{"id":6656,"date":"2016-10-29T08:10:10","date_gmt":"2016-10-29T14:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=6656"},"modified":"2020-09-23T12:09:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T18:09:04","slug":"black-hills-wy-expedition-no-177-duling-hill-iron-mountain-10-10-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=6656","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, WY Expedition No. 177 – Duling Hill & Iron Mountain (10-10-16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

You awake, Loop?\u00a0 I’m not sleepy either.\u00a0 What time is it, anyway?\u00a0 Ugh, still early.\u00a0 Want to go out and sniff the air for a few minutes?\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>She did.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lupe in the G6 early on 10-10-16. The G6 said it was 5:11 AM, 38\u00baF.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The moon had set hours ago.\u00a0 Overhead, Orion was shining brilliantly in the starry night sky.\u00a0 Nights were already getting long this time of year.\u00a0 It would be at least another hour until dawn.\u00a0 Lupe sniffed around in the quiet darkness for 15 minutes.\u00a0 Then it was back in the G6 to try to get a little more shuteye.<\/p>\n

The next time SPHP came to, it was light out.\u00a0 The sun was already shining on the treetops.\u00a0 Lupe was wide awake, looking out the window, watching.\u00a0 The American Dingo was anxious to get out and start her next Black Hills, WY adventure!\u00a0 OK, Loopster, it’s time, past time really,\u00a0let’s go!<\/em><\/p>\n

Duling Hill<\/a><\/span> (6,005 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> was Lupe’s first peakbagging objective of the day.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP followed USFS Road No. 872.3 a short distance WSW to the “Y” with No. 872.1F.\u00a0 Lupe turned\u00a0S on No. 872.1F and promptly arrived at a big canvas tent in the forest just off the road.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lupe discovered this big canvas tent off USFS Road No. 872.1F. No one was around when she arrived.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The big canvas tent was a rather unusual discovery.\u00a0 No one was around when Lupe arrived, but there was a big stack of logs outside ready for splitting into firewood.\u00a0\u00a0Evidently there was\u00a0some kind of stove in the tent.\u00a0 A long black smokestack leaned out of a hole in the roof.<\/p>\n

Someone had gone to considerable trouble to establish this semi-permanent looking camp.\u00a0 Lupe sniffed around the tent, but there were no windows.\u00a0 The front door was all zipped and tied shut.\u00a0 Interesting, but best to leave it alone.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP continued SSW on USFS Road No. 872.1F.<\/p>\n

Near a high point, Lupe and SPHP left the road to climb up onto a forested ridge to the W.\u00a0 It wasn’t much of a climb, but SPHP soon caught a glimpse of a high hill about 1.5 miles away to the SW.\u00a0 That had to be Duling Hill.\u00a0 No. 872.1F had been heading practically straight for it.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP cut back down a short steep slope to return to the road, which was now going SW down a valley.\u00a0 Lupe had some luck and found a squirrel to bark at in a beautiful grove of golden aspens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe on USFS Road No. 872.1F. The happy Carolina Dog soon found a squirrel to bark at among the golden aspens. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After an easy stroll down the wooded valley, Lupe reached a junction.\u00a0 There was a big, round, tan, plastic water trough for cattle here, but it contained no water.\u00a0 A grassy unmarked road branched off going SE up another small valley.\u00a0 No. 872.1F turned W.<\/p>\n

Lupe left the road,\u00a0went past the water trough, and crossed a tiny, mucky stream.\u00a0 She then started climbing S up Duling Hill.\u00a0 The climb was steepest at the beginning, and soon became more gradual.\u00a0 Everything was going fine when Lupe’s worries from yesterday suddenly returned.\u00a0 Gunfire again!\u00a0 Intermittent just like yesterday.\u00a0 More target practice.<\/p>\n

Up until now, Lupe had been all fired up, full of energy, roaming and racing through the hills.\u00a0 Even though the gunfire was distant,\u00a0it instantly made\u00a0the Carolina Dog\u00a0nervous and spoiled her fun.\u00a0 She wanted to stop and hide.<\/p>\n

