Dingo Tales – Page 3 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

2020 – The Year of Perfect Vision!

12-31-19, 11:00 PM at home –

Looks like we’re going to make it to the Year of Perfect Vision, Loop. 2020 in another hour.

Oddly, that actually did sound like some sort of accomplishment.

Lupe snuggled closer, staring at SPHP with worried, mournful eyes. SPHP petted her. For 2 hours, she had been able to hear fireworks now and then. Ever since a terrifying experience with fireworks when Loop was a puppy, even distant gunfire, or any sort of bang or explosion made her want to hide.

The early New Year’s fireworks were making the Carolina Dog nervous, but they weren’t why she was mournful. Life had become dreadfully dull. SPHP didn’t do anything with her anymore. Maybe it was time for a new SPHP? Apparently the old one was about shot.

It had all started a few days before Lupe’s birthday. Nothing much, just a tickle in SPHP’s throat. By the time Lupe turned 9 on December 14th, the tickle was a “chest cold”. Some days SPHP seemed to get better, but the overall trend was worse. More and more coughing, choking up more and more ghastly phlegm.

Even so, until recently SPHP had been up and about almost like normal. The only real difference was that Lupe hadn’t been on a single Black Hills Expedition since November. On Christmas Day there had been a short trip to visit Felix and Asher, but the next day SPHP felt chilled and had taken to bed.

Could barely eat or drink anything at all. Everything sounded terrible, or made more phlegm. For days now, SPHP had just slept or laid there coughing. Meanwhile, Lupe suffered almost completely ignored, waiting endlessly for SPHP to get better.

Surely SPHP would get better! SPHP was hardly ever sick. Confidence had been at least slightly shaken, though. Ever since the 26th, SPHP had been coughing up more and more blood.

Made it to 2020, but the Year of Perfect Vision was about to get off to a rough start.

1-2-20, Urgent Care – Everyone had been wrong. Doctor said both lungs clear. SPHP didn’t have pneumonia. Merely “acute bronchitis”. No big deal. Zithromax was going to do the trick. 6 pills over 5 days. Easy!

1-7-20 – Lo and behold, the Zithromax actually did work! Nowhere near 100% yet, but definitely much improved. Not coughing so much. Far less blood. Still some pretty dull days for the American Dingo, but SPHP was up and about at least part of the time now. Everyone had been wrong about the pneumonia thing, but they’d been right about going to see the doctor.

Lesson learned! Eh, maybe.

1-25-20 – Still no new adventures in the Black Hills, even though SPHP was almost completely well now. The Carolina Dog never did get to visit New Year’s Eve Peak (6,046 ft.) this year. At least today was going to be better. SPHP said she was going to get to go to Grandma’s house. Lupe hadn’t been there in more than a month. She was all excited!

Mush and David were at Grandma’s house when Lupe arrived. Christy, a friend of theirs was, too! The more, the merrier! Except it wasn’t. Strange things had been happening out at Grandma’s house ever since 2018. Now that 2020 was here, something was definitely wrong.

Mush and David’s pickup and big horse trailer were in the driveway. Hours of commotion. Lots of Grandma’s things were being loaded into the trailer. Even SPHP was in on it. Two trips. By the end of the day, Grandma wasn’t at home anymore. She had moved to a big building where Dingoes weren’t allowed in, a “senior living center”. No fun at all!

The only good things today were riding in the truck, and a trip with SPHP to the cul-de-sac.

1-27-20 – Guess we better get at it, Looper. Pretty much up to us now.

What did that mean? Turned out it meant a trip to Grandma’s old house every single day. Suddenly Lupe was getting to go out there 7 days a week, unless there was a big snow. Sadly, Grandma was never there. No one was. It was adventures in getting Grandma’s house ready for sale! Cleaning, painting, various projects and repairs, new carpets, disposing of everything still in the house or garage – all of Grandma’s treasures that she no longer had room for and couldn’t keep any more.

