Start – 7:47 AM, 61°F, Big Pine trailhead of Centennial Trail No. 89 near Horsethief Lake, Hwy 244
Hard to believe more than 4 months had already flown by since Lupe had last been on Centennial Trail No. 89! Even harder to believe that the last time she’d done this particular section of it was more than 7 years ago. Lupe hadn’t even been 15 months old back on Expedition No. 10. Not likely she remembered any of it now. Going from the Big Pine trailhead to the Iron Creek Horse Camp was going to seem like a whole brand new experience.
In any event, Loopster was all fired up! As soon as SPHP was ready, she crossed Hwy 244 and hit the trail. Centennial Trail No. 89 wound WSW through typical pine forest. Most of the time Lupe was gaining elevation gradually. She passed by some rock formations fairly early on.
After 0.75 mile, Lupe came to a junction with Willow Creek Rushmore Trail No. 5. A map of the local trail system was here, plus a registration station for the Black Elk Wilderness. SPHP registered for Lupe, and she continued on.
Leaving the junction, Centennial Trail No. 89 climbed steadily. 0.25 mile brought Lupe to a sign at the edge of the Black Elk Wilderness. Beyond this sign, the trail made a couple of switchbacks up to a minor pass. On both sides of a wide path, the forest was tightly packed with dog hair pines, so SPHP brilliantly named this pass Dog Hair Pass.
Dog Hair Pass was the first significant high point of the day. Lupe had gained 261 feet of elevation since leaving the Big Pine trailhead.
From Dog Hair Pass, Centennial Trail No. 89 gradually descended S into a remote valley. Dead trees had fallen across the trail in some places. At one point, a tiny stream trickled right on the trail. Lupe began getting glimpses of big rock formations, especially toward the E. The Carolina Dog eventually came to a larger stream. This was Pine Creek.
After crossing Pine Creek, Centennial Trail No. 89 followed the stream E. Lupe saw more rock formations. She crossed a little tributary stream. The trail then curved N. A wall of rock appeared on the other side of Pine Creek shortly before Lupe came to a larger tributary.
This larger tributary was as far downstream as Centennial Trail No. 89 was going to follow Pine Creek, and the first significant low point. Lupe had lost nearly 240 feet of elevation since leaving Dog Hair Pass. Her net elevation gain to this point was only about 21 feet. As the crow flies, she hadn’t actually gotten very far from the trailhead yet, either, less than a mile, due to the circuitous route the trail had taken.
Lupe crossed the larger tributary of Pine Creek. Centennial Trail No. 89 started climbing again following the tributary upstream.
Staying N of the creek, the trail climbed E at a fairly good clip for a little way. The creek then turned S, and Centennial Trail No. 89 did, too. The valley leveled out for 0.25 mile or more. Lupe crossed the tributary of Pine Creek twice along in here. After the second crossing, the trail immediately left the stream behind and climbed E up a long slope to the next minor pass.
This second pass was also a significant high point along the trail, and was also heavily forested with a bunch of dog hair pines. However, SPHP didn’t think naming every pass Dog Hair Pass No. 1, No. 2, etc. was such a good idea. Quite cleverly, with hardly any mental effort at all, SPHP came up with Short Pine Pass as a suitable designation. No doubt Lupe was impressed, but she didn’t actually say so.
Lupe had gained 280 feet of elevation on the way from the low point at Pine Creek up to Short Pine Pass, bringing her net elevation gain to 301 feet.
From Short Pine Pass, Centennial Trail No. 89 wound down into a ravine where the tops of trees killed by pine bark beetles had been snapped off in high winds. This did open up the views a bit. Lupe could see larger rock formations off to the SE now.
The American Dingo was coming to an area she had been to many times before, a short section of Centennial Trail No. 89 that is shared with Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14.
Upon reaching Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14, Lupe turned L (NE). Two minutes on the shared trail brought her to where the trails divided again. To the L, Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14 went straight to Horsethief Lake and Hwy 244, a major shortcut back to the Big Pine trailhead.
Going to Horsethief Lake would have completed a nice loop, but that wasn’t the plan. Loopster went R, sticking with Centennial Trail No. 89. Almost immediately after making the turn, she came to a small stream. This little stream was the 2nd significant low point. Lupe was about 190 feet lower here than at Short Pines Pass, reducing her net elevation gain to 111 feet.
The trail now began climbing steadily again. Not too long after crossing the tiny creek, Lupe passed by a very tall granite spire. Beyond the spire, the trail led SE up a long valley. Near the upper end, Lupe came to a few mild switchbacks before reaching a 3rd significant high point. Since the trees were bigger here, but not enormous, SPHP designated this spot Medium Pines Pass.
