Start: 8:35 AM, 42°F, at the first pullout SE of USFS Road No. 157 along West Deerfield Road near Castle Creek
A week shot by. The American Dingo was back! The G6 was parked no more than a mile NW of where it had been at the start of Expedition No. 212 only 7 days ago. Back then Lupe had gone N visiting 4 peaks along the E edge of the limestone plateau. Today she would be going mostly W farther into the high country.
A short walk NW along West Deerfield Road brought Loop to the start of USFS Road No. 157. Close to the intersection, a bridge went over Castle Creek. Lupe had started off Expedition No. 212 by checking out Castle Creek. May as well make it a tradition! Before crossing the bridge, Lupe went down near the stream. As always, Castle Creek was looking good!
Returning to No. 157, Lupe crossed the bridge. The road went past a house over to the SW side of the Castle Creek valley, before turning SE for 0.5 mile. Lupe could still see the G6. Beyond it was a forested ridge featuring an impressive limestone cap. This late October morning was cool and bright. Everything was bathed in sunlight. What a beautiful day!
The first part of the plan for the day was to take No. 157 from the Castle Creek valley up into the limestone plateau country. Lupe didn’t start gaining elevation until she was getting close to a big bend where No. 157 makes a nearly 180° turn going around the SE end of a forested ridge. After making the turn, the road climbed steadily heading WNW high on the SW side of the ridge. Private property down in the Silver Creek valley could be seen below.
About 0.33 mile from the big bend, Lupe reached an intersection with USFS Road No. 157.1A. Loop had followed No. 157 up the Silver Creek valley at least a couple of times on previous Black Hills expeditions, but she’d never been on No. 157.1A before. The topo map showed that No. 157.1A stayed higher up near the spine of the ridge, and would eventually feed back into No. 157 again in a couple of miles.
Why not? Exploring a new route is usually fun. Lupe took No. 157.1A.
No. 157.1A went NW for a while. Low juniper bushes provided scattered ground cover beneath a pine forest. The terrain sloped moderately up to the NE. The road stayed within a few hundred feet of the top of the ridge.
Lupe gained a fair amount of elevation. However, the day’s early sunshine seemed to have vanished. It actually seemed colder now than when Lupe had started out. The mood of the day had really changed. Gone was the bright cheerfulness. Suddenly the forest felt quiet, remote, sullen – like late fall of a dying year, with more than a hint of winter.
Lupe might get a decent look at the Castle Creek valley from the top of the ridge, if a place could be found where trees didn’t block the view. As she went on, a few rocks appeared near the ridgeline. Close to one of these rocks a narrow, gray opening could be seen between the pines. Might as well take a look! Lupe sniffed her way through the forest to the top of the ridge.
No wonder the mood had turned grim and chill! Lupe could see Castle Creek valley alright, but the sky was completely overcast. Not a speck of blue anywhere. Mountaintops across the valley were shrouded in fog.
Lupe went NW through the forest a little way, then returned to the road. She reached it near a “Y” intersection. USFS Road No. 157.1C branched off to the N here, going over a small saddle. The maps showed it would eventually dead end.
The American Dingo stuck with No. 157.1A, which headed more W than before. The road climbed more steeply for a little way before leveling out. Lupe had left the edge of Castle Creek valley behind now.
As Loop traveled onward, it appeared as though there were high points off to the SW which might provide a view of Silver Creek valley. She didn’t bother going over there, though. Probably not worth the effort with low clouds and fog around. The Carolina Dog stayed on the road, which wound around still heading W.
Suddenly, Lupe noticed a pickup truck ahead parked on the road. Two men dressed in camouflage were standing near it. Hunters! Lupe and SPHP had to go right by them. Neither looked or acted friendly. The younger one asked SPHP only where Lupe was going, and seemed suspicious of the answer – Crows Nest Peak. Meanwhile, the older man fiddled with a bow and ammunition.
No doubt Crows Nest Peak (7,048 ft.) was an unlikely response. Crows Nest Peak was still miles away. Furthermore, though one of the highest points in the Black Hills, Crows Nest Peak wasn’t much of a peak at all, just a spot in the woods nominally higher than the surrounding terrain. Why would anyone be going there? Wandering alone way out here on a gloomy day like this was probably suspicious enough itself. Crows Nest Peak must have seemed a doubly suspicious and evasive answer.
Lupe went right on by the hunters. SPHP had no intention of stopping to explain. If the hunters were surprised to see Lupe, seeing them had been a surprise, too. Best to avoid any possibility of getting into a quarrel with armed strangers with unfriendly dispositions, especially in such a remote place. These guys were weird – in an unbalanced, slightly threatening way.
That was it, though. Nothing happened. Lupe reached the end of USFS Road No. 157.1A where it met up with No. 157 again. This was familiar territory, although it had been 2 years since Looper had last been here. For more than a mile, she continued WNW on No. 157. She reached a junction with No. 157.1F, which headed N to Fulton Draw.
Lupe didn’t need to go to Fulton Draw. It only led back down to Castle Creek. She stayed on No. 157, which gradually began curving SW. The terrain was flat along in here. Lupe had already gained most of the elevation she would need to on the way to Crows Nest Peak.
