![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_8126.jpg\")
<\/a>Looper also had time to check out Little Spearfish Creek.<\/p>\n Rizzo, Buddy & Josh soon arrived.\u00a0 Rizzo and Buddy were so excited about going on an expedition, they weren’t about to hold still for a group photo.\u00a0 Lupe and her new friend, Josh, posed together, though.<\/p>\n The date wasn’t the only thing that had changed for this first outing together.\u00a0 Only a couple of days ago, Plan A’s chosen destination had fallen through.\u00a0 A major disappointment at the time, but now clearly a good thing given the weather.<\/p>\n Josh had expressed interest in any routes Lupe knew of up into the country E of Spearfish Canyon.\u00a0 On prior expeditions Lupe had explored two such routes.\u00a0 Plan B was that Loop would take Rizzo, Buddy and Josh on one of them.\u00a0 Two specific destinations became Expedition No. 214’s objectives – Elk Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,422 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> and the cliffs overlooking Savoy.<\/p>\n Lupe’s route to Elk Mountain started at Annie Creek Road near Elmore, 4 miles up Spearfish Canyon from Savoy.\u00a0 The weather remained cold and heavily overcast, even a bit foggy, but everyone was in good spirits as the trek began.\u00a0 (8:36 AM, 32\u00b0F)<\/em><\/p>\n Annie Creek Road went N for 0.75 mile.\u00a0 Upon reaching the side canyon Annie Creek flows down, it turned NE for another 0.75 mile.\u00a0 The snowy road was an easy romp, being nearly level this whole way.\u00a0 It was a good place for everyone to become acquainted.<\/p>\n Lupe wasn’t used to having so much company, but the dogs all got along just fine.\u00a0 Buddy and Rizzo were adventure dogs, too!\u00a0 In fact, Rizzo and Josh have been enjoying their own weekly adventures in the Black Hills even longer than Lupe and SPHP.\u00a0 Buddy wasn’t as experienced in the adventuring business, having only recently joined the Hilpert family.\u00a0 However, it was clear he was relishing his good fortune.<\/p>\n The first big decision came at an intersection 1.5 miles from the start.\u00a0 The only time Lupe had been to Elk Mountain before was nearly 1.5 years ago.\u00a0 Back then, she had taken the road to the L, which went W back to Spearfish Canyon before turning NW.\u00a0 The road stayed level, but ultimately came to two places where old bridges had collapsed.\u00a0 Lupe had made it past the first resulting gap, but not the second.\u00a0 In the end, she’d had to climb a very steep slope, though once on top, this had ultimately proven to be a good direct route to Elk Mountain.<\/p>\n The other option was take the road to the R, which went NE up the Annie Creek valley.\u00a0 Last time, looking for a shortcut back to the G6 late in the day, Lupe had gone down a different steep slope that had brought her into this valley.\u00a0 SPHP remembered it had looked like Lupe could have followed roads all the way down, if she had been willing to take a somewhat longer route.<\/p>\n It was cold and damp.\u00a0 Ice and snow might make hillsides treacherous.\u00a0 It seemed best to avoid the steep climb up from the road to the L.\u00a0 The decision was made to turn R, following the road up Annie Creek valley.<\/p>\n Another intersection was reached only 0.25 mile farther on.\u00a0 Rizzo and Buddy crossed Annie Creek for a brief exploratory foray on a side road going SE up Lost Camp Gulch.\u00a0 That wasn’t the way to Elk Mountain, though, so they quickly returned.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP had never been this far up Annie Creek before, but it seemed reasonable to continue on the road following the creek a little farther before looking for a way up onto higher ground to the N.\u00a0 Rizzo, Buddy and Josh had never been here before either, so they simply tagged along.<\/p>\n The road following Annie Creek headed NE, beginning to gain significant elevation above the stream on the way.\u00a0 Eventually a minor side road appeared on the L.\u00a0 It went N up a steep, forested slope.\u00a0 N was the right direction, so the side road seemed like a good way to reach higher ground quickly.<\/p>\n After a steep climb, the side road leveled out as expected.\u00a0 The forest was pretty foggy up here.<\/p>\n Elk Mountain couldn’t have been much more than 1.5 miles to the NW as the crow flies from here.\u00a0 Due to the fog, though, the mountain wasn’t in sight.\u00a0 No other landmarks more than a couple hundred feet away could be seen, either.\u00a0 As long as Lupe kept heading N or NW, though, SPHP was confident she would eventually find the mountain.<\/p>\n The minor road eventually faded and curved off in the wrong direction.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP led everyone N or NW, traversing snowy slopes.