Forest Moon Walks chalk up 17 years in Black Hills

Nippy temperatures dropped near freezing last night (10/6/12), putting a damper on the final Black Hills National Forest Moon Walk of the season.

But for the hardy group of about 40 souls who braved the frigid temperatures to ascend Mount Roosevelt, it was well worth the goose bumps.

Black Hills Professor David Wolff, the best-known and perhaps most knowledgeable historian to research the life and times of Seth Bullock, gave the gathered throng some keen insights into the man who befriended Theodore Roosevelt and years later launched the effort to build a memorial to Roosevelt when he died in 1919.

That memorial was a 31-foot tower with a 12-foot diameter built of native stone atop Sheep Mountain just north of Deadwood.  The site was later renamed Mount Roosevelt, and the medieval-style tower has become dubbed "Friendship Tower," acknowledging the friendship between Bullock and President Roosevelt.  The tower was constructed by the Society of Black Hills Pioneers at the behest of Bullock, who had earlier convinced the organization to accept Roosevelt as its first honorary member.

BHSU professor David Wolff shared some stories
about legendary Black Hills lawman Seth Bullock

The colorful life of Seth Bullock is recounted in Wolff's 2009 book, Seth Bullock - Black Hills Lawman.

This was the second presentation on Bullock in as many weeks for Wolff.  He gave a similar presentation on September 23 to members of the Lawrence County Historical Society during their Fall Tour.  You'll find a number of photographs and notes about that tour in the LCHS Gallery.  That daylight tour provided some stunning views of the changing colors in the Hills, as well as a close-up look at the many enhancements that have been made to the "Friendship Tower" in recent years.  You'll find those items well documented in a U.S. Forest Service video produced this summer.  A link to that video is at the right-hand top of this page.

Despite the darkness, we took a few photos during the final Moon Walk of the year.  You'll find them in our Moon Walk Gallery.

Kudos to Amy Ballard the staff of Black Hills National Forest for organizing and implementing these Moon Walks.  Ballard has literally watched young Moon Walkers -- including her own kids -- grow up over the past 17 seasons of these events.

We can think of few activities that provide the kinds of opportunities these walks provide:  a chance to bask in the beauty of the Black Hills; learn more about the history of our region; and get some good exercise in the great outdoors!

See you next season!

275 Moon Walkers enjoy the Stratobowl by starlight

Perhaps it was the splendid evening of cool temperatures and only a whisk of a breeze.  Maybe it was the close proximity to Rapid City and a good speaker with a passion for his subject.  It could have been our fascination with space and exploration.  Or it might have been all of the above. 

Whatever the reasons, it was likely a record-setting crowd of hikers that surrounded the historic Stratobowl near Mount Rushmore west of Rapid City last night (9/8/12) for the September Moon Walk sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service.

Coordinator Amy Ballard said it was a fantastic turnout. 

As the group assembled along a Forest Service road adjacent to Mount Rushmore Road, Amy reminded the group that the Black Hills National Forest is unique.  Not just for the Stratobowl, where high altitude balloons lifted off in 1934 and 1935 and moved man farther along in our exploration of space, but for some other powerful – if less flamboyant reasons.

First, she reminded the assembled group that more timber is cut in the Black Hills than in any other national forest.  Secondly,  more cattle graze on the Black Hills National Forest than graze on any other.

After a few housekeeping announcement, Amy introduced the crowd to Arley Fadness, a retired Lutheran minister, whose interest in flight may well be tracked back to the years even before he went to seminary.  A native of Bristol, South Dakota, Fadness worked for Boeing while it was developing and producing the Bomarc Missiles back in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  

Eventually, Fadness completed seminary work and ministered in several communities across eastern South Dakota and in Minnesota.  He retired as pastor in Mankotao, Minnesota,  and now lives in Custer, where has more time to pursue his passion for flight and writing.  He also does a bit of pastoring, filling in most recently at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Spearfish.

After about a 45-minute trek along a two-path road to the northwest, the group arrived at the rim overlooking the Stratobowl.

“We are standing by a national treasure,” Fadness told the assembled group.

“This big round depression in the earth was and is like an ampitheatre waiting for the call of history.”  You'll find a gallery of photographs from this event in our Moon Walk Gallery.

