Black Hills – Page 135 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 125 – Atlantic Hill, Signal Hill & Elk Benchmark (4-4-15)

To start off this week’s peakbagging expedition, SPHP parked the G6 at 9:58 AM near the intersection of County Road No. 284 and USFS Road No. 284.1E, a point about 1.25 miles SSW of Lupe’s first goal of the day, Atlantic Hill (6,393 ft.). Except for a few high thin clouds, the skies were clear. It was a lovely 44°F out with a cool light N breeze. Lupe was excited and ready to go!

Lupe about to start for Atlantic Hill seen in the background. She was ready for action, although looking into the sun made her squint.

Instead of heading towards Atlantic Hill, USFS Road No. 284.1E first took Lupe W for half a mile up a ravine before turning back to the NE. As 284.1E wound around to the NE it slowly lost the elevation Lupe had just gained. The area Lupe was traveling through was nearly all forested, with a mix of ponderosa pines and aspens. There were interesting rock outcroppings on the hillsides that tended to be anywhere from a few feet to 10 – 15 feet tall.

As Lupe approached Atlantic Hill, she left USFS Road No. 284.1E and headed directly through the forest. She soon came to open ground down in a valley where there was a small creek, just a foot or so wide, but with marshy ground along it. This was Ruby Creek, and it had surprisingly good flow for its size. Set against a rock wall was a small pond with a few ducks on it that flew off as Lupe approached.

The better to lick you with, my dear! Lupe near the rock wall pond in Ruby Creek valley. — The better to lick you with, my dear! A big-tongued Lupe near the rock wall pond in Ruby Creek valley.

Once across the little Ruby Creek valley, Lupe headed into the forest and started the climb up Atlantic Hill. After gaining a bit of elevation, SPHP looked back and saw two more ponds back down in Ruby Creek valley, one upstream and one downstream from the pond next to the rock wall.

Part way up Atlantic Hill was this view to the W of Peak 6740, the high ridge on the horizon at center left. — Part way up Atlantic Hill was this view to the W of **Peak 6740**, the high ridge on the horizon at center left.

A typical rock outcropping seen while climbing Atlantic Hill.

Atlantic Hill was pretty easy to climb. There were quite a few rock outcroppings to work around on the way up and they were bigger than the ones along USFS Road No. 284.1E had been. The easiest path up was to avoid getting up on the rocks, and just keep heading up through the forest between the rocky spines of the mountain.

Lupe near the S high point on Atlantic Hill. The best views were toward Crazy Horse to the NE. — Lupe near the S high point on Atlantic Hill. The best views were toward **Crazy Horse** to the NE (the whitish rock up at center left).

Lupe reached a small saddle area between high points near the top of the hill. First she went to the S high point to check things out from there. Then she went to the N high point, and a short climb brought her up to the true summit of Atlantic Hill. The views at the high points were mainly toward the E. The most interesting thing to be seen was Thunderhead Mountain (6,567 ft.) where the carving of Crazy Horse is located, about 4 miles to the ENE. Although there had been views to the N and W at various places on the climb up, the forest blocked those views near the top.

Lupe reaches the summit of Atlantic Hill.

Looking back at the summit of Atlantic Hill.

Lupe had some water and a little Taste of the Wild at the summit. After a short rest break, SPHP led her to the N going down the mountain. A fairly steep slope brought Lupe down to a saddle connecting Atlantic Hill to a rocky sub-peak which was perhaps 100 feet higher than the saddle area. There Lupe turned W and headed down a less steep and mostly grassy draw with scattered trees. A couple of cabins with blue roofs came into view to the NW, but Lupe reached a dirt road before she got too close to the cabins.

At the Atlantic Hill N saddle looking towards Crazy Horse through the aspens.

Since Lupe had gone down Atlantic Hill to the N of where she had climbed it, SPHP led her S along the dirt road until it ended. Then Lupe headed the rest of the way down into Ruby Creek valley, which she entered just S of the northernmost pond. There were fences on both the E and W sides of the valley here, so this may have been private land. Lupe hurried across it and headed W back up into the trees. Soon she found USFS Road No. 284.1E again, which she followed back to the G6, arriving at 1:42 PM. It was now 56°F out.