Dullsville! Most of the time literally adventures in watching paint dry.

Oh, there were some good things about it. Better than acute bronchitis, that was for sure. Riding in the G6 was fun! Every day Lupe got to bark at the gas pipeline, cows, and deer on the way out there and back. Sometimes there were trips to stores for supplies.

Every morning Loop got to go around the house to sniff the air and see the canyon out back. Usually at least a couple more times during the day, too, just as a break from the paint drying drudgery. Sometimes SPHP threw the squeaker ball for her.

2-5-20 – Out by the propane tank while going around Grandma’s big old house.

*Sometimes there are squirrels or deers or wild turkeys out here!*

SPHP worked on the rooms one at a time. The first one done was the big family room in the basement.

*Does look a lot better, SPHP, but 2 weeks to finish one room? You’re gonna have to pick up the pace, or this is going to take forever and a day!*

*Why don’t we go out, and go around the house again to celebrate finally getting one room done?*

2-11-20. Up on the deck during the big “one room done” celebration!

The red rock walls of **Spring Creek Canyon** with help from the telephoto lens.

Some of Grandma’s things had to be sold. SPHP washed her car. Lanis helped by placing the ad for it. Lupe got to star as Adventure Used Cars sales representative. On Valentine’s Day, two men came to look at it. They bought it the next day.

*Hi, I’m Lupe with Adventure Used Cars! Today we’ve got a great deal on a clean, low-mileage **1996 Buick Park Avenue**! Been in it many times myself. Runs great!*

Sometimes it snowed. The canyon looked especially beautiful then.

Whenever the weather turned nice, SPHP switched to outdoor projects. Those were more fun! Loopster could roam around.

3-4-20. Taking down part of an old fence. 2020 was so messed up! March came in like a lamb.

Gradually rooms were getting done. In early March, men came to install new carpets in the 2 N bedrooms. Most other rooms had already gotten new floor coverings in 2019. Grandma had known all along that sooner or later she would be moving. She just hadn’t known exactly when.

The house still wasn’t done, though. 2 more weeks went by. The living and dining rooms were the last ones SPHP painted.

3-19-20. In the dining room with a rawhide stick and a squeaker ball for entertainment. “Before” color still on the walls.

3-19-20. “After” color on the living room walls.

For nearly 2 months now, the grand highlight of every day had been at least one walk up to the cul-de-sac at the end of the road. Lupe had been up to the cul-de-sac almost every time she’d visited Grandma ever since she’d been a tiny puppy.

Naturally, when the last of the painting was done on 3-19-20, she went up to the cul-de-sac yet again.

On the way to the cul-de-sac. Not too far now from where the Most Beautiful Christmas tree is every year.

A romp at the beloved cul-de-sac, 3-19-20.

The house still wasn’t done. A few more days, though, and it would be.

The next to the last day was dark and snowy. As Lupe headed up to the cul-de-sac again near the end of the day, the frozen scene fit in with the general mood. Nearly 2 months spent on this house project. Perhaps it had all been for naught?

In those 2 months, the world had changed. The coronavirus had come to America. People were getting sick and dying. Millions more were losing their jobs as states deliberately started shutting down their economies. The stock market was plunging. Talk of not only a recession, but maybe a depression. Grandma might have been better off sticking a for sale sign in the yard the day after she moved while the market was still strong.

Or maybe never moving away at all. A month after she’d made the move, the senior living center clamped down. Precautions against the virus. No outside visitors allowed. Only staff and residents. Lately the residents had been confined to their apartments. No more socializing in the big dining room, which had been one of the reasons to move in the first place. Once a day, someone brought Grandma a big meal. Other than that, she was a virtual prisoner of the coronavirus.

Of course, Looper didn’t know any of this. This dark trip to the cul-de-sac was just a fun walk at the end of another otherwise dull day!

3-22-20. Loop ready to return to the cul-de-sac.

