{"id":11736,"date":"2018-01-04T08:10:29","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T15:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=11736"},"modified":"2020-09-24T11:58:23","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T17:58:23","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-217-peak-4400-peak-4240-lookout-peak-11-26-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=11736","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 217 – Peak 4400, Peak 4240 & Lookout Peak (11-26-17)"},"content":{"rendered":"

That Brian Kalet<\/strong><\/span><\/a>!\u00a0 He does get around.\u00a0 Lupe’s 2017 had started off with visits to a number of southern Black Hills peaks Brian had added to the Peakbagger.com data base in the spring of 2016.\u00a0 SPHP hadn’t noticed until months later that about the same time Lupe was climbing in the southern hills, Brian had been visiting even more peaks along the NE edge of the Black Hills and adding them to the database, too.<\/p>\n

So Lupe’s 2017 was going to end more or less the way it began, on the cold trail of Brian Kalet’s footsteps.<\/p>\n

Loop had already been to one of the NE Brian Kalet peaks when she visited Pe<\/span>ak<\/span> 3950<\/span><\/a><\/strong> near Sturgis a couple of weeks ago on Expedition No. 215.\u00a0 Today she would tackle two more near Whitewood.\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 at Whitewood City Park (9:18 AM, 47\u00b0F)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Looper set off in search of Peak<\/span> 4400<\/span><\/a><\/strong> about 1.5 miles to the SW.\u00a0 She crossed a ravine, then started up a forested hill.\u00a0 She soon came to a dirt road, and followed it higher to a better one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Loop on the first road she came to early on her journey to Peak 4400<\/strong>. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Higher up near the better road. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The better road took Lupe SW up to a level area where there was a big meadow.\u00a0 Loop was close to High Point 4238 on the topo map.\u00a0 Everything was going fine until Lupe heard gunfire.\u00a0 Hunters?\u00a0 The gunfire originated from somewhere off to the W, but sounded quite far off.<\/p>\n

Lupe hates gunfire or explosions of any sort no matter how faint or far away.\u00a0 She was instantly a nervous wreck and wanted to forget all about Peak 4400.\u00a0 When the gunfire continued sporadically every few minutes, SPHP was certain it wasn’t from hunters.\u00a0 Someone must be doing some target practice.\u00a0 SPHP persuaded Lupe to continue, though she had lost all her enthusiasm.\u00a0 She slunk along, staying close to SPHP.<\/p>\n

A maze of minor dirt roads went through the forest.\u00a0 Eventually, SPHP figured Lupe must be getting close to Peak 4400, and stopped to consult the topo map.\u00a0 Suddenly a man appeared, walking straight toward Lupe through the woods.<\/p>\n

The man hailed SPHP.\u00a0 It turned out he was an employee of a company that leases 2,500 acres in this area.\u00a0 He said this was all private property, not national forest land.\u00a0 He was out with his young son checking cameras set up to monitor wildlife.\u00a0 Lupe was right next to one.\u00a0 The gunfire was indeed coming from a shooting range not terribly far NW of here.<\/p>\n

The man was friendly, but insisted on taking Lupe and SPHP in his ATV winding N through the forest to a road that led out of the leased acreage down a valley to the E.\u00a0 He and his son then roared away in the ATV.<\/p>\n

Well, shucks.\u00a0 Lupe started down the road to the E.\u00a0 She hadn’t made it to the top of Peak 4400.\u00a0 She hadn’t been too far SE of it either, from what SPHP had been seeing on the topo map.\u00a0 Now she was 0.5 mile N of it.\u00a0 Decisions.\u00a0 Maybe it wasn’t the thing to do, but Loopster was already here.\u00a0 This was the one and only time she would ever be, given the situation.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP left the road, heading S through the forest.<\/p>\n

