{"id":3335,"date":"2015-12-09T09:01:05","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T16:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3335"},"modified":"2020-09-21T22:11:23","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T04:11:23","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-147-silver-peak-old-bald-peak-11-24-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3335","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 147 – Silver Peak & Old Bald Peak (11-24-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lupe was on a roll!\u00a0 After 2 days in the Black Hills with Moose and Squirrel<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, (and joined on the 2nd day by Lanis, too), Lupe and SPHP were heading out for yet another adventure, this time\u00a0on their own again.\u00a0 The weather forecast was for a high in the upper 40’s, followed by days of much colder temperatures.\u00a0 This time of year, it’s important to plan flexibly and just go when the opportunity arises.<\/p>\n

Lupe had two peakbagging goals\u00a0in the central Black Hills.\u00a0 The first was Silver Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(5,810 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, and the second was Old Bald Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(6,130 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Lupe had been to both mountains before, but it had been more than 3 years since Lupe\u00a0last stood on\u00a0Old Bald Peak, and nearly that long since she had been\u00a0up on\u00a0Silver Peak.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on her way to Silver Peak, seen in the background to the SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP parked the G6 at a wide spot along County Road No. 251 about a mile S of Silver City.\u00a0 Silver City is\u00a0a cabin community located a bit upstream along Rapid Creek to the W of Pactola Reservoir.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe left the G6\u00a0near No. 251’s intersection with USFS Road No. 249.\u00a0 It was 10:11 AM, and 40\u00b0F under overcast skies when Lupe set out for Silver Peak.<\/p>\n

Instead of following the road, Lupe and SPHP went right through the forest.\u00a0 Almost immediately, Lupe came to a small creek which was running low.\u00a0 She crossed the creek, and climbed over a little ridge to the S.\u00a0 The same creek, with better flow was on the other side of the ridge.\u00a0 Lupe had to cross the creek again to reach USFS Road No. 249 on the other side.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe reached this small creek just a minute or two after leaving the G6. SPHP’s maps don’t show any name for this creek. Since it flows through Nugget Gulch, Lupe and SPHP consider it Nugget Creek.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP followed USFS Road No. 249 upstream as it wound around generally toward the W.\u00a0 There were a number of creek crossings.\u00a0 Even though the water flow was significantly better at most places upstream than it had been near the G6, Lupe always found a way across.<\/p>\n

Under the cloudy skies, down in the narrow canyon of Nugget Gulch the mood was dark and quiet.\u00a0\u00a0Most places there was\u00a0some snow on the road, which lent a wintery feel to the situation.\u00a0 It was really quite pretty.\u00a0 Nugget Creek bubbled along, breaking the otherwise almost total silence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On USFS Road No. 249 in Nugget Gulch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It wasn’t total silence, because at intervals Lupe was having a little success at finding squirrels in the trees.\u00a0 Then the canyon echoed with excitement and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

After Lupe had gone nearly a mile upstream along the road, Nugget Creek reached its point of greatest flow.\u00a0 The creek was\u00a0down below the road in an area of large rocks.\u00a0 A short distance farther upstream, Lupe came to a place where the creek was up close to road level again.\u00a0 Here there was a little stretch of the creek with some still green moss growing in it.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP cleverly named\u00a0this area\u00a0Mossy Spot.<\/p>\n

\""Mossy<\/a>
“Mossy Spot” in Nugget Creek is just a bit N of the junction of USFS Roads No. 249 & 249.3B.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Almost immediately after passing by Mossy Spot, Lupe came to a junction with USFS Road No. 249.3B.\u00a0 Lupe left the main road to follow No. 249.3B up a side canyon to the NW.\u00a0 No. 249.3B is essentially an abandoned road.\u00a0 There were small trees growing undisturbed on it in places.\u00a0 It still provided a very good path for Lupe and SPHP, however.<\/p>\n

No. 249.3B climbed steadily at a fairly good clip.\u00a0 After more than 0.5 mile, it finally just dead-ended.\u00a0 By that time, Lupe had already gained quite a bit of elevation.\u00a0\u00a0The crest of a\u00a0ridge to the W of Silver Peak was visible just a little bit higher up ahead.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0finished the climb\u00a0up onto the ridge.<\/p>\n

The ridgeline was fairly narrow, and the other side of the ridge was pretty steep.\u00a0 Lupe could see quite a distance to the W and NW from the ridge.\u00a0 In some places, there were rocks jutting up\u00a0along the ridgeline.\u00a0 Lupe climbed up onto one of these outcroppings for a look around.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On the ridgeline SW of Silver Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe had actually come up from much farther S & W\u00a0along this same ridge the first time she climbed Silver Peak way back on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 48 on 2-23-13.\u00a0 From here, all Lupe had to do to reach the summit of Silver Peak was continue E following the ridge.<\/p>\n

