8:34 AM, 41ºF, Silver City trailhead –
Deerfield Trail No. 40 again, SPHP? We were just here with Cousin Dusty!
I know it, and it was a fun time, too! Pure inspiration! Hope you’re ready for a big adventure today, Loopster.
Aren’t I always? What’cha got in mind?
Silver City to Daugherty Gulch. Roughly 11.25 miles one way, I figure. Then if we still have any moxie left, we’ll tack on another couple of miles to climb Peak 5800 before circling back to Deerfield Trail No. 40 via USFS Road No. 530 and the Slate Creek Dam.
Oh, that is a big day! We better get crackin’!
Five days ago it had been snowing when Lupe had been here with Cousin Dusty and Uncle Joe. What a difference those 5 days had made! Suddenly it was springtime – blue skies, tweeting birds, the whole bit! Progress was rapid on the broad, flat trail. Silver Peak (5,810 ft.) was soon coming into view.
Just beyond the Silver Peak view, Lupe crossed the 4th bridge already over Rapid Creek. The first 3 had been concrete and as wide as a road, but this one was an all wooden pawbridge complete with railings. All the rest of the bridges across Rapid Creek would be like this.
Deerfield Trail No. 40 narrowed after crossing the wooden pawbridge, but was still well-beaten and super easy to follow, remaining flat and rock-free. The trail passed mostly through the forest, but was never far from Rapid Creek.
Five minutes from the first pawbridge, Lupe came to her Dingo Cave, a great spot to hang out during a hail storm.
No hail expected today, so the American Dingo went right on by, enjoying the sunshine as the day warmed up. Rapid Creek is the largest stream in the Black Hills, and this beautiful stretch of Deerfield Trail No. 40 along it certainly had to rank among the most scenic hikes in the entire region.
Every now and then, another pawbridge appeared. After the 5th one, Loop reached a big bend in the river not far from where Spurgeon Gulch comes in from the N. W of Spurgeon Gulch, the trail passed through a region of tall, slender bushes. Beyond the bushes was another super scenic trail segment along Rapid Creek.
Ordinarily quite a clear-running stream, Rapid Creek’s color resembled the muddy Mississippi today with all the spring run-off.
Nearly 0.4 mile W of Spurgeon Gulch and Canyon City, Lupe came to a 6th and final pawbridge over Rapid Creek. Crossing it, she followed a long straight stretch of Deerfield Tail No. 40 going WSW on the S side of the creek. In the shade of a mountain, much of this part of the trail was still icy. After 0.33 mile, Lupe came to a big bank of ice at the confluence of Slate Creek and Rapid Creek.
Looper was now 3.33 miles from the Silver City trailhead. Slate Creek, a mere tributary of Rapid Creek, was running as high as SPHP could ever remember seeing it. Something was missing, wasn’t it?
Seems we’ve reached the Slate Creek glacier, SPHP! Watch your step! Might be pretty slippery for you!
So we have, Looper. Say, didn’t there used to be a bridge over Slate Creek here? Not a big pawbridge with railings like the ones over Rapid Creek, just 4 or 5 planks on end bolted together.
Don’t really remember, SPHP. Been a while since we’ve been here, like years! Maybe there was, or maybe we always rock-hopped Slate Creek? Never had this much water in it before!
Well, hard to say. I don’t remember, either, but I was sort of expecting a plank bridge here, since I remember lots of them across Slate Creek farther upstream.
You aren’t saying we’re done already, are you, SPHP? Slate Creek still isn’t very deep! Can’t you wade across it?
Yup! In fact, I even brought water shoes, since I do remember at least one ford farther up Slate Creek. Guess they’re about to come in handy a lot sooner than I thought.
Lupe waited while SPHP switched from boots to water shoes prior to fording Slate Creek. The water shoes were actually SPHP’s old gray and blue Merrell running shoes bought in Haines, Alaska in 2017. When brand new, they were the prettiest shoes SPHP had ever had, almost like dancing slippers, but now they were dingy and falling apart. No matter! As long as they still held together, they were light-weight and perfect for fording streams.
Slate Creek was frigid, but the water shoes worked perfectly. Once across, there was another delay as SPHP sat in the sun swapping back over to boots. As soon as that was accomplished, Loopster hit the trail again. Deerfield Trail No. 40 abandoned Rapid Creek. For the next 4.25 miles, it would follow Slate Creek upstream instead.
