October 2015 – Page 3 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Black Hills, SD & WY Expedition No. 141 – Old Baldy Mountain & Cement Ridge (10-11-15)

Lupe was happy and excited. She was on her way to another Black Hills Expedition. On USFS Road No. 256, SPHP stopped the G6 along the road. There was a very nice stand of yellow aspens, and SPHP wanted a photo of it. This late in the season, most of the aspens higher up were probably past their prime already, but these still looked good. Their golden glory wouldn’t last long, though. Leaves fell by the thousands with every gust of the NW breeze.

Aspens along USFS Road No. 256 E of Minnesota Ridge. — Aspens along USFS Road No. 256 east of Minnesota Ridge.

Lupe’s chance to sniff around along No. 256 didn’t last long. Soon it was time to continue on. Lupe enjoyed the long ride through the hills. She rode with her head out the window in the wind, barking ferociously at cows and horses along the way. By the time most of them even looked up to see what the commotion was all about, she was already past them. It didn’t matter, Lupe was satisfied she had done her barking duty.

At 10:59 AM, SPHP parked the G6 at the Old Baldy trailhead off USFS Road No. 134 . It was 67°F, overcast and breezy. Old Baldy Trail No. 66 goes to Old Baldy Mountain (6,096 ft.). There is a W route and an E route to get there, the W route being a little longer. Both routes meet up again 0.8 mile from the summit for the final climb. Both trails go up and down through the hills, but there really isn’t all that much net elevation change – the trail is pretty easy.

Lupe and SPHP took the E route to Old Baldy Mountain. This trail is a bit unusual for the Black Hills. It goes through a forest consisting mostly of aspens with some scattered pines. Usually it is the other way around, and the pines dominate. Most of the aspens were well beyond their peak for fall colors, but there was still enough color around for a very pleasant journey. The trail and forest floor were now decorated with the speckled browns, pale yellows and golds of the fallen aspen leaves.

Lupe on the E route of Old Baldy Trail No. 66.

At the low point along the E route of the Old Baldy Trail, there was a sign for Baldy Lake. Beyond the sign was a big beautiful pasture and a tiny stream, but no lake. Baldy Lake couldn’t have been more than just a stock pond, even when it did exist. The tiny creek trickled through a breach in a low earthen dam where Baldy Lake used to be. After crossing the tiny creek, it didn’t take Lupe long to reach the junction of the E and W routes to Old Baldy Mountain.

The bridge across the tiny creek at the low point of the E route of Old Baldy Trail No. 66.

The trail up to the summit of Old Baldy Mountain gains only about 300 feet of elevation. It didn’t take Lupe long to reach the top. The NW breeze was still blowing, but the clouds were gone. Now it was sunny, clear and rather warm out, especially for 1/3 of the way through October. Lupe was thirsty! She had a big drink of water up on Old Baldy, one of many this day.Old Baldy Mountain isn’t particularly high for the area, but there were some pretty nice views. Terry Peak (7,064 ft.) could be seen about 11 miles to the ESE. The Beaver Creek valley was just S of Old Baldy. Lupe’s next destination, Cement Ridge (6,674 ft.), was several miles to the WSW.

Cement Ridge, Lupe's next destination. — Cement Ridge, Lupe’s next destination.

Lupe and SPHP went back down Old Baldy Mountain. This time Lupe took the W route on Old Baldy Trail No. 66. Lupe followed it quite a long way as it wound around through the forest. She came to one spot where there was an unobstructed view of Old Baldy Mountain from the S.

Looking W at the Beaver Creek valley. Lupe is SE of Old Baldy Mountain here, not far from the W route of Old Baldy Trail No. 66. — Looking W at the Beaver Creek valley. Lupe is SE of Old Baldy Mountain here, near the W route of Old Baldy Trail No. 66.

Looking N at Old Baldy Mountain from the W route of Old Baldy Trail No. 66.