Medium Pines Pass is the highest point along Centennial Trail No. 89 between Big Pine and the Iron Creek Horse Camp. Lupe was now at 5,500 feet, a gain of 310 feet from the little creek near the last junction with Horsethief Lake Tail No. 14, and 421 feet higher than the Big Pine trailhead where she’d started out.
Beyond Medium Pines Pass, the trail continued SE on a steady descent into the next valley. Large rock formations capped hills to the E. Lupe came to a big granite boulder right next to the trail. She got up onto it for a better look.
Past the boulder, a long set of stairs wound deeper into the valley. Below the stairs, the trail continued lower, but not as steeply. Looper came to another tiny stream, which she promptly plopped herself into to cool off. After crossing this stream, the trail followed it lower for a while before unexpectedly curving away to the W, climbing perhaps 150 feet to yet another pass.
Deadfall Pass was the 4th high point Lupe had come to, but didn’t seem as significant as the others. The trail was soon descending again, but at an easy pace interspersed with flat stretches. Lupe had been going SW on the way over Deadfall Pass, but beyond it the trail gradually curved around to the SE again while winding along forested slopes. More tiny streams appeared, so small they were almost certainly seasonal.
Eventually the trail turned NE, and dropped down to a larger stream, which was often heard, but seldom seen. Impressive granite formations were in this area, especially to the N. Lupe came to a small pond.
A short distance past the pond, the trail bent around to the S. It wasn’t much farther to another intersection. A sign indicated Lupe had reached a spur trail leading to Mount Rushmore.
Ignoring the spur to Mount Rushmore, Lupe kept heading S. She was still going down the same valley Centennial Trail No. 89 had been in for a while now. The stream in this valley had grown in size, but was still small enough to easily step or leap over as the trail crossed it twice.
The second crossing came just before Lupe reached a confluence with another even bigger creek. Since this confluence wasn’t too far off the trail, Lupe went over to have a look at it. She was now at 4,860 feet, the lowest point she would come to today, having lost 640 feet since leaving Medium Pines Pass. The Carolina Dog had made it to Grizzly Bear Creek.
Returning to Centennial Trail No. 89, Lupe continued S. 100 feet brought her to a ford. This ford was no more than a couple of feet deep, but far too wide to leap over. Not anxious to get wet feet, SPHP looked for a drier way across. A few boulders 40 feet upstream did the trick.
More than 4 hours had shot by since Lupe left the Big Pine trailhead. Grizzly Bear Creek was a beautiful spot to take a little break. Once over the stream, Lupe and SPHP relaxed for a bit on a big rock.
The rest break next to Grizzly Bear Creek was pleasant, but couldn’t be allowed to drag on too long. The Carolina Dog was soon on her way S again. Centennial Trail No. 89 climbed gradually at first, but before long Grizzly Bear Creek veered off to the W. Lupe found herself going up a side canyon on one of the most aggressive climbs of the day.
By the time Lupe reached Rushmore Pass, she was 320 feet higher than the low point she had just left at Grizzly Bear Creek. Up at the pass, the trail briefly curved E and entered a 40 foot wide clearing.
Not much could be seen from the clearing, but a hill NE of it provided a view. Temporarily leaving the trail, Lupe scrambled up to some rocks from which Mount Rushmore (5,725 ft.) was in sight.
From Rushmore Pass, Centennial Trail No. 89 continued S, once again steadily losing elevation. After a while, Loopster came to a big granite formation on the L (E) partly surrounded by a swamp. SPHP had little recollection of what Lupe had seen so far today from back when she had been here 7 years ago, but this rock did seem vaguely familiar. The area seemed more overgrown than what SPHP recalled, but was probably the same spot.
This rock deserved a name! How about Forgotten Rock? Sounded better than Dimly Remembered Rock.
The trail went on and on. From Forgotten Rock, Lupe followed a small stream uphill, crossing the stream twice before it disappeared. A spindly forest grew at another minor pass where there was a small sunny spot. SPHP dubbed this one Nowhere Pass. Nowhere Pass turned out to be hardly a pass at all. A little farther on, Lupe reached South Deadfall Pass, which was slightly higher.
Another descent, but a minor one. The trail curved to the R and crossed “Muck Creek”. Centennial Trail No. 89 climbed again. At last Lupe came to a place she had been to less than 2.5 years ago, an intersection with Centennial Bypass Trail No. 89B. Lupe had accidentally come this way from Iron Mountain (5,446 ft.) on Expedition No. 184 while looking for Peak 5688.
Bypassing Centennial Bypass Trail No. 89B, a short trek brought Loop to yet another pass. Bypass Pass seemed like a silly, but appropriate name. How many of these goofy passes were there going to be anyway? Even SPHP was starting to lose track of them all.
Centennial Trail No. 89 continued S from Bypass Pass on a long gentle decline. Having been here so recently, SPHP knew exactly where Lupe was going to come out – Confusion Point!