Deerfield Trail No. 40 had been flat and smooth all along Rapid Creek, but going up the smaller Slate Creek valley, it soon became rockier and started gaining elevation. Still an easy trek, but not quite the total cake walk it had been before.
Within 5 minutes, Loopster came to another stream crossing. Just like SPHP remembered, a sturdy plank bridge went over Slate Creek.
As the Carolina Dog continued up the valley, Deerfield Trail No. 40 kept crossing Slate Creek at short intervals in a narrow gorge. The 2nd and 3rd crossings also had plank bridges, but approaching the 4th crossing Lupe discovered that the bridge had washed out.
Water shoe time! SPHP donned them again prior to fording the stream. Then it was back to putting on the boots once more before Lupe could keep going.
Didn’t take long to became apparent that the whole process of constantly switching footwear was a ridiculous waste of time. The bridges were out everywhere! Sick of it, and now used to the cold water, SPHP relegated the boots to the pack, marching along in water shoes as Lupe came to one ford after another.
SPHP kept count of the number of times Deerfield Trail No. 40 crossed Slate Creek after starting up the valley. After the 9th crossing, the trail climbed 50 feet above creek level. On the way up the steep hillside, Loop found another glacier slowly melting away in the shade of a bend. This second Slate Creek glacier was centered on the trail, and treacherously sloped and slippery, but SPHP managed to get over it without mishap.
Beyond the glacier, the trail flattened and stayed well above Slate Creek for a little way, but Lupe was soon fording it again. It wasn’t until Loop got to the 12th crossing that she found another bridge intact.
No bridge at the 13th crossing, but after that none were washed out for a while. In fact, there were 2 bridges at both the 15th and 17th crossings. By the time Lupe got past the 16th crossing, the Slate Creek valley was widening out to a considerable degree.
The journey up the narrow gorge had been scenic with a very secluded feel to it. As the valley opened up, that sense of seclusion diminished, and the stream crossings were more spaced out. After the 17th crossing, Lupe reached the Flannigan cabin. Not much was left of it mouldering away beneath a stand of ancient spruce trees.
Doesn’t take an American Dingo long to inspect a wreck like that! A brief examination, and Lupe pressed on. Deerfield Trail No. 40 crossed Slate Creek for the 18th time beyond the confluence with Rapid Creek just past the cabin. A green gate in a pole fence led to a circular drive where USFS Road No. 606 dead-ended at the lower end of Spaw Gulch.
Lupe went through another green gate on far side of the circle. Beyond it was a sign about an old road that used to follow Slate Creek, crossing it 25 times in 3.5 miles!
Only 25, SPHP? At the rate we’re going, we’re going to beat that record!
Sure enough, Lupe continued to come to more stream crossings. Since there had been perfectly good plank bridges over all of them for some time now, a short break was taken after No. 20 while SPHP abandoned the water shoes, exchanging them for boots again. A chocolate coconut bar got shared before following the trail up over a little ridge.
On the other side of the ridge, Loop came to a place that looked sort of like a campsite. 5 sections of big logs stood arranged in an “X” pattern out in the middle of this area. Lupe got up on the center log.
She was still standing there, when SPHP noticed a hole resembling an old mining dig over in the hillside to the E. Further inspection revealed a short tunnel through the ridge.
Venturing in, the tunnel opened up at the far end at a spot overlooking Slate Creek. Inside the tunnel, some filthy ancient plywood shelves were arranged like bunk beds along one side. Attached to the shelves was a clear plastic sleeve containing an astonishing bright new sheet of paper.
In this rat hole out in the middle of nowhere? You have got to be kidding me!
What’s it say, SPHP?
It’s says the world has completely lost it’s mind, Looper!
Nonsense! It does not! What does it really say?
It’s a warning notice about Covid-19, Loop. Talks like this is the Holiday Inn or something.
Here? Doesn’t look like anyone has been here in ages!
Exactly my point, except, of course, for whoever thought this joint needed a Covid-19 notice. If Covid-19’s here, they must have brought it with them!
Whether the notice was totally Looney Tunes, or not, Loopster didn’t have a reservation at this 0 star establishment, and it was still a long way to Daugherty Gulch. The American Dingo pressed on.
Deerfield Trail No. 40 continued to wind SW following Slate Creek. Lupe came to several more creek crossings with plank bridges. After No. 23, a brown wand marking the route pointed off toward the R, away from the obvious trail. Evidently a re-route up a less traveled path in order to avoid another couple of creek crossings ahead.