\u00a0 The terrain was more convoluted here than where Lupe had been on her first visit to Elk Mountain.\u00a0 Lupe tried to keep gaining elevation, but often she had to lose some.\u00a0 She finally came to a big fence.<\/p>\n Reaching the fence was encouraging!\u00a0 Beyond it were extensive gold mining operations.\u00a0 Lupe had seen them before.\u00a0 She had followed this fence N on her first trip to Elk Mountain.\u00a0 She hadn’t had to follow it more than 0.25 mile before she’d seen a big pond inside the fence.\u00a0 If the American Dingo could find that pond again today, SPHP was certain of the rest of the route to Elk Mountain.<\/p>\n Everyone trudged NW along the fence.\u00a0 The terrain went up and down, but eventually seemed to be going more down than up.\u00a0 On and on, much farther than Lupe had followed the fence the first time.\u00a0 SPHP had expected it to be farther coming this way, but quite a bit of time went by.\u00a0 The pond didn’t materialize.\u00a0 By now it was so foggy Lupe might not even be able to see it.<\/p>\n Why hadn’t the pond appeared?\u00a0 Had the Carolina Dog passed it in the fog?\u00a0 Could it really be this far?\u00a0 Josh and SPHP stopped to consult the topo map and discuss things.\u00a0 The problem was, the topo map SPHP had was old.\u00a0 The mining operations, which had altered a great deal of terrain, were newer and not shown on the map.\u00a0 SPHP knew the mine was SE of Elk Mountain, but only had a general idea of how far SE.<\/p>\n Consulting the map without being able to see some landmark shown on it, was no help.\u00a0 Even more disturbing, it turned out that Josh and SPHP had completely different ideas on what direction Lupe had been going!\u00a0 Knowing the truth about that was sort of important.\u00a0 Critical, one might say.<\/p>\n 15 or 20 feet beyond the fence, a mine worker was standing on a knoll.\u00a0 He was busy watching or directing someone else operating a truck or other equipment that could be heard, but wasn’t in sight from outside the fence.\u00a0 Josh suggested asking him where this spot was on the map.\u00a0 Sure, why not?<\/p>\n The miner was friendly, and glad to be of service.\u00a0 He said this was the Wharf Mine.\u00a0 No doubt that was true.\u00a0 Other than that, he was a wealth of misinformation.\u00a0 Before even looking at the topo map, he volunteered that Lupe and company were somewhere between Foley Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,640 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> and Terry Peak<\/span><\/a> (7,064 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n What!?\u00a0 Impossible!\u00a0 If true, Lupe had been going in completely the wrong direction for a long time.\u00a0 Another glance at the map convinced SPHP that couldn’t possibly be right.\u00a0 Lupe would have had to take the road up Lost Camp Gulch to be anywhere close to the area between Foley Mountain and Terry Peak.\u00a0 Rizzo and Buddy had started up that road, but that hadn’t been where everyone had ultimately headed.<\/p>\n Josh and SPHP showed the miner the topo map.\u00a0 He ultimately pointed out a different area ESE of Elk Mountain, and said that was where this place was.\u00a0 That didn’t seem right either, but it wasn’t outlandish.\u00a0 Lupe might not be too far S of there.\u00a0 If so, that was good news.<\/p>\n Nearby, a road headed away from the fence.\u00a0 The miner said to follow it to get to Elk Mountain.\u00a0 Worth a shot, maybe.\u00a0 After thanking the miner for his assistance, everyone took the unmarked road.<\/p>\n The snowy road was fairly level.\u00a0 The forest was foggier than ever.\u00a0 Away from the fence, all sense of direction, accurate or not, was lost.\u00a0 Rizzo, Buddy, Lupe, Josh & SPHP arrived at a fork in the road.\u00a0 Which way?\u00a0 The road to the L led to a hill.\u00a0 The road to the R was level or losing elevation gradually as it disappeared into the fog.<\/p>\n On the vast majority of mountains, the summit is kept at the top.\u00a0 SPHP suggested taking the L fork going up the hill.\u00a0 If Lupe was anywhere on the slopes of Elk Mountain, going up would eventually get everyone to the summit.<\/p>\n The hill proved to be a small one.\u00a0 The road soon leveled out.\u00a0 It began curving to the L, then disappeared beneath a pile of deadfall.\u00a0 In every direction, the terrain sloped down.\u00a0 Gah!\u00a0 SPHP thought higher ground was visible in a small opening between trees off to the R, then became convinced it might only have been fog.<\/p>\n Josh had a compass!\u00a0 He’d mentioned it before.\u00a0 SPHP was completely turned around, so when Josh mentioned the compass again, suddenly it seemed to be the crucial missing link.\u00a0 Was the compass accurate?\u00a0 Josh was convinced it was.\u00a0 According to the compass, this road up the hill had been going W before turning SW.