Harney Peak Hike

(Black Hills, SD: 16 July 2010) After all the driving and touristy site-seeing we figured it was time for a hike! So, we headed to the Black Elk Wilderness and Custer State Park to climb Harney Peak. At 7,242 ft. Harney Peak is the highest point between east the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Pyrenees Mts in Europe! The climb is steep (about a 1500' gain in 3 miles) and rocky but not too difficult. The view is another amazing sight. We had a picnic lunch up there and watched the oxygen-deprived Least Chipmunks run around like they were crazy. The hike down was much easier. We made it a loop by going a different way and saw the Cathedral Spires, another beautiful Black Hills rock formation. Another remarkable thing about the hike is the number of people we saw. This is a wilderness hike mind you and we must have passed 80-100 people in the 3-4 hours we were on the trail. Families with young kids, older couples (way older than us!)...some hiking in flip-flops no less!