Lupe’s June, 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn & Pryor Mountains in Wyoming & Montana had been cut short due to the fiasco at Big Pryor Mountain. Perhaps the fiasco was actually fortuitous? Shortly after the American Dingo arrived back home on the evening of 6-18-18, SPHP made a discovery.
Loopster, you’ve got mail!
I do?! Who from? What does it say?
It’s from Dave Covill. He’s coming to the Black Hills! Wants to know if you are around and have time available to spend with him?
You mean Dave Covill, the prolific peakbagger and Lead Director of the Highpointers Foundation? He’s coming here?!
Yes, that’s the one! Remember he sent you those Zuke’s Shiny Coat treats after Christmas and New Year’s? And yes, he says he’s going to be here next week!
Oh, those Zuke’s Shiny Coat treats were scrumptious! Do you think he’ll bring more? A Dingo’s coat can never be too shiny, you know.
It’s not Christmas now, silly Dingo! So probably not, but it says here Dave would like to visit a couple of 7,000 foot Black Hills peaks he hasn’t been to before. You can go with him!
Oh, an expedition with Dave Covill, that will be fun! Tell him I want to go!
But, of course, sweet Dingo! Right away …. oh my gosh, Dave sent this email on the 15th. It says he will be here on Tuesday. That’s tomorrow!
With trepidation due to the late hour, fearing to awaken Mr. Covill from his pre-trip slumber, SPHP tried the phone number provided in Dave’s email. No answer. SPHP left a message, then also emailed a response.
Lupe didn’t even really know Mr. Covill. She had never met him before. Neither had SPHP. But Dave had very kindly sent Lupe those Zuke’s Shiny Coat treats in January. For the past 2 years he had been saying he thought he might get up to the Black Hills on Highpointers Foundation business in the spring. It hadn’t happened in 2017, and it was already the 2nd half of June, 2018. Lupe hadn’t heard a thing from Mr. Covill since receiving those Zuke’s Shiny Coat treats in January. Weeks ago SPHP had just assumed Covill’s trip hadn’t worked out again this year. Not true! Suddenly, unexpectedly, there was Dave’s email in Lupe’s in-box spelling it all out in black and white.
The Highpointers Foundation, is devoted to supporting both public and private efforts to maintain the integrity and safe access to all 50 US state high points. As lead director, Mr. Covill is a busy guy. The trip he was making up to the Dakotas from his home in Colorado was going to be a 3 day whirlwind tour.
Not only was Mr. Covill going to drive up and back in those 3 days, but he needed to meet with a stonemason who had been tasked with creating a bench funded by donations to the Highpointers Foundation. The bench will eventually be installed along Little Devils Tower trail No. 4 in the Black Elk Wilderness on the way to Black Elk Peak (7,242 ft.), the highest mountain in South Dakota.
Furthermore, Dave was actually going to go way beyond the Black Hills all the way up to White Butte, the highest point in North Dakota, to meet with the rancher owning the land. With the rancher’s permission, Mr. Covill was going to install an Iron Ranger fee collection device provided by the Highpointers Foundation, plus several signs to communicate with visitors. The North Dakota excursion alone would take one whole day.
Would Mr. Covill get the messages SPHP left in time to reserve part of his journey for an outing with Lupe? One thing for certain, if it hadn’t been for that fiasco at Big Pryor Mountain, Dave would have come and gone before Lupe would ever have known about it.
Bright and early the next morning, Lupe had another email from Mr. Covill. He had gotten her messages and was just getting in his car. He was going to be staying in Custer, SD, and expected to arrive around 3:00 PM. Mr. Covill would call later. Perfect!
No call. At nearly 11:00 PM, another email. After arriving in the Black Hills, Dave had gotten tied up meeting with park rangers at the proposed Highpointers Foundation bench site. He had just returned to his motel in Custer after a long dinner meeting with a former superintendent of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Hill City. Tomorrow was the big excursion to North Dakota to meet with the rancher at White Butte. The former park superintendent was going with him.
That wasn’t all. Thursday morning Dave was having breakfast with the bench stonemason. Early that evening he needed to be back in Colorado for another event. In short, he had only a few hours on Thursday between breakfast and when he would have to depart for Colorado around noon. That might be enough for quick visits to Terry Peak (7,064 ft.) and Crows Nest Peak (7,048 ft.), the only 7,000+ foot Black Hills peaks he had never been to before. Did Lupe want to come?
Yes, yes! Of course!
Messages back and forth on Wednesday settled it. Thursday morning, Lupe arrived at the designated rendezvous spot near Deadwood, SD at 9:32 AM. Dave was already there. Time was of the essence. Introductions were friendly, quick, and to the point. And what a guy that Dave was! He instantly produced a new bag of treats – Zuke’s Pure NZ Jerky Steaks, a wonderful gift for the lucky Carolina Dog. It was Christmas in June, after all!
