Start – 10:44 AM, 57°F at the Gold Run trailhead near Deerfield Reservoir
Sunny skies, a light S breeze, and pleasant early October temperatures – a great day for a romp in the Black Hills! Lupe would likely get to see some fall colors, too. First things first, though. Loop hadn’t been to Deerfield Reservoir in a while. She may as well take a quick look at the lake before dashing off on her peakbagging adventures.
Only a small portion of the lake was visible from here, but the deep blue waters were a pretty sight surrounded by low pine-covered hills.
After admiring the lake, Lupe set off for her first peakbagging destination of the day. She left Deerfield Reservoir heading SW up a forested embankment. It wasn’t far to Deerfield Road, which she followed W to USFS Road No. 691 (Williams Draw Road). Traveling S along No. 691, Loop came to a small field where she could see Hat Mountain (6,779 ft.) up ahead.
Hat Mountain was only a mile away, so it wouldn’t take Lupe long to get there. That is, if cows blocking the road could be convinced to get out of the way. Not to worry! The cattle were mightily and speedily impressed by the Carolina Dog’s enthusiastic persuasive abilities. They complied immediately with her wishes.
A little farther on, Lupe left the road herself. She started her trek up the lower NE slope of Hat Mountain passing through a beautiful stand of yellow aspens.
Above the aspens, Lupe climbed through a pine forest. Above the pines, the upper N slope of Hat Mountain was grassy and treeless.
When Lupe reached the summit, the first thing she did was to go over to the survey benchmark. It was easy to find toward the E side of the flat, barren summit area.
Next Lupe went to see the sights. She had unobstructed views in every direction. Simply fabulous!
Carolina Dogs aren’t fans of wind, and it was rather breezy up on Hat Mountain. The steady 15 mph SW breeze was enough to make Lupe want to look for a sheltered spot. She found that the small depression near the S end of the summit area worked fine. She curled up there and took a little break.
SPHP joined Lupe in the depression for a short break, then left to stroll around the summit again for another look at the views. Meanwhile, Loop dozed off for a few minutes in her sunny, sheltered spot before SPHP announced it was time to move on.
Lupe left Hat Mountain heading S. Green Mountain (7,164 ft.), her next peakbagging goal was still close to 4 miles away even as the crow flies.
The first part of the way to Green Mountain was easy. Lupe descended mostly open ground into the Heely Creek valley where fall colors were on display.
Heely Creek was very small this time of year, only a foot wide and a few inches deep. As soon as Lupe crossed it, her long gradual climb to the top of Green Mountain began.
Once she entered the forest S of Heely Creek, Lupe followed old logging trails and minor USFS roads. Sometimes she was on faint roads abandoned so long ago that pine trees were growing on them. Other times she simply went through the forest not on any road or trail at all.
About 2 miles from Hat Mountain, Lupe reached USFS Road No. 691 again. She followed it S for a mile. When it began angling SW, she left No. 691 going SE up a forested slope with enough deadfall on it to slow progress down for a while. Eventually she came to a minor USFS road, which she was able to follow E the rest of the way to Green Mountain.
Green Mountain (7,164 ft.) is one of the highest points in the entire Black Hills. However, the only distant views available are obtained along the E rim of the mountain. The best views are toward the SE from limestone outcroppings right along the edge.
While Lupe was enjoying the big views, SPHP noticed a chipmunk. Lupe hadn’t spotted it yet. The chipmunk was scrambling around the limestone, appearing and disappearing right along the brink of the cliffs.
SPHP kept a watchful eye on the Carolina Dog. These limestone cliffs were no place to go chasing around after chipmunks or anything else! The chipmunk was sure-footed and could cling to the vertical face of the limestone. Lupe could not. Fortunately, she never saw the crafty, quiet “tiny squirrel”.
After taking in the views, and enjoying a Taste of the Wild and water break, Lupe agreed to let SPHP give her a boost up onto the limestone pillar where the cairn was. The pillar was an excellent American Dingo display platform with a tremendous view.
Ordinarily, Green Mountain offers complete solitude. That wasn’t the case today, however. Upon arrival at the E edge of the mountain, Lupe and SPHP had both seen a hunter perched on the limestone. He had a tremendous view, and was using binoculars to scan a wide swath of territory below. The hunter and SPHP had waved at one another, but did not speak.
Lupe hates gunfire. If that hunter took a shot at anything from so close by, poor Loopster would have been terrified. Having seen the views and had a little break, it was probably best not to tarry here any longer. It was a long way back to Deerfield Reservoir, anyway.
Of course, before leaving Green Mountain, Lupe still needed to visit the true summit to claim her peakbagging success. Lupe and SPHP headed N from the limestone pillar. The highest ground on Green Mountain was somewhere back in the forest only a little W of the E rim.
A fairly large area was nearly level. It wasn’t really possible to identify an exact high point. A variety of potential highest spots existed, none convincingly higher than the others. Most of them featured small mounds of broken limestone. After searching around for a few minutes, it was time to pick one. Close enough for Dingo work!
Although Lupe had been to Green Mountain 3 times before, it was a big place. She’d never explored some of the territory toward the N end. Enough daylight remained today so she could go sniff about over there on her way back to Deerfield Reservoir. Looper headed NW through the forest looking for a couple of sub-peaks shown on the topo map. Both were still over 7,000 feet elevation.
The first hill she would come to was High Point 7062. Plentiful deadfall timber slowed SPHP’s progress, but High Point 7062 eventually did come into view.
As it turned out, High Point 7062 was worth visiting. The small summit was capped with a limestone outcropping from which there were 180° views to the N. Lupe climbed up for a look around. She could see the top of Hat Mountain (6,779 ft.) from here.
From High Point 7062, Loop could also see her next objective, High Point 7025, more than 0.5 mile to the W. High Point 7025 had a much larger summit area in the form of a 400 to 500 foot long ridge. The fairly narrow ridge was all about the same elevation, but heavily forested. Lupe wouldn’t have much in the way of views over there.
Even so, when Lupe left High Point 7062, she headed W for High Point 7025. She enjoyed a beautiful early evening trek, while exploring new territory.
Lupe made it to High Point 7025. She traversed the entire summit ridge from N to S, then back again. As anticipated, there wasn’t much to be seen in the way of views due to the forest.
The sun was getting low. Deerfield Reservoir was still 4 miles N as the crow flies. Better keep going! Lupe left High Point 7025 heading N. She explored more beautiful territory, saw lots of deer, and eventually found minor roads that led her back to USFS Road No. 691.
Darkness fell on the long road hike back to the G6. Stars glittered above in a moonless sky. The wind had died down hours ago. SPHP tramped along, Lupe trotting nearby. No lights, no traffic, no noise. Everything as it should be when adventure’s done. Quiet time together, then the long drive home. (End – 8:09 PM, 44°F)
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