Start – 9:09 AM, 68°F, Spring Creek trailhead of Centennial Trail No. 89
Half a dozen vehicles were at the Spring Creek trailhead off Sheridan Lake Road when Lupe arrived. Apparently the day was going to get off to a busy start, at least by the Carolina Dog’s standards.
Lupe didn’t mind having an opportunity to meet a few people and sniff with other dogs. They were all likely to be concentrated around this first part of the trail along Spring Creek and Sheridan Lake. She would have plenty of solitude soon enough. Loop was eager to get going, and was underway as soon as SPHP was ready.
The Spring Creek trailhead provides access to Flume Trail No. 50 and the 111 mile long Centennial Trail No. 89. A spur trail follows Spring Creek upstream for a mile to Sheridan Lake where intersections with both of the main trails are found. Spring Creek is one of the larger streams in the Black Hills. The upstream trek is easy and beautiful.
Several beam bridges cross Spring Creek on the way to Sheridan Lake. Before the first bridge a shortcut to the Dakota Point trailhead appears on the R. This seldom used side route is easy to miss, if not looking for it. The shortcut avoids the rest of Spring Creek and Sheridan Lake entirely.
Lupe wasn’t looking for a shortcut now. Water in all its forms lends beauty and tranquility to almost any scene. The American Dingo had plenty of time to take the scenic route. She skipped the shortcut and went on to the first bridge.
Lupe did meet several people and a couple of dogs, but only briefly. A fisherman hadn’t had any luck fishing Spring Creek. Although the sky was overcast, everyone was enjoying the unseasonably warm day.
The spur trail was practically level almost all the way to Sheridan Lake. Near the dam the trail became steeper, but not for long. Loop was soon up on the S end of the dam. She had reached Centennial Trail No. 89.
Lupe could have taken Centennial Trail No. 89 SE along Sheridan Lake from here. Alternatively, Flume Trail No. 50 branches off just S of the dam. However, the plan was to explore the Centennial Trail N to the Brush Creek trailhead, a distance of nearly 8 miles.
The American Dingo trotted across the dam heading N. At the far end, a winding stone stairway led to the top of a small hill.
Leaving Sheridan Lake behind, Lupe crossed a footbridge over the Spring Creek outlet.
After crossing this last bridge over Spring Creek, Lupe had nearly a mile to go on Centennial Trail No. 89 to get to the Dakota Point trailhead. This entire route was on an old road through the forest. For the first 0.5 mile, the road went N up a valley until it reached a saddle. At the saddle, the road leveled out and turned W the rest of the way.
No vehicles were at the Dakota Point trailhead. The road hike from Sheridan Lake to get here had been a bit dull. However, Lupe still had 6.8 miles to go to get to the Brush Creek trailhead, and the trail was about to get more interesting. The trail crossed a gravel road becoming a single track going downhill on the other side.
Being on the single track was more fun. The trail went both up and down in a forest that had been thinned. Overall, Loopster lost a little net elevation by the time she reached Sheridan Lake Road 0.5 mile NW of the Dakota Point trailhead.
Once Lupe crossed Sheridan Lake Road, Centennial Trail No. 89 took her NW up a long valley. This was the start of a much more private and less traveled region.
Lupe had hardly gotten started up the valley when she crossed a tiny trickle of a stream. The day was quite warm, very warm if wearing a fashionable fur coat like Lupe was. The tiny stream featured a small, rather slimy green waterhole. The American Dingo was not shy about helping herself to a slimy drink, and a quick slimy, cooling bath.
Centennial Trail No. 89 followed an abandoned USFS Road up the long valley. The grassy road seemed like a part of nature.
The trail continued NW or N following a maze of old roads. Most of this area was forested, but Lupe passed a few meadows, too. At one point she went by a large rock formation on the R. It was the only one, though. This wasn’t rough territory.
Lupe gained elevation steadily at a modest pace. A mile from Sheridan Lake Road she reached a minor crest. Beyond the crest the trail brought her to a large power line.
Centennial Trail No. 89 turned NE here, following the power line for 200 yards before heading E back into the forest. Lupe quickly crossed a small saddle before losing elevation slowly as the trail entered a more open region. Stands of aspens were common.
Much of the Centennial Trail sees only light use. Trail maintenance is spotty. In many places trail markers are missing, have faded or fallen over. Unless some degree of alertness is maintained, it can be easy to miss turns. SPHP sensed Lupe might be approaching one of these places. The trail was going E or even SE. Somewhere around here, it would have to turn N again fairly soon.
The grassy road the trail followed took Loop well into the aspens before she reached the turn N. Fortunately, this turn was marked. Otherwise it would have been so easy to keep following the grassy road SE.
As soon as the trail turned N, Lupe began gradually regaining the nearly 100 feet of elevation she had lost on the way down into the aspens. She regained it all and more before reaching another saddle in a pine forest. This saddle was SE of High Point 5302 and SW of High Point 5331.
It was time for a short break. Small rock outcroppings a little SE of the trail seemed like a good spot. Lupe had water. She wasn’t interested in her Taste of the Wild yet, but was quite happy to help SPHP out with that chocolate granola bar.
Although there had been sections of downhill on the way here, none of them had been too significant. For the most part, Lupe had been gaining elevation. She was now at 5,200 feet, the highest point she would reach while actually on Centennial Trail No. 89 all day.
When break time was over, Lupe started the first significant downhill stretch she’d come to all day. At first, on the steepest part of the decline, Centennial Trail No. 89 followed an old road. Once Looper had lost 200 feet going generally N, the trail swung E while losing another 150 feet.
