The dull, gray cloud cover wasn’t much of an inspiration, but the forecast called for near record highs close to 60°F. In late January that was superb, as good as Lupe was going to get. Despite the boring clouds, this would be fine a day for visiting the remaining Brian Kalet peaks on the NE periphery of the Black Hills which Loop hadn’t been to yet.
Since late 2016, Lupe had been gradually chipping away at a long list of hills in the region which Brian Kalet had added to the Peakbagger.com database since May of that year. SPHP hoped Loop would finally be able to complete the list today. The American Dingo would only need to reach the summits of 3 minor peaks to be successful.
First up was Peak 4340, located NW of the junction of I-90 and Hwy 85 between Whitewood and Spearfish. Peak 4340 has two summits within 4,340 foot contours. Lupe would visit both to make certain she actually made it to the true summit. A 15 mph NW breeze blew gustily as the Carolina Dog set off on her first mission of the day. (9:16 AM, 54°F)
Peak 4340’s SE summit was closest, only half a mile away. SPHP didn’t even bother bringing the backpack or any water. There was a little bit of snow around. Lupe could eat snow if she got thirsty. With such a short distance to go, and only 430 feet of elevation gain required, Loop made rapid progress.
It didn’t take Looper long to reach the SE summit, which proved to be a rocky, rounded high point at the SW end of a much larger area contained within the 4,340 foot contour. An electrical pole sat right on top of this knoll. Lupe had a clear view to the W of both Crow Peak (5,787 ft.) and Lookout Peak (4,478 ft.) near Spearfish.
From Peak 4340’s SE summit, Lupe could also see her next destination. The NW summit was on a forested ridge less than 0.2 mile away.
Lupe had barely left the SE summit when she caught a glimpse between the trees of Bear Butte (4,422 ft.) off to the E.
The Carolina Dog saw some deer on the way to Peak 4340’s NW summit, which made her happy. She lost about 70 feet of elevation which she had to regain, but that was easy enough. The NW summit proved to be a large area without any real definite high point.
Although the NW summit was partly open and grassy, pines rimmed the small meadow blocking any views from what appeared to be the highest spot. However, Lupe could see Crow Peak and Lookout Peak again from rocks along the slightly lower S end of the summit area.
Of course the question arose of which was higher, Peak 4,340’s SE or NW summit? Brian Kalet had selected the NW summit as the true summit in his estimation. SPHP more or less agreed with that assessment, although it was definitely a close call.
Lupe returned briefly to the NW high point, now that it seemed fairly certain it actually was the true summit of Peak 4340.
One down, two more to go! Lupe and SPHP started back, stopping briefly at the SE summit again on the way.
When Lupe got back to the G6 (10:29 AM, 54°F), it was off to the next Brian Kalet peak! Peak 4433 is less than 4 miles NW of Peak 4340 as the crow flies. However, Lupe was going to start out for Peak 4433 from a point 1.5 miles WNW of the mountain. SPHP had to drive the American Dingo over to her intended starting point (11:00 AM, 54°F).
Getting to the summit of Peak 4433 proved to be a trickier task than reaching the top of Peak 4340. For an ascent of a minor peak, Lupe faced a lot of up and down, some of it on rather steep slopes or in areas of dense scrub oak.
Lupe climbed a steep NW slope to arrive at the summit of Peak 4433. A house was up here! This was private property. No one seemed to be around. Better skedaddle, though. SPHP snapped a few quick photos, and Lupe was on her way back to the G6 again.
Lupe made it back to the G6 at 1:20 PM (56°F). Two Brian Kalet peaks down, and only one to go! Loop enjoyed another ride to the next starting point only 0.5 mile SW of the summit of Peak 4000 (1:57 PM, 57°F).
Finally, after more than a year of working on them, the list of Brian Kalet peaks was completed. Lupe stood at the summit of Peak 4000. Loopster was free at last! Free to concentrate on other ideas and goals. SPHP was happy the Brian Kalet list was done. To Lupe, it had been just another fun day of exploring.
On the way back, Lupe did a little more exploring along Peak 4000’s W ridge, hitting another high point more than 0.25 mile W of the summit.
At 3:09 PM (57°F), Lupe was back at the G6. The American Dingo’s Black Hills adventures following Brian Kalet’s lead were over.
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