Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 186 – Iron Mountain & Peak 5440 (12-23-16)

The cold came first.  Single and low double digit highs.  Subzero nights.  Ten days later, the snow arrived.  Lupe was in for a white Christmas.

Yes, Christmas was coming, and what Lupe wanted most for Christmas was action!  All these days laying around waiting for the weather to improve were excruciatingly dull for the Carolina Dog.  Three weeks into December, a break in the weather came.  Three days with highs in the 40’s.  A little snow melted the first two days.  Only one day remained before things turned cold again.

Lupe’s Christmas wish was going to be granted a little early.  When she saw SPHP starting to get the pack ready, Loop was as excited as if she had caught Santa Claus himself coming down the chimney.  Leaping!  Barking!  Hurry!  Hurry!  Lupe was anxious to go.

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

Iron Mountain (5,446 ft.) was once again on the way to Lupe’s peakbagging objective.  Since Iron Mountain Road essentially winds all the way up to the top of Iron Mountain, Lupe stopped briefly to check out the view from the summit (11:42 AM, 41°F).  Maybe the Black Hills looked more like Christmas now that there was some snow around?

Lupe arrives up on Iron Mountain on her first Black Hills expedition in 19 dreadfully long days!

Mount Rushmore (5,725 ft.) from Iron Mountain. Lupe saw some snow around, but there wasn’t any up in the trees to make the views look Christmas white.  Photo looks NW.
Harney Peak (7,242 ft.) from Iron Mountain. Photo looks W.

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

Lupe’s peakbagging objective for the day was Peak 5440.  Although the mountain is only 0.25 mile E of the Needles Highway (Hwy 87), Lupe would start for it from Center Lake (12:04 PM, 45°F), 2 miles to the NE.  Her actual route would be longer than that.  After all, Lupe was here to enjoy the day, not to be done with it all as soon as possible!

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.

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

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

On the abandoned road that serves as a trail near Grace Coolidge Creek.

Despite the recent long cold snap, Grace Coolidge Creek wasn’t entirely frozen.  In places there was still open flowing water.  Even where there wasn’t, the ice couldn’t be trusted.  The trail crossed the creek a number of times.  It wasn’t a problem, since a single, long sturdy plank provided a footbridge at each crossing.

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.

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

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

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

Yes!  Lupe came across a faint, remnant of a road.  Clearly, it had been a long time since any vehicle had come this way.  The old road was impassable for vehicles now, but looked easy enough to follow on foot and paw.

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.

Lupe left Grace Coolidge Creek behind, following what remained of the ancient road going NW up the narrow side canyon.  The canyon eventually broadened out becoming a wider valley, which wound around toward the W.  SPHP wasn’t entirely certain Lupe had taken the correct route, but things seemed to be matching up pretty well with the topo map.  Lupe passed to the N of a hill which was likely High Point 4924.

This valley was a beautiful and obviously seldom visited place.  Lupe gained elevation steadily, but so did the sides of the valley.  There was lots of snow, but it wasn’t too deep for Lupe to get through.  The big disappointment was that there weren’t nearly as many squirrels here as back along the creek.

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

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.

The map showed Lupe was likely in a minor side canyon SPHP mistook for the main route to Pass 5111.  Lupe was probably N of High Point 5196.  If so, she wasn’t off track by much at all.  Lupe could easily backtrack a short distance back to the main route, or she could climb up the ridge to the N, then follow it W to Pass 5111.

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

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.

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

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.

From Pass 5111, Lupe only had to follow one more ridge SSW to Peak 5440.  This ridge has a couple of high spots along the way.  Although the topo map didn’t show any trail leading toward Peak 5440, Lupe found a side road that took her SW partway up onto this next ridge.

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.

Lupe reached the ridgeline.  She followed it SSW, still climbing, until she reached the first of the two high points along the way.  This first high point was the highest, and open enough so Lupe had some great views from here.

Cathedral Spires (6,840 ft.)(L) and Harney Peak (7,242 ft.)(R of Center) from the first high point Lupe came to on the ridge leading to Peak 5440. Photo looks NW.
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.
Looking NNW. Cathedral Spires(L), Harney Peak(L of Center) and Peak 5688(far R). Lupe recently visited Peak 5688 for the first time on a windy day in November on Expedition No. 184.
Looking E.

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

Success! Lupe on the true summit of Peak 5440. Harney Peak is in view beyond her. Photo looks NW.

Lupe had her peakbagging success for the day!  Time for a break.  SPHP sat on a rock near the true summit munching an apple.  Lupe wasn’t hungry or thirsty.

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

Break time lasted only until the apple was gone.  The sun was getting low.  Lupe and SPHP explored the summit area, which was of modest size.  Most of the summit area was SE of the true summit.  There were good views in most directions, although forest screened everything to the NE.

Looking SE from the true summit.
Cathedral Spires through the telephoto lens. Photo looks NW.
Looking up toward the top of Peak 5440 from the S.
Looking S from the top.
Mount Coolidge (6,023 ft.)(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.
Looking SE using the telephoto lens.

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

Lupe sniffs around in the forest on her way back down the N slope of Peak 5440.
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.

The sun was down by the time Lupe reached Pass 5111 again.  Which way?  Taking the road going NNW would quickly bring Lupe down to the Needles Highway only 0.25 mile away.  It was the safest choice.  Lupe could then take known roads back to the G6.

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

Lupe took the remote route instead of going to the highway.

Soon there was a problem.  The road didn’t go SE as expected.  Instead, it went NE, staying high on a ridge.  Lupe pressed onward.  As long as the road didn’t play out, NE was actually the shortest route back.

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

A last look back at Peak 5440 from the high point SW of Pass 5111.

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