{"id":5385,"date":"2016-04-24T08:10:03","date_gmt":"2016-04-24T14:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5385"},"modified":"2020-09-22T14:40:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T20:40:26","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-165-matias-peak-cicero-peak-4-4-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5385","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 165 – Matias Peak & Cicero Peak (4-4-16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lupe was on her way home from her adventures in western Nebraska<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 It wasn’t the end of her adventures on this trip, though.\u00a0 There was still time for one of\u00a0Lupe’s\u00a0Black Hills, SD Expeditions on the way!\u00a0 As Hwy 18 climbed into the southern hills NE of Edgemont, SPHP was looking for USFS Road No. 379.\u00a0 Lupe was going to climb Matias Peak<\/span><\/a> (4,780 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Before reaching the top of the long hill,\u00a0SPHP spotted a road heading into the trees on the N side of Hwy 18.\u00a0 There was room to park the G6 there, too. \u00a0(11:52 AM, 59\u00b0F)\u00a0 Good!\u00a0 This was it, USFS Road No. 379!\u00a0 A marker proved it.\u00a0 Matias Peak was no more than 2 miles away as the crow flies.\u00a0 SPHP’s old USFS map showed no road to it, but No. 379 was supposed to get within\u00a0a mile SW of the summit.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP set out on No. 379.\u00a0 Instead of heading NNE toward Matias Peak,\u00a0the road\u00a0wound its way downhill into a dry canyon to the WNW.\u00a0 Once it reached the bottom of the canyon, No. 379 turned N and started back uphill.\u00a0 Soon Lupe came to an unmarked intersection.\u00a0 She took the right branch, which led NE.<\/p>\n

Lupe hadn’t followed the right branch very far when Matias Peak came into view at a minor pass.<\/p>\n

\"Matias<\/a>
Matias Peak in the southern Black Hills as seen from a minor pass along USFS Road No. 379. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP stayed on No. 379,\u00a0and went\u00a0over the pass.\u00a0 Lupe had already lost 100 feet of elevation when SPHP realized No. 379 was going turn NW away from the mountain and continue losing elevation.\u00a0\u00a0A look around at the terrain showed it would have been better to leave the road\u00a0back at the pass.\u00a0 From there, Lupe could\u00a0climb the ridge to the E.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP turned around and returned to the pass.\u00a0 Lupe left No. 379 and started climbing.\u00a0 Soon she was a very unhappy Carolina Dog.\u00a0 There was cactus!\u00a0 Lupe didn’t want to go this way.\u00a0 She sat down and wouldn’t move.\u00a0 She lifted a front paw pathetically begging SPHP for help and mercy.<\/p>\n

SPHP checked her paws.\u00a0 She didn’t seem to have cactus spines in any of them.\u00a0 SPHP knew her paws weren’t really that sore.\u00a0 Just a couple of hours ago, she had been racing around having a great time at Toadstool Geological Park in Nebraska.\u00a0 Maybe she could smell the cactus?<\/p>\n

In any event, whether\u00a0Lupe had stepped on any or not, it was clear\u00a0she knew cactus was around.\u00a0 She wanted to go back to the road, or be carried.\u00a0 The road wasn’t going to take Lupe to Matias Peak.\u00a0 Going back meant giving up.\u00a0 On the other hand, Matias Peak was still 1.5 miles away.\u00a0 SPHP wouldn’t be able to carry her that far, and then all the way back again.<\/p>\n

For a couple minutes, Lupe rested while SPHP pondered.\u00a0 Well, let’s try it and see how it goes.\u00a0 There’s quite a bit of forest, and there shouldn’t be much cactus in the forest.\u00a0 SPHP picked Lupe up and started carrying her on up the ridge.\u00a0 SPHP tried to stay in the forest as much as possible, but there were still sunny little openings harboring more cactus.<\/p>\n

