In South Dakota there are too many things named for Custer. That said, it is handy to reference Custer Mountain (not to be confused with Custer Peak) as just south of the town of Custer, and just west of Custer State Park. My hike there wasn’t one of my better plans, and wasn’t even my original goal for the day. I’d been hoping to go to the Badlands for the last four weekends, but each time it seemed that bad weather would roll in at the last minute. This time I was already on my way, when I heard a radio weather waning for flooding on the White River due to five inches of rain the previous night. I turned around in Deadwood, and went back home to get maps for the southern Black Hills.
I’d
been interested in Custer Mountain for my Black Hills peaks list, not because
it gets hiked often, but because the peak appears on so many maps. I didn’t
know anyone else who had hiked it, but the topo map showed an enticing ridge on
the east side. I had a base map prepared, and decided to try for it, ignoring
100% cloud cover, with light rain to go along with the fog. At Stockade Lake, I
turned south on Custer County 341 and parked at a point where the road crossed
the east ridge of the mountain.
Custer Mountain Route, 5-11-91.
The
east ridge is a rocky spine of Harney Peak Granite, which would have been a fun
scramble if the rock had been dry. The ridge was uncut by roads, a rarity in
the hills. I went over two false summits and climbed 900’ before reaching what
I assumed was the top. With no visibility it was tough to confirm the summit,
but I did walk far enough west to be assured there were no other high points.
My
descent was a fiasco. I must not have had, or used, a compass, an especially
grievous blunder in the fog. From the top of the peak, I crossed my ascent
ridge to the south side, and then followed an old logging road. Oblivious of my
direction, I followed the logging road south to its end near the intersection
of BHNF roads 343 and 337, not quite 180 degrees off my intended course. I
didn’t have the national forest map, and was off the edge of my topo map, so I
wasn’t even sure I was headed back to the truck until I reached the
intersection with County 341. I was happily relieved when I got back to the
truck. Close to half the 3.4 mile hike was on the road walk.
This
was a good lesson on not being overly confident on navigation, even on short
trips, and especially in the fog.
I’d
spend the rest of the day on better known terrain at Wind Cave National Park,
hiking up Rankin Ridge, then Elk Mountain, taking the Natural Entrance Cave
Tour, and hiking the Centennial Trail-Beaver Loop.
