![]() Trekker and I, actually, almost had a dead limb fall on us on another, nearby trail during a hike a few years ago, on a day that wasn’t particularly windy. Trekker for suppressing my tendency to rush…I hate this trail. Water trickles over the large, boulder steps on sunny days, so, on rainy days, it can turn into a veritable river in spots! The path is steep and technical enough on its own, in the rain and growing darkness, it can get muddy and slippery very quickly–portions of it literally turn into mini-waterfalls from water running down the slope. We even managed to save one set of dry pants, each, to change into when we got back to the car.Īfter descending this trail in drier conditions, I’m somewhat impressed we made it down as safely and easily as we did. We did, eventually, make it down safely, and with daylight remaining. The thought crossed my mind that we could be facing a long, cold night.). (This was one of the only, true, “uh oh” moments I’ve ever had on a trail. When your guidebook (and/or GPS) say one thing, but while looking at the map and using human logic your gut says another…ALWAYS listen to your gut! □įortunately, it was Memorial Day weekend so we had guaranteed daylight until 8:30 or so, and we had headlamps with us. ![]() We weren’t sure if we’d make it the whole way or just turn back at some point, but at lunchtime, we were nearly four miles in and the book had said it was only an eight-mile trek so…this is a lesson in listening to your gut. ![]() We had used the Lost Cabin trailhead off Palmer Creek Road to ascend the mountain on this attempt. It’s 5 o’clock in the evening and…it’s starting to drizzle… We now KNOW that can’t be right as our GPS says we’re well over five miles into the hike and we’ve only reached the summit. We’re standing at Black Elk Peak, we’ve been on the trail for five hours, the guidebook we’d consulted said the trail options we chose were only around eight, total miles long. 1st Attempt to Conquer Black Elk Peak, the Hard Way You can enjoy it in either direction, but you will need to start on this trail to reach the Black Elk Peak trail which branches off about halfway through the loop. The Willow Creek Trail is an easy and fairly short loop that makes for a great, quick hike. You will find it directly across the road from the Mount Rushmore KOA campground. One of the easiest is from the Willow Creek Horse Camp off of Route 244. There are a number of ways to access this portion of the trail. Accessing the Black Elk Peak Northern Route Trailhead ![]() This portion of the trail is actually shorter than the southern route, but it is far steeper, which is why it is more difficult. However, in this post, I’m going to talk about the far less-traveled (and far more difficult) northern portion of this same trail. The most popular route is the southern portion of Trail #9, the Black Elk Peak Trail, that starts at Sylvan Lake. There are multiple trail options for getting to the summit. In case you aren’t aware of it (and as I outlined in this post), the name of this mountain changed just a few years ago and they’re still working on updating all the signs and maps. Black Elk Peak, formerly Harney Peak, is the highest point in the Black Hills and one of the most sought-after hikes in this area.
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