{"id":8032,"date":"2017-01-05T08:10:27","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T15:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=8032"},"modified":"2020-09-23T18:08:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T00:08:35","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-186-iron-mountain-peak-5440-12-23-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=8032","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 186 – Iron Mountain & Peak 5440 (12-23-16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cold came first.\u00a0 Single and low double digit highs.\u00a0 Subzero nights.\u00a0 Ten days later, the snow arrived.\u00a0 Lupe was in for a white Christmas.<\/p>\n

Yes, Christmas was coming, and what Lupe wanted most for Christmas was action!\u00a0\u00a0All these days laying around waiting for the weather to improve were excruciatingly dull for the Carolina Dog.\u00a0 Three weeks into December, a\u00a0break in the weather came.\u00a0 Three days with highs in the 40’s.\u00a0 A little snow melted the first two days.\u00a0 Only one day\u00a0remained\u00a0before things turned cold again.<\/p>\n

Lupe’s Christmas wish was going to be granted a little early.\u00a0 When\u00a0she saw SPHP starting to get the pack ready, Loop\u00a0was as excited as if she had caught Santa Claus\u00a0himself coming down the chimney.\u00a0 Leaping!\u00a0 Barking!\u00a0 Hurry!\u00a0 Hurry!\u00a0 Lupe was anxious to go.<\/p>\n

SPHP did a poor job of hurrying.\u00a0 Much of the morning\u00a0got chewed up by pre-Christmas errands.\u00a0 Two days after winter solstice, this wasn’t going to be a very long expedition.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t care.\u00a0 She was taking what she could get.<\/p>\n

Iron Mountain<\/a><\/span> (5,446 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0was once again on the way to Lupe’s peakbagging objective.\u00a0 Since Iron Mountain Road\u00a0essentially winds\u00a0all the way up\u00a0to the top of Iron Mountain, Lupe stopped briefly\u00a0to check out the view from the summit (11:42 AM, 41\u00b0F).\u00a0 Maybe the Black Hills looked more like Christmas now that there was some snow around?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe arrives up on Iron Mountain on her first Black Hills expedition in 19 dreadfully long days!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>
Mount Rushmore<\/a><\/span> (5,725 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> from Iron Mountain. Lupe saw some snow around, but there wasn’t any up in the trees to make the views look Christmas white.\u00a0 Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Harney Peak<\/a><\/span> (7,242 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> from Iron Mountain. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Iron Mountain, Lupe saw some snow around, but the scene wasn’t exactly a winter wonderland.\u00a0 There wasn’t any snow up in the trees to make things really look Christmas white.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP returned to the G6 and continued on.<\/p>\n

Lupe’s peakbagging objective for the day was Peak 5440<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 Although the mountain is only 0.25 mile\u00a0E of\u00a0the Needles Highway (Hwy 87), Lupe would start for it from Center Lake (12:04 PM, 45\u00b0F), 2 miles to the NE.\u00a0 Her actual route would be longer than that.\u00a0 After all, Lupe was here to enjoy the day, not to be done with it all as soon as possible!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe started for Peak 5440 here at Center Lake. Center Lake looked plenty white enough, with a good 6″ of snow or more. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Center Lake, Lupe climbed an embankment to reach a road W of the lake.\u00a0 The map showed this road would lead to some kind of trail following Grace Coolidge Creek to the SSE.\u00a0 The road climbed a little to the SW, then turned S and dropped down to creek level.<\/p>\n

It turned out the trail\u00a0along Grace Coolidge Creek was actually an abandoned\u00a0dirt road.\u00a0 That made it easy to follow, even with half a foot of snow on the ground.\u00a0 Lupe had a great time looking for squirrels in the forest, while SPHP plodded along.\u00a0 She found several to bark at that had emerged\u00a0to enjoy the relatively warm, sunny afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On the abandoned road that serves as a trail near Grace Coolidge Creek.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the recent long cold snap, Grace Coolidge Creek wasn’t entirely frozen.\u00a0 In places there was still open flowing water.\u00a0 Even where there wasn’t, the ice couldn’t be trusted.\u00a0 The trail crossed the creek a number of times.\u00a0 It wasn’t a problem, since\u00a0a single, long sturdy plank\u00a0provided a footbridge\u00a0at each crossing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe pauses on the snowy trail to listen and look for squirrels. She had some success finding squirrels that had emerged to bask in the sunshine on this relatively warm afternoon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the mighty squirrel hunter was\u00a0busily occupied, SPHP was looking for the turn where Lupe needed to leave the creek to start climbing.\u00a0 The plan was to follow a side trail up a canyon to the W passing N of High Point 4924.\u00a0 There was no telling what that side trail or canyon might look like.\u00a0 SPHP rejected a couple of possibilities after comparing actual terrain to the topo\u00a0map.<\/p>\n

