7:14 AM, 42ºF, Coon Hollow trailhead off Silver Mountain Road –
Flume Trail No. 50 again, SPHP?
Yes, indeedy, Looper! We’ll finish it up today!
With a little peakbagging on the side, I suppose?
You know it! After all, you’ve got your reputation to think of.
This plan met with instant approval. And why not? Carolina Dogs aren’t picky about outdoor adventures, as long as there are some. Flume Trail No. 50 would be easy, and climbing a mountain or two along the way would provide a Dingo’s-eye view of the scenery.
Flume Trail No. 50 set out heading NW along the side of a pine-forested slope, but soon curved NE down into Rockerville Gulch. A little stream at the bottom was covered with ice so thick it even supported SPHP. Crossing the stream, the trail went N to a steep, rocky slope.
Not much of a climb at all! Steep, but short. The trail didn’t even go to the top of the ridge. Instead, halfway up, it turned E and leveled out.
Lupe could have save a bunch of distance by simply continuing N up and over the ridge, which wouldn’t have been hard at all. Flume Trail No. 50 was going to wind around the entire E end of the ridge before turning W, but the American Dingo was here to enjoy the trail, so she stuck with it. Didn’t take too long to get about as far E as the trail was going to go.
The E end of the ridge was broad and gently sloping. The trail curved N, and wound along it in that general direction. Before long, Lupe reached a cut where the trail made a sharp turn W. The cut was a sure sign she had reached part of the original 1880 Spring Creek to Rockerville flume bed that the trail was named after.
After going through the cut, Flume Trail No. 50 wound a little farther N, before finally making a decisive turn W. For the first time, Lupe had a distant view only partially blocked by the pines. Mostly just forested hills no higher than where she was now, but it was something.
Storm Hill’s E ridge, a more impressive sight, came into view only a few minutes later.
Heading W, Flume Trail No. 50 led to a dirt road, which apparently also served as a mountain bike trail. On the far side of the road, some of the rock work of the old flume bed was on display. After crossing the road, Lupe came to a particularly rocky stretch that was pretty much intact.
Before long, the Flume Trail turned SW traversing fairly steep SE slopes of the Coon Hollow valley. Still following the 1880 flume route, the trail itself remained almost perfectly level the entire time. Soon another road could be seen down in the valley. Just before the trail met up with it, the pine forest gave way to a grove of aspens.
USFS Road No. 676 was a much better road than the first one Flume Trail No. 50 had crossed. 40 feet downhill, a brown wand and a “50” diamond on an aspen tree showed where the trail continued on the other side.
Now on the NW side of Coon Hollow, Flume Trail No. 50 headed NE. The trail remained flat, but the hillside it was traversing was much rockier and even steeper than on the other side of the valley, almost a cliff. In some places, parts of the old flume bed had collapsed.
The flume bed suddenly ended at a knob of rock. The trail climbed 20 feet up to Air Force Vista. An old trail system map, yellow with age, but still legible, was posted here.
Air Force Vista wasn’t much of a viewpoint. No doubt the trees had grown up over the years. However, a narrow opening between the pines still provided a distant view to the NE.
From Air Force Vista, the trail bent sharply SW along the side of a small, rocky ridge, and soon turned NW going over it. Dropping back down to the old flume bed, which reappeared on the other side, the trail headed W into a side canyon off Coon Hollow. An enormous, nearly vertical rock formation on the N side of this canyon was hard to miss.
Before long, the flume bed once again came to an abrupt end at a point overlooking a 15 foot dip into a little drainage. The flume bed actually continued over on the N side of the canyon, but wasn’t in sight from here, and wasn’t where Flume Trail No. 50 was headed anyway.
After crossing the dip, the Flume Trail continued W up the canyon. Lupe passed through a woods still sporting autumn’s dead brown leaves, and came to a tiny stream where she got a cold drink.
Crossing the stream, Lupe followed the trail higher. The canyon became a gentler valley, gradually widening out as the American Dingo gained elevation. Loop came to a sign of the style found at Air Force Vista that spoke of an old log bridge, but virtually nothing was left of it.