Fadness outlined the significant liftoffs from the site, including both Explorer I and Explorer II.  Explorer II set an altitude record of 75,395 feet.  Fadness then gave highlights about subsequent flights that emanated from what used to be known as “Moonlight Valley” before the Explorer flights took place.  That was back in the days when the Bonanza Bar Mining Company was operating in the vicinity in the 1890’s and into the early Twentieth Century.

While the Army Air Corps was apparently a bit reluctant initially to get involved with the 1934 Explorer flight, they finally endorsed the endeavor – but they were unable to allocate enough funds to make it happen.

That’s when proponents approached the National Geographic Society, which along with Kodak and other private firms, provided funding for the event.

Fadness told how the selection of the site near Rapid City was not a slam-dunk.   There were towns like North Platte, Nebraska; Lander, Wyoming; Denver, and other communities  that were anxious to have the event take place near their hometowns.

In the end, Rapid City won out.

A virtual village popped up in the valley, and national publicity began to grow.

While the Explorer I launch in 1934 ended up going bust when the hydrogen-filled balloon rapidly lost altitude and crashed in Nebraska, the Army and National Geographic promptly planned a 1935 launch.  

That endeavor, Explorer II, had a bit of a shaky start, too.  In July of 1935, even the helium-filled balloon experienced complications, and the event was aborted -- as reported in a story published by the Rapid City Journal (see headline at right).  But efforts for a re-launch proceeded, and Explorer II finally got airborne on November 11, Armistice Day.  Success at last!  It achieved a new altitute record of 72,395 feet.  Its crew were the first humans to see the curvature of the earth.

For an excellent detailed description of the Explorer I and II flights written by Gregory Kennedy, follow this link to Stratocat.

And for another evening of fun and history, join us for the October Moon Walk to the Friendship Tower on Mount Roosevelt just north of Deadwood.  It'll be October 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Miller cabin survives the Dust Bowl and Depression...

Miller Cabin is just north of Deerfield Reservoir.

Perfect!  That well describes the weather for the latest Black Hills Moon Walk hosted by the U.S. Forest Service. Our principal guide for this hike was Michael Salisbury, an archaeologist with the Mystic District of the Black Hills National Forest.

July and August can be pretty hot and miserable months for hiking.  We’ve already had some of that misery–and there'll likely be more on the way. 

But last Saturday night (7/7/12) was spectacular.  It was a cool evening with absolutely no wind.  There were clouds in the sky, but just enough to make it interesting for the 150 or so people who gathered on knoll just a few miles north of Deerfield Reservoir in the central Black Hills.  It was in this same vicinity of Reynolds Prairie that we gathered just over a year ago to examine wild flowers.

There was an abundance of wild flowers on this hike, too.  But our mission this time was to visit the rustic Miller Cabin, built over a century ago in a high country meadow about 20 miles west northwest of Hill City.  We took several photos on this outing, and you'll find them posted in our Moon Walk Gallery.

John A. Miller was among the influx of pioneers who came to the Black Hills in the 1870’s in search of gold.  Born in Sweden in 1850, the Millers arrived in the United States in about 1868.  Census documents indicate that John and his wife Josephine lived in Illinois, Iowa, and then Phillips County, Kansas, before arriving in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory in the mid 1870’s.

Michael Salisbury

Ranger Salisbury says John Miller was among the many people seeking his fortune by placer mining in the Custer and Hill City areas.   Miller is listed as having lived in a variety of area communities, including – among others – Pactola, Hill City, Cross Mine, Cresville, Tigerville, Sheridan, Rochford, Queen Bee, Sitting Bull, Lookout, Limestone, Silver City, and Mountain City. 

After the initial gold boom in the central hills “fizzled” and most miners set their sights on gold strikes in the Lead and Deadwood area,  Miller decided to buy a ranch near Castle Creek in 1882, according to the U. S. Forest Service.  He apparently was looking at other ways that he might make his fortune, and the land near Castle Creek also just happened to be along the Cheyenne to Deadwood stage route.  Miller apparently saw opportunity in operating a stage stop that would cater to the needs of folks who were in transit.

“He could offer fresh horses, meals and lodging to travelers, and even make repairs,” for those making the trek along the route, according to Salisbury.