The official route climbed 60 feet before topping out near a rocky point overlooking the next part of the Slate Creek valley. Part of USFS Road No. 245.1A was in sight. The topo map showed a short section of the road paralleling Slate Creek before leaving the valley.
Continuing back down into the valley, the trail now led to a set of stairs with rock walls. However, the stairway was virtually unusable due to an enormous spruce tree which had collapsed along the length of it. Even so, Loop was soon through this obstacle, and approaching an impressive natural rock wall towering next to Slate Creek.
The huge rock wall was quite a scenic spot! Nearby was a 24th crossing of Slate Creek. No bridge, but paving stones made for a super easy ford as SPHP employed the water shoes again.
Beyond the impressive rock wall, the Slate Creek valley was even more open. A 25th stream crossing, another ford with paving stones instead of a bridge, wasn’t far from the 24th one, but that was the last ford.
Wasn’t the last stream crossing, though! The crossings were farther apart now, but the count continued to rise as the Carolina Dog crossed one bridge over Slate Creek after another. Meanwhile, she was seeing lots of deer and having a fabulous time!
The trail went on and on. Lupe finally arrived at a fork. A brown wand along a path going SW across a big field indicated that this was the way Deerfield Trail No. 40 went. At the far end of the field, Slate Creek ran along the base of a forested hill. The last bridge over the steam, crossing No. 35, if SPHP hadn’t lost count somewhere along the way, was visible from the divide.
Crossing the field and the last bridge, Lupe left the Slate Creek valley. Deerfield Trail No. 40 started steeply up a slope, but quickly turned L and began to switchback less aggressively higher. Near the top of a ridge, the trail ran W along the N side before crossing over to the S.
For the first time today, the cheerful sound of flowing water was absent and missed, but Lupe had gained enough elevation to get a distant view of some forested hills, the higher ones still sporting a little snow. Not a spectacular scene, but a pleasant one.
How much farther to Daugherty Gulch, SPHP?
Still a ways, Loop. About 3.67 miles from where we left Slate Creek.
Trending W or SW, the trail leveled out as it began winding along the top of the ridge. Lupe visited a couple of high points separated by 0.33 mile, the second one a bit higher than the first.
The high points had only a minor drop between them, but Loop came to a larger drop after passing the second one. During the descent, the trail went by an old horizontal mining shaft. Turned out it wasn’t very big, and the Carolina Dog didn’t find anything of interest in it.
Losing 160 feet of elevation heading S into a valley, the trail bottomed out at a junction with an abandoned road. Deerfield Trail No. 40 turned W again here, but not for long. The road kept going W, but within a few hundred feet, the trail veered SW up a steeper drainage. Before long it was curving NW. Upon regaining all the elevation she’d just lost, Lupe arrived at a minor pass.
Going over the pass, a smaller drop of 50 feet ensued. Soon USFS Road No. 245 could be seen ahead. The trail turned W, paralleling the road for a little way before merging with it just before the road came to another pass. At about 5,500 feet, this pass was the high point of Deerfield Trail No. 40 between Silver City and Daugherty Gulch.
From the pass, No. 245 went NW down Lind Gulch for more than a mile. A bit muddy at first, the road hike was super easy, although not terribly interesting. After losing 400 feet of elevation, Lupe finally reached a gate where the Mickelson Trail crossed the road.
Deerfield Trail No. 40 abandoned USFS Road No. 245, turning SW along the Mickelson Trail. Site of a former railroad line, the Mickelson Trail curved W on a gradual incline that led to a tunnel that trains used to run through many years ago. The tunnel was pretty cool!
Beyond the tunnel, the trail continued W on a slight incline for nearly 0.33 mile before starting to curve S. A trailhead sign appeared ahead. Soon Lupe was going through a green gate, down a little slope to the W, over a tiny tributary of Castle Creek, and across Mystic Road.
3:38 PM, 58ºF, Daugherty Gulch trailhead –
Congratulations, Loopster! We made it!
Thank you, SPHP! Such a beautiful trek, especially the parts along Rapid Creek and Slate Creek. Really wonderful!
Yes, indeed! Best part of the entire Deerfield Trail, if you ask me, although the loop around Deerfield Reservoir is mighty nice, too.
7 hours, though, SPHP! We sure took our sweet time getting here! Are we still going to climb Peak 5800, too? Do you have it in you?
Sure! We’ll share another chocolate coconut bar up there. Maybe that will spur me on? Wha’dya say?
