Michael Zimny? No, I don’t know any Michael Zimny. Who’s that, Loop?
Mr. Zimny is with South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
That’s nice. Been listening to the radio lately?
He wants to interview you, SPHP!
Oh, come on now! What makes you think that?
That’s what he told me.
Told you? Hah! Dingo feathers! You don’t even know a Michael Zimny from SDPB or anywhere else.
Not yet, but I’m going to!
What’s got into you? Something a little stronger than usual in that water bowl these days?
Don’t believe me? Go take a look at the new comment on my blog!
Alright! A new comment on which post?
Not a post, the About & Adventure Indexes page.
Michael Zimny, March 5, 2020, 2:09 PM – Hi SPHP, I’d like to interview you some time for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, maybe a interview-ascent could be arranged, if you’d be interested. Let me know. Thanks.
Well, I’ll be! Heh, I’ll have to think about how to let Michael down easy, while still appearing grateful for the opportun …. Hey, wait a minute! What’s this? You already answered him?!
Lupe, March 5, 2020, 8:22 PM – Hi, Michael! If there is an ascent involved, count me in! I’ll work on that persnickety SPHP. Look for an email from us soon.
Told ya, SPHP! It’s my big chance at fame and fortune! Plus we get to meet my new publicity director, Michael Zimny, and climb a mountain in the Black Hills! It’s perfect!
Perfect, except for one thing, Miss Fame & Fortune! I’m not doing it!
Oh, yes you are, SPHP! Michael is expecting a list of possible peaks to choose from to climb during this interview, and I’ve promised you would be sending that to him soon. So figure something out, and get with the program.
Listen to me, Loop. I’m no public speaker. I sound like Kermit the Frog! I’m not going to do a radio interview, and be humiliated in my own home state!
Oh, pooh! It’s not public speaking, SPHP. It’s radio! Just you, me, and Michael going on a little trek up a mountain together. A simple private chat that will get recorded and edited. No live audience, so if you still somehow manage to humiliate yourself across South Dakota, you’ll never even know it. Besides, I’m counting on you not to do that. I’ll get Michael to fix your voice somehow. They must have audio technicians at SDPB. Who would you like to sound like?
Oh, I don’t know. How about having them change me into Lady Gaga? That’s about what it’s going to take for your fame and fortune scheme to work.
Lady Gaga? Good choice, but that’s a real stretch, SPHP. I’ll see what Mr. Zimny can do, but don’t expect miracles.
Believe me, I don’t. Not going to do this, anyway. We’ve still got lots of work to do to get Grandma’s house ready for the market. She’s depending on us. Besides, what am I going to say? We climb a bunch of mountains no one has ever heard of in the Black Hills?
Oh, please, please, please, SPHP! You’ve got to do it! Don’t make me look bad in front of Mr. Zimny! I’ve already told him you would. It won’t take all that long. Grandma will understand, and we can get right back to work on her house as soon as it’s over. We haven’t been anywhere in months now! Don’t I deserve a teensy tiny break? Can’t we climb just one little mountain in the Black Hills with Mr. Zimny? What to say is easy! Just talk about me! I’m your favorite subject, aren’t I? And say something good about the Black Hills! They’re our home, and we love them!
Tell you what, Loop. I’ll think about it. Let’s leave it at that for a day or two. No promises. OK?
Only if you agree to give it serious consideration, SPHP. Will you?
I suppose! If that’s what you want.
Fabulous! You’re never going to regret this, SPHP! You’ll see! Soon we’ll be climbing that beautiful mountain with Michael Zimny, and launching ourselves to fame and fortune on SDPB!
Umm, yeah. Now who’s expecting miracles?
3-11-20, 7:00 AM Centennial Trail off Hwy 16, Samelius Peak trailhead – Michael Zimny was right on time! Miss Fame & Fortune was waiting for him. Pre-transformed Lady Gaga, too!
First things first! After brief self-introductions, Miss Fame & Fortune wanted a quick photo with her new publicist, Michael.
The interview plan was simple enough. It started off with an informal recorded chat between SPHP and Michael while hiking a 0.75 mile long section of the Centennial Trail. Lupe would then lead the way up the N ridge of Samelius Peak(5,856 ft.).
Turned out Michael is originally from Chicago, but has served in the army and lived in many different places. He was easy to talk to since he was enthusiastic about South Dakota, and loves hiking in the Black Hills and Badlands.