It was a lot harder now than it had been back in early 2013.\u00a0 Pine bark beetles had killed many trees.\u00a0 There were now lots of fallen trees blown over by the wind along the ridge.\u00a0 Most of them were laying perpendicular to the direction Lupe needed to go.<\/p>\n

Of course, Lupe wasn’t the one with a problem – SPHP was.\u00a0 All the deadfall timber repeatedly forced SPHP down below the ridgeline to get around the worst of it.\u00a0\u00a0The summit of Silver Peak\u00a0really wasn’t all that far from where Lupe had reached the ridgeline, but\u00a0it took SPHP considerably longer than it had on Expedition No. 48 to get there.<\/p>\n

By the time Lupe and SPHP\u00a0reached the top of Silver Peak, it was time for a break.\u00a0 Lupe had\u00a0water and Taste of the Wild.\u00a0 SPHP just had water and a rest.\u00a0 The rock cairn with a post sticking out of it that SPHP remembered from Lupe’s first ascent in 2013 was still there.\u00a0 Lupe was soon posing for a couple of photos at the cairn.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the cairn on top of Silver Peak. Photo looks SW, the direction Lupe had come from to get here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
On top of Silver Peak. This photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even though there were quite a few dead trees that had fallen over, the summit of Silver Peak was still forested enough to effectively block the views.\u00a0 There were glimpses between the remaining trees of what was out there, but that was about it.\u00a0 The best of what views there were was provided by a small opening back to the NE toward Silver City.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Looks like there are still a few trees left! Looking NE from Silver Peak toward Silver City.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe’s first peakbagging goal for the day was accomplished.\u00a0 Since Silver Peak offered little in the way of inspiring viewpoints, there wasn’t much reason for Lupe to dilly-dally up here.\u00a0 Soon Lupe and SPHP were heading back down the mountain, again following the W ridge.<\/p>\n

Even though USFS Road No. 249.3B would have provided an easy route back down to No. 249 again, Lupe didn’t go that way.\u00a0 Instead, Lupe and SPHP retraced the 2013 route.\u00a0 Lupe continued following\u00a0the W ridge.\u00a0 The ridge turned S, and eventually brought Lupe to Peak 5732\u00a0about 0.5 mile to the SW of Silver Peak.<\/p>\n

The ridge continued S from Peak 5732, but started losing elevation rapidly.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP eventually wound up in a deep ravine.\u00a0 The ravine was rather inconveniently choked up with lots of dead trees that had fallen down the steep slopes.\u00a0 There was evidence of a side road off USFS Road No. 249 that had once led through the ravine\u00a0to Stewart Gulch, but the road was utterly impassible by any vehicle now.<\/p>\n

Lupe explored up and down both sides of the deep ravine, while SPHP slowly worked through the tangle at the bottom.\u00a0 Finally, SPHP reached USFS Road No. 249 again.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP took No. 249 heading S\u00a0up a valley, the first part of which was\u00a0a portion\u00a0of West Nugget Gulch.\u00a0 This far up the valley there was no sign of Nugget Creek.<\/p>\n

Old Bald Peak, Lupe’s next peakbagging goal, is about 3.5 miles as the crow flies due S of Silver Peak.\u00a0 Lupe’s route was somewhat longer than a crow’s.\u00a0 No. 249 eventually\u00a0leveled out at a\u00a0saddle,\u00a0and then started heading down.\u00a0 There was a mountain ahead that SPHP thought was Old Bald Peak.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t long though, before SPHP realized this mountain wasn’t\u00a0Old Bald Peak.\u00a0 It was\u00a0Peak 6043, about 0.75 mile to the ESE.\u00a0 Long ago, Lupe had been up\u00a0on Peak 6043.\u00a0 Way back on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 3, Lupe and SPHP had tried to find and climb Old Bald Peak, but SPHP didn’t know the area back then.\u00a0 Instead of climbing Old Bald Peak, Lupe had climbed Peak 6043.<\/p>\n

\"At<\/a>
At first, SPHP thought this was Old Bald Peak. It soon turned out to be Peak 6043, about 0.75 mile to the ESE. Lupe has been on this mountain once before. She climbed it way back on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 3 on 1-29-12. She was only 13 1\/2 months old back then!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There wasn’t going to be any such mistake today.\u00a0 When Lupe reached the tiny stream at the intersection of USFS Roads No. 249 and No. 677, SPHP led Lupe off the road and W up into the forest.\u00a0 There wasn’t much deadfall in the forest here, and the slope of the terrain was pretty gentle.\u00a0 Lupe had a blast racing around this way and that.<\/p>\n

