July 2017 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Rialto Beach, the Hoh Rain Forest fiasco & Beach 4, Olympic Peninsula, Washington (8-22-12)

Day 15 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.

After breaking camp at the Klahowya campground on the Olympic Peninsula; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP headed SW on Hwy 101 to the town of Forks. There was a U.S. National Park Service Recreation Information Center in Forks, and SPHP wanted to stop in briefly to see if there was ANY place in Olympic National Park where Lupe could go on a trail.

As expected, the news wasn’t good. Dogs are not allowed on any trails in Olympic National Park. However, there was one place dogs could go, provided they were on a leash. Dogs were allowed on Rialto Beach, from the parking lot N about a mile to Ellen Creek. That sounded great! Since Rialto Beach wasn’t too far away; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP were on their way.

The Olympic Peninsula was turning out to be a far more dangerous place than SPHP had ever imagined. On the way to Rialto Beach, there were signs warning about vampires! Just yesterday, Lupe had battled Big Paw, and now vampires?!

No, vampires beyond this point!? Since when do vampires obey regulations?

If Lanis and SPHP were concerned, Lupe wasn’t. It was a bright and beautiful morning. Sundown wouldn’t be for many hours. Lanis and SPHP could just chill for the time being. Vampires never saunter around in broad daylight – everyone knows that!

Rialto Beach was wonderful! Lupe, Lanis and SPHP headed N along the shore. It was great to see the Pacific Ocean, see and hear the crashing waves, and smell the salty air. The white bleached trunks of huge dead trees were scattered along the high tide line, looking like the bones of dinosaurs. Lupe didn’t quite know what to make of it all. She had seen the ocean at Puget Sound just a couple of days ago, but this was the first time she had ever been right on the beach and seen the endless expanse of the open ocean.

Lupe and Lanis at Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park. Lupe had never seen the broad expanse of the open ocean before.

Near the high tide line were numerous dead tree trunks, bleached white by the sun and sea.

Lupe stayed up on the beach. She was a little afraid of the waves. Even though the waves were quite small for the ocean, they were bigger than any waves she had ever seen before. Lupe got close to the ocean, but she didn’t go in it at all. She retreated ahead of each incoming wave. She enjoyed trotting along the wet sand, and sniffing all the very strange scents. To Lupe, Rialto Beach was a very beautiful, but also a very strange and exotic place.

Lanis became engrossed with shells, rocks and creatures he was finding on the beach, or in tidal pools. Lupe and SPHP continued N alone, thoroughly enjoying the stroll next to the Pacific Ocean. Rialto Beach was the farthest W that Lupe had ever been. She had reached the North American continent’s edge. She could go no further W.

Lupe couldn’t go any farther N, either. As Lupe and SPHP approached a towering upright rock near the shore, suddenly a park ranger came running up. Lupe couldn’t be here. Lupe and SPHP had transgressed by crossing Ellen Creek. Lupe was almost all the way to Split Rock, which just wasn’t allowed.

As it turned out, Ellen Creek was just a little trickle of water coming out of the sand 10 feet from the ocean. Upstream, it had disappeared underground long before reaching the beach. The ranger wasn’t upset; she said Ellen Creek is 20 feet wide in the spring, but there was a drought going on. Now that it was late August, Ellen Creek had almost completely dried up. The ranger wasn’t surprised SPHP had missed it, but Lupe still had to go back.

Split Rock at Rialto Beach, where the park ranger said Lupe couldn't be. Lupe and SPHP had to turn back. — Split Rock at Rialto Beach, where the park ranger said Lupe couldn’t be. Lupe and SPHP had to turn back.

Reluctantly, Lupe and SPHP returned S looking for Lanis. Lanis was still busy looking at rocks and crab shells, but he was ready to go when Lupe found him. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left Rialto Beach, and headed back to Forks for Subway sandwiches and ice cream bars. Lupe liked both, but clearly favored the ice cream.

SPHP thought it would be fun to take Lupe to the Hoh Rain Forest. SE of Forks, off Hwy 101, is a turn to the E on Upper Hoh Road. Upper Hoh Road enters Olympic National Park, and ends at the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center.

