{"id":6563,"date":"2016-10-21T08:10:50","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T14:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=6563"},"modified":"2020-09-23T12:06:24","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T18:06:24","slug":"black-hills-wy-expedition-no-176-elkhorn-divide-fish-mountain-hooker-peak-10-9-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=6563","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, WY Expedition No. 176 – Elkhorn Divide, Fish Mountain & Hooker Peak (10-9-16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The names on the sign looked familiar.\u00a0 They had been on the Peakbagger.com topo map SPHP had been looking at online\u00a0early this morning.\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 next to the sign (1:56 PM, 70\u00b0F).\u00a0 Let’s try it from here, Looper!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near the intersection of USFS Roads No. 872.3 & No. 878 in the Black Hills of Wyoming. Her day’s adventures started here. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, but Lupe had arrived late for her Black Hills of Wyoming expedition.\u00a0 Back at home this morning, the printer wouldn’t print.\u00a0 SPHP had fought with it for hours.\u00a0 The reason it wouldn’t print was still as clear as mud.\u00a0 It was nearly noon by the time SPHP\u00a0had given\u00a0up on it.<\/p>\n

Normally, SPHP brings along a topo map or two printed out from Peakbagger.com<\/strong><\/a><\/span> on Lupe’s expeditions.\u00a0 Today, all SPHP had to go on was a hand-sketched map drawn with a couple of contours for each of the peaks Lupe hoped to climb.\u00a0 Of course, SPHP had the old Black Hills National Forest map along, too, but it showed very little detail.<\/p>\n

We might have\u00a0quite a\u00a0time trying to figure out what’s what around here, Loop!\u00a0 Let’s hope we can find and recognize these peaks you’re looking\u00a0to climb.<\/em>\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP started off going\u00a0WSW on\u00a0USFS Road No. 872.3\u00a0toward a\u00a0bright yellow grove of aspens where there was a fork in the road.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Fall colors were in full swing at this bright yellow grove of aspens near the intersection of USFS Roads No. 872.3 & 872.1F. Photos looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the intersection,\u00a0the main\u00a0road\u00a0angled W\u00a0on its way\u00a0to Fish Canyon.\u00a0 A less traveled road\u00a0curved S.\u00a0 It was marked No. 872.1F.\u00a0 According to SPHP’s old Black Hills National Forest map, it should have said No. 872.4F.\u00a0 That is, if Lupe was really where SPHP thought she was.\u00a0 Hmmm.<\/p>\n

Loopster, let’s try to find Fish Mountain first, OK?<\/em>\u00a0 Lupe had no objections.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP returned to the G6.\u00a0 Fish Mountain was supposed to be only a mile or so N.\u00a0 A faint grassy road left No. 872.3 and went NNE up a little valley.\u00a0\u00a0The faint road was evidently what was left of USFS Road No. 878.\u00a0 SPHP started following it.\u00a0 Lupe, however, streaked away to the W.<\/p>\n

She had found a squirrel!\u00a0 The valley echoed with joyous Dingo barking.\u00a0 The good times continued for several minutes, after which Lupe\u00a0raced N looking for SPHP.\u00a0 As far as Lupe was concerned, if these woods were full of squirrels, she was going to have a great day whether she ever found Fish Mountain or not.<\/p>\n

USFS Road No. 878 soon faded away entirely.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP climbed a ridge to the NNW.\u00a0 The ridge was forested, but not so densely as to make it impossible to get an idea of the general lay of the land.\u00a0 Off to the NNW were a couple of forested hills.\u00a0 Another\u00a0high spot was to the SW along this ridge.\u00a0 A smaller hill was to the NE, with a bigger one farther NNE.<\/p>\n

Fish Mountain was probably one of the hills to the NNW.\u00a0 A\u00a0lower grassy ridge to the N\u00a0on the other side of a shallow valley\u00a0appeared to lead in that direction.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP started down into the valley.\u00a0 Suddenly, there was gunfire!\u00a0 Lupe, who had been having a great time exploring and looking for more squirrels, was immediately concerned.<\/p>\n