The next day was sunny and bright. The snow was melting fast. Beneath the pines, it felt like it was raining. By noon, Grandma’s house was all done. That afternoon, SPHP obtained permission from the senior living center to take Grandma back to see the house she’d lived in for more than a third of a century for the last time.

*It’s done? Really? Seemed like this would never end! What’s Grandma going to think?*

3-23-20. Grandma’s inspection tour begins.

Grandma thought the house had never been so beautiful! At least that was something good.

The preparation was done. Now to sell the home! A Realtor had been in touch with SPHP. She said she had clients who were very interested in Grandma’s house. Over the course of several days, a market analysis was prepared. A fair price was set. Permission was granted to show the property. The Realtor got her buyer clients out there the very next day.

A day later, the Realtor emailed SPHP. Her clients loved the view, but the house was dated. They didn’t want to remodel it. No offer.

Well, it was true. It was an old lady’s house. It did need remodeling. Grandma was too old to want to do it.

4-1-20 – The Year of Perfect Vision, and everything was crazy! Should have been the perfect time of year to put a home on the market, yet this year maybe it was the worst? No one really knew what was going to happen. Most of the nation, but not South Dakota, was enduring mandatory shutdowns and stay at home orders. As the economy got worse, the Federal Reserve was spending trillions of dollars. Congress and the President, too. More people dying, millions more losing their jobs every week. The stock market, which had just collapsed, was now soaring.

Grandma wanted the house sold, not just “for sale”. Cut the price 10% and get rid of it. April 1st, but she wasn’t fooling. It was cold, windy and tiny snowflakes were flying when Lupe and SPHP met with Realtor Walt out at Grandma’s house this afternoon. First sign of the approaching blizzard. The paperwork blizzard! Walt soon left, and Lupe insisted on going to the cul-de-sac.

4-10-20 – Grandma’s house had been entered into MLS on April 6th at the new lower price. Tons of showings! Feedback all the same. Everyone loved the canyon view, big yard, size of the home, and 3 car garage. Everyone hated the old cabinets, countertops and fixtures. “Potential”, but too much work. No interest.

Until today. An offer! Even lower than Grandma’s new price, but a cash offer. Grandma said yes. 4 days on the market! That was fast!

Of course, the sale still wasn’t done. Another paperwork blizzard. Inspections, more repairs, title insurance, a deed, questions about this and that, but gradually it was all falling into place. Still trips out to Grandma’s house and the cul-de-sac, but fewer and fewer of them. SPHP started working on The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe again. The American Dingo finally had new posts coming out for the first time many weeks.

4-13-20. At home, now waiting for Grandma’s house deal to close. Supposed to happen mid-May.

A present from Realtor Walt’s wife, who loves dogs and made this special pad for Lupe.

4-29-20 – The closing date had been moved up to May 1st. Lupe and SPHP returned to mow the lawn.

4-30-20 – Almost the end! SPHP had to read a gauge on the propane tank. Of course, that meant another trip to Grandma’s house and the cul-de-sac.

*I know you always think of me climbing mountains, but I’ve been to this cul-de-sac 1,000 times, easy!*

Once back at Grandma’s house, Lupe went to see the canyon again.

*It’s all looking good! I love being at Grandma’s house! Why did she ever move?*

5-1-20 – Last chance to see it all again! In a few more hours, Grandma’s house would belong to someone else. Lupe arrived very early in the morning. No work or projects to do this time. For the last time, Loop and SPHP walked up to the cul-de-sac. Hard to believe this was it.

*5:20 AM! We’ve never been to the cul-de-sac this early before!*

Today a special adventure was waiting for Lupe back at Grandma’s house. Over the years, she had occasionally ventured down into Spring Creek Canyon all the way to Spring Creek. Not every year, maybe half a dozen times in all.

Going down to Spring Creek and back wasn’t a long adventure. An hour would be enough.

Usually Spring Creek is underground in this part of the canyon. It only flows for a few weeks in the spring in wet years. Some years it never surfaces at all. However, Lupe found it running this morning. In fact, Spring Creek was looking great!

