Not much of an artist are you, SPHP?\u00a0 Can’t even draw a decent stick Dingo!<\/em><\/p>\n True, that!\u00a0 But it’s not a stick, Dingo.\u00a0 It’s a topographic map.\u00a0 With all of two contours on it.\u00a0 It’s going to have to do.<\/em><\/p>\n We’re going to rely on that?<\/em><\/p>\n Yeppers.\u00a0 Can’t waste any more time trying to print out a decent map.\u00a0 No telling where we might wind up with this wonderful homemade navigation tool, but we’ve got to get going.<\/em><\/p>\n Why can’t you print out a map?\u00a0 Is the printer broken?<\/em><\/p>\n No, I don’t think so.\u00a0 The computer and the printer are just having a spat.\u00a0 They’re refusing to talk to each other.\u00a0 Probably angry and upset by something one of these automatic Windows 10 updates said.\u00a0 I see that the printer got all huffy and “migrated” on 3-9-18.\u00a0 I never told it to do that, and it never asked for permission.\u00a0 It just took off on its own free artificial intelligence.<\/em><\/p>\n Migrated?\u00a0 Are you blind, SPHP?\u00a0 The printer is right there, still on your desk.\u00a0 It never goes anywhere.<\/em><\/p>\n Oh, you would be surprised, Looper.\u00a0 It migrates digitally.\u00a0 In this case, off to Noprintyland again, where it loves to wander off to every chance it gets.<\/em><\/p>\n So even though the printer is still right here, you’re saying it’s off having adventures of its own in Noprintyland? Sounds strange, but yeah, that’s about the size of it. Doesn’t make a lick of sense to me!\u00a0 Are you feeling, OK?<\/em><\/p>\n Yes, I’m fine.\u00a0 Anyway, come on!\u00a0 Time to hit the road!<\/em><\/p>\n Due to colder than normal wintry weather, Lupe hadn’t really been much of anywhere for a whole month.\u00a0 The snow had been melting the last couple of days, though, and today was supposed to be really nice.\u00a0 Loopster was ready for action – had been for weeks, but SPHP just kept driving.\u00a0 The American Dingo had a fun time barking at cows, but was still glad when SPHP finally parked the G6.<\/p>\n Lupe hopped out.\u00a0 She was at a familiar place, Cascade Falls along Hwy 71 at the S end of the Black Hills.\u00a0 Although Cascade Falls is a popular swimming and wading spot in the summer, no one was here now.<\/p>\n Let’s go take a look at the falls, Looper.<\/em><\/p>\n Lupe would have been perfectly happy staying at Cascade Falls, but that wasn’t her destination today.\u00a0 She was just here to stretch her legs for a few minutes, then it was back in the G.\u00a0 The drive S continued.<\/p>\n Nebraska!\u00a0 That sign said Nebraska!\u00a0 Are we going to cousin Dusty’s house in Colorado, SPHP?\u00a0 You sure packed light this time.<\/em><\/p>\n No, we aren’t going all the way to Colorado, Looper.\u00a0 We’re going back to Toadstool Geologic Pa<\/strong><\/span>rk<\/strong><\/span><\/a> to explore part of the Hudson Meng Bison Trail.\u00a0 Remember when you took the Fossil Loop Trail<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0 a couple of\u00a0 years ago?\u00a0 That was in Toadstool Geologic Park.<\/em><\/p>\n Oh, yeah!\u00a0 That was awesome exploring the Nebraska badlands!\u00a0 Had to watch out for cactus, though.\u00a0 So we’re going back to take the Bison Trail now?\u00a0 Will we get to see the Hudson Meng Bison Kill?\u00a0 Oh, I hope so!\u00a0 Just think of it, SPHP, the bones of 600 bison, just laying there waiting to be gnawed on!\u00a0 Why, I will be the richest Dingo on earth with a treasure like that!<\/em><\/p>\n No, we’re not going all the way to Hudson Meng.\u00a0 Sorry.\u00a0 I don’t think it’s open this time of year.\u00a0 They wouldn’t let you chew on their bison bones, anyway.\u00a0 You wouldn’t like it if they did.\u00a0 Those bones are 10,000 year old fossils now.\u00a0 You’re a bit late getting to them.<\/em><\/p>\n Oh, too bad.\u00a0 So what are we gonna do then?<\/em><\/p>\n We’re going to take the Hudson Meng Bison Trail up the Big Cottonwood Creek drainage.\u00a0 When we’re out of the badlands, we’ll leave the trail and head S for Roundtop Peak.