<\/p>\n No one was going to get to Elk Mountain going SW!\u00a0 SPHP still believed the mountain was NW from here, but NW was down a slope.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP led everyone N off the road, into the forest.\u00a0 The terrain to the N lost elevation, too, but more slowly than going NW would have.\u00a0 It wasn’t long before Lupe was gaining elevation again.\u00a0 SPHP found a road!\u00a0 Yes!<\/p>\n No!\u00a0 Josh had the temerity to point out this was the very same road that had just been left behind.\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 Yeah, really.\u00a0 There were the fresh foot and paw prints.\u00a0 Proof positive.\u00a0 Good grief!\u00a0 Better go back to the fork and try the road to the R.\u00a0 Josh headed off in the wrong direction.\u00a0 Everyone arrived again at the place where the road turned SW and disappeared under the deadfall.\u00a0 Company halt!\u00a0 About face, and march!<\/p>\n Back once again at the fork, the road to the R was the next subject of exploration.\u00a0 After 5 or 10 minutes, a long straight section was reached that stretched ahead as far as could be seen into the foggy forest.\u00a0 What direction was that?\u00a0 Josh checked the compass.\u00a0 The road went W.<\/p>\n This wasn’t going to work either.\u00a0 SPHP was convinced Lupe was still too far S.\u00a0 Going a long way W would only bring everyone to cliffs at Spearfish Canyon.\u00a0 A lot of time was being chewed up wandering all these roads.\u00a0 Best to go back to the fence at the mine, and keep following it as before.\u00a0 If that didn’t work, Expedition No. 214 was doomed to failure.\u00a0 Sad, but true.<\/p>\n The terrain went down at first, as Lupe followed the fence.\u00a0 This didn’t seem right, but she hadn’t gone far when suddenly, there was the pond!\u00a0 It was faintly visible in the fog beyond the fence.\u00a0 Confusion vanished.\u00a0 Lupe was going to get Rizzo, Buddy and Josh to the top of Elk Mountain after all!\u00a0 Puppies, ho!\u00a0 Onward!<\/p>\n After crossing shallow McKinley Gulch, a rough road was reached.\u00a0 This road went NE to an intersection near the upper end of the gulch.\u00a0 A much better road ran E\/W here.\u00a0 W was now the way to go!\u00a0 Still unseen, Elk Mountain was only 0.5 mile away.<\/p>\n The road W soon arrived at another fork.\u00a0 Lupe took the L branch going SW.\u00a0 She followed it looking for one more turn, a driveway on the R.\u00a0 Found it!\u00a0 Gaining elevation all the way, the driveway headed W to the S side of Elk Mountain, then curled all the way around to the mountain’s E and then N slopes.<\/p>\n It was only early November, but the top of Elk Mountain was a winter wonderland!\u00a0 Snow, frost, cold and fog.\u00a0 It could have been January, the way things looked and felt.<\/p>\n Due to the fog, the success of the whole expedition had been in doubt for hours, but everyone made it to the top of Elk Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,422 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Of course, all views from Elk Mountain on this glorious day were hidden in the fog.\u00a0 Right on the summit, though, was a sight that brought cheer to the whole group.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP had known it was here, but it was a complete and welcome surprise to Rizzo, Buddy & Josh.<\/p>\n At the top of the mountain is a small octagonal structure with 7 windows and a little door.\u00a0 It appears to be a child’s playhouse.\u00a0 Nothing of significance was inside.\u00a0 Hundreds, maybe thousands of dead flies covered the carpeted floor.\u00a0 On this cold, snowy day, that didn’t matter.<\/p>\n The playhouse was unlocked, a little warmer, and much drier than being outdoors.\u00a0 It was just large enough so Rizzo, Buddy, Lupe, Josh & SPHP could all get inside.\u00a0 Everyone got in to rest and warm up a bit.\u00a0 Lupe had water and her usual Taste of the Wild.\u00a0 Rizzo and Buddy tried some Taste of the Wild, too, and found it to their liking.<\/p>\n Josh and SPHP discussed options for the rest of the day.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it had taken so long to find Elk Mountain, there wasn’t going to be much time for extras.\u00a0 The other original objective for the day, going to the cliffs overlooking Savoy, was out.\u00a0 It would take too long to get there, and nothing would be gained from going to a fabulous viewpoint in the fog, anyway.<\/p>\n Ragged Top Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,200 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> was only 1.25 miles NW, but other than peakbagging for peakbagging’s sake, again there didn’t seem to be any point in the fog.\u00a0 The old townsite of Preston was closer, but consists mainly of a single decaying old building.