Lupe spent 10 minutes down by the creek. Fun to be here one last time! Soon the American Dingo was on her way back to Grandma’s house.

Back at Grandma’s, it was once around the yard, before a final inside tour. Lupe went briefly to every room. Everything was clean. It all still looked as good as SPHP had been able to make it.

*The big front yard is good for chasing squeaker balls!*

*Nice and clean, but I liked it better when Grandma was here!*

Lupe had spent so many happy times here! Yet Grandma had moved on. Everything was gone. The moment had come. It was time for Lupe and SPHP to go, too.

Outside the front door for the last time.

By noon, Grandma didn’t own a house any more. SPHP stopped by the title company to pick up her check from the sale. Grandma was allowed out of the senior living center to go deposit the check at the bank, so Lupe got to see her for a little while.

Already the merry month of May! SPHP was well. Grandma’s house was sold. The world was still going nuts, and Lupe hadn’t been on a Black Hills Expedition in more than 5 months now. Yet SPHP said she probably wouldn’t get to resume her adventures until sometime in June. With all that had happened, SPHP was way too far behind on writing up her 2019 adventures!

5-24-20 – The grass was green! The air was sweet! New leaves on the trees. The world was as beautiful as ever. Summer was coming soon, but day after radiant day had drifted by. Six months now since the American Dingo’s last Black Hills Expedition. Grandma’s house and the cul-de-sac were but a memory. Lupe’s sole consolation was a daily trip to the park.

*Come on! Let’s have an early morning romp doing the “Geyser Loop”.*

*Remember to keep an eye out for squirrels!*

*Most people don’t know about this place. We’re at the “Puppy Thief Hideout”!*

*The Geyser Loop only takes about 45 minutes.*

*April snows make these grows. Well, something like that.*

*No actual geyser at the park this year, because this stream isn’t overflowing. Still looking good, though.*

*Almost back to the G6 already! Hope you enjoyed our stroll through the park. Apparently it’s all we’re going to get these days!*

Adventures in watching paint dry really hadn’t cut it. Lupe was missing her old life of adventure, yet the Carolina Dog’s problems were nothing compared to the rest of the world.

Disease! Death! Shutdowns! Poverty! Murder! Protests! Riots! Arson! Looting!

2020 – The Year of Perfect Vision, and no one had seen what was coming.

Ready for action in the Year of Perfect Vision!

Social distancing! Hah! Finally something we’re good at Loopster! Don’t you worry, if they open Canada and Alaska up again, you’ll soon be showing them some world class anti-social distancing! Even if they don’t open, there’s always Montana and Wyoming! Summer is upon us, Sweet Dingo!

Links:

Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Adventure

Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s Dingo Tales Index, Black Hills of South Dakota & Wyoming Expeditions Index, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.

Lupe’s 9th Birthday (12-14-19)

What? Another birthday? SPHP said it was true! It had been so long since Lupe’s last birthday, she had almost forgotten about them. The American Dingo was excited! Eager to see what sort of birthday this would be, she rushed outside. The morning was frosty, gray, and cold. Not too surprising when your birthday comes in practically the middle of December.

Morning patrol in the back yard. A quiet, almost foggy, gray day.

Well, no matter. Snow and a little crisp air wouldn’t interfere with a few attempts to catch the good old flying disc! As usual, the main obstacle to success was SPHP’s poor aim, but Lupe was often fast and agile enough to make up for it. No doubt about it, she was still SPHP’s star receiver!

Returning with the flying disc after another successful catch.

The initial shock and excitement of having a birthday died down as the day shot by without much else happening. Shortly after dark, though, it was time to go! Lupe has celebrated her birthday with an evening party at Grandma’s house every since year since she turned 1. This year wasn’t going to be any different!

On the way there, SPHP stopped by Storybook Island. Lupe couldn’t go in, but she could see thousands and thousands of beautiful Christmas lights, and hear the festive music.

