Pathetic and disgusting! There were beer cans, bottles, boxes and other trash scattered around the forest near the intersection. SPHP had a couple extra plastic Wal-Mart bags in the backpack, but they weren’t nearly enough to tote away all this mess. That would easily require a full size garbage sack or two.
It was all going to have to wait. SPHP would save the Wal-Mart bags for what Lupe found during her explorations. If there was any room left, SPHP might gather up some of this stuff when Lupe returned at the end of the day. Lupe would be willing to curl up in the G6 for a rest then. While SPHP collected Lupe Treasures, she would need to be in the G6 so she didn’t get hurt. There was broken glass around, too.
The G6 was parked at the intersection of Crook Mountain Road (USFS Road No. 176) and No. 176.1A (9:54 AM, 55°F). Lupe had two peakbagging goals ahead of her, Crook Mountain (4,930 ft.) and Whitewood Peak (5,140 ft.). It was going to be another unseasonably warm day, close to record-setting again, in a winter that had hardly even been winter. Only early March, and already SPHP was hoping it wasn’t going to be too hot!
Lupe and SPHP took off on up No. 376.1A. There were a few patches of snow and ice, but nothing too major. Clearly, there had been much more snow not too long ago. The road was quite soft. In some places, it was just a mucky red dirt mess. No. 176.1A headed SW for a little way, then turned N.
Lupe had fun romping in the forest, but other than trees, there wasn’t much to see until No. 176.1A had gained a fair amount of elevation, and was starting to level out up on the E slopes of Crook Mountain. Bear Butte (4,422 ft.) came into view rising up out on the prairie NE of Sturgis, SD.
Lupe and SPHP followed No. 176.1A as it wound around the E and then N side of Crook Mountain. The road was fairly level much of the way, gaining elevation very slowly. There were glimpses of lower hills and the prairie off to the NE, but there were enough trees along the road so there were seldom any really open views. There was quite a bit more snow on the road on the shady N side of the mountain, much to Lupe’s delight.
When Lupe was far enough around the N side of the mountain so that SPHP was starting to get glimpses of Crow Peak (5,787 ft.) off to the WNW, it was time to leave the road and start climbing the rest of the way up Crook Mountain.
The climb wasn’t the hard part about getting to the top of Crook Mountain. The problem was more one of finding the true summit. The mountain is pretty broad and level on top for about 0.5 mile N/S with a hook over to the E at the N end. It is also all forested, so it is hard to see very far. The topo map shows that there is a fairly large area contained within the 4,920 ft. contour toward the NW end.
Lupe’s explorations on Crook Mountain agreed with the topo map. There was a pretty big area that was all about the same elevation toward the NW. This was the highest part of the mountain, but not by much. Lupe had her choice of little bumps and hillocks to declare the true summit. No one spot looked clearly higher than all the rest. With a flat, forested top, it wasn’t surprising there weren’t any views.
An unmarked dirt road went right over the highest part of Crook Mountain. A bit farther N, one end of it turned E, while the other end went S. Lupe and SPHP left the summit of Crook Mountain heading S along the road. The road lost elevation gradually, and eventually came to a 4-way intersection. None of the roads were marked, but Lupe’s next peakbagging goal was to the WSW, so Lupe and SPHP turned W.
As Lupe got toward the W side of Crook Mountain, there started to be bits of distant views toward the S and SW. Although the forest wasn’t as dense as it had been at the summit, there still weren’t any nice open views. Before Lupe lost too much elevation, SPHP wanted to get at least some kind of a look off to the W, hoping it would be possible to spot Whitewood Peak. At a small clearing, SPHP saw a mountain ahead that might be it.
Lupe and SPHP continued SW, sometimes on roads and sometimes off them. Lupe lost quite a lot of elevation before coming to a fork in a road, where the branch going NW was marked No. 542.1F. She took the other branch, which went SW. Lupe had hardly left the fork behind, when she came to a nifty little rock outcropping suitable for an American Dingo display.
Lupe continued on. The road gradually turned W and then NW, as it went around the SW side of a big field. Going N was a problem. The farther Lupe went N, the more elevation she would have to lose to cross Sandy Creek in the valley just to the W. Lupe and SPHP doubled back a little before leaving the road to go down a steep slope to the bottom of the valley.