\u00a0 Not too scintillating.\u00a0 It wasn’t enough of an enticement on such a wintery day.<\/p>\n In the end, no other easily attainable objectives nearby came to mind.\u00a0 Days are short in November, and it was already early afternoon.\u00a0 In this weather it would get dark even earlier than normal.\u00a0 Just getting back to the vehicles was going to take hours.<\/p>\n So once everyone had taken a break and warmed up a little in the charming, dead-fly decorated playhouse, it was time for another look around Elk Mountain’s summit before beginning the journey back.<\/p>\n With no views to linger for, final inspection of Elk Mountain’s relatively small summit ridge didn’t take much time.\u00a0 Soon the descent through the mountain’s winter wonderland began.<\/p>\n The first part of the journey back was a simple retracement of the ascent.\u00a0 By the time everyone was S of McKinley Gulch, back at the fence on the W side of the Wharf gold mine again, the fog had lifted to a degree.\u00a0 The pond Lupe had been looking for on the way to Elk Mountain was now in clear sight.<\/p>\n While heading S from the pond not far from the fence, SPHP saw terrain to the SW that looked familiar.\u00a0 Hadn’t Lupe been over there the first time she went to Elk Mountain?\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 A quick foray in that direction brought the expedition to a road Lupe had been on before.<\/p>\n From here, it was possible to follow a series of unmarked roads S or SE that ultimately led back down to Annie Creek.\u00a0 The clouds had lifted enough to reveal partial views from a few points along the way.<\/p>\n Light was beginning to fade by the time the last intersection 1.5 miles from the vehicles was reached.\u00a0 The rest of the way back was a snap from here.\u00a0 Maybe enough time remained for a little more exploring?\u00a0 SPHP talked Josh into checking out the road Lupe had taken to Elk Mountain the first time.<\/p>\n It was farther along this road to where the first bridge had collapsed than SPHP remembered.\u00a0 After 0.5 mile or more, it was time to forget it and turn around.<\/p>\n In increasing darkness, the march back along Annie Creek Road seemed longer than it had early in the day.\u00a0 The adventure dogs all had a fine time, though, while Josh and SPHP chatted.<\/p>\n There had been plenty of opportunities to visit during the day.\u00a0 It had been fun to compare notes and have wide ranging discussions on peaks, places, and a variety of other topics.\u00a0 Rizzo, Buddy and Lupe had gotten along well together.\u00a0 The weather hadn’t been conducive to enjoying scenery, but had made Expedition No. 214 seem far more mysterious and challenging than it otherwise would have been.<\/p>\n It had been a good day, a fun time for all.\u00a0 Rizzo, Buddy & Josh Hilpert live in Sturgis, SD, so perhaps more adventures are in store with Lupe’s new friends from time to time.\u00a0 It’s something to look forward to!<\/p>\n Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Next Black Hills Expeditions<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Black Hills Expeditions<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Black Hills SD Expedition No. 230 – Ward Draw & 2K Peak with Rizzo, Buddy & Josh Hilpert (5-19-18)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 172 – Elk Mountain, Ragged Top Mountain & Twin Peaks (5-14-16)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0 Check out her<\/em> Black Hills, SD & WY\u00a0Expeditions\u00a0Adventure Index<\/span><\/a>, Master Adventure Index<\/span>, <\/em><\/strong>or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/span><\/a>!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" October 21st dawned bright and breezy, the air exceptionally crisp and clear.\u00a0 Puffy white clouds sailed the blue sky.\u00a0 SPHP knew instantly that cancelling had been a mistake, but nothing could be done about it.\u00a0 Yes, this was a breezy day, but nothing approaching the forecast 40+ mph wind gusts would ever materialize. Lupe’s opportunity … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 214 – The Search for Elk Mountain with Rizzo, Buddy & Josh Hilpert (11-4-17)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[105,9,853,106,640,854,104,852,304],"class_list":["post-11329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-hills","tag-american-dingo","tag-black-hills-expeditions","tag-buddy","tag-carolina-dog","tag-elk-mountain","tag-josh-hilpert","tag-lupe","tag-rizzo","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_8151.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11329"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28406,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions\/28406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>