It made no sense, though, to pay the park entrance fee, just so Lupe could sit in the Element. SPHP came up with the bright idea of taking a different road to South Fork campground, instead. South Fork campground isn’t in Olympic National Park, but is pretty close to it. In fact, it’s not even very far from the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center. Lupe could probably experience the Hoh Rain Forest just as easily at South Fork, and avoid the dog restrictions.

The turn to South Fork campground was a little farther S on Hwy 101, past the turn for Upper Hoh Road. The South Fork road wasn’t bad, although it was narrow and winding. After a while, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP found themselves high up on a mountainside. The little road went on and on. This couldn’t be right! South Fork campground was supposed to be down on the South Fork of the Hoh River, not up on a mountain.

Some miles back, the road had divided. SPHP must have told Lanis to take the wrong fork. There was nothing to do, but turn around. It wasn’t going to be easy up here. Lanis slowly, and very carefully, turned the Element around on the narrow road. Success! Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went back down the mountain the way they had come up.

This time, Lanis took the other fork in the road. Sure enough, it eventually led to South Fork campground, but the road went on even farther from there. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went all the way to the end of the road. At the end was a place that looked like some kind of small defunct rock quarry.

Lanis and the Element at the sort of rock quarry place at the end of the road beyond South Fork campground. So, now what?

Lanis, Lupe and SPHP got out of the Element. Hmm. No one else was around. Was this a trailhead? There didn’t seem to be any trail. The rock quarry, if that was what it ever was, didn’t look too promising. It was surrounded by forest, but the forest didn’t look like anything special. The forest back at Klahowya campground, where Lupe had spent the previous evening, looked much more like a rain forest than this did.

SPHP didn’t give up. Looking around, SPHP spied what looked like an old abandoned road or trail heading into the forest. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP set off to explore it. They didn’t get far. A stream coming down the mountain had washed out, and completely exposed, a giant culvert. A 50-100 foot wide section of the mountainside had collapsed, too, taking the trail with it. The trail did continue beyond the huge gap, but there was no reasonable way forward to get to it.

So, that was it. The whole Hoh Rain Forest episode was just another of SPHP’s adventure fiascoes. A lot of time had been lost winding around on little roads to get nowhere. Even SPHP was ready to give up. Lupe came all this way to see the ocean, not a bunch of trees! There were trees back home, different types, but they were still trees. It was time to return to the Pacific Ocean!

Back at Hwy 101 again, Lanis turned S. Hwy 101 curved SW, and followed the Hoh River. At the coast, Hwy 101 curved S again. The highway was now at some height above the ocean, but not far from it. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP stopped at a parking lot for Beach 4. A trail led down a steep little hillside to the ocean.

This was what Lupe had come all the way to the West Coast for! Beach 4 was marvelous. Lanis, SPHP, and even Lupe went wading in the Pacific Ocean. For a few minutes, the cold water felt good. Then it was time to warm paws and feet up again on the dry sand. Back and forth, in and out of the sea, again and again. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP wandered N along the beach. Waves crashed against rocks sending spray from the collisions skyward. The sea, the sea, the beautiful sea!

At Beach 4, Lupe went wading in the Pacific Ocean for the very first time.

Full of deep meaning and profound significance, this what-cha-ma-call-it was at Beach 4. SPHP suspects it may have been built by a tribe of modern Lanis.

The Oregon coast has a reputation for the most beautiful scenery along the Pacific Ocean in the lower 48 states, but Washington state’s Beach 4, where she waded in the sea for the first time, was a place of wonder for Lupe. Lupe, Lanis, and SPHP lingered at Beach 4 enjoying the beauty of the ocean, as the sun began slipping from the sky.

And that’s where this post leaves them, until another post by and by.Links:

Next Adventure Prior Adventure

Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s 2012 West Coast Adventure Index, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.

Black Hills, WY Expedition No. 104 – Inyan Kara Mountain (11-9-14)

Snow was in the forecast. An approaching winter storm was supposed to hit tomorrow and dump half a foot of snow on the Black Hills. The next 10 days weren’t expected to get above freezing. Today was supposed to be nice, though, with highs in the 50’s. Last chance, for a while at least, for Lupe to go on a Black Hills Expedition!

