10:11 AM, 35°F – Gates close at dusk? Ridiculous! That’s what the sign said, though. The Alkali Creek trailhead for Centennial Trail No. 89 was huge and totally empty, but days are really short in December. SPHP wasn’t at all certain Lupe would be back before dusk, rendering the trailhead useless.
SPHP found a place to park along Horse Soldier Road. Lupe trotted back to the trailhead. Alkali Creek was the official starting point for today’s Black Hills expedition. Lupe was going to explore Centennial Trail No. 89 all the way N to the Fort Meade trailhead. At only 4.0 miles one way, this is one of the shortest segments between trailheads of the entire 111 mile long Centennial Trail.
Lupe was anxious to get going! SPHP took only a quick peek at the posted trail map. It showed a surprisingly complex trail system in the area. Loop had no patience for it. Leaving the trailhead, the Carolina Dog crossed Horse Soldier Road. She picked up Centennial Trail No. 89 in a field on the other side.
As Lupe sniffed along, the trail gradually curved N. Soon Bear Butte came into view. The summit of Bear Butte (4,422 ft.) is the official N end of Centennial Trail No. 89. Lupe wasn’t going that far today.
0.33 mile from the trailhead, Looper reached a junction at the top of a small rise. Centennial Trail No. 89 went W (L) here passing through a barbed wire fence. The other trail continued N through a long field.
Beyond the fence, Centennial Trail No. 89 headed W toward a forested ridge Lupe had seen from the trailhead. Before reaching the trees, the Carolina Dog paused for the best view of Bear Butte yet.
Once in the forest, Centennial Trail No. 89 wound NW up the E side of the ridge. The steepest part came near the beginning. Even here, the trail wasn’t bad at all. Lupe climbed through a forest of scrub oak and Ponderosa pines.
Higher up, the slope of the terrain was more gradual. The trail trended SW for a while.
The ridge the trail was climbing is 0.75 mile long N/S. The W face of the ridge is much steeper than the E slope. Nearing the top of the ridge line, Centennial Trail No. 89 brought Loop very close to the S end of the ridge. Naturally, she stopped to check out the view. To the S, she could see I-90 and the Black Hills National Cemetery.
Peak 4027 is the high point of the entire ridge Lupe was on. It was only 200 yards N of the extreme S end. Centennial Trail No. 89 headed right for it. The summit proved to be spacious and gently rounded. Flanked by pines to the W and N, the whole area was grassy and open.
Centennial Trail No. 89 didn’t go quite all the way up Peak 4027. Instead it swept around the E side of the spacious summit. Lupe had a great view of the prairies of western South Dakota.
Loopster wasn’t about to bypass the true summit of Peak 4027! She left Centennial Trail No. 89 to tramp through the snow looking for it. There wasn’t any definite absolute high point, but she explored enough ground to be satisfied with her ascent.
The scenic highlight from Peak 4027 was Bear Butte rising dramatically like a miniature volcano from the surrounding prairie. Trees blocked any views of the main body of the Black Hills to the W.
Lupe returned to Centennial Trail No. 89. The trail continued N along Peak 4027’s long N ridge. Most of the ridge was forested. What it lacked in views, it made up in squirrels. Looper had a grand time barking and searching for them.
Nearly 0.5 mile N of Peak 4027, Lupe came to another grassy area. She was approaching High Point 3983 on the topo map.
At High Point 3983 Lupe reached a fork in the trail. A large post stood next to the fork. Centennial Trail No. 89 stayed to the L.
Beyond High Point 3983 the trail went NNW still following the ridgeline.
0.25 mile from High Point 3983, Lupe finally reached the N end of the ridge. From rock outcroppings along the edge, the Carolina Dog could see Sturgis, SD to the NW. Peak 3950 and Crook Mountain (4,930 ft.) were in view, too.
Leaving the mountain’s main ridgeline, Centennial Trail No. 89 began a long gradual descent. After a switchback or two, Lupe found herself traveling NNE.
The trail curled clear around to the SW as it entered a large draw.
The draw drained NE. The trail turned NE again, too. More snow was down here. The draw brought Lupe back to Horse Soldier Road.
Centennial Trail No. 89 crossed Horse Soldier Road, but where it went on the other side wasn’t completely clear. Lupe searched for a marker. She found an icy pond off to the NW, but no markers. SPHP finally realized the correct route was the obvious one. Lupe followed a frozen road NE.
Having crossed Horse Soldier Road, the first part of Lupe’s journey to the Fort Meade trailhead was over. Until now, she had been up in the forest on the long ridge that was all part of Peak 4027. The remaining trek was lower territory. The trail was about to make several forays E toward the prairie, each time turning W again to re-enter the forest.
Following the frozen road, the American Dingo headed NE out into the grasslands. Centennial Trail No. 89 left the road near the end of a bare ridge, and climbed up onto it. Although this ridge was much lower than the forested ridge where Peak 4027 and High Point 3963 were, Loopster enjoyed unbroken panoramas.
