8:49 AM, 38ºF, Rochford Road 1 mile E of Rochford – 0.25 mile W of Silver Creek Road, a wide valley appeared on the R. Plenty of room! SPHP pulled over and parked the G6. Lupe hopped out and began sniffing around, while SPHP checked the topo map. Yup, this had to be it – Moonshine Gulch!
Loop’s mission today was to explore Moonshine Gulch far enough to reach Peak 6205, which shouldn’t be too hard, since Peak 6205 was only a mile away. The American Dingo set off going WNW up the gulch on a wide dirt and dry grass road. Pathetically easy at first, but that didn’t last. Soon the road narrowed and headed into a thicket of deadfall.
The deadfall was bad for a little way, but the Carolina Dog got beyond it. The road was now all grassy and easy going again, lined on both sides by white-barked aspens. Rather pretty, and already feeling quite secluded. Clearly, no vehicle had been this way in a long time. Moonshine Gulch promptly curved N, leading straight into another big tangle of deadfall.
After scrambling over, under, or around this next batch, Lupe continued N up the valley. Moonshine Gulch narrowed, becoming more V-shaped. A tiny frozen stream appeared. Loop discovered free flowing water only a little farther upstream.
All signs of a road vanished as the region down by the stream became choked with vegetation. Lupe traveled along a bench of somewhat higher ground up on the W slope. The way things were going, Moonshine Gulch might soon become virtually impassable.
The bench eventually ended, but by then a narrow strip of thick grass had appeared E of the stream. Lupe crossed over to it. Continuing up Moonshine Gulch, what was left of the road reappeared, making the trek easier again. The W side of the valley began to broaden out. The road went over that way, then started fading in and out – at times helpful, at others, essentially non-existent.
A small frozen pond appeared. Loopster went down to have a look.
Some barbed wire was near the frozen pond, but that wasn’t anything good for Dingoes. The march N resumed. The upper end of Moonshine Gulch was supposed to curve sharply W, and it began to look like that was going to happen.
Lupe didn’t really have to go that far N, though, to get to Peak 6205. Since she was coming to more and more deadfall again, maybe it was about time to climb out of Moonshine Gulch? Working NW up the deadfall-laden slope to the W, Lupe got high enough to see a somewhat flatter region where a thick forest of young pines grew beneath a canopy of much older trees.
Hmm. Still some deadfall up here, too, but there didn’t seem to be any reason to go back down into Moonshine Gulch. Climbing slowly, Loop continued NW through the young pines. She soon found that the worst of the deadfall could be avoided without much trouble.
Before long, a small rock formation appeared ahead.
Upon reaching the rock outcropping, Lupe made a surprising discovery. A road went right past it. This was a decent road, too, not all faint and grassy like the one down in Moonshine Gulch. Once again, SPHP checked the old topo map.
So what road is this, SPHP? Looks like a lot easier way to get here than Moonshine Gulch was!
I’ll grant you that, Looper, but I have no idea what road this is. The topo doesn’t show any roads at all in this region. Some USFS Road, no doubt. Tons of ’em in the Black Hills. Might be shown on another map, but I think I know where we are.
OK, I’ll bite! Where are we?
Hey! No biting! I think that hill beyond you is HP5880, and the hill right across the road is our destination, Peak 6205. Doesn’t look high enough, though. Must be more to it than we can see from here.
So, cross the road and head on up the slope?
Might as well, Loopster! Go for it!
Lupe climbed and climbed. Really was a lot more to this slope than had been visible down by the mysterious USFS road. Good thing, because the top hadn’t looked any higher than HP5880 from below. Wouldn’t have been any point in climbing the wrong mountain.
Plenty of deadfall to avoid, but nothing out of the ordinary these days. The higher Lupe got, the more the glimpses of views between the trees confirmed that this really was Peak 6205. She was clearly way above HP5880 by the time the slope began to level out. Coming up from the NE, the Carolina Dog arrived near the S end of Peak 6205’s summit region.
An old board was nailed to a tree, and nearly a dozen rusty cans were strewn about. Remnants of a blue stove with a metal grill sat next to an ancient stone fire ring covered with deadfall. Several large tree trunks had collapsed next to this fire ring. 10 feet N of the ring was a little bench with stone supports and a log seat. Didn’t look like anyone had been here in a long, long time.
Sort of a mess, isn’t it, SPHP?
Someone must have camped out up here once upon a time, Loop.
Nice spot with room enough for a tiny house, although not much in the way of views. Too many trees!
Probably no views at all when all these dead ones were still standing. Wonder who would have come to a lonely peak like this?
Adventurers of old, SPHP! We’re not the only ones, you know!
Heh. No, I guess not. Well, what do you say we clean this place up a bit? Get it a little more ready for adventurers of the future?
No big rush on that from the look of things, SPHP, but fine with me.
Really not that much to do. SPHP dragged all the deadfall off the fire ring and away from the area around it, pitching it all onto the downed tree trunks nearby. At least it was now out of the way. Then all the rusty cans got gathered up and stuffed into a sack. Once home, they could all go to recycling or the garbage. SPHP took the metal grill for the blue stove, too, but didn’t have room for the stove itself.