Lupe’s peakbagging goal for Expedition No. 104 was a rather unusual Black Hills mountain – Inyan Kara (6,360 ft.). Inyan Kara is part of a line of forested ridges and hills in eastern Wyoming separated from the main body of the Black Hills in South Dakota by 5-10 miles of grasslands used mostly for ranching. Like Devil’s Tower (5,112 ft.) in NE Wyoming and Bear Butte (4,433 ft.) near Sturgis, South Dakota, Inyan Kara was considered sacred by the Lakota Sioux. General George Armstrong Custer is purported to have visited Inyan Kara on July 23, 1874.

Inyan Kara sits on roughly 2 square miles of the Black Hills National Forest completely surrounded by privately held ranch lands. To even reach the national forest land, Lupe would need permission from the ranchers. Lupe and SPHP had tried once before to get permission, way back on Black Hills Expedition No. 91 on 6-1-14, but had arrived at the ranch headquarters to find no one at home except the dog.

Lupe SE of Inyan Kara Mountain. Would she get permission from the local ranchers to cross their property to reach it?

Inyan Kara from the SE. Although Inyan Kara is on roughly 2 square miles of Black Hills National Forest, the mountain is surrounded by privately held ranchlands.

The road to the headquarters of Douglas and Sheila Hunter's ranch E of the mountain. — The road to the headquarters of Douglas and Sheila Hunter’s ranch E of the mountain.

This time Lupe and SPHP were in luck! Lupe arrived at the headquarters of Douglas and Sheila Hunter’s ranch just E of Inyan Kara to find Mr. Hunter and a couple of helpers in his front yard busy loading a vehicle on a trailer. Mr. Hunter’s dog, Bear, was very interested in meeting Lupe, but Lupe just growled.

Despite Lupe’s less than cordial reaction to Bear, Mr. Hunter kindly and readily granted Lupe and SPHP permission to cross his ranch to access Inyan Kara. Mr. Hunter directed SPHP where to park the G6. By 10:15 AM (50°F), Lupe and SPHP were on their way.

Lupe started out going W on a continuation of the dirt road that led to, and also went on by, the Hunter Ranch headquarters. She passed some old outbuildings near a tiny, mucky creek, and soon afterward came to a junction with another road. Lupe and SPHP turned N on this other road, but left it before long to start climbing through the fields directly toward SE-facing cliffs on Inyan Kara. On the way up, Lupe and SPHP ducked under a fence, thereby leaving the Hunter ranch and entering the Black Hills National Forest.

Lupe and SPHP turned N to avoid the cliffs. Lupe still angled slightly up the slope to gain elevation slowly, but steadily. She was approaching the forest on the E side of Inyan Kara. Once in the forest, Lupe and SPHP continued N working gradually up the ridge to the W. When the top of the ridge became visible between the pines, Lupe and SPHP turned W and climbed directly up the steep slope to the crest of the ridge. Lupe could now see the igneous summit of Inyan Kara to the WNW.

Lupe reaches the crest of the ridge. The summit of Inyan Kara is seen beyond her to the WNW.

The summit of Inyan Kara is basalt, an igneous rock. The basalt was forced up into overlaying sedimentary rocks as magma, which cooled and solidified. The sedimentary rocks at the top have since eroded away. Vertical columns can be seen in the basalt. A more famous and clearer example of similar geology can be found at Devil's Tower about 27 miles NW of Sundance, WY. — The summit of Inyan Kara is comprised of igneous rock. Magma was forced up into overlaying sedimentary rock layers, but never erupted. Instead, it cooled and solidified. The sedimentary rocks at the top have since eroded away. Vertical columns can be seen on the mountainside. A more famous and clearer example of similar geology can be found at Devil’s Tower, about 27 miles NW of Sundance, WY.

Inyan Kara is an interesting mountain. It is shaped rather like a distorted horseshoe, with the opening of the horseshoe NE of the summit and facing N. A long ridge starts rising from the NE end of the horseshoe, and makes a big sweeping curve clear around to the E and then S of the summit, ultimately going clear over to the SW. This long ridge gains elevation rapidly at first, but much more slowly as it progresses SW.

The S and SW portions of the sweeping ridge are quite high. Close to the SW end, there is a significant saddle where some elevation must be lost going NE to approach a shorter, but higher ridge leading to the actual summit. This N ridge is characterized by large igneous rock formations, but is easily climbed. Several smaller saddles must be navigated while heading N along the summit ridge.

