Peak 6820 was Lupe’s primary peakbagging goal for the day.\u00a0 SPHP wasn’t entirely certain Lupe hadn’t been there once before.\u00a0 Back on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 58 on 5-11-13, Lupe had climbed a high ridge somewhere not too far to the E.\u00a0 Maybe it was possible that ridge was part of Peak 6820?\u00a0 It would be fun to find out.<\/p>\n
Lupe didn’t stay on No. 206.2D very long.\u00a0 After she had gone several hundred yards, SPHP noticed a trail heading E.\u00a0 Peak 6820 was only about a mile to the E, so Lupe and SPHP followed the trail.\u00a0 It climbed through the forest and arrived up\u00a0on a high ridge.\u00a0 SPHP recognized the ridge as the same one Lupe\u00a0had been to on Expedition No. 58.\u00a0 It wasn’t part of Peak 6820, though.\u00a0 About 0.75 mile away, SPHP could see a modestly higher forested hill to the E.\u00a0 That hill had to be Peak 6820!<\/p>\n
Even though it wasn’t going to take Lupe any closer to Peak 6820, Lupe and SPHP explored the ridge Lupe was on around to the NNE.\u00a0 At first the ridge was fairly broad, open and grassy.\u00a0 The N end, though, was all in the forest.\u00a0 SPHP had been hoping for a view of Besant Park to the N, but any view was hidden by the trees.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP returned S to where Lupe had come up.<\/p>\n
Lupe could have gone down into the valley heading straight toward Peak 6820. However, it looked like she might not have to lose so much elevation, if she followed the ridge she was already on to the S.\u00a0 It looked like this ridge would eventually swing around to the E toward Peak 6820.<\/p>\n
Lupe and SPHP headed S following the ridgeline.\u00a0 The ridge stayed about the same elevation, but gradually grew narrower.\u00a0 Lupe came to several rock outcroppings, but\u00a0the\u00a0rock formations\u00a0ended as Lupe approached a shallow saddle.\u00a0 The saddle led over to the next ridge to the S.\u00a0 Down in the saddle, Lupe found a dirt road, possibly another part of No. 206.2D.\u00a0 She followed\u00a0the road\u00a0only a short distance before leaving it to angle SE up onto the next ridge.<\/p>\n
The next ridge did go E.\u00a0 As Lupe followed this second ridge, she\u00a0could sometimes see White Tail Peak<\/a><\/span> (6,962 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> to the S.\u00a0 The second ridge started out as a broad, level\u00a0mix of forest and meadows, but\u00a0became narrower and rockier as Lupe went E.\u00a0 The level part of the ridge ended at a small limestone cliff.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP had to\u00a0double back to the W, and then turn SE to get past the cliff.<\/p>\n Lupe came to another\u00a0saddle.\u00a0 Everything to the\u00a0NE was down\u00a0in a thickly forested valley\u00a0in the direction of\u00a0Peak 6820.\u00a0 To the SW, the land sloped down more gently into a sunnier, thinly forested area.\u00a0\u00a0Ahead, another ridge rose to the SE.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP went up\u00a0to the high point.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0could see Peak 6820, but she wasn’t much closer to it.\u00a0\u00a0Peak 6820\u00a0was still\u00a00.5 mile away, but now to the NNE.<\/p>\n By now, it was clear that Lupe was going to have to lose some elevation to get to Peak 6820.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP went NW back down to the saddle, turned NE and plunged down into the forest.\u00a0 There was quite a bit of deadfall timber, which slowed SPHP down considerably.\u00a0 It wasn’t too far to the bottom of the valley, however, and once down there, Lupe came to a faint road.<\/p>\n Lupe followed the road NNW, slowly regaining elevation.\u00a0 She soon arrived at an odd place.\u00a0 Hidden down here in a small glade, was a huge metal water tank.\u00a0 Nearby stood a an old tower with a rickety ladder leading up to a small\u00a0warped platform at the top.<\/p>\n The water tank was nearly full to the top with a rusty brown water so murky SPHP could see only\u00a0an inch or two into it.\u00a0 Perhaps the tower had featured a windmill at some point in time?\u00a0 A horizontal pipe stuck out over the water tank from near the base of the tower.<\/p>\n Not too far to the NNE, Lupe came to another odd place.\u00a0 A square area about 25 feet long on each side was fenced off by a barbed wire fence.\u00a0 Inside the fence was a wooden framed structure only 6\u00a0inches\u00a0high.\u00a0 The\u00a0wooden framework was completely covered with sheets of metal nailed to it.<\/p>\n SPHP didn’t like the looks of it.\u00a0 The only reason SPHP could think of for such an odd structure was that it served as\u00a0a cover for a large, deep mine shaft.\u00a0 If so, it was there to protect people or animals from a potentially fatal fall.\u00a0\u00a0The cover looked like it had been here for years.\u00a0 Who knew how structurally sound it still was, or how deep the hole hidden beneath it?<\/p>\n One thing about SPHP’s theory didn’t make sense.\u00a0 There didn’t seem to be a tailings pile anywhere around.\u00a0 There should have been a pretty big one nearby, if this was really the site of an old mine shaft.\u00a0 Very strange!\u00a0 Whatever the explanation, SPHP didn’t think anything good could come from lingering around here.