On Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 140 down Bittersweet Creek, Lupe and SPHP had failed to find a way to get down to Castle Creek when USFS Road No. 429 disappeared into a tangle of deadfall timber. Lupe’s peakbagging goal had been to reach Castle Peak (6,358 ft.) that day. Since Lupe and SPHP did not find a Northwest Passage to it from No. 429, it was time to take another approach.
SPHP parked the G6 just 0.25 mile N of Mystic at the intersection of USFS Road No. 428 and Mystic Road. It was a beautiful sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Lupe and SPHP started up Pony Gulch following No. 428. Pony Gulch and the road wound around some, generally heading W. The road gained elevation steadily, at an easy to moderate pace.
When Lupe spotted a mud puddle ahead on the road, she ran to get a drink. She was shocked to find that the water cracked beneath her paws – the puddle was frozen! This was the first ice Lupe had encountered on her Black Hills expeditions this fall. This puddle proved to be the only puddle that was frozen, but Lupe didn’t come to very many other puddles. It has been a very dry autumn so far in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Lupe was happy to soon discover a little stream, which had evidently gone underground before reaching the lower end of Pony Gulch where the G6 was parked. The little stream was close to the road for a while, but then went up a side canyon. Another little stream appeared farther up Pony Gulch, but it soon disappeared underground at both ends.
Near the upper end of Pony Gulch there was an intersection. It wasn’t marked, but this was USFS Road No. 238, also known as Divide Road, probably because it winds around hills up on a ridge dividing the Rapid Creek and Castle Creek drainages. Rapid Creek is the largest stream in the Black Hills. Castle Creek is its largest tributary.
Lupe and SPHP followed No. 238. It continued climbing, but very slowly. Lupe was now out of Pony Gulch and up pretty high. There were some open points with nice views off to the S. The road then wound around to the N side of the ridge, but the forest hid the views in that direction.
Lupe eventually came to the intelligence test intersections along No. 238. Of course, this Carolina Dog passed both tests with flying colors! No, she didn’t want to take USFS Road No. 184 to a place called Bloody Gulch. And no, she wasn’t taking any dead ends to Poverty Gulch either.
Shortly after passing the Dead End to Poverty Gulch test, Lupe reached USFS Road No. 238.1A, which goes 0.75 mile all the way up to the top of Castle Peak from the N. Lupe was soon there. Although Castle Peak is heavily forested, the summit featured an open area clear of trees. There were good views SE toward Harney Peak (7,242 ft.). Custer Peak (6,804 ft.) was visible to the N. Trees around the open area still blocked the views in other directions.
At one time there must have been a fire lookout tower on Castle Peak, but nothing remains of it except a bit of the foundation. There was a USGS Survey Benchmark set into solid rock. The benchmark did not show the elevation, but did say “Castle Peak” and “1950”.
Someone had built a crude, but effective, bench out of some rocks and a board. There were also three poles lashed together so they stood up like a big tripod. Lupe used the bench as a platform for a few pictures.
After spending a little time at the summit, Lupe and SPHP headed SW through the forest. Before long, Lupe reached a viewpoint where it was possible to see to the W. On the horizon, a number of peaks and high ridges Lupe visited earlier in 2015 were in sight.
Lupe was hungry and thirsty. She took a break at the viewpoint SW of the Castle Peak summit. Water and Taste of the Wild were on the menu, as usual. While Lupe dined, SPHP considered Lupe’s options from here. Her next objective was to reach the Castle Peak campground along USFS Road No. 181. It wasn’t far away at all, only 0.5 mile S as the crow flies.
Lupe isn’t a crow, though, and neither is SPHP. There were cliffs to the S. The way down to the campground was through a valley just W of the SW viewpoint. How would Lupe get down there, though?
Lupe could try to go directly down the steep W slope of Castle Peak, or backtrack to the summit and go down on USFS Road No. 238.1A the way she had come up. About 0.5 mile to the N, Lupe would reach No. 238.1E, which did curve around to the W and down into the valley, but it was a rather long detour. SPHP took a couple more pictures before having Lupe explore the options.
Looking down the steep W slope of Castle Peak, it looked like a long way down to the valley floor. It appeared possible to go that way, but it would be slow going. SPHP decided Lupe may as well take the long, but easy route. Lupe returned to the summit of Castle Peak and headed N on No. 238.1A. She turned W on No. 238.1E when she reached it.
The maps had shown No. 238.1E heading W and then turning S into the valley W of Castle Peak, only to dead end in the valley. However, another road, No. 181.1A, came up into the lower end of the same valley from Castle Creek not far from the campground. It also dead ended in the valley before reaching No. 238.1E, so that there was a gap between the roads. All Lupe had to do when No. 238.1E ended was continue on down the valley and find No. 181.1A.
So that’s what Lupe did. When No. 238.1E ended, Lupe just kept going down the valley. The valley became rocky and narrow with a deep gully in the valley floor. There was a lot of deadfall timber in the way for quite some distance, too. It wasn’t too terrible, though, and eventually Lupe reached No. 181.1A.
In the meantime, a small creek had appeared. No. 181.1A had a lot of deadfall timber on it at first, but finally it pretty much ended. The little creek then flowed on the road, but was too small to cause any problems. Lupe enjoyed splashing through the cold water. No. 181.1A linked up with Castle Peak Road (No. 181) very close to the campground.
Lupe and SPHP walked through the campground. It looked very nice. All of the sites are level, spacious and right next to Castle Creek. There was plenty of grass beneath the shade of big pines and spruce trees. The campground was deserted, except for two guys living the good life at one of the sites. They had a campfire going. Although the sun wouldn’t set officially for a couple of hours, there wouldn’t be sunlight down in the valley much longer.
It was a long way back to the G6 – 8 miles along Castle Peak Road back to Mystic Road. Another 2 miles along Mystic road would take Lupe to Mystic. The G6 was 0.25 mile N of Mystic. Lupe and SPHP started the long trek back.
Down in the valley there were no distant views, but Castle Creek flowed merrily along. Above the valley floor, rocks and hills were still in sunlight. Gradually the sunlight retreated up the slopes until it disappeared altogether.
There was no traffic along the road. None whatsoever. Twilight came on. An owl hooted far away. Except for the soothing sound of flowing water, it was quiet. Lupe explored the forests and fields until darkness, then she traveled close to SPHP. There was another break for Taste of the Wild. SPHP got out the flashlight and put on a sweater.
The flashlight wasn’t really needed. A crescent moon, low in the SW, put out an amazing amount of light. Another expedition ended the way many of them do, with Lupe and SPHP traveling the road together beneath a night sky full of shimmering stars.
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