The turn couldn’t be much farther.\u00a0 Lupe came to a place where the trail was about to cross to the E side of the creek again.\u00a0 Ahead was a small concrete dam next to the base of a natural solid rock wall.\u00a0 A narrow side canyon full of trees veered off to the NW.<\/p>\n

The terrain seemed right, but at first there didn’t appear to be any trail going up the canyon.\u00a0 That would be bad news.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP left the trail by the creek to investigate further.<\/p>\n

Yes!\u00a0 Lupe came across a faint,\u00a0remnant of a\u00a0road.\u00a0 Clearly, it had been a long time since any vehicle had\u00a0come this way.\u00a0 The\u00a0old road was impassable for vehicles\u00a0now, but looked easy enough to follow on foot and paw.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe looks for the turn to the W. A little concrete dam on Grace Coolidge Creek next to a natural wall of rock is seen beyond Lupe. This was where Lupe needed to leave the creek and start following a narrow side canyon leading NW. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe left Grace Coolidge Creek behind, following\u00a0what remained of the ancient road going NW up the narrow side canyon.\u00a0 The canyon eventually broadened out becoming a wider valley, which\u00a0wound around toward the W.\u00a0 SPHP wasn’t entirely certain Lupe had taken the correct route, but things seemed to be matching up pretty well with the topo map.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0passed\u00a0to the\u00a0N of a hill\u00a0which was likely\u00a0High Point 4924.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0valley was a beautiful and obviously seldom visited place.\u00a0 Lupe gained elevation steadily, but so did the sides of the valley.\u00a0 There was lots of snow, but it wasn’t too\u00a0deep for Lupe to get through.\u00a0 The big disappointment was that\u00a0there weren’t nearly as many squirrels here as back along the creek.<\/p>\n

For a mile or so, everything seemed fine, but then the\u00a0valley narrowed sharply, becoming a canyon again.\u00a0 What was left of the old road had completely vanished.\u00a0 The canyon floor\u00a0became increasingly rocky and steep.\u00a0 This didn’t seem right.\u00a0 The topo map had shown this route climbing gradually toward Pass 5111.\u00a0 SPHP halted for another look at the map.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe having a good time in a seldom visited valley W of Grace Coolidge Creek. She is already more than a mile from the creek, near the start of a side valley SPHP took by mistake. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The map showed Lupe was likely in a minor\u00a0side canyon SPHP mistook for the main route to Pass 5111.\u00a0 Lupe was probably N of High Point 5196.\u00a0 If so, she wasn’t off track by\u00a0much at all.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe could easily backtrack a short distance back to the main route, or she could climb up the ridge to the N,\u00a0then follow it W to Pass 5111.<\/p>\n

Lupe continued up the narrow canyon.\u00a0 She left\u00a0it\u00a0as soon as an opportunity arose to climb up\u00a0onto the ridge to the N.\u00a0 It wasn’t hard to reach a high point along the ridgeline.\u00a0 From here, Lupe could see a big hill to the N.\u00a0 SPHP tried to place it on the map.\u00a0 It seemed to be a hill 0.25 mile NE of Pass 5111.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe reaches the ridgeline N of High Point 5196. She could see this hill off to the N. After consulting the topo map, SPHP concluded this hill was 0.25 mile NE of Pass 5111.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Off to the SW, barely in view due to the forest, was an even\u00a0higher hill that might well be Peak 5440.\u00a0 At least everything seemed to make sense again.\u00a0 Lupe headed W along the ridgeline, climbing steadily.\u00a0 She soon came to a road that led her right to Pass 5111.\u00a0 Lupe could see Harney Peak to the NW on the other side of the pass.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At Pass 5111. Harney Peak (Center) is in view. From here, Lupe only needed to follow a ridgeline S to reach Peak 5440. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Pass 5111, Lupe only had to\u00a0follow\u00a0one more\u00a0ridge SSW to Peak 5440.\u00a0 This ridge has a couple of high spots along the way.\u00a0 Although the topo map didn’t show any trail leading toward Peak 5440, Lupe found a side road\u00a0that took\u00a0her SW partway up onto this next ridge.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe on a snowy side road that went SW from Pass 5111 partway up onto the ridge that would take Lupe to Peak 5440. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe reached the ridgeline.\u00a0 She\u00a0followed it SSW, still climbing, until she reached the first of the two high points along the way.\u00a0 This first high point was the highest, and open enough so Lupe had some great views from here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Cathedral Spires<\/a><\/span> (6,840 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>(L) and Harney Peak<\/a><\/span> (7,242 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>(R of Center) from the first high point Lupe came to on the ridge leading to Peak 5440. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
From here, Lupe had her first good look at her peakbagging objective, Peak 5440(L of Center). It was less than 0.5 mile away. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking NNW. Cathedral Spires(L), Harney Peak(L of Center) and Peak 5688(far R). Lupe recently visited Peak 5688<\/strong><\/a><\/span> for the first time on a windy day in November on Expedition No. 184<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe continued S along the ridge.\u00a0 She lost some elevation coming off the first high point, crossed over\u00a0the second\u00a0lower high spot, and began a fairly steep climb up the forested N face of Peak 5440<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 Soon she reached the top of the mountain.\u00a0 A small rock outcropping only a few feet high toward the NW was the true summit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Success! Lupe on the true summit of Peak 5440. Harney Peak is in view beyond her. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lupe had her peakbagging success for the day!\u00a0 Time for a break.\u00a0 SPHP sat on a rock\u00a0near the true summit munching an apple.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t hungry or thirsty.<\/p>\n

