9:01 AM, 55ºF – Oh, that might be it! On the second pass along Beaver Creek Road (Custer County No. 391) 0.1 mile SSW of the junction with Flynn Creek Road (Custer County No. 336), SPHP spotted a faint turn to the E. Room enough to park the RAV4 in front of a barbed wire fence. Beyond a gate, a dirt road went up into the forest.
Something else was beyond the gate, too – an old brown fiberglass wand marking USFS Road No. 391.1D.
Come on out, Loop! Found it!
Minutes after bounding out of the RAV4, the Carolina Dog was following what remained of long abandoned No. 391.1D.
The road made a short climb to the E, then curved SE as it began to level out. Grass as tall as Lupe covered the flat lane ahead.
Private property was just down the slope to the E as Lupe sniffed along. Passing through a short stretch lined with little Ponderosa pines on each side, Loop reached a tall grass clearing where No. 391.1D faded away. A minor pass was just ahead.
Lupe made it up to the pass in a flash. Grassy, but not as tall here.
Which way, SPHP?
Up that slope to the W, Looper!
The slope to the W was a bit longer, but an easy climb, too. Roaming an open forest featuring scattered rocks, the American Dingo soon reached an initial high point.
10:39 AM, 55ºF – Lupe got up on one of the highest rocks.
Where to now, SPHP?
Congratulations, Loopster! You have just climbed Peak 4980!
What? Already? We’ve barely gotten started!
Yeah, I know. This peak is a super easy one, a cinch following the road. Don’t worry, though, Loop. More on the agenda! The next peak will be tougher and a lot farther.
Sounds good, SPHP! Is the next peak far enough away to require a fair amount of energy to get there?
Oh, yes! I’d say so.
In that case, since we’ve already climbed a mountain, maybe we ought to have a chocolate coconut bar. Just to keep our energy levels up, you know?
Conniving Dingo! Kind of early in the day, but I suppose we can do that.
After water and a shared chocolate coconut bar, Lupe explored Peak 4980’s summit region. The first rock she’d gotten up on wasn’t quite the true summit. Several rocks were candidates for that title, but one a little farther SW seemed clearly a tad higher than the others.
The highest part of Peak 4980’s summit region was 25 feet in diameter and toward the N end. However, a minor dip led to a 200 foot long flat grassy area to the S. Lupe sniffed along the length of it, while SPHP checked for views.
Eh! Not much for views. Glimpses to the SE that might have been nice minus a few trees, but that was about it. Loop did a little scrambling on the rock formations separating the upper and lower summit areas, but that was about all there was to Peak 4980. Half an hour after arriving, she revisited the true summit rock before departing.
Instead of taking the same easy route along USFS Road No. 391.1D back to the RAV4, Lupe explored Peak 4980’s N ridge. More challenging, but nothing major. Heading down to the saddle leading to the first subpeak along the ridge, there actually was a spot with a view. The subpeak had a better one.
The final descent from the end of the N ridge got rocky and steep, but was soon all over and done with. Lupe reached USFS Road No. 391.1D again. Only a quick downhill march remained.
Truth was that the RAV4 could get Lupe much closer to the next peak on the agenda, but where was the fun in that? The American Dingo was surprised when SPHP walked right on by it. At the junction 0.1 mile NNE, SPHP led Loop NW on Flynn Creek Road. Another 0.1 mile got her to a R turn onto a side road going to the Cold Springs ranger station and a cemetery.
Directly ahead was a hillside that got quite steep and rocky near the top. If Lupe could get up there, the intention was to follow a long ridge that went N, then NW, all the way to Peak 5604, her ultimate destination.
The hillside really didn’t look all that bad, but once Loop left the road and started climbing, SPHP made the mistake of venturing too far E. This ended up putting her on some of the steepest, rockiest terrain.
In several spots, it looked like Lupe might get stuck. Fortunately, there was always a way higher. Loopster managed to reach the upper edge without needing any boosts from SPHP. She was rewarded with a nifty view of Peak 4980 where she’d been only a little while ago.
Beyond the edge, Lupe found a forested ramp that sloped gradually up toward the ENE between parallel lines of rock formations. The absolute top of this hill couldn’t be much farther, so Lupe went to find it.
The highest rocks she came to along the S edge provided an even better view of Peak 4980.
However, the top of the hill proved to be along the N edge, not the S edge. Venturing across a flat region, Lupe came to a pile of boulders. She promptly scrambled up, reaching the summit of HP5000.
Too many trees to get a decent view to the N, but a lower spot a little to the W did have one. 2.5 miles NNW as the crow flies, Lupe could now see Peak 5604, her ultimate destination. More than twice as far away, the top of Cicero Peak (6,166 ft.) was in sight, too.
HP5072, the next hill along the proposed ridge route to Peak 5604, was of more immediate concern. Beyond a saddle 160 feet below where Lupe was now, its S face looked a lot like the hillside she had just climbed. Not all that big, but rocky and steep.
In fact, the territory ahead all looked rougher than SPHP expected. Lupe was perched at the brink of a cliff, rather than a nice easy slope leading down to the saddle to HP5072. Suddenly, it was clear that the American Dingo was in for a long day, not the stroll along a gentle ridge that SPHP had envisioned.
A short water and rest break was taken while contemplating this view, but the scene didn’t change. The route N looked every bit as rugged as before. Nothing to be done about it, though, except to start putting one paw in front of the other. Lupe left HP5000 heading WSW back down the ramp while searching for a break in the cliffs.
She had to go farther than expected to find one, and even then a bit of scrambling was involved, but Loop finally got below the drop-off. The going was still a little slow, since the forest down here had a fair amount of deadfall to contend with, but the situation improved as Lupe headed N across the saddle leading to HP5072. In fact, as she started up the N end of the saddle, she came to a nice view of Rankin Ridge (5,013 ft.), the high point of Wind Cave National Park.