More than 0.67 mile beyond No. 157.1F, Lupe reached another junction. An unmarked road branched off to the R. Just beyond this intersection, a barbed wire fence crossed No. 157. Lupe made a short foray along the unmarked road. She came to a place where ice rested in large, muddy ruts at a curve in the road.
Hmm. If Lupe managed to make it to Crows Nest Peak today, it would be her 4th successful ascent. However, she had only reached it once before coming from this general direction. On that occasion, traveling through the forest, Lupe had come to a small pond with cattails.
Was the cattail pond where this road was heading? It seemed likely. SPHP remembered a road near the pond, but Lupe hadn’t taken it. Instead, from the cattail pond she’d followed a barbed wire fence a long way N or NW through the woods. Although Lupe had ultimately made it to Crows Nest Peak, she’d gone a long way through a trackless stretch of forest with no real landmarks. Trying that again in this weather seemed unwise.
Lupe returned to No. 157 and continued past the barbed wire fence. SPHP expected her to reach a road going to Procunter Spring pretty soon, but she didn’t. Odd. After more than 0.5 mile, Lupe reached a “Y”. Only the branch to the R could possibly be the way to Procunter Spring, but even it didn’t seem quite right.
The Carolina Dog had been here before. Loop wasn’t far from Coulsen Hughes Draw. SPHP was certain of that. Yet it had been years since she had been at this exact spot. Being here now in the fog felt like a dream where things look familiar, yet are all jumbled up. Which way?
SPHP checked the map. Somewhere around here, Loop was supposed to leave No. 157 and travel NW staying on high ground. The actual terrain didn’t seem to match up very well with what the map showed, though. Slightly higher ground was back the way Lupe had come to reach this intersection. Maybe it made sense to retrace her route a little before plunging into the forest?
So that’s what Lupe did. She went back to a place where there was a bit of a hill off to the L. Despite misgivings, SPHP then followed her into the trees. In the fog, the forest seemed mysterious, abandoning the road faintly dangerous. The only real landmark Lupe would come to was a huge field 1.5 to 2 miles off to the NW. It might be terribly easy to get turned around and lost before ever getting there.
Lupe hadn’t gone far before there was reason for concern. She’d climbed the small forested hill, but the high ground she was supposed to follow NW from here didn’t seem to exist. Instead, the forest sloped gradually down in every direction. Not far ahead, a meadow could be glimpsed through the trees, which didn’t seem right either. May as well check it out, though.
Lupe reached the edge of the meadow. What she saw was surprising, almost shocking. The meadow was wide and very long, so long the end couldn’t be seen in either direction. It made no sense. How could Lupe have missed this huge meadow on her prior attempts to reach Crows Nest Peak from this direction? It seemed impossible, yet here it was.
Which way? Lupe looked expectantly at SPHP. What was the holdup? SPHP stood staring at the meadow, pondering the view first in one direction, then the other. Not a clue. Everything looked wrong. Nothing made sense. There had to be an explanation, though. What was it?
Confusion vanished. Certainty came flooding back. Oh, yeah, it all made sense now! This long meadow was the NW branch of Coulsen Hughes Draw. Had to be! SPHP had become disoriented in the fog, apparently even before Lupe had left the road. This meadow didn’t run E/W like SPHP initially believed. Lupe had been traveling W, not N, going over the hill. This meadow went N/S.
Lupe turned N, gradually gaining elevation. As expected, the American Dingo soon came to an old wooden sign where the road to Procunter Spring crossed Coulsen Hughes Draw. Whew! Back on track. Simply amazing how easy it had been to get turned around in the fog!
Puppy, ho! Lupe still had a long way to go to get to Crows Nest Peak. At least she knew which way to go now. From the sign, Loop followed No. 157 going NE. When the road curved E, she took a side road heading N through a gap in a fence.
The side road had a lot of deadfall timber on it. Lupe soon left it heading WNW across the upper end of Coulsen Hughes Draw. Moderately higher ground was ahead. Lupe reached the top of a broad forested ridge. This was part of the high ground she had been supposed to take NW, though she was farther W on it than SPHP had intended. No matter, Lupe could get to Crows Nest Peak this way. Onward!
For 0.75 mile, Lupe traveled N or NW on top of the broad ridge. It was still overcast, but not as foggy up here as it had been back at Coulsen Hughes Draw. Lupe ran and sniffed. There was no road or trail to follow. Lupe loved exploring, and things seemed to be going well.
At the N end of the ridge, the terrain began sloping down. Lupe came to another road, which seemed vaguely familiar. Lupe had been here on one of her previous expeditions, hadn’t she? The American Dingo followed the road downhill to the W a short distance, before leaving it to continue N.
Lupe went over a small forested hill, and quickly arrived at the edge of a big field. Yes! Reaching this field meant Loop was less than a mile from Crows Nest Peak.
At the far side of the field, Lupe could see a road heading N into the forest. This might well be USFS Road No. 266. Lupe crossed the field. The road wasn’t marked, but it was going the right way. Loop and SPHP took the road.
