Carolina Dog – Page 80 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 297 – Peak 4741 (3-2-22)

8:59 AM, 45ºF, Centennial Trail No. 89 – Already warm out, but the trailhead was still icy when Lupe leapt out of the RAV4.

The Elk Creek trailhead! We were here last fall with Uncle Joe, Dusty, and new Cousin Laddie when we took them to Peak 5261. Remember, SPHP?

Of course! Peak 5261 isn’t in the works this time, though, Looper. Going to pick off a Lists of John peak we’ve never been to before, Peak 4741!

We’ve been in this area several times in the past year or two, SPHP. Why didn’t we visit Peak 4741 then?

Oh, because we were doing things close to Centennial Trail No. 89, Loop. Peak 4741 is way off the beaten path. Kind of remote. Probably a better way to get to it, but I’m pretty sure we can get there from here.

The first part of the route to Peak 4741 was familiar territory. Lupe left the Elk Creek trailhead following Centennial Trail No. 89 NNE up a little valley. After 0.125 mile, the trail climbed out of the valley on a jaunt NW through a flat area. As the trail started climbing again, No. 89 curved back to the SE, going partway up a hillside before turning NE.

The last time Lupe was in this region with Uncle Joe and cousins Dusty and Laddie, a stone tunnel had been discovered E of the trail. A real oddity! The Carolina Dog ventured over for another look at it.

An icy stretch as Centennial Trail No. 89 heads up the little valley. Photo looks NNE.

Starting up the hillside after crossing the flat region. Photo looks E.

Checking out the mysterious stone tunnel again.

Returning to Centennial Trail No. 89, a moderately steep climb NE led to gentler terrain. 0.75 mile from the Elk Creek trailhead, Lupe left the trail continuing NE up an easy slope to a flat, open ridge. From here, Loop could see part of Forbes Gulch, a heavily forested drainage, and even caught a glimpse of the prairie beyond the Black Hills.

Heavily forested **Forbes Gulch** (Center). Photo looks NE.

Can’t see it yet, Loop, but Peak 4741 is out that way.

How far, SPHP?

From here? Less than 2.5 miles as the crow flies, but the roads we’ll be on wind around a lot more than that.

USFS Road No. 169 was just N of the rise Lupe was standing on. A fun romp down a snowy slope, and the Carolina Dog was there. Although dry where Loop first reached it, most of the road was snow-covered as she followed it along a hillside. The worst spots were soft and muddy.

No. 169 wound around, going first SE, then NE, before ultimately turning S. For 0.75 mile, Loopster trotted along both gradual uphill and downhill stretches. Net elevation change was minimal by the time she reached a saddle where the road divided.

The snowy N slope leading down to USFS Road No. 169. Photo looks N.

Curving SE again after going NE. Photo looks SE.

On a particularly snowy stretch. Photo looks SE.

Which way, SPHP?

Stay L, Loop. Take that upper road going around the hill.

**Pass 4900**, where USFS Road No. 169 divides. Lupe took No. 169.1B, the upper route seen here. Photo looks E.

USFS Road No. 169.1B wound up onto a ridge. Lupe got her first distant view of the day along this stretch. I-90 was in sight way down along the E edge of the Black Hills.

Heading up onto the ridge on USFS Road No. 169.1B. Photo looks NE.

I-90 (R) along the E edge of the Black Hills. Photo looks SE with help from the telephoto lens.

Trending NE, No. 169.1B topped out 0.33 mile from Pass 4900. A minor high point was just N of the road.

Let’s go up there, Loop! It’s about as high as we’ll get today.

On **HP5044** (?) N of No. 169.1B. Photo looks E.

A small limestone outcropping was at the top, and not much else. Although a pleasant spot, too many trees were present to permit a clear view in any direction.

Supposed to be an even higher spot not too far off to the NW, Loop. HP5044, according to the map! Want to check it out?

Sure! How far away is it, SPHP?