The gunfire was much too distant to be a genuine threat.\u00a0 Hunters?\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 Unfortunately it had come from the NW, in the general direction of Fish Mountain.\u00a0 Now Lupe was begging SPHP not to go that way.\u00a0 Well, OK.\u00a0 SPHP decided to\u00a0take another look at things from the small hill to the NE, while Lupe calmed down.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the top of the little hill to the NE. SPHP eventually concluded this hill was the middle high point along Elkhorn Divide. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe reached the top of the little hill.\u00a0 As SPHP gazed around, only one thing was really clear.\u00a0 Distant views were going to be hard to come by\u00a0in these heavily forested hills.<\/p>\n

The nervous American Dingo stuck to SPHP like glue.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the gunfire was continuing intermittently.\u00a0 The good news was that meant hunters weren’t the source.\u00a0 Hunters wouldn’t fire off a round or two every 4 or 5 minutes.\u00a0 The bad news was that the source was almost certainly someone doing target practice.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe might have to endure\u00a0the terrifying noise\u00a0for hours.<\/p>\n

SPHP peered through the forest, repeatedly referencing the maps.\u00a0 Surprisingly, the crudely hand-drawn topo map was actually of some use!\u00a0 Suddenly, things made sense, at least partial sense.\u00a0 This hill Lupe was on was the middle high point along Elkhorn Divide<\/span><\/a> (5,944 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, wasn’t it?\u00a0 If so, the true summit would be somewhere on that higher hill Lupe had seen to the N.<\/p>\n

SPHP led Lupe N down into a broad, flat saddle area on the way to the Elkhorn Divide summit hill.\u00a0 In the saddle, Lupe came to a fence.\u00a0 Beyond\u00a0the fence, she\u00a0crossed a road going NW.\u00a0\u00a0She continued N up\u00a0the big hill.<\/p>\n

The highest ground was over toward the W side of the mountain.\u00a0 Lupe soon arrived at an edge where the ground dropped off steeply.\u00a0\u00a0A short stroll N along the W edge brought Lupe up\u00a0to a\u00a0big flat area, which appeared to be the summit of Elkhorn Divide.\u00a0 This area was all forested, but open enough so it was pretty sunny.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on a big dead tree at the summit of Elkhorn Divide. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on Elkhorn Divide. Here she’s sitting on what appeared to be the highest spot, but there was lots of ground around at virtually the same elevation. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Elkhorn Divide summit area. A huge dead pine tree had fallen over toward the E, but gotten hung up on other trees before hitting the ground. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP explored far enough N along the W edge of the Elkhorn Divide summit hill to make certain Lupe had actually been to the true summit.\u00a0 She had.\u00a0 The forest made it hard to tell, but there didn’t seem to be any promising routes toward the NW to Fish Mountain from here.<\/p>\n

Lupe turned S retracing her route along the W edge back to the summit of Elkhorn Divide.\u00a0 She continued on down the hill.\u00a0 Along the way, she came to\u00a0several rock outcroppings.\u00a0 From one of them was a\u00a0narrow view of a mountain off to the W. \u00a0SPHP was almost certain that mountain had to be Hooker Peak, another one of Lupe’s peakbagging goals.<\/p>\n

\"Hooker<\/a>
Hooker Peak, another of Lupe’s peakbagging goals. Photo looks W from a rock outcropping S of the Elkhorn Divide summit using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP reached the saddle area again, and\u00a0got on\u00a0the road going NW.\u00a0 Lupe followed the road for only\u00a0a few minutes.\u00a0 Glimpses of the grassy ridge she had seen earlier on\u00a0were becoming\u00a0visible through the forest.\u00a0 Lupe left the road heading W.\u00a0\u00a0 She came to\u00a0a fence up on the grassy ridge.\u00a0\u00a0The fence line\u00a0pointed almost directly\u00a0at Fish Mountain<\/span><\/a> (5,942 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the grassy ridge on her way to Fish Mountain, the most distant hill on the R. The hill on the L is High Point 5922. Lupe didn’t climb HP 5922, but she did climb the lower sub peak seen at (Center) on her way to Fish Mountain. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe followed the fence line toward Fish Mountain.\u00a0 The fence turned WNW as it drew\u00a0near two sub-peaks E of High Point 5922.\u00a0 Lupe climbed both of these sub-peaks without\u00a0having to cross\u00a0the fence.<\/p>\n