The N ridge angles NE shortly before reaching the top of Inyan Kara. The summit and nearby areas form the NW end of the horseshoe. Between the N and S ridges, a deep forested valley comprises the center of the horseshoe.

Lupe had reached the top of the lower sweeping ridge ESE of the summit. The easiest way to reach the top of the mountain was to just follow the ridge as it swept around to the S and then SW. From there, Lupe could traverse the saddle over to the higher N ridge and continue on to Inyan Kara’s summit.

The ridge was all forested and fairly narrow most of the way to the saddle, but it was never narrow enough to be a problem. Deadfall timber sometimes partially blocked the way for SPHP. It was only bad in one small area toward the SSW. As Lupe progressed around the ridge, there were a few places with great views to the SE, S or SW.

Lupe on the S ridge of Inyan Kara. Photo looks SSE. The high ridge on the horizon seen above her head in this photo is the Sweetwater Mountain (6,440 ft.) high point. — Lupe on the S ridge of Inyan Kara. Photo looks SSE. The high ridge on the horizon seen above her head in this photo is the **Sweetwater Mountain** **(6,440 ft.)** high point.

Looking NNE at the Inyan Kara summit ridge from the lower S ridge.

Lupe and SPHP followed the S ridge around to the SW. Lupe continued W far enough to make certain she had reached the highest part of the S ridge. She then headed NE down into the saddle on her way to the N ridge leading up to the summit. Lupe could have started NE down into the saddle a bit sooner, and she wouldn’t have lost quite as much elevation. It still didn’t take her long to cross the broad forested saddle to reach the N ridge.

The most interesting part of Lupe’s climb up Inyan Kara started upon reaching the N ridge. There were big rock formations. The rocks were tan or pinkish orange, and had little steps or contours in them. Lupe quickly climbed up to a high point at least as high as any spot along the S ridge. From here, she could see the Inyan Kara summit off to the NNE.

The rest of the way to the summit was a bit tricky. It involved some exploration and occasional back-tracking to find the easiest route. In general, it proved best to stay to the NW side of the N ridge until getting quite close to the summit, since there were places that ended in cliffs to the SE.

The top of Inyan Kara is an open rocky ridge from which there are grand views in most directions. Although it hadn’t been windy on the way up, there was a steady, cold wind out of the SW when Lupe reached the summit. With the darkly overcast sky and stiff breeze, it was beginning to look like the forecast snow storm might well be on its way. Lupe wasn’t going to get to enjoy the views for very long.

Looking SSE from the Inyan Kara summit toward Sweetwater Mountain, the high ridge on the far horizon.

Looking NW from Inyan Kara. The circular USGS benchmark is on the ground in front of Lupe.

Right away, SPHP noticed a USGS benchmark out in the open just 10 or 12 feet E of the summit. SPHP was disappointed that it didn’t even say Inyan Kara on it. While SPHP was looking at the USGS benchmark, Lupe was sniffing curiously around a big juniper bush just 8 feet N of the summit. Upon investigation, stuffed inside the bush SPHP found a broken Tupperware container inside a couple of Ziploc bags. It was all held in place inside the bush by several rocks placed on top.

Lupe not enjoying the wind by the juniper bush. The registry log was hidden inside this bush 8 feet N of the summit.

Inside the broken Tupperware container was a pen and notebook that serves as a registry log. There were also other papers relating to a wedding, a funeral service and other events that had been held on top of Inyan Kara. The registry went back to 2008 and contained quite a few names. Some of the individuals had climbed Inyan Kara multiple times, with one claiming to have made 6 ascents.

SPHP would have liked to spend more time reading the registry, but the wind made reading for very long unpleasant. It was difficult to hold the pages open and still without tearing them. SPHP entered Lupe’s name in the registry log, before putting it all back together and stuffing everything securely in the bush.

Despite the wind, Lupe and SPHP lingered up on Inyan Kara for a while to enjoy the views. Lupe had water and Taste of the Wild, and then huddled inside SPHP’s jacket to stay warm. SPHP ate an apple and a big carrot. For the Black Hills, the views were tremendous. Far below and all around Inyan Kara was open ranch land, dotted here and there with forested hills and ridges.