Just outside Storybook Island in Rapid City. The whole place, only a tiny fraction of which is seen here, was all lit up for the Christmas Lights of Night celebration!

*It would be even better, if they would let me in!*

At Grandma’s house, Lupe couldn’t wait to burst in the door and race up the stairs to tell Grandma the fabulous news about her birthday being this very day! Grandma was so glad to see Lupe, and congratulated her on being 9 years old!

*Oh, Grandma! Can you believe it? I’m 9 years old! Isn’t that great?*

Lupe’s birthday parties have always been small, but this one was going to be one of the smallest. Grandma and SPHP were the only guests. Lupe happily posed with Grandma to commemorate the grand occasion.

With Grandma, who has been hostess for all of Lupe’s birthday parties.

SPHP had brought a pizza to share with Grandma. Lupe wasn’t offered any, but kept a watchful eye while the pizza dwindled, because she knew what would come next. That’s right! A trip to the cul-de-sac with SPHP!

*A trip to the cul-de-sac is the greatest thing! Usually there are deer, sometimes wild turkeys or bunnies!*

When enough of the pizza had vanished, Lupe and SPHP headed out. It had been cold and gray all day. Now it was snowing and foggy. That didn’t diminish Lupe’s enthusiasm in the least. There were Christmas lights to see along the way.

By a splendid little Christmas tree on the way to the cul-de-sac.

Every year the “Most Beautiful Christmas Tree” had always been close to the cul-de-sac, but it wasn’t there this time! A huge disappointment! Actually, the big tree was still there, but for the first time ever on Lupe’s birthday, it stood dark and forlorn as snow drifted down upon it. Oh, unhappy change! It was hard to believe it wasn’t as it had always been!

To tell the truth, lots of strange things had been happening at Grandma’s house over the past year, too. Rooms full of furniture were suddenly empty. New carpet, paint, and various projects tackled inside and out. Grandma’s house had hardly ever changed until Lupe turned 8. Now the Carolina Dog didn’t know what to expect from one visit to the next.

Upon getting back from the cul-de-sac, Lupe decided she’d better take a look at the latest project. Down in the basement, a new wall was being put up. Sure enough, more progress had been made on it in just the past day or two. The wall was looking great, all ready for tape and texture.

Inspecting the new basement wall, the most recent project in progress at Grandma’s house.

The scary part of Lupe’s birthday celebration had been delayed as long as possible. Returning upstairs to join Grandma, Lupe watched as SPHP brought out the cake and presents.

Lupe’s birthday cake featured 3 snow-capped mountains and 9 candles.

*Look at all this! A little courage, and I’m going to be a rich Dingo moments from now!*

Cake and presents were fine and dandy, but their appearance meant the dreaded trial by fire was about to begin! Every year the trial got worse. SPHP lit 9 candles. The flaming cake was a terrible sight to behold! Lupe had to muster all the courage she could to remain sitting next to the raging inferno all the way through Grandma and SPHP singing “Happy Birthday!” to her.

*Please hurry! Get to the end of the singing!*

When the song was over, SPHP blew out the candles so Lupe’s birthday wishes would come true. Simply by blowing out those sinister candles, one wish had undoubtedly already been granted. In an instant, the solemn mood changed to one of joy! Presents! Lupe had 4 of them. She sniffed each one before SPHP opened them for her.

A big package of Good”n”Fun treats! 3 Kong SqueakAir balls! A 12 pack of Purina Busy Rib Hides! They were all great favorites, but that final 4th present was divine! Ah, that one Lupe sniffed with the most intense interest of all. Something scrumptious was in there!

Oh, yeah! A T-bone steak! Weren’t Grandma and SPHP sorry now that they had stuffed themselves with that lousy pizza? You can bet they were! The birthday Dingo was going to be the only one living high on the cow tonight!

