Lupe was very surprised – and enthusiastic, when on the very first day of 2015, SPHP suggested another Black Hills, SD Expedition. Just yesterday, Lupe and SPHP had gone on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 112 to New Year’s Eve Peak (6,046 ft.), Lupe’s last expedition of 2014.
However, the weather was cooperative, and SPHP figured nothing helps break the sadness of the passing of another year like a good start to the next one. So, on New Year’s Day 2015, at 11:02 AM (38°F), SPHP parked the G6 at the Pactola Reservoir Visitor Center along Hwy 385 near the S end of the dam.
Lupe’s peakbagging goal for the day was Thrall Mountain (5,091 ft.). Thrall Mountain didn’t seem like a very ambitious goal, since it lies just a little over 2 miles E of Pactola near Johnson Siding. Even on a short winter day, Lupe should have plenty of time to romp in the snow, and still make her goal.
Lupe and SPHP started out crossing Hwy 385 to the E. Right away, Lupe turned S to climb a forested ridge, which soon ended near McGurdy Gulch. Lupe and SPHP came down off the ridge to follow USFS Road No. 165.1B heading SE up McGurdy Gulch to a saddle at the highest point on the road. From there, Lupe left the road and turned NE, still climbing through a snowy forest to reach a couple of minor high points of similar elevation.
Wandering NE, Lupe and SPHP came to a Centennial Trail No. 89 marker. With the trail hidden under up to 6″ of trackless snow, if it hadn’t been for the marker, SPHP wouldn’t have known the trail was there. Lupe and SPHP were somewhere in the saddle area between Tamarack Gulch to the N, and Gold Standard Gulch to the SE. Thrall Mountain was still close to 2 miles to the NE.
Lupe and SPHP crossed Centennial Trail No. 89 intending to continue NE, but soon steep terrain in that direction forced Lupe more to the E in order to stay on relatively high ground. The going was somewhat slow in the snowy forest for SPHP, so when Lupe came to a road heading ESE, Lupe and SPHP took it, even though it was losing elevation slowly.
SPHP didn’t immediately realize the road was USFS Road No. 727.1A. It was taking Lupe down into Gold Standard Gulch. It wasn’t until a little later on when SPHP noticed another Centennial Trail No. 89 marker off in the forest about 25 feet S of the road, that SPHP realized Lupe was in Gold Standard Gulch.
Lupe was actually not far from where she needed to go to reach Thrall Mountain. She just needed to get across the ridge to the NE and over to the upper end of Powerhouse Gulch, which wouldn’t have been hard to do. However, SPHP made a major mistake and did not check the maps. Lupe and SPHP continued on down Gold Standard Gulch, which gradually turned more to the S, taking Lupe farther away from Thrall Mountain.
When Prairie Creek entered Gold Standard Gulch from a side valley, the going got tougher. The road forded Prairie Creek 4 or 5 times. Prairie Creek isn’t very big, just a few feet wide and only a foot or two deep most places. Ordinarily, crossing it is easy, but the creek was lightly frozen over. It wasn’t possible to see where or how deep the water was, and the banks were slippery and hidden by snow.
The ice over Prairie Creek barely supported Lupe’s weight. At one of the crossings, she almost got dunked twice before she could leap to safety, as the ice cracked and sank beneath her. SPHP had to search for particularly narrow sections of the creek in order to cross without getting wet. Tromping through the snow with soaking wet feet wouldn’t have been a good thing in January.
When Prairie Creek reached Brush Creek at USFS Road No. 772.2, SPHP finally checked the maps. A lot of time had gone by, and Lupe was still nearly 2 miles away from Thrall Mountain, which was now almost due N. Lupe was hardly any closer to Thrall Mountain than she had been at the very start of the expedition at the Pactola Reservoir Visitor Center! SPHP now realized what an error it had been to follow Gold Standard Gulch so far. Lupe and SPHP went E a short distance toward gentler terrain before leaving the road to turn N.
