, especially of the public lands, but to do so in a way that left them in better condition for future generations and not in worse.

- Yeah.

- In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, "Do what you can with what you have, where you are.

"Keep your eyes on the stars "and your feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Believe you can and your halfway there," bully.

(country music) - Kristi and I are heading off into the back country of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

We're doing the Petrified Forest Trail, and it looks stunning.

This landscape is different than I expected.

It's got more diversity, it's got more terrain, more wild and rugged nature.

So when Theodore Roosevelt describes that this is the place that he found the romance of his life, that didn't make sense to me until I got here.

And now seeing this and experiencing this landscape, I do see that this landscape has that power over people.

Whoa.

- Bison?

- Bison.

- In the middle of the trail.

- [Eric] Right there.

Oh, they look amazing.

- Oh my gosh.

- Okay, okay.

We mean you no harm.

Just multiple bison just staring us down and are alerted and they know that we're there.

And there's just this electric charge in the air from the storm, and everything is kind of on high alert at that point.

We've got a herd of bison- - In the middle of the trail.

- In the middle of the trail.

Meanwhile, we've got this big storm blowing in right now that's got lightning and quite a bit of thunder and a big flash of lightning just blew down.

It's feeling pretty wild out here.

- Whoo!

- Oh my God.

- Woo-hoo-hoo!

We're gonna have to give these bison their space.

- We're gonna give them wide ranges.

We're gonna try and around them.

We don't wanna mess with those.

- Oh man.

It's getting real out here in North Dakota.

Let's get low!

Kristi and I both had differing reactions.

I think Kristi was really rightly so concerned.

(chuckles) - I'm a little anxious because I mean, they're massive.

You know, my heart was pounding.

I was feeling ready to remove myself very quickly.

- [Eric] And I'm more on the, "Oh my goodness, isn't this cool?"

I wanna like photograph it and you know, maybe get a little bit dangerously close.

- [Kristi] Oh my gosh, oh my, oh my gosh.

- This guy just came sprinting down the hill from the two in the background, and he's clearly interested in us, so we're definitely on high alert and we want to give him plenty of room.

- [Kristi] Oh, he snorted at you, babe.

- Yeah, no, he is, they're communicating.

- [Kristi] Eric is one to always take more of a risk than I am.

So he actually brings me out of my comfort zone, and I think I help bring him back into, "Hey, maybe be a little safer."

So we kind of balance each other out in those ways.

- Kristi has a lot more caution than I do about danger.

And you know, I maybe, maybe she's right.

- What the heck?

- All right, that was amazing.

- What, I'm sorry, I ran away.

(laughs) - You probably made the right call.

- I was so worried that you were gonna just get charged.

- I've never seen anything like that.

Those bison were on the move.

You good?

That was wild.

- Exhilarated.

- That was wild.

- We got a storm, we've got bison.

It's like, you know, lightning.

It just, all of it's like the adrenaline is up.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

That was epic.

- [Kristi] Wow.

(country music) - Should we make camp here?

- I absolutely think so.

- Yeah, I think this looks great.

- [Kristi] Beautiful view, we got petrified wood down there.

- [Eric] Something I love about backpacking is after you've hiked on the trail and you've worked hard and you've found a good spot to camp, and you finally like get there, you set up your camp, there's just this really beautiful moment to breathe and relax and just drink in a scene together.

(country music) This is the most impressive display of petrified wood I've ever seen.

Look at this thing.

- [Kristi] Wow, I love the textures and the color.

It's got some really vibrant color in here.

So what this used to be like, almost like the Florida, Everglades, right?

- [Eric] Yeah, so basically this was, as far as I understand it, this was a swamp land, and then some sort of mud event would've come in and just covered everything and they got buried and petrified.

I love getting to travel with Kristi.

It's a team effort out here, and it's really fun to be able to share that with someone you love.

- Eric brought me into this world of backpacking, and it's really fun when you can share in your partner's passions.

So getting to be out here with him and watching him in his element, it makes me so happy.

(country music) (country music) - I'm at the Dakota Cyclery here in Medora, and I'm about to meet up with local mountain bike legend, Nick Ybarra.

He's got a big itinerary set for me tomorrow, and so we're meeting up to get our bikes situated, go over the plan and get ready for a big adventure.

Come on inside.

- Funny- - How's it going?

