{"id":620,"date":"2015-04-16T06:45:18","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T12:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=620"},"modified":"2020-09-21T20:03:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T02:03:45","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-126-battle-mountain-parker-peak-pilger-mountain-4-11-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=620","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 126 – Battle Mountain, Parker Peak & Pilger Mountain (4-11-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lupe got to do a little peakbagging in the southern Black Hills on this bright, clear warm day in early April.\u00a0 Her first peak was Battle Mountain<\/a><\/span> (4,434 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0near Hot Springs, the site of a fight between the Cheyenne and Sioux tribes in 1869.\u00a0 SPHP had to drive around\u00a0on the streets\u00a0just E of Hwy 385 where it came into Hot Springs from the N\u00a0to discover that Thompson Avenue is the correct street to turn off Hwy 385.\u00a0 A block or two from Hwy 385, it becomes Battle Mountain Road.\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 on Sheridan Street a block\u00a0N of\u00a0Battle Mountain Road.\u00a0 It was 9:07 AM and 52\u00b0F out when Lupe left the G6.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
History of Battle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near the start of Battle Mountain Road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the air was totally calm.\u00a0 SPHP knew it was going to get hot fast and was anxious to get up Battle Mountain before the climb became too sweaty.\u00a0 The climb was a straight forward trudge up\u00a0Battle Mountain Road involving an elevation gain of over 900 feet.\u00a0 There were scattered trees on mostly open ground for the first part of the climb, but as Lupe got close to the top of the mountain, there was more forest and shade.\u00a0 SPHP also started noticing a fair amount of trash along the road and\u00a0began collecting it in a couple of extra plastic grocery bags.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The little lookout tower on Battle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The top of Battle Mountain had an assortment of towers and wires and sheds on it.\u00a0 SPHP soon discovered that there was also a considerable amount of broken glass around too.\u00a0\u00a0To prevent Lupe from slicing up her paws on the broken glass,\u00a0SPHP carried\u00a0her from rock to rock for a few pictures in the summit area.\u00a0\u00a0 The best views were to the SE\u00a0towards\u00a0Angostura\u00a0Reservoir out on the prairie just outside of the Black Hills, and to the S towards the\u00a0large hill\u00a0S of Hot Springs.\u00a0 There was also a view of Hot Springs, SD to the W.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Angostura Reservoir is near the center of the photo faintly blue on the horizon.\u00a0 Looking SE\u00a0from Battle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S from Battle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Golden West telephone tower from Battle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Due to the broken glass, Lupe was not allowed to stay up at the summit of Battle Mountain for very long.\u00a0 SPHP did not even attempt to pick up any glass, fearing that the longer Lupe was up there, the greater the chance she would get hurt.\u00a0 However, SPHP did completely fill two plastic grocery sacks with trash on the return trip\u00a0down the mountain.\u00a0 These were deposited in the trunk of the G6 for\u00a0sorting, recycling and disposal\u00a0the next day.\u00a0 Plenty more cleanup needs to be done on Battle Mountain, but at least things are a bit better than when Lupe arrived.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The town of Hot Springs, SD to the W of Battle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The Golden West telephone tower sits on a sub peak just W of the summit of Battle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was 11:07 AM and 62\u00b0F by the time Lupe made it back to the G6.\u00a0 Although a new idea for one of her Black Hills Expeditions, Lupe graciously agreed to a short tour of Hot Springs, SD for the sake of her blog readers.\u00a0 She stopped by Evans Plunge<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, the Kidney Springs Gazebo downtown and the Mammoth Site<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, all Hot Springs attractions of some merit.<\/p>\n