And since the area was well suited for growing succulent grasses for livestock forage, and Miller could also sell stock animals to miners.

Census records indicate that John and Josephine raised five sons – John, Jr., Manfred, Emil, Frank, Edward, and Charles.  The 1920 census records list John and Josephine Miller – and their grown son, Frank – as residing at that Miller residence in Mountain City.

On New Year’s Eve Day in 1933, John A. Miller died.  It was a tough time for the Miller family – and a tough time for the nation.   The Depression years, fueled by a severe drought, virtually clobbered agriculture in the U.S. heartland.

“The U.S. government stepped in,” said Salisbury, “part of the Works Progress Administration with the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Bureau of Reclamation began looking at areas of South Dakota that had decent creeks running into them….where they could impound water and stave off another Dust Bowl.”

A “water storage project” was created along Castle Creek, requiring the removal of Mountain City (Deerfield).  The community sat smack dab in the middle of what was to become Deerfield Reservoir.

The sign that sits in front of the Miller Cabin today says “The Millers, after receiving a settlement for their lands soon to inundated by the rising waters, sold their remaining land to the Anderson family.”

Kids of all ages enjoy the Moon Walks!

The cabin was apparently moved out of the area to a “temporary” location.  But by the 1940s, the old cabin was loaded onto wooden skids and pulled by teams of horses to meadow just north of Deerfield Reservoir.  Andersons lived in the structure until sometime in the early 1970’s.

Ken Anderson of Hill City was on hand for this Moon Walk, and he shared both some photographs and memories about the cabin – and later lumbered through the cabin with members of our entourage, answering questions.

The old Miller cabin has special meaning for Anderson on several levels.  Of course, it was an ancestral home – and one with lots of history behind it.  Too, the old cabin was the site of his marriage to Elizabeth nearly 36 years ago, on July 24, 1976.

Lots of history and lots of fun for this third Moon Walk of 2012.

Next month, walkers will congregate near Cascade Creek in the southern Black Hills as a Forest Hydrologist leads us through the Whitney Preserve while discussing some of the unique features of the area.  

Moon Walk coordinator Amy Ballard says, “If it’s a hot day, come early to take a dip in the popular swimming hole at this picnic area.”  Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 4^th, for the next Moon Walk to Cascade Falls south of Hot Springs.

Moon Walks offer another season of information....and fun!

Despite ominous clouds on the horizon and a few scattered raindrops, the first Black Hills National Forest Moon Walk went off without a hitch last weekend (6/2/12).  We explored the rolling hills a few miles east of Pactola Reservoir in the central Black Hills and learned more about "pollinators."

We counted over 100 people for the event, which launched the beginning of yet another year of walks through diverse regions of the Black Hills.  It’s the 17^th year for the this outstanding program – and this first-of-the-season event did not disappoint.

U.S. Forest Service botanist Kelly Owens, along with colleagues Chelsea Monks and others, provided insight into the pollinators and wildflowers that are so important to this region.  They identified a variety of pollinators, the plants they pollinate, and the contribution they make in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Our first real exposure to learning about wildflowers was on a 2010 Moon Walk at Reynolds Prairie north of Deerfield Lake.  That presentation featured USFS botanist Andrew Korth, who was among three persons who died in a tragic boating accident the following day.  So it was fitting that this 2012 inaugural Moon Walk be dedicated to Andrew Korth.

Botanist Kelly Owens

What is a pollinator you may ask?  Perhaps it’s best to start by explaining pollination, and that’s exactly what ranger Kelly Owens did early in the Moon Walk.

“Basically, it’s moving pollen from the male part of the plant to the female part of the plant – and that results in fertilization and fruit production” said Owens, a native of the Rapid City and Keystone area.  She graduated from high school in Rapid City and later earned a degree in Botany from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Indeed, the fertilization of plants described by Owens results in the production of fruits and seeds.  Some flowers rely on the wind to move pollen, while many others rely on a variety of animals to move the pollen.  They are.......  (drum roll, please) The Pollinators!

And so those pollinators – like bees, birds, bats, and insects – become critical in the reproduction of flowering plants, as well as in the production of fruits and vegetables.  Over 75% of all flowering plants are pollinated by animals.  We'd like to share with you a very short talk -- containing some fantastic video -- by cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg.  It's called The Hidden Beauty of Pollination.