Soon Lupe, Michael, and SPHP were all at the top of the mountain. Loop was thrilled to be out in the Black Hills again, even if only for this one peak.
20 or 30 minutes at the summit and the interview was about done. A round of chocolate coconut granola bars for everyone, then it was down the mountain. Partway down, out of the breeze where the microphone worked best, Michael wanted to stop to ask SPHP a few final questions.
And that was it. Back to the trailhead, good-byes and thank yous, and the interview was over. Lupe’s new friend and publicist Michael Zimny was on his way, and so were Looper and SPHP.
Two months went by before Michael sent an email saying the interview was going to be broadcast that Friday, May 15th at 10:27 AM during the “In the Moment” show. Naturally, Lupe and SPHP tuned in!
21 minutes and 44 seconds of fame, Loop! More than our fair share, you know. Normally 15 minutes is about it for us mere mortals.
Went pretty well, don’t you think, SPHP?
Considering how little I gave them to work with, our friend Michael Zimny, along with Lee Strubinger, Joshua Haiar, Cara Hetland and the rest of the gang at SDPB did a fabulous job! I am disappointed with one thing, though.
What’s that?
My transformation into Lady Gaga seems to have been a complete flop.
Some things are technologically impossible, SPHP. You weren’t expecting a miracle, were you?
So as not to disappoint her fans, The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe and YouTube hereby present:
Not even close, SPHP! But did you notice those big dogs with Lady Gaga? How do you think I’d look if I dye my fur white? Instead of black spots, I’ll have stripes like a zebra! Since we’ve got the fame, but fortune still eludes us, Michael can bill me as the world’s first American Zingo on South Dakota Public TV! Maybe there’s money in video?
Oh, no you don’t! Just forget it, you crazy Dingo! We’re not doing any video!
Many thanks to Michael Zimny and everyone at South Dakota Public Broadcasting!
Start: 9:09 AM, 58°F, Spring Creek trailhead of Centennial Trail No. 89
Lupe was back! For the second week in a row, she was starting her day’s adventures at the Spring Creek trailhead of Centennial Trail No. 89. Last week she had gone all the way N to Twin Sisters (5,244 ft.) and the Brush Creek trailhead. This time around, she was going to explore Centennial Trail No. 89 all the way S to the Samelius Peak trailhead.
Like last week, the first order of business was to follow the spur trail from the trailhead up Spring Creek. The spur trail would join the main trail at the Sheridan Lake dam. The Carolina Dog didn’t mind repeating this easy, scenic stroll at all.
Shortly after crossing the first of three beam bridges over Spring Creek, Lupe heard a rush of water over and above the usual noise made by the creek. She soon came to the source of this noise. A tremendous waterfall was sending a spray of water not only down into Spring Creek, but even raining down upon the opposite shore.
Lupe had been on this spur trail lots of times. No waterfall had ever been here before! Only a week ago, it hadn’t been here, either. How strange! Loop went closer to investigate.
Hmm. This wasn’t a real waterfall, at least not a natural one. Water was shooting out of the side of the canyon from halfway below the ridgeline above. Must be a pipe or some other man made source up there.
The horizontal waterfall made quite an impression. Lupe liked cooling off in its spray. Once she was cool and wet enough, she continued up the spur trail.
The spur trail joins the main Centennial Trail No. 89 at the S end of the Sheridan Lake dam. Last week Lupe had gone N across the dam. This time she didn’t. Instead, she left the dam going W across a brushy area, part of the seldom needed lake overflow channel. She quickly reached the S shore of Sheridan Lake.
A sign about Sheridan Lake was nearby. The sign mentioned the trail system and showed a map of Flume Trail No. 50. Centennial Trail No. 89 and Flume Trail No. 50 are the same trail along the SE shore of Sheridan Lake, but they split here near the dam. Centennial Trail No. 89 continues N across the dam, but Flume Trail No. 50 goes E.
Lupe followed the dual Centennial/Flume trail SW along the SE shore of Sheridan Lake. The ground right along the shoreline was fairly steep. The nearly level trail stayed 30 to 40 feet above the lake. A Ponderosa pine forest permitted only tree broken views.