It didn’t take long for the American Dingo to reach a hilltop that looked like it might be the summit of Peak 4400.\u00a0 This was just a high spot in the forest devoid of views, but Lupe posed on a tree stump for a couple of photos anyway.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Loop reaches a high point SPHP initially thought might be the summit of Peak 4400<\/strong>. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Is this it? Can we go yet?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe had scarcely left the hilltop when she caught a glimpse of Bear Butte<\/span><\/a> (4,433 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> through a small opening in the trees.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe had scarcely left the high point, when she caught a glimpse of Bear Butte<\/strong> through a small opening between the trees. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The topo map showed quite a large area inside the 4,400 foot contour on Peak<\/span> 4400<\/span><\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 In fact, there were two such areas 0.25 mile apart.\u00a0 Lupe was in the N one now, which was where Brian Kalet had placed the true summit without further comment.<\/p>\n

Maybe Lupe should look around here a bit more, just to make sure she’d reached the actual high point in the N contour?\u00a0 She could then go check out the terrain in the S contour.\u00a0 It wouldn’t take long.<\/p>\n

A short search of the N contour area did show a higher point than where Lupe had been on the tree stump.\u00a0 The true summit was actually a little farther SW, near the W edge of the mountain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At the true summit of the N 4,400 foot contour. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Still at Peak 4400’s N summit<\/strong>, but now looking SSE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe was happy at the true summit of the N 4,400 foot contour. SPHP hadn’t told her about the S contour yet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Satisfied that she’d reached the true summit of Peak 4400, because SPHP congratulated her and told her so, Loop was surprised to learn that she still had to visit a S 4,400 foot contour before she would be completely done with Peak 4400.\u00a0 However, she was glad to head off in that direction, because it meant getting farther away from the sporadic gunfire still heard coming from the shooting range.<\/p>\n

Off Lupe went, heading SE.\u00a0 She reached the saddle leading to the S 4,400 foot contour, and crossed it.\u00a0 Soon she was at the S edge of the mountain, where the terrain dropped away rather sharply.\u00a0 Peak 4400’s S summit was nearby, close to a fence on a section line.<\/p>\n

The S summit didn’t have much of a view, but shortly before reaching it Lupe had gotten a good look at Crook Mountain<\/span><\/a> (4,930 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, and her next objective, Peak<\/span> 4240<\/span><\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
After visiting Peak 4400’s N summit, Lupe headed SE looking for the S one. Here she’s approaching the saddle between them. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Nearing Peak 4400’s S summit, Lupe had this good look at both Crook Mountain<\/strong>, the high forested ridge in the background, and Peak 4240<\/strong>, the mostly barren lower ridge in the foreground. Peak 4240 would be her next objective. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
At Peak 4400’s S summit<\/strong>. Terry Peak<\/span><\/a> (7,064 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is seen way off on the horizon in the narrow opening between the trees. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, Lupe had done it.\u00a0 She had been to the true summit of Peak 4400.\u00a0 Whether the N or S summit had been highest was uncertain.\u00a0 Due to the forest, they couldn’t be seen from one another.\u00a0 Brian Kalet had picked the N summit as the highest.\u00a0 Both Loop and SPHP were happy enough to go along with that choice, right or wrong.<\/p>\n

In any case, Lupe had been to both the N and S summits.\u00a0 Better skedaddle, and leave Peak 4400 once and for all!\u00a0 Going clear back to the road to the N that the nice man had shown SPHP as being the best route out of here would have been the long way around now.\u00a0 Instead, Loop returned to Whitewood on a route pretty similar to the way she’d come up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe’s journey back to Whitewood from Peak 4400<\/strong> was pleasant and uneventful. She seldom had any views, but did catch this one of Bear Butte<\/strong>. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once back at the G6 (12:33 PM, 65\u00b0F)<\/em>, Lupe and SPHP left Whitewood driving SW on Crook City Road.\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 again near the start of Oakbrook Road (12:45 PM)<\/em>.\u00a0 Lupe’s next peakbagging goal, the summit of Peak<\/span> 4240<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, was scarcely 0.25 mile SE of here.\u00a0 Loop and SPHP took a stroll down Oakbrook Road looking for a way up.<\/p>\n

At the W end of Peak 4240, an ATV trail left Oakbrook Road heading E up the narrow ridge straight for the summit.\u00a0 Perfect!<\/p>\n