Botanist Owens gave Moon Walk participants a quick “show and tell” quiz about the wide variety of things that require the active involvement of pollinators.  While the presentation was short --  it was a long list.

The Forest Service crew did a great job of “flagging” a number of plants, and they were kind enough to label them not only with their scientific names – but common names as well.

We learned the names of a few more wild flowers, and we also snapped a few photos of them on this outing.  You’ll find them in our Moon Walk Gallery for 2012.  If you’re interested in revisiting earlier Moon Walks, take a peek in our archived galleries.  You'll see photo links for them in the right hand column of this web site.

Rocky Mountain Iris

One of the things that makes us appreciative of these outings is the access to folks who are specialists on the topic at hand.  There were an abundance of botanists and other Forest Service personnel on this Moon Walk, and we saw and heard many of the visitors  tapping this enormous reservoir of knowledge and information.  And we’re betting we’ll benefit from forest archaeologists again next month when the Moon Walk moves to the Miller cabin homestead near Deerfield Reservoir to examine the restoration project that has preserved this cabin for us – and future generations – to enjoy.

Hats off again to Recreation Forester Amy Ballard for coordinating these walks.  It’s a task she’s had for some 17 years.  If the popularity and enthusiasm for these Moon Walks is any indication, they’ll be with us for a long time!  We know there’s considerable time and energy expended in preparing and executing these events.  But the stated purpose of the Moon Walks is to “provide a family-oriented activity that introduces visitors to the cultural and natural history of the Black Hills.”  Through this introduction, the USFS hopes there’ll be a greater understanding and appreciation for these resources, leading toward better stewardship of public lands.  Nearly 13,000 visitors have participated in the 122 Moon Walks to date.

 

We’ve seen and talked with many of those people.  They’re all ages and from many places.  Mostly, these are South Dakotans, but we’ve visited with Moon Walkers from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and numerous other states.

We’ve already marked the calendar for Saturday, July 7, and the Miller Cabin Moon Walk.  If you don’t already receive e-mails alerting you to each Moon Walk, along with directions to the location of the event, contact Amy Ballard at 605-343-1567.  

2011 Moon Walks conclude at Gold Mountain Mine

For a few of the 150 people who wandered up a hill about four miles northwest of Hill City last Saturday evening (9/10/11), it was an opportunity to see just how much has been completed in the restoration and preservation work at an old gold mine.  They had visited the site a few years ago on an earlier "Moon Walk" sponsored by the Black Hills National Forest.  The Gold Mountain Mine was built long after the first rush for gold in the hills, but it’s likely to grow in popularity in coming years.

The mill frame and boiler building of the old mine were the focus of the final Black Hills National Forest Moon Walk 2011 series, completing another season of diverse and educational treks through various parts of the Black Hills.

Amy Ballard, Recreational Forester with the U.S. Forest Service has been coordinating the popular hiking series, which began in 1996 and has accommodated more than 12,500 participants in some 121 programs.

It was encore time for Forest Service archaeologist Michael Salisbury, who has served as project manager on the Gold Mountain Mine effort, a coordinated effort between the Black Hill Historic Preservation Trust, the U.S. Forest Service, and a bevy of volunteers who’ve donated their time and talent to the project.

Construction on the original mine started in 1924.

“They finished it sometime around 1929,” said Salisbury, “and it operated all the way up to the beginning of World War Two, and that’s when War Order L208 was enforced and all precious mineral mining in the United States was shut down, and all of that energy was targeted into the war effort and the manufacture of war goods.”

Like so many such operations that closed down at the onset of the war, the Gold Mountain Mine simply never reopened (but then gold prices weren't  $1,800 an ounce either!).

In the years following, while the site was likely a popular destination for history buffs and weekend hikers, the property continued to deteriorate and became something of a safety hazard.  Finally, in 2007, the old mine was scheduled for demolition.

But through the vision and hard work of the Black Hills Historical Preservation Trust, the U.S. Forest Service, and an energetic group of folks from the Passport in Time – who volunteered their time and many talents – this last standing piece of Black Hills mining history has been preserved.