- Hey, Eric.

- Hey, Nick.

- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

- [Nick] We're gonna go for a mountain bike ride on the world famous Maah Daah Hey Trail.

- Meeting Nick Ybarra, he is super passionate about mountain biking, about bringing people into this landscape and showing off this place that he loves.

- We're gonna drive out to the nearest road crossing for Devil's Pass right here.

It's been always has been, always will be my absolute favorite spot on the trail.

- Really?

- It's gorgeous.

So I want to get us out there at sunrise.

- When I first met Nick, it was just like, "Wow, I am meeting a bright star of a human."

(gentle music) So Nick and I just drove through early morning to get here at sunrise.

Sun's just coming up and we have this big feature that's gonna really kick off our adventure for today.

It's Devil's Pass.

It's this gnarly little spine that connects these two land features.

And then we're gonna be riding across that and then continuing down the Maah Daah Hey for the next bunch of miles.

Crossing rivers, getting dirty, getting wild.

It's gonna be a fun day, yeah.

- This is my favorite place in the world.

If I had to choose anywhere to live, this would be it.

And so it's really cool to be here and share the experience with Eric.

The Maah Daah Hey trail is where the romance of my life began that was originally built with the idea of connecting the north and south units of the Roosevelt National Park.

And so the Forest Service designed it, laid it out, and built it as a 97 mile point to point, single track trail.

So dude, the first time I crossed this, I was on my $150 Schwinn from Walmart.

- [Eric] Oh yeah?

- [Nick] And just, I mean, absolutely fell head over heels in love.

I was all alone, yeah.

And it was just like, dude, this is the moment.

Like Teddy Roosevelt says, the romance of my life began, oh, like it was my 18-year-old heart just opened up to the Badlands.

Just that beauty and wilderness and adventure.

And I've kind of spent the rest of my life chasing that feeling.

- And so you've actually been responsible in a lot of ways for physically maintaining the trails and getting them into shape for mountain biking and for people to come out here and ride.

Is that right?

- [Nick] To me, the Maah Daah Hey Trail really is like more of a best friend than a place or a trail.

It's something that I care deeply about.

And so when the trail started to disappear, it felt like I was losing a friend.

And that was the motivation to do whatever it took to bring it back to life.

There was a group of volunteers that came in and just kind of asked permission to start helping maintain the trail.

And we started mowing string trimming, pruning branches, shoveling dirt by hand in 2013.

And we've done it every year since then.

- [Eric] Mountain biking can go from zero to 60 real quick, so things can be fun and playful and all of a sudden you can find yourself in over your head.

And one of the cool things was, despite the fact that this was a challenging trail, I never felt like I was in over my head.

I always felt like I was having this fun banter play with the landscape.

Honestly, the biking was the best combination of adventure, of ruggedness, of challenging, but also inviting and flowy and fun.

(upbeat music) Let's go across the little Missouri.

Ooh, that is some mud.

- Dude.

- Woo-hoo.

- This is a high dollar mud treatment right here, man.

- [Eric] Wow.

We should sell this to tourists.

It's not the experience I thought I would have today.

I thought I would be riding it, not the other way around.

Nick did an amazing job of showing this landscape that he loves, showing the trail that he's deeply tied to and making me feel right at home home.

Kristi and I are on the road and heading to the quaint Watford city to explore the north unit of the national park.

But first, we have to try our luck at a sport the local people can all relate to.

Kristi and I have arrived at Lake Sakakawea here in North Dakota.

Have you ever done kayak fishing before?

- Not kayak fishing, but I did grow up fishing with my grandfather, so hopefully I make him proud today.

- We're about to meet up with Mike, who is a local fishing guide and expert in the arts of walleye here.

And we hear that this is the place to come to fish for Walleye.

- [Mike] Lakes Sakakawea is huge.

It's out like 190 miles long.

- [Eric] Yeah, wow.

- [Mike] We're not gonna paddle that much today.

We're not doing all- - Okay.

Right off the bat, getting on the water, I had a strike and I had a fish on.

Oh, what is that?

Oh, I think I got something.

- [Mike] Oh, you want something?

- I got something.

I got something.

Oh.

- Oh!

- [Eric] The emotional roller coaster of fishing was, there were so many ups and downs as you would on a roller coaster.

- Come on.