Only 400 or 500 feet. Shouldn’t take long to get there.

Huh. Easier said than done. Venturing several hundred feet NNW into a dense forest, Loopster saw no sign of HP5044. In fact, the terrain had been gradually sloping down, a that trend appeared to be accelerating.

Searching for **HP5044**. Photo looks SSE.

Hmm. This doesn’t look right, Loop. Starting to think the map is wrong. Maybe you’ve already been to HP5044?

You mean that last little hill by the road, SPHP?

Yeah. Let’s call it, and go back. Doesn’t really matter, anyway. Even if there really is a HP5044 somewhere out here, which seems unlikely, not going to be able to see anything from it in this thick forest.

Returning to the hill by the road, a break was taken before continuing on. No. 169.1B turned SE, going downhill before leveling out at a big clearing where there was an intersection with USFS Road No. 169.1I.

At the junction with USFS Road No. 169.1I. Photo looks SE.

No. 169.1I was less developed, literally the road less taken.

Can we go this way, SPHP? Looks more interesting!

Go for it, Looper! Actually a shortcut compared to No. 169.1B.

No. 169.1I was destined to play out in less than 0.5 mile, but that didn’t matter. Lupe followed it NNE all the way to the end.

Exploring USFS Road No. 169.1I. Photo looks NE.

At the end of No. 169.1I, a short climb N through open forest got Lupe to the top of a ridge. HP4827, the next hill N, and the next objective, was less than 0.25 mile away. However, the slope going down to the saddle that led to HP4827 was densely forested and choked with deadfall.

Heading up to the ridge N of where No. 169.1I ended. Photo looks NNE.

N of the ridge, on the way down to the saddle leading to **HP4827**. Photo looks E.

Conditions seemed slightly better toward the E, allowing Lupe to work her way down to the saddle, where she came to a small clearing. The S slope of HP4827 was more open, so it didn’t take long to get up to a big boulder along the HP4827 ridge.

In the small clearing at the **saddle S of HP4827**. Photo looks WNW.

On the first big rock reached along the **HP4827 summit ridge**. Photo looks NW.

HP4827‘s forested summit ridge was hundreds of feet long. Whether this first big rock was the true summit wasn’t clear. A boulder off to the WNW that was barely visible through the trees appeared to be about the same elevation. Loopster went over to check it out. Hard to tell if it was really any higher, but this was definitely the last high point to the W.

On the boulder at the **W end of the HP4827 ridge**. Photo looks WNW.

Exploring the summit ridge E, Lupe came to a double rock formation that seemed definitely higher than either of the first two boulders she’d visited. Too many trees to see much, but this was apparently the true summit of the entire ridge.

**True summit of HP4827**. Photo looks NNE.

Continuing E, Lupe came to a clearing at the E end of the ridge. Looked like a good spot to take another short break.

**E end of the HP4827 ridge**. Photo looks NE.

HP4827‘s N slope proved fairly steep when Lupe started down. Progress was slow. Patches of snow made the going slick, as SPHP picked a way through copious deadfall laying perpendicular to the descent. On the bright side, so many trees were down that Lupe enjoyed a good view of Peak 4760. Looking small from here, Bear Butte (4,422 ft.) was even in sight way out on the plains.

**Peak 4760** (L), **Bear Butte** (Center) and **Peak 4642** (R). Photo looks NNE.

**Bear Butte**. Photo looks NNE with lots of help from the telephoto lens.

The rate of descent slowly diminished. After losing 400 feet of elevation, Lupe turned E toward a broad, flat saddle with considerable open space. After crossing a field, and passing through another stretch of forest, an unimpressive hill was ahead.

Approaching the saddle region after descending from **HP4827**. Photo looks E.

A pile of logs left over from a logging operation. Photo looks ESE.

Passing through another stretch of open forest. Photo looks E.

The unimpressive hill ahead. Photo looks E.