Last summer, more than 30 volunteers from Passport in Time participated in two separate sessions that first concentrated on replacing missing cross members and rehabilitating existing structural braces, while refurbishing the interior and exterior of the lower ore bin.

Then they rehabilitated the upper ore bin and the main roof, installed the iron “grizzly” ore separator and reconstructed the upper head house. 

Salisbury noted that the Gold Mountain mill frame now looks pretty much as it did during its original period of activity before World War Two, when there were as many as seven steam engines operating on the site, providing much-needed power to the mining operation.

“Thanks to the countless hours of dedication and hard work of many, Gold Mountain will stand as a glimpse into the past of an industry that was a primary driving force behind the settlement of the American west,” said Salisbury.  He said he expects that interpretive signage will be in place at the mine by next August, capping a very successful join endeavor.

Volunteers who worked on the project “did not disappoint,” observed Salisbury.

And the same may be said about the 2011 season of the Black Hills National Forest Moon Walks.  Amy Ballard and the entire U.S. Forest Service gang did a great job organizing and conducting these excellent  forays into different areas and aspects of the Black Hills.

Want to know more about the 2011 Moon Walk season?  You'll find narratives right here on Black Hills Journal and an abundance of photographs from the walks in our Moon Walk Gallery.

We’re already anticipating the 2012 season!

"On the Trail" with pack mules and the U.S. Forest Service

We may think of mules as homely and rather ornery critters, but as participants in the latest Black Hills National (BHNF) Forest Moon Walk found out last weekend, they’re valuable assets for workers on high mountain trails and other remote locations.  And that includes the U.S. Forest Service.

About 60 folks showed up at the BHNF Tepee Work Center about 26 miles west of Custer for the August Moon Walk Saturday night (8/13/11), and a bit of enlightenment provided by Forest Service packer Glenn Ryan, who travels the western national forests using his mules to accomplish back country work.

Ryan’s been doing the work for some 21 years and shows no signs of cutting back on his wilderness adventures.  And, of course, mules have been reliable pack animals for a long time.  We've posted a couple of videos (right panel) illustrating their use during the Spanish-American War in Cuba.

Moon Walk coordinator Amy Ballard welcomed walkers to the well-groomed Tepee Work Center grounds by announcing that there would be no hike this month, since some of the archaeologists scheduled to be a part of the program had to rush off on another more important task:  working the Coal Canyon fire some 15-20 miles to the south.  That blaze, in the rugged range and canyon area northwest of Edgemont, claimed the life of one firefighter while consuming nearly 5,000 acres of grass and timber in the southern Black Hills.  The fire is now (8/17/11) nearly fully contained.

Ranger Dave Pickford

Ranger Dave Pickford, who works out of the Hell Canyon ranger office at Custer set the stage for this Moon Walk, providing a bit of Black Hills National Forest history, reaching back to 1892 when the forest “reserve” was created.  Eight years later, the first sale of timber from a U.S. national forest took place near Nemo, South Dakota, when Homestake Mining Company was expanding its operation.  In a sign of the times, Homestake paid a modest rate of 75 cents per thousand board feet. Today, according to Pickford, the market will fetch about $10.00 per thousand board feet!

In 1901, Deadwood resident Seth Bullock was tapped by President Theodore Roosevelt to serve as the first “supervisor” of U.S. forest lands.  In those early years, two national forests were created in this area:  the Black Hills National Forest was in the northern Black Hills and was headquartered in Deadwood; Harney National Forest encompassed the southern Black Hills with its headquarters in Custer.  By 1954, the two forests were merged into a single Black Hills National Forest.

Just as modern transportation has transformed the landscape of education with the consolidation and closure of rural schools, it also led to the reduction of ranger district offices in the Black Hills from 20 to just four.  They're located in Custer (Hell Canyon District), Rapid City (Mystic District), Northern Hills (Spearfish), and Bear Lodge District (Sundance, Wyoming).

The site of this Moon Walk, the Tepee Work Center, was constructed in 1936-37 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which created a lot of the infrastructure on public lands across the country – and certainly within the Black Hills.  The four structures built on this site are still in use.  Pickford said that, as with all CCC projects, three principles were followed:  (1) use non-intrusive designs that blend with the environment; (2) use pioneer/frontier construction techniques; and (3) use native/traditional styles and materials. 