When the W route of the Old Baldy trail started taking Lupe SE, she left the trail and plunged into the forest. Lupe needed to head W to get to Schoolhouse Gulch Road, USFS Road No. 222. Going W through the forest was a short cut. Lupe was happy in the forest. She likes being off any road or trail. It really wasn’t very far to No. 222. Soon Lupe and SPHP were there. Lupe may have been disappointed the shortcut was so very short.

Looking W from USFS Road No. 222 (Schoolhouse Gulch Road).

Lupe and SPHP headed N on No. 222. Part of the time, Lupe and SPHP just paralleled the road out in the field to the W. Lupe got a drink out of Beaver Creek where she crossed it still heading N. No. 222 curved to the NW. As a road hike on a fairly major gravel road, Lupe wasn’t all that thrilled with it, but it was still quite pretty. Lupe dashed in and out of the forest checking for squirrels. SPHP started collecting some of the inevitable trash along a main road.

After following USFS Road No. 222 for a couple of miles, Lupe reached USFS Road No. 103. This road was more to Lupe’s liking. It was more like a jeep trail or logging road. It wound around to the S before turning W to connect with USFS Road No. 850 up on Cement Ridge. Before reaching Cement Ridge, Lupe crossed the border from South Dakota into Wyoming.

From where Lupe reached No. 850, the Cement Ridge lookout tower was still a mile or more off to the NW. Lupe and SPHP mostly stayed NE of the road following the highest part of the ridgeline. There were big views off to the NE over the northern Black Hills of South Dakota. The prairie could be seen beyond the hills.

Vehicles started coming and going on the road. Lupe was going to have company up at the lookout tower. As it turned out, Lupe was never alone up there. Four or five carloads of people with kids and dogs arrived. Lupe was a bit overwhelmed with so many dogs, so Lupe and SPHP went a bit W of the lookout tower to an old picnic table. Lupe panted and rested in the shade of the table.

Cement Ridge is located at the NW end of the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is so far NW, that the lookout tower is actually a mile into Wyoming. The hillside surrounding the lookout tower is barren, and has a commanding view of a good deal of territory. Crow Peak (5,787 ft.) was off to the NNE. Warren Peaks (6,650 ft.) and Sundance Mountain (5,824 ft.) were far away to the NW. Inyan Kara (6,360 ft.) was on the horizon to the SW.

Unfortunately, there was a fair amount of smoke haze in the air. The views, especially to the W towards the sun, were not as distinct as they normally would be. The camera just didn’t want to pick up the hazy peaks in the distance towards the W.

Lupe on Cement Ridge. The lookout tower is now in view to the NW. — Lupe on Cement Ridge. The lookout tower is in view to the NW.

Looking NW from near the picnic table W of the lookout tower. Warren Peaks is on the horizon, but the camera wouldn't pick it up with all the haze around. — Looking NW from W of the lookout tower. Warren Peaks is on the horizon, but the camera wouldn’t pick it up with all the haze around.

Looking SW. In this shot, Lupe is a purple-eared puppy, due to a reflection of sunlight on the lens.

Looking SW. Inyan Kara Mountain is the high point just right of center.

The Cement Ridge fire lookout tower from the NW.

The topo maps on Peakbagger.com show the true summit of Cement Ridge more than a mile to the SE of where the lookout tower is. Peakbagger shows a high point there of 6674 feet, compared to 6647 feet at the lookout tower. It doesn’t really look higher than the lookout tower, especially from the lookout tower. SPHP doubts that it really is higher.

Lupe did not say what she thought. She seemed unconcerned by this issue. Nevertheless, when Lupe was done at the lookout tower, Lupe and SPHP went and climbed up to this other high point. There was what might of been a small limestone cairn next to a bush, but nothing else of note. The only view from the purported true summit of Cement Ridge was back to the NW towards the lookout tower.

Lupe leaves the Cement Ridge Lookout Tower on USFS Road No. 850. Photo looks NW.

The high point on the ridge shown here is shown on Peakbagger.com topo maps as the true summit of Cement Ridge at 6,674 feet. SPHP really thinks the lookout tower is higher, but Lupe went to investigate. — The high point on the ridge seen here is shown on Peakbagger.com topo maps as the true summit of Cement Ridge at 6,674 feet. SPHP really thinks the lookout tower is higher, but Lupe went to investigate. In any case, the views are much better at the lookout tower.