SPHP found a fallen tree to sit on.\u00a0 Lupe curled up next to the tree.\u00a0\u00a0The Carolina Dog\u00a0wanted to wait the gunfire out right here.\u00a0 SPHP allowed her a short break.\u00a0 No telling how long the gunfire would continue.\u00a0 Yesterday afternoon it had persisted until after sundown.<\/p>\n

Lupe was reluctant to get going again, but she wasn’t in any real danger.\u00a0 It was time to move on.\u00a0 The American Dingo stuck\u00a0closely to\u00a0SPHP.\u00a0 Soon she was\u00a0skirting the NW slope of\u00a0High Point 5947 to reach the saddle over to the summit of Duling Hill.\u00a0\u00a0The summit\u00a0wasn’t much farther.\u00a0 The old USFS map showed a survey benchmark at the top of Duling Hill, for some reason or other marked “Butte”.\u00a0 SPHP wondered if Lupe would be able to find\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, the “Butte” survey benchmark was very easy to find.\u00a0 Lupe went right to it.\u00a0 A conspicuous cairn was built up around benchmark, right at what did appear to be the top of the mountain.\u00a0 Next to the cairn was some old wire and a wooden cross fallen\u00a0on the ground.\u00a0 The summit area was quite large, nearly flat, and forested.\u00a0 The forest was fairly open, but still effectively blocked the views.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The survey benchmark on Duling Hill did say “Butte”, just like the old USFS map showed it would.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe was still so nervous about the distant gunfire, she wanted to stay right next to SPHP.\u00a0 Many attempts\u00a0had to be\u00a0made to persuade her to stay alone near the cairn long enough for a photo.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A very nervous Carolina Dog poses reluctantly at the summit cairn on Duling Hill. The distant, intermittent gunfire from someone just doing target practice kept her on edge. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Looking ENE across part of the Duling Hill summit area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP left the Duling Hill summit wandering WNW across a broad area that sloped down only slightly.\u00a0 The hope was that Lupe would come to some viewpoints along the way.\u00a0 Lupe did her best.\u00a0 She\u00a0found some partial views, but that was all Duling Hill had to offer.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lupe found this narrow view of Inyan Kara Mountain from Duling Hill. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Inyan Kara Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,360 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> with help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
This was the clearest view of Hooker Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,862 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> that Lupe found from Duling Hill. Photo looks N using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Iron Mountain, Lupe’s next peakbagging goal, is the forested hill in the foreground. Far away on the horizon, Warren Peaks<\/span><\/a> (6,650 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> can be seen on the L. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once Lupe’s exploration of the W end of Duling Hill was complete, she headed almost straight N down a long ridge.\u00a0 The ridge became quite narrow as Lupe lost elevation.\u00a0 More than half way down, Lupe discovered bones strewn about a small level spot.\u00a0 Some wild\u00a0animal had met its fate here.\u00a0 It must have happened quite a while ago.\u00a0 The scattered bones were totally bare.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe discovered these bones on the narrow N ridge coming down Duling Hill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After following the N ridge down from Duling Hill for 0.75 mile, Lupe entered a wide valley of open meadows.\u00a0 A bright yellow stand of aspens was on display.\u00a0 Off to the NW was a clear view of\u00a0Iron Mountain<\/span><\/a> (5,887 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0the forested ridge that was Lupe’s next peakbagging goal.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A stand of yellow aspens greeted Lupe in the valley at the lower end of the N ridge from Duling Hill. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Iron<\/a>
Iron Mountain, the long forested ridge seen here, was Lupe’s next peakbagging goal. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iron Mountain was less than a mile away to the NW.\u00a0 However, small bands of cliffs were visible along the S and SE slopes.\u00a0 The mountain looked like it could be much more easily approached from the NE than the SE.\u00a0 Lupe traveled N through the valley, looking for the easiest way up Iron Mountain.\u00a0 Along the way, she passed a stock pond.<\/p>\n

Apparently the stock pond was fed by the tiny stream\u00a0Lupe had crossed before beginning her ascent of Duling Hill.\u00a0 The trickle of flow was enough to\u00a0keep the stock pond from going dry even this late in the season.\u00a0 The stock pond was kind of a scenic spot, in addition to a source of water for wildlife.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on her way past a scenic little stock pond SE of Iron Mountain. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

