{"id":5736,"date":"2018-03-17T08:10:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-17T14:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5736"},"modified":"2020-09-21T13:37:11","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:37:11","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-89-sylvan-hill-the-custer-county-high-point-5-17-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5736","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 89 – Sylvan Hill, the Custer County High Point (5-17-14)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the S side of Hwy 87\/89 a little less than 0.5 mile from where the road reaches Sylvan Lake Lodge (if heading into Custer State Park toward Sylvan Lake), there is a little dirt parking area where a small power line crosses the road.\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 here at 4:58 PM (51\u00b0F).\u00a0 It was already quite late in the day to start one of Lupe’s Black Hills, SD Expeditions, but her only peakbagging objective was\u00a0just 0.5 mile to the W.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP took off heading W downhill through the forest, quickly arriving at a larger parking area only a few hundred feet away.\u00a0 Lupe’s ascent of Sylvan Hill<\/a><\/span> (7,000 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (shown as Sylvan Peak on SPHP’s old USFS map) would start from here.\u00a0\u00a0Very conveniently, a\u00a0grassy road climbed off to the WNW from the lower parking area.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP followed it, going around a locked gate near the bottom.<\/p>\n

The grassy road switchbacked part way up the mountain to arrive at a low sod-covered structure mostly buried into the hillside.\u00a0 It would have been easy to\u00a0simply step onto the sod roof from the uphill bank, but Lupe and SPHP did not get on it.<\/p>\n

The grassy road had ultimately gone more S than W to get to this point, so although Lupe had gained some elevation, she really wasn’t much closer to Sylvan Hill, yet.\u00a0 However, there were already some pretty decent views off to the SE from the sod-covered structure.\u00a0\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP took\u00a0a few minutes to appreciate the scene.\u00a0 Then it was time for Lupe to begin the real work of finding and climbing Sylvan Hill.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP started climbing WNW up\u00a0a steep forested slope.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0had no problems maneuvering, but as\u00a0the terrain became progressively steeper, SPHP had to take some care (and a few breathers) along the way.\u00a0 A big rock formation came into view up above.\u00a0 Near its base, Lupe discovered a section of old roadbed laboriously made of rocks.\u00a0 From the roadbed, SPHP discovered there was no practical way\u00a0over or around the rock formation.<\/p>\n

Back down Lupe and SPHP went.\u00a0 Lupe really didn’t have to lose all that much elevation, but it took SPHP a while, simply because the terrain was so steep.\u00a0 As soon as it was possible to go SW around the rocks, Lupe and SPHP did so.\u00a0 Lupe resumed her climb heading WNW again.\u00a0 The climb became less steep, and Lupe arrived at a saddle W of the big rock formation.<\/p>\n

SPHP had originally thought the first big rock formation might actually be the summit of Sylvan Peak, but by now it was very clear that it was not.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP climbed W from the saddle toward another higher saddle.\u00a0 This wasn’t nearly as steep a climb as the first one was, but it did get steeper near the top.\u00a0 Lupe arrived up on the higher saddle between two smaller, but still substantial, rock formations.\u00a0 They were separated by only a few hundred feet.<\/p>\n

At the second saddle, Lupe was already higher than any of the rocks of the first big rock formation, which could be seen below to the E.\u00a0 SPHP still wasn’t certain where the summit of Sylvan Hill was.\u00a0 Since the rock formation at the S end of the second saddle looked like it was probably highest, Lupe went there first.<\/p>\n

Lupe\u00a0and SPHP climbed up a cleft in the\u00a0rocks, arriving up on a shelf of granite very near the top of the S rock formation.\u00a0 (This was likely high point 6849 on the Peakbagger.com topo map<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.)\u00a0 From the granite shelf,\u00a0Lupe could see the summit of Sylvan Hill, still 0.25 mile off to the NW.\u00a0 Lupe could also see Harney Peak<\/a><\/span> (7,242 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> to the NE.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>
From what may well have been High Point 6829, Lupe got her first look at the summit of Sylvan Hill<\/a><\/span> (7,000 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (Center), still 0.25 mile away to the NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on a granite shelf on High Point 6829(?). Harney Peak<\/a><\/span> (7,242 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L of Center) is in view on the horizon. The G6 was parked back down near the section of Hwy 87\/89 seen just above Lupe’s ear. Photo looks ENE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP scrambled back down off the granite shelf.\u00a0 Now that SPHP was certain of the\u00a0direction to\u00a0the summit of Sylvan Hill, there was no need for Lupe to climb the rock formation at the N end of the second saddle.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP skirted it to the SW.\u00a0 From here on, the terrain was hilly, but not difficult.\u00a0 The main obstacle was the huge amount of deadfall timber.\u00a0 Pine bark beetles had killed much of the pine forest, which was in terrible condition.<\/p>\n