Hey, we’re getting there, Looper! That must be USFS Road No. 169.1D, with Peak 4741 beyond it!

That’s Peak 4741, SPHP? Are you sure? Doesn’t look like much! What’s so special about it?

According to Lists of John, 351 feet of prominence. Ranked 160th out of only 278 peaks in South Dakota with at least 300. Don’t think we’re seeing the actual summit yet. Taller than it appears from here.

Well, we’ll see. Looks like a snap to me, SPHP!

The American Dingo headed down to USFS Road No. 169.1D, intent upon following it at least a short distance toward Peak 4741. However, the day had warmed up quite a bit. Melting snow and ice made the road a soft, mucky mess. Better just tromping through the fields beside it.

Muddy USFS Road No. 169.1D. Photo looks NE.

Shortly after the road curved SE, Lupe left it to head E up a grassy slope dotted with young pines. The slope soon led to denser forest. At 4,600 feet, she passed a vertical rock formation prior to reaching a flat region.

Starting up **Peak 4741’s W slope**. Photo looks E.

As exciting as it got at 4,600 feet. Photo looks W.

The flat region led to another easy climb. Exploring E after the terrain leveled out again revealed a modestly elevated ridge. A stump next to the first limestone outcropping Lupe came to was the true summit.

**True summit of Peak 4741**. Photo looks SE.

1:05 PM, 57ºF, Peak 4741 – The true summit was located at the NW end of a 150 foot long ridge that was only slightly lower toward the SE. The only view was of a long ridge to the S. Still, it was something. Another small rock outcropping 20 or 30 feet farther SE that was at essentially the same elevation as the true summit was a better spot to see it, and was where Lupe and SPHP took a break.

At the rest break outcropping. Note the small cairn (L) on a stump. Photo looks SE.

View of the long ridge (R) to the S. Photo looks S.

So this is it, SPHP? Peak 4741?

Afraid so, Loopster. Pleasant enough, but admittedly not too dramatic.

Mellow indeed, but it’s still a Lists of John peak, right?

Absolutely! You’ve chalked up another one, Loop!

And we went over both HP5044 and HP4827, too, right, SPHP?

Yes, although a tiny bit of doubt remains about HP5044 since we didn’t go quite all the way to where it should have been.

That’s because you concluded that the map was nuts, SPHP.

True enough, Loop. So, what are you driving at?

Blimey! You’re a little slow on the draw, SPHP. After coming all this way over hill and dale, isn’t it about time for a chocolate coconut bar?

Oh, of course! I’ve got some Taste of the Wild for you, too!

Traffic noise from I-90 was easily heard over the crunching and munching of Taste of the Wild after the chocolate coconut bar vanished. There actually was more to see along Peak 4741’s summit ridge once Lupe was finished. Only slightly lower, the limestone formations along the SE end of the ridge were larger and more interesting than the true summit had been. Worth a look!

**SE end of the summit ridge**. Photo looks SE.

Looking back the other way. Photo looks NNW.

Inspection of the SE limestone formations complete, Lupe returned to the break spot to relax a little longer before visiting the cairn nearby.

*Standing by a cairn helps make any ascent more official, you know!*

Half an hour after arriving, the American Dingo was once again back at the true summit, departure imminent.

Back at **Peak 4749’s true summit**. Photo looks NE.

The forest N of the true summit wasn’t much lower, and looked dark and mysterious. Before leaving Peak 4741 for good, Lupe explored it as far N as it remained flat, but finding nothing worth noting, finally headed back down the mountain to USFS Road No. 169.1D.

Final moments on **Peak 4741** with the dark forest to be explored next in the background. Photo looks N.

Upon reaching the road, Lupe varied her return route, following 169.1D SE for more than a mile before leaving it to venture up the steep upper W end of Breakneck Gulch. This shortcut brought her straight back to the intersection of USFS Roads No. 169.1I and No. 169.1B again.

