Category: Black Hills

Off like a shot, running and bounding everywhere!  Guess she did like being here.  For some reason, Lupe hadn’t seemed too fired up about going “hiking in the mountains” this morning when SPHP had suggested it.  Good thing her enthusiasm had returned.  The G6 was parked at the junction of Hwy 385 and USFS Road No. 710 several miles S of Pactola Reservoir (8:20 AM, 40°F).  Lupe was in for a long day.

Lupe was here a week ago on Expedition No. 80.  She had followed No. 710 nearly a mile W up a draw to some beautiful open ground with great views to the S, ultimately reaching New Year’s Eve Peak (Peak 6046) for the first time from the E.  Today the plan was to go much farther.  Lupe would explore a side road, No. 710.1A.  Her intended destination was Old Bald Peak (6,130 ft.).

Cool, overcast, and a little breezy – conditions were great for a day in the hills.  The snow that had been here a week ago was nearly gone.  SPHP set out following damp, mushy, muddy No. 710.  Lupe dashed, bounded, and sniffed her way through the forest nearby.

The road gained elevation slowly over the 0.33 mile W to the junction with No. 710.1A .  Lupe took No. 710.1A as planned.  It initially went NE, before looping around the E end of the ridge N of Peak 5800.   Once around the end of the ridge, the road turned NW heading up into the Clear Creek valley.

A mile up Clear Creek valley, No. 710.1A turned S.  Lupe left it continuing NW on a less-traveled side road.  The side road climbed more steeply.  Lupe stuck with it, and after 0.25 mile arrived at a saddle where she had a view to the W.  Less than 0.5 mile to the N, she could see the Seth Bullock lookout tower on Scruton Mountain (5,922 ft.).  Lupe was already almost as high.

SPHP realized the Carolina Dog was now N of New Year’s Eve Peak (Peak 6046), which is higher yet.  Lupe left the side road and began climbing SW up a ridge.  Well before she reached the top of New Year’s Eve Peak, another road appeared.  This road was nearly level and headed W.  Lupe followed it.  Soon the new road curved around to the S, taking Lupe along the W slope of Peak 6046.

A lengthy stretch of the road was covered with deadfall timber.  Progress was slow until SPHP managed to get past it all.  Thankfully, someone had cleared the deadfall off the rest of the road.  Lupe and SPHP made rapid progress to the E end of the saddle W of Peak 6046.  Once again, Lupe left the road.  She traveled W across the saddle.  On the other side, she began exploring the hills to the W and NW.

The American Dingo climbed up to the top of the highest point in this vicinity for a look around.  Lupe was higher than Scruton Mountain now, and about as high as New Year’s Eve Peak (Peak 6046), which she could still see to the E.  Farther away, Harney Peak (7,242 ft.) and Five Points (6,221 ft.) were in view off to the S.

Lupe could see several more high points along the big ridge she was on off to the NW.  The Carolina Dog stayed on the ridge, continuing her explorations of the area going first W and then NNW.  She visited a number of high spots before reaching the last big one to the N.  After crossing a small open field, she climbed to the top of this last big high point.

(Note:  Lupe had reached Peak 6070, a mile NW of Peak 6046.)

A narrow, rocky spine of the mountain projected out to the S.  Lupe followed it beyond the forest to a point where she had a terrific panoramic view.  She saw Harney Peak and Five Points again.  SPHP recognized Lupe’s objective, Old Bald Peak, off to the SW.

The S spine of Peak 6070 was rather breezy, but the views were awesome.  Lupe and SPHP took a break here.  Lupe had water and Taste of the Wild, plus half of SPHP’s cheese sandwich.  SPHP had the rest of the sandwich and an apple.

While pondering the views during this rest stop, SPHP noticed a line of hills off to the NW.  A look at the map showed these hills were located between West Nugget Gulch and Middle Nugget Gulch.  The highest point, Nugget Gulch Peak (6,000 ft.), was practically treeless.  It would provide a 360° view.

Lupe had been to Old Bald Peak before.  Once, she had also traveled through West Nugget Gulch on USFS Road No. 249.  However, she had never explored the hills between West Nugget Gulch and Middle Nugget Gulch.  She had never been in Middle Nugget Gulch, either.  Maybe it was time for Lupe to explore the Nugget Gulch Range?

By the time Lupe’s rest break was over, it was decided.  Old Bald Peak was out.  Lupe was pressing on to the Nugget Gulch Range!

The S end of the Nugget Gulch Range was 1.5 miles due W.  To get over there, Lupe would have to lose considerable elevation.  She wound up going to the minor high point N of Peak 6070 before finally turning sharply SSW.  Now she lost elevation rapidly, but still managed to lose as little as possible by reaching the valley W of Peak 6070 at the saddle leading to the S end of a line of smaller hills to the NW.

USFS Road No. 244 crossed this saddle going N/S.  Lupe simply went W across it, since she had hardly started her trek W to the Nugget Gulch Range.  She went SW through the forest around the S end of the line of small hills to the NW.  This was rocky ground.  SPHP managed to stumble and fall on all the loose rock.  SPHP’s right arm took the brunt of the blow.

Lupe came running to provide comfort and support.  A Carolina Dog’s love and encouragement is a great help.  Within a few minutes SPHP felt much better and was able to continue, no worse for the wear.

Once W of the line of small hills, Lupe came to a part of the forest which was nearly level.  She lost elevation only gradually, enjoyed an easy romp, and eventually emerged from the forest at the E side of a wide grassy field in Middle Nugget Gulch.  The first big hill at the S end of the Nugget Gulch Range was on the other side.  Lupe and SPHP headed right for it.

