{"id":5161,"date":"2017-09-26T08:10:50","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T14:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5161"},"modified":"2020-09-21T13:45:21","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:45:21","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-92-peak-6735-6-9-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5161","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 92 – Peak 6735 (6-9-14)"},"content":{"rendered":"

After rain and fog all weekend long, Monday had dawned clear and bright.\u00a0\u00a0Rain wasn’t at all unusual this time of year.\u00a0 In fact, today was the 42nd anniversary of the Black Hill’s June 9, 1972 flood<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, when 238 people lost their lives.\u00a0 Nothing remotely close to that dramatic and tragic\u00a0was going to happen today.\u00a0 SPHP registered at the entrance to the Black Elk Wilderness near the Horsethief Lake trailhead (10:36 AM, 59\u00b0F).<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP took off heading SSW on Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14.\u00a0 The normally\u00a0pleasantly bubbling little\u00a0creek was gushing right along, overflowing its banks and parts of the trail.\u00a0\u00a0Most of the time, it\u00a0wasn’t hard to get over or around the wet spots.\u00a0 The rushing creek in the leafy canyon between towering granite spires was actually rather cheerful and beautiful.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A leafy side channel of the creek along Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14. Ordinarily, this would have been dry ground.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The creek was left behind by the time Lupe reached\u00a0a\u00a0junction with Centennial Trail No. 89 about 0.75 mile from the trailhead.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP turned right, taking a short stretch of trail going W that is part of both Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14 and Centennial Trail No. 89.\u00a0 When the trails separated again, Lupe turned left, staying on Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14.<\/p>\n

As Lupe continued SSW, she started encountering a fair amount of deadfall timber fallen across the trail.\u00a0\u00a0Huge numbers of ponderosa pine trees infested with pine bark beetles have died in the Black Hills in recent years.\u00a0 Over time, high winds blow over increasing numbers of the dead trees.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP had to spend quite a lot of time off the trail going around the deadfall.<\/p>\n

After about 2 miles, Lupe reached the S end of\u00a0Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14 at\u00a0a “T”\u00a0intersection.\u00a0 Lupe turned right, following Grizzly Bear Creek Trail No. 7.\u00a0 The trail wound around heading generally W or NW.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t need to follow Grizzly Bear Creek Trail No. 7 very far, only about 0.375 mile.\u00a0 Lupe’s peakbagging goal for the day was Peak 6735<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, more than a mile to the SW.\u00a0 There is no trail to Peak 6735.<\/p>\n

SPHP started looking for a way across Grizzly Bear Creek, a larger stream than the one near the start of Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14.\u00a0 Naturally, Grizzly Bear Creek was also running high.\u00a0 Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to find a place where\u00a0a few\u00a0boulders enabled SPHP to jump over.\u00a0 The American Dingo, of course, had no problem getting across.<\/p>\n

On the SW side of Grizzly Bear Creek, Lupe found herself in a meadow that sloped gradually up to the W.\u00a0\u00a0Parts of the\u00a0meadow were soggy and marshy, but by the time Lupe and SPHP reached the trees again, Lupe was back on dry ground.\u00a0 An old dirt road headed S around the E side of the mountain ahead.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP followed it S for a little way.<\/p>\n

The road gradually gained elevation, but reached a high point.\u00a0 From here, the road turned SE.\u00a0 Lupe needed to go SW, and she didn’t need to lose elevation.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP left the dirt road, and started climbing the mountain.<\/p>\n

The first part of this climb was about the only place all day where Lupe didn’t have to contend with a lot of deadfall timber.\u00a0 She raced this way and that sniffing around in the forest, while SPHP trudged ever upwards.\u00a0 Before too long, the mountain began to narrow.\u00a0 Deadfall and a series of large granite rock formations appeared.\u00a0 The climb became progressively steeper and\u00a0more difficult.<\/p>\n