At least this expedition had accomplished something!\u00a0 Lupe was tired enough to want to curl up and lay down next to SPHP for a little bit.\u00a0 The temperature had been dropping.\u00a0 It was now close to freezing, yet Lupe insisted upon laying on a patch of snow.<\/p>\n

Break time lasted only until the apple was gone.\u00a0 The sun was getting low.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP explored the summit area, which was of modest size.\u00a0 Most of the summit area was SE of the true summit.\u00a0 There were good views in most directions, although forest\u00a0screened everything to the\u00a0NE.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Looking SE from the true summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Cathedral Spires through the telephoto lens. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking up toward the top of Peak 5440 from the S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking S from the top.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mount Coolidge<\/a><\/span> (6,023 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>(L of Center). Lupe hasn’t been to Mount Coolidge since Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 13, way back on 3-22-12. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking SE using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Time to be heading back, or it would get pitch black out before Lupe would reach the G6.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP left Peak 5440 heading down the N slope.\u00a0 Lupe would retrace her route\u00a0up back\u00a0to Pass 5111.\u00a0 There, a decision would have to be made on which way to go.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe sniffs around in the forest on her way back down the N slope of Peak 5440.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking back at Peak 5440 from the N ridge. Sunlight illuminates some of the pine trees for a little while longer. Soon the sun would be down. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sun was down by the time Lupe reached Pass 5111 again.\u00a0 Which way?\u00a0 Taking the road going NNW would\u00a0quickly bring\u00a0Lupe\u00a0down to the Needles Highway only 0.25 mile away.\u00a0 It was the safest choice.\u00a0 Lupe could then\u00a0take known roads back to the G6.<\/p>\n

The other option was\u00a0the road going SE from the pass.\u00a0 The topo map showed it going down to the canyon leading to Grace Coolidge Creek.\u00a0 Once at the creek, Lupe could easily follow the trail back to Center Lake.\u00a0 This route was more remote,\u00a0and a little chancy.\u00a0 Twilight would fade.\u00a0 However, Lupe should reach the canyon in plenty of time to verify she was on the right track before it got dark.<\/p>\n

Lupe took the\u00a0remote route instead of going to the highway.<\/p>\n

Soon there was a problem.\u00a0 The road didn’t\u00a0go SE as expected.\u00a0 Instead, it\u00a0went NE, staying high on a ridge.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0pressed onward.\u00a0 As long as the road didn’t play out, NE was actually the shortest route back.<\/p>\n

The luck of the Dingo held.\u00a0 The road didn’t play out.\u00a0 It\u00a0remained high on the ridge until finally descending to come out at the Black Hills Playhouse.\u00a0 Lupe had taken a shortcut on a road not shown on the map.\u00a0 All was well.\u00a0 White Dingo magic again!\u00a0 (5:06 PM, 28\u00b0F)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A last look back at Peak 5440 from the high point SW of Pass 5111.<\/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\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 cold came first.\u00a0 Single and low double digit highs.\u00a0 Subzero nights.\u00a0 Ten days later, the snow arrived.\u00a0 Lupe was in for a white Christmas. Yes, Christmas was coming, and what Lupe wanted most for Christmas was action!\u00a0\u00a0All these days laying around waiting for the weather to improve were excruciatingly dull for the Carolina Dog.\u00a0 … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 186 – Iron Mountain & Peak 5440 (12-23-16)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8029,"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":[105,9,106,691,104,754,304],"class_list":["post-8032","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-iron-mountain","tag-lupe","tag-peak-5440","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_3603.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\/8032","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=8032"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28369,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8032\/revisions\/28369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}