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The highest point in South Dakota's Pennington County is also the highest
point in the entire state. Harney Peak, at an elevation of 2,208m (7,244ft) above sea-level,
is the summit of the Black Hills. This range used to rise up to elevations above 4,500m
(~15,000ft), however, the effects of weathering and time have worn the peaks down to merely
half of their former heights, leaving exposed metamorphic intrusions. The granite and schist
spires are paradise for rockclimbers and many of the outcrops contain bolted routes from
climbing's earlier days. Though many people falsely believe that the Black Hills are a part
of the Rockies, they are actually a completely separate chain formed by completely different
geologic events.
The Mount Rushmore National Monument and the Crazy Horse Monument are both
located only a few miles from Harney Peak. There is also a tower located on the summit that
was formerly used by the U.S. Forest Service to watch for forest fires; were it not for this
tower and the staircase constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939, Harney Peak
would be a fairly difficult summit to reach, requiring a technical rockclimb. As it is now,
there is still a difficult spire located just south of the tower that appears higher than
the summit itself. A recent private survey has placed Harney Spire less than a meter lower
than the rock at the base of the tower.
Most of the approaches to Harney begin in the Custer State Park fee area,
which features a fairly extensive trail system. Maps should always be carried as the trails
frequently cross and intermingle. The most commonly used trail begins at Sylvan Lake and
contours up to the summit in 3.4 miles. The route up to the actual highpoint requires
turning off the main Harney Trail to a short spur trail which leads to a metal staircase,
and eventually, the summit tower. The return trip to the Sylvan Lake Trailhead requires
approximately 75 m (250 ft) of elevation gain before reaching a promontory which affords
hikers an unobstructed view of Harney Peak's summit proper.
Sylvan Lake Trail (I, 1.0)
Trailhead: 1,875m (6,150ft)
Summit: 2,208m (7,244ft)
Vertical Gain: 477m (1,566ft)
Distance: 10.9km (6.8mi)
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2003.02.26 - The previous day , I successfully "summitted" both
Kansas and
Nebraska until I finally resolved to bed down for the night. I got a hotel room in
Scottsbluff, NE and was up early to get on the road to South Dakota. The drive went quickly
probably because I was driving quickly as well (I love rental cars). Before long, I found
myself entering the Black Hills. Before this trip, I wouldn't have thought of South Dakota
as a beautiful place. I know they have Mt. Rushmore and Badlands NP, but that was about all
I knew. Upon seeing the beauty of this area, I quickly understood why it is such a big
tourist destination. The mountains were absolutely gorgeous; though nowhere near as high as
the Rockies, they were just as steep in some places and an absolute rockclimber's dream. I
arrived at Custer State Park around noon, after spending some time looking around Wind Cave
National Park. The entrance fee for a full week was only $5.00 this time of year so I paid
it and quickly got on the trail to the Harney Peak summit.
After getting about a mile into the hike, I realized that I had forgotten to
get my lunch out of the car. My stomach was growling but since I didn't expect it to be too
much of a problem, I kept on going. The hike went by rather quickly even though I was
purposefully carrying much more gear than I needed; I am using each of the highpoint hikes
to prepare me for carrying larger loads like those I will need on mountains like Rainier and
Denali.
My stomach was feeling a bit upset by the time I got to the summit since I
was so hungry. I climbed up into the summit tower and dropped my pack to get out my camera,
Jacko and other summit gear. After digging for a bit, I found a pack of
Gu that I didn't realize I still had. It wasn't much,
but it sure did hit the spot. After taking my summit photos, I decided to climb around the
area for a bit to see if I could locate where the actual highpoint was. I followed the
instructions that I found from others and circled the rock at the base of the tower (except
for the precipitous east wall of course), however, I also found a small pinnacle with a
metal tube inserted in it that looked just as high as the base of the tower. I climbed up
the Class 3 crack and even with my plastic boots on it wasn't too difficult. After this, I
went over to take a look at Harney Spire, which really does look to be just as high if not
higher than the official highpoint. I looked at all the apparent route up to the top of the
tower, and I decided that it probably wouldn't be smart to try it unroped in a pair of
double-plastic mountaineering boots. Some other time, I'll come back with more than just 1
pair of shoes, but since I was planning on climbing Mt. Elbert, they were all I had.
I went back up to the tower, collected my gear and headed back down to the
Sylvan Lake Trailhead. This was a very pretty hike, although, the view from the summit was
sullied by smoke from a forest-fire just outside of Sturgis. I then drove to Rapid City
where I found a room at Best Western for only $25! Gotta love off-season vacationing! The
next day, I would head again further north to attempt
White Butte in North Dakota.
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Harney Spire at 2207m (7242ft)
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View from Harney's Summit
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Cathedral Spires
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Jacko on Harney Peak's Summit
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Me on the Harney Tower
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