Start (7:46 AM, 50°F) J. H. Keith Memorial Park, Cascade Springs, Hwy 71 S of Hot Springs.
Nothing like starting the day off with a little dread. Upon arrival, Lupe understood the situation immediately. Another expedition, another cactus-infested mountain. When would this ever end? Lupe’s soft Dingo ears drooped.
Not many more of these lower peaks below cactus line to go, Looper. You’ll be alright. Once you’ve done them, you won’t ever have to return. Besides, you’ve actually had some really fun times on these peaks, haven’t you? Come on, it won’t take long. I’ll help you dodge the cacti. What do you say?
What do I say? I say, OK, fine, but you ought to join in the fun. About time you went barefoot, too, SPHP! It’s a shame you’ve been missing out on the whole, complete joyful experience of all these barefoot treks through cacti lately. Besides, it might be amusing to see human ears droop for a change.
Heh, I appreciate your concern Loop, but think I’ll pass on that. Just a matter of personal vanity, you understand. I don’t look nearly as good as you do with droopy ears. Come on, let’s go!
The E slope wasn’t bad. Definitely better than the optional route up the barren sunbaked WSW slope would have been. That might well have been a cactus nightmare. As it was, Lupe hardly encountered any cacti until she was at the top of the ridgeline. By then, she was almost to the summit of Devil’s Slide Mountain (3,965 ft.).
As expected, cactus was thick on the other side of the ridge. Lupe stayed mostly toward the E to avoid it. She quickly made her way to the summit. The top of Devil’s Slide Mountain consisted of an assortment of large boulders resting on a prominent knob along the ridgeline.
No trees were up here to block the views. Lupe could see in every direction.
Lupe’s adventures had taken her to the top of Flagpole Mountain (4,320 ft.) only a week ago on Expedition No. 195. SPHP thought she ought to be able to see the summit from here beyond Horseshoe Bend, a steep sharply curving slope along the NW face of the mountain.
Loop had an unobstructed view of the entire length of Horseshoe Bend from Devil’s Slide Mountain, but the light was a little glary. Horseshoe Bend was far enough away so SPHP couldn’t tell if the actual summit of Flagpole Mountain was in view or hidden behind the top of the ridge. Binoculars would have solved the puzzle, but SPHP didn’t have any along.
Not all of the views from Devil’s Slide Mountain were of more hills and mountains. To the S and SW, high plains stretched away to the horizon beyond the Black Hills. Closer by, Lupe could see Cascade Creek in the valley below.
It was too early in the day to take a real break, but Lupe and SPHP hung around up on top of Devil’s Slide Mountain for a while enjoying the views. Eventually it was time to press on. Lupe had more adventures in store.
Lupe returned to the G6 (9:16 AM, 57°F). Her next stop, Cascade Falls, was only a few miles away. The picnic ground was closed and barred shut to vehicles this time of year, but there was plenty of room to park the G6 at the turnoff.
Lupe went around the gate, through the picnic ground, and down the steps leading to Cascade Creek and the falls. She had a drink, waded around, and enjoyed the view of Devil’s Slide Mountain from below.
After visiting Cascade Falls, Lupe’s next stop was only a mile farther S at the Cheyenne River. A sign S of the river told about the Wood Stage Station, which used to be close by. More than a century ago, a stagecoach route ran from Sydney, Nebraska to Deadwood, South Dakota. The sign mentioned General Custer’s 1874 Expedition to the Black Hills.
Custer’s only expedition to the Black Hills made him even more famous due to the discovery of gold. Despite being on her 196th Black Hills expedition, Loop hasn’t become famous, but then she’s never found any gold. SPHP sort of wishes she would, but understands that American Dingoes are more squirrel oriented than gold oriented.
At least Lupe’s relations with the Sioux nation are far superior to General Custer’s.
