February 7, 2015 was the second day in a row of record high temperatures in the Black Hills region. Lupe couldn’t miss an opportunity like that in what is normally winter, so she and SPHP headed out into the central Black Hills for a little peakbagging. Redfern Mountain (6,075 ft.) and Signal Knob (6,200 ft.) were the goals for Expedition No. 118.
It was already 55 degrees at 9:55 AM when SPHP parked the G6 just off Mystic Road only 0.33 mile E of Redfern Mountain. Lupe headed W straight up the mountain. There was almost no snow around, so Lupe and SPHP had an easy climb up through the forest.
Conditions were very pleasant at the top of Redfern Mountain – sunny, calm and, of course, unseasonably warm. Surprisingly, the summit area was level, mostly open ground. Consequently there were nice views of the central Black Hills region in almost every direction. For some reason there were 3 US Geological survey benchmarks in close proximity to one another all marked “Redfern” and “1950”, plus a sign on a post.
Lupe’s second objective of the day, Signal Knob, was visible over 4 miles off to the WNW. It looked like a fairly low pine-covered hill rising above some immediately surrounding open prairie ground, although most of the intervening terrain from Redfern Mountain was pine forest. Quite a bit of snow was visible on the slopes of Signal Knob.
After enjoying the views on Redfern Mountain, Lupe headed down the NW slope to start the trek to Signal Knob. On the way to Signal Knob, Lupe had to cross Slate Creek. Slate Creek is a small stream, only a few feet wide in most places, but had pretty good flow in it. Fortunately, the creek was still frozen over in places, and Lupe easily crossed the creek via the ice.
Beyond Slate Creek, Lupe climbed through the forest all the way up to a high point shown on SPHP’s topo map as Peak 6099, less than 2 miles E of Signal Knob.
From Peak 6099, Lupe had to lose a fair amount elevation again as she continued on heading generally W or NW. She regained most of it by the time she reached the high prairie surrounding Signal Knob.
The summit area on Signal Knob was clogged with deadfall timber. A short distance to the N, there was some private property where a couple of 5th wheel trailers were parked. Fortunately, the true summit was on USFS land.
Lupe took a Taste of the Wild break on Signal Knob. She used her nose to bury a couple of pieces of a granola bar SPHP offered her, apparently planning a return expedition in the not too distant future. Despite all the deadfall timber, enough pine trees were still standing to prevent there from being any really decent views. At least the pines helped to block the wind which was by now starting to pick up out of the NW.
After a brief rest break at the summit, it was time to start heading back to the G6. However, being the intrepid dingo that she is, Lupe naturally wanted to explore more new ground along the way. So instead of heading E, she headed W into a rather stiff NW breeze on Slate Prairie Road to USFS Road No. 187.
The sky was now rather dark and even threatening looking off to the W. As Lupe headed N along No. 187 towards Deerfield Trail No. 40, a light rain started. Lupe turned E on Deerfield Trail No. 40 and followed it for at least a couple of miles. The rain continued intermittently for a while, but it never became heavy and eventually just quit.
Lupe had explored the entire Deerfield Trail No. 40 back in 2012. So at the 2nd of two rock quarries that she came to along the N side of the Deerfield Trail, she left it to take USFS Road No. 241.1B (unmarked) heading S up a low ridge. By the time the top of the ridge was gained, however, there was so much deadfall timber everywhere, that No. 241.1B was completely lost in the debris. Lupe stayed fairly high up on the ridge and worked her way S through the deadfall timber. For SPHP it was dreadfully slow going.
Fortunately, before too long Lupe came to another road, which was marked No. 241.1C. No. 241.1C very quickly met up with No. 241 (unmarked at this point), which was free of deadfall timber, but covered with snow and ice for quite a distance as it wound down a narrow little valley.
Lupe followed No. 241 a good mile and a half, all the way down through Dougherty Gulch back to Mystic Road. The valley was beautiful even in February. After passing a junction with No. 241.1A, there was even a small creek.
SPHP really enjoyed the hike along No. 241. Daugherty Gulch seemed quite remote. The valley was beautiful even in February. The valley became broader and more open as Lupe continued heading downstream.
When Lupe reached Mystic Road at the E end of Daugherty Gulch, she was still about 3 miles N of where the G6 was parked. Lupe crossed Mystic Road to the E and got on the Mickelson Trail. Lupe followed the Mickelson Trail S for a bit over a mile to USFS Road No. 530. There she left the Mickelson Trail and completed a somewhat dull hike along the wide gravel Mystic Road the rest of the way back to the G6.
It was 5:48 PM, but still 52 degrees out, by the time Lupe reached the G6. It was getting dark, but not quite dark enough yet to see any stars. Lupe had a big drink of water before hopping in the G6 for the ride home. Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 118 was over.
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