11:09 AM, 46ºF, pullout on the E side of Hwy 385 – Last warm day before a big cooldown, with subzero temperatures expected by this weekend. Awesome right now, though, for a mid-January day, and Lupe was super excited! First Black Hills, SD Expedition of 2025, and the Carolina Dog was anxious to be underway.
Careful, Loopster! Stay close. There’s a ton of traffic.
Lupe knew how to cross a street, even a busy highway like this. Waiting until SPHP gave a green light, she then immediately dashed across all 4 lanes and started up the slope on the other side. After ducking under a barbed wire fence on a bank 20 feet above the highway, the American Dingo turned WSW up into the forest.
Not sure why there was even a fence here at all, Looper. My maps show this as all USFS land.
Snow and scattered small rock formations appeared in the sunlit forest as Lupe headed higher. A beautiful region, but noisy with the sound of all the traffic whizzing along Hwy 385.
After gaining 200 feet of elevation, Lupe reached a flat region where a gravel road was visible a little farther W.
That road is part of a subdivision, Loop. We need to turn S here.
Turning S, Lupe climbed a short, snowier N slope. Within minutes, a top was just ahead.
False summit, SPHP.
So, I see. Keep going, Looper. Should level out up on this next rise.
Sure enough, this next rise led to a group of rocks in the middle of a flat, grassy clearing. Lupe promptly leapt onto a large flat stone lying on top of the biggest boulder. Much quieter up here, with some nifty views.
Well, that was easy, SPHP! How about a chocolate coconut bar?
Hah! Not yet, tricksy Dingo. We’re just getting started. Today’s objectives are still off to the S. You can already see them from here.
Oh, so that’s where we’re going, SPHP? Those peaks aren’t all that far away. C’mon, let’s get to the first one! What’s it called, anyway?
Peak 6208, Loop. According to the new Lidar information, that’s higher than what the old topo maps show. Officially 431 feet of prominence now, so I thought it would be a good one to tag for your first ascent of 2025.
Heading S for Peak 6208, Lupe discovered an old road almost as soon as she left the flat rock. The road was also going S, which made life easy. Just before getting to where she would have a clear view of Peak 6208, an enormous rock aimed steeply skyward appeared off to the R.
We’ve been here before, SPHP! I recognize that rock.
Yup, we visited Peak 6181 once a long time ago, Loopster. Followed this very same road to it. Believe we named this rock, Artillery Rock.
I can see why, SPHP. Let’s check it out!
Artillery Rock sat atop a small ridge along with another rock formation that was a bit farther SW. Going up there, Lupe explored around the W side of Artillery Rock. From this perspective, it didn’t really resemble an artillery piece at all, appearing much more like a massive wall, although still composed of layers perched at a steep angle.
After going clear around Artillery Rock, there was not only a good look at Peak 6208 as Lupe returned to the road, but of another massive rock formation rising at a steep slant on a hill to the SE.
Look at that, SPHP! Sort of like another Artillery Rock over there.
Shoot, Loop. I thought Peak 6208 was going to be a cinch, but I’m kind of seeing some big, slanting rock formations among the trees up there, too. Starting to wonder if we’ll even be able to get to the summit?
Hopefully, the American Dingo wouldn’t have any problems scrambling to the top of whatever was actually up on Peak 6208, but upon realizing that Artillery Rock maybe wasn’t so unique in this region, confidence was no longer what it had been only minutes ago.
After reaching the road again, Lupe followed it to the base of Peak 6208 before abandoning it once more to start up the mountain.
A moderately steep N slope got Lupe to a broad region of tall pines and grass that sloped more gently up to the SE. Glimpses of several large rock formations were visible beyond the pines. While there were also some rock formations off to the W, it was already clear that Peak 6208’s summit was somewhere E or SE.
As Lupe headed toward the rock formation farthest E, concern grew. All of these outcroppings were pretty big and steeply inclined.
Even before the American Dingo got to where she was going, SPHP saw that a different formation a little more toward the SW was definitely Peak 6208’s true summit. Nevertheless, Lupe scrambled nearly all the way to the top of the formation she’d chosen.