0.5 mile from the dam, Lupe was getting close to Blue Wing, a residential resort community where the Flume Trail begins. The lakeshore wasn’t as steep here, so she went down to take a look at the Blue Wing inlet. The lake was smooth as glass. A red-wing blackbird was singing from a perch on a cattail. Shouldn’t it have been a blue-wing blackbird?
A footbridge led across an orange creek into the resort community of Blue Wing. The Flume trailhead of Centennial Trail No. 89 was close by. This was the W end of Flume Trail No. 50.
Centennial Trail No. 89 skirted the N end of Blue Wing on a curving stretch of paved road. After only a few hundred feet, the trail left the road heading W into open forest. It soon turned S. Looper was gaining elevation steadily now. The trail began passing small rock formations.
0.5 mile from Sheridan Lake, Centennial Trail No. 89 crossed a gravel road. The trail now began to steepen. Switchbacks appeared. Lupe started getting glimpses of Sheridan Lake again.
After gaining several hundred feet of elevation, the trail turned W. It passed just S of a couple of big rock formations N of High Point 5412. Lupe left the trail to climb up onto the lowest one. Part of Sheridan Lake was in view a mile away. (topo map)
Lupe didn’t bother climbing the highest of the two rock formations. It wasn’t until the Carolina dog returned to the trail and went a bit further that she saw that the higher rock formation was already occupied! Way up near the top, a couple of turkey buzzards sat surveying the scene.
Continuing on, Centennial Trail No. 89 went down a few switchbacks and crossed a saddle leading toward High Point 5624. The trail then turned SSW passing E of High Point 5624. Here the trail bounced up and down along the mountainside. Lupe kept gaining elevation only to lose it again. Forest permitted only tree broken views of Calumet Ridge(5,601 ft.) to the ENE, and Mount Warner(5,889 ft.) to the S.
Beyond High Point 5624, Centennial Trail No. 89 left the pine forest. Lupe descended into a valley of aspens and open ground.
The trail began following a grassy abandoned road which went W up the valley. Lupe ended up back in the pine forest on a saddle at the top of a ridge. For the first time, she had tree broken views of distant ridges and mountains to the SW.
The American Dingo had reached the main ridgeline leading to Mount Warner. For the next 0.75 mile, Centennial Trail No. 89 stayed high on the ridge climbing steadily SSW toward the summit. At the top of the mountain, the trail passed 50 feet N of the true summit.
Light rain showers were sweeping in out of the N when Lupe reached the highest rocks on Mount Warner(5,889 ft.).
Lupe and SPHP took shelter from the rain along the S side of a line of rocks at the summit. Time for a break, anyway! Lupe wasn’t hungry yet, but she was ready for water. SPHP had an apple. Half an hour went by simply relaxing. The rain showers moved on and the sun came out.
Trees hid the views from Mount Warner in most directions. From down the S slope a little way, Lupe was able to get a fairly good look at both Samelius Peak(5,856 ft.) and more distant Black Elk Peak(7,231 ft.).
Lupe still had a lot of exploring to do. She returned to Centennial Trail No. 89, which now lost elevation heading SE. The trail quickly brought her to a rock shelf providing a less obstructed view of Samelius Peak.
From the rock shelf, Centennial Trail No. 89 began curving E. Loopster entered a more level area where the forest was full of deadfall timber. Pine bark beetles had taken a heavy toll here. This stretch wasn’t long, however. Soon the forest was looking better again. Lupe briefly went to check out the views from a rock outcropping 100 feet N of the trail.
The view to the N wasn’t bad. Lupe could still see a sliver of Sheridan Lake, but this was the last time she would see it. Lupe returned to the trail. It went E a little way, then turned N losing elevation more rapidly again. The terrain leveled out at a saddle between Mount Warner and High Point 5636.
From the saddle, Centennial Trail No. 89 turned SE and proceeded clear around the SE end of Mount Warner. At first, Lupe was losing elevation at an easy pace. Later on the trail wound along the mountainside going both up and down with little net elevation change.
Once around the end of the mountain, Centennial No. 89 turned NW and began climbing toward the still unseen saddle between Mount Warner and Samelius Peak. Another 1.5 miles on the trail would bring Lupe to the Samelius Peak trailhead.
However, Lupe had been on this part of the trail before. Maybe it was time for something a little different? A bit of peakbagging was in order! Lupe and SPHP left Centennial Trail No. 89 heading SE down a valley. After wandering for 0.25 mile, Loopster turned SW and began climbing. Another 0.25 mile brought her to the saddle between Hardesty Peak(5,562 ft.) and Samelius Peak(5,856 ft.).