3:11 PM – Taking No. 169.1B NW to where it topped out, Lupe revisited HP5044, or perhaps its imposter, N of the road. Still a couple of pleasant miles to go retracing her morning route, but Loop and SPHP took a few minutes to relax here and reflect on the day.

Peak 4741 wasn’t all that scintillating, Loop, but we had fun didn’t we?

Of course! Always fun to explore new territory, SPHP, and we’d never been through this area before.

I’ll kind of miss doing these Lists of John peaks when we run out of them. Never know what to expect.

What? Are we really going to run out of them, SPHP?

Yup. Not yet, but pretty soon. At least the ones with public access here in the Black Hills National forest.

What are we going to do then, SPHP?

Oh, don’t worry about that, Loop. We can revisit some of our favorite named peaks, explore more trails, or even go back to following streams and valleys like we used to do way back when we first started your Black Hills expeditions. Plus there are countless hills and ridges we’ve never been to that aren’t on any lists that might still be worth seeing.

As long as there’s always another adventure waiting in the wings, I’ll be happy, SPHP, no matter where we go!

Me too, Loop! Me, too.

**HP5044** on the way back from **Peak 4741**, Black Hills of South Dakota 3-2-22

Links:

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Sunrise Peak, Cascade Range, Washington (8-21-21)

Days 14-16 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast!

8-19-21, 69ºF, 1:15 PM, Upper Dungeness trailhead, Olympic Peninsula – SPHP regained consciousness. A lovely blue sky day!

How you feeling, Loop?

Awake already, SPHP? I’m better, a lot better, but was hoping you’d stay conked out.

How come?

Because I’m not feeling too ambitious. Don’t get me wrong, Grey Wolf Ridge was so worth it, but what a doozy!

Heh. No worries, Looper. No big plans today. Positioning day, or what’s left of it. I assume you have no objections to a scenic drive?

Oh, that sounds great, SPHP! Especially if there are cows and horses!

Doubtful to say the least on that score, Loop. The Olympic Peninsula isn’t exactly cattle country.

Hope you can stay awake while driving then, SPHP. Don’t be surprised if it turns into a snooze fest for me!

8-20-21 – Mount Rainier National Park was a bust. Just a drive through for Lupe in any case, but would have been nice to at least get a good look at mighty Mount Rainier (14,411 ft.). The American Dingo did get to see it from Hwy 410, but practically enveloped in clouds. As the road wound higher, SPHP drove into fog and mist.

A not too scintillating glimpse of **Mount Rainier** from Hwy 410.

E of the park, thousands of feet lower, it was a completely different story. At the turn off Hwy 410 to Bumping Lake, fire fighters had set up barriers. Road closed indefinitely. Raging forest fires in this region. 134 mile long perimeter being defended. Should all be over and done with when the snow flies.

Heh. No choice.

Guess Mount Aix (7,766 ft.) gets the axe, Loopster. Sorry about that!

Back to Mount Rainier National Park, then S for many miles.

8-20-21, 1:16 PM, USFS Road No. 2324 – Got here early enough, but, yeah, this wasn’t happening, either. Not today.

Can’t do Sunrise Peak (5,892 ft.) at sunset anyway, SPHP! Wouldn’t be right, would it?

Rules are made to be broken, Looper! Unless our luck changes in the next few hours, though, looks like this rule is going to hold.

SPHP had parked the RAV4 along a wide spot along USFS Road No. 2324 just past where No. 063 took off to the L curving steeply up a hillside.

Sunrise Peak trailhead is supposed to be up at the end of No. 063, Loop. It’s not very far, not even 0.2 mile. Want to go check it out?

Might as well, SPHP.

A sign at the start of No. 063 revealed that the RAV4 was parked at the trailer trailhead. Probably OK, not a single trailer there at the moment.

Signage at the start of USFS Road No. 063.