When\u00a0Lupe had gone almost 0.5 mile W, she reached the White Forest.\u00a0 Soon the terrain\u00a0became considerably steeper.\u00a0 It was time to turn S, and follow the ridge up to the summit of Old Bald Peak.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The White Forest on the N slope of Old Bald Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was a little bit of snow in the forest on the N side of the mountain, but it was still a pretty easy climb.\u00a0 Before long, Lupe was back on top of Old Bald Mountain for the first time since Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 33 on 11-4-12.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe at the summit of Old Bald Peak. This was her 2nd time here. She also climbed Old Bald Peak way back on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 33.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Old Bald Peak may have been bald back when it got its name, but it isn’t bald now.\u00a0 There were quite a few trees around.\u00a0 Even so, there were still some open spots here and there along the summit ridge.\u00a0 By moving around a bit, it was possible to see quite a nice variety of views.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S toward Harney Peak<\/a> (7,242 ft.)<\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Boulder<\/a>
Boulder Hill<\/a> (5,331 ft.)<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0is seen in the distance on the L. A portion of Sheridan Lake is toward the R. The bare summit of Silver Mountain<\/a> (5,405 ft.)<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(not to be confused with Silver Peak, which Lupe climbed this day) pokes above Calumet Ridge<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (5,601 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> beyond Sheridan Lake. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking NW from Old Bald Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Looking<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S toward Peak 6167, which is actually a bit higher than Old Bald Peak. Lupe and SPHP have never been over there. Looks like there is a road to the top. Perhaps there is a future expedition in store for Lupe over there?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Custer Peak<\/span><\/a> (6804 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, where Lupe had been just the day before with Xochitl, Steve, & Lanis, is the pointy peak between the trees on the horizon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe’s Black Hills Expeditions just aren’t as long this time of year, since the sun goes down so early.\u00a0 Even though it really wasn’t all that late yet, the sun was already getting low in the W.\u00a0 It was time to think about heading back to the G6.\u00a0 SPHP thought the slanting rays of the sun were doing a rather nice job of lighting up Lupe’s fur, though.\u00a0 She was looking especially beautiful!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Looking good in the slanting sunlight of a late November afternoon on Old Bald Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP headed down the N slopes of Old Bald Mountain.\u00a0 Surprisingly, there were some views that opened up here and there along the way.<\/p>\n

\"Peak<\/a>
Peak 5953, the high point seen here, is part of a ridge between West Nugget Gulch and Middle Nugget Gulch. Lupe has been up on Peak 5953 once before. There wasn’t enough daylight left for her to climb it this day, though.\u00a0 Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP wandered through the forest heading N.\u00a0 Lupe found a small road for SPHP to follow.\u00a0 It eventually curved E and connected with USFS Road No. 249 again.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP could now follow No. 249 N, and then\u00a0E\u00a0all the way back to No. 251.\u00a0 A short stroll N along No. 251 would bring Lupe back to the G6.\u00a0 SPHP trudged along the road, while Lupe alternately followed along, or checked things out in the forest near the road.\u00a0 The light was fading fast.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The light fades as Lupe and SPHP head N on USFS Road No. 249.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At one point, Lupe wanted to stop for a little break.\u00a0 She had some more water and Taste of the Wild.\u00a0 She rested on the ground for a few minutes.\u00a0 Then she was ready to go again.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe chillin’.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It grew dark as Lupe and SPHP entered the lower reaches of Nugget Gulch.\u00a0 The sky must have been clouding up.\u00a0 SPHP saw only a couple of stars.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP navigated the creek crossings by flashlight.\u00a0 Lupe reached County Road No. 251.\u00a0 A couple minutes later, she was at the G6.\u00a0 It looked like it could have been midnight, but it was only 5:44 PM.\u00a0 It was 35\u00b0F.\u00a0 The air was calm and still.<\/p>\n

Somewhere off to the S, a bird was calling, but it didn’t sound like an owl.\u00a0 Lupe wanted to stay and listen.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP sat on the ground, and listened to the night.\u00a0 After 5 minutes, the bird was heard no more.\u00a0 The only sound was a faint trickling coming from Nugget Creek, which wasn’t far off.\u00a0 A plane with blinking lights flew by.<\/p>\n

After 15 minutes, Lupe was ready to go.\u00a0 She hopped into the G6, no doubt hoping for a nice bowl of Alpo back home.\u00a0 She wasn’t disappointed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An exquisitely beautiful Carolina Dog on Old Bald Peak 11-24-15.<\/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 Prior Black Hills Expedition<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s Black Hills Expeditions Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lupe was on a roll!\u00a0 After 2 days in the Black Hills with Moose and Squirrel, (and joined on the 2nd day by Lanis, too), Lupe and SPHP were heading out for yet another adventure, this time\u00a0on their own again.\u00a0 The weather forecast was for a high in the upper 40’s, followed by days of … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 147 – Silver Peak & Old Bald Peak (11-24-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3316,"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":[105,9,106,104,483,482,304],"class_list":["post-3335","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-bald-peak","tag-silver-peak","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/P1070673.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\/3335","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=3335"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22482,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3335\/revisions\/22482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}