The second highpoint on this miniature stint was the higher of the two Dakotas, and claimed highest point east of the Rockies and west of the Pyrenees (more on this preposterous claim further down)... South Dakota's Harney Peak.
The trail starts near Sylvan lake which is gorgeously located among forest and exposed rock in the black Hills. I didn't get too early of a start but managed to get on the trails by 830 in the basking morning sun. After having spendt the night in Custer, SD, and having visited Mt. Rushmore in the dark the night before which comes highly recommended.
Most aceess trails start in the Custer state park, but also enters a wilderness area. I can recommend taking trail #4 for some varied sight along the more commonly traveled #9 trail. Such as as old stone and shale excavation area seen below.
Most of the trail is nice and gradually rising. The most spectacular part is probably the fact that the trail itself and all surrounding stone glimmers and glitters in the sun as if walking on a mixture of glass, silver and diamonds at times.
It is unfortunately very hard to capture the shiny features with a single photography, as the sparkles change from one spot to another when walking creating the mesmerizing effect.
Littered along the trail is lots of plants, flowers, bushes and berries that I feel right at home with coming from Sweden. Among them plentiful bushes of Raspberries, small, but with fantastic flavor.
Along the #4 trail is a spur to Little Devils tower which is seen as depicted from the decent on Trail #9 below. It does indeed resemble devils tower but in much smaller scale.
The hike up to the top of the Little devils tower is mostly class 2 scrambling, on stone slabs or cracks as seen below.
The view afforded form the top however is truly well worth the extra mile it adds to the hike. You get a very clear view of Harney Peak as seen below with the lookout tower seen in the center of the picture.
Before getting within direct view of the lookout tower the trails enter the Black Elk Wilderness, make sure to fill in the required tags and deposit one while carrying the other with yourself until exiting the wilderness again. (No fees required, however Custer State park has a entry fee.)
The last streches of the trail crosses under some stone cracks and uses metal stairs to wind upwards towards the lookout tower.
On the top of Harney Peak is a lookout tower and former fire spotting tower. The tower is open to access and offers some improved nice vistas, especially since it is perched quite close to a drop-off towards the north offering a sense of prominence that otherwise is hard to find between all the various peaks and hills in the Black Hills.
On the tower itself there is a memorial plaque that is clearly younger than the tower since it lists part of the locations history. However it is blatantly wrong it it's claim. from the Pyrenees there is a certain number of landmasses such as Africa in which Morocco have loads of higher mountains to the west of the Pyrenees. Likewise the Canary Islands are located in the Atlantic and offers the 3rd highest volcano on a volcanic island after 2 volcanoes on Hawai'i (the state highpoint being one of them). Additionally, Greenland is situated even closer from the east which also exhibit much higher peaks... In fact just going North to Canada the highest point in Nunavut it higher further east of the Rockies, so the first claim isn't even true for north america, even Mexico show multiple higher points to the east of the Rockies (and even higher than the Rockies) (so does several counties in Latin and South America also.)... So not really correct even in the most generous interpretation of any of the statements regarding prominence... "Highest in USA east of the Rockies" could be close to the truth if it weren't for the big Bend national park and mountains in Texas which is further east... Trying to point out some resemblance if prominence north-south is equally futile I'm afraid even when limiting just to american geography... Geography outside of USA can be tricky though, and in this case even american geography was apparently too much ;)
Nevertheless the breathtaking views, the shimmering Black Hills offers a sensation making it easy to appreciate the sacredness of the area to the native Americans that were unfortunately mostly forced away from the region. Recent evolution of the narrative, and South Dakota even celebrating Native american day instead of Columbus day, will hopefully keep moving the information forward. As well as showcase this beautiful region of South Dakota for current and future generations to enjoy and treasure.
It can be noted that the weather can shift quickly in the region, and the heat during good weather can dehydrate you quickly, so make sure to bring an adequate amount of liquids, especially of doing a few of the side spurs, and taking any of the longer approaches (trail #4 highly recommended).
Stats:
State: South Dakota
High point: Harney Peak
Elevation: 7 242 ft (2 207m)
Date: August 9, 2014
Total elevation to date: 259 033 ft (78 953 m)
Access: Hike, class 1
Difficulty rating (of 10): 4
Potential Difficulties: Inclement weather
