{"id":32122,"date":"2021-07-13T08:10:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T14:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=32122"},"modified":"2021-07-18T11:05:11","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T17:05:11","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-61-roughlock-falls-old-baldy-mountain-6-2-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=32122","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 61 – Roughlock Falls & Old Baldy Mountain (6-2-13)"},"content":{"rendered":"

10:47 AM, 66\u00baF, Latchstring Inn trailhead for Roughlock Falls at Savoy<\/em> – So much for getting all the way to Cement Ridge<\/span><\/a> (6,674 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> today!\u00a0 SPHP turned L on USFS Road No. 222 at Savoy in Spearfish Canyon, only to find the road blocked.\u00a0 Suddenly looking like Lupe would have to settle for Old Baldy Mountain<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(6,096 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> as an ultimate destination, instead of merely a preliminary goal.<\/p>\n

The intention had been to drive past Roughlock Falls to a trailhead 5 miles away off USFS Road No. 134.\u00a0 From there, Lupe could have started out much closer to Old Baldy Mountain where Cement Ridge would have been within range, too.\u00a0 Oh, well!<\/em>\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 at the trailhead just beyond the Latchstring Inn instead.<\/p>\n

Although Cement Ridge was not to be, the American Dingo didn’t care.\u00a0 Lupe was thrilled just to be out and about.\u00a0 Bounding out of the G6, she was soon on the pleasant one mile trail paralleling Little Spearfish Creek that went to Roughlock Falls.\u00a0 Good thing the trail was well above creek level!\u00a0 A week of cold, rainy weather had normally clear-running Little Spearfish Creek muddy and way out of its banks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Little Spearfish Creek<\/strong> with USFS Road No. 222 beyond it on the way to Roughlock Falls. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turned out, flood damage was the reason USFS Road No. 222 was closed in the first place.\u00a0 Roughlock Falls had tremendous flow when Lupe got there.\u00a0 Little Spearfish Creek was still flooding the picnic area above the falls, and the road damage was apparent up here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Roughlock Falls<\/strong> with several times normal flow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
A popular Black Hills destination, Roughlock Falls<\/strong> seldom appears this robust.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe took advantage of this opportunity to cavort in Little Spearfish Creek on what is normally dry ground.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Cooling off in Little Spearfish Creek<\/strong>. Not as “little” as it used to be!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Little Spearfish Creek<\/strong> was in the process of returning to its banks, but still flowing around this picnic table.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Continuing W beyond the Roughlock Falls picnic ground, Lupe and SPHP trudged along right on USFS Road No. 222.<\/p>\n

Without a cloud in the sky, it was soon getting hot.\u00a0 After about a mile, SPHP noticed a trail N of the road.\u00a0 Turned out there were 2 trails.\u00a0 One went steeply uphill toward the canyon wall.\u00a0 Lupe took the other trail, which followed Little Spearfish Creek upstream, enjoying shady relief from the sun provided by trees growing along the trail.<\/p>\n

After 0.5 mile, Lupe reached the Rod & Gun campground.\u00a0 Beyond the campground, the trail soon forked.\u00a0 Lupe took the Rimrock Trail, which climbed steadily up a side canyon leaving Little Spearfish Creek behind.<\/p>\n

The upper rim of the canyon wasn’t much farther when a deer was seen fleeing through the forest.\u00a0 Upon reaching the place the deer had taken off from, a spotted fawn was seen laying quietly right beside the trail, its slender legs folded beneath it.<\/p>\n

The fawn was alive, but remained completely motionless as Lupe and SPHP approached.\u00a0 Whether it was injured or not, was hard to say.\u00a0 The fawn was distressingly thin, with practically no meat on its bones.\u00a0 Its ribs stuck out a great deal.\u00a0 Was it starving?\u00a0 Without moving at all, the fawn regarded Lupe and SPHP with with sad brown eyes.<\/p>\n

While it was tempting to examine the fawn more closely to determine its true condition, SPHP felt its chances were almost certainly best with its mother.\u00a0 The faster Lupe and SPHP left the area, the more quickly and likely she would return.\u00a0 Hard to abandon the defenseless, spotted fawn, but Lupe and SPHP paused only a moment before moving on.<\/p>\n

10 minutes past the fawn, the terrain leveled out.\u00a0 A junction appeared with another trail shown as No. 76 on SPHP’s old Black Hills USFS map.\u00a0 A short break was taken here in the shade of a large pine tree.\u00a0 Lupe had Taste of the Wild, while SPHP consumed an orange.<\/p>\n