That’s not the summit, Loop! Can you see it from there? Look SW!
Sort of, but not really, SPHP. Too many trees in the way.
SPHP scrambled up after Lupe, with the same result.
OK, never mind. Let’s go back down, Loopster.
The true summit wasn’t far off. Soon Lupe was standing on some rocks below its overhanging N face. No way up here, that much was certain.
12:29 PM, 47ºF, Peak 6208 – Circling around to the SW, the situation wasn’t much different. Lupe could easily get to within 15 or 20 feet of the top, but it looked dicey from there.
Stay there, Loopster! I’m coming up to take a look.
By heading toward the S face, Lupe could get another 3 or 4 feet higher, but that was it. The slope of the formation was simply too great to go straight up it, and peering around the corner, SPHP saw that the S face was even steeper, with a more than 100 foot drop to the forest below.
Dang! Here I thought this was going to be cake, an easy success for you to start New Year 2025 off with, Loopster.
These Lidar peaks with all the newly discovered prominence that you’ve gotten so interested in recently are uncommonly tough, SPHP. We’re 0-2 on them now after the fail you set me up for on my birthday.
Yeah, I’m sorry, Looper. Not off to much of a start with them, are we?
Lupe went as high as she could safely go, which was much closer to the true summit than she’d been able to get back at Peak 6530, but even so, while Peak 6208 may have been close to a success, still no banana.
Worse yet, no chocolate coconut bar, either, SPHP!
Don’t worry! Peak 6181 is a guaranteed success. We’ll split a chocolate coconut bar there, Loopster.
A shelf of rock WSW of Peak 6208’s summit had a nice view to the W. After scrambling down from her not-quite-lofty-enough perch on the summit block, Lupe enjoyed a quick look before starting for Peak 6181. Peak 6743 was in sight more than 6 miles NW.
Heading W from Peak 6208’s summit block, Lupe passed quite a few more rock formations as she journeyed through generally easy terrain. Partway down the W slope, a minor ridge off to the NW appeared likely to offer some decent views. A brief venture over that way yielded both Peak 6181 and Peak 6743 again, plus quite a bit of territory to the N.
The most striking thing about this ridge, though, was an odd fin jutting up from some curved rocks.
This is a cool spot, Loop. Out of the ordinary. We ought to give it a name.
How about Dorsal Fin Ridge, SPHP? These curved rocks look sort of like the back of a fish, don’t they? And the dorsal fin is perfectly obvious.
Continuing W, Lupe soon made it down to the same old dirt road she’d left farther N. Following it S, the road passed through fields of tall grass bordered by assorted rock formations.
It didn’t take long to reach a field in the broad saddle NE of Peak 6181. The road curved off to the SE here, so Lupe left it to begin her ascent.
Peak 6181 was arranged the opposite of the way Peak 6208 had been. Lupe passed some rock outcroppings early on, but higher up the only big rocks were along the spine of the NE ridge. Staying just S of them, the Carolina Dog climbed a virtually obstacle-free slope.
1:18 PM, 48ºF, Peak 6181 – As Lupe closed in on the summit, SPHP began noticing tracks in the snow, also headed up the mountain.
Gosh, Loop. These tracks look so fresh, they’ve got to be from today. You don’t suppose someone else might still be up here, do you?
The question answered itself a moment later, as someone another 40 or 50 feet up the slope greeted SPHP.
On this uncommonly marvelous winter day, Lupe got to meet AJ Miller, Michelle Bollinger, and Cinder. Turned out that AJ and Michelle were working on climbing the 100 highest peaks in the Black Hills, having now reached 55 of them. A noble endeavor, if ever there was one! They were just starting back to Hwy 385, where their vehicle was evidently parked at the same pullout that the RAV4 was at.
Even more astonishing than seeing anyone on a mountain in January was AJ’s reaction upon learning Lupe’s identity. He and Michelle knew Lupe! AJ praised Lupe as having been practically everywhere in the Black Hills, and having documented countless peaks before anyone else. AJ even called her a “legend”. If the Carolina Dog could blush, now would have been the time to do it.
