{"id":88,"date":"2015-02-23T20:27:52","date_gmt":"2015-02-24T03:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=88"},"modified":"2020-09-21T19:31:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T01:31:31","slug":"black-hills-sd-expedition-no-118-redfern-mountain-signal-knob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 118 – Redfern Mountain & Signal Knob (2-7-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 7, 2015\u00a0was the second day in a row of record high temperatures in the Black Hills region.\u00a0 Lupe couldn’t miss an opportunity like that in what is normally winter, so she and SPHP headed out into the central Black Hills for a little peakbagging.\u00a0 Redfern Mountain<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (6,075 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> and Signal Knob<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (6,200 ft.)<\/strong> <\/span>were the goals for Expedition No. 118.<\/p>\n

It was already 55 degrees at 9:55 AM when SPHP parked the G6 just off Mystic Road only 0.33 mile E of Redfern Mountain.\u00a0 Lupe headed W straight up the mountain.\u00a0 There was almost no snow around, so\u00a0Lupe and SPHP had an easy climb up through the forest.<\/p>\n

Conditions were very pleasant at the top of Redfern Mountain – sunny, calm and, of course,\u00a0unseasonably warm.\u00a0 Surprisingly, the summit area was level, mostly open ground.\u00a0 Consequently there were nice views of the central Black Hills region in almost every direction.\u00a0 For some reason there were 3 US Geological survey benchmarks in close proximity to one another all marked “Redfern” and “1950”, plus\u00a0a sign on a post.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking SSE from Redfern Mountain. Harney Peak is the highest point towards the left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe’s second objective of the day, Signal Knob, was visible over 4 miles off to the WNW. It looked like a fairly low pine-covered hill rising above some immediately surrounding open prairie ground, although most of the intervening terrain from Redfern Mountain was pine forest. Quite a bit of snow was visible on the slopes of Signal Knob.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lupe on Redfern Mountain. Signal Knob is low snowy hill surrounded by prairie visible in the distance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After enjoying the views on Redfern Mountain, Lupe headed down the NW slope to start the trek to Signal Knob.\u00a0 On the way to Signal Knob, Lupe had to cross Slate Creek.\u00a0 Slate Creek is a small stream, only a\u00a0few feet wide in most places, but had pretty good flow in it.\u00a0 Fortunately, the creek was still frozen over in places, and Lupe easily crossed the creek via the ice.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking back at Redfern Mountain after Lupe crossed Slate Creek.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond Slate Creek, Lupe climbed through the forest all the way up to a high point\u00a0shown on SPHP’s topo map as\u00a0Peak 6099,\u00a0less than 2 miles E of Signal Knob.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on Peak 6099.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Peak 6099, Lupe had to lose a fair amount elevation again as she continued on heading generally W or NW.\u00a0 She regained most of it by the time she reached the high prairie surrounding Signal Knob.<\/p>\n

\"Getting<\/a>
Getting close to Signal Knob.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The summit area on Signal Knob was clogged with\u00a0 deadfall timber.\u00a0 A short distance to the N, there was some private property where a couple of 5th wheel trailers were\u00a0parked.\u00a0 Fortunately, the true summit was on USFS land.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on Signal Knob.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe\u00a0took\u00a0a Taste of the Wild break on Signal Knob.\u00a0 She used her nose to bury a couple of pieces of a granola bar\u00a0SPHP offered her, apparently\u00a0planning a\u00a0return\u00a0 expedition in the not too distant future.\u00a0 Despite all the deadfall timber, enough pine trees were still standing to prevent there from being any really decent views.\u00a0 At least the pines helped to block the wind which was by now starting to pick up out of the NW.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe takes a break on Signal Knob.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a brief rest break at the summit, it was time to start heading back to the G6. However, being the intrepid dingo that she is, Lupe naturally wanted to explore more new ground along the way.\u00a0 So instead of heading E, she headed W into a rather stiff NW breeze on Slate Prairie Road to USFS Road No. 187.<\/p>\n

The sky was now rather dark and even threatening looking off to the W.\u00a0 As Lupe headed N along No. 187 towards Deerfield Trail No. 40, a light rain started.\u00a0 Lupe turned E on Deerfield Trail No. 40 and followed it for at least a couple of miles. The rain continued intermittently for a while, but it never became heavy and eventually just quit.<\/p>\n

Lupe\u00a0had\u00a0explored the entire Deerfield Trail No. 40 back in 2012.\u00a0 So at the 2nd of two rock quarries that she came to along the N side of the Deerfield Trail, she left it to take\u00a0USFS Road No. 241.1B (unmarked) heading S up a low ridge.\u00a0 By the time the top of the ridge was gained, however, there was so much deadfall timber everywhere, that No. 241.1B was completely lost in the debris.\u00a0 Lupe stayed fairly high up on the ridge and worked her way S through the deadfall timber.\u00a0 For SPHP it was dreadfully slow going.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, before too long Lupe came to another road, which was marked No. 241.1C.\u00a0 No. 241.1C very quickly met up with No. 241 (unmarked at this point), which was free of deadfall timber, but covered with snow and ice for quite a distance as it wound down a narrow little\u00a0valley.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on USFS Road No. 241.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe followed No. 241 a good mile and a half, all the way down through Dougherty Gulch back to Mystic Road.\u00a0 The valley was beautiful even in February.\u00a0 After passing a junction with No. 241.1A, there was even a small creek.<\/p>\n

SPHP really enjoyed the hike along No. 241. Daugherty Gulch seemed quite remote. The valley was beautiful even in February.\u00a0 The valley became broader and more open as Lupe continued heading downstream.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the E (lower) end of scenic Daugherty Gulch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Lupe reached Mystic Road at the E\u00a0end of Daugherty Gulch, she was still about 3 miles N of where the G6 was parked.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe crossed Mystic Road to the E and got on the Mickelson Trail. \u00a0Lupe followed the Mickelson Trail S\u00a0for a bit over a mile to USFS Road No. 530.\u00a0 There she left the Mickelson Trail and completed a somewhat dull hike along the wide gravel Mystic Road the rest of the way back to the G6.\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u00a0was 5:48 PM, but still 52 degrees out, by the time Lupe reached the G6.\u00a0 It was getting dark, but not quite dark enough yet to see any stars.\u00a0 Lupe had a big drink of water before hopping in the G6 for the ride home.\u00a0 Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 118 was over.<\/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 Prior Black Hills Expedition<\/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":"

February 7, 2015\u00a0was the second day in a row of record high temperatures in the Black Hills region.\u00a0 Lupe couldn’t miss an opportunity like that in what is normally winter, so she and SPHP headed out into the central Black Hills for a little peakbagging.\u00a0 Redfern Mountain (6,075 ft.) and Signal Knob (6,200 ft.) were … Continue reading Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 118 – Redfern Mountain & Signal Knob (2-7-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90,"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":[105,9,106,104,15,16,304],"class_list":["post-88","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-lupe","tag-redfern-mountain","tag-signal-knob","tag-south-dakota"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/P1050889.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\/88","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=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28259,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/28259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/90"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}