Lupe paused in the saddle for another water break, but was soon on her way up the NNW slope of Hardesty Peak. The climb from the saddle was steep, but involved only 200 feet of elevation gain. Loop went up near the E edge of a boulder field. Before long, she was on Hardesty Peak’s E/W running summit ridge.
The true summit was only a little E of where Lupe came up. Although forest hid the views in almost every direction, both Samelius Peak and Mount Warner could be seen from here.
Time was marching on. Lupe needed to as well. Nearby Samelius Peak was her last peakbagging destination for the day. The American Dingo went back down to the saddle leading to Samelius Peak the same way she had come up.
The climb up Samelius Peak was longer than going up Hardesty Peak had been. Lupe gained more than 500 feet of elevation following a SE ridge to a S ridge, which led to the summit. Close to the summit were a few minor high points and saddles, but nothing posed any real difficulty along the way.
The weather had changed again, however, by the time Lupe reached the top. Rain showers were passing through once more. Loop discovered a crude Dingo shelter at the top of Samelius Peak. Unfortunately, it was so primitive it really didn’t provide any protection from the rain.
The Dingo shelter didn’t amount to much, but oh well. Lupe decided she was hungry! As rain sprinkled down, she devoured all of her Taste of the Wild. SPHP ate the last apple. After a while, the rain diminished as the showers moved off.
Although the top of Samelius Peak was forested, there were more openings between the trees here where Lupe could see the views than either Mount Warner or Hardesty Peak had provided.
After 45 minutes at the top of Samelius Peak, Lupe was ready to move on. She had a last look around the summit area, then headed down the mountain.
The Samelius Peak trailhead of Centennial Trail No. 89 was only 0.4 mile away to the SW. Lupe headed WSW to intercept the trail only a little N of the trailhead. For a long way, this route was quite steep, but it finally started leveling out to some degree. Lupe soon intercepted Centennial Trail No. 89 as expected.
The Samelius Peak trailhead wasn’t far from here. Even though it was the wrong direction considering the time of day, Lupe went all the way to it.
It was evening. No time to dilly dally here at the trailhead. The sun would still be up for at least an hour, maybe close to two. However, Lupe faced an 8 mile long return to the Spring Creek trailhead. Somewhere along the way, it was going to get dark.
Almost as soon as she reached the Samelius Peak trailhead, Lupe started back. This time she would take Centennial Trail No. 89 the whole way.
The sun was still up, but on the horizon when Lupe reached the summit of Mount Warner for the second time. She no more than tagged the true summit before hurrying on. Sunlight disappeared from the mountains. Dusk, then darkness. The flashlight came out before Loop reached Blue Wing. No moon, but the sky was clear and the stars were brilliant.
A black night, but reflections of starlight sparkled in Sheridan Lake as Lupe trotted by well above the shoreline. In inky darkness, she crossed the beam bridges over Spring Creek. Lupe heard, but did not see, the odd horizontal waterfall still spraying from the mountainside.
The G6 sat alone at the Spring Creek trailhead when Lupe arrived. It had been a long day, but another good one on Centennial Trail No. 89. (10:28 PM, 47°F)
At 9:38 AM (38°F), SPHP parked the G6 at the Samelius Trailhead of Centennial Trail No. 89 near Hwy 16, about 3 miles W of the Keystone “Y”. The skies were overcast, but no precipitation and a forecast high of 50°F on nearly the shortest day of the year had brought Lupe and SPHP out to do a little peakbagging.
Lupe’s first two peakbagging goals, Samelius Peak(5,856 ft.) and Hardesty Peak(5,562 ft.) were both less than a mile from the trailhead, although Lupe’s proposed route might take her a little farther than that to reach Hardesty Peak. Lupe set out heading N on Centennial Trail No. 89 up a mostly forested little valley.
The trail gained elevation at an easy pace at first, but became a little steeper as it went on. About 0.5 mile from the trailhead, Lupe reached a saddle area NNW of Samelius Peak. It was time to leave the trail, and start up the mountain.