Where there were boulders, Lupe was willing to scramble up on her own power for short stretches.\u00a0 Mostly SPHP had to carry her.\u00a0 After a somewhat steep, rocky section, Lupe and SPHP reached the flat top of the ridge.\u00a0 There was a nice view to the N.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, at least some progress had been made.\u00a0 SPHP hoped that this ridge would just sweep around to the NE right on up to Matias Peak.\u00a0 For a while it looked promising as SPHP carried Lupe\u00a0E along the top of the ridge.\u00a0 It all ended at a big steep\u00a0drop.\u00a0 SPHP put\u00a0Lupe down and told her to stay, a completely unnecessary command.\u00a0 She wasn’t about to budge.<\/p>\n

SPHP scouted around looking for a view between the trees.\u00a0 Low cliffs were just ahead.\u00a0 Down below was a large field.\u00a0 On the other side was another forested ridge.\u00a0 That was probably the ridge that would lead N to Matias Peak.\u00a0 SPHP returned to Lupe.\u00a0 Time for a water and rest break!<\/p>\n

SPHP studied the topo map printed out from Peakbagger.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 It was a bit confusing at first, since the topo map was too old to show the correct location of Hwy 18, where Lupe and SPHP had started from.\u00a0 In a few minutes, though, SPHP was pretty certain where Lupe was.\u00a0 She was now at the E end of a small ridge marked toward the W end as 4,355 ft. elevation.\u00a0 Lupe needed to cross the field down below, and head NE toward the next ridge.\u00a0\u00a0That ridge\u00a0would lead her N to Matias Peak.<\/p>\n

It took a long time.\u00a0 SPHP carried Lupe down off the ridge, finding a way down toward the S.\u00a0 Then it was a long trek in the sun carrying Lupe across the field.\u00a0 However, Lupe was willing to climb the far ridge on her own.\u00a0 SPHP just kept an eagle eye out to help her avoid the occasional cactus.<\/p>\n

Once up on the ridge, it was a steady climb, but a fairly gradual one most of the rest of the way up Matias Peak.\u00a0 There were small cliffs on the W side of the ridge,\u00a0which provided\u00a0very nice viewpoints in that direction in many places.\u00a0 Most of the time,\u00a0Lupe and SPHP stayed near the cliffs to enjoy the views.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking WSW from the S ridge leading up to Matias Peak. USFS Road No. 379 can be seen coming down through the trees on the L. (That’s the part of it Lupe and SPHP did not continue on beyond the pass. The pass is near the L edge of this photo.) Wyoming is on the horizon!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe relaxes on one of SPHP’s many rest breaks going up Matias Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP took many rest breaks on the way up Matias Peak.\u00a0 Lupe would never have made it to the top, except for the gradual development of a technique Lupe seemed willing to go along with, despite her trepidation over the scattered cactus.<\/p>\n

The technique went as follows: SPHP carried\u00a0Lupe for a little way, and then put her down.\u00a0 SPHP then left without her, continuing on up the mountain, scouting around to make sure there wasn’t any cactus along the way.\u00a0 Lupe always watched with concern as SPHP marched off, but she wouldn’t move.<\/p>\n

After going a suitable distance, SPHP would stop, turn around and shout back to Lupe that it was “time to check the maps”.\u00a0 Lupe seemed to take this to mean that SPHP had somehow magically eliminated all the cactus in her way.\u00a0 She immediately came running full tilt to catch up.<\/p>\n

Of course, Lupe knows what checking the maps normally involves, so SPHP had to actually sit down, get out the maps and take a look at them for a few minutes\u00a0each time.\u00a0 Then it was time to carry Lupe for another stretch, before putting her down again.\u00a0 Rinse and repeat.\u00a0 Over and over.\u00a0 It was slow, but not nearly as slow as trying to carry Lupe the entire distance.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Lupe never did run into any cactus.\u00a0 She\u00a0continued to believe in the power of checking the maps.\u00a0 As Lupe and SPHP got nearer the summit, an unmarked dirt road appeared, temporarily curving closer to the W\u00a0from somewhere off to the SE.\u00a0 Lupe was perfectly willing to trot along without fear on this road.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP began to make rapid progress toward the summit.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the climb, Lupe had to leave the road again, which now curved back around to the E of the summit.\u00a0 The field to the NW had quite a bit of cactus in it, especially higher up.\u00a0 SPHP went back to carrying Lupe all the time, but it wasn’t too far to the forest at the base of the final short steep climb to the summit.<\/p>\n