0.75 mile from the high point where Lupe had taken her short break, Centennial Trail No. 89 bottomed out. It now started up a valley that led NNE. Lupe was about to enter the Bald Hills, an area of grasslands covering 2+ square miles within the Black Hills National Forest. She soon arrived at a saddle E of Twin Sisters (5,244 ft.).
The E Twin Sister is the highest, and sits along the edge of the Bald Hills. Centennial Trail No. 89 goes right by it. This was an opportunity for Lupe to get a little peakbagging in! Loop and SPHP left the trail and made the short climb to the top.
The summit of the E Twin Sister was a short ridge running N/S. Deadfall timber littered the entire N end, and part of the S end, too. A patch of ground right at the true summit was open and only a bit rocky. Many dead trees had fallen over, but enough dead and live pines were still standing to mar the views in most directions.
Still, this wasn’t a bad vantage point. Lupe could see a number of peaks she had been to before. She also enjoyed a commanding view of the Bald Hills to the E.
The temperature must have been in the 70’s °F. The physical exertion of following the trail and climbing E Twin Sister was enough to make it seem very warm. Lupe and SPHP were both ready for water and a longer break. The Carolina Dog thought maybe it would be best to eat the other chocolate granola bar right now before the chocolate melted. That seemed like a good idea, and the deed was done.
The heat made Loop and SPHP lazy. Twin Sisters was a nice spot with at least some views. Why not relax a bit? Lupe laid down next to SPHP. She enjoyed being petted while scanning the Bald Hills below for any signs of movement. A few insects buzzed by. The warm air and light breeze felt good when you weren’t doing anything.
SPHP woke up. The American Dingo was still right there. She hadn’t moved a muscle. The sky had been overcast when Lupe arrived up on Twin Sisters, but now it was sunny. That really had been a nice break, but it was time to get going. Loop and SPHP headed NE down toward Centennial Trail No. 89.
Centennial Trail No. 89 headed NE losing elevation as it crossed the Bald Hills. It looked like it was going to go down a long valley, but instead curved E. The trail climbed again staying in the Bald Hills a little longer before turning N and heading for the trees. Before it reached the forest, Lupe took another look back at Twin Sisters.
0.5 mile NE of Twin Sisters, Centennial Trail No. 89 entered the forest once more. Lupe lost elevation gradually over the next 0.5 mile. The trail rounded a ridge and came to a tiny Dingo-sized forest.
After climbing through the tiny forest, Lupe reached a saddle where she crossed a gravel road. On the other side Centennial Trail No. 89 began losing elevation again. The Carolina Dog was now on the final stretch approaching Brush Creek.
Before long, Lupe was at Brush Creek. Brush Creek didn’t amount to much. Hardly a trickle. However, there were a couple of nice pools of water. The Carolina Dog was glad to see them!
The Brush Creek trailhead was across a gravel road from Brush Creek. One vehicle was here, but no one was around. The trailhead featured a map and information about Centennial Trail No. 89.
At the Brush Creek trailhead, Lupe was somewhere around 8.5 miles from where she’d started out at the Spring Creek trailhead this morning. This was far enough for one day, since she now had to go all the way back. When SPHP was done looking at the posted map and information about the trail, Lupe set off again. This time she was heading S.
By the time Loopster made it back to the Bald Hills, the sunny day had vanished. A thunderstorm was approaching out of the SSW.
Loop and SPHP left the trail to take a shortcut across the Bald Hills to Twin Sisters (5,244 ft.). The original plan had been to climb both the E and W Twin Sisters on the return trip, but with the storm approaching, Lupe would be lucky to beat it to just the E Twin Sister.
People were shooting guns somewhere off to the E not too far away. Lupe couldn’t see them, but the sound of gunfire so close by made her a nervous wreck. She wanted to find a place to hide, but SPHP urged her on toward the E Twin Sister.
When Loopster reached the summit of the E Twin Sister again, she felt better. The gunfire was far away now. She really wasn’t as safe as she thought, though. Trees swayed in a gusty S wind, light rain was falling, thunder rumbled, and occasional lightning flashes could be seen only a few miles away.
Although the storm wasn’t bad yet, due to the lightning SPHP was eager to leave the summit almost as soon as Lupe arrived. All thoughts of climbing the W Twin Sister had gone out the window, too.
When SPHP started down, Lupe didn’t follow. She wanted to stay. She felt safe from the gunfire here, and apparently had fond memories of the earlier nap on E Twin Sister. Clearly, the Carolina Dog was hoping for a repeat performance.
Loopster still had a long way to go. Even if there hadn’t been a storm, there wasn’t time for another nap. SPHP coaxed Loop into returning to the trail.
The storm struck only a glancing blow. It rained, but never too hard. After a while the sun came out. The air was cool now. It was evening. The secluded trek along Centennial Trail No. 89 was wonderful. Loop saw deer and wild turkeys. She went on and on, sniffing happily.
Another storm came and went, striking another glancing blow. Lupe got wet, but not soaked. Near the end of the day, she took the shortcut leading down to the spur trail near the first bridge over Spring Creek. The sun was down and light was fading by the time Lupe was closing in on the Spring Creek trailhead again. It wasn’t dark when she arrived back at the G6, but would be soon. (8:06 PM, 52°F)
Time to head home for Alpo, and a night dreaming of days yet to come on Centennial Trail No. 89.
Links:
Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition
Next Trail Section South:
Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 228 – Centennial Trail No. 89: Spring Creek to Samelius (5-6-18)
Next Trail Section North:
Centennial Trail No. 89 Brochure & Map
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