In the broad upper end of the valley, the Flume Trail reached a dirt road which led almost immediately to an intersection. The main trail headed NW from here, still climbing as a single track. The other choice was to follow the dirt road SW up to a gently sloping saddle.
I presume we’re climbing Boulder Hill this time, aren’t we, SPHP?
Spot on, Looper! Take the road.
This intersection was only 0.25 mile E of Boulder Hill (5,331 ft.), but the Flume Trail spur to the summit wrapped 0.9 mile clear around the S side of the mountain to approach it from the SW. The first part of the spur followed the dirt road over the saddle that was already in sight. 150 yards down the other side, Lupe reached a wand and a 50 diamond marking the point where the spur left the road as a single track.
The spur trail was easy going until Lupe got clear around to the SW side of the mountain. It then turned NE directly up a grassy slope passing through open forest. Moderately steep, but no worse than that.
Shortly before reaching another dirt road, Loop discovered an enormous squirrel tree. An absolute giant for a ponderosa pine! The squirrel was so high that the Carolina Dog quickly gave up barking at it as an exercise in futility.
Upon reaching the road, Lupe followed it around a bend. It promptly ended at the base of Boulder Hill’s rocky summit. The spur trail angled off toward the S end of the summit ridge, turning N almost as soon as Loop started climbing.
The ascent was fun! A nice route wound among big rocks with views at every turn.
The Boulder Hill (5,331 ft.) summit region consists of 2 separate rock platforms almost equally high separated by a minor dip 30 or 40 feet wide. Lupe checked out the sunny S platform first, where the views were unobstructed except to the N.
Silver Mountain (5,405 ft.) and more distant Black Elk Peak (7,231 ft.) were the big attractions, but Storm Hill’s E ridge with the prairies of western South Dakota miles beyond it was interesting, too.
Break time! Before checking out the N platform, SPHP decided an apple had to go bye-bye. Lupe wasn’t interested in that, but made certain she got her fair share when SPHP brought out a chocolate coconut bar.
Once the chocolate coconut bar was gone, Loopster was ready to move on, too. She posed briefly atop the otherwise unremarkable rock that SPHP considered Boulder Hill’s true summit and another one at the N end of the S platform, then ventured over to the N platform.
The N platform had more trees, but fewer distant views. With lots more of the Flume Trail to explore, Lupe didn’t stay long. She did have a look around, though, before saying sayonara to Boulder Hill.
Retracing her entire route along the Boulder Hill spur, Lupe returned to the intersection with the main Flume Trail. A relatively short uphill trek got Loop to the crest of a pass to the NW. Downhill all the way from then on for nearly 0.5 mile to the Boulder Hill trailhead.
Lupe had been here only 4 days ago. On Expedition No. 267, she’d started her exploration of the W half of Flume Trail No. 50 from this trailhead. First, though, she’d climbed Peak 5048 just 0.2 mile NW.
So, do I get another chocolate coconut bar, if I climb Peak 5048 again, SPHP?
I’ll split one with you, Looper! That enticing enough?
It was. Lupe was soon back up at Peak 5048’s best viewpoint, just a bit below the summit region’s SE high point. After a good look at Boulder Hill, Silver Mountain, and Black Elk Peak, she continued on to the true summit to collect her share of the promised chocolate coconut bar.
After a brief stay on Peak 5048, Lupe went back down. Picking up Loop B of Flume Trail No. 50 a short distance NE of the Boulder Hill trailhead, she began following it N.
Loop B (aka the Spring Creek Loop), along with Section 2 of the Flume Trail, together comprise a 4.4 mile long loop circumnavigating Peak 5048 and a hilly region to the N. Going counter-clockwise, the first part of this loop was all super easy, mostly a stroll through ponderosa pine forests. (Flume Trail map)
For a while, the scenery didn’t change much. 20 minutes went by before the first partial semi-distant view appeared, a cliff along a hill to the E.