After the break, Lupe headed W on Trail No. 76.\u00a0 It wound through the forest S of an area where there seemed to be a quarry or old mine, but Lupe didn’t stop to investigate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On Trail No. 76.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A meadow surrounded by aspens appeared.\u00a0 Lupe came to USFS Road No. 134 just beyond it.\u00a0 A sign indicated that after crossing the road, the trail continued on to the Old Baldy Mountain trailhead, precisely where the American Dingo needed to go.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Happy Lupe in the meadow near USFS Road No. 134.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

15 minutes after crossing No. 134, Lupe reached the Old Baldy Mountain trailhead.\u00a0 No vehicles.\u00a0 Not a soul here.\u00a0 SPHP paused long enough to take a look at a posted map.<\/p>\n

The map showed 2 trails going to Old Baldy Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,096 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, still nearly 1.5 miles NW.\u00a0 An E route and a W route linked up again not too far from the mountain near a small lake named Baldy Lake.\u00a0 SPHP’s USFS map also showed a Trail No. 66 with two routes, and an unlabeled tiny blue speck close to where they rejoined.<\/p>\n

At first, it wasn’t clear where to go.\u00a0 The only trail that left the trailhead went W, so Lupe followed it.\u00a0 The E route to Old Baldy Mountain soon split off to the R.\u00a0 Deciding to go that way, SPHP led the Carolina Dog N.<\/p>\n

Trail No. 66 went uphill a bit before leveling out.\u00a0 Turning NE, it then started downhill.\u00a0 With all the recent wet weather, Lupe began coming to marshy areas feeding numerous little streams.\u00a0 Despite brief uphill sections, she lost elevation most of the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aspens sprouting new leaves along the E route of the Trail No. 66 loop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More and more water seeped from the hillsides.\u00a0 The trail became a small creek.\u00a0 Every drainage Lupe passed had its own stream running down it.\u00a0 These were all seasonal streams which wouldn’t ordinarily have had more than a trickle, if that.\u00a0 Lupe enjoyed splashing along through all the water, free to get a drink whenever she felt like it.<\/p>\n

Trail No. 66 finally turned NW and went down a steepish, soggy slope.\u00a0 Upon reaching a low point, the trail bounced up and down, still winding along in the same general direction.\u00a0 SPHP concluded that the trail was destined for a particular mountain to the W that didn’t look very high.<\/p>\n

No. 66 eventually started down a slope where the forest gave way to a lush, green field.\u00a0 Two streams, one from the SW and one from the SE, merged immediately upstream of a small earthen dam.\u00a0 The combined stream had succeeded in eroding a gap right through the dam, which no longer backed up any water.<\/p>\n

So much for Baldy Lake!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Overlooking the broken earthen dam that used to back up Baldy Lake. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As if to remove any doubt, a sign saying “Baldy Lake” still stood along the edge of the meadow.\u00a0 Even while in good repair, the earthen dam couldn’t have ever held back much water.\u00a0 In the best of times, Baldy Lake must not have been any bigger than a typical stock pond.<\/p>\n

Due to the circuitous route the E half of Trail No. 66 had taken, a check of SPHP’s USFS map showed that Old Baldy Mountain was still more than 0.5 mile away.\u00a0 Crossing a small bridge below the broken dam, Lupe went W up the hillside beyond it, as the trail took her up into a stand of aspens.\u00a0 After going over a ridge, the Carolina Dog reached the junction where the W branch of the Trail No. 66 loop joined in again.<\/p>\n

Taking the spur to Old Baldy Mountain, Lupe followed a long stretch of trail serving double duty as a mucky stream bed.\u00a0 Once beyond this area, the trail began climbing.\u00a0 Near the end, Lupe gained more elevation than SPHP thought she would, as the trail switchbacked higher.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
By the spur trail to the summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Wildflowers along the way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Beaver Creek<\/strong> (L) from a switchback near the top. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The top of Old Baldy Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,096 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> was forested and plenty roomy enough to move around quite comfortably.\u00a0 A sign stood at the end of the trail.\u00a0 From here, the summit area extended somewhat farther SW.\u00a0 Exploring out that way, Lupe could see Beaver Creek down in a big meadow to the S, a scene she had caught glimpses of on the way up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On Old Baldy Mountain<\/strong>. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From along the summit’s W edge, Lupe saw the deep forested canyon that Beaver Creek drains into sinking N toward a spot where tall cliffs of dark rock were visible along the upper rim of the gorge.\u00a0 Several ridges significantly higher than Old Baldy Mountain were in sight off to the W.\u00a0 SPHP spotted the Cement Ridge fire lookout tower on the ridge farthest N.\u00a0 It looked dauntingly high and far away.\u00a0 Clearly, Lupe wasn’t going to get that far today.<\/p>\n

Relaxing in the shade, Lupe snapped at flies while having more Taste of the Wild.\u00a0 SPHP ate some fruit.\u00a0 Too bad Lupe didn’t have enough time to continue on to Cement Ridge<\/span><\/a> (6,674 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, but the distant start due USFS Road No. 222 being closed had pretty much put it out of reach.<\/p>\n