Imagine poor Dave’s chagrin when after opening the bag and generously offering Loopster a treat then and there, she turned her nose up at it! Ungrateful, spoiled rotten American Dingo! What came next was even more unexpected.
Though Lupe wasn’t immediately interested in the superb treats Dave had brought her, she did have her eye on something else Mr. Covill had with him. Something even bigger and better than Zuke’s Pure NZ Jerky Steaks. To Dave’s astonishment and SPHP’s embarrassment, Lupe suddenly leapt uninvited up into Dave’s beautiful Toyota 4Runner!
Oh, yeah! Without the least hesitation, the presumptuous Carolina Dog was ready to ditch SPHP and the lowly G6 to go exploring the Black Hills in style hobnobbing with Dave Covill in the magnificent Toyota 4Runner. Carolina Dogs like luxury and prestige, and this was it! This was going to be a Black Hills expedition like no other!
That was a bit much for Dave. The 4Runner was brand new! He had just bought it! Covill certainly wasn’t ready to let it go to the Dingoes quite yet. Lupe had to be chased out of there. It was a bit of a comedown for Looper, but she got over it quickly. Soon she was back in her usual spot in the G6 next to SPHP leading the way to Terry Peak. Covill followed in that shiny, coveted 4Runner.
By Lupe’s standards, this wasn’t even a true Black Hills expedition. No long day of sniffing, roaming, and exploring the hills. Only a few hours at most, nearly all of it spent riding in the G6. Dave just needed to quickly tag the high points. He could spare a few brief minutes to look around, but then it would be time to move on again.
Terry Peak (7,064 ft.) was essentially a drive up. A short stroll from the parking area, and Dave and Lupe were poising for photos next to the old lookout tower.
Dave and Lupe did make it up onto the observation deck for a photo op with a view.
After visiting Terry Peak, only one mountain remained on the list of 7,000+ foot Black Hills peaks Dave hadn’t been to yet. Crows Nest Peak (7,048 ft.) is in the remote west central part of the Black Hills a mere 5 miles from the Wyoming border. Once again, Dave followed in his 4Runner as Lupe & SPHP led the way along scenic back roads in the G6.
The roads were sloppy with mud in some places, but all was going well when Lupe spotted cattle in a field ahead. The cows provoked the usual excited Dingo barkfest as Looper bounded frantically around inside the G6. Nothing new there, but suddenly it was quiet. Outside on the left, SPHP barely glimpsed a flash of brown tumbling uncontrollably in the field next to the road. Lupe!
Fear and horror seized SPHP. During Lupe’s frenzied leaping about she had accidentally stepped on the control for the rear window, opening it completely. A spare tire on the back seat not yet returned to the trunk following the Big Pryor Mountain fiasco had served as a platform for Lupe to hurtle herself out the window in a mighty Dingo missile launch with no thought other than to chase after those cows.
The G6 was going something like 25 or 30 mph at the time. Of course, Loop lost all control and got rolled the moment she hit the ground. She might be seriously injured or even dead! Stopping the G6, SPHP was immensely relieved to see Lupe trot over like nothing had happened. She looked a bit dazed and surprised by the results of her tremendous flying leap maybe, but otherwise appeared fine.
Of course, following along behind Dave had seen the whole spectacular mighty Dingo missile launch. He was alarmed, too. Had Lupe ever done this before? No, not really. Looper had leapt out the window of the G6 a couple of other times years ago, but never while the G6 was moving. SPHP had never really fully trusted her not to, though. Ordinarily SPHP didn’t allow the windows open far enough so she could leap out. However, SPHP hadn’t noticed the rear window opening while the crazed Carolina Dog was creating such a ruckus.
Was she really fine? Lupe didn’t look injured, yet it seemed impossible she had escaped such a stunt completely unscathed. There she was, though, standing and smiling as if totally unfazed by it all – one apparently mighty lucky Dingo! After a couple of minutes, it was decided to continue on to Crows Nest Peak, which wasn’t much farther.
Crows Nest Peak was more of a hike from the main road than the quick stroll Terry Peak had been. Not too far, though – not even half an hour to the dramatically, but poorly named summit. Dave and SPHP chatted amiably, while Lupe amazingly sniffed and explored as always.
Reaching the top of Crows Nest Peak was a cinch. Minor elevation gain along a gentle rise was all that was involved. The summit was simply a big forested flat area offering no views of anything except surrounding trees. Some “crows nest”! No truth in advertising here.
As part of the high remote limestone plateau country of the western Black Hills, Lupe and SPHP love Crows Nest Peak (7048 ft.) despite the misleading name. SPHP did feel sort of bad that Crows Nest Peak wasn’t a more memorable spot for Dave, since it was the last one he’d needed to complete the entire list of 7,000+ foot Black Hills peaks. Oh, well. There wasn’t anything in the Black Hills capable of impressing a mountaineer from Colorado anyway.
