With a forecast high near a ridiculously hot 90°F on Saturday, 9-26-15, SPHP postponed Lupe’s Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 139 to Sunday, when it was supposed to be about 10°F cooler. Even 80°F is warmer than either Lupe or SPHP like for long days outdoors, but by going far enough W to some of the highest ground in the Black Hills, the heat would at least be tolerable.
Lupe and SPHP got off to a pretty early start. In a bit of an unusual twist, there was time for a Lupe photo op at the cool Tyrannosaurus Rex outside the Dinosaur Museum on Hwy 16 S of Rapid City, SD.
NW of Deerfield Reservoir in the west central Black Hills, SPHP parked the G6 at the last pullout overlooking Castle Creek before reaching USFS Road No. 157. It was 8:10 AM, and a very pleasant 53° F under totally clear blue skies. Lupe and SPHP headed NW to reach USFS Road No. 157.
After crossing Castle Creek, No. 157 turned and went SE for 0.5 mile at the edge of the forest in Castle Creek valley. The road then turned W and went up a side canyon for several miles. Lupe ran around following game trails and exploring the forest. She ran down to Silver Creek to cool off and get a drink.
Eight days earlier, on Lupe’s Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 138 to White Tail Peak, there weren’t many fall colors yet. Now nearly all the aspens had turned to yellow blazes of glory. Although Ponderosa Pines are by far the most dominant tree species in the Black Hills, aspens are probably the next most numerous. They are pretty widespread in scattered groups in the central and northern hills. Lupe saw many beautiful golden aspen trees, a treat that doesn’t last very long.
USFS Road No. 157 came to an intersection with USFS Road No. 655. No. 655 went left. No. 157 went right. Lupe and SPHP went straight ahead towards the WNW on the faint track of an old logging trail. There were more pretty aspens and tall grass. Lupe eventually reached No. 157 again near an intersection with No. 157.1F.
SPHP checked the maps. No. 157.1F would eventually dead end in Fulton Draw, but the first 0.5 mile or so went N, which would help Lupe get closer to Crows Nest Peak (7,048 ft.), her peakbagging goal for the day. A quick scouting of No. 157.1F proved disappointing, however. The road started losing elevation, and looked like it would continue to do so. SPHP thought it would be better to go back and stay on higher ground.
Backtracking nearly to No. 157, Lupe and SPHP headed W into the forest. A wicked looking 6-strand barbed wire fence blocked any advance to the NW. SPHP kept Lupe away from that fence. The terrain looked like it dropped in that direction anyway. Between the fence and the terrain, Lupe and SPHP were slowly forced to keep turning more and more toward the SW. Lupe was essentially just paralleling USFS Road No. 157, which wasn’t far to the S.
Lupe had been to this same area before on prior expeditions long ago. On at least a couple of those occasions, she had been trying to reach Crows Nest Peak from the S. Too much snow and lack of time had prevented her from reaching it. SPHP found a deflated helium party balloon that had flown all this way from somewhere just to welcome Lupe back to the region.
Lupe and SPHP hadn’t gone too far SW, when Lupe came to a road heading W. It had no marker, but since Lupe needed to go NW to reach Crows Nest Peak, it was a better choice than No. 157 at this point. Lupe followed the unnumbered road W. Pretty soon she came to a small pond with some cattails growing in part of it.
There was a game trail heading N into the forest from the cattail pond. Since Lupe seemed to be far enough W so that the land no longer lost much elevation heading N, Lupe left the unmarked road. Lupe and SPHP followed the game trail N for quite a long way through the forest. Just E of the trail was a barbed wire fence. A little way off to the W there was a small ridge of higher ground.
The forest went on and on. Eventually an eastern spur of the ridge to the W forced Lupe and SPHP to climb up on the ridge. Once up on the ridge, Lupe turned away from the fence to head NW, allowing her to stay up on the highest ground.