There didn’t seem to be any cactus around on the final stretch up through the rocks and trees.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe climbed up under her own power.\u00a0 The top of Matias Peak is a flat forested ridge of moderate length running SW\/NE.\u00a0 Lupe found the very highest rocks\u00a0to\u00a0be\u00a0somewhat closer to the NE end.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lupe makes it to the top of Matias Peak! She is standing next to the very highest rock. There were a couple of other rocks around almost as high, one of which is the rock in the foreground. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Lupe on another rock contending for the highest point on Matias Peak. This one was a bit to the W of the other two, and had a view off to the WNW in the general direction of Pilger Mountain<\/span><\/a> (4,788 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP were pleased to find that although the entire summit ridge was forested, there were several good viewpoints from Matias Peak.<\/p>\n

\"Parker<\/a>
Parker Peak<\/a><\/span> (4,848 ft.)<\/span><\/strong><\/span> (Center) is the high point of Fall River County. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking SSE at a truck going over a bridge on Hwy 18. It turned out there was a much easier route up Matias Peak than the one Lupe and SPHP took starting out on USFS Road No. 379. The easier route begins on an unmarked dirt road that leaves Hwy 18 from the big flat grassy area seen to the R of the bridge. This is the same road that Lupe and SPHP encountered not far from the summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The best view from Matias Peak was toward Wildcat Peak<\/a><\/span> (5,500 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L of Center) and Elk Benchmark<\/a><\/span> (5,669 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (R of Center). Photo looks NNW using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP lingered up on Matias Peak for a while.\u00a0 When it was time to go, Lupe’s confidence had returned to the point where she was running around like normal in the forest.\u00a0 She came down off the short steep part at the SE end of the summit under her own power.\u00a0 However, when she reached the grassy area where SPHP had seen quite a few cactus on the way up, SPHP insisted on carrying Lupe the rest of the way down to the dirt road.<\/p>\n

Rather than retrace Lupe’s scenic, but slow approach route, SPHP decided Lupe should just stay on the dirt road to see where it went.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t worry about cactus while on the road, but was still cautious enough not to make forays off to either side.\u00a0 SPHP didn’t have to carry Lupe at all.<\/p>\n

The dirt road wound around a little bit, but eventually straightened out and headed due S across open fields.\u00a0 It reached Hwy 18 at the top of the long hill NE of Edgemont just W of a bridge over a deep ravine.\u00a0 There was a big paved pullout on the N side of Hwy 18 where the dirt road reached it.\u00a0 Even at the highway, the dirt road wasn’t marked with any sign or number.<\/p>\n

If Lupe and SPHP would have started up Matias Peak from this point, instead of on USFS Road No. 379, Lupe would have had a much easier, though less scenic time reaching the summit.\u00a0 The dirt road headed almost straight toward the summit gaining elevation at an easy pace.\u00a0 Only the last little part of the climb would have been off the road.<\/p>\n

\"\"
At the pullout on the N side of Hwy 18 where the easiest and most direct route to Matias Peak (seen in the background) begins. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last part of the return trip from Matias Peak was a not-so-fun trek W along busy Hwy 18 for about 0.75 mile as the highway slowly curved SW.\u00a0 It was all a gradual downhill slope, which was fortunate, since Lupe wanted to be carried part of the time.\u00a0 SPHP had to oblige.<\/p>\n

Lupe didn’t like the highway traffic, or the scattered cacti and broken glass waiting for her on the shoulder and in the ditch.\u00a0 SPHP was in complete agreement.\u00a0 Both Lupe and SPHP were quite happy when the G6 finally came back into view (4:17 PM, 70\u00b0F).<\/p>\n