Crows Nest Peak is so flat that if it weren’t for a survey stake and a benchmark present in a small clearing, it wouldn’t have been possible to identify any particular spot as the “true summit”. If the surveyor thought this was it, that was good enough for all present.
If Mr. Covill was disappointed by his last 7,000+ ft. Black Hills “peak”, he was kind enough not to show it. Dave seemed satisfied as he accepted congratulations from Lupe and SPHP. At least the pleasant easy hike fit into what his schedule allowed. If Crows Nest Peak had been any sort of long or difficult climb, no way would he have had time to complete it with Lupe on this fine first day of summer 2018.
On the way back to the G6, SPHP made a rather bold request. Would Mr. Covill feel comfortable relating the story of another prolific peakbagger and mountaineer whose detailed trip reports Lupe has often followed to success? Dave was a friend of Edward Earl, who had perished in 2015 while attempting to cross the Jago River after two unsuccessful attempts to climb Mount Isto (8,976 ft.), the highest point of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska.
No doubt it was hard for Dave to do so. Not only was Mr. Covill a friend of Edward Earl, but he had been there in the party with Edward on that tragic day. Despite heroic efforts to rescue and revive Edward to save his life, all had been futile. Dave’s was a terribly sad, but fascinating firsthand account.
By the time it was over, everyone was back at the vehicles. Dave needed to get on the road to Colorado. SPHP knew a quicker route than the one he intended to take back to the highway. Upon reaching the highway near Four Corners, WY, it was time for Lupe and SPHP to bid farewell to Mr. Covill. Thank yous and well wishes were exchanged, and the Toyota 4Runner disappeared down the road taking Dave S on his separate way.
So, Lupe had finally gotten to meet Dave Covill! The day was a success! Or was it? Almost immediately after Dave departed, the licking began. As SPHP drove homeward, Lupe licked and licked her front paws and legs. There was no doubt what that meant. Now that the adrenaline of fun times in the hills with Dave was receding, Lupe was in pain. SPHP began to worry again.
Upon reaching home, the American Dingo was so stiff she could barely move. Her left front elbow and shoulder seemed the worst. A couple of small abrasions could be seen near her elbow, but no other outward sign of injury.
That didn’t mean anything, though. Car accident victims can seem fine at first, too, only to end up crippled for life by whiplash injuries. Was Lupe going to wind up like that? Unable to ever do anything active ever again? Were her mountain exploits so suddenly and finally over, ruined forever by one fateful Dingo Missile Launch on this beautiful first day of summer? Did a life of never ending pain await her? It was a terrible, terrifying thought, but a real possibility.
Lupe looked profoundly sad. She didn’t move at all except for the endless, useless licking. SPHP felt powerless to help her. The only thing that visibly cheered Lupe that evening was when SPHP gave her some of the Zuke’s Pure NZ Jerky Steaks that Dave Covill had brought for her. She accepted them eagerly now.
The next day was no better. Lupe could barely walk. She didn’t even want to try. Lick, lick, lick. On and on, yet it couldn’t go on and on like this. It was too awful. Early the following morning, SPHP took Lupe to the puppy doctor.
During a careful, gentle examination, Lupe winced a couple of times. Even so, the news was good. No broken bones or significant internal injuries. The puppy doctor prescribed two different pain killers and a muscle relaxant. Just keep that Carolina Dog quiet and don’t let her run around aggravating whatever injuries she does have. The puppy doctor expected Lupe to be fine in a week or so. That was a huge relief!
Lupe hates all medicines. At first SPHP hid pills in chunks of cheese. When Looper caught on to that trick, SPHP resorted to ice cream. Zuke’s Pure NZ Jerky Steaks became Lupe’s favorite part of the treatment regime. She got them as rewards for taking her medicine whether she wanted to or not.
For a couple more days, little improvement was seen. Lupe licked her front left leg so much she licked a wound into it. SPHP applied antibiotic ointment and wrapped the wound daily. Efforts to dissuade the Carolina Dog from licking that leg were unsuccessful. She knew she wasn’t supposed to, but she couldn’t help herself. Lupe licked whenever SPHP wasn’t looking.
Then suddenly Lupe was better! The happy day arrived when she not only walked, but wanted to run. Keeping her quiet and resting became the problem, a delightful problem to have! Near the end of the week, when Dave inquired again on how Loop was faring, SPHP could report that his newest peakbagging buddy was practically her old self, apparently on the way to a full recovery.
All’s well that ends well, as they say. Who knows, maybe Lupe will have a chance at another adventure with Dave Covill someday? Maybe she will get to climb a more challenging mountain with him somewhere? Fortunately, despite the memorable, but ill-advised mighty Dingo Missile launch she can still do it.
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