Start – 11:52 AM, 52°F, intersection of USFS Road No. 243 & Horse Creek Road
That last stretch of Horse Creek Road had been a muddy mess, but the G6 made it through. Lupe was at the start of USFS Road No. 243 again for the first time since … well, SPHP couldn’t remember since when. Whenever it was, it sure seemed like a long time ago now.
Lupe finally had a nice sunny, sort of warm day for late March. Right away, she was clearly happy with the situation. Due at least in part to more wintry weather than normal, the Carolina Dog hadn’t been on a proper Black Hills expedition in nearly 2 months. She was long overdue and looking forward to finally enjoying a romp in the hills.
Today’s peakbagging goal was Old Bald Peak (6,130 ft.) in the E central hills. Lupe had been there twice before, most recently well over 2 years ago on SPHP’s birthday. That wasn’t the most important thing about Old Bald Peak, however.
Old Bald Peak has the distinction of being Lupe’s very first peakbagging goal ever. Way back on 1-29-12 (Expedition No. 3!) when the Carolina Dog was only 13.5 months old, Lupe and SPHP had set out to find Old Bald Peak. Loop had started from Horse Creek Road that day, too, but from considerably farther away than where she was now. SPHP hadn’t been able to find the mountain, so her first peakbagging attempt had been officially unsuccessful, although she’d made it to the top of several other hills that day.
Finding the mountain wouldn’t be a problem today. Getting to Old Bald Peak from here would be cake. As a new twist on things, Lupe would also visit nearby Peak 6167, a slightly higher hill S of Old Bald Peak on the way. Looper had never been to Peak 6167 before.
A cheerful American Dingo set out following USFS Road No. 243 going SSW up a long draw. The road was partially covered by melting snow and ice, and partly by muddy rivulets of snow melt making the road rather mucky.
After more than 0.5 mile, the draw Lupe was going up split. So did the road. An unmarked side road continued SSW. Loop stuck with No. 243, which turned WSW here. Nothing else changed much. The road was still snowy, and Lupe continued gaining elevation steadily.
After another 0.5 mile, Loop reached a saddle at the end of the draw. A fence and a cattle guard were here. On the other side of the saddle, Lupe came to a junction with USFS Road No. 249. A second junction was only 100 feet away to the SW. Loop and SPHP went over there. No signage of any help, but SPHP was already certain where Lupe was. USFS Road No. 249 continued S from here down Marshall Gulch. USFS Road No. 530 headed W, and would soon turn NW on the way down Spruce Gulch.
Loopster didn’t need to take any road from here. She was excited and pleased when SPHP encouraged her to leave the roads heading N into open forest. Roaming the Black Hills National Forest off any road or trail is usually Lupe’s favorite thing to do.
After going N only a short way, Lupe turned WNW to climb a mostly forested hill. Deadfall timber was on the slope, and attempts to avoid the deadfall as much as possible greatly influenced the choice of routes. This hill was only a little over 200 feet higher than where Lupe had left USFS Road No. 249. Loop soon arrived at the summit.
The top of this first hill was rather rocky. Bushes and trees made moving around the summit more of a chore than it should have been. Lupe did get quite a nice clear view from a large rock outcropping toward the SW. The higher hills Loop could see off to the SW looked like they still had quite a bit of snow.
After taking a short break on this first hill, Lupe and SPHP continued on. Peak 6167 was only 0.75 mile to the NNW from here. Right away, Lupe had to lose 150 feet of elevation. Losing the elevation was the hardest part of the whole journey to Peak 6167. The ridge Loop was following was rocky, full of trees and bushes, and even some snow on this N slope.
Once she had lost the elevation, Lupe had an easier time continuing N. She was starting to gain elevation again following a much broadened ridge compared to where she’d come down. It wasn’t long before Looper saw something that really excited her. A herd of 7 or 8 giant deers (elk) had heard Lupe and SPHP coming, and were running off through the forest.
Lupe dashed off to see where the giant deers were going, but they had a big head start. She couldn’t begin to catch up with them. Nevertheless, she came back to SPHP panting hard, but with a big smile.