Lupe at the supposed true summit of Cement Ridge according to Peakbagger.com topo maps. Photo looks NW. The Cement Ridge lookout tower is seen at the top of the bare spot more than a mile away.

Lupe at what might be a poorly assembled cairn at the purported true summit of Cement Ridge.

By now it was time to start making tracks back to the G6. The sun was still above the horizon, but only for another 30 or 40 minutes. Lupe and SPHP left the controversial summit of Cement Ridge. Lupe explored the rest of this ridge, which trended to the SE. The ridge remained quite high for at least 0.25 mile. Although this ridge was all forested, there were some small NE facing cliffs at regular intervals. There were often quite nice views in that direction from these cliffs.

The ridge didn’t lose much elevation until it curved to the S, then it went steadily downhill. Lupe loved following the ridge. There was no trail at all. She played wild forest Dingo, running here and there exploring everything. The sun went down a little while before the ridge ended at a pasture full of cows. The cows made way for Lupe. Just beyond their pasture was a dirt road.

SPHP was looking for USFS Road No. 105, but knew this wasn’t it. Lupe and SPHP started following the dirt road S. When it curved to the SE, suddenly there was rather loud gunfire. The sound was coming from over the ridge to the W. Lupe was immediately anxious. She wanted to stop and hide. SPHP made a number of short stops to encourage the nervous Carolina Dog, but mostly urged her to just keep going.

Lupe reached USFS Road No. 105. A marker showed she had been following No. 105.1D. There was a nice red barn in the field to the S of No. 105. SPHP now knew for certain where Lupe was. She was maybe 3 miles from the G6. The gunfire continued for 30 minutes. Finally it ended, but Lupe wasn’t immediately relieved. She kept begging to stop. SPHP even carried her a couple of times, but only for short distances. Lupe made slow progress in between many stops along the way.

When it got dark enough for the stars and flashlight to come out, Lupe finally felt better. The gunfire was long gone. Under cover of darkness, her confidence was back. When she reached the G6 at 7:44 PM (47°F), she wasn’t ready to get in and go home. Instead, she wanted to stay out under the stars and play wild forest Dingo all night.

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Browns Peak, Wyoming (8-12-15)

Morning. Day 4 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation. SPHP was mildly disappointed. Although it had started raining shortly after Lupe returned to the G6 after climbing Sugarloaf Mountain the previous evening, the rain had fizzled out before too long. SPHP now saw it hadn’t even rained enough to do a decent job of knocking the dust off the poor G6. Oh well, it was a gorgeous morning in the Medicine Bow Range of Wyoming. Time for new Lupe adventures!

Dawn on 8-12-15, Day 4 of Lupe's Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation — Dawn on 8-12-15, Day 4 of Lupe’s Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation

After a quick bite to eat, Lupe and SPHP headed N on the Gap Lakes Trail from the trailhead at the end of the road at Lewis Lake. It was 7:01 AM, 49°F, and partly cloudy with a slight S breeze. Lupe’s planned adventure for the day was to climb Browns Peak (11,722 ft.). It looked like a perfect day!

Lupe encourages SPHP to hurry up and finish eating. The sun is already shining on Sugarloaf Mountain and Medicine Bow Peak! — Lupe at Lewis Lake waiting impatiently for SPHP to hurry up and finish eating. The sun is already shining on **Sugarloaf Mountain** **(11,300 ft.)** (L) and **Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 ft.)** (R)!

The Gap Lakes Trail started out gaining elevation at an easy pace. Less than 0.25 mile from the Lewis Lake trailhead, Lupe passed the junction with the Lost Lake Trail. She passed a couple of small lakes along the way to South Gap Lake.

Lupe near the Gap Lakes Trail in the Medicine Bow Range.

Lupe now close to a pond just E of South Gap Lake, a portion of which is visible in the background. Photo looks W. — Lupe now close to a pond just E of South Gap Lake, a small portion of which is visible in the background. Photo looks W.