Staying toward the L (W), the climb up HP5072‘s S face wasn’t bad at all. Lupe passed near some gigantic boulders at the top, but no attempt was made to see if it was feasible to get up on them. The general impression was that any effort to do so would only be a waste of valuable time.
HP5072 was the S end of the longest, most consistent, part of the ridge Lupe was trying to follow. Several minor high points were ahead. The next objective was HP5227 near the N end, more than a mile away.
Thickly forested terrain N of HP5072 soon led to the first of the minor high points. This was a rocky spot providing another view of Peak 5604, which was still a long way off. Beyond this first high point, the ridge narrowed and remained quite rocky. Loop was soon forced down off a spine of massive rock formations.
E of, and well below, these rock formations, the Carolina Dog traversed a steep slope until she could get past them.
The second minor high point along the way wasn’t as rocky. More open toward the S, Lupe had a nice view of the route she had been traveling.
Still more up and down along the ridge to go! HP5227 finally came into sight. Getting there was a dismal undertaking. Deadfall choked nearly the entire remaining distance, and HP5227 itself was no better. Upon reaching the summit, SPHP had to snap a multitude of branches so Lupe could get to the highest rocks. Minus the deadfall, the views would have been pretty decent from here, but it was practically impossible to move around. HP5227 was just an ugly mess!
Peak 5604 was still nearly a mile NW. Almost 200 feet of elevation now had to be lost over 0.25 mile to get down to the last major saddle leading to it. Lupe visited a couple of rock outcroppings during the descent.
By the time Lupe got down to the saddle, she’d left the horrid deadfall behind. Going W from the saddle, the Carolina Dog quickly discovered a game trail that climbed slowly through forest as it gradually turned NW. The trail led to a tall grass meadow in the valley SE of Peak 5604.
The trail vanished. Lupe continued NW and the terrain soon steepened. Turning WNW, the American Dingo reached Peak 5604’s S ridge, already quite high on the mountain. All that remained was a steady trudge to the top, passing scattered pines, minor rock formations, and a bit of deadfall along the way.
3:52 PM, 65ºF, Peak 5604 – Nothing to it, but it had taken a long time to get here. Lupe arrived at Peak 5604’s summit as the sun was getting low. A light breeze stirred out of the W. Incredibly warm out, maybe a record for this date in the middle of November?
After standing on the highest rock to claim her peakbagging success, Lupe looked for a place to relax. Most of the top of the mountain was meadow, but the small elevated region near the true summit was rockier than decent consideration for comfort would have dictated. For a while, the Carolina Dog wound up on SPHP’s lap.
Time for the traditional water, apple, chocolate coconut bar, and Taste of the Wild break!
Congratulations, Loopster! Harder than I thought it would be, but we got here!
Peak 5604 was so worth it, though, SPHP!
Yes, the ridge route was fun, although, as usual, I could have done without all the deadfall.
Dream on, SPHP! Par for the course in the Black Hills, and you know it! Anyway, don’t forget! It’s a good thing we came this way, because we now know the secret location of the precious Pink Dingo!
Precious Pink Dingo! What on earth are you talking about?
That huge gem we found, SPHP! The enormous pink one! It must be worth millions! I still don’t know why you just left it there.
You mean that fist-sized piece of rose quartz? Yes, a very nice specimen, but it isn’t worth millions.
Of course, it is, SPHP! Admit it! The Pink Dingo is the most magnificent geological discovery we’re ever made in all our wanderings!
Aren’t you forgetting the geodes we found once, Loop?
No, I’m not. They were pretty, but small. The Pink Dingo outshines them all!
Well, maybe so, Looper, but why are you calling a chunk of rose quartz “the Pink Dingo”? It wasn’t shaped like a Dingo at all.
Don’t you know anything, SPHP? Panthers are world famous for finding an incredibly valuable pink gem. Mastermind thieves are always trying to steal it. It’s called the Pink Panther! Everyone else on the planet knows it isn’t shaped like a panther, but named in honor of the panther that found it! You must be related to that inspector Clouseau in the documentary.
Ahh, I see. So now there’s the Pink Dingo!
Undeniably discovered by an all-American Dingo, SPHP! As you are my witness, the Pink Dingo is going to make us rich and famous! You’ll see!
Rich and famous! All due to the fabulous, newly discovered Pink Dingo! Certainly a happy thought to mull over while gazing out at panoramic views enhanced by the slanting rays of the evening sun.
Higher country was off to the NW, where the old fire lookout tower was visible on Cicero Peak (6,166 ft.). Not quite as high, and farther away, Mount Coolidge (6,023 ft.) was NNE. None of the territory to the S or E was as high as Peak 5604. Lupe could see all the way to Buffalo Gap. To the W, miles long Bowman Ridge hid what lay beyond it.
Loopster had never been to Bowman Ridge. Might be fun to explore it sometime. Maybe another Pink Dingo, or even a Pink SPHP, was over there?
Nearly an hour after arriving at Peak 5604, Lupe once again stood on the highest rock. SPHP started down first, then called her when her summit hour was complete.
Then it was down the mountain’s S ridge again in the beautiful evening sunlight.
Still some sniffing and exploring to do, but the sun was setting. Instead of returning by the same route, which would have been horrendous in the dark, Lupe eventually turned SW off Peak 5604’s S ridge, descending into a valley.
The valley led down to Flynn Creek Road. Road hike the rest of the way back now. As dusk deepened and the silver stars appeared, the Carolina Dog was excited by the sight of deers grazing in the meadows.
Oh, and it was sort of fun to dream of becoming rich and famous, too! (End 5:13 PM, 46ºF)
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