City kid Glenn Ryan has found a career "on the
trail" with mules and the U.S. Forest Service.

Our “keynote” speaker for this Moon Walk seemed an unlikely person to end up as a packer.  Glenn Ryan grew up not far from the teeming masses of Manhattan in New York.  The day after earning his Associates degree in Natural Resources from Columbia College in California, he went to work for the U.S. Forest Service.   According to his wife, Ryan had a few “sabbaticals” along the way, working as a cowboy, a stint with Hewlett Packard, and even some truck driving.

But his work with the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service, has been the most gratifying – allowing him to be a packer.

Ryan shared a brief bit of historical insight into working for the Forest Service.

“In 1905, the Forest Service “let” folks provide their own tables, chairs, their own houses, wood stoves, and even their own riding stock and pack stock.  The salary for a ranger was $75 a month.  If you paid more than $75 to feed your stock, you could submit a claim for repayment.”

He recounted that he had never read anywhere that those early foresters actually got paid for what they submitted.

While “packing” with the Forest Service still involves long hours – and “some use of our own tack and stock,” Ryan clearly enjoys what he’s doing.  In fact, earlier this year, during the Big Wyoming Horse Expo in Douglas, he taught a session on how you go about training a mule to be a pack animal -- sort of a Pack Mules 101 course.

“And we do get a bit more than $75 a month these days!”

“The mule is a cross between a donkey and a horse,” said Ryan, noting that the mule results from a jack donkey and a female horse.

“They’re stronger.  Their muscles are more dense, and they can consume poorer quality vegetation than horses – and their digestive system is slower.”

Ryan was quick to observe that while people say the mule is stubborn, “they’re not stubborn, they’re more intelligent!”

The Rocky Mountain Regional Specialty Packstring led by Ryan does work mostly in South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.  And while they conduct training and frequently represent the Forest Service at events like Cheyenne Frontier Days, parades and other events, most of their time is dedicated to work projects across the region.

“Tomorrow, we’ll be off to the Big Horn mountains to remove a bunch of old bridges.”  It’s an on-going task over the past few years.  They’ve hauled out 150 mule loads of garbage, and about 215 tons of soil.  It’s the kind of work for which you’d expect a packer to use a strong and sure-footed mule.

“Mules usually carry about 60 to 80 pound loads per side, but they can carry up to 240 pounds,” said Ryan.  “They carry a lot of fence posts.”

Ryan demonstrated how to tie the mules together in a train using a series of half-hitches, stressing that it’s important not to tie pack mules together hard and fast, because “you can kill them that way.”  If they go over an edge, they’ll take another one with them.

And the most dangerous thing on the trail?

Bees.

Moon Walkers took a respite this month and
enjoyed a program all about pack mules.

Bee swarms can cause real havoc and – according to Ryan – are the most dangerous thing you can encounter.  This observation from a packer who’s encountered lots of critters on the trail, including mountain lions.

Ryan acknowledged that mules can be a bit testy if they don’t know what’s going on.  The absence of ligaments in their hind legs gives them flexibility to unleash lethal kicks sideways as well as to the rear.

“When mules have packs on, they can’t see what’s behind them.  So when linking them together in a string, I always approach them cautiously and call their names and talk to them.”

He has admittedly grown fond of his mules over the years, and he has special monikers for them, usually choosing the name of someone with whom he has worked.  There’s Rory, and Becky, and… well, several others.

When one of the Moon Walkers asked Ryan if he had a favorite among his mules, his wife Alice quickly retorted, “Yup, he has nine of them!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Note:  You'll find additional photos and information in our Moon Walk Gallery.

The Alabaugh fire....revisited

Al Stover (left-front) tells of the Alabaugh fire.

Extremely hot weather, tempered by a late afternoon thundershower and lingering sprinkles throughout the evening, did little to dampen the enthusiasm of about 65 Moon Walkers in the Black Hills National Forest last weekend (7/16/11).

