Bear Butte – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Lupe was injured on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 148 back on 12-5-15, probably due to becoming impaled on a sharp broken branch on one of the hundreds of dead trees she jumped over. By 12-18-15, she had recovered to the point where she had her stitches taken out. Although the wound itself is healing nicely, she still has some swelling. The swelling doesn’t seem to bother her at all, though, and after 2 weeks of mostly resting, Lupe was pretty dang bored.

The weather the day after Lupe’s stitches came out was forecast to get way up to 50°F, before turning significantly colder. This one warm day was clearly Lupe’s opportunity to resume her adventures, but where should she go?

SPHP wanted to be extra careful to avoid any chance of re-injury before Lupe is completely healed. The problem was, the vast majority of the Black Hills is heavily timbered with Ponderosa pines, which have suffered enormous damage from pine-bark beetles over the past 5 – 10 years. It’s hard to go very far anywhere in the Black Hills without encountering significant amounts of deadfall timber.

SPHP’s solution was to take Lupe to South Dakota’s Centennial Trail No. 89. Centennial Trail No. 89 is a 111 mile long trail developed to celebrate 100 years of South Dakota statehood. (South Dakota joined the union back in 1889, hence the trail No. 89.) Centennial Trail No. 89 starts at Bear Butte (4,422 ft.) in the N, and goes through the eastern Black Hills down to Wind Cave National Park at its S end.

Although nearly all of Centennial Trail No. 89 is up in the Black Hills, a 4.5 mile section from the Ft. Meade trailhead to the Bear Butte Lake trailhead is out on the prairie NE of Sturgis, SD. There wouldn’t be any danger of Lupe becoming impaled on broken tree branches. That made this section of the trail ideal for Lupe, while she finishes healing up.

Lupe was ecstatic, barking and jumping for joy, when she realized she was finally going to get to go on an adventure again! At 9:59 AM, SPHP parked the G6 near Ft. Meade. It was a balmy 41°F out, with some snow on the ground, when Lupe crossed over to the N side of Hwy 34 to begin her day’s trek on Centennial Trail No. 89.

Lupe hits snowy Centennial Trail No. 89 just N of Hwy 34 & Ft. Meade. Woods along Bear Butte Creek are already close at paw ahead. Bear Butte Creek used to be an important campsite for the plains Indians.

Lupe enjoyed sniffing around in the trees near Bear Butte Creek. This was the only forested area she would come to all day. She quickly reached the footbridge over Bear Butte Creek, and didn’t have much farther to go through the woods to reach the prairie.

Lupe on the footbridge over Bear Butte Creek.

A happy American Dingo lifts her head just high enough to be seen above the middle railing.

After crossing Bear Butte Creek, the woods ended just N of the creek. There are two large ridges on the way to Bear Butte Lake. The first one was now in sight dead ahead to the N. Lupe could already see the top of Bear Butte sticking up over the ridge.

Just N of Bear Butte Creek. The first big ridge is seen up ahead.

Lupe gained only about 175 feet in elevation going from Bear Butte Creek up to the high points on the top of the first big ridge. She was soon there. Once up on this first ridge, Centennial Trail No. 89 turns ENE and runs along the top of the ridge for more than a mile. Bear Butte is visible off to the NE the entire way.

Lupe up on the S edge of the 1st big ridge. Photo looks W along the ridge toward the Black Hills.

Looking E along the S edge of the 1st big ridge.

There's Bear Butte to the NE! The first big ridge is broad and flat. The Centennial Trail follows a dirt road along the top of the ridge. A few livestock watering tanks are scattered along the way, but Lupe didn't see any cows up here this day. Clearly she's not going to get impaled on any deadfall timber up here! — There’s Bear Butte to the NE! The first big ridge is broad and flat. The Centennial Trail follows a dirt road along the top of the ridge. A few livestock watering tanks are scattered along the way, but Lupe didn’t see any cows up here this day. Clearly she’s not going to get impaled again on any deadfall timber up here!

Lupe followed Centennial Trail No. 89 ENE along the first big ridge, getting closer to Bear Butte. Lupe kind of missed the forests of the Black Hills, and looking for squirrels. It was a little dull on the snowy prairie, but at least she wasn’t going to get impaled on anything. Sometimes she tromped along right behind SPHP. Sometimes she trotted along off the trail sniffing the cold ground.