\"Evans<\/a>
Evans Plunge<\/a><\/strong><\/span> is one of the main attractions in Hot Springs, SD. The main facility includes a large indoor pool with a pebble bottom and a couple of water slides. SPHP loves hot springs as a place to relax, get some refreshing exercise and clean up when traveling. Evans Plunge is one of the best!\u00a0 Sadly, Lupe never gets to enjoy the hot springs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Kidney Springs gazebo near Fall River\u00a0in downtown Hot Springs, SD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near Fall River in downtown Hot Springs, SD.\u00a0 Note the blue bison on the building at right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe at the little waterfall not far from the Kidney Springs gazebo in Hot Springs, SD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hot<\/a>
Hot Springs, SD has many old buildings of sandstone architecture. SPHP didn’t read the plaque until later and did not realize there was\u00a0more info\u00a0on the other side.\u00a0 Oops!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A better look at the awesome blue bison which was more interesting to SPHP than the sandstone architecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>
Many thousands of years ago mammoths roamed the Hot Springs area. A few Neanderthals still do, and can likely be found partying on Battle Mountain on Friday and Saturday nights. If in the area and so inclined, you can now go there and pick up their trash, or join them in their festivities. The mammoths are long gone, and despite the Neanderthals, now Dingoes rule the earth! At least when not blinded by the sun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once her tour of Hot Springs was over, Lupe headed W on Hwy 18 towards Parker Peak<\/a><\/span> (4,848 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, the county high point for Fall River County.\u00a0 Although Parker Peak is on National Forest land, it is completely surrounded by private property.\u00a0 SPHP hoped to obtain permission for Lupe to climb Parker Peak, but was unsuccessful in locating the landowner.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe NNW of Parker Peak, the highest point in Fall River county.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Parker<\/a>
Parker Peak from the W. Parker Peak is on national forest land, but surrounded by private property. Lupe did not get to climb it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Giving up on Parker Peak, Lupe and SPHP headed NW out on dusty Pilger Mountain Road into a remote part of the SW Black Hills with the intention of reaching Pilger Mountain<\/a><\/span> (4,788 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Neither Lupe nor SPHP had ever been out in this area before.\u00a0 The scenery was quite interesting and western.\u00a0 SPHP stopped the G6 a couple of times for photos along the way.\u00a0 From Pilger Mountain Road, SPHP took Elbow Canyon Road up to its junction with USFS Road No. 319.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A western scene along Pilger Mountain Road in the SW Black Hills.\u00a0 The sun kept Lupe squinting most of the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"SPHP's<\/a>
SPHP’s favorite rock formation and favorite dingo along Pilger Mountain Road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The junction of Elbow Canyon Road and USFS Road No. 319 was up on top of a broad open ridge.\u00a0 SPHP was surprised to see several pickup trucks with horse trailers parked near the junction.\u00a0 No one was around, so Lupe and SPHP just added the G6 to the collection of vehicles.\u00a0 It was 1:18 PM and now 73\u00b0F when Lupe and SPHP headed N on USFS Road No. 319.<\/p>\n

USFS Road No. 319 heads NNW\u00a0from the junction with Elbow Canyon Road for about 5 miles before going over Pilger Mountain.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP followed it all the way.\u00a0 The road remains up on a broad ridge of open grassland\u00a0for the first few miles at the S end.\u00a0 There are some pine trees around, but they tend to be near the edges of the ridge or up on various knolls and high spots along the way.\u00a0 The road\u00a0very gradually gains elevation for most of the distance with only one drop of any significance, which is about a mile from Pilger Mountain.\u00a0 As No. 319 gets closer to Pilger Mountain, the ridge narrows considerably and the road enters a forest.<\/p>\n

Neither Lupe nor SPHP was really enthused about the heat this early in April.\u00a0 Out on the exposed grassland and wearing a fur coat, Lupe was too hot to really enjoy the trek.\u00a0 She plodded along right behind SPHP hoping for water breaks, which came fairly frequently. \u00a0The Black Hills are well behind normal precipitation so far in 2015.\u00a0 March and April have seen virtually no moisture in the southern hills.\u00a0 USFS Road No. 319 was parched and dusty.\u00a0 Despite the much warmer than normal weather experienced since early March, the grass has not greened up much at all due to the lack of moisture.<\/p>\n

At least the hike was easy, since the rate of climb\u00a0heading N was so gradual.\u00a0 SPHP did\u00a0enjoy the views which\u00a0frequently presented themselves along the ridge.\u00a0 Sometimes the views were to the\u00a0W or SW into Wyoming.\u00a0 At other times they were\u00a0to the E back towards the main body of the Black Hills.\u00a0 The views weren’t the only thing attracting attention.\u00a0 SPHP was also surprised by the occasional presence of people.\u00a0 A red jeep came along from the S after a while.\u00a0 Later on, a\u00a0group of 7 or 8 ATV’s and motorcycles appeared from a minor side road and roared N along No. 319.\u00a0 The jeep, ATV’s and motorcycles later reappeared heading back S while Lupe was still heading N.<\/p>\n