- Woo-hoo.

Get, no!

No!

- We're two for two, I'm failing.

- We call that yeah, exactly.

We're a hundred percent on fail.

- I had a lot of moments of, "Oh, I got one.

"No, I don't."

For me, I feel like a capable outdoorsman.

But it was kind of humbling.

- We were pretty much saying, we're done.

We're just not gonna get a fish today, and we have to go find dinner 'cause we do not have one that we can eat.

And then all of a sudden, I hooked this massive walleye.

- Whoa!

- Whoo!

- Nice!

- Look at this fish I just got.

(laughs) - Honestly, I'm constantly proud of Kristi.

I'm constantly impressed by Kristi, and seeing her pull that fish out and provide us dinner was such a joy and a special moment.

I honestly, I loved it.

You crushed it, babe.

- Thank you.

- That is an awesome, beautiful fish.

- [Kristi] Yeah.

(country music) It's amazing.

- Oh my God, wow.

- Yeah, it's really good fish.

- That is so good.

So Kristi and I are in the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and we are setting off on one of the premier and most rugged and remote trails in the park system here.

We're gonna be hitting the Achenbach trail.

So I'm excited to see what this place is all about.

The south unit and the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park are two distinct, but united regions of North Dakota.

The north unit is a little bit more like a canyon in the prairies mixed with mud and unique geological features.

- The textures and the colors are always the things that bounce out at me.

There's so many different types.

So there's the smooth textures, there's the really rough ones, and this place is abundant of textures, and my brain is lighting up like crazy.

- [Eric] It's almost like each place needs to be visited independently, and to go to one, to go just to the north unit or to go just to the south unit isn't quite enough.

You really need to experience both to be able to understand this place in its full nature.

Honestly, this has been super cool.

Every hundred yards we're going, I'm seeing something new, seeing something that surprises me.

So now the plan is continue on.

We're gonna be staying at the Juniper Campground, which is kind of the midway point of this Achenbach trail, and then we'll pick it back up and resume tomorrow.

So Kristi and I arrived pretty late into the Juniper campground last night, hoping that we get some clouds that'll break up and the sunlight will come out and have a beautiful day once again on the trail.

So this is actually something I've been excited to see.

These canon ball concretions, there's these spherical, almost egg like looking balls.

- Right, they're strange.

They're like that doesn't make sense on how they've been created.

- [Eric] Yeah, and so, as far as I understand, they were actually formed by water and minerals gravitating together and forming these balls deep within the sediment.

And now they're just being exposed as this mud and everything and being eroded away, eroded.

And so we're just discovering them now.

So the Achenbach Trail crosses the little Missouri River, but there's no bridge or anything.

So that's part of the adventure.

So right now, Kristi and I are looking for a way to cross, and we're just gonna literally have to hike through, just hike up our pants and hope it doesn't get too deep.

Hope the mud isn't too quick-sandy.

So yeah, that's all part of the fun out here.

- [Kristi] (gasps) Wow.

- [Eric] Yeah, there's some good mud in here.

- [Kristi] I'm like just ready for drop offs anywhere.

- [Eric] Yeah, there's like no visibility into this muddy water.

- [Kristi] No.

- [Eric] You have no idea what you're stepping into.

- I got, oh gosh!

- It is getting deeper.

Ooh, ooh, and muddier.

Achenbach Trail, North Dakota!

Oh, that was, I think that was the deepest spot - [Kristi] That was, it was.

- [Eric] Oh, that was deeper than I was expecting.

- [Kristi] I know.

- Whoo!

(laughs) Good job back there.

Whoo!

Getting wild, getting muddy, and heading into the unknown together.

That's what our journey here in North Dakota and in life is all about.

Well, we did it.

We have concluded our hike here on the Achenbach Trail.

This was a proper adventure and I have loved it.

There is so much more to North Dakota than you might expect, and that's one of the things that I've truly loved about this experience.

It's been so cool to share this with my partner Kristi, and I am just so grateful for this amazing adventure here.

Funding for Epic Trails is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette guided travels since 1918.

The Alinker three wheeled walking bike.

Assisting people with an active mindset to regain mobility and access the outdoors.

Keeping users active and engaged in life.

More information at Alinker.com In4Adventure.com Inspiring, educating and encouraging outdoor adventure and by these additional sponsors.