Picking a way through the deadfall was very time consuming, but Lupe and SPHP made slow, steady progress toward Sylvan Hill.\u00a0 Lupe came to one more high point on the way, climbing most of the way up it before skirting around the SW side of the highest part.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP tried to maintain elevation as much as possible, but Lupe had to lose\u00a0a little\u00a0before completing\u00a0her ascent of Sylvan Hill<\/a><\/span> (7,000 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Loop reaches the summit of Sylvan Hill. The views were fantastic, among the very best from any point in the Black Hills! Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fortunately, there was an easy way up the last little stretch\u00a0to the top from the W.\u00a0 When Lupe arrived at the summit, SPHP was very impressed!\u00a0 Sylvan Hill offered 360\u00b0 views, which had to be among the best anywhere in the Black Hills.\u00a0 A great deal of the central and southern Black Hills was on display, but the most spectacular view was undoubtedly the rugged terrain leading up to Harney Peak to the NE.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on Sylvan Hill. Photo is taken from the W, the direction Lupe came up the last short climb to the top.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Harney<\/a>
Harney Peak from Sylvan Hill. Little Devils Tower<\/a><\/span> (6,960 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is also seen just L of the top rock of the\u00a0summit cairn. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The summit area on Sylvan Hill wasn’t very large, but there was room to sit down comfortably enough on small grassy areas.\u00a0 Since the evening was so gorgeous, and the scene so magnificent in every direction, Lupe and SPHP took a very long break.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0loved the views!\u00a0 She spent a lot of time surveying the Black Hills from her lofty vantage point.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe squints in the slanting rays of the evening sun. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Harney<\/a>
Harney Peak with a bit of help from the telephoto lens. The summit cairn of Sylvan Hill is seen on the L. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As it always does, the faintly sad moment when it is time to leave the mountain arrived.\u00a0 Although Lupe’s return trip to the G6 followed basically the same route she had taken getting to Sylvan Hill, it went faster.\u00a0 SPHP did a better job of avoiding\u00a0some of the worst of the deadfall timber, and Lupe did not bother returning to the granite shelf at the S end of the second (higher) saddle.<\/p>\n

SPHP did make one\u00a0mistake that took a little\u00a0extra time.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP failed to lead Lupe down close enough to the first big rock formation.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP wound up going down a large\u00a0drainage that headed S.\u00a0 SPHP soon realized\u00a0Lupe was still too far W.\u00a0 The drainage was not going to take Lupe back to the sod-covered structure.\u00a0 Lupe had to climb back up to the NE, before\u00a0she was able to go over a\u00a0ridge and head more to the ESE.<\/p>\n

The bushwhacking was done when Lupe reached the low sod-covered structure again.\u00a0 From there, it was an easy trek down the switchbacks of the grassy road.\u00a0 At 7:56 PM (46\u00b0F), Lupe was back at the G6.\u00a0 Despite all of SPHP’s navigation errors, the blasted deadfall timber, and the long, lingering stay on top of the mountain, the trek to Sylvan Hill had taken only 3 hours.<\/p>\n

Lupe really wasn’t tired.\u00a0 For many miles on the way home, she stared eagerly out the windows of the G6, hoping\u00a0to see\u00a0deer to bark at.\u00a0 She wasn’t disappointed, either!\u00a0 Life in the Black Hills is just great, if you’re a Carolina Dog!\u00a0 SPHP thinks it’s pretty great, too.\"Lupe<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Next Black Hills Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Black Hills Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 206 – Sylvan Hill & Peak 6733 (5-27-17)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/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":"

On the S side of Hwy 87\/89 a little less than 0.5 mile from where the road reaches Sylvan Lake Lodge (if heading into Custer State Park toward Sylvan Lake), there is a little dirt parking area where a small power line crosses the road.\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 here at 4:58 PM (51\u00b0F).\u00a0 It … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 89 – Sylvan Hill, the Custer County High Point (5-17-14)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5730,"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":[105,9,106,644,104,304,643],"class_list":["post-5736","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-custer-county-high-point","tag-lupe","tag-south-dakota","tag-sylvan-hill"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/SDC11497.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\/5736","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=5736"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21731,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5736\/revisions\/21731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}