Record setting warmth in December in the Black Hills region meant it was expedition time for Lupe! When it hit an unbelievable 70°F+, SPHP planned to take Lupe to Cicero Peak (6,166 ft.) the very next day. Unfortunately, when morning came, SPHP got off to a late start – too late to justify the travel time. It might be extraordinarily warm out, but that didn’t do a thing to boost the limited number of daylight hours.
Since Calumet Ridge (5,601 ft.) was closer, and Lupe had never been there before either, Calumet Ridge became Lupe’s primary peakbagging goal for the day. Expedition No. 108 started at a little side road just off USFS Road No. 358 (Boulder Hill Road). Lupe was less than 0.5 mile S of Boulder Hill (5,331 ft.) and a mile N of Hwy 16, as she left the G6 at 9:43 AM (57°F) following the little side road W.
There was still ice on the road, and snow in the shadier parts of the forest. The road skirted to the N of Silver Mountain (5,405 ft.), which Lupe had climbed for the first time only a few weeks earlier on Expedition No. 105. Years ago, the Ponderosa pine forest on Silver Mountain burned almost completely in a devastating wildfire. In less than a mile, the road Lupe was following turned WSW and entered the burn area.
The road disappeared completely in the grass as Lupe headed up onto a barren ridge sweeping down to the NW from Silver Mountain. Lupe followed the ridge a little way, and then turned W heading back into the forest. She soon crossed USFS Road No. 366 at the saddle marking the high point on the road. Lupe and SPHP continued W of No. 366, climbing two forested ridges separated by a snowy little valley that drained to the N.
From the second ridge, Lupe saw another larger valley to the W. There was some open ground down there and a road. Lupe and SPHP headed down into the valley, but as Lupe neared the road, a Jeep came along and parked in the open part of the valley a bit to the S. A man with a rifle got out of the Jeep. SPHP realized he intended to do some target practice.
Lupe has never liked gunfire, and she wasn’t going to like this. SPHP hurried NW to reach the road and start heading N. When the man opened fire, Lupe was greatly alarmed. She instantly started begging SPHP to stop and hide. It was all SPHP could do to persuade her to keep going. Fortunately, it wasn’t far to a jeep trail that left the main road to climb NW up a little side valley. Lupe relaxed a little, as the sound of gunfire became less distinct and more intermittent.
The jeep trail split after about 0.25 mile. Lupe and SPHP took the branch that curved W. It started climbing more quickly as it bent around to the S. Lupe arrived up on a little ridge, where SPHP thought there might be some views, but all that could be seen were nearby low forested hills. Lupe was now up on the E slopes of Calumet Ridge, still about 400 feet below and 0.5 mile SE of the summit.
Very conveniently, Lupe found another jeep trail nearby that went NW. This jeep trail was icy, and gained elevation at a steady moderately steep pace. Lupe and SPHP soon reached the top of the ridge at a broad, flat saddle area S of the summit. The jeep trail continued on down the other side of Calumet Ridge.
Lupe and SPHP turned N. Lupe found the summit of Calumet Ridge at a rock outcropping in a shady forested area. She perched up on the highest boulder to claim her Calumet Ridge peakbagging success!
There really weren’t any views from the forested summit, but a little exploring around revealed that there was a good viewpoint not too far to the E. From there, Lupe enjoyed a wide open view off to the N and E. She could see Boulder Hill and Silver Mountain, and far beyond them out onto the plains of western South Dakota.
There was another viewpoint, too. This one was at some big rocks a very short distance NW of the summit. From here, there was a narrow view to the NW toward Sheridan Lake and the central Black Hills.
Lupe and SPHP took a little break at the summit. That meant Taste of the Wild for Lupe, and an apple for SPHP. Now what? SPHP checked the maps. The highest parts of Calumet Ridge extend for about 0.5 mile running NNW/SSE. Lupe was near the N end where the 5,601 ft. summit was shown. However, the topo map also showed a very small area enclosed by a 5,600 ft. contour toward the middle of the S end of the ridge.
Well, Lupe had better check that S summit out, too! It was so close in elevation to the N summit, that it was even possible it might actually be a bit higher. In any case, to be certain Lupe had really visited the true summit, she needed to visit the S one, too. Lupe and SPHP headed S, and started following a dirt road that winds partway along the ridge.
S of the saddle where Lupe had first reached the ridgeline, the dirt road brought Lupe to a big open pit toward the E side of the ridge. Lupe sniffed around exploring the pit. Although the Black Hills are full of old dig sites from the gold rush days in the late 1800’s, this pit was too large and too new to date back anywhere close to that long ago. SPHP could discern no particular reason why the pit was here, but there it was.
The dirt road eventually disappeared as Lupe and SPHP continued SSE along the ridge. Lupe arrived at a high spot on the W side of the ridge where there was a rock outcropping with a clear view toward Mount Warner (5,889 ft.) to the SW. Lupe could see Harney Peak (7,242 ft.), too.