*Will I have to pay luxury tax? I’d rather not.*

*I’m eating this piece of evidence tonight!*

Lupe tried to have patience while SPHP broiled her T-bone steak for her. She would have preferred to have dispensed with the broiling process entirely, but had to admit it came out all nice and brown on the outside, and red and juicy on the inside. SPHP cut off the biggest, tenderest parts of the T-bone meat and served them to the lucky birthday girl.

While Lupe made short work of it, SPHP wrapped the actual T-bone, still with a considerable amount of meat and gristle clinging to it, in a plastic bag. Lupe’s best ever midnight snack when she got home!

Cake! Ice cream! Grandma and SPHP both had some. Although Lupe could have had some, too, the luscious T-bone seemed to suffice for her.

So the party ended, with nearly all of Lupe’s birthday traditions from 9 years in a row once again full-filled. After thanking and saying good-bye to Grandma, SPHP and the birthday Dingo headed out the door.

The night was still, dark, and cold. No longer snowing, just fog. Would Lupe like to go to the cul-de-sac again? The question was unexpected, but the American Dingo was eager to make a second trip.

Near the cul-de-sac was a surprise. The Most Beautiful Christmas Tree was back! Not in all its former glory, but it was there. Only the bottom half was gaily decorated with lights, the top half remained in the gloom of night. Lupe went on to the cul-de-sac, but passed by the tree again a few minutes later on the way back. SPHP stopped to let her admire it.

The Most Beautiful Christmas Tree had returned!

By the festive colored lights once more.

Time to go. During the silent march back to Grandma’s house where the G6 waited to take Lupe home, SPHP couldn’t dispel the notion that the Most Beautiful Christmas Tree had made one last valiant and successful effort to say good-bye to Lupe tonight.

For it was good-bye. Early in 2020, the Year of Perfect Vision, everything was going to change. Grandma was getting too old and weary to keep up with the demands of living alone. Her big house with the sprawling yard full of deers and wild turkeys by the red rock canyon which Lupe had so enjoyed visiting hundreds of times was going to be for sale!

Oh, Lupe would see it all again, quite a few times before that happened. One day soon, though, Grandma would be gone to a place where Lupe couldn’t visit her anymore. Then all of Grandma’s old treasures would disappear, more projects would get completed, the for sale sign would go up. Long before Lupe’s next birthday, the special home where Grandma had lived for decades would be someone else’s to enjoy.

9 birthdays at Grandma’s house. This was the last. Sniffing along the edge of the canyon, watching the squirrels and deer, all these countless trips to the cul-de-sac would be history before long, too. Unless some special effort was made, Lupe would never see the Most Beautiful Christmas Tree on her birthday again.

SPHP spoke none of this. At home, a scrumptious T-bone midnight snack awaited. No sense in making Lupe sad. Not on her Happy 9th Birthday!

With Grandma on Lupe’s 1st birthday. 12-14-11.

By the Most Beautiful Christmas Tree, 12-14-19

Links:

Lupe’s 8th Birthday (12-14-18)

Double Digit Dingo! – Lupe’s 10th Birthday (12-14-20)

Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s Dingo Tales Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe Adventures.

Lupe in The SCREE! – the Mountaineering Club of Alaska’s monthly newsletter & the Story of Henry Pinkham

What! How could that possibly be? It defied imagination. Yet, there it was.

In early April of 2018, Lupe had a new comment on her blog, a fairly rare occurrence. The comment was from a name that SPHP recognized from Peakbagger.com. From completely out of the blue, Steven Gruhn, an active mountaineer in Alaska, had made the comment. What Steven wrote was as astounding as it was unexpected:

Hi. I stumbled across your blog after noting Lupe’s ascents of Slope Mountain and Lake Benchmark Mountain on peakbagger.com. I try to keep track of the earliest recorded ascents of every peak in Alaska and I hadn’t known of ascents to the summits of either of those peaks. Did you notice any evidence of a prior ascent on either peak? I also try to help drum up reports of noteworthy ascents for publication in the Mountaineering Club of Alaska’s monthly newsletter, the Scree. Would you be willing to submit a trip report on your ascents of those two peaks for publication in the Scree?