A foggy sniff along No. 063 got Loop up to not one, but two small parking areas near the start of Trail No. 262. SPHP was surprised to see that both were nearly full. 4 vehicles at the lower one, and 6 at the upper, where Trail No. 262 took off from the far end of the lot.

At the **upper Sunrise Peak trailhead**.

At the moment, no one was around. A quick look at Trail No. 262, which started off going downhill as it disappeared into the foggy forest, and there really wasn’t anything more to do here.

Guess we’ll head back, Loop. Learned one thing.

What’s that, SPHP?

Unless some trailers show up, no point in bringing the RAV4 up here just to try to cram it in among all these other vehicles.

Back at the RAV4, SPHP worked on the trip journal while waiting for the weather to clear. Soon bored with staring into the fog, Lupe snoozed. Fog was better than smoke! Not as likely to persist, but as the afternoon dragged on, the mood grew darker. A heavy mist developed, dampening hopes. Sunrise Peak was not going to transform into Sunset Peak.

8-21-21, 8:13 AM, Sunrise Peak trailer trailhead – Sunrise at Sunrise Peak hadn’t happened, either. No mist, but still foggy. Frustrating! More trip journal work, then suddenly, the day brightened. A lovely patch of blue sky appeared, furnishing all the encouragement required.

Hey, hey, Looper! We might be in business! Maybe these clouds are finally about to burn off? Wanna try it?

She did.

Blue sky vanished, though, even before Lupe completed the short trek to the upper trailhead. Hmm. Well, no matter. Still hopeful that the clouds would clear out before too long, Lupe ventured into the foggy forest.

After an initial dip of 20 feet followed by a flat stretch, No. 262 started to climb. The trail became quite wide, sort of a big, smooth rut. No stones at all, just soft dirt. Hexagonal or diamond-shaped grids were embedded along some stretches, perhaps to reduce erosion?

Lupe trotted along through the dim, damp forest for 0.25 mile before the trail leveled out at an opening overlooking a 50 foot cliff. Ordinarily, there must have been a view here, but only a soft, featureless, gray was on display now.

Although the American Dingo didn’t see much of anything, she could hear. Something was coming! A roar of engines got louder and louder. Stepping off the trail, 4 dirt bikes raced by. 2 riders had rifles. All wore camouflage.

Hunters? This time of year? On noisy dirt bikes? Made no sense.

Guess they do things differently here in Washington, Loop.

The hunters vanished as quickly as they’d appeared, the roar of their bikes fading away after them. The Carolina Dog returned to the trail, which now trended SW. She was soon climbing again, but before too long came to more level terrain, and even a minor downhill stretch.

Lupe wasn’t much beyond the cliffs when the trail went past a stand of strange plants with 3 – 5 foot tall stalks that shot up from a base of long, thin, grass-like leaves. These plants resembled sort of a tropical or rain forest version of a yucca plant.

Bushes with clusters of bright red berries added color to the gray day, but the plants that interested SPHP the most bore dark purple berries.

Not another blueberry trap, SPHP!

Heavens, no! Banish the thought, Looper! This is a huckleberry trap!

Oh, and were the huckleberries ever scrumptious! Plump, ripe, fresh and juicy! Progress slowed so much that Lupe took to simply laying on the dirt path wearing an expression of boredom and disgust.

Meanwhile, intent upon conducting a thorough huckleberry taste survey of statistically significant sample size, ol’ purple fingers munched away.

And why not? What’s the rush? Sunrise Peak was a mere 2 miles from the trailhead. The longer it took Lupe to get there, the more likely the fog would clear off. Still, SPHP did make some progress in a dawdling sort of way. Every now and then more dirt bikers appeared. Lupe kept having to scoot off into the bushes until they roared by.

Loop was on a flat section of trail when she finally came to a junction where an old wooden signpost was leaning against a tree.

Lacking arrows, the signs attached to the post were initially confusing. Trail No. 262, which Lupe had been on ever since leaving the trailhead, wasn’t even mentioned.

