Exploring Our Beautiful Backyard: August 2012

Since neither of the trails leading to Harney Peak make a loop, we thought it was perfectly fair to hike one up and take the other down, thus checking two trails off our list in one hike. That’s called efficiency. I don’t have much to say about the trail from Harney Peak to the Little Devil’s Tower trailhead, as it is similar to Trail #9. However, I do consider it the better of the two.

As I stated in my previous post, the trail from Sylvan Lake is more heavily used. This one is more tranquil. It borders the Cathedral Spires which are very cool. I’m looking forward to hiking the Spires trail. There’s also a section of Trail #4 that passes through a nice wooded area. Finally, though I can’t be sure of it without tracking it separately, our altitude graph suggests this trail would be somewhat easier to hike up.

I don’t want to discourage anyone from hiking Harney Peak. Reaching the top is indeed a rewarding achievement. But if you want to get more from your hike than an increased heart rate, I would recommend Trail #4.

[The stats for this trail are combined with those of #10.]

This is where Trail #9 and Trail #4 diverge.

The helicopter tour company was making a killing today.

You can't see it very well in this photo, but the back of Pamela's legs and her feet were covered with dust. This was the dirtiest hike we've taken.

When we first tell people about our hiking project, many immediately ask, "Have you hiked Harney Peak?" Now we can say we have. Given its significance as the highest point in South Dakota, I understand its popularity, but as far as hikes go, it's not the best we've completed.

For our climb of Harney, we used trail #9 which begins at Sylvan Lake. This appears to be the most commonly-used route, but frankly, I don't know why. I assume it's because Sylvan is so lovely. The trail, on the other hand, is lack-luster. The rocks are by far the dominant features. And while I don't mean to suggest the sight of 100-foot granite columns isn't impressive, they didn't provide the same experience as some of the other areas we've hiked.

For me personally, I think the lack of diversity in plant life is a major drawback. I find the Hills most appealing when there's a striking but balanced contrast of stone and vegetation. Here, rather than enhancing each other's differences, the two seemed to just co-mingle. The color of the Ponderosas - dark green, brown, and gray - and their prevalence throughout the landscape muted any focal points.

Two other factors are also at play here. One is the traffic. I hiked Harney relatively early Sunday morning with my sister and her boyfriend. At that time, there were not many others on the trail. Compare that to today when it was as busy as many tourist attractions in the area. It's not that I don't like people, but I'll explain below why this is an issue. The other consideration is the difficulty of the hike. It should come as no surprise that climbing to over 7,000 feet is no casual stroll. We certainly we're expecting it to be, but it was more of a challenge than we prefer.

I suppose it comes down to what you want from a hike. If you want a workout, Harney is a great place to get it. Yes, Pamela and I appreciate the health benefits associated with our excursions, but that isn't our primary motivation. If it were, we'd be the ones jogging back down. We're pursuing mental and emotional health. Life is as good as it's even been for Pamela and me, but we still need time to escape. That doesn't mean spending an evening watching TV or even a weekend with family. These hikes - most of them, at least - provide a peace of mind, connection to each other, and closeness to God I don't believe we've ever experienced anywhere else. For these purposes, Harney Peak is a miss.

Total Distance: 8.7 miles

Elevation Gain: 2,948 feet

Max. Elevation: 7,187 feet

Total Time: 3 hours, 57 minutes

Moving Time: 2 hours, 53 minutes

Average Moving Speed: 3.0 mph