Lupe and SPHP wandered NNE through the forest. Along the way, Lupe came to a couple of unidentified minor roads which she followed for short stretches before they turned off in wrong directions. The terrain wasn’t very steep, and Lupe had fun roaming the snow-filled forest. Lupe and SPHP crossed another mysterious snowy road (probably No. 772.1E) to reach the top of a small ridge. On the other side, the land dropped off steeply. There was a view to the NE. Nothing in that direction looked high enough to be Thrall Mountain.
Lupe and SPHP followed the small ridge NW. Occasionally there was a glimpse through the trees of a high point to the N that barely stuck up over some intervening hills. That high point was probably Thrall Mountain, but it was hard to tell for certain. The ridge ended. Lupe and SPHP had to backtrack a little bit, and turn SW to start dropping down into a draw. The draw led Lupe NW and then N, losing elevation the whole way.
Down in the draw, there were faint signs of an old abandoned road. A tangle of dead trees greeted Lupe at the lower end of the draw. Once past the tangle, the faint road continued until it met up with a better road in a much larger valley the draw fed into. Time for a break. Lupe and SPHP shared a chocolate granola bar. It only made Lupe realize how famished she was. She followed up the granola bar by devouring most of the Taste of the Wild supply.
SPHP checked the maps. This big valley was almost certainly Powerhouse Gulch. In that case, the better road Lupe had just found here was USFS Road No. 772.1. Lupe and SPHP followed the road NW. Pretty soon No. 772.1 turned S at an intersection with USFS Road No. 772.1B. Although No. 772.1 was unmarked at this intersection, there was a marker for No. 772.1B, which continued NW up Powerhouse Gulch.
Lupe was now only 1 mile S of Thrall Mountain! However, there was a new problem. The sun, seen only as a faint glow in the overcast sky, was getting lower. Sunset was at most 2 hours, more likely just 1.5 hours, away. Although SPHP was confident that there was still plenty of time for Lupe to find and climb Thrall Mountain, it would almost certainly get very dark well before she could get back to the G6, even by the most direct route.
SPHP checked the maps again. Although they showed No. 772.1B going NW up Powerhouse Gulch, and then continuing on to Tamarack Gulch not too far from Pactola Reservoir, SPHP and Lupe had never been on this road before. Lots of minor roads in the Black Hills aren’t really as shown on the maps. It’s not uncommon for them to dead end, be blocked or nearly impassable due to deadfall timber, or have lots of confusing side roads.
There was no sense starting New Year 2015 off by getting lost on a cold, dark winter night. Expedition No. 112 was just going to have to be chalked up as an exploratory one. Lupe had gotten close, but she wasn’t going to get to climb Thrall Mountain today after all. Lupe and SPHP continued NW on up Powerhouse Gulch on USFS Road No. 772.1B.
As it turned out, it was a good decision. In daylight, Lupe and SPHP didn’t get off on No. 772.1C by mistake where No. 772.1B unexpectedly dropped over an embankment at the intersection, which would have been very easy to do in the dark. Even with the advantage of daylight, a little farther on SPHP managed to lead Lupe onto a side road. It eventually dead ended high up on a steep rocky slope. In the light, it was easy to go back and find the right road.
Up ahead, the Pactola Reservoir dam came into view. Lupe and SPHP crossed Centennial Trail No. 89 again, not far from the Tamarack Gulch trailhead. Lupe pressed on to McGurdy Gulch road, this time farther N than where she had reached it early in the day. Soon she was climbing up the S end of Pactola Reservoir dam. She reached Hwy 385 at the top of the dam. The Pactola Reservoir Visitor Center and the G6 were in view right across the road.
The sun was just setting. A small break in the clouds allowed the colored rays of sunset to burst through for just a few minutes. The first day of 2015 was ending. From a peakbagging standpoint, Lupe’s first expedition of 2015 was a failure. She never even really saw Thrall Mountain.
But Lupe had a wonderful day roaming the Black Hills. She explored many pretty places in the quiet snowy woods she had never been to before, some of which she might never see again. Best of all, Lupe and SPHP had spent the day together, doing what American Dingoes love to do. And, of course, Lupe would return to climb Thrall Mountain another day!
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