This month, it was a visit in the Whitney Preserve, located about 10 miles southwest of Hot Springs, in the vicinity of the old Brainerd Indian School.  The property is now under the auspices by the Nature Conservancy, whose nature trail offers one of the finest hikes for birdwatchers in Black Hills.  The preserve is located on the eastern edge of a large, undeveloped landscape, where elements of sage lands, pine forests, and mixed grasslands come together.  It’s the convergence of those habitats that motivated the Nature Conservancy to push for its preservation.  It was named for Nathaniel and Mary Whitney, South Dakota conservation pioneers.

Mary Ellen Goulet

The focus of this Moon Walk was to explore the impact of the Alabaugh fire, which burned just over 10,000 acres across this region in 2007.   For a photo account of this hike, vist Moon Walk Gallery.  

The scene was set by area resident Mary Goulet, who shared a few of her personal experiences regarding the fire.  She and her husband, Bob Lee, had retired to the southern Black Hills from careers in Minnesota when – at about 7 o’clock, on the seventh day, of the seventh month of 2007. – the the Alabaugh blaze engulfed their fire-resistant home not far from Cascade Springs.  The fire ended up destroying 33 homes, claiming one life,  and injuring two firefighters.  Goulet was moved to write a book about the fire and its consequences for about 30 different families.   She entitled the book Cascade of Flames, and in it she wrote about the heroism of the men and women who fought the blaze.  In one chapter, she recognized the performance of the local sheriff in Fall River county.  “The sheriff headed evacuation efforts, and he pretty much knew where all the people lived,” she told the group.  Without that kind knowledge, the human toll of the fire could have been much worse.

After about a 10-minute presentation by Goulet, Bob Paulson of the Nature Conservancy led the group from the parking lot on the property to a nearby road where the hike began.  Along the way, Al Stover of Wind Cave National Park and Cascade Springs resident Mac Lamphere offered additional insight into the event.  Stover was formerly with the South Dakota Division of Forestry and served as incident commander for the Alabaugh blaze.  Lamphere was among the many local folks who fought the massive fire.

July Moon Walkers on the climb!

Billed as a “two mile roundtrip hike,” the huffing and puffing of many July Moon Walkers gave rise to skepticism about the accuracy of the advertised distance of this walk. 

“It’s at least four miles round trip” we heard one hiker observe while catching his breath midway up the side of a hill.

Organizer Amy Ballard of the U.S. Forest Service noted that she relies on the hosts and speakers regarding such matters – but participants were warned that it would be necessary for them to climb “400 feet in one mile uphill over uneven terrain to the top of the ridge.”  And, indeed, we had been warned.  Nonetheless, a mid-hike breather for all would have been good, and it would have allowed the group to stay together better.

Whether the difficulty of this hike was accurate or not, it was probably one of the more challenging hikes in recent years, but it offered some marvelous views and provided walkers with some good information about both the Alabaugh fire and U.S. Forest Service prescribed burns.

The Nature Conservancy, as they often have done, offered cookies, hot chocolate and lemonade to all participants following the walk.

Despite splendid views of a full moon just the night before, this Moon Walk was devoid of any such pleasurable lunar sight, leaving us to hope that we’ll fare better in August.  That’s when Moon Walkers will next gather – on Saturday, August 13^th – for a hike in the southern Black Hills to learn more about the use of pack mules within the U.S. Forest Service.

140 hikers enjoy Wildflowers along Centennial Trail

A beautiful evening greeted participants for the June 18^th National Forest Moon Walk that explored a variety of prairie plants and wildflowers in the northern Black Hills.

Botanist Jill Larson

Sponsored by the Black Hills National Forest and the Black Hills Parks and Forests Association, the walk started at the Alkali Creek Trailhead just a couple of miles north of Sturgis off of I-90.

Ballard introduced botanist Jill Larson of the Northern Hills Ranger Station in Spearfish who was the principal speaker and our guide through Bureau of Land Management fields included in the walk.   A native of the Seattle area, Larson holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and an M.S. in Botany from the University of Wyoming.  She provided participants with a list of some 112 plants that might be found along the route.  It included not only the common names of the plants, but their family, genus, and species – as well as the area of the walk where they’d likely to appear.

There wasn’t much time for using the list as a reference on this walk, but it’s a wonderful tool for returnees who want to take their time on a subsequent hike of the area.

The walk started northward from the Alkali Creek parking area along the Centennial Trail, and then crossed under Interstate 90 before winding its way toward a high meadow and the timber.