Lupe’s next peakbagging objective was Tepee Mountain (3,970 ft.) on the S bank of the Cheyenne River a couple miles W of Angostura Reservoir. Lupe had seen Tepee Mountain for the first time only a week ago on Expedition No. 195. From Flagpole Mountain, Tepee Mountain appeared as a much lower, heavily forested ridge.
SPHP turned E off Hwy 71 onto Maitland Road five miles S of the Cheyenne River. According to SPHP’s old Black Hills USFS map, Tepee Mountain is on BLM land, but private ranches are nearby. SPHP had to look for access for Lupe.
More than a mile SSW of Tepee Mountain, Lupe and SPHP stopped by the headquarters of the Tepee Creek Ranch. Two ranch dogs were eager for Lupe to come out and play, but she had to stay in the G6 while SPHP chatted with the rancher’s wife.
The wife was friendly. She didn’t seem opposed to Lupe crossing the ranch to climb Tepee Mountain, but mentioned that cows were calving and it had been so warm and dry out lately snakes were already out. She suggested that SPHP check out the possibility of public access along the Cheyenne River from Angostura Reservoir before resorting to crossing the ranch. SPHP agreed to do that.
Five miles of dusty gravel roads brought Lupe to a boat launch on the S shore of Angostura. Immediately to the W was a mobile home park, which appeared to be bordered by more private ranchlands. Lupe found no sign of public access to Tepee Mountain from here.
Lupe and SPHP left Angostura Reservoir. An approach from Maitland Road would have to do. SPHP found a spot to park the G6 (10:53 AM, 72°F). The summit of Tepee Mountain was more than 2 miles N from here.
Lupe was none too keen on starting the trek. The first half of her journey was through hilly, forested terrain. The forest was a mix of junipers and Ponderosa pines. Junipers thrive where it’s dry. Lupe associates them with cactus. She’s right, too. Cacti were present from almost the very start.
The forested hillsides didn’t have much cactus, but wound around a long series of ravines in crazy directions. The uneven ground was tiring to traverse. Higher up, the terrain was much more level, but many areas were so dry on top that even the junipers couldn’t survive. The sunny, exposed terrain was full of cactus.
Lupe and SPHP used her usual technique for dealing with cactus. SPHP scouted ahead looking for a safe route forward. When SPHP sat on the ground, Lupe took it as the signal she could advance that far. Rinse and repeat. Where there was too much cactus, SPHP carried Lupe far enough to get to a less infested area.
Progress was slow, but steady. At first, Lupe and SPHP stayed mostly on the high ground along the edge of the trees. Later, Lupe tried staying more in the forest. Traveling each type of terrain had its benefits and drawbacks. It was an extraordinarily warm day for March. The Carolina Dog was thrilled to find a small rapidly shrinking patch of melting snow in the forest on the N side of a hill!
As wearisome as the forested hills were, SPHP was not looking forward to reaching the end of them. From Maitland Road, Lupe had already seen the S slopes of Tepee Mountain. She would have to make a long, gradual climb up a barren, sun drenched slope. SPHP feared Lupe would face an incredible concentration of cacti the entire way.
Lupe might have to be carried more than a mile to the top.
The forest ended when Looper reached the N end of the low hills. Now she faced open grasslands the rest of the way up Tepee Mountain. Just ahead was a dirt road at the bottom of a shallow ravine that drained to the W. Beyond the road was a barbed wire fence. Lupe would have to cross both the road and the fence. First, though, she followed the road uphill to the E.
Traveling this short section of dirt road up the ravine was easy. Lupe was confident she wouldn’t encounter any cactus. Near a junction of fences, she left the road and went under the fence to the N. SPHP thought Lupe might be on BLM land now, but wasn’t certain.
Despite the heads up from the rancher’s wife, Lupe hadn’t seen a single cow or rattlesnake. However, cows had clearly spent a lot of time in the pasture N of the fence. This was great news for Lupe! The cows had eaten everything down so there wasn’t much vegetation left. Best of all, cows are apparently hard on cactus. SPHP had feared this area would be totally infested; instead there was hardly any!