N of the stock pond, Lupe came to a dirt road.\u00a0 It was unmarked, but was probably some branch of USFS Road No. 882.\u00a0 Lupe followed this road only a short distance, then crossed to the other side and followed a single track trail closer to Iron Mountain.\u00a0 It lead to another road, which was grassy and climbed at an easy pace, winding its way N.<\/p>\n

The grassy road took Lupe to a pass NE of Iron Mountain where there was an intersection.\u00a0 A road marked as USFS Road No. 882.1B went W from the pass, and looked like it was about to turn SW to go up Iron Mountain.\u00a0 Perfect!<\/p>\n

Lupe followed No. 882.1B.\u00a0 She was feeling better again.\u00a0 Sometime after she had left the stock pond, target practice had ceased.\u00a0 No more gunfire!\u00a0 Lupe was regaining her confidence.\u00a0 Life is always better when you don’t have to worry about being gunned down!<\/p>\n

No. 882.1B\u00a0brought Lupe high up on the E slope of Iron Mountain, but did not go to the top.\u00a0 Instead, it turned S, paralleling the ridgeline.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP left the road to finish the easy climb through open forest.\u00a0 Lupe only needed to gain another 70 feet of elevation or so to reach the N end of the summit ridge.<\/p>\n

From a distance, Iron Mountain had looked quite densely forested.\u00a0 SPHP was surprised when Lupe found a flat grassy field at the N end of the ridge.\u00a0 The meadow was ringed by trees, explaining why this bare spot hadn’t been visible from a distance.\u00a0 At the N end was a small opening between trees.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe had a clear\u00a0view of Warren Peaks<\/a><\/span> (6,650 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0from here.<\/p>\n

\"To<\/a>
To SPHP’s surprise, Lupe discovered a meadow up at the N end of the Iron Mountain summit ridge. Later on, SPHP found out that topo maps show this part of the mountain as the true summit. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The lookout tower on Warren Peaks (Center) can be seen in this photo taken from the N end of the summit ridge of Iron Mountain. Photo looks NW using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The summit ridge on Iron Mountain was quite broad E\/W, and ran N\/S for a good 500 to 600 feet.\u00a0 To the E, the ground sloped away at a moderate pace.\u00a0 To the W was a line of limestone (Why not iron for Pete’s sake?\u00a0 This is Iron Mountain, not Limestone Mountain!) cliffs.\u00a0 The cliffs were on the order of 30 to 40 feet high.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking farther W into Wyoming from the cliffs along the summit ridge on Iron Mountain. Hwy 585 can be seen below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Up on the limestone cliffs along the W edge of the Iron Mountain summit ridge. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Hope you got that shot of the cliff, SPHP. I’m outta here!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The highest part of the summit ridge near the limestone cliffs was nearly level for quite a distance going S from the N end of the ridge.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed S exploring the ridgeline.\u00a0 Although SPHP later discovered that topo maps show the true summit of Iron Mountain very close to the N end of the mountain, there was an area\u00a0150 feet\u00a0farther S that seemed a little higher to SPHP.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0more southern\u00a0high point\u00a0was certainly more scenic.\u00a0 It was forested and shady, but right next to the cliffs where there was\u00a0with an opening between the trees permitting a look at Inyan Kara<\/a><\/span> (6,360 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Lupe declared it the official true summit of Iron Mountain as far as she was concerned, by\u00a0posing on the highest rock she could find.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Standing atop the highest rock Lupe could find at her official true summit of Iron Mountain. Unseen just beyond her is a 40 foot cliff. Inyan Kara is seen on the horizon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

Lupe and SPHP\u00a0went S along the Iron Mountain\u00a0ridgeline far enough to be absolutely certain\u00a0the Carolina Dog\u00a0had\u00a0visited the true summit.\u00a0 Then Lupe turned around and went back to the N end of the ridge one more time.\u00a0 Lupe’s explorations of Iron Mountain were complete.\u00a0 So were all of her peakbagging goals in this remote part of the Black Hills.\u00a0 It was time to head back to the G6.<\/p>\n

Lupe returned to USFS Road No. 882.1B, following it NE back down Iron Mountain.\u00a0 She left the road a couple of times to take a look around from two different viewpoints along the way.\u00a0 Far below to the SE,\u00a0she saw the stock pond she had passed by earlier.\u00a0 To the N was Hooker Peak<\/span><\/a> (5,862 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, which she had climbed as the sun set yesterday.<\/p>\n