Someone had left a white metal chair up here, positioned to take advantage of the view. Sadly, Lupe also noticed an old dilapidated couch fallen down below the viewpoint. It must have served the same purpose once upon a time. People and their trash! Although they like to claim everything is sacred – in practice, nothing really is.
It wasn’t much farther to the S summit. The S summit was comprised of a large rock formation, surrounded by cliffs on most sides. However, at the N end from which Lupe approached, it was only 12-15 feet up to the top, and it wasn’t quite a cliff. It looked possible to scramble up, without too much difficulty, using rocks and trees for support.
The short scramble up to the top of the S summit was scarier than the photo shows. You sure wouldn’t want to have small children attempt it. However, between the rocks and trees, there were plenty of good handholds and footholds. There must have been adequate pawholds, too. Lupe and SPHP were soon up on the S summit of Calumet Ridge.
The summit area was the size of a modest room in a house. There were trees and grass growing up there, and enough room to walk around a bit. The best views were off to the SE toward Silver Mountain, and the SW toward Mount Warner.
Since the N and S summits of Calumet Ridge weren’t in view from one another due to the forest, it wasn’t possible to form any firm opinion on which might actually be higher. In any case, Lupe had visited both.
Lupe and SPHP returned NNW to the broad saddle area where Lupe had first reached the ridgeline. Instead of going SE back down the way she had come up, Lupe took the jeep trail down the W side of the mountain. The road started off heading W, but soon made a sharp turn back to the SE. Someone was using a chainsaw in the forest a little way below the road. He didn’t see Lupe go by when she passed his truck parked in the middle of the road, but she saw him.
The road dropped rather steeply along much of its length. Lupe and SPHP soon arrived down in a valley just W of a saddle area S of Calumet Ridge. SPHP briefly considered having Lupe go on to make an attempt at climbing Samelius (5,856 ft.) and Hardesty (5,562 ft.) Peaks, located close to each other more than 2 miles to the SW. Lupe could probably climb both of them before sunset, but then there would be a long trek back to the G6 in the dark. Samelius and Hardesty would have to wait for another day.
Lupe turned E and went over the saddle. Almost immediately, she started hearing gunfire again. It was distant, but still made her nervous. She made persistent efforts to persuade SPHP to stop and hide. SPHP stopped to pet and console her. SPHP assured Lupe she wasn’t going to get shot, if she stayed close. Lupe wasn’t entirely convinced. She stuck to SPHP like glue, but still campaigned for taking shelter. SPHP had to stop several times to boost her spirits.
The area E of the saddle was a maze of little roads among low, mostly forested hills. To stay as far as possible from the gunfire, Lupe and SPHP wandered in a generally SE direction, sometimes on the roads, and sometimes just in the forest. Lupe came to a field where traffic noise from Hwy 16 could be heard not that far off to the S. Part of the field extended up into a little valley to the NE. Lupe and SPHP went that way, re-entering the forest at the end of the field.
Lupe reached USFS Road No. 366 again, a little S of the saddle where she had crossed it going W earlier in the day. This time she crossed it heading E. Although she hadn’t gone on to climb Samelius and Hardesty Peaks, she now headed for Silver Mountain. This would be Lupe’s 2nd ascent of Silver Mountain in just a few weeks. Lupe and SPHP hoped to see a dramatic sunset up there.
Lupe arrived at the top of Silver Mountain about half an hour before sunset. With the forest completely burned off the top of Silver Mountain, Lupe and SPHP enjoyed 360° views. Lupe wasn’t actually too interested in the views. Target practice was still going on off to the NW toward Calumet Ridge. She huddled under SPHP’s jacket, which made her feel safer.
Together Lupe and SPHP watched the sunset, but it never really developed much color. Once it became clear that the show was over, Lupe and SPHP started down the steep N slope of Silver Mountain.
There was a lot of dead timber on the N slope, and despite two days of very warm weather, there was still some snow, too. It was slow going coming down the mountain. Target practice continued off to the W until it was so dark stars were starting to come out.
By the time Lupe reached a road down below, twilight had faded to darkness. The road was icy and slick. SPHP didn’t recognize the place and turned the wrong direction. After about 10 minutes, SPHP realized the error and turned around. The road led Lupe all the way back to the G6. Lupe arrived at 5:31 PM. It was still a crazy 57°F out!
Lupe had a mostly fun day going to Calumet Ridge. There was too much target practice going on in the area to the E of Calumet Ridge, though. It had basically gone on all day long. Lupe and SPHP both agree that more remote locations are more to their liking.
As for Cicero, Samelius and Hardesty Peaks, which Lupe never made it to this day – Lupe did go on to climb all three and more before the end of 2014. But those Lupe adventures are the subjects of other posts.
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