Two years ago, on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 41, Lupe and SPHP had climbed Peak 6046 for the first time on the last day of 2012. Back then, SPHP had given the private name “New Year’s Eve Peak” to the mountain. At the time, it had seemed like it might be fun to make a little tradition out of returning to New Year’s Eve Peak on the last day of each year. Of course, outdoor traditions at the end of December would always be subject to the weather, but that was just going to have to be a given. Some years, Lupe wouldn’t make it back.
Sure enough, Lupe didn’t make it back on the last day of 2013, but weather wasn’t the culprit. On December 30th, Lupe’s “grandma” suffered a transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke), and wound up in the hospital.
Now it was the morning of December 31st, 2014. The morning was bright and frosty, very frosty – it had gotten down to -10°F overnight, way too cold for one of Lupe’s Black Hills, SD Expeditions. Maybe Lupe was going to have to skip New Year’s Eve Peak in 2014, too? The forecast held out some hope, though – it was supposed to get up into the low 30’s °F.
The forecast was accurate! Things started warming up rapidly. When it reached 30°F a bit before noon, it was time for Lupe to head out! At 12:22 PM (30°F), SPHP parked the G6 on USFS Road No. 710 just off Hwy 385, about 3.5 miles S of the Pactola Reservoir dam. Lupe was happy to be out in the hills again! Lupe and SPHP started off following USFS Road No. 710 going W.
The road gradually climbed up through a small forested valley. After more than half a mile, No. 710 started turning S, as it emerged from the valley onto more level, open ground. Soon No. 710 turned SE, so Lupe and SPHP left it going SW instead. Lupe was now out in an area that had burned years ago in a forest fire. Just to the S, there was a low hilly ridge with rock outcroppings. Lupe headed for it, and was rewarded with panoramic views of the snowy landscape.
Lupe reaches a high spot along the low, open hilly ridge. There were some pretty nice panoramic views from this area which had burned in a forest fire years ago. Photo looks W.Looking SE now at Peak 5800 (L) from the low hilly ridge. It was kind of chilly up here in the WNW breeze.
Lupe followed the ridge heading WNW to stay up on the high ground, continuing to climb as she went. She skirted along to the S of High Point 5917, then angled W to go down into a saddle between High Point 5917 and the next ridge. It turned out there were two saddles, the first one being larger and deeper than the second one.
Another view back to the SE from farther WNW.
Instead of climbing up to the next ridge (Pistol Point), at the bottom of the second, smaller saddle, Lupe and SPHP turned NW heading directly for New Year’s Eve Peak, which was now only 0.33 mile away. This route took Lupe into a rather snowy forest, with at least 6″ of snow on the ground compared to only 3″ or 4″ back out on the open ground.
The deeper snow didn’t seem to bother Lupe at all. She lost some elevation as she went NW, but eventually reached a road. The road was snowy too, but headed WNW up toward New Year’s Eve Peak. A short distance S of the summit, the road curved around to the ENE. Lupe and SPHP left the road to climb directly up the S slope of New Year’s Eve Peak.
Looking SW from the snowy SE slope of New Year’s Eve Peak not far from the summit. A narrow gap in the forest provides a glimpse of distant blue mountains.
As Lupe neared the summit, she circled around a bit to make the final approach from the ESE. It was an easy climb. Before long, Lupe was perched up on the very highest rocks on top of New Year’s Eve Peak. Two years after first climbing the mountain, Lupe was back to say good-bye to yet another year!
Lupe at the summit of New Year’s Eve Peak on the last day of 2014. Photo looks W.Lupe at the summit of New Year’s Eve Peak. A small cairn is visible next to her. Photo looks NE.
After a couple of photos of Lupe at the summit, Lupe and SPHP took a little break. SPHP shared a chocolate-covered granola bar with Lupe. Lupe made it clear she would be perfectly happy to complete the entire task of consuming it all on her own, but SPHP didn’t need quite THAT much help.
The summit of New Year’s Eve Peak was fairly heavily forested, so there wasn’t much of a view in most directions. There were a couple of small openings in the forest, though, that provided a look off into the distance. The best view was toward a succession of snowy blue hills off to the W. Lupe and SPHP found a spot to sit down, huddled together against the cool breeze, to admire the view for a little while.
On the final afternoon of 2014, Lupe and SPHP sat together for a little while admiring this view of snowy blue mountains to the W from New Year’s Eve Peak.
Lupe had a great 2014. This was her 39th Black Hills, SD Expedition of the year, in June she’d been on a luxurious Dingo Vacation to the Kabekona Lake cabin in Minnesota, she’d had a wonderful Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies and Beartooths, and she’d climbed Lonesome Mountain(11,399 ft.) in the Beartooths, the highest mountain she had ever been on. Now, on a chilly, quiet afternoon, way up on shady, lonely New Year’s Eve Peak, 2014 was slipping away forever.