Lupe and SPHP headed W on County Road No. 284 towards the next peakbagging objective – Signal Hill. The hike to Signal Hill began at the intersection of No. 284 with USFS Road No. 747. At the start of No. 747, Summit Hill was already in view a very short distance to the S. It was an easy stroll with little elevation gain.

Signal Hill (6,483 ft.) apparently used to have a lookout tower on it. However, the whole area had burned in the 83,000 acre Jasper fire back in August, 2000. SPHP doesn’t know if the lookout tower burned in that fire or was torn down before then. Lupe posed for a photo sitting on what little was left of the foundation for whatever had been there long ago.

The view of Signal Hill from the N close to where the G6 was parked.

Not much left of the old lookout tower foundation on Signal Hill.

The view from Signal Hill towards Elk Mountain (long ridge on the horizon) on the Wyoming/South Dakota border from Signal Hill. — The desolate view from Signal Hill towards Elk Mountain (long ridge on the horizon) on the Wyoming/South Dakota border.

Signal Hill felt quite forlorn and desolate. A cool breeze was blowing out of the W. Being totally exposed, there were views in all directions, but the best view was off to the SW toward the high ridge near the Wyoming border which was Elk Mountain 12-13 miles away. Lupe and SPHP spent a few minutes looking around for a USGS benchmark, but found none. Lupe was back to the G6 by 3:08 PM, just 29 minutes after leaving it. The temperature was 51°F.

Lupe had now completed her two main peakbagging goals of the day – Atlantic Hill and Signal Hill, but there was still plenty of daylight left. Lupe and SPHP headed S on USFS Road No. 282 reaching US Hwy 16 just W of Jewel Cave National Monument. SPHP turned E on Hwy 16 and drove to the E side of the park. SPHP was thinking Lupe might be able to go to the Lithograph Canyon Hillside (5,820 ft.) where the highest point in Jewel Cave National Monument is located just 0.33 mile N of Hwy 16 at the NE corner of the park.

There were signs along Hwy 16 at the E boundary of Jewel Cave National Monument, but there was no place to park the G6 anywhere close. Furthermore, the terrain to the N of the Hwy was very steep. SPHP began to reconsider. After a couple more passes back and forth along Hwy 16, SPHP decided it might be hard to find the right spot on the Lithograph Canyon Hillside that is the true NE corner and high point of Jewel Cave National Monument without doing some more research before making the attempt.

A new idea came to SPHP, which was to drive W towards Elk Mountain on the border with Wyoming. So Lithograph Canyon Hillside was left behind and Lupe headed W on Hwy 16. Just a mile and a half NE of Elk Mountain (5,669 ft.), SPHP turned the G6 S on Dewey Road, County Road No. 769. Lupe barked at cows from the G6 for a good deal of the 3 miles S to a right turn to the W on Elk Mountain Road (No. 123). There were longhorn cattle loose on the road at this point, which sent Lupe into a joyful barking frenzy.

No. 123 climbed slowly at first and then steeply up the Elk Mountain ridge. The road was narrow, but not too rough, so the G6 had no problem reaching the top of the ridge. At a junction there, SPHP turned N on USFS Road No. 118 looking for a place to park. At first there wasn’t anywhere to park, but after a mile or so there was a side road that went W or NW off No. 118. Next to the side road was a nice open grassy level spot. Lupe and SPHP continued on paw and foot from here. (It was by choice SPHP stopped here, there was no reason SPHP couldn’t have driven along No. 118 all the way to the lookout tower since the road was in decent shape all the way.)

About 100 feet along No. 118, Lupe came to a new yellow sign with red lettering and a red pheasant logo on it marking the South Dakota border. Apparently the G6 was parked just into Wyoming. Lupe and SPHP continued N for about 0.25 mile, reaching the end of the forest and start of the big burn area that encompasses all of the N end of Elk Mountain. It was still another 2.5 to 3 miles to the lookout tower along the road.

A look back to the S along the long Elk Mountain ridge. — A look back to the S along the long E side of Elk Mountain ridge.

The view N towards the Elk Mountain lookout tower shortly after Lupe left the forested portion of the ridge. — The view N towards the Elk Mountain lookout tower, faintly seen above Lupe’s head, shortly after Lupe left the forested portion of the ridge.