With all the excitement over, Lupe and SPHP continued on and were soon in position to begin an ascent of Peak 6167’s SSE ridge. Parts of the ridge had so much deadfall timber, Loop sometimes had to down climb a bit to get around it. She always stayed E of the ridgeline then. This went on until the American Dingo was practically at the top of the mountain.
The summit of Peak 6167 was unusual. Pine trees ringed most of a 100 foot long summit ridge, which was oriented NNW/SSE. Two rows of slate stuck up on either side of this ridge separated by a grassy lane 10 to 20 feet wide. The row of slate to the E was nearly vertical, and featured the highest rock on the mountain, which stood 5 feet above the grass. Most of the W row of slate jutted out of the ground at only a 30° angle.
The first chunk of slate Lupe came to was also unusual. It was standing nearly vertical despite being part of the much more sharply angled W row. Lupe had no trouble hopping up on top of it. She would have been at the absolute true summit of the mountain, if not for smaller rocks 20 feet away that stuck up a foot higher along the E spine of slate.
Not much could be seen from the summit. Trees blocked the views in nearly every direction. However, from some of the slanty pieces of slate along the W side of the grassy lane, Looper did have a fairly good view off toward the SW.
After photos from the summit area, Loop and SPHP headed a little back toward the S. Just before Lupe had reached the summit, she had come to a flat, grassy area with views in that direction. She had been able to see Black Elk Peak (7,231 ft.), the highest mountain in South Dakota. Black Elk Peak is always an attraction.
From this same flat, grassy area, the American Dingo could also see Boulder Hill (5,331 ft.) and a sliver of Sheridan Lake.
Lupe had now seen about what there was to see from Peak 6167. It was time to press on to Old Bald Peak, which was now less than 0.4 mile to the N. An abandoned road curls up Peak 6167 from the W clear around to the E side of the mountain. Lupe hadn’t come up this road, but she started her journey N to Old Bald Mountain along it.
The abandoned road was full of snow. Lupe followed the snow all the way down to where the road curled W around the N side of Peak 6167.
Old Bald Peak hadn’t been visible from the summit of Peak 6167 due to the forest, but Lupe got a fairly good look at it on her way down the abandoned road.
Old Bald Peak (6,130 ft.) is only 37 feet lower than Peak 6167, but Lupe would have to lose nearly 200 feet of elevation on her way over there. Naturally, the vast majority of this elevation had to be regained.
Once Lupe left the road at the N end of Peak 6167, her route down to the saddle leading to Old Bald Peak was fairly steep. Looper was soon down, however, and beginning her climb back to the summit of Old Bald Peak for the first time in exactly 2 years, 4 months.
The big views from the summits of the hills Lupe had climbed today all seemed to be off to the SW. Old Bald Peak was no exception. Once again forest blocked the views in virtually all other directions. The scene may have been a bit repetitious, but the snowy high country off to the SW was still beautiful!
Peak 6167 couldn’t be seen from the top of Old Bald Peak. Should have taken a photo of it on the way up. Lupe and SPHP went far enough back down Old Bald Peak’s S slope to find a spot with a halfway decent look at Peak 6167.
After getting the photo of Peak 6167, Loopster and SPHP returned to the summit of Old Bald Peak. Lupe’s peakbagging for the day was complete. 5 minutes were spent in contemplation before continuing on.
The peakbagging might be over, but for Lupe the best part of the day was still ahead. From Old Bald Peak, Loopster and SPHP wandered N through the quiet forest for a long way. It was a fun time in parts of the forest Lupe had been to before, but not for more than 2 years. Lupe saw many deer. She ran sniffing and exploring in places hardly anyone ever comes to.
The wandering was a good time. SPHP enjoyed it, too. Lupe eventually made it down to USFS Road No. 249 again, well N of Old Bald Peak. The rest of the way back to the G6 was a road trek, but a pleasant and still fondly remembered one. Lupe followed USFS Roads No. 249, No. 677, and No. 675 to No. 244, which became Horse Creek Road.
After a long absence, it had been great to get out in the hills again! Best of all, spring was finally here. Maybe it was still early yet, but Lupe’s 2018 adventures would soon be heating up right along with the weather. (4:47 PM, 46°F)
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