Last one there is a human!
Not much doubt about that! Some things never change. 5 minutes after arriving at the Daugherty Creek trailhead, the Carolina Dog headed back to the Mickelson Trail. Turning S, the trail slowly, relentlessly, continued uphill.
Keeping an eye on Mystic Road to the W, SPHP watched for side roads. USFS Road No. 241 came first. It went SW up Daugherty Gulch. For some odd reason, the Daugherty Gulch trailhead was actually located at Whitetail Gulch. No logical explanation seemed possible other than that someone was confused when they named it.
The next road was the critical one. When USFS Road No. 231.1A came into sight, that was the signal to start looking SE. Looper would start her ascent of Peak 5800 following the next ridge the Michelson Trail went by in that direction.
Worked great! Climbing from the WNW, the Carolina Dog was soon on top of the mountain.
4:48 PM, 55ºF, Peak 5800 – Peak 5800’s summit proved to be a large flat area of open forest with no obvious absolute high point. SPHP dropped the pack beneath a big Ponderosa pine with many branches that seemed to be about where the highest ground was. Nearby stood a weathered tree stump. 4 feet tall, it was almost as if it were a post deliberately set to mark the summit location.
Congratulations were once again in order! Praising Lupe, SPHP shook her paw, but wasn’t going to get off that easy. The chocolate coconut bar had to be delivered as promised, along with a silver bowl full of Taste of the Wild. SPHP ate the last of two apples, the first one having met its fate hours ago.
For a while Lupe and SPHP just sat there, looking WSW across a barren spot. Never know what you might see when you climb a new peak in the Black Hills. As it turned out, there were enough trees on Peak 5800 to mar the views in all directions. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. Plenty of glimpses of hills and ridges, but no clear views.
After resting for 20 minutes, it was time to get up and move around. The summit region was big, and there weren’t that many trees! Surely Lupe could find some decent viewpoints, if she looked for them.
The viewpoints were all toward the S, somewhat below the summit’s perimeter. To the SW were high ridges difficult to identify from here. Peak 6167 and Old Bald Peak (6,130 ft.) were in sight to the ESE. To the SSE, Black Elk Peak (7,231 ft.) made Lowden Mountain (6,055 ft.) look like a little hill.
Shadows were lengthening. A long way back. 40 minutes after reaching Peak 5800, Lupe headed down the S slope. Here she came upon the best view yet, a lovely panorama due S. Black Elk Peak, Lowden Mountain, Sylvan Hill (7,000 ft.), and Redfern Mountain (6,075 ft.) on display!
After losing some elevation, Lupe turned E down into a valley that led to USFS Road No. 530. Loop had never been on this part of it before. In the evening light, No. 530 was a scenic journey and downhill practically all the way. A good thing, since there was now a need for speed!
With only few hours of daylight left, the race was on. SPHP wasn’t keen on doing close to 40 Slate Creek crossings via narrow plank bridges or outright fords in the dark, even if the stream wasn’t all that big.
The American Dingo showed great energy, often racing ahead. Herds of deer kept her excited. Progress was limited only by SPHP’s pace. Still took nearly an hour to get to the little lake at the Slate Creek Dam.
After a look at the lake, Lupe turned WNW on USFS Road No. 530.1C, which followed Slate Creek.
A little over 0.25 mile, and No. 530.1C ended. No problem! A single track trail continued down the valley. Over the course of a mile, Lupe crossed 4 or 5 more plank bridges, one of which didn’t extend all the way across the stream, before getting back to Deerfield Trail No. 40.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared from the hilltops about the time Lupe reached the fords back at the 25th and 24th Slate Creek crossings. Dusk arrived and deepened as she hurried on.
Still some light in the sky, but everything was turning pitch black down in Slate Creek’s narrow gorge by the time she got there. The flashlight had to come out before attempting to cross the slippery glacier between crossings No. 10 and No. 9.
It all went well! Every bridge, every ford! Better than expected. Once Lupe got across Slate Creek at its confluence with Rapid Creek, success was assured. Flat trail and bridges with railings the rest of the way.
Yet still miles to go in the night! In the black as eternity canyon, Rapid Creek rushed noisily downstream as silver stars glittered in a narrow band of sky visible above. On the deep space edge of the weak beam ahead, a curly tail waved, confidently leading the way. (10:30 PM, 34ºF)
Links:
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Deerfield Trail No. 40 – Map & Brochure
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