The ATV trail started out in pine forest climbing steadily.\u00a0 Soon Lupe came to a line of small S facing cliffs.\u00a0 The ATV trail stayed a little N of them.\u00a0 The cliff tops provided progressively better views, as the Carolina Dog journeyed up the hill.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Looper near the W end of Peak 4240<\/strong> at the start of the line of small S facing cliffs. Photo looks ESE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The short climb didn’t take Lupe long.\u00a0 Soon she was at the top of the mountain.\u00a0 As she’d seen from Peak 4400, the top of Peak 4240 was mostly bare.\u00a0 The forest didn’t extend quite all the way to the summit.\u00a0 Even though Peak<\/span> 4240<\/span><\/a><\/strong> wasn’t as high as nearby surrounding hills, the views were pretty decent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe arrives at the summit of Peak 4240<\/strong> after a short trek up from the W. Heavily forested Crook Mountain<\/span><\/a> (4,930 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is in view. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Still at the summit. Whitewood Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,140 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is in view on the R.\u00a0 Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Bear Butte<\/span><\/a> (4,433 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (R) peeks over a ridge. Photo looks ENE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe squints in the sunlight. Elkhorn Peak<\/span><\/a> (4,524 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is the bare hill on the horizon at Center. The SW face of Peak<\/span> 4400<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, where Lupe had just come from, is the high ridge on the R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
A little W of Peak 4240’s actual summit was this view of Pillar Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,469 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L of Center). Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Pillar Peak<\/strong> (R) from Peak 4240<\/strong> with help from the telephoto lens. Pillar Peak<\/strong> is sort of a special place to Lupe. Her very first blog post was about her Expedition No. 120 ascent of Pillar Peak<\/strong><\/span><\/a> on 2-20-15. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was fun to see so many mountains Lupe had been to before from Peak 4240!\u00a0 She lingered, admiring the views.\u00a0 Loopster couldn’t stay too long, though, if she wanted to climb another mountain today.\u00a0 After a Taste of the Wild snack, the Carolina Dog was ready to move on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Loopster near the cliffs, shortly before starting down Peak 4240<\/strong>. Whitewood Peak<\/strong> is on the far L. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last mountain Lupe would be climbing today wasn’t a Brian Kalet peak.\u00a0 Lookout Peak<\/span><\/a> (4,478 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> had been added to the Peakbagger.com data base a long time ago by Doug Melton<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, another prolific peakbagger.\u00a0 Lookout Peak is the dominant mountain E of I-90 at Spearfish, SD.\u00a0 When Lupe got back to the G6 (1:29 PM)<\/em>, SPHP drove her to Spearfish.<\/p>\n

Late November, yet it was an amazing 72\u00b0F when SPHP parked the G6 at a little park at the S end of Saddle Horn Drive (1:57 PM)<\/em>.\u00a0 Lupe hopped out.\u00a0 Very few of her mountain ascents had ever started in a town, but this one was going to.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP strolled 0.5 block N on Saddle Horn Drive, before turning W on Branding Iron Drive.<\/p>\n

SPHP had no idea what the situation was on access to Lookout Peak, but on the way in from the SE had seen a road zigzagging up the mountain’s S slope above a residential subdivision.\u00a0 There were towers on Lookout Peak, so there must be a way up somewhere.\u00a0 Loop wasn’t far from that zigzagging road now.\u00a0 Would it really be as easy as simply sauntering through the neighborhood to get to it?<\/p>\n

Branding Iron Drive curved SW.\u00a0 Loop took a R on Pony Express Lane.\u00a0 Ahead, at the upper end of this short street, a dirt road curved L out of sight.\u00a0 Most promising!\u00a0 When Lupe got to the end of the street, a sign showed that this was the access road to Lookout Mountain Park.\u00a0 The sign listed a few simple rules, none prohibiting Dingoes.<\/p>\n

And it was as easy as that!\u00a0 Lupe trotted up Lookout Peak’s S slope on the zigzagging road.\u00a0 The road brought Loop to a forested high point ESE of the summit.\u00a0 From there, it continued across a saddle to the base of the summit knob.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Approaching Lookout Peak’s summit knob. This access road starts at the end of Pony Express Drive in Spearfish. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Crow Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,787 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (far L), the dominant mountain W of Spearfish, is on the horizon. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the base of the summit knob, a trail left the road going right on up to the top.\u00a0 The trail was rocky and a bit scrambly, but short.\u00a0 In minutes, Lupe was approaching the towers at Lookout Peak’s summit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Approaching the summit. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
These towers and little buildings are right at Lookout Peak’s true summit, near the E end of the summit knob.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The area right around the true summit was crowded with towers and buildings.\u00a0 Approaching from the E, the summit had appeared like a big knob, but once Lupe was on top, she could see it was more elongated and ridge-like toward the W.\u00a0 The terrain sloped down in that direction, yet looked like it might be the best place to check out the views.<\/p>\n

