On the horizon, rising out of the rolling green plains like a dark island in a sea of grass, stretches an ancient and isolated range of small mountains which could very well be the center of all things
Days at Park: Mon-Tue, 15-16 Jul 2019
Base Camp: Dakota Spur Hotel - Lead, South Dakota
Expedition Parks: Badlands, Wind Cave, Theodore Roosevelt
Point of Embarkation: Rapid City, South Dakota
The hilly and former mining town of Lead, South Dakota was my base camp for exploring the area and the charming Dakota Spur Hotel provided the perfect accommodations. A short walk up the road (there's only one through town) was Dakota Shivers Brewing where I comfortably decompressed after a day's driving and hiking.
After leaving the badlands behind and sheltering from a sudden afternoon thunderstorm in a Rapid City pub over lunch, I arrived in the land that has come to be known as the Black Hills. The Lakota name for this land is Paha Sapa which roughly means the mountains emerging from the ground that are black. The Lakota were not the first indigenous people to dwell in and around this area but they were the last and it is easy to understand how they and the previous inhabitants considered this land sacred. Even though the area is now bordered by highway, crisscrossed with roads, and dotted with towns, there is a sense of something deep and ancient when you walk through the prairies and among the ponderosa pines which give these mountains their black appearance from a distance.
Caves
Wind Cave National Pak was the main expedition park, but unfortunately the elevators that allow visitors access to the cave were under repair and all tours were closed. Instead I explored the lush prairie on the surface and visited the "natural entrance" to the cave. This is a sacred pace which has been designated as the opening through which the Lakota people first emerged from beneath the surface of the earth and prayer bundles are respectfully tied to nearby trees. It is also the place where the name Wind Cave originates since changes to the air pressure on the surface force the air within the cave to either rush out or be sucked in through this small opening. In this way, the cave is said to be breathing and on this day the cave was inhaling.
A short drive away is Jewel Cave National Monument, among the majestic pines, where I was able to satisfy my spelunking interests with a short tour that included a narrow descent of hundreds of stairs.
Monuments
Obligatory visit to two sites that fit the descriptive monumental. Although these are the types of places that I generally avoid due to the size of the crowds and touristy feel associated with them, sometimes exceptions must be made when such places achieve iconic stature. So as storms clouds gathered, I paid a brief visit to the presidential faces of the past and, by the time the storms had passed, a somewhat longer stay at one notable native face. Part of the reason for the longer time spent at Crazy Horse was the bus ride to get a closer look at the statue, still an estimated 30 years from completion. The other reason was the large museum of Native American artifacts that was well worth a comfortable stroll through.
Mato Paha
I was going to hike Black Elk Peak in the heart of the Black Hills, but a last minute change of plans brought me here instead. I don't know why I decided to visit, as I had not intended to hike the inaptly named Bear Butte (not a butte), but after a little researching I felt called to Mato Paha or Bear Mountain. Looking indeed like a sleeping bear on the plains, even more so denuded of most of its trees due to fire, this ancient sacred peak beckons as you approach. Now a small state park, still visited by pilgrims who leave their prayer offerings of cloth and tobacco tied to trees along the path, there is a spiritual connection that can be sensed with each step taken up the winding trail to the summit. That connection is certainly with the earth but also with the sky and the air, perhaps the universe, and I felt a calming and peaceful sensation settle over me. Upon the summit a platform, probably built to keep the tourists corralled and prevent them from causing damage, felt extremely restricting, like the spiritual connection with the mountain was broken upon stepping onto the planks of the platform. I was alone, so reverently I reconnected and spent some time making my own personal prayers and offerings that seemed suitable and as I descended, felt truly blessed for having made this journey.
Bear Lodge
To me, Mato Tipila or Bear Lodge (Devils Tower if you insist), is just about as iconic as they come. It was impossible to conceive of a trip to the Black Hills region without including a visit to this wonder. It commands your attention from the moment you first catch sight of it as you approach. Unfortunately it has been commanding the attention of a great many tourists for a long time, as it is the first site to be designated as a National Monument, but I refused to be put off by the highly developed aspects of this natural marvel. After securing a parking space, I opted out of walking around Tower Trail, the paved and highly trafficked inner loop, and instead choose to hike Red Beds Trail, the longer and decidedly less traveled, dirt-surfaced outer loop. It was another perfect day for hiking and this narrow trail led through forested and open spaces providing spectacular views of the mountain and surrounding countryside. Although I could not shake the urge to look back over my shoulder for Spielberg's helicopters.
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