Climbing the second, higher sub-peak proved to be quite unnecessary.\u00a0 The rocky summit\u00a0didn’t provide\u00a0much of a\u00a0view of Fish Mountain, despite high hopes for one.\u00a0 Lupe then had to\u00a0lose all the elevation she had just gained traversing a steep slope toward the saddle over to Fish Mountain.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0exploring the steep slope, Lupe made an intensely exciting discovery.\u00a0 She found\u00a0a squirrel on the ground!\u00a0 The squirrel alertly made a narrow escape by springing nimbly to the safety of a nearby tree.\u00a0 Unfortunately for the poor squirrel, the tree was either dead or an aspen that had already lost all its leaves.\u00a0 Lupe could see the frightened squirrel scrambling around up there, and raised a tremendous ruckus.<\/p>\n

The squirrel was 35 feet above the ground and perfectly safe, but totally unnerved.\u00a0 It desperately wanted to get out of sight.\u00a0 Dashing around from one spindly little branch to the next, it lost its balance.\u00a0 Down fell the squirrel!\u00a0 Clear back to the ground.\u00a0 Lupe was after it immediately.<\/p>\n

Now, if SPHP ever falls out of a tree 35 feet straight down to the ground, that will be the end of the ole’ ballgame right then and there.\u00a0 The squirrel, however, sprang up like Lazarus from the dead, totally unfazed.\u00a0 Nevertheless, if there hadn’t been so much tall grass, brush and deadfall timber around to slow Lupe down, things might well have ended badly for the squirrel.\u00a0 As it was, Lazarus the squirrel\u00a0escaped again to a big pine tree and disappeared.<\/p>\n

Lupe was so excited, for a little while she didn’t even think about the gunfire, which was still going on.\u00a0 She was convinced that where one squirrel could be found on the ground, there might well be more.\u00a0 Lupe sniffed frantically everywhere.\u00a0 She didn’t calm down until she was past the saddle and climbing the S slope of Fish Mountain.<\/p>\n

Near the top of Fish Mountain, was a band of small limestone cliffs.\u00a0 The cliffs were quite broken up, so it wasn’t hard at all for Lupe to find a route through them.\u00a0 Lupe arrived up on a summit ridge about 200 feet long E\/W, and\u00a025 or 30 feet wide N\/S.\u00a0 Several different stones closer to the E end vied for the title of true summit.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the summit of Fish Mountain. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The E end of the summit ridge was surprisingly barren, but still ringed by enough trees to block the views.\u00a0 However, there was one exception.\u00a0 A small gap in the trees provided a\u00a0glimpse of\u00a0Inyan Kara<\/a><\/span> (6,360 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> off to the SSW.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Inyan Kara Mountain as seen from Fish Mountain using the telephoto lens. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP took a break up on Fish Mountain.\u00a0 By now, Lupe was back to worrying about the gunfire again.\u00a0 Apparently target practice was going to last all day.\u00a0 SPHP tried to comfort Lupe, but the truth was her next peakbagging goal was Hooker Peak, even closer to the source of Lupe’s torment.<\/p>\n

Instead of heading back down the steep S slope of Fish Mountain, Lupe and SPHP explored the summit ridge to the W.\u00a0 It went farther than SPHP expected, before beginning to lose elevation steadily.\u00a0 Lupe arrived at an opening in the forest along the S rim of the ridge where there was a\u00a0clear view to the SSW.\u00a0 Inyan Kara could be seen again, along with a couple more peaks Lupe hoped to climb tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\"\"
At the viewpoint along the S rim of Fish Mountain, well W of the summit. Inyan Kara is seen in the distance. Duling Hill<\/span><\/a> (6,005 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is L of the dead tree. Iron Mountain<\/span><\/a> (5,887 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is in the foreground to the R of Inyan Kara partially obscuring it. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another<\/a>
Another look with the telephoto lens. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Duling Hill (Center) from Fish Mountain. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP continued W\u00a0from the viewpoint.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t have to go much farther before the terrain dropped down to a more heavily forested area where she found an old road.\u00a0 The road took her SE down to the W\u00a0side of the saddle between Fish Mountain and High Point 5922.\u00a0 There it turned sharply W\u00a0continuing down a side valley all the way to Fish Canyon.<\/p>\n