\"Happy<\/a>
Happy Lupe enjoying the climb.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Lupe and SPHP continued up, the rock formations were larger and closer together.\u00a0 Most of the time it was easier to go around to the S of them, although occasionally it was easier\u00a0to make forays to\u00a0the N.\u00a0 Lupe was able to climb up on\u00a0top of a few of the rock formations.\u00a0\u00a0Eventually, SPHP was able to see that Lupe was getting up in the world.\u00a0 Huge granite walls\u00a0were visible\u00a0on nearby mountains, especially in the area to the N leading up to Harney Peak.<\/p>\n

From each rock formation, another higher one came into view up ahead.\u00a0 Finally, it looked like Lupe was getting close to the top of the mountain.\u00a0 SPHP expected Lupe to emerge up on Peak 6710, about 0.25 mile NW of her Peak 6735 goal.\u00a0 When Lupe reached the high point, though, the view was disappointing.\u00a0 Things didn’t look right at all.\u00a0 There was no way Lupe was on Peak 6710.<\/p>\n

Actually, the scenery was great!\u00a0 The trouble was that SPHP could see another mountain ahead to the SW.\u00a0 It was several hundred feet higher!\u00a0 So, if Lupe wasn’t on Peak 6710 now, where was she?\u00a0 SPHP already had a pretty good notion, even before checking the maps.<\/p>\n

\"Sly<\/a>
Sly Dingo Lupe arrives up on a high point looking like she knows something SPHP doesn’t!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yes, the depressing news was true.\u00a0 That higher mountain to the SW had to be Peak 6710.\u00a0 Despite how long it had taken to get here through all the wretched deadfall timber and toiling\u00a0around the big rock formations, Lupe hadn’t gone nearly as far as SPHP had thought.\u00a0 She wasn’t as high up, either.\u00a0 Lupe was on top of Peak 6411, still 0.33 mile NE of Peak 6710.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on High Point 6411. She is still 0.33 mile NE of Peak 6710 seen on the L.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was time for a rest.\u00a0 SPHP had intended for Lupe to bypass Peak 6411 to the N.\u00a0 Instead, Lupe and SPHP had climbed SW up the spine of the mountain to get here.\u00a0 Lupe still had to continue on to Peak 6710, or at least close to it, on her way to Peak 6735.\u00a0 To get there, she was going to have to lose over 100 feet of elevation going down to a saddle before she could resume climbing.<\/p>\n

The task of getting to Peak 6710 looked daunting.\u00a0 More rock formations, an exhausting\u00a0maze of deadfall timber, and another steep climb were still ahead.\u00a0 As discouraging at it was, there was nothing to do, but get on with it.\u00a0 One step at a time.\u00a0 The rest break was over.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed slowly down into the saddle SW of Peak 6411.\u00a0 Nothing had changed.\u00a0 The way forward was a lot like Lupe’s climb up Peak 6411.<\/p>\n

Finally, it was over.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP were close to the top of Peak 6710.\u00a0 The summit\u00a0was a big, high\u00a0steep granite rock formation.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP got to within 10 feet of the top.\u00a0 SPHP could probably\u00a0scramble up on top, but there was no way\u00a0for Lupe to get up there, even with SPHP’s help.\u00a0\u00a0The granite\u00a0was just too vertical.\u00a0 SPHP couldn’t quite see the top, but\u00a0it felt like\u00a0the summit\u00a0might be a scary high place.\u00a0 Getting back down safely didn’t look very easy, either.<\/p>\n

Well, it would have been nice to reach the absolute summit of Peak 6710, but\u00a0Lupe’s real goal was Peak 6735.\u00a0\u00a0If\u00a0she could reach the top of Peak 6735, that would just have to\u00a0be good enough.\u00a0 SPHP gave up on Peak 6710.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed SE down toward the saddle over to Peak 6735.<\/p>\n

Lupe lost nearly 250 feet of elevation crossing the saddle.\u00a0\u00a0Due to the deadfall, it\u00a0was all miserably slow going.\u00a0 The true summit of peak 6735 is more toward the S end of the summit area.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP skirted the N end of the high ground to the W.\u00a0 Lupe had another steep climb, but eventually it got easier.\u00a0 There was somewhat less deadfall timber near the end.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP started making faster progress.<\/p>\n