Fort Meade was already in sight only 0.5 mile to the N. The way the trail was going to wind around, Lupe still had a lot farther than that to go to get to the Fort Meade trailhead.
Now that Lupe was up on the ridge, the trail turned back to the WSW.
The single track became a dirt road as Lupe drew near the forest again. For at least a little way, this was still Centennial Trail No. 89. However, when no more markers appeared, SPHP began to suspect the trail had disappeared somewhere into the forest on the N side of the ridge.
Lupe wasn’t far from Horse Soldier Road again when she spotted some still green pine slash snaking through the grass N of the snowy road. Upon inspection, it was evident this slash had been deliberately placed on a trail. Maybe Centennial Trail No. 89 had been re-routed? Perhaps this was an officially discouraged shortcut?
Lupe and SPHP followed the slash N down a snowy slope. Before long the slash led to another trail that was unobstructed. Continuing N, Lupe spotted a Centennial Trail No. 89 marker on a tree. Exactly where she’d lost the trail in the first place still wasn’t clear, but at least she was back on it again.
The single track went virtually all the way back to Horse Soldier Road, but did not connect to it. Instead, right next to the road and a bit below it, the trail skirted around the W end of a forested ravine.
Once N of the ravine, the trail turned E again. Lupe was on the side of a fairly steep slope.
The trail left the ravine going N along the E side of a hill. Lupe could see white headstones. Fort Meade National Cemetery was up on the hill. This small cemetery was established in 1878 by surviving members of General Custer’s 7th cavalry.
After skirting the E and N sides of the cemetery, Centennial Trail No. 89 went around the W end of a much larger ravine. Again the trail turned NE following another ridge out toward the prairie.
The trail went partway down the NE end of the ridge. Lupe enjoyed some nice views along in here.
Once more, the trail looped back around to the W and returned to the forest. Lupe climbed a little, then descended into a valley filled with snow. All these winding loops the trail had made had chewed up a lot of time. Never high in December, the sun was sinking toward the horizon.
The valley floor was flat and fairly wide. A private home sat a little N of the trail. As Lupe went past it, the trail turned SW. There were tons of footprints in the snow, but Loop hadn’t seen anyone all day.
The far SW end of the valley was narrower. An odd stone building stood near the trail. Beyond it, Lupe could see Horse Soldier Road again. She dropped by the building to sniff around a bit, but discovered nothing of interest. The building looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.
The Carolina Dog pressed on. The trail headed N climbing a small hill. Lupe reached a minor pass. At the end of a short spur trail sat another oddity – a large stone fireplace.
A wooden fence enclosed the ground around the fireplace. No signs or plaques explained how or why the fireplace came to be here. Lupe left it just as mystified as she’d arrived.
Beyond the minor pass, Centennial Trail No. 89 made a long sweeping curve SW down into a snowy field. By the time the trail straightened out again, Looper was heading N. This was the final stretch. The Fort Meade trailhead was just ahead.
Lupe had made it! She had traveled the entire length of Centennial Trail No. 89 between the Alkali Creek and Fort Meade trailheads. It had been a pleasant, mostly easy trek offering a variety of terrain, scenes, and complete solitude.
SPHP had hoped Lupe would have time to climb Peak 3950 on the way back to the G6, but the sun was already way too low for that. Even just retracing her entire route would take longer than desired. Time for a shortcut! Lupe and SPHP left the Fort Meade trailhead heading S on Horse Soldier Road.
The road was icy. After getting past the Fort Meade National Cemetery, a trail left the road heading S. A post said this was Trail No. 10. The trail looked like a shortcut that might lead down to the icy pond Lupe had seen earlier. Why not explore it?
Trail No. 10 went E along a steep slope with southern exposure. Sure enough, after 0.5 mile the American Dingo came to the frozen pond.
Horse Soldier Road and Centennial Trail No. 89 were close to the pond. Lupe crossed the road. Enough daylight remained to retrace the rest of the trail. Lupe completed a second ascent of Peak 4027 before dark.
Light was fading by the time Lupe made it down off Peak 4027. It was dusk when she went past the Alkali Creek trailhead.
Gates still open! Could have parked there! Oh, well. A cold N breeze blew as Lupe and SPHP trudged along Horse Creek Road in silence. Didn’t matter. Not much farther to the G6 anyway. (4:49 PM, 33°F)
Notes – Horse Soldier Road goes from I-90 Exit 34 near the Alkali Creek trailhead to Hwy 34/79 a mile E of Sturgis near the Fort Meade trailhead. This road is also known as the National Back Country Byway or Cemetery Drive (N part) or Old Stone Road (S part).
Links:
Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition
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Next Trail Section South:
Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 274 – Centennial Trail No. 89: Elk Creek to Alkali Creek (4-10-21)
Centennial Trail Map & Brochure
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