Lupe reaches South Gap Lake. — Lupe reaches South Gap Lake less than a mile from the trailhead.

Looking SW towards Medicine Bow Peak from the Gap Lakes Trail near South Gap Lake.

There are lots of alpine lakes, most of them fairly small, in the Medicine Bow Range. South Gap and North Gap Lakes are among the largest lakes in the area. The Gap Lakes Trail headed N along the E shore of South Gap Lake. Lupe and SPHP thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. Lupe was headed for the gap between the long ridge extending N from Medicine Bow Peak and Browns Peak.

Looking now towards the N end of South Gap Lake and "The Gap" or pass that separates it from North Gap Lake. — Looking now towards the N end of South Gap Lake and “The Gap” or pass that separates it from North Gap Lake.

Lupe reaches "The Gap" (pass). Great view of South Gap Lake looking S back towards Sugarloaf Mountain, which Lupe had climbed the previous afternoon. — Lupe reaches “The Gap”. There was a great view of South Gap Lake looking S back towards Sugarloaf Mountain, which Lupe had climbed the previous afternoon.

About the time Lupe reached the pass, there were several groups of people coming and going on the trail. Most were heading S back towards Lewis Lake and the trailhead. Others were heading N for the Shelf Lakes which are along the Circle Trail to the E of North Gap Lake. Lupe was heading for the Shelf Lakes, too.

First look at North Gap Lake from the pass. Photo looks N.

When the trail got down to North Gap Lake, a portion of it went right along a boulder field at the very edge of the water. One group of people said the trail actually went up and over the boulder field. There was a faint trail leading that way from the N, but it wasn’t visible from the S. Lupe and SPHP just stayed down at the water’s edge. It was slow going, but it wasn’t too long before SPHP made it past the boulder field.

The N end of North Gap Lake from the E shore near where the Circle Trail leaves the Gap Lakes Trail to head E to Shelf Lakes. — The N end of North Gap Lake from the E shore. Near here the Circle Trail leaves the Gap Lakes Trail to head NE to the Shelf Lakes. Photo looks NW.

Just E of North Gap Lake the Circle Trail goes up a hill. This photo looks back to the W at North Gap Lake from the Circle Trail. — Just E of North Gap Lake the Circle Trail goes up a hill. This photo looks back to the W at North Gap Lake from partway up the hill on the Circle Trail.

When Lupe came to the Circle Trail along the E shore of North Gap Lake, she left the Gap Lakes Trail. The Circle Trail led up a small hill to the first of the Shelf Lakes.

Looking NE at the first of the Shelf Lakes that Lupe came to along the Circle Trail.

Lupe climbed a small hill N of the Shelf Lakes. Elk Mountain (11,156 ft.) was visible off to the NW.

Elk Mountain NW of the Shelf Lakes. It was actually quite a long way off. This photo was taken with a telephoto lens.

There were two Shelf Lakes that Lupe went past on the NW side of Browns Peak. The second one was the largest. Beyond the second Shelf Lake, the Circle Trail gradually disappeared. Lupe continued NE and came to some more small lakes. One of the lakes still had a big snowbank covering part of it. Larger lakes could be seen farther N of Browns Peak, but Lupe wasn’t going there.

Looking SW back at the largest of the two Shelf Lakes.

The clear waters of another small lake NW of Browns Peak.

Crescent Lake and Elk Mountain NW of Browns Peak.

Although the Circle Trail is supposed to lead around to climb over the lower NE side of the very big ridge that forms Browns Peak, SPHP had lost the trail, which seemed to just fade away. The topo maps showed that Browns Peak is a pretty easy climb from the NE, so it wasn’t really a problem. Rather than look for the trail, Lupe and SPHP started climbing Browns Peak from the W end of the largest of a couple more lakes that Lupe came to. The climb was steeper this way, but it didn’t look too hard and would save some distance.