It was actually a pretty good way to end the year, but didn’t change the sad fact that 2014 was passing into history. Lupe and SPHP would have liked to stay up on New Year’s Eve Peak until sunset, but sunset was still a couple of hours away. It was chilly enough up at the summit now, and wouldn’t be any warmer by then.
When Lupe and SPHP finally started back down off New Year’s Eve Peak, Lupe took the same route back to the G6, with one exception. Down in the forested draw just SSE of the summit, Lupe took a side road that went S out to a high rocky spot. From this high rocky spot, there were some great open views from the NE around to the S and W. SPHP later named the spot Pistol Point, for a large rock that looked like a pistol handle sticking up out of the ground.
Lupe on her way back to the G6 from New Year’s Eve Peak. Here she is at Pistol Point. Photo looks ESE toward Peak 5800.Looking NE at New Year’s Eve Peak from Pistol Point.The wavy ridge just L of center is Five Points(6,221 ft.) . The high spot just to the R is privately named False North Point (6,130 ft.). Photo looks S from Pistol Point.Lupe sniffs around at Pistol Point. The “Pistol” is the oddly shaped rock at center, which to SPHP somewhat resembles the handle of a pistol thrust into the ground.
It was 3:52 PM (24°F) by the time Lupe and SPHP made it back to the G6. Lupe’s final Black Hills, SD Expedition of 2014 was over. SPHP was glad that Lupe had made a trip to New Year’s Eve Peak a real tradition by returning to the mountain.
Back at home, 2014 stole away in the night. 2015 found SPHP snoozing with a tired, warm American Dingo. Peacefully and comfortably, another big year for Lupe was just beginning.
The last long shadows of 2014 lengthen on USFS Road No. 710 near the end of the day. The only tracks in the snow were Lupe’s and SPHP’s.
At 10:41 AM, SPHP parked the G6 at the junction of USFS Road No. 710 and Hwy 385, just a few miles S of Pactola Reservoir in the central Black Hills. Lupe was late, a whole day late. A week or more of cold weather had lasted right on up through New Year’s Eve. The cold had kept Lupe and SPHP from coming until now.
Today, however, was different. It was New Year’s Day 2016! The Black Hills were warming up. Although the temperature would only gain another couple of degrees the rest of the day, it was already 38°F out. Plenty warm for one of Lupe’s Black Hills Expeditions, and a great way to start 2016 out!
Late though she was, Lupe started out trotting W along USFS Road No. 710. Here in the shade of Peak 5800, there were 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground. Lupe was really happy to be out on an adventure again. Soon she was racing around through the snow off the road, sniffing madly as she went. No. 710 climbed slowly and steadily up a little forested valley. After nearly a mile, No. 710 started turning S as it emerged from the valley into more level and open ground.
Lupe and SPHP left No. 710 as it curled back to the SE. Lupe went S up to the edge of some high hilly ground. Much of this area had burned some time ago, and there were very few trees left. Without the trees, there were some pretty nice views to the E, S & W. Small outcroppings of jagged dark rocks, often standing on end, were exposed, and added interest to the scene.
Lupe in the barren hilly area after leaving USFS Road No. 710. Photo looks SW.
Lupe was on her way to Peak 6046. The first time Lupe and SPHP ever climbed Peak 6046 was back on New Year’s Eve 2012. At the time, SPHP had privately designated Peak 6046 as New Year’s Eve Peak(6,046 ft.). Lupe had returned on the last day of 2014, too. So in both 2012 and 2014, Lupe and SPHP had watched the sun set on the last day of the year up on New Year’s Eve Peak. It has become a little bit of a tradition.
The forested summit of New Year’s Eve Peak barely pokes above the barren ridge on the R. Pistol Point is the highest barren hill at the center of the photo. Photo looks WNW.
Even though the cold weather caused Lupe and SPHP to miss sunset on the last day of 2015 up on New Year’s Eve Peak, it still seemed appropriate to try to make up for it by showing up on New Year’s Day 2016.
Lupe at Pistol Point, privately named for the rock right behind Lupe that looks just a bit like the handle of a pistol jammed down into the ground. Pistol Point is at the S end of a ridge that comes sweeping down from New Year’s Eve Peak to the SSE.
Lupe and SPHP wandered among the barren hills heading W towards Pistol Point. Pistol Point is just a private name for the high point at the S end of a ridge that comes sweeping down to the SSE from New Year’s Eve Peak. From Pistol Point, Lupe would just follow this ridge to reach the summit of New Year’s Eve Peak.
Looking NNW at New Year’s Eve Peak from Pistol Point.Peak 5917 from Pistol Point. Photo looks ENE.Lupe on the ridge S of New Year’s Eve Peak. The summit is the high point toward the R. Photo looks NNW.