Getting closer. Hopefully it will rain soon. Elk Mountain would look better green.

Although Elk Mountain itself is now rather ugly and barren, the forest fire had certainly opened up the views. All the way to the lookout tower there was either a great view to the W into Wyoming or to the E into South Dakota. At the very highest parts of this broad ridge there were wonderful views in both directions. Lupe had a great time sniffing around and exploring. She also seemed to enjoy peering over at the views from the edges of some of the cliffs.

At the base of the lookout tower, but not quite the highest point on Elk Mountain.

The view towards the NW from close to the lookout tower. The high point in the distance is the true summit and where there are 2 USGS survey benchmarks on the rocks.

The Elk Mountain lookout tower stands at the NE end of the ridge. No one was around when Lupe arrived. In fact, Lupe met no one at all during her entire time on Elk Mountain. There was a single picnic table at the base of the lookout tower. The lookout tower was high, but not quite on the highest ground on the mountain. In view nearby to the W was a somewhat higher spot. Farther away at the NW corner of the ridge is the true summit of Elk Mountain where two USGS benchmarks are located up on rocks just a few feet from each other.

Lupe on the magnificently colored boulder on top of the W high point not far from the lookout tower.

A look back at the lookout tower from near the magnificently colored boulder. — A look E back at the lookout tower from near the magnificently colored boulder.

After prowling around at the base of the lookout tower for a few minutes and getting a couple of pictures taken, Lupe headed over to the higher ground to the W. She was soon there. A magnificently colored boulder about 5 or 6 feet tall was at the very top. SPHP helped Lupe up onto it for a photo. From there SPHP and Lupe went over to the true summit at the NW corner of Elk Mountain and found the two USGS benchmarks. Lupe had now been to all three of the highest points on Elk Mountain. SPHP agreed with the maps that the highest spot was at the Elk Benchmarks, although the magnificently colored rock not far W of the lookout tower was a very close 2nd.

The most interesting views on Elk Mountain were off to the NW from the Elk Benchmarks towards Newcastle, WY where the mountains looked more rugged than the high flat ridges to the E and SE. Some fairly deep canyons could also be seen to the N. Far away to the SSW, however, so barely visible that SPHP frequently had to stop and just stare in order to see it, was the top of Laramie Peak (10,272 ft.) . A few of the mountain tops S of I-25 between Douglas and Casper, WY could be just faintly seen too.

The best view from Elk Mountain was this one to the NW towards Newcastle, WY. Lupe is near the Elk Mountain benchmarks in this photo.

On the way back to the G6, SPHP was hoping a nice sunset would develop. However, although there was some open sky to the SW, most of the sky had clouded up by now. The sun sank slowly down just 5 degrees N of the clear skies. There were a few small breaks in the clouds in that direction, but despite a few moments of promise, a colorful sunset never really developed. Too bad, as Elk Mountain would have provided a dramatic vantage point.

The sun was still up, but must have been very low on the horizon and obscured by clouds when Lupe reached the G6 at 7:36 PM. It was still 50°F. Lupe had reached the summits of three new mountains during the day. Lupe and SPHP both agreed that the most fun of all had been Elk Mountain. SPHP loved the solitude, easy nearly level ground, and splendid views. Lupe loved racing over the open ground sniffing and exploring through the tall grass and around the many interesting rocks.

Links:

Next Black Hills Adventure Prior Black Hills Adventure

Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s Black Hills Expeditions Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 124 – Mt. Rushmore & Gap Lode Peak (3-28-15)

Lupe has been on Peakbagger.com since May, 2014 when SPHP first discovered that site. Peakbagger.com has maps and many great features for tracking ascents of mountains, hills, state and county high points, etc. One of the first things Lupe and SPHP started doing once Lupe had her free Peakbagger.com account set up, was to start climbing all of the peaks shown on Peakbagger’s list of Black Hills 6500-foot peaks. Although Lupe and SPHP had already climbed a number of the peaks on this list, it was fun to work towards completing it.

