There was too much snow, more than a foot on the ground. It was everywhere, too. Lupe sank in up to her belly even where it hadn’t drifted. Clearly going N had been a mistake. With a forecast high in the low 50’s °F, SPHP had chosen four peakbagging objectives for Lupe near Galena in the northern Black Hills. However, as SPHP drove N on Hwy 385, the amount of snow around had increased steadily.
Lupe and SPHP were at Custer Crossing, and hadn’t even reached the starting point for the day’s planned expedition near Galena yet. Lupe loves the snow, but this wasn’t going to work. A day spent out here, and even Lupe would wind up freezing and exhausted. Time for Plan B. Lupe and SPHP got back in the G6 and headed S.
NW of Hill City, Lupe and SPHP hopped back out of the G6 at Newton Lake, (a little pond really) on Newton Creek. It was 9:32 AM, but only 35°F. Maybe the day wasn’t going to be as warm as advertised. There was still snow around, but much less than back at Custer Crossing. This would work.
Lupe started off heading W on the Mickelson Trail. She soon found some squirrels to bark at, so she was happy. The day was getting off to a good start after all. Lupe met a couple of cross country skiers on the trail, and sniffed with their big yellow lab. Less than a mile from Newton Lake, Lupe left the Mickelson Trail and turned S on USFS Road No. 386.
USFS Road No. 386 is a major gravel road. It was slick with packed snow and ice. The road curved around as it climbed. SPHP trudged along the uninteresting big road. Lupe was having some luck finding squirrels to bark at in the forest, though, so she was busy dashing off here and there having a good time.
About a mile S of Deerfield Road, Lupe and SPHP reached the intersection with USFS Road No. 386.1B, a minor road much more to SPHP’s liking. Lupe and SPHP followed No. 386.1B. It went E until it got close to the W slopes of Smith Mountain (5,897 ft.) and then turned S. Lupe stuck with No. 386.1B until it got close to the S end of Smith Mountain. Then Lupe and SPHP took off heading SSW through the forest.
Lupe soon came to a big open field, which she and SPHP crossed, continuing SSW. Lupe eventually returned to the forest S of the field. Before long, Lupe ran into USFS Road No. 727.1F at a point just NW of Flag Mountain (5,896 ft.). No. 727.1F took Lupe S skirting just W of Flag Mountain. It linked up with No. 727 just a little W of the saddle between Flag Mountain on the N, and Campaign Hill on the S.
Of course, SPHP actually had a peakbagging goal in mind for Lupe. Back on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 106 on 11-28-14, Lupe climbed a couple of mountains she had already passed by today – Smith Mountain and Flag Mountain. On Expedition No. 106, she hadn’t had time to continue S to Campaign Hill (5,800 ft.), but now she was practically there.
Lupe and SPHP went E on No. 727 just a few hundred feet to the high point of the saddle. There, Lupe and SPHP left the road to start climbing straight up the N face of Campaign Hill. Lupe only had to gain a little over 200 feet of elevation from the saddle to reach the summit ridge. She reached the top of the ridge near the E end.
Lupe and SPHP explored the ridge up at the top of Campaign Hill looking for the true summit. The ridge line went W from the E end of the mountain to the first (NW) rock formation, and then curved SSW. Lupe climbed up on the first rock formation, but there were so many trees she couldn’t even see Flag Mountain just 1/3 mile to the N. However, she could see more big rocks off to the SSW. They looked even higher. The true summit of Campaign Hill had to be over that way.
Lupe didn’t have to go very far to reach two more high points. The middle one was higher than the NW high point she had just come from, but the true summit was at the next high point beyond it. All of the high points featured exposed rock formations. The largest rock formation was at the summit.
SPHP had to lift Lupe up onto the highest rocks at the true summit of Campaign Hill. Lupe had accomplished her primary peakbagging goal for the day! Other than the satisfaction of just being there, Campaign Hill wasn’t providing much of a reward. The forest was so thick, there weren’t clear views in any direction. Lupe could catch only a glimpse of Harney Peak (7,242 ft.) through the trees from the highest rocks, and that was about it.
There was still plenty of time left in the day. Why not go visit Peak 6048? It was just a mile to the S of Campaign Hill, and Lupe and SPHP had never been there before, either. So Lupe and SPHP headed SSW down along the ridge line from Campaign Hill. To the E, the terrain dropped off steeply. To the W, the terrain sloped away much more gently.
A little less than halfway to Peak 6048, there was an opening in the forest along the ridge line as it was dropping down into a saddle. Here Lupe got her first clear look at Peak 6048. The steep N face was snowy, and appeared to be covered with a maze of deadfall timber. Lupe could see that Peak 6048 had a double top, with the true summit being to the E. It also looked like there were rocks at the E end of the mountain where there might be some pretty decent views.