\u00a0 Lupe continued NNE toward Peak 6820.\u00a0 She soon found another old road, or maybe it was the same one that had led to the water tank and tower.<\/p>\n The old road went NNE up the side of Peak 6820.\u00a0 Parts of the road were clear, but much of it was choked with deadfall timber.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP spent more time off the road than on it trying to get past all the deadfall.\u00a0 Shortly before reaching the top, the road veered E.\u00a0 It emerged up from the forest at a fairly large clearing on Peak 6820.<\/p>\n The first thing Lupe noticed was a\u00a0mud puddle large\u00a0enough\u00a0to bathe in.\u00a0 She ran over to it, plunked herself down to cool off, and lapped up lots of very murky-looking water.\u00a0 She emerged refreshed and well supplied with both essential and non-essential minerals, evidently quite satisfied with the experience.<\/p>\n The summit area on Peak 6820 is large and flat.\u00a0 Much of it is open meadow, but the meadow is\u00a0entirely fringed by forest.\u00a0\u00a0There was\u00a0hardly even a glimpse of a view in any direction.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP set off to explore the area.\u00a0 The highest ground seemed to be a little way E of where Lupe had come up.<\/p>\n After exploring to the S and E, Lupe and SPHP returned to the mud puddle on the way to explore the N and W parts of the mountaintop.\u00a0 Naturally, Lupe couldn’t resist taking another dip.<\/p>\n Explorations\u00a0to the N and W revealed only that the jeep trail Lupe had followed up the mountain continued over the top and on down the other side to the NNE.\u00a0 There were some cliffs lower down toward the NW, but they weren’t terribly tall and were buried so deeply in the trees that even the cliffs didn’t provide any views.<\/p>\n With the summit area now fully explored, Lupe and SPHP left Peak 6820 heading WNW.\u00a0 This time\u00a0Lupe went down into the valley between Peak 6820 and the ridge to the W.\u00a0 The terrain forced SPHP to the WSW for a little while, but eventually Lupe and SPHP were able to turn WNW again.\u00a0 There was no trail and a considerable amount of deadfall timber to contend with, but\u00a0this was a more direct route back to the G6.<\/p>\n The climb back up onto the ridge to the W was rather slow due to the deadfall, but once there, Lupe and SPHP made rapid progress again.\u00a0 Lupe followed the ridge N to the trail she had been on early in the day.\u00a0 She followed the trail W back to No. 206.2D, and then N to the G6 (2:46 PM, 66\u00b0F).<\/p>\n Approaching the G6, SPHP saw that there was now\u00a0a big herd of black cows across USFS Road No. 206 in Besant Park.\u00a0 This time, Lupe didn’t get to run after them.<\/p>\n There was still plenty of time left in the day\u00a0for Lupe to do some more exploring.\u00a0 Crooks Tower<\/a><\/span> (7,137 ft.) <\/span><\/strong>was only 3 miles away to the WSW as the crow flies.\u00a0 Lupe had been there before, but it would still be fun to see it again.\u00a0 It was still quite a long winding way to Crooks Tower from here, though.\u00a0 To save some time, Lupe and SPHP hopped in the G6 and drove around to a closer point.<\/p>\n SPHP parked the G6 again at 3:09 PM (61\u00b0F).\u00a0 Lupe was now only\u00a00.33 mile W of Crooks Tower\u00a0at the intersection of USFS Roads No. 189 and No. 189.4A.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed E on No. 189.4A.\u00a0\u00a0Before long, Lupe had completed her 5th ascent of Crooks Tower!<\/p>\n The\u00a0summit of Crooks Tower is\u00a0a\u00a0relatively small (large room-sized), level limestone platform.\u00a0 Although Crooks Tower is one of the very highest\u00a0mountains in the Black Hills, there\u00a0are\u00a0plenty of ridges almost as high in the area.\u00a0 The ridges and forest block the views in most directions, but Harney Peak<\/a><\/span> (7,242 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> can be seen far to the SE.\u00a0 There is a less dramatic distant view off to the N, too.<\/p>\n SPHP had never realized it before, but by standing at just the right spot and peering between tree branches, it was possible to\u00a0get a look at\u00a0Inyan Kara<\/a><\/span> (6,360 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> off to the WNW in Wyoming.<\/p>\n After enjoying the views from Crooks Tower, Lupe and SPHP returned to the G6.\u00a0 There were still at least a couple of hours of daylight left.\u00a0 SPHP pondered what Lupe should do next?\u00a0 The top alternatives were a visit to Clayton Pond,\u00a0or exploring USFS Road No. 189.4B.\u00a0 Since Lupe was practically at No. 189.4B already, it won out.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP left the G6 where it was, and went right on by to USFS Road No.\u00a0189.4B.\u00a0 The only\u00a0marker at the start of the road wasn’t entirely legible, but seemed to indicate this\u00a0was No. 189.4C or 189.6C, but that didn’t agree with SPHP’s USFS map.<\/p>\n No. 189.4B led Lupe WNW down a shallow valley.\u00a0 The ridge to the N was sunny and thinly forested.\u00a0 The S side of the valley was shady and densely forested.\u00a0 Tall grass, taller than Lupe, lined both sides of the road.