Lupe and SPHP had been up on Mount Warner(5,889 ft.), less than a mile to the N, before on several occasions. Having seen Samelius Peak from Mount Warner, SPHP was expecting Lupe might encounter some pretty steep climbs up boulder fields near the top of Samelius Peak, since the mountain had looked pretty rocky. The climb really wasn’t bad at all, though. Lupe encountered some deadfall timber, some rock outcroppings, and snow that made it slick in some places, but even SPHP was able to maneuver around most of the obstacles without much difficulty.
On the way up, Lupe came to two high points. The first one was just a rocky spot in the forest. Lupe only had to lose a little elevation to resume her climb up the NNW slope of the mountain. At the second high point, an exposed rocky ledge jutted out toward the W. The ledge seemed quite high, and offered some pretty good views. Lupe and SPHP went out on the ledge for a look around.
This ledge provided the most open panoramic views from anywhere Lupe went on Samelius Peak, and wasn’t too far below the summit. When Lupe arrived at the summit, there were enough trees around to partially obstruct the views in most directions. The summit area wasn’t terribly large, but Lupe found several spots to pose for photos.
Lupe’s next peakbagging goal was Hardesty Peak, but where was it? It was supposed to be just 0.5 mile to the SE, but SPHP didn’t see it. Time to check the maps again. Of course, Hardesty Peak was there all along. SPHP had assumed the two mountains were about the same elevation, but Hardesty Peak at only 5,562 ft. was actually almost 300 ft. lower than Samelius Peak. That puny hill to the SE that could only be seen from the E end of the Samelius Peak summit area was it!
Lupe and SPHP left Samelius Peak heading down on the NE side of a ridge that led SE toward Hardesty Peak. At first the going was rather steep, then it became rather rocky. After Lupe had lost a fair amount of elevation, a long line of large boulders appeared ahead. The area to the NE of the boulders dropped off very steeply. However, there was a little saddle area at the start of the line of boulders where Lupe could cross over to the SW side of the ridge.
Lupe and SPHP headed for the little saddle. It took SPHP a little while to get there due to the rockiness of the area. Once there, Lupe and SPHP went to investigate a nearby high point just to the E of the little saddle. There was a nice view of Boulder Hill(5,331 ft.) and Silver Mountain(5,405 ft.) off to the NE.
Lupe still needed to lose more elevation to reach the saddle between Samelius and Hardesty Peaks. She left the high point E of the little saddle heading SSE down the mountain. This area was thinly forested, quite steep, and covered with pine needles and a fair amount of loose rock. Lupe had a great time sniffing around this way and that. Rocks slid down the slopes as SPHP came down. SPHP threw many of them back up, so they were higher than before.
It was kind of slow going, but it wasn’t hard to find a way down. Near the bottom of the slope, there was a boulder field to be traversed, and beyond the boulder field was an area that was a jumble of deadfall timber. SPHP picked a way through it all, while Lupe continued exploring the forest. It turned out that Lupe and SPHP had come down a bit S of the saddle area. Lupe had to turn N and regain about 40 feet of elevation to get to the saddle.
From the saddle, the climb up Hardesty Peak was similar to Lupe’s climb up Samelius Peak, except that she didn’t have to gain nearly as much elevation. Lupe soon reached the summit of Hardesty Peak. She paused to take a look around from the rocks at the very top.
The summit area on Hardesty Peak is a fairly long E/W trending ridge. The forested ridge is wide enough to walk along easily. It was easy to see there wasn’t any higher ground to the W of where Lupe had come up, but the forest hid the rest of the ridge to the E. Lupe and SPHP wanted to make certain she had reached the actual true summit, so Lupe went E exploring the ridge.
Lupe and SPHP went far enough E to verify that Lupe had reached the true summit back where the summit photos were taken. She had. Near the E end of the ridge, Lupe found a rather nice view looking NNW between Samelius Peak and Mount Warner. Some higher hills could be seen in the distance. There was even a faint glimpse of Custer Peak(6,804 ft.) beyond the high hills.
Lupe and SPHP left Hardesty Peak near the E end of the summit ridge, heading back down toward the saddle over to Samelius Peak. From the saddle, SPHP tried to lead Lupe N looking for Centennial Trail No. 89. Lupe crossed a couple of small ridges, but the terrain kept forcing Lupe farther E until she reached the bottom of a gulch.
Lupe turned NW to go up the little valley on its E side. Lupe and SPHP had been in this area several times before, but going down the valley. Things just looked different going up it. SPHP kept expecting Lupe would find Centennial Trail No. 89 at any time, but she kept going without coming across it. SPHP stopped to check the maps again. They provided no further clues. It couldn’t be too much farther.