Lupe wasn’t convinced this barren ground was safe. She insisted that SPHP continue to scout out the cactus situation ahead. Overall, though, she made significantly faster progress. She traveled up the long, gentle slope going NW, staying close to another barbed wire fence coming down the mountain.
As Lupe climbed higher, more cactus appeared – enough to slow things down again, but it wasn’t too bad. The fence line turned N. Lupe kept going NW until she came across a cattle trail that went N, too.
The cattle trail was like a super highway. Lupe trotted along unworried and unhindered by cactus. By the time the cattle trail curved E, Lupe was only 150 yards from the top of the mountain. She found cactus again as soon as she left the trail, but SPHP guided her through it. Lupe reached the summit of Tepee Mountain (3,790 ft.). Sweet success!
The large summit area was mostly grassland. Barren terrain sloped gradually away to the S and E. Junipers and pines were scattered thinly along the edge of the steeper W slope. The steepest drop off was to the N, where a thick line of trees blocked the view most places. The highest rocks on the mountain were clustered in a small area near the NW corner of the summit. Four or five different medium-sized rocks might have been the absolute highest point.
The most impressive view was toward the NW. Lupe could see Flagpole Mountain (4,320 ft.). She had been there only a week ago on Expedition No. 195.
Lupe was happy to reach the summit of Tepee Mountain. After a few photos, she curled up in the shade of a juniper tree. She had a great view of Flagpole Mountain while enjoying some Taste of the Wild. It was an amazingly warm day. Only mid-March and the temperature was somewhere in the 70’s!
SPHP munched an apple and shared water with Lupe. When the apple was gone, SPHP got up to wander around the summit area to see what else there was to see. Lupe preferred not to move around much. She was still worried about cactus. Besides, she liked the shade of the juniper tree. She was curious about what SPHP was up to, though.
Sometimes she peered out from her juniper tree stronghold to see what was going on.
Lupe soon decided she didn’t want to miss out on any of the views. She came out from her juniper trees to join SPHP and pose in a few more photos.
At the conclusion of her scenic summit tour, Lupe wanted to go relax in the shade of the juniper tree some more. SPHP went with her. There was no rush. The sun was high in the sky, and Lupe might never be on Tepee Mountain again. Time enough to enjoy this unique moment, and seldom seen view of Flagpole Mountain.
SPHP petted Lupe; in turn, she licked SPHP’s hand. Puffy white clouds sailed slowly through the pale blue sky overhead. Lupe and SPHP were both happy.
As it always does, the time came to say good-bye to the mountain. Lupe and SPHP started back to the G6. Lupe followed the same route as before, except that when she reached the low, forested hills again, she stayed farther to the W and lower down. Hidden on the N slopes of various ravines, she found half a dozen more patches of snow to eat and cool off on.
There were still cacti to deal with. Lupe remained cautious. SPHP helped guide her through, and carried her for short distances where necessary. She finally reached Maitland Road again W of the G6, but it wasn’t far away (3:31 PM, 81°F).
Over 80°F, in March! Incredible! On the way home, Lupe stopped again at Cascade Falls. The thirsty Carolina Dog had a huge drink from the creek. SPHP thought the water would be cold, but it was surprisingly, comfortably warm. This time, SPHP joined Lupe wading around in Cascade Creek.
Expedition No. 196 was a success, but wasn’t entirely over until Lupe was done with her enthusiastic barking from the G6 at all the cows and horses she saw on the way home. SPHP thought she deserved a special treat for braving the cactus on two more mountains today. The Sonic Drive-Inn was advertising half price milkshakes after 8 PM.
Lupe had a good time being taken out to the Sonic Drive-Inn. She was delighted when SPHP bought her a milkshake of her very own. Lupe had chocolate. SPHP had strawberry. When the milkshakes were gone, it was time for nighty-night and dreaming together about the day’s adventures, and adventures yet to come.
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