Before completing the drive home, Lupe had one final mission.\u00a0 When Lupe’s trip to western Nebraska had started just 2 days ago, the last peak Lupe had climbed with new friend Jobe Wymore<\/strong><\/a><\/span> before leaving the Black Hills was Cicero Peak<\/a><\/span> (6,166 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 SPHP had been so interested in Jobe’s mountaineering stories, SPHP had forgotten the camera case up on top of the mountain.\u00a0 Now Lupe was going to go back up Cicero Peak to see if it was still there.<\/p>\n

SPHP parked the G6 at the start of USFS Road No. 338 (Cicero Peak Road) (4:55 PM, 60\u00b0F).\u00a0 Somehow Lupe knew right away.\u00a0 Maybe the air smelled different.\u00a0 Maybe she remembered from being here before.\u00a0 However she knew, Lupe was certain there wasn’t any cactus here!\u00a0 Suddenly she\u00a0was free to race happily through the forests again without a care in the world.<\/p>\n

Lupe explored, while SPHP hiked the 1.5 mile road back up to the summit of Cicero Peak.\u00a0 It was a gradual, easy climb.\u00a0 Near the top, Lupe discovered what may be the last snow she will find in the Black Hills this spring.\u00a0 There wasn’t much\u00a0left, and\u00a0the snow\u00a0was melting fast, but it was clear Lupe loved it.\u00a0 She ate big mouthfuls.\u00a0 She rolled on it to cool off.\u00a0\u00a0The snow tasted and felt\u00a0great!<\/p>\n

\"Ahh,<\/a>
Ahh, snow! Feels and tastes so great!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Lupe neared the summit, the question was, would the camera case still be there?\u00a0 SPHP wasn’t even completely certain that was where it had been left behind.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lupe reaches the tower on top of Cicero Peak. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe went around to the highest rocks just W of the summit tower.\u00a0 Sure enough, Lupe found the camera case laying among the highest rocks!\u00a0 The carrying strap looked like a squirrel had nibbled on one edge of it.\u00a0 The squirrel hadn’t done it much harm, though.\u00a0 Apparently camera case carrying straps lack that nutty taste squirrels crave.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe finds the camera case resting among the summit rocks of Cicero Peak, right where SPHP had left it 2 days earlier. A squirrel had chewed the strap a little, but had done little damage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finding the camera case again made Lupe’s Cicero Peak mission a complete success!\u00a0 All that was left was the descent back down the mountain.<\/p>\n

On the way down, Lupe saw smoke from a forest fire to the SE.\u00a0 She saw Matias Peak, where she had just been,\u00a0looking small and insignificant far away on the S edge of the Black Hills.\u00a0\u00a0She\u00a0glimpsed the strange rock to the NW that Lupe and SPHP know as “Cracked Molar” (officially Beecher Rock?).\u00a0 Sharp-eyed Jobe had noticed it two days ago.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke<\/a>
Smoke from a forest fire (L) somewhere not too far SE of Cicero Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Matias<\/a>
Matias Peak (L) from Cicero Peak using the telephoto lens. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The rock Lupe and SPHP know as “Cracked Molar” is probably officially Beecher Rock. Photo looks NW using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The thing that made Lupe happiest, though, was seeing, tasting, and feeling\u00a0the last of the cold melting snow one more time.\"Lupe<\/a><\/p>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Black Hills Expedition<\/span><\/a> \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><\/span><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lupe was on her way home from her adventures in western Nebraska.\u00a0 It wasn’t the end of her adventures on this trip, though.\u00a0 There was still time for one of\u00a0Lupe’s\u00a0Black Hills, SD Expeditions on the way!\u00a0 As Hwy 18 climbed into the southern hills NE of Edgemont, SPHP was looking for USFS Road No. 379.\u00a0 … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 165 – Matias Peak & Cicero Peak (4-4-16)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5373,"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":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[105,9,106,551,619,104,618,304],"class_list":["post-5385","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-cicero-peak","tag-cracked-molar","tag-lupe","tag-matias-peak","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0735.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\/5385","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=5385"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28287,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5385\/revisions\/28287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}