Peakbagger’s list of Black Hills 6500-foot peaks has 24 ranked peaks with at least 280 feet of prominence, plus another 20 unranked peaks lacking the minimum prominence required to be ranked. On November 6, 2014, Lupe and SPHP climbed Peak 6733, which completed all of the peaks on the list that SPHP thought Lupe would be able to climb. A few Black Hills peaks are beyond Lupe’s ability, since they would require rock climbing equipment (or wings), or climbing them is prohibited for one reason or another.

After November 6, 2014 there were only 4 peaks remaining of the 44 peaks total on the Peakbagger.com Black Hills 6500-foot peak list that Lupe had never climbed. Only 1 of them was a ranked peak, which was Peak 6920, a huge granite outcropping between Harney Peak (7,242 ft.) and Little Devil’s Tower (6,960 ft.) which looks from afar like it has sheer cliffs for sides.

The other 3 unranked peaks were the Cathedral Spires (6,840 ft.) (rock-climbing equipment clearly required), Thunderhead Mountain (6,567 ft.) (the privately owned mountain where the Crazy Horse Memorial carving has been underway for decades – climbing it is prohibited without special permission from the owners), and Gap Lode Peak (SPHP was never certain from afar which granite outcropping might be the summit of Gap Lode Peak (6,560 ft.) , but judged it likely that rock climbing equipment would be necessary).

SPHP had been thinking recently that Lupe really ought to go get her picture taken at the most famous mountain in South Dakota and the Black Hills, which she has been past many times. That mountain is also well known both nationally and internationally – Mt. Rushmore. SPHP knew that dogs would likely be prohibited in most of the areas near Mt. Rushmore, so there wouldn’t be much for Lupe to do there once a couple of photos were obtained.

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 124 would need another objective in addition to Mt. Rushmore. Since Gap Lode Peak is a relatively short drive from Mt. Rushmore, SPHP decided that Lupe may as well go and take a close look at Gap Lode Peak to see if there was any way she could climb it. If she could, Lupe could claim an ascent of one more peak on Peakbagger’s list of Black Hills 6500-foot peaks!

The first stop on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 124 was at the little parking lot along Hwy 244 just 0.25 mile past the entrance to Mt. Rushmore (5,725 ft.). There was only one other vehicle at this parking lot when Lupe and SPHP arrived. This parking lot has the great advantage of being free, unlike the parking garage in front of Mt. Rushmore. Another advantage is a very nice view of George Washington’s profile between a gap in the steep granite rock outcroppings near Mt. Rushmore.

Lupe as far as they would let her in at Mount Rushmore.

Lupe and SPHP walked along Hwy 244 back up to the entrance to Mt. Rushmore. Just past the grand entrance was a no dogs sign. A park ranger promptly came over to make certain SPHP had seen the sign. Lupe could go no further, but the ranger at least allowed SPHP to take a few photos of Lupe with Mt. Rushmore in the distance. That pretty much concluded Lupe’s limited exploration of Mt. Rushmore, although she did get quite a bit of attention from some of the tourists who wanted to pet her. She was a bit nervous about it at first, but sat obligingly still while making some new friends.

On the way back to the G6, Lupe and SPHP climbed up on some rocks across Hwy 244 where there was another view of Mt. Rushmore from another angle. A couple of pictures here and Lupe’s little photo op trip to Mt. Rushmore was complete. Once back at the G6, Lupe and SPHP headed out on the 10-15 minute drive to the Palmer Creek trailhead. The sky was totally clear and it was an incredibly warm (for March) 70 °F out at 11:10 AM when Lupe and SPHP started the trek to Gap Lode Peak.

Palmer Creek is so small you don't see it in the grass from this angle. St. Elmo Peak visible in the distance up the valley. — Palmer Creek is so small you don’t see it in the grass from this angle. St. Elmo Peak visible in the distance up the valley.

A short spur trail from the Palmer Creek trailhead took Lupe to Lost Cabin Trail No. 2, part of the fairly extensive trail system in the Black Elk Wilderness area. Harney Peak, the highest mountain in the Black Hills and South Dakota is in the Black Elk Wilderness area, which lies between Mount Rushmore National Monument to the NE and a small section of Custer State Park to the SW. Lupe took Lost Cabin Trail No. 2 climbing all the way up to a high saddle area. There were increasingly nice views as Lupe gained elevation.