As Lupe and SPHP neared the summit of New Year’s Eve Peak, it became apparent that there had been changes since the last time Lupe was here a year and a day ago. There had been a fair amount of logging done to thin the trees on the S side of the summit. Although the logging hadn’t done a thing for the appearance of the local vicinity, SPHP anticipated it might have opened up the views quite a bit.
When Lupe arrived at the highest rock outcropping on New Year’s Eve Peak, she found that someone had placed a small cairn there. With a lot of the trees gone from the S side of the summit area, the mountain looked and felt different. The summit used to be in the gloomy dark shade of tall pines. Now it was much more open and bright. Nearby were sunny expansive views to the S.
It appeared that only a small part of the S side of the summit area had been logged. In other directions, New Year’s Eve Peak looked pretty much the same.
Lupe on the summit of New Year’s Eve Peak. This was her 3rd time on the mountain. Photo looks W.With so many trees gone from the S side of the summit area, there was a wide open view of Harney Peak (the high point on the far horizon just above Lupe’s head). A year and a day ago, this photo wouldn’t have been possible. Photo looks S.Harney Peak(7,242 ft.) from New Year’s Eve Peak. Five Points(6,221 ft.) is the wavy ridge seen above Lupe’s tail. Photo looks S.Lupe on the very summit of New Year’s Eve Peak. Photo looks N.Lupe on the highest rock outcropping on New Year’s Eve Peak. The small cairn in front of her was new since the last day of 2014. Photo looks S and shows how few trees are left in that direction. At the end of 2014, the entire summit was heavily forested.Looking W from New Year’s Eve Peak.Looking SE from New Year’s Eve Peak with the telephoto lens. Shown are Boulder Hill(5,331 ft.) (L), Silver Mountain(5,405 ft.) (Center) and Calumet Ridge(5,601 ft.) (R) beyond Sheridan Lake.
After posing for pictures on New Year’s Eve Peak, Lupe had some Taste of the Wild. SPHP ate an orange. A chill breeze out of the N stirred up now and then. New Year’s Eve Peak sure seemed different.
The change was partly due to the logging opening up the view, but mostly psychological. Lupe and SPHP were here hours earlier in the day than in either 2012 or 2014. Back then, Lupe had been here near sunset on the last day of the year. The mood had been reflective, one of looking back at a year gone by – a year still alive and glowing, but about to disappear never to see the light of day again. A year imminently fading into history. New Year’s Eve Peak had been a lonely, remote, and faintly sad place.
Now, it was lighter and brighter out. The fact that it was New Year’s Day instead of New Year’s Eve, created a mood of a new beginning, the start of something. New Year 2016 was here, all shiny, new, full of promise and possibilities, none of which had been missed or wasted yet. New Year’s Eve Peak was only the tiniest start of the journey to all the adventures in store for Lupe in 2016.
Lupe and SPHP did something they hadn’t had time to do on New Year’s Eve Peak before. Lupe went to explore the N and E ridges. The N ridge wasn’t very long. It ended at a huge tangle of deadfall timber. Beyond it, Lupe could see the Seth Bullock Lookout Tower on Scruton Mountain(5,922 ft.). SPHP had wanted to get a good look at it, but with all the deadfall around, it was best to just get Lupe out of there.
It was a little longer trek, still under 10 minutes, over to the high point of the E ridge of New Year’s Eve Peak. There was a much bigger rock outcropping there, but the highest point was clearly somewhat lower than the true summit Lupe had been to already. Furthermore, the area was pretty heavily forested. There weren’t views in any direction.
Even though Lupe hadn’t found anything of particular interest at either the N or E ridges of New Year’s Eve Peak, it was still fun to have explored the mountain a little better. With the explorations complete, Lupe and SPHP returned to the S ridge to retrace Lupe’s route back toward the G6. SPHP had one more peakbagging goal for Lupe that would alter part of that route – Peak 5800.
Lupe back at Pistol Point at the end of the S ridge from New Year’s Eve Peak. Peak 5800, which Lupe would try to climb next, is the highest hill seen above Lupe. Photo looks E.Peak 5800 from Pistol Point using the telephoto lens.
On at least a couple of prior occasions, Lupe and SPHP have considered climbing Peak 5800. SPHP remembers once standing with Lupe at the base of the rocky W face contemplating the climb. It had been late on a dark gray day, though, with some snow already on the ground, and more light snow already swirling in the air. It didn’t seem like a smart move at the time, so Lupe and SPHP had just returned to the G6.
Under the bright, cool, cloudless skies of New Year’s Day 2016, though, it looked like it should be possible to climb Peak 5800 without difficulty, if a reasonable route existed up the rocky W face. After reaching Pistol Point again, Lupe and SPHP left the S ridge from New Year’s Eve Peak, and headed E toward Peak 5800, still retracing Lupe’s earlier route.