On the N horizon, Lupe could see Missouri Buttes (5,374 ft.), Devil’s Tower, and Warren Peaks (6,650 ft.). Cement Ridge (6,674 ft.) was off to the NE. Terry Peak (7,064 ft.) and the main body of the Black Hills were in view to the E. Sweetwater Mountain was SSE. Very far to the W are the Bighorn Mountains, which are easily seen from Inyan Kara on a clear day when the light is right. However, SPHP could only barely make out one small portion of the southern Bighorns on this overcast day.

When it was time to go, Lupe and SPHP took the same route back along the N ridge going SSW and then down into the saddle area between the N and S ridges. Instead of going on to retrace Lupe’s route along the S ridge, Lupe and SPHP ventured E down into the steep, deep forested valley between the ridges – the middle of the Inyan Kara horseshoe.

Lupe on her way down Inyan Kara. Photo looks N.

Lupe followed the valley all the way down to its exit onto the prairie NE of the Inyan Kara summit (the open end of the horseshoe). There was no trail at all in the upper portion of the valley, and only a faint one in the lower part, until Lupe reached a jeep trail near a couple of old rusting water tanks near the valley’s N end.

The trek down through the central valley proved to take much more time than the S ridge route. Except at the upper and lower ends, the valley is V-shaped nearly all the way. Even the very bottom was steep, rough ground. In places it was choked with deadfall timber killed by pine bark beetles, making the going very slow.

The valley did provide Lupe complete protection from the cold wind. About the only other advantage was a tiny intermittent trickle of a stream where Lupe could get a drink. Not much of an advantage when SPHP was porting water anyway. While the valley was fun to explore once, Lupe and SPHP definitely recommend the S ridge route instead for the splendid views, shorter hike, and easier terrain!

Once Lupe emerged from Inyan Kara’s horseshoe, she followed the jeep trail around the E side of the mountain. There were forests near the E ridge, but most of the time Lupe was out on the open range. The jeep trail led right back to the Hunter ranch headquarters.

Lupe arrived at the G6 at 4:24 PM (51°F). No one was around except Bear, who was standing on the front porch. Bear whined when he saw Lupe. Bear still wanted to play, but the tired Carolina Dog showed no interest, dashing the lonely ranch dog’s hopes.

Inyan Kara Mountain is about 4 miles W of Hwy 585 in NE Wyoming between Sundance and Four Corners. Turn W on County Road No. 198 about 15 miles S of Sundance. Follow it about 1.5 miles W. A sharp turn N on a dirt road eventually leads 2.5 miles NW to a fork in the road. The Douglas and Sheila Hunter ranch headquarters is a short distance down the right fork. Courtesy and respect for the landowner’s rights will go a long way toward securing permission to access Inyan Kara.

For more information on the interesting history of Inyan Kara, click here.

Links:

Next Black Hills Expedition Prior Black Hills Expedition

Black Hills, WY Expedition No. 257 – Inyan Kara (11-7-20)

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Klahowya Campground, the Sol Duc River & the Battle with Big Paw, Olympic Peninsula, Washington (8-21-12)

Day 14 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.

Lupe’s day began uneventfully enough. She woke up on a soft bed at a motel in Tacoma. Before checking out, SPHP gave her a bath. Afterwards, Lupe and SPHP spent part of the morning at the same park where Lupe had played Frisbee the evening before. Next was a boring stop at a laundromat. When the clothes were all clean, the interesting part of the day began. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left Tacoma on Hwy 16, and headed for the Olympic Peninsula.

It had been sunny and warm out in Tacoma, but by the time Lupe was crossing the Hood Canal on Hwy 104, the sky was overcast. After a while, a light mist began, but it was intermittent and didn’t amount to much. The Olympic Peninsula is mountainous, but between the clouds and the tall forest that lined both sides of the highway, there wasn’t much to be seen.

From the Port Angeles vicinity, there were views of the ocean off to the NE. SPHP had been looking forward to taking Hwy 112 W along the N shore of the Olympic Peninsula, but Hwy 112 was closed due to road construction. Instead, Hwy 101 took Lupe into the N end of Olympic National Park. After Yellowstone and Glacier, Lanis and SPHP now knew better than to bother stopping anywhere in a U.S. National Park. Dingoes just weren’t allowed in the backcountry.