By the time Lupe reached Fish Canyon, the sun was already so low it was only shining on the mountaintops.\u00a0 However, Lupe was quite close to another peakbagging objective, Hooker Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,862 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Maybe she could still make it up Hooker Peak before sunset?\u00a0\u00a0She would have to hurry!\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP went a short distance NNW on the road in Fish Canyon before turning SW to climb Hooker Peak’s NE ridge.<\/p>\n

Most of the climb wasn’t bad, but Lupe was a nervous wreck.\u00a0 The continuing gunfire was now quite loud, originating from somewhere much lower, but\u00a0not too far away to the NW.\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0could hardly move without tripping over or stepping\u00a0on\u00a0the psyched out American Dingo.\u00a0 Just like Lazarus the squirrel, Lupe was desperate to hide.<\/p>\n

Despite the gunfire and steep final trek to the summit, Lupe\u00a0arrived up on\u00a0top of Hooker Peak.\u00a0 The sun was\u00a0on the horizon.\u00a0 The summit ridge proved to be a short, narrow line of rock, with fairly high cliffs to the S, an arrangement which provided a panoramic view in that direction.\u00a0 In all other directions, there was forest.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on Hooker Peak, WY. Inyan Kara is seen in the distance. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking SW along part of the short rocky summit ridge of Hooker Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Inyan Kara from Hooker Peak. Photo looks SSW using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was more to the Hooker Peak summit ridge than SPHP originally realized.\u00a0 Lupe explored it\u00a0farther to the WSW.\u00a0 It remained quite high, part of it perhaps as high as where Lupe had her summit photos taken on the rocks.\u00a0 There were more trees and bushes to deal with here.\u00a0 SPHP hoped for a clear view of the fast fading sunset, but there really wasn’t one.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near the WSW end of the Hooker Peak summit ridge. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sun was gone.\u00a0 Twilight\u00a0began fading fast.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP spent maybe 20 minutes total up on Hooker Peak before having to retreat.\u00a0 Lupe went down the mountain following the NE ridge, retracing her route up.\u00a0 Darkness came on so quickly that SPHP had to bring out the flashlight before Lupe even made it back down to Fish Canyon.<\/p>\n

At last, Lupe was happy again.\u00a0 Target practice was finally over.\u00a0 (Thank heavens, the would-be sharpshooter didn’t have night vision goggles!)\u00a0 Beneath a star-studded sky, Lupe and SPHP followed the road up Fish Canyon.\u00a0 At first it went S, then SE.\u00a0 After a mile or so, there was an intersection not shown on the old Black Hills National Forest map.\u00a0 The hand-sketched topo map was useless too.\u00a0 SPHP guessed, taking\u00a0the\u00a0road going S instead of E.<\/p>\n

There were doubt-filled moments, but finally, 1.5 miles later, after\u00a0the road had wound\u00a0around\u00a0before turning E, Lupe came to the intersection near the grove of yellow aspens she had been to before.\u00a0\u00a0Three minutes later, she was at the G6 (8:07 PM, 46\u00b0F) feasting on an entire can of Alpo.<\/p>\n

For once, Lupe wasn’t going straight home following a Black Hills expedition.\u00a0 She was staying right here.\u00a0 A long night was ahead, but Lupe’s adventures in the Black Hills of Wyoming weren’t over yet!<\/p>\n

\"\"
On Hooker Peak, Black Hills, WY 10-9-16<\/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 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":"

The names on the sign looked familiar.\u00a0 They had been on the Peakbagger.com topo map SPHP had been looking at online\u00a0early this morning.\u00a0 SPHP parked the G6 next to the sign (1:56 PM, 70\u00b0F).\u00a0 Let’s try it from here, Looper! It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, but Lupe had arrived late for her … Continue reading Black Hills, WY Expedition No. 176 – Elkhorn Divide, Fish Mountain & Hooker Peak (10-9-16)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6576,"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":[105,9,106,689,687,688,104,275],"class_list":["post-6563","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-elkhorn-divide","tag-fish-mountain","tag-hooker-peak","tag-lupe","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_3080.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\/6563","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=6563"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23873,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6563\/revisions\/23873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}