\"On<\/a>
On her way down Iron Mountain, Lupe saw the stock pond she had passed by earlier in the day. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hooker<\/a>
Hooker Peak as seen from the NE slopes of Iron Mountain. Lupe had been up on top of Hooker Peak yesterday at sunset! Photo looks N using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Lupe reached the pass NE of Iron Mountain at the start of USFS Road No. 882.1B, it would have been very easy to get back to the G6 by taking the road going N from the pass.\u00a0 That road would soon have turned E and headed almost directly to the G6.\u00a0 However, SPHP didn’t look at the maps and guessed wrong, taking a road winding SE instead.<\/p>\n

Pretty soon it became apparent that the road going SE would eventually lead Lupe right back to the stock pond.\u00a0 It seemed like the long way around.\u00a0 SPHP now compounded the first error by making another one.\u00a0 SPHP left the road\u00a0taking Lupe NE up a side valley, expecting to find a pass over the ridge.<\/p>\n

There was a pass, alright, but much higher up than SPHP expected.\u00a0 Lupe climbed until she was nearly up to High Point 5783.\u00a0 She then\u00a0lost all her elevation gains going E\u00a0down a steep slope to a road visible below.\u00a0 SPHP didn’t recognize the road, but Lupe had been here before, just hours ago.\u00a0 She was back on No. 872.1F, but following the road the wrong way, away from the G6!<\/p>\n

\"Even<\/a>
Even when Lupe passed by the same stand of golden aspens along USFS Road No. 872.1F where she had found the squirrel early in the morning, SPHP didn’t realize where she was, or that she was going the wrong way!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Although Lupe and SPHP went the wrong way on USFS Road No. 872.1F, seeing fall colors like these a second time around could hardly be considered a waste of time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the big, round, tan water trough came into view, SPHP realized Lupe was back at the tiny stream where she had started her climb up Duling Hill.\u00a0 Good grief!\u00a0 SPHP had been leading the American Dingo the wrong way!\u00a0 Lupe didn’t mind.\u00a0 She was still having fun.<\/p>\n

There was nothing to do about it, except turn around and traipse right back up USFS Road No. 872.1F for the third time today, this time going uphill.\u00a0 Lupe reached the little pass at the high point on the road, passed by the canvas tent (which was still vacant), and finally arrived at the G6 (1:51 PM, 71\u00b0F).<\/p>\n

Well, all those navigation mistakes SPHP had made since leaving Iron Mountain had chewed up at least an hour.\u00a0 It was too bad.\u00a0 SPHP had been thinking Lupe might travel farther N to the portion of the Black Hills N of Sundance, WY known as the Bear Lodge Mountains.\u00a0 It would take time to get there, though.\u00a0 Now, Lupe would arrive with only a few hours\u00a0left before sunset.<\/p>\n

And so, the decision was made to call it for the day.\u00a0 Black Hills, WY Expedition No. 177 was over.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed for home.\u00a0 Lupe had achieved her original peakbagging goals for her two day excursion to this part of the Black Hills in Wyoming.\u00a0\u00a0It wouldn’t be that long before she could return to explore peaks in the Bear Lodge Mountains.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Carolina Dog was very happy barking at cows and horses along Moskee Road and\u00a0I90\u00a0all the way home.\"\"<\/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\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":"

You awake, Loop?\u00a0 I’m not sleepy either.\u00a0 What time is it, anyway?\u00a0 Ugh, still early.\u00a0 Want to go out and sniff the air for a few minutes?\u00a0\u00a0She did. The moon had set hours ago.\u00a0 Overhead, Orion was shining brilliantly in the starry night sky.\u00a0 Nights were already getting long this time of year.\u00a0 It would … Continue reading Black Hills, WY Expedition No. 177 – Duling Hill & Iron Mountain (10-10-16)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23919,"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":[105,9,106,690,691,104,275],"class_list":["post-6656","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-duling-hill","tag-iron-mountain","tag-lupe","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_3107.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\/6656","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=6656"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6676,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6656\/revisions\/6676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}