The key to getting up on Browns Peak without undue delays was to avoid the trees and boulder fields as much as possible. There were big patches of bushes extending far up beyond tree line, but usually it was possible to find a route through them. Lupe climbed and climbed. Each ridge she came to looked like it would be the last, but there were many false tops along the way. Each time she climbed one, another higher ridge came into view at a considerable distance and height above.

Climbing Browns Peak. Yes, it looks promising, but there are higher ridges beyond this one. Lupe didn’t care. She was busy having fun while SPHP struggled on up.

Lupe had gained quite a bit of elevation already when a strange thing occurred. Suddenly there was a loud crack and the roll of thunder. It was totally unexpected. Most of the sky was clear blue! The few clouds in sight were high and thin. Yet, somewhere not terribly far away to the SW, in the direction of Medicine Bow Peak, a bolt of lightning had struck.

It seemed ridiculous. The sky looked totally non-threatening, but SPHP was now concerned that weather was building just out of sight. Lupe and SPHP hurried onward. Browns Peak would be a terrible place to be during a storm. The summit is huge and pretty much featureless. There would be no place to take shelter anywhere near the summit.

Gradually the slope of the mountain was decreasing. Lupe was getting close to the top. Large, puffy white clouds coming from Medicine Bow Peak could now be seen. They drifted towards Browns Peak, but stayed a little to the S. For a little while, SPHP kept a close eye on them. At first they did seem to be building up, but then they just spread out as if a wind high in the sky was blowing the tops of the clouds off, limiting how big they could get. That single bolt of lightning and thunder proved to be the only one Lupe and SPHP heard all day.

The weather was going to be fine. It was breezy up on Browns Peak, but that was about it. A steady line of clouds grew up over Medicine Bow Peak, and then blew on by Browns Peak. SPHP stopped paying attention to them. It was time for Lupe to go to the summit of Browns Peak to claim it as her latest peakbagging success!

The highest part of Browns Peak is toward the SW part of the mountain, but not too near the end. The topo map showed three high points, all of similar elevation. The true summit was marked as being near the center of the ridge. The two other highest points were shown as being to the W and the NE of the true summit. Lupe went first to the high spot marked on the map as the true summit.

Lupe at where the topo map showed the true summit of Browns Peak. Another high point to the NE is in view and looks higher. — Lupe at where the topo map showed the true summit of Browns Peak. Another high point to the NE is in view and looks clearly higher.

Then the weirdness started. The top of Browns Peak is huge and pretty flat. It is strewn with rocks and not much else. There’s not a single tree or bush. So its easy to see quite a distance up there. And although Lupe was at what was supposed to be the true summit of Browns Peak, both of the high points to the W and the NE looked to be clearly higher. There was even a jumble of rocks off to the NW that looked higher.

No problem, thought SPHP! Lupe can just go to all of these high points and see which one is really the highest. So Lupe began quite a trek around to various high points on the mountain. From (1) the true summit, she went to (2) the W high point, (3) somewhat farther to the SW just so SPHP could get a photo of Medicine Bow Peak and Sugarloaf Mountain from Browns Peak, (4) back to the W high point, (5) to the high rocks NW of the true summit, (6) back to the true summit, and (7) to the top of the NE high point.

The crazy thing was, although it always looked like Lupe was going uphill – when SPHP turned around to look from each high point Lupe reached, without fail all of the other high points always looked higher than where Lupe was at the moment! And they weren’t just a little bit higher, they always looked noticeably and significantly higher.

Lupe at the W high point on Browns Peak. Photo looks at the NE high point (L) and true summit (R of center). Here they both look easily higher. — Lupe at the W high point on Browns Peak. Photo looks at the NE high point (L of center) and true summit (R of center). Here they both look easily higher.

Lupe now at the high rocks NW of the true summit. Photo looks NE towards the NE high point, which still looks higher yet. — Lupe now at the high rocks NW of the true summit. Photo looks NE towards the NE high point, which looks higher yet.

Lupe is still at the NW rocks high point, but now the photo is looking back at the now obviously higher W high point.