Lupe crossed a dirt road and small dry creek bed in the field.  By the time she reached the trees on the far side, she was gaining elevation again.  The slope steepened as she made her ascent of the big hill.  When she reached the top, another somewhat higher hill was in view to the NW.

SPHP had hoped Lupe would have a relatively easy time going NW along the ridgeline to the highest point at Nugget Gulch Peak.  Instead, she came to several hills in succession.  A steep and substantial drop came right after climbing each one.  All the lost elevation had to be immediately regained on the way up the next hill in the series.

Lupe and SPHP tried skirting along the E slopes to avoid having to go all the way to the top of each hill.  Unfortunately, this maneuver wasn’t terribly helpful.  The steep hillsides, scattered deadfall timber, and slippery patches of snow made progress as slow as before.

Only the last part of the journey was easy.  A long ridge rose gradually to the high point of the Nugget Gulch Range.  Lupe wasn’t as high as she had been back at Peak 6070 earlier, but at least she was back up at 6,000 feet when she finally arrived at Nugget Gulch Peak (6,000 ft.).  The mountaintop was covered with small rocks and low bushes.

Lupe did have 360° views from Nugget Gulch Peak.  She could see Silver Peak (5,810 ft.) to the N.  Old Bald Peak was now due S, and Harney Peak was still visible much farther S.  Lupe had a bird’s eye view of Middle Nugget Gulch far below.  Scruton Mountain was straight E beyond it.

Lupe and SPHP were both getting tired by now.  Another rest break was in order.  The last of the provisions were consumed, except for some pieces of chocolate oatmeal cookie that the Carolina Dog stashed, burying them with her nose.  Carolina Dogs are smart that way.  They plan ahead in case of an emergency or tough times to come.

The rest break did some good.  Lupe was ready to continue.  She left Nugget Gulch Peak still going N.  She quickly encountered a rock formation almost as high.  At first, SPHP wasn’t certain if Lupe could get beyond it, but with a little care, she did.  Once past the rock formation, a short ridge led to another somewhat lower high point.

Lupe was still S of High Point 5953 when she left the ridge to drop down into Middle Nugget Gulch.  Her steep descent followed a forested side ridge going NE.  Middle Nugget Gulch was narrow and forested where Loop reached the valley floor.  She found a single track trail, and began following it S up the gulch.

Middle Nugget Gulch began to widen out.  The single track trail became a dirt road.  As Lupe reached more open land, she found a cabin nearby in the trees.  SPHP was surprised to see it.  The cabin proved to be abandoned and in a state of disrepair.

Continuing S up the now broad valley, Lupe and SPHP stayed close to the forest along the W side of the big field.  The creek had a little water in it in some places.  In other spots the creek bed was just damp.  Lupe was delighted to see a big snow bank near the edge of the forest.  It was the first big patch of snow she’d come to in a while.  Lupe thrashed around on it, eating snow and cooling off.

After climbing so many hills and mountains earlier in the day, it was great to have an easy route up Middle Nugget Gulch.  A little beyond the S end of the big field, Lupe re-entered the forest and reached an intersection.

It had already been a fairly long day, and the G6 was still miles away.  SPHP should have had Lupe take the road to the SE (L).  It led to Horse Creek Road, and was the quickest route back to the G6.  However, there was territory to the SW that Lupe hadn’t explored before.  The easy trek up Middle Nugget Gulch had restored some energy.  Lupe and SPHP took the road leading SW (R).

A little later on, Lupe reached another intersection where she turned S (L) on USFS Road No. 249.  This road wasn’t steep, but climbed steadily.  Deer kept Lupe entertained for a while, but the road went on and on.  Lupe passed E of Old Bald Peak.  She was well to the SSE of it by the time the road finally reached a pass.  A short distance S of the pass, Lupe reached an intersection with USFS Road No. 530 where No. 249 ended.

Another mile S on No. 530 finally brought Lupe to a place where she could leave the road and go over a small saddle to the E.  She was now 3 miles from where she’d left Middle Nugget Gulch, but no closer to the G6.  Lupe was tired.  She begged SPHP to stop.  Frequent short rest breaks became the order of the day.

E of the saddle, Lupe eventually found USFS Road No. 669.  After nearly 2 miles, it finally brought her to Horse Creek Road.  Another mile E on Horse Creek Road was followed by a road-less trek, and another big climb to the top of the ridge to the N.  Here, Lupe reached USFS Road No. 710 again.  By now it was dark and raining.

Lupe had perked up at various points along the way, but she was Dingo-tired.  At least the last mile E on No. 710 was downhill.  A dark, wet, muddy trek ended at the G6 (8:12 PM, 41°F) nearly 12 hours after Lupe had left it.  The cold, wet Carolina Dog leaped in without any encouragement or the slightest hesitation.  She curled up on the passenger side front seat, heaved a giant Dingo sigh, and closed her eyes.

At home, SPHP dried Lupe off on the bed with a towel.  Although she must have been famished, she managed to come downstairs only long enough to drink a little milk and have a little Alpo.  She didn’t finish either before returning to bed.  SPHP made spaghetti and brought her some, but the bleary-eyed American Dingo was too exhausted to touch it.  SPHP left it in a bowl on the bed near her.

When SPHP woke up the next morning, a storm was going on with a howling N wind and snow.  If it had been snowing harder, it would have been a genuine blizzard.  Lupe still snoozed, not moving a muscle.

Someone had been up in the night, though.  The spaghetti was gone.

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