\u00a0 Lupe virtually disappeared on her little side excursions.\u00a0 She soon tired of having to leap up to see where she was, and stayed mostly on the road.\u00a0 The road gradually and steadily lost elevation.<\/p>\n After more than a mile, there was a fence with a gate.\u00a0 Ten minutes after going through the gate, Lupe reached an intersection.\u00a0 USFS Road No. 189.4C went S.\u00a0 No. 117.6B went N.\u00a0 Off to the NNW, a curve in No. 117 could be seen up ahead across a big open field in a larger, wider valley.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP followed No. 117.6B all the way to No. 117.<\/p>\n By the time Lupe reached No. 117, she\u00a0was 2 miles from the G6.\u00a0 The sun was getting low.\u00a0 It was time to turn back.\u00a0 SPHP checked the maps for an alternate route,\u00a0hoping Lupe could make a loop.\u00a0 No, she really couldn’t.\u00a0\u00a0Other roads in the area were too long, and it was too late in the day to cut directly through the forest.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP returned on No. 189.4B, this time going up the valley, instead of down.<\/p>\n On the way back, SPHP started thinking it might be fun to watch the sunset from Crooks Tower.\u00a0 Even though forest hid the views to the W at the very summit, there was a ridge almost as high just S of USFS Road No. 189.4C a short distance SSW of the true summit.\u00a0 Maybe Lupe could see the sunset from there?<\/p>\n Lupe arrived up on the ridge with a little time to spare.\u00a0 The W end of the ridge ended at a small limestone cliff.\u00a0 It wasn’t high enough to really get a good view to the W, but the view in that direction was better than it would have been at the true summit of Crooks Tower.\u00a0 SPHP sat down next to a tree to wait.\u00a0\u00a0A chipmunk darting around on the rocks nearby entertained Lupe.<\/p>\n The chipmunk eventually ran off.\u00a0 Lupe rested on the ground near SPHP.\u00a0 The edges of her big, soft attentive ears glowed in the last rays of sunlight. For several minutes, the lone coyote howled, pausing now and then to listen.\u00a0 At last, very faintly from far to the W came a few answering howls.\u00a0 That was good.\u00a0 The coyote had a friend.\u00a0 So did SPHP.\u00a0 It was time to take her home.\u00a0 (7:06 PM, 41\u00b0F) 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<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 11:00 AM (60\u00b0F).\u00a0 Rather a late start for Lupe’s expedition, but she would still have fun.\u00a0\u00a0She\u00a0was about\u00a0to spend the rest of this\u00a0glorious early fall day roaming the high country of the western\u00a0Black Hills.\u00a0 The sky was a clear blue with a few wispy clouds.\u00a0 The air was calm, stirred only by an occasional light breeze.\u00a0 … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 99 – Peak 6820 & Crook’s Tower (10-8-14)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4989,"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":[105,9,106,206,104,207,304],"class_list":["post-4991","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-crooks-tower","tag-lupe","tag-peak-6820","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050562.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\/4991","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=4991"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24996,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4991\/revisions\/24996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050547-e1575946717578-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050549-e1575946792425-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050550-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050551-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Double-dipper](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050552-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050553-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050554-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Harney](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050555-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Looking](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050556-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"USFS](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050557-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050559-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050560-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Waiting](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050561-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Sunset](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050563-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>When the show was over, Lupe and SPHP continued on to the true summit of Crooks Tower.\u00a0 Lupe made\u00a0her 2nd ascent of the day, and 6th all time.\u00a0 The full hunter’s moon was due to come up soon.\u00a0 Darkness fell and stars began to appear.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP waited.\u00a0 As\u00a0the pale moon rose, a lone coyote began to howl.\u00a0 Lupe was entranced.<\/p>\n![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/P1050562-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a><\/p>\n