Lupe, though, knew this place was different. For here, in the towering old rain forests of the misty mountains, is the home of a creature from a forgotten age. Seldom spoken of by American Dingoes and Carolina Dogs, and even then just in low growls and whines, is a race of ancestral Dingoes known only as Big Paw! U.S. National Park or not, no human has ever been able to find, capture or record Big Paw.

Hwy 101 left Olympic National Park and entered the Olympic National Forest. In the national forest, Lupe would be less restricted. Lanis and SPHP started looking for a place to camp, and soon arrived at the Klahowya campground. Klahowya campground was in a forest full of ferns and moss. It had a real jungle look to it. There were plenty of open sites in the campground, too, some of them next to the Sol Duc river.

Lupe's campsite at the Klahowya campground in the Olympic National Forest looked like a real jungle. — Lupe’s campsite at the Klahowya campground in the Olympic National Forest looked like a real jungle.

Lanis and SPHP selected a site, and set up Lupe’s tiny house. Lupe was still sitting in the Honda Element. She wasn’t so sure about things. What if Big Paw was lurking somewhere out there?

Eventually, Lupe came out of the Element to inspect the campsite. Klahowya campground really was a very impressive place. Lupe’s tiny house was set up in a jungle setting unlike any place Lupe had ever camped before. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP took a short walk through the jungle down to the Sol Duc river.

From the size of the exposed rocky riverbed, it was easy to see that even though there was a fair amount of water in the Sol Duc now, normally it was a much larger river. However, a dry spell and the late August season meant the river was quite low. Lupe sniffed around in the bushes and young trees growing near the rocky riverbed. She was having a good time exploring.

Lupe's tiny house at Klahowya CG. — Lupe’s tiny house at Klahowya CG.

After spending a little time down along the Sol Duc river; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP returned to the campsite for a picnic. When the meal was done, Lanis and SPHP thought it might be fun to find a trail. Everyone got back into the Element. Lanis drove back to Hwy 101, and turned W. In just a few miles, there was a side road to the N that looked promising.

The side road wound around in the woods. It emerged from the forest at a large clearing where there were some old abandoned buildings. The road went past the buildings, and soon ended at a trailhead. No other vehicles were there. Lanis parked the Element. A very wide, level trail led Lupe, Lanis and SPHP into a dense forest. Perhaps 30 – 50 feet down a steep embankment to the right, flowed the Sol Duc river.

The wide level trail. It turned out this trail was an old roadbed mostly hidden beneath the leaves of the undergrowth on both sides of the apparent trail.

After a little while, SPHP realized the wide trail was actually an abandoned road. Under the leaves on the trail was a layer of pavement, occasionally exposed at the edges where the where the old road was starting to crumble away. From the left, small streams trickled down a mountainside. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP came to a single track trail that led up the mountain. A sign said it led to Snider Peak, elevation 3,055 ft.

Lupe, Lanis and SPHP took the single track trail, although how far it was to Snider Peak, no one knew. The trail switch-backed up the mountainside until it was out of view of the abandoned road below. Although the trail was in seemingly good condition, no one else at all appeared. Lupe was having fun exploring the forest, but Lanis and SPHP eventually decided Lupe had gone far enough. It was time to return.

Back down at the old abandoned road, it was still early enough out so Lupe, Lanis and SPHP continued farther along the abandoned road instead of returning to the Element. Through the trees were glimpses of the Sol Duc river down the embankment on the right, which was steeper and higher here than before. The river was now 50 – 100 feet below the road.

The river curved away from the old road, and the road began to climb through an exceptionally shady and gloomy portion of the forest. At the top of the rise, the road leveled out at the edge of a clearing. On the opposite side of the clearing was a decaying old mobile home, and some dilapidated outbuildings. No one was around, but a flag was flying – a black flag with the skull and crossbones on it. Lupe had come to a pirate hideout!

Lanis and SPHP didn’t think it wise to tangle with pirates, and retreated back through the gloomy forest down the wide trail to the bend in the Sol Duc river. There was no sign of pursuing pirates, but the hair on Lupe’s haunches was up. She was staring down the abandoned road ahead. On the side of the trail opposite the river, up on the mountainside, a dark form was moving at high speed through the trees – and coming closer.