Lupe at the first good viewpoint near Lost Cabin Trail No. 2 on the way up. St. Elmo Peak in the distance (center left). — Lupe at the first good viewpoint near Lost Cabin Trail No. 2 on the way up. **St. Elmo Peak** **(6,458 ft.)**to the W in the distance (center left).

Lupe still in the area of the first good viewpoint along Lost Cabin Trail No. 2. This photo looks ENE towards Elkhorn Mountain.

At the saddle, SPHP stopped to consult the topo maps printed out from Peakbagger.com. They showed that Gap Lode Peak was less than 0.5 mile to the SW from this saddle area. Even though it was only 0.5 mile away at most, SPHP knew it was going to take quite a while for Lupe to get to Gap Lode Peak. Pine bark beetles have caused extremely heavy damage in this portion of the Black Hills. Lupe would need a lot of patience while SPHP slowly worked through a jungle of deadfall timber as soon as the trail was left behind.

Lupe's and Gap Lode Peak. This photo shows the E high point and very likely the true summit of Gap Lode Peak. — Lupe and Gap Lode Peak. This photo shows the E high point and very likely the true summit of Gap Lode Peak, but could Lupe really get to the top? Photo looks SW.

The first task was to find Gap Lode Peak. SPHP left the trail and began working through all the deadfall up a reasonably gentle slope to the W. Reaching some granite outcroppings, SPHP was encouraged to see a higher hill of granite in the right direction and about the right distance away to be Gap Lode Peak. Clearly it was not anything Lupe could climb from the E or the S. However, a long slope led up toward the big granite rocks at the top from the N or NW. Perhaps Lupe could climb Gap Lode Peak from that direction?

A rather steep ravine was between Lupe and the N or NW slope leading up to Gap Lode Peak. Lupe would have to lose a fair amount of elevation to get over there. It was abundantly apparent there was going to be nothing but endless deadfall timber the whole way too. SPHP dithered. Was it worth struggling through this mess only to very likely be confronted just short of the goal by a summit too rugged for Lupe to reach it? There were other nice peak objectives reachable by trail in the area.

Lupe passed just below this unlikely looking rock down at the bottom of the ravine on the way to Gap Lode Peak.

For 5 or 10 minutes SPHP headed slowly towards Gap Lode Peak half convinced it was really smarter to just turn around. What could be seen of Gap Lode Peak looked like Lupe could eventually get close to the top of it from the N or NW, but she probably couldn’t get to the summit. Once SPHP started losing elevation down into the ravine, however, the decision was made. Lupe was going to climb Gap Lode Peak or at least know for sure why she couldn’t.

Typical of the deadfall timber Lupe and SPHP had to work through all the way from Lost Cabin Trail No. 2 to Gap Lode Peak.

It took a very long time for the amount of distance covered for SPHP to get through all the deadfall timber down to the bottom of the ravine, and then back up on the N or NW slope that headed up to Gap Lode Peak. Even Lupe was having to work to get through the maze of dead trees, although she was much better and faster at it than SPHP. Still she was having to go over, under or around a lot of stuff. The going got a little bit easier though, since the ground was more level, as Lupe approached the summit.

Lupe getting close to the E summit of Gap Lode Peak. Is that rock wall climbable? — Lupe getting close to the E summit of Gap Lode Peak. Can Lupe climb that rock wall?

It turned out that the N or NW slope led Lupe to a place where there were two possible candidates for the true summit of Gap Lode Peak. The first one SPHP had seen was now to the ESE, and the other newly discovered possibility was to the SW. The first one still seemed likely to be the highest, so Lupe headed in that direction first. It looked from a distance like a granite wall with no way for Lupe to climb it. However, as Lupe got closer, SPHP started seeing that there were some clefts in the rock that might make it possible to get up there safely.

Lupe shortly before climbing the E summit of Gap Lode Peak. The W high point is visible beyond her.