Sandy Creek wasn’t very big, but there was flow in it. Lupe was quite happy to come across Sandy Creek. It was the only stream she came to all day. She hopped in for a drink and cooled off in a deep little Dingo-sized pool.
After Lupe was all refreshed, Lupe and SPHP crossed Sandy Creek and started going W up the other side of the valley. Lupe came to a couple of roads. She followed them for only short distances, before leaving them to climb even higher directly up the slope. She eventually got high enough to reach a road that SPHP suspected was USFS Road No. 699. Lupe and SPHP followed No. 699 for quite a long way.
Eventually, Lupe came to a fork in No. 699, too. One branch went SW (L) and was marked No. 699.1D. The other branch was unmarked. It circled around a thinly forested knob a few acres in size. Since there weren’t many trees on the knob, it was possible to get a halfway decent look around. Lupe was now much closer to the mountain that SPHP thought was probably Whitewood Peak.
Lupe and SPHP took the little circle route around the knob just to see what could be seen, then Lupe headed SW up No. 699.1D. The road climbed steadily. An unusually colorful little rock just a few inches wide was laying on the road, and caught SPHP’s attention.
A little farther on, there was a rock outcropping that featured much larger colorful rocks. Lupe and SPHP stopped here for a little break. SPHP had a few chocolate chip cookies. Lupe took a piece of one, but she must not have been too hungry. She buried it for future use, pushing grass and dirt over it with her nose.
As SPHP looked around from the colorful rocks rest stop, there was a peak to the WSW that looked higher than the peak SPHP had thought was Whitewood Peak. Maybe this was the real Whitewood Peak? SPHP studied the topo maps some more, but was having a hard time reconciling what was in view with what the maps showed.
The way the terrain was, Lupe would reach the new Whitewood Peak candidate before she reached the original one. Maybe the situation would become clearer up there?
After the break, Lupe trotted onward continuing SW up No. 699.1D. SPHP trudged along behind her. The road was getting quite high up on the hill it was climbing and leveled off. It bent S and then curled around to the NW, ending at a little viewpoint. Lupe was now S of the mountain SPHP had originally thought was Whitewood Peak, and not too far E of the new candidate.
The view from the end of No. 699.1D made SPHP again suspect that the original Whitewood Peak candidate was the real one. It was still hard to tell for certain, though. Lupe had to go down into a sizable ravine before climbing up the new Whitewood Peak candidate. There was a dangerous downed barbed wire fence just to the S. SPHP also saw homes nearby in the forest, and signs indicating that Lupe was just N of private property.
Lupe went directly W staying on USFS land. She lost elevation going down into the ravine, and then had to start climbing. On the other side of the ravine she found a narrow ATV trail that went very steeply up the mountain, staying just N of the dangerous barbed wire fence line. SPHP had to keep stopping to pant for more oxygen, but eventually made it to the top.
Nope, this wasn’t Whitewood Peak. It was hard to get a clear view through the forest, but SPHP could see enough to know that the original Whitewood Peak candidate was definitely higher than where Lupe was now. After a few more minutes spent studying the topo maps, things were starting to make sense. Yeah, SPHP was virtually certain the original Whitewood Peak candidate was the real deal.
Very conveniently, the narrow ATV trail continued on to the W. To stay on high ground, Lupe and SPHP needed to circle around in that direction before turning N and then NE. Lupe and SPHP pressed onward. The terrain was much more level along in here. It was really easy going, thanks to the presence of the ATV trail.
The ATV trail divided a few times, and then faded to the point where Lupe lost it for a short while. By then she wasn’t far from the mountain. Lupe entered a clearing on the ridge approaching the peak. There she found a marker right out in the open. It was a USGS benchmark! The benchmark said Whitewood Peak, and had an arrow stamped into it pointing directly toward the mountain.
There was no doubt now! Lupe was about to climb Whitewood Peak. She was almost there!
The final climb up Whitewood Peak was sort of steep, but it wasn’t too long. There were some clearings near the top providing some of the best views Lupe had seen all day. Lupe found a second USGS benchmark at the top of the mountain.