There had been plenty of tracks in the snow in the short distance between Hwy 34 and Bear Butte Creek. However, by the time Lupe was up on the first big ridge, there were no tracks in the snow at all. No other American Dingoes or humans had been up here since the snow fell four days earlier. Lupe and SPHP saw absolutely no one on the trail all day long. The sound of traffic on Hwy 34 was mildly annoying, but Lupe and SPHP were alone.

Before starting down off the first big ridge, SPHP took a few pictures to show Lupe’s progress toward Bear Butte, and the expanse of prairie Centennial Trail No. 89 would cross to get to the second big ridge.

Lupe near the point where Centennial Trail No. 89 leaves the first big ridge. Bear Butte looms in the distance, still a few miles away.

Bear Butte from Centennial Trail No. 89. Bear Butte Lake is barely visible over the top of the second big ridge ahead. Photo looks NE.

Centennial Trail No. 89 goes down off the first big ridge at a small gap in the ridgeline. Although part of the ridge continues on to the E, the trail doesn’t go there. Instead, the trail drops down into the gap, and then turns NNE to cross more than a mile of lower ground on the way to the second big ridge.

Near the base of the first ridge, there is a patch of bushes and small scattered trees where birds take shelter. Lupe enjoyed sniffing around in the bushes for a few minutes.

On the way down the gap from the first big ridge is this small patch of bushes and scattered trees. Lupe enjoyed sniffing around here. A few birds flew away at the Dingo's approach. — On the way down the gap from the first big ridge is this small patch of bushes and scattered trees. Lupe enjoyed sniffing around here. A few birds flew away at the American Dingo’s approach.

The entire area between the ridges is open grassland. There was nothing remarkable along the way, except the solitude, which was somewhat marred by the sound of traffic on Hwys 34 & 79. At least the traffic couldn’t be heard quite as clearly along in here.

Although the beauty of the prairie isn’t as dramatic as that of the mountains; the solitude, big sky and long unbroken views are all enjoyable, too. Peaceful, if somewhat bleak scenes stretched off in every direction on this snowy December day. Lupe and SPHP trudged along, and eventually reached the top of the second big ridge.

Lupe near the top of the second ridge. Photo looks SSW back along Centennial Trail No. 89 toward the first big ridge.

The second big ridge isn't as distinct a rise as the first one was. The second ridge is narrow, and the Centennial Trail No. 89 just crosses it without following it. Here Lupe is on the high point of the second big ridge where the trail crosses it. Photo looks NE toward Bear Butte. Lupe is definitely much closer to Bear Butte Lake now, which can be seen more clearly ahead. — The second big ridge isn’t as distinct a rise as the first one was. The second ridge is narrow, and the Centennial Trail No. 89 just crosses it without following it. Here Lupe is on the high point of the second big ridge where the trail crosses it. Photo looks NE toward Bear Butte. Lupe is definitely much closer to Bear Butte Lake now, which can be seen more clearly ahead.

The Bear Butte Lake trailhead for Centennial Trail No. 89 is a short distance off Hwy 79 near the SE end of the lake. Lupe and SPHP went around the S side of Bear Butte Lake to the trailhead. The trailhead features a big gravel parking lot, a few old picnic tables, and a small grove of trees.

SPHP stopped at one of the picnic tables, and had some banana bread and an apple. Lupe wasn’t really hungry yet, she just had a little Taste of the Wild. She didn’t even want any water, since she’d been eating snow along the way. She sniffed around the parking lot, but didn’t find anything of interest. When SPHP offered her some banana bread, she took it and stashed it in a safe place, just in case she needs it later. Carolina Dogs like to plan sensibly for the future!

The N wind had blown snow across Bear Butte Lake to form drifts. Here Lupe is among the snow drifts near a little bay on the S side of the lake. Photo looks N.

Lupe on a small ridge S of Bear Butte Lake. Photo looks NE toward Bear Butte. Lupe still hasn't reached the Bear Butte Lake TH yet, but she is getting close. — Lupe on a small ridge S of Bear Butte Lake. Photo looks NE toward Bear Butte. Lupe still hasn’t reached the Bear Butte Lake TH yet, but she is getting close.