Lupe and SPHP continued down into the little saddle, and then climbed over a small hill heading S. Beyond the small hill, the ridge line leading to Peak 6048 continued. The ground to the E still fell off sharply, but to the W the land sloped gently toward sunlit forests and little fields full of snow and light.
The climb up Peak 6048 from the NW was slow. A few inches of snow made everything slippery. The worst obstacle was the large amount of deadfall timber to be navigated. Lupe reached the NW high point on Peak 6048. There were some pretty big rocks up here. Lupe found a cairn at the top of them. Trees blocked the views in most directions, but it was possible to get a pretty decent view off to the NW.
Lupe continued SE looking for the true summit of Peak 6048. She lost only a little elevation, and then came to another snowy climb through more deadfall. For a short stretch, SPHP was reduced to climbing up on hands and knees while clinging to rocks and trees.
At the SE summit, there were two large rock formations. The one farthest to the SE seemed to be slightly higher and the true summit of Peak 6048.
The best views from Peak 6048 were not at the summit. They were from the top of a cliff about 25 feet lower than the summit and a short distance to the E. Naturally, Lupe and SPHP had to check it out. There were sweeping open views all the way from the N around to the SE. This cliff with the fabulous views was a good spot to take a little break. Lupe had her Taste of the Wild. SPHP had an apple.
After hanging out at the E cliff for a little while, it was time to go. Lupe and SPHP climbed back up to the true summit of Peak 6048. The 2nd large rock outcropping, the one that wasn’t quite as high, was nearby to the NW. Lupe and SPHP went over there for a few minutes. Even though these rocks weren’t quite as high as the true summit, the whole rock formation was more interesting. The American Dingo graciously posed for a couple of photos.
Lupe and SPHP did a little more exploring of the summit area over towards the W, before beginning the journey down the mountain. A pleasant sunlit ledge offered a nice view to the NW.
The trek down the NW slopes of Peak 6048 seemed to take a long time for no farther than it was. Going down, the snow seemed more slippery. The deadfall seemed denser and more bothersome. Finally, SPHP was down off the steepest part of the mountain, and Lupe could race on ahead.
Just for fun, and since it was on the way back to the G6, Lupe and SPHP returned to climb Campaign Hill again. Before reaching it, Harney Peak was visible from the ridge line all lit up in the slanting rays of the January afternoon sun.
Lupe went clear up to the very top of Campaign Hill for a 2nd time, but didn’t stay there long. SPHP still wanted to climb Flag Mountain to the N, too. Lupe and SPHP went past the other high points along the ridge, and then headed down the N slope of Campaign Hill. Lupe crossed USFS Road No. 727 at the saddle, and started up the SW slope of Flag Mountain.
The climb up Flag Mountain from the SW was easier than expected. It was kind of steep, but there wasn’t any snow. There wasn’t much deadfall timber either, except near the very top. The sun was starting to get low in the SW by the time Lupe arrived on top of Flag Mountain. A cool NW breeze was starting to blow.
It was getting to be time to hurry on. Lupe left Flag Mountain heading down the N slope. SPHP lost a lot of time again picking a way slowly down through the snow and plentiful deadfall timber. After losing sufficient elevation, the terrain began to level out a bit and there was much less deadfall. Lupe and SPHP could make progress again.
Lupe crossed Patterson Creek in a big field N of Flag Mountain. This field connected to the big open field she had traversed earlier in the day. By now the sun was on the horizon.
After crossing Patterson Creek and the big field, Lupe was almost to USFS Road No. 386.1B just SW of Smith Mountain again. Before Lupe and SPHP could even reach the road, the sunset suddenly developed into a beautiful display of color. It almost looked like the forest was on fire!
The glorious sky faded as quickly as it arrived. Lupe and SPHP reached USFS Road No. 386.1B again. The rest of Lupe’s return trip to the G6 was just a retracement of the first part of her day’s journey. She still had 3 miles to go to get to the G6.
Lupe and SPHP trudged onward in the gathering gloom. Every now and then, Lupe would hear something undetectable to SPHP in the forest. Each time she raced off to investigate, returning to SPHP a few minutes later with a big grin on her face, as if some animal out there had told her a really good joke.
It was 6:40 PM, and still a balmy 43°F out when Lupe reached the G6. Lupe jumped very willingly into the G6, and curled up. Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 115 was over. It had been a great day. Lupe hardly stirred on the drive home. She must have had a great day, too!
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