The top of Peak 6735 was much easier to navigate than Peak 6710 had been.\u00a0 The whole area was rocky, but it was easy to approach the very highest rocks at the true summit\u00a0by circling around a bit to the\u00a0S.\u00a0 After a long, hard struggle, Lupe had done it.\u00a0 She stood on top of Peak 6735!<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on top of Peak 6735! Harney Peak (L) is the highest point on the horizon. Peak 6710 is closer and can also be seen on the L. The cliffs on the SW (L) side of Peak 6710 are in clear view. Lupe and SPHP hadn’t been able to see the cliffs ahead coming from the NE (R). It may be a good thing SPHP didn’t climb the last 10 feet to the top of Peak 6710!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Peak 6735 featured marvelous 360\u00b0 views.\u00a0 As\u00a0annoyingly difficult\u00a0as it was to get here, SPHP\u00a0was pretty certain\u00a0Peak 6735 must not be visited very often.\u00a0 Not many people or American Dingoes have ever been treated to these views.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP were glad to be here!<\/p>\n

It had been a long, exhausting climb through rugged territory.\u00a0 By far the worst obstacle, though, had been the shattered dead forest.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0needed a rest break, a much longer one than Lupe had taken on High Point\u00a06411.\u00a0 Rest, water, snacks and big views\u00a0were all part of a most welcome respite.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Cathedral Spires<\/a><\/span> (6,840 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L) are behind the dead tree, Little Devil’s Tower<\/a><\/span> (6,960 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L) is just to their right. Peak 6920<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (Center) is directly above Lupe’s ear. Harney Peak<\/a> (7,242 ft.)<\/span><\/strong><\/span> is the high peak on the R, with Peak 6710 seen below and slightly to the R of Harney. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NW with the same peaks in view as in the photo above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S from the summit of Peak 6735. The fact that so many of the dead trees hadn’t fallen over yet made it relatively easy to move around on Peak 6735. Clearly it will get harder in the future!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Harney<\/a>
Harney Peak and Peak 6710 using the telephoto lens. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A Carolina Dog takes a well-deserved break on Peak 6735. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the rest break was done, it was time to do some exploring\u00a0of\u00a0the summit area.\u00a0\u00a0A big granite arm of the mountain extended off to the SW without losing too much elevation.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe had\u00a0clear sweeping\u00a0views to the S from this granite ridge.\u00a0 Nothing she saw\u00a0to the S was as high as Peak 6735!<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A beautiful green carpet of kinnikinnick was growing on parts of the summit area. Here Lupe is enjoying the kinnikinnick just below the true summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The SW arm of Peak 6735. Northeast Cicero Peak<\/a><\/span> (6,240 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is the highest point on the horizon just L of Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
View to the SW from the SW ridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking back to the N toward the summit. Harney Peak is on the L.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a leisurely exploration of\u00a0the SW arm of the mountain and around to the SE, Lupe and SPHP returned to the summit of Peak 6735 for a final look.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe was in dazzlingly bright sunshine on Peak 6735, but it wasn’t going to last. It was already getting late in the afternoon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A final look WNW from the summit at the Cathedral Spires (L) and Little Devils Tower (R), both near the center of this photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It would have been nice to explore the high ground N of where Lupe had come up the mountain, but it had taken a very long time to get up here.\u00a0 The slanting rays of the sun gave notice that it was already late afternoon.\u00a0 Lupe’s time on Peak 6735 was running out.\u00a0 The N ridge wasn’t quite as high as where Lupe had already been, anyway.<\/p>\n

Although the world was beautiful from up on Peak 6735, it was time to move on.\u00a0 When darkness fell,\u00a0SPHP didn’t want\u00a0to be lost wandering in a wilderness of steep terrain, deadfall timber, cliffs and huge rock formations.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP left Peak 6735 heading N.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NE just before leaving Peak 6735. (Note Lupe down in the shadows on the lower L.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was now a race against time to get back to a trail before darkness fell.\u00a0 There was no need to go back up Peak 6710 again.\u00a0 This time, after crossing the saddle to Peak 6710, SPHP led\u00a0Lupe N along the E side of the mountain aiming for the saddle over to\u00a0High Point\u00a06411.<\/p>\n