Getting closer to Peak 5800. Photo looks E.
As Lupe started getting close to Peak 5800, she wandered a bit to the S, away from her earlier route. She checked out views from some of the high points of the barren, rocky hills. Back to the NW, the high forested ridge of New Year’s Eve Peak started to look small and far away.
Lupe poses on a rock on one of the barren hills for a photo looking WNW back at New Year’s Eve Peak, the forested hill seen above her on the horizon.
Lupe and SPHP continued E toward Peak 5800. Suddenly Lupe saw something she very rarely sees out on her Black Hills Expeditions. People! Two people were near some rocks to the SE. One of them had a rifle. The other was just a boy. They weren’t too far away. Lupe stayed very close to SPHP. The man and boy started moving toward Peak 5800.
About the only places Lupe and SPHP ever see people in the hills are highways and some major gravel roads, where they are plentiful. Sometimes there are people on minor roads and ATV trails, but almost without exception, they are with some kind of vehicle – an ATV, a jeep, a motorcycle, something. Only on a few of the major maintained trails does Lupe ever see anyone on foot – yet here were two people on foot at least a mile from any significant road or trail.
Lupe and SPHP followed the hunter and the boy toward Peak 5800, and soon caught up with them. What were they hunting? The man pointed down to a track in the snow. Mountain lions. They were hunting a big Tom that they knew had been here recently. The track looked old, though. It wasn’t very distinct. The hunter knew the big cat could be very far away by now.
The boy seemed very impressed with the notion that lions were around here somewhere. He was an outdoor kid, something pretty rare these days. The boy talked in hushed tones about catching a 5 lb. monster trout in Pactola Lake a few weeks ago. He liked Lupe, but didn’t try to pet her. Lupe just stood close to SPHP during the quiet conversation with the hunter and the boy. She didn’t interrupt in any way.
By now, Lupe and SPHP were pretty close to Peak 5800. The W face loomed almost directly ahead. SPHP explained to the hunter that Lupe planned to climb the mountain and go down over the other side, where the G6 was parked close to Hwy 385. The hunter and boy intended to stay here, W of Peak 5800.
Lupe and SPHP went on. In just a few minutes, Lupe started the climb up the W face. It was steep and quite rocky, with scratchy brambles clinging to the soil between the rocks. There was always a good route up, though, and the climb wasn’t really all that far, just a couple hundred feet of elevation gain at most.
Lupe nearing the top of Peak 5800. Photo looks WNW back toward New Year’s Eve Peak.
Near the top, the mountain was suddenly much less steep. The rest of the way was a pretty easy stroll. At the highest point, a big, flat slab of rock tilted perhaps 20 degrees down toward the NW. Lupe and SPHP clambered up on the rock to reach the summit of Peak 5800.
The sun was still up. There might be an hour of daylight left before sunset. The world looked very pretty in the slanting rays of the sun. Lupe looked around. If Peak 5800 was the home of mountain lions, they had all fled at the approach of a fearsome Carolina Dog, for no lions were to be seen anywhere.
Lupe reaches the summit of Peak 5800. New Year’s Eve Peak is seen in the distance to the WNW on the L.Lupe surveys the rest of the mountain from the top of Peak 5800. Nope, not seeing any mountain lions up here! Photo looks E.Looking SE along the Peak 5800 ridgeline from the summit. Lupe would soon go explore over to the far end of the ridge seen here.
The top of Peak 5800 is a fairly broad and level ridgeline, most of which extends out to the SE from the true summit. Lupe and SPHP explored as far as the highest point near the SE end just before the mountain begins to drop off much more steeply.
From a point a little N of the SE high point, Lupe and SPHP headed down the NE slopes of Peak 5800. The heavily forested slope was steeper than expected, and a bit slippery in the snow, but not too much of a challenge. Lupe sniffed around not finding so much as a squirrel, never mind a mountain lion, while SPHP slowly worked on down the mountain.
Lupe and SPHP reached the G6 again at 4:07 PM (32°F). New Year 2016 was off to a great start, with Lupe’s 150th Black Hills, SD Expedition a success. Nevertheless, it was a little sad that Lupe and SPHP hadn’t gotten to New Year’s Eve Peak in time for a proper final good-bye to 2015, a year in which Lupe had many glorious adventures.
With a little luck, Lupe and SPHP will return to New Year’s Eve Peak in time to say good-bye to 2016, but not until after many more long, daring and inspiring American Dingo adventures yet to come!
Looking NW along the ridgeline from the SE high point back toward the true summit of Peak 5800. New Year’s Eve Peak is still seen in the distance toward the L.
Happy New Year 2016 to all from Lupe! May your 2016 be full of fun adventures and dreams come true!