Lupe on the NE high point on Browns Peak, the only high point that she actually had to climb up. Photo looks SSW towards the true summit (near L side of horizon seen here) and the NW rocks (more to the right side of horizon seen here). — Lupe on the NE high point on Browns Peak, the only high point that she actually had to climb up. Photo looks SSW towards the true summit (near L side of horizon seen here) and the NW rocks high point (more to the right side of horizon seen here).

Lupe still on the NE high point. This photo looks SW towards the W high point.

SPHP couldn’t remember Lupe ever having gone uphill so much to lose so much elevation! It was bizarre, it made no sense. After Lupe had visited every high point on the topo map and more besides, SPHP had no clue where the highest rock on the mountain was. It could have been almost any of them.

Possible explanations: Perhaps Browns Peak is cursed or enchanted. Perhaps SPHP has a brain tumor. Perhaps time and space are warped at Browns Peak. Perhaps it is all just an incredibly deceptive illusion. SPHP thought Browns Peak needed a better name. Why not Deceptive Peak, Illusion Mountain or Bewilderment Peak? Topless Mountain seemed a little racy, but might prove popular.

No matter. Lupe had run around sniffing practically the entire top of the mountain. Regardless where the actual true summit is, Lupe had caught a good whiff of it somewhere along the way. Time was marching on. The clouds had been getting darker and thicker while Lupe ran all over the mountain. It was time to head back.

SPHP had originally thought it would be fun for Lupe to take the Circle Trail down to Lost Lake on the SE side of Browns Peak. She could then have completed a nice loop back past Lost Lake and Telephone Lakes on the Lost Lake Trail on the return trip to the G6. In the end, though, Lupe just went back the way she had come to Browns Peak.

On the way down the mountain, there were interesting views to the N. Sheep Lake, Arrowhead Lake, and Crescent Lake could all be seen. Elk Mountain was off to the NW. Kennaday Peak was to the WNW. And very far off on the horizon to the NNE was Laramie Peak, where Lupe had started her Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation just 3 days earlier. It already seemed like a long time ago!

Looking NE at Browns Peak, which came into view once Lupe reached the pass between Medicine Bow Peak and Sugarloaf Mountain. — Looking NE at Browns Peak. This photo was taken two days earlier on 8-10-15 when Lupe was on her way up Medicine Bow Peak.

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Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 140 – Bittersweet Creek, The Northwest Passage, Dingo of the Mists (10-5-15)

Nearly all of September, 2015, the Black Hills of South Dakota were hot and exceptionally dry. Relief came the first weekend of October. The hills were socked in with clouds, fog, and at least some much needed rain. Lupe was bored, bored, bored spending long hours looking out the front window. An occasional squirrel was about all the excitement there was.

By Monday, October 5th, the forecast was better. When SPHP started getting the backpack ready, Lupe brightened up and looked very hopeful. SPHP did not disappoint her. When she realized an expedition was really in store for her, Lupe raced around leaping and barking with excitement encouraging SPHP to hurry up!

Although the great day for Expedition No. 140 had arrived, SPHP hadn’t really given much thought as to where Lupe might go. The decision wasn’t made until almost the last minute. The plan was to explore Bittersweet Creek down to Castle Creek, head upstream to the Castle Creek Campground, and then climb Castle Peak (6,358 ft.). The maps didn’t show any reasonably short alternative routes back, so Lupe would have to return the same way.

About 0.5 mile N of Signal Knob (6,200 ft.), SPHP parked the G6 at 10:13 AM (49°F) near the top of the highest hill on USFS Road No. 187 (Golden West Road). SPHP had expected sunshine, but the sky was still mostly overcast. The clouds were starting to break up, though. Here and there, patches of sunshine came and went.

Lupe and SPHP headed N on No. 187. Off to the NW, the high ridges at the E edge of the Limestone Plateau country, still mostly in the clouds, attracted SPHP’s attention. Lupe eagerly sniffed around in the fields near the road.

Looking NW towards the ridges of the Limestone Plateau country.

Looking N near No. 187. Lupe is very happy to be out exploring the Black Hills again.

Although the fall colors are mostly past their prime already, Lupe did come to some stands of aspens that still looked pretty nice.