The trail turned NW, and Storm Hill (5,192 ft.) briefly came into sight back to the SE. Tree-broken views of other hills were soon seen ahead. At the N end of Loop B, Lupe came to a lingering patch of snow and ice.
Most of Loop B followed the old Spring Creek to Rockerville flume route. Nearly perfectly flat, the trail wound along the mountainsides for miles. Lupe was already clear around to the NW side of the loop when a break in the trail’s continuity appeared at a rocky spot.
Beyond the rocky section, Loop B made a foray SE, skirting the edges of a shallow valley W of Peak 4972.
Leaving the lovely valley behind, the trail curved S. Baker Park could be glimpsed to the W between the trees. Lupe soon reached a fence where Boulder Hill (5,331 ft.) was in sight again.
Seeing Boulder Hill again meant Lupe was close to completing Loop B. 10 more minutes, and the trail suddenly went down an embankment.
USFS Road No. 358 was at the bottom of the slope. Loop B continued across the road, descending slightly as it headed into a small valley. A short level stretch led to a little creek issuing from an algae-filled pond behind an earthen dam. The tiny pond was only slightly above Loop B’s low point. Despite the slimy algae, it was sort of a scenic spot.
After crossing the dam, Loop B made a short climb up a forested hill. Lupe reached a junction. This was the end of Loop B. The Carolina Dog could now take either Section 1 of the Flume Trail W to Sheridan Lake, or Section 2 back to the Boulder Hill trailhead.
To complete her circumnavigation of Peak 5048, Loop took Section 2. She’d been through this area 4 days ago. The trail went gently uphill nearly all the way. Both Boulder Hill and Peak 5048 were in sight.
Upon reaching the Boulder Hill trailhead again, Looper had completed her explorations of Flume Trail No. 50 for the day, but still had to go all the way back to Coon Hollow.
The Carolina Dog’s return route retraced all she’d done earlier, except that this time she didn’t take the side trip to Boulder Hill. Instead, when she reached the pass between Boulder Hill and Storm Hill, she left the trail heading NE into the forest.
After climbing the S end of Storm Hill’s long N/S ridge, Lupe headed N for the summit.
Chocolate coconut bar time again! Fortunately, SPHP had one left. The views from Storm Hill (5,192 ft.) were somewhat limited due to all the trees, but a nice level platform provided a good view to the NW. SPHP sat facing this view with Lupe curled up on SPHP’s lap. Expectations were high! SPHP didn’t disappoint.
The last chocolate coconut bar appeared, only to vanish. Taste of the Wild for Lupe, and an apple for SPHP. Plenty of water for all, too.
For a while, Lupe and SPHP gazed down on Peak 5048 and Baker Park. Toward the horizon, plenty of other recognizable peaks out there, too.
The increasing slant of the sunlight eventually broke the mutual trance. A quick tour of the other views available, and the American Dingo was on her way back to the pass.
Rejoining Flume Trail No. 50 at the pass leading to Boulder Hill, it was down to Air Force Vista and back to Coon Hollow.
A perfect evening! End of a perfect day.
Well, I guess this is about it for Flume Trail No. 50, Loop! 2 consecutive Black Hills expeditions, and you’ve got it done.
Fun times, SPHP! Nice to do something easy, for once. Got any more trails like this for us in the future?
The Flume Trail is sort of special, Loop. Plenty of nice long flat stretches because so much of it follows the old flume route. The Mickelson Trail is flat, too, since it follows an old railroad grade, but perhaps we should try to finish up the parts of Deerfield Trail No. 40 and Centennial Trail No. 89 that you don’t have posts on yet?
Sounds good to me, SPHP! You know I’m up for just about anything, as long as you don’t forget the chocolate coconut bars! (End 5:10 PM, 52ºF)
Links:
Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition
Black Hills Expedition No. 267 – Flume Trail No. 50: Boulder Hill to Sheridan Lake (3-3-21)
Flume Trail No. 50 – Map & Brochure
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