Bear Butte from close to the Bear Butte Lake TH of Centennial Trail No. 89. Photo looks NE.

After the brief rest break at the Bear Butte Lake trailhead, Lupe and SPHP decided to circumnavigate Bear Butte Lake. Lupe went a short distance E to Hwy 79, which she followed N to Bear Butte Lake Road. Bear Butte Lake Road is a major gravel road, and had some traffic on it. Lupe followed it W along the N shore of Bear Butte Lake to a campground.

Looking SW across Bear Butte Lake toward the Black Hills from the N shore just off Bear Butte Lake Road.

Lupe and SPHP left Bear Butte Lake Road, and went through the campground to a little road along the NW side of the lake. There Lupe saw a rare sight! A bald eagle was sitting high up in a tree some distance away near the W end of the lake. SPHP managed to get a picture of it with the telephoto lens before it flew away.

Looking ESE across Bear Butte Lake from the campground on the N side of the lake.

Looking back toward the campground and Bear Butte from the little road on the NW side of Bear Butte Lake.

Bald eagle in a tree near the W shore of Bear Butte Lake.

A little way W of Bear Butte Lake, Lupe and SPHP returned to Centennial Trail No. 89 again. Lupe had been clear around Bear Butte Lake. Now it was time to head back to the G6. On the return trip, Lupe and SPHP got to enjoy Centennial Trail No. 89 heading in the opposite direction, going SW toward the Ft. Meade trailhead.

W of Bear Butte Lake, Lupe rejoined Centennial Trail No. 89 here. The second big ridge now lies ahead. Photo looks W.

View of the ranchlands W of the 2nd big ridge. Photo looks W.

Looking SE at the 2nd big ridge from Centennial Trail No. 89. The part of the 2nd big ridge shown here is well S of where the trail crosses the ridge.

Lupe between the two big ridges. Photo looks SSW toward the first ridge.

A final look back at Bear Butte to the NE. Lupe is once again up on the first big ridge here.

Along the S edge of the first big ridge. Photo looks W.

Looking S toward Ft. Meade from the first big ridge. The trees along Bear Butte Creek are lined up ahead.

Looking W along Bear Butte Creek from the Centennial Trail No. 89 footbridge.

Despite a rather leisurely pace taken on Expedition No. 149, Lupe was back at the G6 by 3:01 PM (37°F). With winter solstice just 2 days away, the sun was already quite low in the sky, but it was still up. Lupe paid a visit to Ft. Meade, which was a cavalry outpost during the late 1800’s.

Sign at the old Ft. Meade parade grounds.

Fort Meade was established during the winter of 1878-1879. Here, the 7th Cavalry was re-formed after it’s disastrous defeat under General George A. Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer’s Last Stand) in Montana, in June 1876.

Comanche, a 7th Cavalry horse, and sole surviving member of the cavalry found on the Little Bighorn battlefield, was retired at Ft. Meade with military honors. Ft. Meade survived as a military installation until 1944, when it became the site of the current Veteran’s Administration Hospital.

After visiting Ft. Meade, Lupe and SPHP drove over to Bear Butte. At a pullout along Hwy 79, Lupe and SPHP stopped to take a look at Bear Butte from the NW.

A closer look with help from the telephoto lens.

Lupe NW of Bear Butte. South Dakota’s 111 mile long Centennial Trail No. 89, which ends in Wind Cave National Park in the Black Hills, starts at the top of Bear Butte.

Lupe didn’t get to bark at any squirrels on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 149, but she did get to spend the day outdoors wandering the prairie with SPHP. Most importantly, she didn’t get hurt again, and continues to get better. Lupe is back in action. She will return again soon with more American Dingo adventures in the Black Hills and beyond!

Links:

Next Black Hills Adventure Prior Black Hills Adventure

Next Trail Section South:

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 241 – Centennial Trail No. 89: Alkali Creek to Fort Meade (12-10-18)

Centennial Trail No. 89 Map & Brochure

Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s Black Hills Expeditions Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.