SPHP wasn’t paying enough attention. Almost right away, SPHP missed the turn E on Deerfield Trail No. 40. A mile N of the G6, SPHP realized Lupe was already well beyond the trail. It didn’t matter. Lupe and SPHP just turned E and wandered through the forest. Lupe went up over a very small ridge and down into a valley on the other side.

There was a road down at the bottom of the valley. Lupe followed it SE to a junction with USFS Road No. 429. A marker there showed that Lupe had been on side road No. 429.1B. No. 429 was the road Lupe and SPHP had been looking for. The maps showed it following Bittersweet Creek about 3 miles NE from here to USFS Road No. 181 down by Castle Creek.

Bittersweet Creek is a minor tributary of Castle Creek. It was just a tiny stream at the intersection of No. 429 and No. 429.1B. As Lupe followed No. 429 downstream, Bittersweet Creek soon became more than a trickle. The road looked seldom used, but was in good shape. Following No. 429 down Bittersweet Creek was easy. Lupe ran up and down the road making forays off of it to investigate whatever interested her along the way. Gradually the creek got bigger.

On USFS Road No. 429 in the Bittersweet Creek valley.

After Lupe had gone a mile or more on No. 429, she came to an intersection with USFS Road No. 429.1D, which headed up a side valley. Near this intersection, there was a series of very small waterfalls along Bittersweet Creek. Just below the first waterfall, the creek bed was orange. Naturally, SPHP dubbed this first waterfall Orange Falls.

While Orange Falls was kind of pretty, Lupe recommends that you NOT cancel your trip to Niagara in favor of Orange Falls. Orange Falls is perhaps one foot high and about the same width. Below Orange Falls, the area was rather swampy. There were some very nice displays of vibrantly green moss growing close to the creek. Below Orange Falls, the creek bed remained orange the entire rest of the way Lupe followed it.

The color of the creek bed was not the only thing that changed at the intersection with No. 429.1D. As Lupe continued down Bittersweet Creek on No. 429, the road started to deteriorate rapidly. The ground was all churned up like the road had been purposely destroyed. No. 429 was no longer an easy hike. The ground wasn’t the real problem, though. Soon there started to be more and more deadfall timber that had fallen across the road.

Deadfall starts to make its appearance on USFS Road No. 429 in the Bittersweet Creek valley.

Lupe, of course, had little problem working her way through the deadfall. SPHP, however, faced increasing difficulty. If Lupe wanted to climb Castle Peak, though, it was important to follow Bittersweet Creek all the way to Castle Creek. Once at Castle Creek, SPHP knew that USFS Road No. 181 was a good road. So SPHP persisted, but the going got steadily worse.

The creek bed of Bittersweet Creek remained orange below Orange Falls as far as Lupe went. SPHP doesn’t know what causes the orange color. It is not typical for Black Hills streams.

Although SPHP kept hoping the road would improve as Lupe drew closer to Castle Creek, it didn’t. Finally, the road completely disappeared in a tangle of deadfall timber. Lupe was probably only a mile from Castle Creek by now, but it looked like getting there would take SPHP hours.

Umm, yeah, thinking this isn’t going to work.

Clearly, staying on the valley floor down by Bittersweet Creek was no longer an option. Lupe and SPHP started climbing up the side of the valley. SPHP hoped maybe there was a way forward up there, or at least a view of what lay ahead. Lupe gained about 100 feet of elevation. Trees blocked any view of Bittersweet Creek and what, if anything, remained of USFS Road No. 429 below. Steep slopes rose another 150 to 200 feet higher. It wasn’t practical to try to move forward on the slopes, either.

SPHP gave up on the notion of Lupe reaching Castle Peak. SPHP decided to just continue climbing up the steep slope however far it took to reach more level ground. Once there, Lupe could just return to the G6. There should still be time to do something else. Sometimes adventures just don’t turn out the way one expects. It’s part of what makes them adventures.

At least the steep slope didn’t have much deadfall timber on it. Most of the dead trees seemed to have fallen clear down to the valley floor to choke No. 429. Instead, the slope was infested with thistles. After climbing 200 more scratchy feet up the slope, Lupe arrived unexpectedly at another USFS road.

