We’d
had a ton of fun on last year’s hiking trip on the scenic, but crowded, loop to
the top of Black Elk Peak. We wanted to duplicate that experience this year, but
with a little more solitude. The Grizzly Bear Creek Loop seemed a great option,
I remembered it as remote trails with lots of scenery combining granite towers
and gentle streams. To avoid construction on SD 244 we decided to come in from
the Grizzly Bear Creek Trailhead on BHNF 345 on the southeast side. Heading in,
I drove to the Iron Creek Horse Camp Trailhead by mistake, but that detour
notified us that there was a large horse group in the area.
Black Elk Wilderness.
The
trailhead was just a gravel lot, but it did have a great map on the signboard
with a topo base, and the mileages of each trail segment was shown. That type
of info would put guidebook writers out of business, but I wish the forest was
able to post similar maps at all their trailheads. I was taking notes to update
my guidebook and tracking with a GPS, while Jean took pictures. All my GPS
readings were close to the BHNF mileages, so I decided to use the BHNF data in
my guidebook update.
Wilderness Trail Map.
The
Grizzly Bear Creek Trail (#7) began as an old road (formerly BHNF 346) that was
well on its way to becoming reclaimed. Immediately we entered the 2002 Black
Elk Wilderness addition. The trail quickly narrowed to an alley of jumbled,
often fire damaged, ponderosa pine, with aspen and birch growing close to the
creeks. Most of terrain would be in the Harney Peak Granite, but we did see
several cases of pegmatites intruding into blocks of schist. After 0.8 mile we
reached the first of two closely spaced intersections at the south end of a
large group of granite towers. At the first intersection the Centennial Trail
(#89) enters from the south, and at the second our return route along Trail 7
split to the west.
Centennial Trail junction sign.
There
was one old “I” blaze carved into a pine, but otherwise these trails did not
have blazes, though the footways were distinct enough to follow. The CT junction
brought in the horses, so the next sections were loose, rocky, and eroded. Our
next junction was with the Centennial Trail Bypass (#89B) branching right to
the Iron Mountain Road. The bypass became obsolete in 2002 when it became part
of the Black Elk Wilderness, and I was surprised that 20 years later the BHNF had
not renamed the trail.
The
older version of this loop lacked the signature feature that makes a really
great hike. The BHNF partly remedied that with a relocation to an impressive
overlook above Mount Rushmore, a mile to the north. The overlook views the
carving from the side, so that only Washington and Lincoln are visible. 
Great Faces, Great Places.
Next
up was the junction with the Blackberry Trail to Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
We ate lunch in the shade by the junction and were passed by a pair of groups
backpacking along the CT. Most of the hiking along the loop seemed to be on the
CT, and the heaviest horse traffic was between the horse camp and the Rushmore
Overlook.
Steps along the Centennial Trail.
After
lunch we were back in the Wilderness and heading for the magnificent towers
near Horse Thief Lake. Our most common flower on the trail was shooting stars,
a treat so rare at home that hikers plan their entire outing just to see one.
We had some long gentle climbing capped with a wooden staircase before reaching
the junction with the Horse Thief Lake Trail (#14). The junction sits along the
axis of a long group of spires, and offers great views of a succession of
towers, possible hiding climbers both human and caprine. We did our share of
gawking as we passed up close to the northern group, then pulled away for more
distant views of the rest. 
Some of the rock towers near Horse Thief Lake.
Eight
miles in we returned to the Grizzly Bear Creek Trail in the valley of the
creek. The Harney Creek Granite weathers so irregularly that its drainage
patterns are as wildly erratic as the Badlands. It seems creeks wind whichever
way they want, with no definite plan in mind. We would leave the Grizzly Bear
Creek drainage for Iron Creek without hardly noticing the change.
Trail
7 followed an old road and was still open and wide. Near the junction we stopped at an easy
crossing and were overtaken by a large horse party. This group had been
clearing blowdowns and maintaining the trail along Grizzly Bear Creek, and they
had the tools to prove it. I’m often the first to criticize horse groups for
the damage they do to trails, but this was a case where I was glad to see them. 
Work crew on Trail 7.
My
guidebook describes potential campsite along the creek, and the backpackers we
saw also mentioned them, but we had no precise locations. Jean and I saw
several likely areas, but there were no well-established sites within sight of
the trail. Approaching the CT junction, Iron Creek becomes a series of old
beaver ponds, with some signs of active beavers.
Shooting stars.
After
closing the loop at the 7-89 junction we retraced our route east on Trail 7
back to the car well satisfied with the scenery and hikability of the 11.7 mile
loop. We celebrated with the scenic drive back to Custer along the Needles
Highway past the Needles, Cathedral Spires, and Sylvan Lake where we kept the
cameras busy despite a day far too bright and sunny for good photography. 
The Cathedral Spires from Needles Highway.