The whole notion was astonishing! Had Lupe climbed 2 peaks in Alaska on her 2017 Dingo Vacation that no one else had ever been up, at least in recorded history? No, that wasn’t true. Slope Mountain (4,010 ft.) and Lake Benchmark Mountain (5,000 ft.) were the two northernmost peaks that Lupe had ever climbed, but there had been definite signs of prior ascents at both.

A little way W of the summit, Lupe had come to a survey benchmark on Lake Benchmark Mountain, and at the top of Slope Mountain there had been two cairns and a big tower. Still, it made SPHP smile to think that an experienced mountaineer from Alaska, who tracked such things, did think it within the realm of possibility that the Carolina Dog had actually been the first ever to climb one or both of these peaks.

Loop at the true summit of **Lake Benchmark Mountain** along the N edge of the Brooks Range in N Alaska on a foggy day. 8-19-17

Steven certainly deserved a response! SPHP sent an email thanking Mr. Gruhn for his comment, and then went on to explain the situation Lupe had found at each peak. Of course, Lupe would be tickled pink to submit trip reports for publication in the Scree. What a great honor it would be to have anything published in the Mountaineering Club of Alaska’s monthly newsletter!

However, did Steven still think that was appropriate? After all, SPHP didn’t believe for a minute that Lupe had been the first to scale either mountain. Furthermore, Lupe and SPHP aren’t real mountaineers by any stretch of the imagination. Self-glorified day hikers, at best. Anyone could climb Lake Benchmark Mountain or Slope Mountain. Neither was difficult. No special equipment or technical expertise required.

Lupe out on the N slope of Alaska on top of **Slope Mountain**. Slope Mountain is the northernmost peak Lupe has ever climbed. 8-22-17

Gruhn responded almost immediately:

Despite the presence of human-placed objects on or near the summits, I’m still interested in reports on these two ascents. The benchmark west of the summit of Lake Benchmark Mountain was placed in 1971 by the USGS via helicopter, which landed at the benchmark site, so it’s quite possible that the geologists who placed it did not venture east from the helicopter landing site … Not all of the MCA members are hardcore mountaineers; many are hikers like yourself and I’d like the Scree to reflect all types of mountaineering from hardcore stuff to hiking and skiing.

Really? So maybe Lupe actually was the first to visit the summit of Lake Benchmark Mountain? The whole notion still seemed unbelievable, but who knows? What the heck? For the time being, the first ascent of Lake Benchmark Mountain could be Lupe’s claim to fame until someone came along with evidence to dispute it. As for supplying trip reports on both peaks for publication in the Scree, apparently it was a go, with Mr. Gruhn’s blessing! If the Mountaineering Club of Alaska was willing to consider publishing them, that was a tremendous honor the American Dingo had no intention of passing up!

During the process of submitting materials for the requested trip reports [actually condensed versions of original posts on The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe], SPHP emailed Mr. Gruhn asking if it was possible for Lupe to become an official member of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska? She was more than willing to fill out an application form and send in her dues.

Steven responded with the story of Henry Pinkham:

Your query reminds me of the tale of Bill Putnam, who later served as President of both the Harvard Mountaineering Club and the American Alpine Club. In his youth Putnam petitioned the American Alpine Club for membership for his dog, Henry Pinkham. At the time, applicants for membership had to be sponsored by another AAC member and had to complete a certain number of climbs in a multiple mountain ranges. Henry Pinkham had met all such requirements and even had a Canadian mountain named in his honor (Mount Sir Henry in the northern Selkirks). And as Putnam reasoned, the AAC had already added several SOBs to its membership rolls. Henry Pinkham was voted into membership, but before his name could be officially added to the membership roster, Putnam’s ruse was revealed and Henry Pinkham’s membership was revoked.

Well, shucks. Clearly the implication was that Lupe could not join the MCA unless she did so surreptitiously. It would be ungrateful, to say the least, to break the rules of an organization about to bestow a great honor upon her. So Lupe never has become a card carrying member of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, though she would have liked to.