This high road was nice and level. It was in good shape. There was almost no deadfall timber on it. Suddenly SPHP could make progress again. Lupe followed the high road a short distance NW and reached an intersection. None of the roads had any marker. SPHP checked the maps. The most detailed map showed a maze of side roads coming off USFS Road No. 187 up in here.

Lupe reaches the high roads hundreds of feet above Bittersweet Creek. It was much easier going up here!

While they got very close to Castle Creek, the map didn’t show any of the side roads ever connecting to USFS Road No. 181. SPHP knew that meant that they all probably ended high up on the ridges and steep slopes on the S side of the Castle Creek valley. Still, maybe one of them would lead to a reasonably easy way down. If Lupe could get to Castle Creek, she could still climb Castle Peak.

Like the explorers of old, but on a tiny scale, Lupe and SPHP started looking for the fabled Northwest Passage. This Northwest Passage only needed to take Lupe to a point where she could finish her journey to Castle Peak. Initial results were somewhat encouraging. Castle Peak was soon in view. Lupe was clearly already on the slopes just above the Castle Creek valley. All that was necessary was to find an easy way down.

From a ridge near the high roads Castle Peak was in view to the NW.

Looking E down the Castle Creek valley from one of the high roads.

Lupe and SPHP spent a couple of hours exploring various branches of USFS Road No. 187 looking for her Northwest Passage. Sometimes Lupe could see the Castle Creek valley floor and USFS Road No. 181 below. Some of the high roads lost considerable elevation. In the end, though, none of them got close to the valley floor. All of them ended at cliffs or steep slopes still at least 200 to 300 feet above Castle Creek.

The old explorers never found their Northwest Passage. It was there, but frozen solid and impassable. Lupe never found her Northwest Passage either. It may have been there, but on some side road there wasn’t time to explore. By now so much time had passed that even if Lupe found a way through, she wouldn’t be able to climb Castle Peak and return before dark. And SPHP wasn’t about to scramble up some steep hillside in the dark.

Of course, Lupe was having fun the entire time. She wasn’t worried about getting to Castle Peak. She was looking for squirrels and other interesting things in the forest. While SPHP tried to figure out which of the many branches of USFS Road No. 187 to take to get back to the G6, Lupe had her own little adventures in the forest. SPHP managed to find the junction of USFS Roads No. 187.2E and No. 187.2F. From there the way back was clearly indicated on the maps.

On the way back to the G6 on USFS Road No. 187.

The sun wasn’t down yet when Lupe got back to the G6 at 4:31 PM (59°F). There was more than an hour yet before sunset. What now? Lupe and SPHP drove NW to Reynolds Prairie. From the S end of Reynolds Prairie, SPHP took USFS Road No. 189 heading N. Just N of Nipple Butte (6,800 ft.), near the junction with USFS Road No. 599, was a beautiful stand of aspens that hadn’t even reached the height of their fall colors yet. Lupe agreed to pose for a few pictures.

From there, Lupe and SPHP drove up to the end of USFS Road No. 599. At it’s N end, No. 599 is just S of White Tail Peak, which Lupe had climbed on Expedition No. 138. SPHP had hoped to get a view of White Tail Peak (6,962 ft.) from the S, but by the time Lupe got there, fog was rolling in. Lupe and SPHP turned around, and returned to USFS Road No. 189 where there were more pretty aspens.

The fog started rolling in before Lupe even reached the side road to Flag Mountain. This photo was taken near USFS Road No. 189. — Fog above aspen trees near USFS Road No. 189.

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 140 ended with a climb up the spur road to Flag Mountain (6,937 ft.) from USFS Road No. 189. Normally Flag Mountain has great 180° views to the E. Lupe has seen them before. This time, Flag Mountain was enveloped in fog.

Lupe loved the fog. She raced through the now mysterious forests, sniffing madly. For an hour, as the gloomy fog thickened and the light faded, Flag Mountain was haunted by the wild Dingo of the Mists.

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