Lupe growled deeply. Suddenly, out of the forest and onto the abandoned road ahead, leaped the approaching menace.

It was huge, as tall as either Lanis or SPHP! Its long, shaggy fur was mostly dark gray with silver streaks, but where Lupe sports a beautiful white vest on her chest, the creature had a vest of ebony. A huge curly tail arched high over its back. The creature’s large soft ears were flattened against its head. Its gray eyes glowed with a distinctly reddish hue. Saliva dripped from its fangs and gigantic pink tongue. Big Paw!

With a low, snarling growl, Big Paw bounded to the attack! There was no escape. Lanis and SPHP faced certain doom. A brown and white flash streaked toward Big Paw. It was Lupe, barking wildly! Big Paw paused to consider this noisy, tiny Carolina Dog for only a moment. Big Paw lunged at Lupe, but she was too fast.

Lupe circled around and around Big Paw, biting his heels and harassing him. Big Paw snapped at her again and again. At times Lupe dashed into the trees to get away, with Big Paw hot on her tail. Lupe barely escaped. Once, Big Paw was so close, his slavering jaws snapped shut on the upper end of her tail, ripping her fur there away.

Lupe darted between the trees like lightning. Big Paw crashed into several of them trying to catch her. Finally, Big Paw hit one of the trees so hard, it leaned and then plummeted down to the Sol Duc river below. As its roots tore away from under the old abandoned road, a big chunk of the road gave way. It too, went crashing down into the Sol Duc river. Lupe and Big Paw almost fell with it, but both managed to scramble back away from the crumbling bank.

Lupe was panting hard. She had put up a valiant fight, but Big Paw was too fast and strong. Only Lupe’s agility was saving her, but her energy was fading with each daring escape from Big Paw’s jaws. Finally Big Paw had her cornered. He snarled and lunged, but Lupe lunged first. Her fangs sank into Big Paw’s neck. She clamped her jaws shut, and hung on tightly.

Blood streaked Big Paw’s fur. He howled with rage and pain. Big Paw shook his head violently, but the little Carolina Dog dangling from his neck refused to let go. Big Paw couldn’t shake himself free of Lupe!

Big Paw took off into the forest, retreating back up Snider Peak, howling in pain the entire time. Lupe hung on. For how long she didn’t know. It seemed like an eternity, but may have been for just a minute or two, if that. Big Paw made a mighty leap over a giant old tree trunk laying horizontal on the forest floor. As he did, Lupe crashed into the tree trunk, smashed between Big Paw and giant tree. She lost her grip and fell dazed to the ground.

When Lupe woke up, Big Paw was gone. She was alone in the terrifying forest. Big Paw might return hunting her at any moment! Suddenly, she heard voices rising faintly up the mountainside. Lanis and SPHP were calling her, and looking for her. Lupe staggered to her paws, and took off running down the mountain.

Soon Lupe was back with Lanis and SPHP. Both shouted with joy at seeing her alive. They petted her, and hugged her, and kept congratulating her on her most stupendous victory ever in all of American Dingo or Carolina Dog history! SPHP promised her endless treats, steak and ice cream. Lanis said he had captured her entire battle with Big Paw on film. She was going to be rich and famous!

Hmm? Did I doze off? Was I dreaming? Uh, yeah guys, you just go ahead and sleep in the tiny house without me. Think I want to stay here in the Honda Element tonight. Mind locking the doors for me, Lanis, before you turn in? In fact, leave me the keys if you would, please! And maybe pull the blankie back over my head before you go?

It doesn’t happen often in that distant land of mist, but on the night of the full moon, when the wind is right and blows the clouds clear away from the mountains, as the pale light filters through the ancient rain forest, if you go to the old abandoned road above the bank of the Sol Duc river, and follow it to the start of the single track trail to Snider Peak, then there the Dingoes say, you can still hear Big Paw howling with rage far up the mountain.

And, if you continue on in the moonlight, on the abandoned old road, you will come to a wide open view of a curve in the Sol Duc river where the road and forested bank caved in during the Battle of Big Paw. But unless you are looking for trouble, don’t continue on the road up to the pirate hideout, or worse yet, go up the single track trail to Snider Peak.

And, if you ever meet Lupe, the American Dingo, you will know why the fur on the top of the tip of her curly tail is missing to this day.Links:

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