Lupe was excited to see some of her giant deers (elk) up on the ridge. The giant deers saw Lupe, too. They weren’t any happier with the companionship of a Carolina Dog than they would have been with a Tyrannosaurus. The giant deers disappeared farther into the forest. Lupe saw more elk and white tail deer now and then as she continued onward.
Lupe was up in the high limestone plateau country of the western Black Hills. It is rolling territory, mostly forested, characterized by a maze of ridges usually no more than a few hundred feet higher than the intervening valleys. In this kind of terrain, there aren’t typically many places where there are clear long distance views. Although it was possible to catch glimpses of more high ridges a little farther off through the trees, Lupe and SPHP were more or less lost wandering in the forest.
Of course, SPHP knew roughly where Lupe was, but the area was unfamiliar. Just navigating by the sun, it wasn’t easy to know for certain which way to go. Fortunately, the Black Hills are full of various USFS Roads, ATV trails, and logging roads. Sooner or later Lupe would reach one. In the meantime, she just needed to keep heading NW.
The ridge ended. Lupe still had not come to any road. Finally she found a logging road heading NW, the direction she needed to go. It soon ended at an intersection with another logging road. There were more golden aspens nearby, some quite nice specimens, but none of the roads continued N or NW. Lupe took the logging trail heading W, but didn’t stay on it long. SPHP thought she should continue NW through the forest. A 10 minute trek NW brought Lupe to a long, broad open field.
While Lupe had never been to this exact place before, SPHP was pretty certain she had been to the far SW end of this same field on a previous expedition while trying to find Crows Nest Peak from the S. Back then SPHP had wanted to explore up this way, but there hadn’t been time. Lupe had plenty of time left to explore today, though.
Lupe continued NW across the field and went into the forest on the other side. Before too long, she came to a road heading N. She followed it until SPHP noticed some unusual fall colors to the NE. Lupe was happy to go take a look. What had caught SPHP’s eye were some aspens that were not the usual yellow – their leaves had turned a light orange. Some of their leaves were even rather reddish.
From the orange aspens, Lupe and SPHP went NNW and reached the road again. The road continued N. It arrived at an intersection that seemed familiar. The road heading W from the intersection was marked No. 377.1B. Lupe had been here back on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 86 on 5-3-14. Expedition No. 86 was the only time Lupe had ever actually succeeded in getting to Crows Nest Peak before. That time she had approached from the N. Crows Nest Peak wasn’t far to the W from here.
SPHP remembered that back on Expedition No. 86, Lupe had come to a pond E of Crows Nest Peak. SPHP thought it was close by just a little to the NE. Lupe took the road NE from the intersection. She didn’t find any pond, but she did come to another intersection with No. 377.1A, which SPHP definitely recognized. Just N of that intersection was a white water tank that SPHP remembered, too.
From the white water tank, Lupe and SPHP cut through the forest heading SW back to No. 377.1B. SPHP thought maybe the pond was hidden in the forest, but it wasn’t. There were more lovely aspens, though.
SPHP decided the pond had to be farther W along No. 377.1B, closer to Crows Nest Peak. So Lupe followed No. 377.1B heading W. Both Lupe and SPHP abandoned the road to walk near it in the forest. The road was covered with a couple of inches or more of very fine powdery dust. The area really needed rain to settle that awful dust down. SPHP didn’t want Lupe breathing it.
The pond came into view. A flock of small birds flew off as Lupe approached. Crows Nest Peak wasn’t far away now.
Lupe and SPHP returned to follow No. 377.1B farther W. When higher ground appeared off to the NW, Lupe left No. 377.1B behind and went through the forest to climb as high as possible. She reached the top of the low hill and came to a big flat area that had been logged recently. There was slash on the ground everywhere. There was a small pond. Lupe had reached Crows Nest Peak for the 2nd time.