Confusion Point was another trail intersection, but an unmarked one. Way back on Expedition No. 10, SPHP hadn’t known which way to go. Now it was understood that Confusion Point was one end of another short section of shared trail, this time with Grizzly Creek Trail No. 7. When Lupe got to Confusion Point, SPHP had her turn L (E) toward a huge granite spire.
The shared section of trail began heading E toward the spire. It quickly curved SE revealing a wide passage between massive walls of granite. Grizzly Creek Trail No. 7 went through that passage, but Centennial Trail No. 89 split off to the R, resuming its course S. A sign was present, but not terribly conspicuous. It would have been easy to miss this turn, if Lupe hadn’t been here before.
Lupe had made tremendous progress! Only 1.25 miles left to the Iron Creek Horse Camp!
Leaving Grizzly Creek Trail No. 7 behind, Lupe climbed 50 or 60 feet in a fairly short distance. At the high point, newly nicknamed Confusion Pass, there was a rock formation immediately to the R of Centennial Trail No. 89. Loop got up onto it. She had a good view of some of the big granite formations she had just gone by, and could see Black Elk Peak (7,231 ft.), the highest mountain in South Dakota, too.
Another descent began from Confusion Pass. Lupe came to a low area where a stream wound through a grassy field. Out in the middle sat a big rock formation. This was it! This was the rock formation that SPHP had been thinking of earlier at Forgotten Rock. No wonder Forgotten Rock hadn’t looked quite the same! It wasn’t.
Forgotten Rock could keep its name. SPHP truly hadn’t remembered it at all. The rock Lupe was at now could be Memory Rock, since there had at least been some recollection of it. Yeah, that made sense!
Centennial Trail No. 89 climbed again. Off to the NW were glimpses of higher mountains, but no clear views. Making short forays off-trail, Lupe had better luck seeing some lesser, but still interesting formations much closer by.
The trail dropped again, but Lupe didn’t have an awful lot farther to go. She came to another good-sized stream. Iron Creek! Possible to rock hop it today, but just barely.
The trail made one more 75 foot climb before descending to a road. Lupe had made it all the way through the Black Elk Wilderness! She passed a brand new Black Elk Wilderness sign on the way down. More maps were posted at the road.
After a quick look at the maps, Lupe and SPHP followed the road down to a bridge over Iron Creek. On the other side of the bridge, Lupe came to the Iron Creek Horse Camp. This early in the season, the horse camp was closed. Lupe and SPHP took a stroll around the loop anyway. No people, and sadly for Lupe, no horses.
At the far end of the loop, Lupe passed the start of Norbeck Trail No. 3, most of which goes through the SW part of the Black Elk Wilderness. The highlight of the whole horse camp tour was a bright orange bird which flitted by, came to rest in a tree for 20 seconds, then flitted away. SPHP had never seen a bird like it before.
And that was it. 8 hours after leaving the Big Pine trailhead, Lupe set out from Iron Creek Horse Camp, this time heading N on Centennial Trail No. 89. Already 4:00 PM! SPHP was certain the American Dingo wouldn’t get back until well after dark.
However, Lupe had an option. Instead of repeating the entire trudge over all those countless passes on Centennial Trail No. 89, at Confusion Point she could take Grizzly Creek Trail No. 7 instead. This maneuver worked out perfectly! The Carolina Dog saw territory she had never seen before. Grizzly Creek Trail No. 7 was easy, too! Much straighter, with far less up and down than Centennial Trail No. 89.
Lupe made rapid progress. When she reached the S end of Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14, she took it all the way to Horsethief Lake. Arriving at the lake before dark, a short stroll through the campground to Hwy 244 was all that remained to return to the Big Pine trailhead. (7:28 PM, 59°F)
Even though Lupe had climbed to 5,660 feet on Horsethief Trail No. 14, she’d made it all the way back to Big Pine in only 3.5 hours! No stars, no moon, no long march in the dark.
That was OK! Lupe had explored all of Centennial Trail No. 89 between Big Pine and the Iron Mountain Horse Camp. In 11.5 hours, she’d made a big figure 8 through the heart of the Black Elk Wilderness. It had all been fun! What sounded like fun now, though, was a ride home to her Alpo and a long snooze.
Notes: Big Pine trailhead and the Iron Creek Horse Camp are at roughly the same elevation. Estimated total elevation gain (and loss) going from Big Pine to Iron Creek Horse Camp on Centennial Trail No. 89 is 1,781 feet. Elevation gain (and loss) via Lupe’s return route on the Grizzly Creek and Horsethief Lake trails was only 964 feet. Total gain (loss) of 2,745 feet round trip.
Links:
Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition
Next Trail Section North
Next Trail Section South
Centennial Trail No. 89 Brochure & Map
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