It also turned out that today was Michelle’s birthday, too! What a terrific day for it! Lupe understood what it was like having a winter birthday. Weather-wise they are inevitably hit and miss, strictly luck of the draw.
Cinder was young, striking, full of energy, and off to a fabulous start in life climbing mountains in the beautiful Black Hills. Since Cinder was very interested in sticks, with AJ and Michelle’s permission, SPHP gave Cinder an especially tasty one, a piece of duck jerky which was very well-received.
1:33 PM – Nearly 8 years since she’d been here the first time, Lupe once again stood on the highest rock on Peak 6181.
It had better be chocolate coconut bar time now, SPHP!
A SW breeze was in the pines as SPHP dumped the pack, then sat down on a rock W of the true summit before splitting the eagerly sought prize with the American Dingo. Although she’d been eating snow, Lupe still lapped up a little water before devouring a bowl of Blue Buffalo, too.
Forest hid the views toward the S, where the mountain sloped fairly steeply away. The best views near the true summit were from a line of small cliffs along the NW edge.
Nearly 3 miles NW, Atlantic Hill (6,395 ft.) stood out in a relatively low region, with the high ridge of Bear Mountain (7,168 ft.) in the distance beyond it. SPHP could even make out the fire lookout tower there.
N of Bear Mountain, Odakota Mountain (7,199 ft.), South Dakota’s 2nd highest peak, was also in sight along the E edge of the limestone plateau country. The flat summit of Copper Mountain (6,920 ft.) was in view between it and pointy Medicine Mountain (6,884 ft.) a bit farther E.
From the NE end of the summit region, over by a couple of small mining exploration pits, Lupe caught sight of Crazy Horse on Thunderhead Mountain (6,564 ft.) back to the N, plus a good, though distant, look at Northeast Cicero Peak (6,278 ft.) off to the SE.
Most of the upper portion of Buckhorn Mountain (6,325 ft.) was in sight from these mining pits, too. Beyond the town of Custer, Mount Coolidge (6,037 ft.), Custer Mountain (6,104 ft.), and Peak 6040 were also fairly easy to pick out.
Satisfied with her tour of Peak 6181’s summit region, as Lupe returned to the true summit for the final time, something weird caught her eye.
That’s rather strange, isn’t it, SPHP? Look at that massive rock jutting out to the N from just below the true summit!
Huh. Good eye, Loop! Funny, I never noticed it before. Get up there for a minute, if you would, please.
2:14 PM, Peak 6181 – Getting to be about time to move along.
Always liked Peak 6181, ever since we were here the first time, Loop.
Meeting AJ, Michelle, and Cinder really made it especially memorable this time around, SPHP, a rare and truly special occasion!
Yes, indeed, but, sly Dingo, are you referring to the fact that we met anyone at all, Michelle’s birthday today, or being called a “legend” for the first time ever by AJ?
Lupe grinned mischievously, while attempting to portray innocence.
Why, all three, of course!
A final look at the big view toward Atlantic Hill, and the American Dingo was on her way.
The return went well. Nothing to it really. Back down Peak 6181’s NE slope to the old dirt road, N along it to the grassy field with the flat rock beyond Artillery Rock, then NE to Hwy 385.
3:08 PM, 48ºF, back at the RAV4 – The sun would still be up for more than an hour, but it was sort of late to set off on any more adventures.
Well, kind of a short outing, but at least you finally got New Year 2025 off to a start today, Loopster! A perfect day, other than the Peak 6208 fiasco. I really didn’t expect it to be any more difficult than Peak 6181.
Oh, it’s all good, SPHP, as long as we can explore the beautiful Black Hills together!
Links:
Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition
Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 307 – Peak 6170 & Atlantic Hill (11-24-22)
Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 188 – Peak 6181, Peak 6040 & Custer Mountain (1-18-17)
Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 125 – Atlantic Hill, Signal Hill & Elk Benchmark (4-4-15)
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