Upon reaching\u00a0the saddle, Lupe and SPHP\u00a0crossed it\u00a0continuing\u00a0N.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t going back to High Point 6411, either.\u00a0 The plan was to go directly\u00a0down to Grizzly Bear Creek Trail No. 7.\u00a0 The terrain started dropping steeply.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP feared\u00a0Lupe would lose\u00a0hundreds of feet\u00a0of elevation only to find herself at the top of a cliff.\u00a0 If she did, there would be no choice but to climb all the way back up before trying another route.<\/p>\n

The steep descent went on for what seemed like a long time.\u00a0 Close by to the E, a huge wall of granite appeared.\u00a0 Across the valley to the N, SPHP could see similar steep declines that ended in sheer cliffs below.\u00a0 Lupe was losing a lot of elevation.\u00a0 Luckily, the terrain wasn’t getting any steeper.\u00a0 Lupe forged ahead of SPHP.\u00a0 She could maneuver on the slope much better than SPHP could.<\/p>\n

At last, looking down from above, SPHP saw Lupe sitting motionless, panting happily.\u00a0 Lupe had found it!\u00a0 She was sitting right on Grizzly Bear Creek Trail No. 7.\u00a0 SPHP joined her on the trail.\u00a0 Good work, Lupe!\u00a0 SPHP praised her.\u00a0 Lupe beamed.\u00a0 The shortcut had worked, and there was plenty of daylight left, even though the trail was in the shadow of the mountains.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP set off heading E down the trail.<\/p>\n

It was much farther, and took much longer, than SPHP anticipated to get back to Horsethief Lake Trail No. 14.\u00a0 There was the usual\u00a0deadfall timber\u00a0plus\u00a0half a dozen creek crossings to deal with along the way.\u00a0 SPHP managed to find a way to jump over the high-flowing creek each time.\u00a0 For Lupe,\u00a0the stream crossings were\u00a0a piece of cake.\u00a0 She leaped across with ease.<\/p>\n

By the time\u00a0Lupe and\u00a0SPHP made it back to\u00a0Centennial Trail No. 89, it was\u00a0getting dark.\u00a0 The flashlight had to come out for the last stretch of Horsethief Trail No. 14 after leaving the Centennial Trail.\u00a0 In the darkness, it\u00a0was much\u00a0harder to avoid all the water flowing over the trail.<\/p>\n

Lupe’s long adventure to Peak 6735 and back\u00a0ended at 9:53 PM (52\u00b0F).\u00a0 Nearly 11.5 hours had gone by, most of it spent in rugged terrain choked with deadfall.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t complain.\u00a0 She never does.\u00a0 She hopped in the G6 and curled up for the ride home.<\/p>\n

SPHP didn’t complain either.\u00a0 The views from Peak 6735 had been splendid.\u00a0 The sense of remote isolation, complete.\u00a0 In truth, it had been a fun and challenging day.\u00a0 So much fun that SPHP\u00a0thought Lupe should return to Peak 6735 some day.\u00a0\u00a0Maybe some day, she will.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Harney Peak from Peak 6735.<\/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 Prior Black Hills Expedition<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

After rain and fog all weekend long, Monday had dawned clear and bright.\u00a0\u00a0Rain wasn’t at all unusual this time of year.\u00a0 In fact, today was the 42nd anniversary of the Black Hill’s June 9, 1972 flood, when 238 people lost their lives.\u00a0 Nothing remotely close to that dramatic and tragic\u00a0was going to happen today.\u00a0 SPHP … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 92 – Peak 6735 (6-9-14)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5146,"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":[105,9,106,104,161,304],"class_list":["post-5161","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-peak-6735","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/SDC11572.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\/5161","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=5161"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22535,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5161\/revisions\/22535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}