Happily, the topo map sorted it out. Trail No. 262 continued straight for another 0.33 mile to Trail No. 261, which could then be followed either N to Juniper Ridge (5,611 ft.), or S to Jumbo Peak (5,801 ft.). Both were potential destinations on a sunnier day.

However, neither were today’s main objective. Lupe needed to turn R here, taking Trail No. 262A roughly 0.75 mile to a second junction with Trail No. 261A, where another R turn would get her to Sunrise Peak (5,892 ft.).

Trail No. 262A climbed more aggressively and relentlessly than No. 262 had. Trending NW now, Lupe passed more of the tall stalk plants. To SPHP’s delight, plenty of delicious huckleberries, too! Although starting out as another big rut full of tire tracks, no dirt bikers came this way.

The forest began thinning out. Soon Lupe was traversing a steep slope with only scattered trees. Still foggy, but directly ahead a blue tinge was visible along the rough outline of a big rock formation.

Approaching the rock formations (Center & R). Photo looks NW.

Hopes for sunshine were immediately dashed. By the time Lupe got to the rock formation, the fog was thicker again.

Turning W along the base of the rock formation, Trail No. 262A topped out. From here, the trail dipped then leveled out as it curved N.

At No. 262A’s high point S of the rock formation. Photo looks W.

Looking back. Loop still at No. 262A’s high point. Photo looks ESE.

Two minutes from the high point, Lupe reached the junction with Trail No. 261A. A L turn would have been a shortcut to Trail No. 261 and Juniper Ridge. Staying R, Loop continued her ascent of Sunrise Peak.

Junction with Trail No. 261A. Lupe again went R. Photo looks N.

Not much farther now! The summit was only another 300 feet higher. In forest again, Trail No. 261A switchbacked tightly up the NW slope.

Near the top, the trail broke out of the trees, heading SE across an open slope. Lupe could see her shadow! Blue-tinged fog had returned, and a bright white disk glowed in the clouds above!

Trail No. 261A, way up on the almost sunny slope. Photo looks SE.

Luck of the Dingo! Might have timed this just about perfectly, Loopster!

Oh, I hope you’re right, SPHP! What do you think we’ll see up here?

Great question! Magnificent sights, Loop! On a clear day, 3 enormous peaks. Mount Rainier (14,411 ft.) is due N. Mount Adams (12,276 ft.) is SE. And to the SW, a mountain you haven’t seen since your first Dingo Vacation way back in 2012.

When we went to the West Coast with Lanis?

Exactly right, Loop! Remember when we went to see Mount Saint Helens (8,333 ft.), and you met Gary Rosenquist who had been in the area taking pictures of the massive violent eruption on May 18, 1980?

Oh, yes I do, SPHP! The volcano that blew its top!

Yup. Rainier and Adams are volcanoes, too! Just haven’t blown their tops off recently.

Sounds like Sunrise Peak is volcano central, SPHP! Maybe we’ll see some fireworks?

Heh. No doubt we would, if we could hang around on a geological time scale. Today, I’ll be thrilled if the fog disperses.

Despite hopeful signs, the fog hadn’t dispersed yet. Trail No. 261A soon led up to Sunrise Peak’s final rocky summit knob, approaching it from the SW. At one time there had been a fire lookout on Sunrise Peak. An old metal railing still provided assistance getting to where the lookout once stood.

Approaching the summit block. Photo looks N.

The Carolina Dog scrambled up without any such assistance. SPHP made full use of it, glad the railing was there.

10:40 AM, 65ºF, Sunrise Peak (5,892 ft.) – Various anchor bolts stationed around the perimeter of a flat summit 25 feet in diameter were all that remained of the old fire lookout. Sheer cliffs were present along all edges, except where the railing came up, which was mighty steep, too.