As the afternoon wore on, a welcome breeze began to\u00a0stir up\u00a0out of the W.\u00a0 It slowly gained in strength, although most of the time Lupe only heard it up in the trees.\u00a0 The breeze did help some though.\u00a0 It started to get a bit cooler too.\u00a0 Lupe started perking up when the road finally entered the forest.\u00a0 By then it wasn’t all that much farther to Pilger Mountain.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe up on top of the rock SPHP decided may as well be considered the summit of Pilger Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pilger Mountain turned out to be just a somewhat higher spot near the N end of the 5 mile long\u00a0ridge.\u00a0 The summit area was\u00a0a couple hundred yards wide E\/W and even longer N\/S,\u00a0and so flat it was difficult to say where the true summit was.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP went all around the area looking for the highest point.\u00a0 SPHP hoped to find a USGS Benchmark, but never did.\u00a0 Finally, SPHP concluded the highest point was likely one of several rocks near the center of the area.\u00a0 There was one slightly higher spot toward the forest on the E side of the mountain, but it was not natural.\u00a0\u00a0You could tell\u00a0it was the result of human excavations.\u00a0 At any rate, it could only have been a couple of feet higher.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe up on top of the largest rock formation on Pilger Mountain, near the NW end of the summit area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of the top of Pilger Mountain was grassland with scattered pines.\u00a0 However,\u00a0the grassland was\u00a0surrounded by forest along the edges, so there weren’t many places to get a good view.\u00a0 Toward\u00a0the NW, Lupe found the most impressive rock outcroppings on Pilger Mountain.\u00a0 A short distance beyond them was a small cliff with some pretty decent views\u00a0off to the W and N.\u00a0 In the distance to the NNW, SPHP saw Elk Mountain<\/a><\/span> (5,669 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0where Lupe had been a week prior on Expedition No. 125<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 There were also some pretty good views to the E from some high ground at the far SE corner of the summit area on Pilger Mountain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Looking SE from Pilger Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Another shot SE from Pilger Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trip back to the G6 from Pilger Mountain was more fun than the trip to the mountain had been.\u00a0 The sun was getting lower and the temperatures were cooling down.\u00a0 The breeze was blowing harder, but not enough to be at all annoying.\u00a0 Only one more ATV appeared to disturb the serenity and seclusion.\u00a0 SPHP saw a couple of pronghorn antelope bouncing away down on the grasslands near Robinson Flats near the S end\u00a0of the trek.\u00a0 There were some really wild looking canyons and ridges nearby to the SW and Lupe picked up the scent of something exciting over there.\u00a0 She ran back and forth sniffing the ground in a state of agitation and expectation, enjoying some mystery only the dingo’s nose knew about.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This view to the NE was taken from the ridge S of Pilger Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking SE from S of Pilger Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe reached the G6 again at 7:23 PM.\u00a0 By now it was a totally acceptable 57\u00b0F out.\u00a0 All of the pickup trucks and horse trailers were gone.\u00a0 Only\u00a0the G6 remained. \u00a0SPHP\u00a0gave Lupe one more drink of water before she hopped into the G6 for the dusty ride home.\u00a0 She rode with her head outside the window, with a big smile on her face and her\u00a0tongue hanging out in the breeze.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t until reaching the pavement at the highway that SPHP made Lupe get her head back inside the window.\u00a0 Lupe still wasn’t done.\u00a0 She stood with her paws on the dash and\u00a0launched into a barking frenzy at every\u00a0cow\u00a0she passed until it got\u00a0too dark to see them.\u00a0 A few cows glanced up from the grass wondering what the heck was that?\u00a0 What a great dingo day!<\/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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Black Hills Adventure<\/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<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lupe got to do a little peakbagging in the southern Black Hills on this bright, clear warm day in early April.\u00a0 Her first peak was Battle Mountain (4,434 ft.)\u00a0near Hot Springs, the site of a fight between the Cheyenne and Sioux tribes in 1869.\u00a0 SPHP had to drive around\u00a0on the streets\u00a0just E of Hwy 385 … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 126 – Battle Mountain, Parker Peak & Pilger Mountain (4-11-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":639,"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":[105,113,9,116,106,115,1102,104,114,117,112,304],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-hills","tag-american-dingo","tag-battle-mountain","tag-black-hills-expeditions","tag-blue-bison","tag-carolina-dog","tag-evans-plunge","tag-hot-springs","tag-lupe","tag-mammoth-site","tag-parker-peak","tag-pilger-mountain","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/P1060146.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\/620","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=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22311,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/22311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}