Morning in Peedee Gulch near Deadwood –
Sorry, Loopster, this just isn’t going to work.
Are you sure this is the right road, SPHP?
Yup, but I didn’t realize there was so much development going on around here, Loop. Apparently this is all private property. Peak 5452 is out. So is Lexington Hill. No access, at least from this direction.
So, what are we going to do, SPHP?
No worries! We’ve got other Lists of John peaks to try not too far away.
Peak 5266 was next on Lupe’s list of possibilities. Driving back down Peedee Gulch, SPHP turned W on Hwy 14A. At the lowest point near Whitewood Creek E of Deadwood and the junction with Hwy 85, a L (S) turn led immediately to a large dirt parking area. A “for sale” sign was advertising a lot including quite a few acres. Exactly what was for sale wasn’t clear, but a road with a single set of tracks in the snow went through an open white gate.
Hah! Maybe we can buy Peak 5266, Loop? Let’s have a look!
9:56 AM, 41ºF – Mountain shopping was an entirely new idea! Owning a piece of the Black Hills – Lupe liked the sound of that! Going through the white gate, she set off to inspect the property.
The snowy road immediately began curving SW, and quickly led to a junction with a muddy road. Following it S, Peak 5266 was already in sight only 0.75 mile ahead.
Avoiding the muck as much as possible, it wasn’t far to another curve SW where snow still covered the road. A steepish, but otherwise easy march led to a flat area. Lupe now had a clearer view of Peak 5266, and was already high enough to see Mount Theodore Roosevelt (5,680 ft.) and Peak 5360 off to the NW.
A couple more roads left the flat spot. The American Dingo took the one going SE. The initial stretch was nearly level, but the map showed that this road would eventually work its way up to a point less than 200 feet below Peak 5266’s summit. After passing under a power line, the road bent E.
Although Lupe saw no one, and didn’t come to any more for sale signs, indications of change were everywhere. Primitive side roads had been bulldozed off in various directions. Recently logged trees were stacked here and there. Electric junction boxes sat awaiting use.
Looks like this whole mountain really is for sale, SPHP!
Apparently this N slope is going to be, if it isn’t already, Loop. Destined to be turned into a housing development by the looks of things. Going to be some beautiful building sites with views up here pretty soon. Kind of sad, though. Peak 5266 will never be the same.
Humans and their progress, SPHP.
I know. What can I say? We all have to live somewhere.
Before Lupe got far enough E to reach the point where the road would turn S beginning a winding journey back W again, heavy machinery could be heard not too far ahead. Abandoning the road, Looper began climbing through the snowy forest directly up Peak 5266’s N slope.
Didn’t take long to get above the pines to a rather steep region full of young aspens. By the time Loop intercepted the road again, she was above most of the aspens, too. The road was buried under such deep snow drifts up here that there was no advantage in trying to follow it. Crossing the road as soon as she came to a spot where it was possible to do so, the Carolina Dog reached a barren slope.
The summit couldn’t be much farther! Passing minor outcroppings, Lupe headed for a limestone escarpment visible along the upper end of the slope, obvious source of several huge chunks that had broken away ages ago. Bear Butte (4,422 ft.) was already in sight far to the NE.
Once above the escarpment, open terrain that wasn’t as steep led to the summit. Several deer enjoying the day here weren’t anxious to strike up an acquaintance with a Carolina Dog. As soon as they spotted Lupe, they all dashed away, much to her disappointment.
11:09 AM, 45ºF, Peak 5266 – Lupe arrived at a summit region so big and flat that it was hard to say which little rock might be the absolute high point. Short dry grass covered the entire hilltop. No trees, only a few bushes toward the N where the terrain began gradually dropping away.
Wow! What beautiful views from up here, SPHP!
This is a sweet viewpoint, Loop! Sort of surprising for a minor peak like this, but the openness is key. The snow still lingering on the hills doesn’t hurt a thing, either.
The views really were nice. Terry Peak (7,064 ft.) off to the SW, flanked by both Deer Mountain (6,652 ft.) and Bald Mountain (6,617 ft.), was the big standout.
In the completely opposite direction, Bear Butte (4,422 ft.), looking quite small from here, lurked beyond the main body of the Black Hills.
Much more to see, too! Something of interest in almost every direction. Peak 5177, another Lists of John peak Lupe had recently visited rather late one day in January, from which she’d had a great view of the lights of Deadwood, was to the NNE overlooking the Whitewood Creek valley.
White Rocks (5,250 ft.) was only 0.5 mile W. NW, Lupe could see both the top of Mount Theodore Roosevelt (5,680 ft.) and Peak 5360, the next Lists of John peak she intended to visit.
Looking S, mostly barren slopes white with snow rose along both sides of Spruce Gulch toward unfamiliar hilltops capped by dark green pines. More to the E, Lexington Hill (5,485 ft.) and Peak 5452, which had both proven inaccessible from Peedee Gulch, were in sight.
Peak 5452 was even farther away now than it had been at Peedee Gulch. Still the wrong direction to approach it from, anyway, but Lexington Hill was a different situation.
Gosh, Loop! Lexington Hill can’t be any more than 1.5 miles from here. All open country, so we shouldn’t have any trouble getting over there. It isn’t a Lists of John peak with a minimum of 300 feet of prominence, but it’s a named peak we’ve never been to in the Black Hills. Want to try it?
No time like the present, SPHP! Let’s do it!
Loop would have to lose 300 feet of elevation before she could start up Lexington Hill. Heading down Peak 5266’s gentle SE slope, she made it to a sudden drop. Peering over the edge, the Carolina Dog found herself gazing down on someone’s house.
Someone else already bought part of Peak 5266, SPHP!
