The Solo Road Part 3 – South Dakota

18-22 May 2023

Equally popular and overlooked, the Black Hills of South Dakota are a true gem. It would be a stretch to include the Black Hills in discussions about the Rocky Mountains, as it should be, since they have a character uniquely their own. I spent five days romping around the Black Hills, hiking, climbing, and touring caves. Buckle up – this is a jam packed adventure!

Maggie worked at Wind Cave National Park in 2018. I had a chance to visit that summer, which was great, but the cave was closed while I was there. We had plenty of fun above ground, but this year was a great opportunity to finally get into the caves and experience more of the Black Hills.

Wildfires in Canada were slinging dense smoke across the U.S., but the forecast indicated it would clear up the next day. With an atmosphere not conducive to intense outdoor activities, I opted to go check out Badlands National Park for the afternoon. I would put Badlands in the “drive-thru” category of parks, which I normally avoid, but a theme of my funemployment has been to do things I wouldn’t normally do.

Driving into the park, I was stuck by the undulating hills of pristine grassland, verdant in the ample spring sunshine. Bison were roaming, and I couldn’t help but think of a time before colonization and industrial agriculture.

Getting into the badlands, I made a few stops along the scenic drive through the park. It is a unique landscape which is both enticing to explore and wholly unwelcoming at the same time. The hazy skies added a level of mystery to the the views.

I went for a short walk into the badlands, ascending a small, steep gully. A handful of hoodoos stood precariously next to the trail. On top, I ambled through the flat prairie, admiring the birds and flowers making a living in this strange land. A large sod table stood, defying the forces of erosion. I’m happy I visited Badlands National Park. It was a great way to spend a smokey afternoon.

Rather than the interstate, I took back roads to return to the Black Hills, passing though Hot Springs and camping next to a forest road in the woods. Along with barking dogs, I swear I could hear a peacock calling into the night…

The next day, I awoke to blue skies, perfect weather for a long hike. I would be going for a 14 mile loop and tag Black Elk Peak, the higest point in the lower 48 east of the Rockies. In my quest to avoid crowds and fees, I parked in a small pull-off on the road to Mt. Rushmore where the trail was about 500 feet from the road. My improvised trailhead worked out perfectly, and I was cruising by 11 am.

The trail mostly meandered in ponderosa pine forest with birches and alders lining the streams. The Black Hills kind of are just hills, but they are punctuated by a smattering of granite spires and outcroppings which rise straight out of the ground. The walls of granite make these hills vastly more interesting. There is a lifetime of rock climbing to be had in the Black Hills.

I made it to the summit after 9 miles of hiking. Maggie and I hiked this peak in 2018, and the view was just as spectacular as I remembered it being. You truly get a sense for all the granite that hides between the trees. A large fire lookout tower was built on top of the mountain, which provides a slightly better view, but the grime on the plexiglass windows hinders the view more than anything.

I sat near the summit for a while, snacking and fending off hungry chipmunks, then started my descent. On the way, I got a text from an unknown number – it was a response to a post I had made looking for rock climbing partners! I made plans to meet with this climber in two days, then cruised down to the bottom. This was an awesome loop, and it was nice to cover some distance on my legs rather than being stuck in the car.

The following day, I was determined to climb. Maggie had recommended a climbing area near Mt. Rushmore called South Seas. It was a sunny Saturday, so even though I didn’t have a partner, I liked my odds for finding someone to climb with at the crag. As I was getting ready in the parking lot, I heard a gal in the car next to me, venting on the phone that she had been dragged on this climbing trip and was having an awful time… Unfortunate, but this will be important later.

I walked up to the crag and followed voices until I came upon a party of five. The serendipity could not have been more perfect. I asked if anyone needed a belay partner, even though I already knew the answer. They looked at each other and welcomed me to join. The group was from Minnesota and they were climbing moderate grades (5.6-5.10), right in the neighborhood that I was interested in. I was beyond stoked to rope up and make some new friends!

After a couple of warm up routes, one of the guys said, “I’m gonna go check on Emily.” That’s when I put it all together – the gal in the parking lot was with this climbing party, and I had effectively taken her place. Those two ended up bailing, leaving me with four Minnesotans. Having odd number party was fine since it gave everyone a chance to take a break from climbing and belaying as the day wore on.

The premier route of the day was Solitaire, a run-out 5.7 that ends in an airy catwalk across the top of a fin. I lead the route first, and while the climbing was easy, the exposure was exhilarating!

I thanked my Minnesotan friends for letting crash their climbing party for the day, then hit the road to meet an internet stranger early the next morning.

I met Steve from North Dakota at 6 am in the upper part of Spearfish Canyon, a winding gash in the Black Hills limestone. Steve was in his late forties or early fifties, and after some conversation, we came to realize that we both attended Oregon State University (Go Beavs!). I was surprisingly wrecked from only four pitches of climbing the day before, so I mostly just belayed Steve and tried to extract some climbing wisdom from him. Overall, it was a positive experience to meet up and climb with new partners! (But I did neglect to take any photos…)

I had to bail before lunch time in order to make it to a tour into the depths of Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel Cave is the third largest cave system in the world, and it has some jaw dropping rooms with lofty ceilings. The walls are especially interesting, as they are covered in a calcite crust, 6-8 inches thick, which is called nail head spar. Phone camera photos never to caves justice, but here are a few images from the cave.

Nailhead spar

Free by 3 pm, I drove through Custer and decided to go jump in Bismark Lake, after all, it had been almost a week since I last showered. I found another forest road to camp by south of Custer and enjoyed a relaxing evening after a fun filled day.

My last day in the Black Hills, I had an afternoon tour booked in Wind Cave National Park. I went back to Custer to take a proper shower at the YMCA, well worth the $8. I arrived at Wind Cave early and wandered around the visitor center.

My tour group gathered, and when I came time to descend into the cave, I was assigned the important task of being the caboose – last in line to make sure no one gets left behind. I quite enjoyed being at the back of the pack, able to walk at my own pace, and get some space from the chattering people ahead.

Boxwork galore

As the crow flies, Wind Cave and Jewel Cave are only 20 miles apart. However, their structures couldn’t be more different. Jewel Cave was vast and cavernous. Wind Cave was tight and narrow. Instead of spar, Wind Cave is known for its “box work”, a unique honeycomb-like formation.

“Boxwork is found in small amounts in other caves, but perhaps in no other cave in the world is boxwork so well-formed and abundant as in Wind Cave.”

-National Park Service

Narrow passageways

My time in the Black Hills was awesome! Exploring on my own, making friends at the crags, and finally getting to tour the caves made it a well rounded five days. I look back on this time fondly, and I would happily return to the Black Hills when they call again.