After passing through a stretch of forest, what looked like the level top of an earthen dam for a stock pond could be seen off in the woods. Lupe went over to check it out. Sure enough, a small iced-over shallow pond was on the other side. Not 15 feet away, down next to the pond, was the carcass of a deer.
Something alive was feeding on the carcass! An instant after Lupe arrived on the scene, a head turned and fixed a beady yellow eye on her. Unhappy at being disturbed, a huge feathery eagle launched into the sky and flew off. It wasn’t a bald eagle, but the giant bird was still a sight to see. You would have had to been there, though. SPHP was way too slow to get a photo.
From Eagle Pond, the road Lupe was following turned W or WNW. Loopster hadn’t gone too far on it when another road came in from the ENE. A marker showed this was USFS Road No. 377.1B.
Finding No. 377.1B confirmed that Lupe had been following USFS Road No. 266 since crossing the big field. Lupe took the road leading W from the junction. Crows Nest Peak was no more than 0.25 mile away now. In fact, Loop could soon see a hill N of the road. The summit had to be up there.
Even though it was a slightly longer route, the Carolina Dog stuck with the road. When she reached a familiar meadow SW of the summit, she turned N on a spur road that would take her there. The spur is so seldom traveled that it didn’t even seem much like a road anymore. It was more like a single track trail.
The spur road went N climbing a hill before leveling out. A little farther on it curved E. Lupe immediately arrived at the frozen remnant of a tiny pond. She climbed up on a mound of red dirt at the W end. She’d made it to Crows Nest Peak! This wasn’t the official summit, which was still a football field E, but had to be about as high, and was the landmark Lupe always went by.
Lupe had come a long way. Time to claim her peakbagging success! The Carolina Dog left the frozen pond heading E. She crossed a small grassy area. There used to be a road here, but no trace of it remained. At a small opening in the forest maybe 60 or 70 feet back into the trees, Lupe came to a survey stake and benchmark.
This was it! This flat place in the forest entirely lacking views in any direction, a total and complete mockery of its name, was one of the highest spots in the whole Black Hills. Lupe was at the official summit of Crows Nest Peak (7,048 ft.).
It had been a long, and occasionally confusing trek. Lupe and SPHP took a half hour break near the survey marker. Taste of the Wild, water, and an apple. Tiny snowflakes drifted down on a light swirling breeze. The temperature must have been at or below freezing, but the tiny flakes all melted as they hit.
Cold, humid, quiet. SPHP sat on the ground petting Lupe’s soft fur. She liked that. Snowflakes filled the air. It felt again like winter was coming. Hidden in the remote high country, despite the absence of views, Crows Nest Peak was still a magical place.
This foggy, overcast day had been the perfect day to come here. It didn’t matter that there weren’t any views. Lupe wouldn’t have been able to see them anyway, even if there had been some. Her journey here had felt more mysterious and adventurous beneath the close gray sky.
It seemed like Lupe still had plenty of time; she’d gotten off to a fairly early start this morning. Hard to tell for certain, though, without being able to see the sun. It was one thing to wander around in the fog, entirely another to get caught in darkness away from any road on a cold, snowy night. Lupe at least better get back to No. 157 before it got dark.
On the way back, Lupe had many more adventures. Although she was following the same basic route, she varied it enough to explore a fair amount of previously unseen territory along the way. The temperature slowly dropped. It didn’t snow all the time, but it did more and more often. Never too hard, and the snowflakes were never too big.
This seemed to be a big day for discovering frozen ponds. A little E of the ridge Lupe had followed N from Coulsen Hughes Draw earlier, Loop found yet another one in a shallow valley.
A faint road leading S from this pond ultimately proved to be the same one where she’d left USFS Road No. 157 hours ago. This proved that the pond was situated at the far, far N end of Coulsen Hughes Draw.
Upon reaching No. 157 again, Lupe followed it E. She hadn’t gone too far, when she came to a barbed wire fence. Beyond it was the old cattail pond!
The cattail pond was the last pond of the day. No. 157 turned S here, and quickly led Lupe past the muddy ruts with ice in them she had seen before. Another mystery solved!
The Carolina Dog’s explorations were nearly over now. Lupe stuck to No. 157 going E. She passed by No. 157.1F again. She returned to No. 157.1A. The weird hunters were gone. Good!
It snowed harder. In a few places, a little began to stick. A 15 minute off-road foray to a potential viewpoint revealed only snow and fog. OK, that was it. The rest of the way back was all business. Lupe watched, but didn’t even bark at a herd of cows grazing near the junction of USFS Roads No. 157.1A and No. 157.
Lupe hopped into the G6 without hesitation (5:57 PM, 29°F). Moments later, a frigid wind came out of the NW blowing snow much harder than before down Castle Creek valley.
During October, 2017, Lupe had visited many of the highest peaks in the Black Hills along the E edge of the limestone plateau. In most cases she hadn’t been to these peaks in more than 2 years. Expedition No. 213 had been a fun day out, but suddenly it was looking like Crows Nest Peak would be the last the Carolina Dog would see of the high country this year.
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