Just going to leave this blue stove on the fire ring, Loopster, even though it’s no good anymore. Kind of my exterior decorator touch.
Exterior decorator? Don’t quit the day job, SPHP!
Oh, I won’t! This is it! Climbing no name mountains with a nutty Dingo.
Some humans have all the luck, SPHP!
Well, it was time for a break, and then a tour! The usual Taste of the Wild, water, an apple, and a couple of small shared chocolate coconut bars. Lupe then went to see the only clear view from the S end of Peak 6205. From a patch of pine needles and grass, Lupe could look out over Moonshine Gulch toward the rumpled hills to the SE.
The true summit of Peak 6205 was NW of the fire ring. Beyond another heaping helping of wretched deadfall was a 40 foot long narrow, stony ridge. The highest rocks were at the NW end.
Not much in the way of views here, either. The best were toward the W. White Tail Peak (6,962 ft.) and Nipple Butte (6,800 ft.) were the most easily distinguished peaks on the horizon.
And that was about it. Nearly an hour after arriving, Lupe returned briefly to the fire ring toward the S end of the summit region before starting back down the mountain the same way she’d come up.
12:05 PM – Loopster had barely gotten started down the E slope, when SPHP had a change of heart. The American Dingo had made it to Peak 6205 alright, but now what? Just go back? Seemed sort of early for that.
Hey, Loop! Want to try for Minnesota Ridge (6,240 ft.)?
How far is it?
3+ miles as the crow flies. Somewhat longer in practice.
It’ll be dark then before we get back won’t it, SPHP?
No doubt. Don’t think we’ll have much of a problem, though. Mighty nice out for December. Supposed to be a record high for this date, in fact!
Lupe was fine with it. Carolina Dogs love exploring, especially at dusk. Instead of continuing down the E slope, SPHP went back to the NW end of Peak 6205’s summit ridge. Following the ridgeline NW, Lupe began working her way down the mountain that way. She soon saw White Tail Peak again, and even caught a glimpse of Custer Peak (6,804 ft.).
A little farther down the ridge, Peak 6205’s N slope opened up a bit. This whole region was full of deadfall. A large grove of aspens was visible W of HP5880 at the bottom of the slope. Leaving the ridgeline, Lupe picked her way down, eventually managing to reach the aspens.
Two grassy lanes through the aspens appeared to be remnants of old roads. One went ESE, passing S of HP5880, apparently destined to link up with the mysterious USFS Road Lupe had run across E of Peak 6205. However, Loop took the other lane, which went ENE.
A short trek on the grassy lane led to a better road beyond the aspens. Lupe followed this new mystery road as it curved N. After 0.25 mile, she came to a “T” intersection. A brown wand identified the road Loop had just taken as USFS Road No. 513.1B, no doubt a spur off No. 513.1, which she had apparently just reached.
No. 513.1 was a better road yet. SPHP figured it was probably the same one Lupe had come to E of Peak 6205. In that case, it ought to connect by swinging around the N and E sides of HP5880. To test this theory, Lupe turned R at the junction, heading ENE.
Sure enough, No. 513.1 began to curve E, then SE. Most of this territory was flat, but when No. 513.1 started losing elevation, Looper left the road to climb nearby HP5900, the next hill 0.5 mile NNE of HP5880. HP5900 wasn’t much of a climb at all coming from the W, but the Carolina Dog did get a halfway decent look back at Peak 6205 from it.
On the way over here, Lupe had passed USFS Road No. 513.1C, another spur off No. 513.1 which went N, the general direction she needed to go. Since No. 513.1C wasn’t too far back and would be a lot easier than a trek through the forest, Loop returned to it.
No. 513.1C was clearly marked as a dead end, but Lupe followed it for nearly 0.5 mile. A long, gradual descent led to a slow rise. Near the end, No. 513.1C split, with one branch curving off to the E. Lupe left the road near this intersection, continuing to wander N through the forest.
Passing over a broad, gentle saddle, the American Dingo reached the start of a forested slope lower. The terrain steepened and forced her to turn NE, staying SE of a deepening ravine. After losing a fair amount of elevation in the trackless forest, Lupe came to a spot where she could easily cross over to the N side of the ravine. Here she came to an animal trail going NE down the slope.
Near the bottom of the valley Lupe was entering, the animal trail crossed another mysterious old road. The trail then turned NNE passing through a short section of forest. Having lost a good 200 feet of elevation, Looper finally emerged on the W side of a broad, grassy valley.
Moonshine Gulch, Peak 6205, and all of today’s explorations since then had all been territory Lupe had never been to before, but she had been here years ago. Loopster had made it to the Silver Creek valley. Greens Gulch, the way to Minnesota Ridge (6,240 ft.), split off to the NE only 0.33 mile farther upstream.
Silver Creek was a small stream, small enough to leap over. Lupe did so on her way to USFS Road No. 203.1F on the E side of the valley. Upon reaching the road, Loop followed it N, then NE into Greens Gulch. 0.33 mile trek up Greens Gulch brought the Carolina Dog to an intersection she recognized from Black Hills expeditions long ago.