So I see. Well, we can’t go traipsing uninvited right through someone’s yard, Looper. That’s just asking for trouble. Would love to climb it, but maybe we better forget about Lexington Hill?
Forced to abandon the Lexington Hill idea, Lupe briefly returned to Peak 5266’s summit before heading down the N slope, this time aiming more directly for the flat spot where the road going back down to the muddy stretch left the mountain.
12:49 PM, 46ºF, back at the RAV4 –
Peak 5266 was pretty cool, SPHP! Fabulous views! Are we going to buy it?
Wish we could, Loopster, but I really can’t afford to buy a whole mountain.
Aww! Please, please, please! It’s not such a big mountain, but if it’s too much, then how about buying just the top? That’s where we’d want to be, anyway, you know. Imagine living way up there! We’d leave the yard all natural, so the deers could still live up there with us!
Sounds terrific, Lupe, but I didn’t see any for sale signs up top, did you? The only for sale sign is way down here near the bottom. Not nearly enough acreage involved to go clear to the top of the mountain. Don’t think it’s for sale, at least, not yet.
Maybe someday then, SPHP?
Maybe, Loop, but I think we’re dreaming.
12:56 PM, 46ºF, a pullout near the junction of Mount Roosevelt Road & Stage Run Road, 0.25 mile NW of Peak 5360 –
This should be an easy one, Looper! All Black Hills National Forest, so no access issues at all, and it’s not that far away.
Ignoring an obvious snowy lane heading directly up the hill to the SE, SPHP led Lupe past a pile of snow the plow had left at the end of the pullout. Another lane beyond the snow pile curved along the hillside, then seemed to switchback up it. However, this lane soon seemed less and less like a road, or even a path.
Buried in many places beneath a couple of feet of snow, it was hard to tell exactly what sort of route this was that Loop was trying to follow. The slope was pretty steep, but the top of the ridge didn’t look all that much higher, so a decision was soon made to simply go straight up the slope. As soon as Loopster got above the trees, which only took a few minutes, Peak 5360 was already in sight.
A little steep near the end, SPHP, but Peak 5360 is going to be cake!
2 minutes later, Lupe made it to dry ground up on the ridgeline. Slash piles left over from old logging operations dotted the ridge, and even Peak 5360’s upper slopes. An easy stroll along the open ridge, and the American Dingo was at the base of the final rocky pitch higher.
1:24 PM, 46ºF, Peak 5360 – Tilting skyward SW, the true summit of Peak 5360 was a platform of solid rock that provided an even better view of Terry Peak, Deer Mountain, and Bald Mountain than the one Lupe had enjoyed from Peak 5266. Foley Mountain (6,640 ft.) was in sight from this angle, too.
Let’s hang out right here, Loop. This is a cool summit, too. We’re really lucking out with these last 2 Lists of John peaks!
This isn’t as good a spot to build a house, SPHP. Not enough room, but what a dramatic viewpoint!
No homes allowed in the National Forest, anyway, Looper. Care for a chocolate coconut bar?
Thought you’d never ask, SPHP! Way past lunch time, you know.
Yup. There’s Taste of the Wild for you, too.
Looking down the SE ridge, Peak 5266 was in sight. Peak 5360 was only 100 feet higher, but that was enough to make quite a difference. From here, SPHP could identify some peaks Lupe hadn’t been to in a long time. Pillar Peak (5,469 ft.), Bear Den Mountain (5,642 ft.), Dome Mountain (5,512 ft.), and Anchor Hill (5,720 ft.) were all on display.
Looking W, considerably more of Theodore Roosevelt Mountain was in sight. Spearfish Peak (5,800 ft.) was now visible on the horizon, too.
The SW edge of the summit platform Lupe was relaxing on was the brink of a cliff. Peering over it, homes along both sides of Stage Run Road were visible in the valley below. None of the homeowners would have had any inkling of the dramatic setting their homes were part of from down there.
Two more high points only moderately lower than the true summit were visible out along Peak 5360’s NE ridge.
Didn’t take us long to get up here, SPHP. Want to explore those other high points? They aren’t very far away.
Sure, Loop. Why not? Looks easy.
It was a fun little trek! From the rocks at the first high point, Lupe could see Polo Peak (5,410 ft.) and Green Mountain (5,325 ft.), and enjoyed a different perspective on Peak 5360’s true summit.
The part of the ridge leading to the second high point had been clear cut, and was full of brown-needled slash piles. The ridge continued E to a third, somewhat lower, high point where it looked like there was either a monument, or giant cairn.
However, hoping to climb yet another Lists of John peak today, Lupe didn’t go that far, content with a view of Pillar Peak beyond a stretch of Hwy 14A from the second high point, instead.
Well, about time to head back. Retracing her journey along the NE ridge, Lupe returned briefly to Peak 5360’s true summit.
Loop made it to the RAV4 (2:38 PM) with plenty of time to climb another Lists of John peak, but SPHP chose poorly. Driving to Central City and taking Maitland Road N, shortly after making a R (E) turn onto USFS Road No. 195.2A, it proved too soft and mucky with melting snow to get the Carolina Dog into position to climb Peak 5260.
Well, shucks, Loopster! We aren’t close enough now to anything else you still need to climb to get there today. Guess we’re going to have to call it kind of early. Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 300! Sort of a milestone. Hope you had a good time.
Oh, I did, SPHP! Both Peak 5266 and Peak 5360 were great viewpoints, and you did make Expedition No. 300 quite memorable for me today, too!
I did? What makes you say that, Looper?
First time you’ve ever talked about buying me a whole mountain, SPHP!
Maybe someday, but probably not. Never hurts to dream.
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