Another massive knob of rock 4 or 5 feet higher was instantly visible less than 100 feet away. That other knob was actually the apparent current summit of Sunrise Peak, although before the mountain was decapitated to accommodate the lookout, the natural true summit might well have once been where Lupe was now.

Peering over the edge of the gap separating these high points revealed a drop of 30 or 40 feet. Even if there was an easy way to get to the base of that other high point, it was much steeper than anything Lupe or SPHP could attempt.

Don’t be a fanatic, SPHP! This is close enough for Dingo work. We’re not going over there!

**Sunrise Peak summit** from the railing.

The nearby apparent current **true summit knob**.

The top of Sunrise Peak was roomy enough, but wasn’t up to American Dingo standards as far as comfort was concerned. Small rocks, gravel, and bits of broken glass covered the roughly leveled solid rock site. Not terrible, but certainly not soft or cushiony, either.

With nothing else in sight, Lupe made do as best she could while waiting for the fog to clear, an eagerly anticipated event expected any time now.

Waiting for the big volcano show to begin.

Lupe waited and waited. SPHP shook her paw, congratulating her on her ascent of Sunrise Peak. She shared the only chocolate coconut bar SPHP had brought along, then had some Taste of the Wild. When the rocks got too uncomfortable, Loopster curled up on SPHP’s lap.

Still no sign of any volcanoes, or anything else, either. The air was calm. Clouds moved slowly, if at all. Now and then a light mist fell. Later on, the sky above was so blue, and the rays of the unseen sun felt so warm, that SPHP applied sunscreen.

Suddenly, there was movement! Right along the edge, over toward the true summit, a tiny visitor appeared.

Fortunately, the chipmunk vanished before Lupe saw it. The innocent little creature made SPHP uneasy. If Lupe had seen it, she would have raced over to the brink of the cliff in an instant, abandoning all caution. Could have been a disaster!

More dangerous than a bear!

Sorry, SPHP! I’ve been dozing. What did you say? Something about a bear?

Oh, nothing. Just muttering to myself, Loop. I ought to comb my hair.

Up here? Why? That’s silly! Seen any volcanoes yet, SPHP?

Not a one, Looper. You’ll be the first to know, if I do.

45 minutes of staring into the whiteness drifted on by. Several times, the top of the cloud deck had been briefly visible far off to the NW, but other than that, nada. However, a large region of hazy territory could now be seen to the W and NW. No volcanoes, it was all lower than Sunrise Peak, but this vision persisted long enough to encourage an extension of Lupe’s usual summit hour.

Another 5 or 10 minutes, and it all vanished again.

Sunrise Peak isn’t quite high enough, SPHP!

I know it, Loop! Another 1,000 feet would do it. Bet we’d be above this soup with a grand view of 3 massive volcanoes floating on a sea of white.

Oh, that would be awesome, SPHP!

No doubt, but that wasn’t the case. Not quite high enough, was. Several more times fleeting glimpses of distant lower hills and ridges appeared to the W and NW, followed by a dim view E.

Lupe’s wait continued, but an hour and a half after arriving, the clouds welled up. Blue tinged sky vanished, replaced by a darker, somber gray.

Guess we can’t win them all, Loopster. Not happening! Too bad!

Between smoke and fog, winning any at all couldn’t be taken for granted on this Dingo Vacation. Gray Wolf Ridge had been a big win, but other than that, Lupe was having to settle for a lot of partial victories.

Nothing to be done about it, except face reality and keep trying. Lupe had come tantalizingly close here on Sunrise Peak, but the reality was that it was time.

Onward, puppy ho!

The return was fast and easy. On departure, Sunrise Peak looked the same way it had when Lupe arrived. Foggy, but like it might not last forever.

Still foggy now, though, was all that mattered. Descending the winding path, Lupe was soon back in the darker, foggier forest.

It was an amazing place, too! Towering trees! Ripe huckleberries! Tall stalk plants! Dripping, brooding silence. The wonder and mystery of what else might be out here?