SPHP remembered at least one wand, maybe two, marking the roads at this junction, but none were to be seen now. Checking the maps, it was clear Lupe needed to keep going E up Greens Gulch on USFS Road No. 203.1D, the only road she’d never taken before from this intersection. No. 203.1D would get her up to a saddle SE of Minnesota Ridge.
Starting up No. 203.1D, Lupe came to a brilliantly lit field of dry grass. At the far end, the road entered the forest and climbed more steeply. After gaining more than 200 feet of elevation, Looper still hadn’t come to the saddle yet, but she’d reached another smaller field and the terrain was beginning to level out. The road continued SE from here, but Lupe left No. 203.1D taking a shortcut straight E.
5 minutes led to a 15 foot high embankment. Climbing it, Lupe reached the SW rim of Minnesota Ridge. Turning NW, she quickly came upon a minor rock outcropping.
Minnesota Ridge encompasses a large, elevated region of pine forest. Nearly all of it is gently sloping, except along the SW edge where the rim of a long escarpment features rock formations ranging from only a few feet to as much as 30 feet high.
Although Lupe had explored portions of Minnesota Ridge on a number of different occasions, the only other time she had come looking for the summit she had discovered a series of slightly higher rocks as she’d headed NW along the edge of the escarpment. This time it wouldn’t be necessary to visit all those false “summits”, since the true summit was now known to be nearly 0.5 mile from here.
Gunfire! Hunters to the NE! Still unseen, they couldn’t be too far away. Instantly transformed into a Chicken Dingo, Looper slunk quietly NW, sticking to SPHP like glue. More shots were heard at intervals of several minutes before the incident ended. By then, Lupe had come to a more open region along the escarpment. Peak 6205 was visible 3 miles SSW.
The last time Lupe had been here, the area close to the true summit had been a deadfall jungle. The Carolina Dog reached a couple of rocks that looked familiar near the SE end of this region, getting up on both for a look around. The deadfall was still here, and matters were now further complicated by dense young pines springing up amidst it all.
The true summit wasn’t much farther, only a few hundred feet of little pines and deadfall left to weave through. When Lupe reached another line of rocks, she knew she was about there.
The true summit was off to the NE, 30 or 40 feet from the escarpment in a part of the forest that was still happily largely deadfall-free. Loop and SPHP tromped about this slightly elevated flat region, but as before, nothing stood out as the clear high point. Face it – the true summit of Minnesota Ridge was a roomy, but not terribly interesting place.
Weren’t there bigger rock formations where we saw huge birds flying around here last time, SPHP?
Yes! There were, Loop. Turkey vultures, if I remember right. That’s a little lower ground, but not too far from here, just a bit farther NW.
Well, that was a lot more scenic, SPHP! Why don’t we go over there?
Good idea! We can hang out for a little while, and see if the big birds are still circling by.
The big rock formations were easily found. No turkey vultures this time, though. The sun was already quite close to the horizon. A short break was all Lupe had time for. Taste of the Wild, the last apple and chocolate coconut bars all disappeared.
Trees had grown up enough to pretty much hide whatever limited views had been here years ago. Looper did what she could, though. Exploring the rim of the escarpment, she gazed out toward the setting sun, or peered into the forest below.
The sun was down well before Lupe got back to USFS Road No. 203.1D near the SE end of Minnesota Ridge. As dusk deepened, she followed the road W. Stars twinkled above by the time she’d retraced her journey on No. 203.1F through Greens Gulch back down to the Silver Creek valley.
SPHP had a bright idea. Instead of following No. 203.1F S down Silver Creek, why not go W? The topo map showed a road going all the way to USFS Road No. 17, the highway N of Rochford. No. 17 was only a little over a mile away. Although a longer route back to the G6 overall, the rest of the march would be easy.
So from Greens Gulch, Lupe took a dirt road that went NW. It curved W, as the map showed, crossed a muddy low spot containing the remnant of Silver Creek, then proceeded W on a long abandoned route.
It all went as planned until lights appeared ahead. Avoiding private property, Lupe took a single track trail up a grassy draw that went S or SW. After gaining a fair amount of elevation, she topped out. In the weak beam of the little flashlight, no further route W could be seen. However, the single lane track continued S, or maybe SE. Hard to tell what to do in the dark, but sticking with the trail seemed the best option.
Exactly where Lupe went on this black December night is now a matter of conjecture. Somehow she wound up following a road, probably USFS Road No. 217.1A, back down into the Silver Creek valley. She eventually reached a private road leading to Silver Creek Road (No. 204), passing a number of homes decorated with cheery Christmas lights along the way.
A half moon was up by the time the American Dingo reached Rochford Road. Not far now. Only 0.25 mile W to the G6 still silently waiting at the start of Moonshine Gulch. (7:14 PM, 51ºF)
Links:
Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition
Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 203 – Gimlet Creek to Minnesota Ridge (5-6-17)
Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 78 – The Experimental Forest & Minnesota Ridge (3-9-14)
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