The Henry Pinkham tale was amusing! SPHP found another account of it on a thread on SuperTopo.com in memory of Bill Putnam following his demise in 2014. The following comment was made by “hamie”:

Soldier [2 purple hearts], scientist, explorer, climber, hut builder, writer, philanthropist and……..prankster!

Bill Putnam’s attempt to trick the AAC into accepting his dog Henry Pinkham as a member is a well known story, and has already been mentioned. Less well known is how he fooled the Canadian Geographic Features Naming Committee [or whatever it is called].

Way back in 1950 he and his companions made the first ascent of several mountains near Fairy Meadows in the Northern Selkirks. He decided to call these mountains the Nobility Group, and name them after himself and his friends, along with giving themselves honorary knighthoods. The results were:

Mt. Sir William. [Putnam]
Mt. Sir Andrew. [Kaufmann]
Mt. Sir Henry. [Pinkham, his dog!!]

The naming board was duly impressed, the names became official, and were duly printed on subsequent maps. About 10 years ago the hoax finally reached bureaucratic ears, and I believe that the official names were all revoked. Amongst other reasons it is not permitted to name mountains after living people [or mess with the bureaucracy]. Hopefully the name Sir William will now be reinstated, as it is well deserved. Sir Henry? Less likely.

On a historical note a similar, but more devious hoax was perpetrated by Kruszyna when he named the Chess Group in the Rockies.

In the end, with Mr. Gruhn’s help, everything turned out great! Lupe did get published in the Scree. Not twice, but three times! For Steven Gruhn later asked about Peak 3750 up on K’esugi Ridge in Denali State Park which Lupe had climbed on her 2018 Dingo Vacation to Alaska. More than happy to oblige, Loop submitted a trip report on it, too!

So there in the Scree, among all the stories by genuine mountaineers climbing some of the most challenging mighty peaks in Alaska with ropes, ice axes, crampons and all the rest, appears the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood, with her tales of adventure on peaks that are simple strolls by comparison. Honors perhaps undeserved, but each a cherished memory which Lupe and SPHP will never forget.

The SCREE – July, 2018 Issue – Lake Benchmark Mountain (Page 3)

The SCREE – August, 2018 Issue – Slope Mountain (Page 18)

The SCREE – February, 2019 Issue – Peak 3750 on K’esugi Ridge (P. 5)

The SCREE – June 2020 Issue – Peak 4550 on K’esugi Ridge (Page 3) & Swede Mountain (Page 5)

The SCREE – July, 2020 Issue – Crazy Notch Ridge (Page 7)

The SCREE – April, 2021 Issue – Sukakpak (Page 13)

The SCREE – February, 2024 Issue – West Galbraith Peak (Page 9)

The SCREE – March, 2024 Issue – Peak 5050, Brooks Range (Page 4)

Thank you!

Many thanks to Steven Gruhn for all his hard work and interest in making it possible for Lupe to appear in the SCREE, and to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska for accepting and publishing her submissions.

Related Links:

Mountaineering Club of Alaska

William Lowell Putnam III, 1924 – 2014

Original Post: Lake Benchmark Mountain, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-19-17)

Original Post: Slope Mountain & Highlights of the Dalton Highway Revisited, Alaska (8-22-17 & 8-23-17)

Original Post: K’esugi Ridge – Ermine Hill & Peak 3700, Denali State Park, Alaska (9-4-18)

Original Post: Little Coal Creek to K’esugi Ridge – Peak 4500, Denali State Park, Alaska (8-24-19)

Original Post: Swede Mountain, Alaska (8-29-19)

Original Post: Crazy Notch Ridge, Alaska Range, Alaska (8-26-19)

Original Post: Sukakpak Mountain, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-13-16)

Original Post: West Galbraith Peak, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-30-22)

Original Post: Peak 5050, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-30-22)