The top of Whitewood Peak was rocky, but they were all small rocks. The flattish area at the summit was only the size of a modest room in a house. In most directions the ground dropped off pretty steeply. There were clear views to the SE and S, and some pretty clear ones to the W. Whitewood Peak would have had a commanding view off to the N and NE, but the forest blocked views in those directions.
Before SPHP even bothered taking any pictures, it was time for a break – a longer one than before. This time Lupe helped SPHP eat chocolate chip cookies. She had a little Taste of the Wild. SPHP munched an apple. SPHP sat there so long without stirring that Lupe fell asleep. It was beautiful out. Only a light breeze stirred. The temperature was perfect, maybe close to 60°F, upper 50’s anyway. SPHP saw other mountains Lupe had visited, and remembered being there with her.
Well, it was a long trek back. The time at the top always seems so short compared to the time spent getting there. SPHP took a final look around. Lupe woke up and smiled for the camera.
As far as Sandy Creek, Lupe and SPHP went back much the same way they had come up to Whitewood Peak, although now that SPHP had a better grasp of the road system, Lupe was able to stick to the roads almost all the time and avoid all the bushwhacking.
However, upon reaching Sandy Creek, Lupe did things a bit differently. She followed a road upstream, instead of just crossing the creek and heading directly for Crook Mountain. The creek didn’t go too much farther upstream before it was reduced to a trickle. There was a spot where there were a lot of Lupe Treasures down by the little stream. SPHP picked them all up.
Oddly, SPHP found a completely intact Miller Lite Beer, in a 16 ounce can. Less than a week ago, SPHP had found a completely intact beer on Lupe’s way back from Eagle Mountain (5,254 ft.), though that one had only been an 8 ounce can. Despite all the many hundreds of Lupe Treasures gathered over the past few years, those were the only two that were intact. SPHP also found a machete saw.
For a while the road went E, but it eventually turned SE. That was the wrong direction. Before returning to the G6, Lupe was going to climb Crook Mountain for a second time, just for fun. Lupe and SPHP took an old overgrown trail E and then turned NE. There didn’t seem to be any roads going N up Crook Mountain.
It seemed like a much longer, tougher climb than the first time, but Lupe eventually made it back to the summit of Crook Mountain. The sun was only minutes from setting, but there was still sunlight on some of the tree tops.
Lupe’s explorations still weren’t quite done. She followed the road at the top of Crook Mountain N. It quickly turned E, and eventually went very steeply down the E side of the mountain. It became more of a jeep trail than a road – narrow, rocky and rutted, but there were some great views of the lights of Sturgis starting to shine as twilight came on.
Eventually the jeep trail met up with No. 176.1A, the road Lupe had started out on in the morning. Before she even got that far, Lupe heard the roar of a large truck. The truck was somewhere way down below, probably not too far from the G6. It sounded like it might be stuck in the mud, or going over rough terrain. Suddenly, there was gunfire. Several volleys of 8 or 10 shots. Lupe was alarmed. There hadn’t been any gunfire all day up until now.
SPHP wondered what was going on. It was getting almost dark. People wouldn’t be likely to start target practice this time of day. Maybe it was poachers? The gunfire continued sporadically. Lupe begged SPHP to stop and hide. SPHP kept encouraging her to keep on going. She would get to the safety of the G6 before long.
The road was still a muddy, mucky mess. Maybe even worse than in the morning. SPHP tried to walk on grass at the side of the road, or on snow and ice whenever possible. The gunfire gradually slowed down to just an occasional shot or two, but each one echoed loudly through the forest. The source couldn’t be too far away. Lupe kept jumping up on SPHP with muddy paws. Don’t humans know anything? It was imperative to find a place to hide!
It was almost completely dark now. A final shot rang out. Terrified Lupe gave up on SPHP and raced ahead, bolting out of sight into the night. SPHP yelled, but she didn’t come back.
She hadn’t gone far, though. Around a bend, and there she was waiting impatiently next to the G6. She was anxious to get in. There would be no dilly dallying around sniffing the air and looking at the stars tonight! The Carolina Dog had had enough of adventures. Expedition No. 160 was done, done, done! Goodbye, Crook Mountain! Goodbye, Whitewood Peak! Time to go home (6:20 PM, 47°F).
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