\u00a0 I’m hoping we’ll get to Pine Butte and Wright Peak, too.\u00a0 You will get to do a lot of exploring.<\/em><\/p>\n Oh, some peakbagging!\u00a0 Sounds like fun.\u00a0 Not as much fun as 600 bison bones, though.<\/em><\/p>\n Almost immediately after crossing the Nebraska state line, SPHP turned R on Toadstool Road.\u00a0 Toadstool Road was gravel.\u00a0 For a few miles there were spots where the road was mighty wet.\u00a0 The G6 went through huge mud puddles sending a slushy, muddy spray everywhere, but fortunately did not become stuck.\u00a0 The road then improved somewhat, up on higher, drier ground.<\/p>\n 12 miles from the N end of Toadstool Road, Lupe saw another sign for Toadstool Geologic Park.\u00a0 SPHP turned R (SW) onto a side road that went up over railroad tracks.\u00a0 Toadstool Geologic Park was only 1.5 miles from here, but SPHP stopped a little before Lupe got there.\u00a0 Her peakbagging objectives for the day were in view.<\/p>\n The road dead ended at a campground.\u00a0 Toadstool Geologic Park was totally deserted when Lupe arrived.\u00a0 SPHP took a quick look at some of the displays, while Lupe sniffed around the campground.<\/p>\n After brief preparations, Lupe and SPHP left the campground heading W on the Fossil Loop Trail.\u00a0 (10:29 AM, 53\u00b0F)<\/em>\u00a0 Lupe was soon among the toadstool rock formations Toadstool Geologic Park is named for.<\/p>\n The Fossil Loop Trail wound among fascinating badlands scenery.\u00a0 Lupe quickly reached a junction with the Hudson Meng Bison Trail.<\/p>\n The Hudson Meng Bison Trail follows Big Cottonwood Creek S for more than a mile.\u00a0 Big Cottonwood Creek didn’t have any cottonwoods along it, so there wasn’t much shade.\u00a0 Most of the year, the creek would have been dry, but there was a shallow stream of snow melt today.<\/p>\n The trail crossed the creek many times.\u00a0 If conditions had been much wetter, this would have meant numerous slogs through deep mud.\u00a0 Clearly this was no place to be when it was wet.\u00a0 Fortunately, it was just dry enough today so SPHP could avoid getting too terribly muddy.\u00a0 Lupe simply forged ahead oblivious to the creek crossings.<\/p>\n Loop hadn’t gone far when she came to a sign saying she was about to leave Toadstool Geologic Park.<\/p>\n The Hudson Meng Bison Trail promptly faded away.\u00a0 Apparently it sees little use.\u00a0 There was seldom any track to follow, but brown posts topped with beige marked the general route.<\/p>\n As Lupe followed Big Cottonwood Creek upstream, it became little more than a trickle.\u00a0 It wasn’t always possible to tell at a glance which way the Hudson Meng Bison Trail went.\u00a0 Other little creeks trickled out of large side canyons and ravines.<\/p>\n The marker posts weren’t numerous, but if Lupe went more than 5 or 10 minutes without seeing one, she had usually taken a wrong turn into a side canyon and had to backtrack.\u00a0 The correct route was almost always toward the W (R) in the canyon with the most vegetation.<\/p>\n Some of the side canyons proved to be interesting detours.\u00a0 Even if they were the wrong way, Lupe had fun on her brief excursions into them.<\/p>\n Only a few days ago, it had still been cold out.\u00a0 With some snow still melting, SPHP wasn’t too worried Lupe would run into rattlesnakes.<\/p>\n However, there was a fair amount of her other prairie nemesis around.\u00a0 Cactus wasn’t super abundant, but it wasn’t uncommon either.\u00a0 SPHP had to watch out for it for Looper.\u00a0 In a few places, SPHP carried Lupe beyond larger cactus patches.\u00a0 Every now and then she stepped on a cactus, and didn’t care for that at all.\u00a0 SPHP then had to pull a few small, but painful spines out of her paws.<\/p>\n For the most part, though, the Carolina Dog was doing fine.\u00a0 She was having a good time sniffing and exploring.\u00a0 The badlands scenery following Big Cottonwood Creek was so beautiful and western looking!\u00a0 It was fun to think about all the strange ancient mammals that used to roam this area millions of years ago.