On the return trip, Lupe explored the W portion of the Trail No. 66 loop.\u00a0 Shortly after splitting off from the E route, the trail entered the huge meadow Lupe had seen S of Old Baldy Mountain.\u00a0 The Carolina Dog was nearly across the meadow when she came to a little stream that drained W into Beaver Creek.\u00a0 Leaving the trail, Lupe went down to have a look at the much larger stream.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
By Beaver Creek<\/strong>. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Much of the ground near Beaver Creek was marshy, or just plain under water.\u00a0 Side streams with good volume were pouring in from every little valley and low spot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Looking upstream. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After enjoying the view of Beaver Creek, Lupe turned SW toward a side valley where yet another tributary could be heard, but not seen.\u00a0 Upon reaching the valley, she turned SE climbing into the forest.\u00a0 This hillside was also full of springs, but Lupe quickly found the trail again.<\/p>\n

No. 66 proceeded S steadily gaining elevation, before eventually turning E and winding its way back to the Old Baldy Mountain trailhead.\u00a0 From the trailhead, Lupe proceeded E to USFS Road No. 134, crossing it at the same place as she had earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Flowers along the trail E of the Old Baldy Mountain trailhead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead of getting on Trail No. 76 again, Lupe took a logging trail farther N that SPHP thought might be a shortcut.\u00a0 Heading E, the logging trail climbed over a modest hill past a series of little ponds where frogs sang cheerfully until the entire choir would suddenly go silent when the American Dingo got too close.<\/p>\n

The shortcut worked.\u00a0 Lupe made it back to Trail No. 76 again not too far from the junction with the Rimrock Trail.\u00a0 Another short rest break was taken here beneath the same big pine tree as before.<\/p>\n

Although curious, SPHP didn’t think it was a good idea to take Lupe past the spotted fawn again.\u00a0 Instead of going down that way, Lupe continued E on Trail No. 76, staying on high ground for another 0.75 mile.\u00a0 At that point, the trail suddenly turned sharply NW, whereupon it immediately turned E again, descending a big gulch.<\/p>\n

Partway down, the American Dingo came to an unexpected divide.\u00a0 The clearest trail headed uphill over a ridge to the ENE, while a more faded path continued down the gulch.\u00a0 When SPHP started on the higher trail, Lupe raced ahead, but SPHP was soon having second thoughts.\u00a0 Probably should have gone down the gulch in search of USFS Road No. 222.<\/p>\n

Returning to the lower path, it curved SE into a narrow gorge.\u00a0 Lupe came to a very secluded and private place where water dripped down tall rock walls covered with moss.\u00a0 Only a short stretch was flanked on both sides with scenic rock walls like that, but it was very cool.<\/p>\n

Going around a bend, the roar of Little Spearfish Creek was suddenly heard down in the much larger canyon.\u00a0 Descending a forested slope, Lupe found herself at the same point where she had left USFS Road No. 222 to take the shady trail to the Rod & Gun campground much earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

The rest of the return was identical to the route Lupe had taken this morning.\u00a0 SPHP collected Lupe treasures along No. 222, coming up with quite a few of them in short order.\u00a0 At the Roughlock Falls picnic ground, the water had receded from where it had been this morning, leaving mud drying in the evening sun.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Heading back on USFS Road No. 222.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7:32 PM, 62\u00baF, Latchstring Inn trailhead at Savoy<\/em> – Expedition No. 61 was over and done with except for the drive home.\u00a0 Old Baldy Mountain had been a fun day, but the skinny spotted fawn’s fate would forever remain a mystery.\u00a0 At home, Lupe was happy to see Guille’s car, and rushed into the house to greet her.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Evening in Little Spearfish Creek canyon<\/strong>.<\/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 Prior Black Hills Expedition<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Black Hills, SD & WY Expedition No. 141 – Old Baldy Mountain & Cement Ridge (10-11-15)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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

10:47 AM, 66\u00baF, Latchstring Inn trailhead for Roughlock Falls at Savoy – So much for getting all the way to Cement Ridge (6,674 ft.) today!\u00a0 SPHP turned L on USFS Road No. 222 at Savoy in Spearfish Canyon, only to find the road blocked.\u00a0 Suddenly looking like Lupe would have to settle for Old Baldy … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 61 – Roughlock Falls & Old Baldy Mountain (6-2-13)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[105,9,106,104,366,478,304],"class_list":["post-32122","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-lupe","tag-old-baldy-mountain","tag-roughlock-falls","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/P1010010-1.jpg?fit=1280%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32122","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=32122"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34583,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32122\/revisions\/34583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}