Before long, Lupe came to a road heading ESE. Lupe and SPHP followed it. SPHP thought maybe Centennial Trail No. 89 was still higher up the side of the mountain, but within just a few minutes, the road led past a rocky little hillside that SPHP remembered from Lupe’s prior expeditions. The road was Centennial Trail No. 89. That was good news!
Centennial Trail No. 89 wound around the SE end of Mount Warner, leaving the road and becoming a single track trail along the way. It turned NW going up a small valley to a saddle. Instead of going over the saddle, the trail started a climb up the mountain to the S, switchbacking a little bit on the way up. Eventually the trail turned W, and passed to the S of a rock outcropping where SPHP remembered there was a view to the N. Lupe and SPHP went to the edge of the rock formation to take a look.
From the rock outcropping, Lupe could see part of Sheridan Lake and Calumet Ridge(5,601 ft.) off to the NNE. From here, it wasn’t too much farther along Centennial Trail No. 89 up to the top of Mount Warner. On the way, Lupe started hearing gunfire coming from way off somewhere in the direction of Calumet Ridge. By the time Lupe reached the top of Mount Warner, she was one nervous Carolina Dog.
SPHP wanted to get a photo of Lupe up on the highest rocks on Mount Warner, but Lupe really just wanted to be close to SPHP. The gunfire was just too unnerving. Half a dozen times SPHP persuaded her to get up on the highest rocks, but each time SPHP backed off to take the photo, Lupe would hear more gunfire within a few seconds and jump down to follow SPHP.
Finally, it worked. A brief lull in someone’s target practice restored the American Dingo’s confidence. Lupe stayed up there for her summit photo on Mount Warner. Good doggie! After one quick photo, SPHP didn’t make her stay up there any longer. She was glad it was over with, and jumped down as soon as SPHP said it was OK.
There was still some time left in the day. Originally, SPHP had thought maybe Lupe should do some exploring toward Calumet Ridge, but with all the gunfire in that direction, that just wasn’t going to work. Instead, Lupe and SPHP left Mount Warner continuing NW on Centennial Trail No. 89.
The trail gradually lost elevation following a ridgeline, but eventually turned to start heading down the NE side of the ridge on its way down to Sheridan Lake. Instead of going that way, Lupe and SPHP left the trail and started down the SW side of the ridge. It was steep, but not as steep as going down Samelius Peak had been.
Lupe lost a lot of elevation. Finally things started leveling out. Somewhere along the way, she crossed Joe Dollar Gulch. Lupe came to a maze of little roads in the forest. She followed them S or SW. SPHP led her onto roads heading SE a time or two when the opportunity presented itself. SPHP was hoping to find a road going up a little gulch just S of Joe Dollar Gulch, but it didn’t happen.
Lupe and SPHP had a nice time just wandering the back roads. Lupe trotted ahead, leaving the road here and there to investigate interesting smells in the forest. Lupe crossed a saddle shown just to the E of High Point 5157 on the Peakbagger.com topo maps. During the last part of her journey, the sound of traffic on Hwy 16 wasn’t far off to the S. When SPHP saw the little tunnel that Centennial Trail No. 89 passes through under Hwy 16, SPHP knew Lupe was almost back to the Samelius trailhead.
The sun was down and the light was fading, when Lupe reached the trailhead again. There was a bunch of trash around. SPHP spent a little time picking it up while Lupe sniffed around. At 4:38 PM (37°F), when Lupe and SPHP finally got into the G6 to head home, it was practically dark out. Climbing Samelius and Hardesty Peaks had been fun. The big loop up to Mount Warner and beyond, and then down and around to the SW was a nice bonus.
Tomorrow would be the shortest day of the year. Christmas was almost here. Nearing home, Lupe and SPHP admired the cheerful, colorful Christmas lights. 2014 was fast drawing to a close, but Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 110 wouldn’t be Lupe’s last of 2014. SPHP was glad. When you’re lucky enough to have a Carolina Dog, you just don’t want the good times to ever end.
Note: SPHP isn’t certain of the correct spelling for Samelius Peak. The sign at the trailhead on Centennial Trail No. 89 says Samelius, as do SPHP’s old USFS maps. The Peakbagger.com maps and records show it as Samelias Peak.