Lupe trotted W past the true summit to see what she would find.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe WNW of the true summit on Lookout Peak<\/strong>. Crow Peak<\/strong> is in view beyond the city of Spearfish. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Peak<\/span> 4433<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, the high ridge in the distance, is another Brian Kalet peak of interest to Lupe. She wasn’t going to get there today, though. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The city of Belle Fourche is barely visible beyond the distant low pine-covered hills on the L. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking up the path to the true summit from the lower W portion of the summit ridge. Lupe may not have been quite as high here, but this area was prettier without all the towers and buildings around. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe came to exposed ledges of large flat rocks at the far WNW end of the summit ridge.\u00a0 Although at the low point of the entire summit area, the ledges provided some of the finest views from Lookout Peak.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
From this exposed rock ledge at the far WNW end of the summit ridge, Lupe had some of the best views available from Lookout Peak<\/strong>. Crow Peak<\/strong> (L) and a good portion of downtown Spearfish are in view. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the way back to the G6, Lupe stopped by the true summit for a photo.\u00a0 Then it was all downhill from here.\u00a0 Some of the views on the way down were really nice, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe at the true summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Starting down the short scrambly trail to the access road. The mouth of famed Spearfish Canyon<\/strong> is in view beyond I-90 toward the R. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
View to the SSW from Lookout Peak<\/strong>. Spearfish Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,800 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is at Center. Similarly shaped, but more distant Little Crow Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,885 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is toward the R. The mouth of Spearfish Canyon<\/strong> is on the far R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Loop had been up at the summit, she’d had the whole mountain to herself.\u00a0 Apparently, this was just a lucky fluke, at least on a gorgeous day like today.\u00a0 On the way down, she started meeting lots of people and dogs coming up.\u00a0 Lupe enjoyed all the sniffing that went on.\u00a0 She wagged her curly tail at the little dogs, and growled at the big ones.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Whitewood Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,140 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is the high point on the far horizon on the L. Closer by at Center is Green Mountain<\/span><\/a> (5,325 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>. Immediately to its R is Polo Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,410 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 The highest point even farther R is Mount Theodore Roosevelt<\/span><\/a> (5,680 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sun was still up, when Lupe got back to the G6 (3:34 PM, 62\u00b0F)<\/em>.\u00a0 Loop and SPHP spent the remaining hour of daylight driving around scoping out Peak 4433, another Brian Kalet peak of interest in the area.\u00a0 Perhaps someday Lupe will return to climb it, too.\u00a0 But that will be another Black Hills, SD Expedition and a different adventure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lookout Peak from the NE at the end of the day, 11-26-17.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Black Hills Expedition<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Black Hills Expedition<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0 Check out her<\/em> Black Hills, SD & WY\u00a0Expeditions\u00a0Adventure Index<\/span><\/a>, Master Adventure Index<\/span><\/a>, <\/em><\/strong>or subscribe free to<\/em> new Lupe adventures<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a>!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That Brian Kalet!\u00a0 He does get around.\u00a0 Lupe’s 2017 had started off with visits to a number of southern Black Hills peaks Brian had added to the Peakbagger.com data base in the spring of 2016.\u00a0 SPHP hadn’t noticed until months later that about the same time Lupe was climbing in the southern hills, Brian had … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 217 – Peak 4400, Peak 4240 & Lookout Peak (11-26-17)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11729,"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":[105,9,106,871,104,870,869,304],"class_list":["post-11736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-hills","tag-american-dingo","tag-black-hills-expeditions","tag-carolina-dog","tag-lookout-peak","tag-lupe","tag-peak-4240","tag-peak-4400","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/IMG_8299.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\/11736","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=11736"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22507,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11736\/revisions\/22507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}