Upon reaching the two clefts just a couple of feet apart, SPHP abandoned the backpack. It turned out that the climb up wasn’t bad at all. Before long Lupe was up on top of Gap Lode Peak! SPHP was very pleased and Lupe looked pretty happy about it too. There were some really nice views towards Harney Peak and Little Devils Tower. Far to the S, even Northeast Cicero Peak (6,240 ft.) was in view. There was a huge amount of Black Hills territory in view off to the N towards Custer (6,804 ft.) and Terry (7,064 ft.) Peaks.

Lupe on the E summit of Gap Lode Peak. Photo shows the view to the N.

Harney Peak from the E and likely true summit of Gap Lode Peak. Photo looks E.

Lupe still at the top of the E summit of Gap Lode Peak. Photo looks SE. Lupe is looking W and probably thinking: “There’s that W high point on Gap Lode Peak. I bet that crazy SPHP is going to make me go over there next. When’s lunch anyway?”

Lupe just a few feet away from the E summit of Gap Lode Peak. Sylvan Hill in the background. W high point of Gap Lode Peak not too far away on the right. — Lupe just a few feet away from the E summit of Gap Lode Peak. **Sylvan Hill (7,000 ft.)** is the ridge in the background. W high point of Gap Lode Peak not too far away on the right edge of the photo.

Looking to the W, the other high point which might be the true summit of Gap Lode Peak could be seen. It looked just about even with where Lupe was already. SPHP still thought the high stuff to the W didn’t look quite as high, but the difference couldn’t be much. Perhaps it was even a bit higher? It was hard to tell for certain. Naturally, SPHP decided it had taken so long to work through the deadfall timber to get to Gap Lode Peak, Lupe might just as well go and explore the W high point too. After all, Lupe was already very close to it. So after climbing down from the E high point, Lupe headed W.

Lupe reaches the W high point on Gap Lode Peak. The E high point and likely true summit is in the background. Photo looks E. — Lupe reaches the W high point on Gap Lode Peak. The E high point which SPHP believes is the true summit (though not by much) is in the background.

Lupe perched way up on some of the very highest rocks of the W high point of Gap Lode Peak. Photo looks SSE. — Lupe perched way up on some of the very highest rocks of the W high point of Gap Lode Peak. Photo looks SE.

Lupe climbed up on some of the highest rocks at the W high point. After seeing both high points from one another, SPHP concluded they were so very near the same elevation, it was impossible to say for certain which was the absolute highest, but it still seemed that the E high point Lupe had visited first was the true summit of Gap Lode Peak. Regardless, Lupe had succeeded in reaching both! She could claim a successful summit.

Lupe explores Gap Lode Peak. St. Elmo Peak is the pointy hill in the center of the photo just left of Lupe's ear. — Lupe explores Gap Lode Peak. St. Elmo Peak is the pointy hill in the center of the photo just left of Lupe’s ear.

There was more to do near the W high point. The area had nice granite outcroppings with pretty green kinnikinnick growing in many places between the rocks. The granite also extended some distance off to the W and SW without losing much elevation. Lupe went and explored some of this area, which was fun to climb around in. There was still deadfall timber to deal with, but not as much of it as in other areas. There were even better views to the W from some of the rock outcroppings than Lupe had seen from either of the two high points of Gap Lode Peak.

Lupe and another view to the W from Gap Lode Peak.

As the afternoon started wearing on, what had been a breezy day up until now started to get pretty windy. SPHP knew that high winds were in the forecast for this evening. It was time to get going. There were still plenty of dead trees standing which might fall over in a high wind situation. So after a good time exploring Gap Lode Peak, Lupe started the return trip to the G6. She retraced the same short, but time consuming trek back to the saddle area to get back to Lost Cabin Trail No. 2 that she had made to reach Gap Lode Peak. Once on the trail again, it became an easy hike back down to the Palmer Creek trailhead.

Harney Peak from the Palmer Creek trailhead.

Lupe arrived back at the G6 at 5:48 PM. It was 71 °F – just amazing for late March. The skies were still totally clear, but way down here there really wasn’t even much of a breeze. It seemed premature to be heading home before dark, but Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 124 had been a success. Lupe made a few new friends and had her picture taken at Mt. Rushmore. She had even found and climbed Gap Lode Peak. SPHP now wonders if she shouldn’t go take a closer look at Peak 6920…

Links:

Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition

Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s Black Hills Expeditions Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.