\u00a0 Some of their bones are still hidden as fossils back in these wild looking ravines.<\/p>\n After crossing muddy Big Cottonwood Creek a zillion times, and dodging cactus patches which were becoming more frequent and extensive, Lupe arrived at a fence.\u00a0 The fence had a big open gap in it where what little remained of Big Cottonwood Creek flowed through.\u00a0 Beyond this gap a trail marker could be seen.\u00a0 For the first time, the trail left the creek’s main channel here and entered a narrow side canyon.<\/p>\n The side canyon was V-shaped with steep, crumbly sides.\u00a0 The upper rim of this ravine wasn’t all that much higher than where Lupe was at the bottom.\u00a0 Clearly, the American Dingo would soon be reaching the end of the canyon.<\/p>\n The end of the ravine was steep, but a short climb brought Lupe up onto a vast prairie.\u00a0 A faint, grassy road headed SSE.\u00a0 This was USFS Road No. 918, which would eventually go over a saddle between Roundtop Peak <\/span><\/a>(4,540 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> and Pine Butte <\/span><\/a>(4,500 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, both now back in view to the S.<\/p>\n A line of Hudson Meng Bison Trail markers led across the prairie heading SW toward another big ravine.\u00a0 This ravine is part of the Whitehead Creek drainage.\u00a0 Following USFS Road No. 918 would have been a little shorter, but Lupe stuck with the Hudson Meng Bison Trail until she got close to the Whitehead Creek ravine instead.<\/p>\n Instead of following the Bison Trail down into the Whitehead Creek drainage, Lupe left the trail heading SE.\u00a0 She stayed on the high ground overlooking the scenic ravine.\u00a0 The rim of the ravine had only a little grass and virtually no cactus.\u00a0 Lupe gained elevation steadily.<\/p>\n 0.75 mile from where she’d left the trail, Lupe neared the top of a small hill.\u00a0 Here she had a good view off to the SW from a different angle than before.\u00a0 A higher ridge could now be seen beyond a sharp hill that SPHP had assumed was Wright Peak.\u00a0 Maybe that higher ridge was actually Wright Peak<\/span><\/a> (4,654 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>?\u00a0 SPHP wasn’t certain.\u00a0 It seemed like that might make sense.<\/p>\n Consulting the hand-sketched topo map didn’t help.\u00a0 Knowing that Lupe would ultimately be approaching Wright Peak from the E, SPHP hadn’t extended the map any farther W than Wright Peak.\u00a0 Whether or not there was any higher ground beyond it wasn’t shown.<\/p>\n Nothing could be done to extend the map now.\u00a0 Lupe continued up to the top of the small hill.\u00a0 Roundtop Peak was less than 0.5 mile S.<\/p>\n Lupe ended up following USFS Road No. 918 part of the way to the base of Roundtop Peak.\u00a0 She left the road to climb the hill’s surprisingly steep N slope.<\/p>\n A forest fire had occurred in this region in 2012.\u00a0 Most of the pine trees on Roundtop were dead.\u00a0 Quite a few had fallen over.\u00a0 The deadfall made getting to the summit of Roundtop Peak harder than it should have been, but it still didn’t take Loop long to reach the top of the hill.<\/p>\n First things first!\u00a0 Lupe was ready for a break.\u00a0 Water and Taste of the Wild.\u00a0 SPHP ate an apple.\u00a0 For a little while, Loop and SPHP rested with a grand view of the western Nebraska prairie off to the SE.\u00a0 Then it was time to tour Roundtop’s summit.<\/p>\n From the W end of Roundtop Peak’s summit, Lupe had an excellent view of her remaining peakbagging objectives.<\/p>\n The summit of Pine Butte<\/span><\/a> (4,500 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is 0.75 mile WNW of Roundtop.\u00a0 It didn’t take Lupe long to get there.\u00a0 Pine Butte had really been hit hard by the 2012 forest fire.\u00a0 Deadfall littered the summit ridge.\u00a0 Not a single pine tree survived.\u00a0 Worse yet, no small trees had germinated since the fire.\u00a0 Pine Butte will not be worthy of its name again for a long, long time.<\/p>\n
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