Jen and Family (minus Scott) at Mount Rushmore 1988
If there's one thing in South Dakota you can't miss, its Mount Rushmore. We were on our last full day in Custer State Park and set aside this day to see the historic monument. On the way, we saw the Crazy Horse statue which is still in the process of being carved, but is impressively large nonetheless. (They claim that all of Mount Rushmore would fit in the horse's head.)
Very honestly, I was really only seeing Mount Rushmore for the kids. I figured that since Jen and I had been there before, it wouldn't be all that interesting for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. As we gathered for some pictures, I noticed a naturalist standing around getting a tour ready to go. We decided to tag along with him. I won't go through the entire tour, but I'll say that the idea and creation of the monument is a really fascinating story. Part of the tour explained why each president was chosen and discussed their contribution to history. At the end of the tour, everyone clapped loudly and cheered. I'm not the mushy type, but I have to say it was pretty moving.
As we left Mount Rushmore, Jen wanted to go home via the Needles Highway. This is a winding, scenic highway through the “Needles”, pointy rock structures in the area. It is also known for having several very narrow, one lane tunnels through the mountains. At one point we came to a large RV that apparently hadn’t read the signs and was trying to back up down the hill so it could turn around. Yikes!
We eventually came to one of the other campgrounds in Custer State Park called Sylvan Lake. From reading about it, Sylvan Lake is very popular for its restaurant and resorts. It seemed to have a lot of activity going on as the parking lot was nearly full. Later we discovered there was a wedding being held there. We decided to take a stroll around Sylvan Lake which was active with people, hiking, fishing, and having picnics. The area was gorgeous and provided many opportunities to climb up on the rocks and to take pictures. We found one rock with a natural window and took a few pictures. Then I started tossing pine cone “grenades” over the rock and through the hole at the kids. They, of course, returned fire and left me wounded.
When we finished the walk around the lake, I talked to the cashier girls in the convenience store and they said there was a nice hike to what is called Harney’s Peak, a lookout that is the highest point east of the Rockies. They also said it was somewhat long (3.5 miles each way) but not too steep until the end. How could we pass up a hike to the highest peak?
Jen and I brought up the idea to the kids to do this hike while we were here and both were not really excited about the idea, particularly Rogan. He said he was much too tired, and complained it was too long. I didn’t let on, but I was worried about the same thing. The ladies had said it would take 3 to 4 hours depending on your pace. The hiking map listed the trail as “strenuous”, but other hikers I talked to seemed to think it was more “moderate” or even “easy.” I was also a little worried about weather which at that moment was nice, but I knew from the forecast that there was a possibility of thunderstorms popping up in the evening. It was now 2:30.
We finally convinced the kids to do it, and we set off on the trail.
People hiking in the other direction seemed energetic and many were not particularly fit so I began to feel more confident that we could handle the hike. About a 1/2 mile into the hike we rain into a family taking pictures at a scenic spot where you could actually the lookout tower on top of Harney’s Peak where we were headed. It looked a LONG way away, even as the crow flies. A young girl filled us in on all the details of the hike including the fact that we had a long way to go and there were muddy areas 10 feet long. I was again starting to second guess the choice of this hike, but wanted to keep the kids positive. The father of the family offered to take our picture which we reciprocated and we continued on.
Most of the first half of the way there was pretty easy. From there, the steepness of the trail began to increase. We tried not to stop often because every time we did, Rogan would start complaining and ask to go back. We came to a small station where you had to fill out a form listing who you are and when you entered the trail. I assume this was for the purposes of search and rescue should it ever be needed.
We hiked further and after a particularly tiring stretch stopped to rest. Rogan’s mild grumbling was getting more determined now and he was saying he was tired and wanted to turn back. I told him that we were probably about 3/4 of a mile from the top (I really had no idea) and that we could make it. Offering ice cream upon completion was also mentioned at some point as well, I think. We were all tired, but we just didn’t want to quit. Jen and I had told Rogan that if he didn’t want to go on, we would turn around. As we sat there discussing what to do, a young kid, maybe 5 years old, hiked by with his dad. I said to Rogan that if that little kid could do it, then he could, too. So, we all decided to press on. Incidentally, the young kid I had used as an example turned around about 500 feet down the trail - so much for that example of persistence.
As we approached the top, the steepness of the trail really increased with tall rock steps that led up to the peak. At that altitude, you also would become winded very quickly. We finally reached the top, and Jen and I praised both the kids for making it that far on such a challenging hike. The end of this hike offered an excellent reward. On the peak is a very interesting lookout tower with several levels. The top of the tower was very windy and cool, but had spectacular view for miles in all directions. Supposedly you could the the back of Mount Rushmore from there, but there was nothing to distinguish one group of rocks from another. We paused at the top to snack, replenish fluids, stretch and rest a bit.
We didn’t rest long because as we looked out across the skyline, we could see a large ominous looking cloud off to the west heading our way. Not wanting to be on the highest peak in a metal building with a thunderstorm approaching, we decided to double-time it down the path back to Slyvan Lake. It had taken us about 2 hours to get to the peak, and I was hoping we could do better on the way back going downhill. Even then I wasn’t sure we could beat the storm.
Fortunately, the path down was much easier and faster. On top of that, everyone felt extra motivated to move quickly as we started hearing thunderclaps in the distance. I would count in my head as I saw the lighting strike and count for the boom of the thunder. The first ones were far off, maybe ten seconds after the lightning. Then they got to be 7 seconds, then 5 seconds, then 3 seconds. The storm was definitely coming our way. Mikah, who I hiked with most of the way was getting worried. With probably less than a mile left, it started hailing. Rogan noticed it first, and I didn’t believe him because the balls of hail were so tiny. Then the hail stopped and the rain started. With the cover of the trees it wasn’t too heavy, but we did get a little wet.
When we came out of the trailhead, Rogan spotted the port-o-potties and sprinted for about 100 yards to get there. The other three of us were amazed as we had never seen Rogan run that fast for that long before. Apparently Rogan was too worried about peeing in the woods because there we a lot of hikers always going both directions.
We enjoyed an ice cream cone in the gift shop at Sylvan Lakes and relished in our accomplishment. Everyone was feeling rather tired and sore and wanted to get back “home” to our campsite so we continued on down the Needles Highway. Unfortunately, it was harder to enjoy the views with the storm, but we did pass through two more narrow tunnels on the way. At this point it was really raining which meant no campfire and no eating outside. Our towels hanging out to dry from our showers were of course soaked, but oh well.
The kids were excited because this was the first time for us ever to use the propane stove in the campers. Jen cooked some chili for Rogan and me, some chicken noodle soup for Mikah and herself, and hot chocolate for everyone. We sat around our tiny little table and reflected about the fun of the day as the food and drink warmed us inside. Soon after, we called it a night and let the soothing sounds of the rain on the roof drift us off to sleep.
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