With the trees cut down and all the slash around, Crows Nest Peak wasn’t very pretty, certainly not as pretty as the last time Lupe was here on Expedition No. 86. It couldn’t have been very long since the loggers had been through here. The pine needles on the slash were still green. SPHP hoped the loggers hadn’t gone as far E as the U. S. Geological Survey Benchmark for Crows Nest Peak. Lupe had found it under 6″ of snow on Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 86, its position revealed by a survey post.
Lupe and SPHP went to look for the Crows Nest Peak benchmark. SPHP remembered it as being a couple hundred feet E of the little pond. Lupe found it again. The loggers hadn’t come quite that far E. It was still there. The benchmark said “Crow” and “1912”.
Right there near the U. S. Geological Survey marker post and benchmark, Lupe enjoyed water and Taste of the Wild to celebrate her 2nd ascent of Crows Nest Peak. SPHP had an apple and applesauce. It was quite the celebration. Lupe, of course, was the life of the party. Soon she lay panting and resting in the shade of a small tree to recover. It sure was warm out. It felt like the mid 70’s °F. Pretty hot for way up here at almost the end of September.
Ordinarily, this is where photos of the towering summit and fabulous distant views from the highest prominences of Crows Nest Peak would appear. Lupe has none to offer. Despite its name and the fact that Peakbagger.com lists Crows Nest Peak at 7,048 feet as the 7th highest point on the list of Black Hills 6,500+ foot peaks, it is hardly what one thinks of as a “peak” at all.
Crows Nest Peak is the high point on a hill not an awful lot higher than much of the surrounding country. The summit area is big and flat. Even after the loggers thinned the forest, there just aren’t any unobstructed mountain views. From the W edge of the hill, it is possible to see some more high ridges off to the W or NW, but nothing too impressive.
Nevertheless, Lupe and SPHP both love Crows Nest Peak. It is up in the remote and beautiful limestone plateau country of the western Black Hills. Not far from Crows Nest Peak, in the broad open fields between the forested ridges, seasonal streams appear in the spring when the snow is melting. By late May and June, the green fields are filled with wildflowers. Few people come here. It is far from the famed tourist attractions (think Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Spearfish Canyon) of the Black Hills.
Lupe did return to the little pond a couple of hundred feet W of the U.S. Geological Survey Benchmark.
By the time it was time to leave Crows Nest Peak, the sky was starting to cloud up. Lupe and SPHP headed NE through the forest, taking a shortcut to USFS Road No. 377. SPHP was planning on taking Lupe along No. 377.1C toward Knutson Spring. Unfortunately, No. 377.1C was unmarked, and hardly exists any longer where it branches off from No. 377. SPHP didn’t even recognize it when Lupe found the right spot.
In the end, Lupe went down No. 377.1A from near the white water tank, which she passed again on the way. No. 377.1A took her down into Bjornland Draw and E several miles back to Castle Creek. No. 377.1A went a couple of miles, but faded out completely a mile before Lupe was back at the main road along Castle Creek. Several times it threatened to rain while Lupe was in Bjornland Draw, but the clouds could only muster a few drops.
After leaving Bjornland Draw, it was about 3 miles SE along Castle Creek back to the G6. Part of the way Lupe and SPHP were on the main gravel road, but wherever possible stayed down closer to the creek. The creek was prettier, and vehicles on the main road raised a lot of dust.
At 5:48 PM (69°F), Lupe got back to the G6. At first, Lupe wasn’t sure she wanted Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 139 to be over yet. She liked the soothing sound of the water flowing by in Castle Creek. She only jumped in the G6 when SPHP promised her Alpo when she got home. (American Dingoes don’t live by Taste of the Wild alone!) On the way, she barked at lots of cows, deer and horses. There were even a few wild turkeys along the way! Rest assured they got the same enthusiastic treatment.
Crows Nest Peak is most easily reached from USFS Road No. 117 which passes by about a mile to the W. There is a road off No. 117 which goes to the summit. High clearance vehicles will have no problem reaching Crows Nest Peak. While Lupe and SPHP enjoy peakbagging, Lupe often purposely starts far from her peakbagging goals to explore the surrounding area and enjoy the day.
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