Lupe’s uncle Joe and cousin Dusty from Arvada, CO arrived in town late Thursday evening prior to Memorial Day weekend. Naturally, Joe, Dusty, Lupe & SPHP wanted to start the weekend off right with an outing the very next day. A 70% chance of rain was in the forecast, so rather than go up into the higher Black Hills, Joe suggested a hike he is fond of which he refers to as “The Ponderosa”. The Ponderosa hike starts at the Alkali Creek trailhead on the Centennial Trail No. 89 just a few miles SE of Sturgis, SD, and goes N from there up a pine-covered ridge and back down again onto a more open ridge. This area is on the very NE edge of the Black Hills.

However, upon reaching the Alkali Creek trailhead, Joe changed his mind and suggested doing a part of the Centennial Trail a bit farther to the N. After driving a couple of miles farther N, the G6 was abandoned at the Fort Meade National Cemetery. Lupe and Dusty served as advanced scouts along the Centennial Trail heading N from there. Joe and Dusty had never been on this part of the Centennial Trail, although Lupe and SPHP had. From the cemetery, it was a 0.5 mile heading N generally downhill through pine and scrub oak forest to the Fort Meade trailhead. Lupe and Dusty sniffed around what remained of the foundations from some old buildings along the way, and generally had a good time roaming around.

Just N of the Fort Meade trailhead, the Centennial Trail crosses Hwy 34 less than a mile E of Sturgis. From there the trail heads N into the trees along Bear Butte Creek, across a wooden bridge, and then heads up onto a barren exposed ridge. Once up on the ridge, the Centennial Trail turns and heads ENE in the direction of Bear Butte (4,422 ft.), which is in clear view a few miles away.

Up on the ridge there was a S breeze blowing. It was unseasonably cool out, somewhere in the 50’s although it was near mid-day. The sky was all overcast, and the clouds were especially dark back to the W towards the Black Hills. The ponderosa pines growing on the hills made them look quite dark in contrast to the lighter green of the prairie. It really was very pleasant out in the cool breeze, shaded by the clouds. N of the ridge was open ranch land dotted by little stock ponds. It has been wet recently, so the stock ponds were full.

The Centennial Trail eventually leaves the ridge to go down into a lower area between the ridge and Bear Butte Lake. Joe, Dusty, Lupe and SPHP went partway down the ridge before stopping at some low rocks sticking up out of the prairie. Using rocks for stools during a short rest break, Joe and SPHP ate energy bars while admiring the scene. Lupe and Dusty had water and Taste of the Wild. Dusty doesn’t normally get Taste of the Wild and was pretty enthusiastic about it. Dusty was prepared to devour the entire supply on the spot, but SPHP rationed it out.

Lupe & Dusty up on the ridge a few miles SW of Bear Butte. The 111 mile long Centennial Trail starts at the top of Bear Butte, and runs S through the Black Hills to Wind Cave National Park.

When the rest break was over, Joe was ready to head back. Everyone had just as good a time on the return trip to the S as before. Lupe and Dusty investigated everything along the way again, and at one point both dogs ran far off down the ridge before racing back to arrive breathless and panting hard. Despite the forecast, the rain held off. For Lupe and SPHP, it had been a pretty short trip, barely enough to qualify as one of Lupe’s expeditions, but it was a pleasant time spent with good company.

Lupe was thrilled with this expedition. After spending most of the first few weeks of May indoors due to inclement weather and waiting many days for SPHP to finish up on some work that had a deadline, Lupe finally got to spend some time sniffing, exploring, running and roaming around again.

The fun wasn’t done yet either. Lupe got to spend the evening with her Uncle Joe, Aunt Andrea, Grandma Kitty, Cousin Dusty and SPHP at her grandma’s house at the edge of the big canyon. Hamburgers and chocolate ice cream were on the menu. A very satisfied dingo spent the late evening snoozing on the plush carpet at Grandma’s house while the rain finally started outside.

Links:

Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition

Centennial Trail No. 89 Map & Brochure

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 149 – Centennial Trail No. 89: Fort Meade to Bear Butte Lake (12-19-15)

Next Trail Section South:

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 241 – Centennial Trail No. 89: Alkali Creek to Fort Meade (12-10-18)

Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s Black Hills Expeditions Adventure Index , Dingo Vacations Adventure Index, or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.