As usual, there was a very diverse group of hikers.  This time, younger folks – in particular – enjoyed sharing samples of their findings with Jill Larson, who displayed keen knowledge of the plants.  She usually was at the ready to give the official plant classification, only occasionally pausing to come up with its common name.

From soapweed yucca and poison ivy (yikes!) to blue larkspur and plains pricklypear, there was an abundance of wildflowers and a decidedly nice-sized group of people to enjoy them.

Timing is everything, and there was no full moon in which to bask on this hike.  Had there been a full moon available, we had some beautiful weather to enjoy it!

As always, we captured a few photos on the hike.  You’ll find them posted in our Moon Walk Gallery.

“This walk was dedicated to former Forest botanist Andrew Korth, who led a wildflower Moon Walk over Reynold’s Prairie last June,” said Amy Ballard, Forest Moon Walk Coordinator.  Andy died in a boating accident near Belle Fourche the next day.

The next Moon Walk outing is set for Saturday, July 16 and will be hosted by the Nature Conservancy.  They’ll be offering refreshments and a restroom for participants – and both of those items will be welcome additions for this somewhat more strenuous hike.  It’s a two-mile trek that will climb 400 feet uphill over uneven terrain.  The speakers will be May Goulet, author of “Cascade of Flames,” and Al Stover of Wind Cave National Park.  They’ll discuss the forest and grassland ecosystem that has emerged since the 2007 Alabaugh Fire in the area.

To reach the Moon Walk site, travel south of Hot Springs on South Dakota Highway 71 for 8.2 miles.  Pass the Cascade Springs Picnic Area at 7.9 miles.  Turn right just past the main house parking area and travel .4 miles to the guest house parking area.  Signs will be posted at major intersections to direct visitors to the site.

Walkers are encouraged to bring flashlights, water and bug repellant and to dress for unexpected weather and cooler nighttime temperatures.  Long pants are recommended as ticks and rattlesnakes could be encountered.

After fires and pine beetles: new life in the Black Hills

The first Moon Walk for 2011 took place near Horse
Creek Road south of Pactola Reservoir.  'Twas a bit
soggy, but mere rain isn't likely to cancel the event.

Despite drenching rains and brisk temperatures Saturday evening (5/21/11), a couple of dozen hardy souls braved the elements to help launch another season of Moon Walks in the Black Hills National Forest.

But with a surprising suspension of the downpour, Mother Nature delivered a rather pleasant evening for the Moon Walkers to learn about the Black-backed Woodpecker and the forest fires that provide the species with a habitat.  The setting for this event was in a high meadow of the Horse Creek area southwest of Pactola Reservoir about a mile west of U.S. 385.

Recreation Forester Amy Ballard told the assembled group that this is the 16^th consecutive year of Moon Walks in the Black Hills, and she assembled a great cast of characters to guide the group through an informative evening.

USFS Fire and Fuels Specialist Chris Stover, who works out of the Mystic Ranger District, gave folks an overview of how prescribed burns and thinning projects help to improve wildlife habitat.  Such burns help move the land toward a more natural condition and allow a more rapid regeneration of the ponderosa pine trees that are so abundant in this region. 

“There are about 140 starts (fire starts) in the Black Hills every year,” said Stover. “Most of those are caused by lightning.”

He referenced two exceptional fires in the Hills:  the 1939 McVey Fire, and the more recent Jasper fire, which destroyed more than 90,000 acres in just three days.

“Then there was the 1991 Horse Creek prescribed fire.  We lost control of it – due to some unusual weather circumstances.”  Nonetheless, the success of prescribed fires has resulted in a greener forest and improved habitat for animals.

“The Horse Creek area is now an ideal elk habitat,” Stover added.

Chad Lehman and a
Black-backed Woodpecker

Wildlife biologist Chad Lehman is researching the effects of fire on woodpecker reproduction.  He observed that you can now see large patches of green forest, offering high quality forage for elk that now graze in the area. 

“In time, we may see grouse in this area, along with additional stands of aspen trees.”

After a short uphill hike, Chris Rota from the University of Missouri broadcast a Black-backed Woodpecker bird call through a portable amplifier – hoping to lure one of the birds to the high outcropping of rocks where the Moon Walkers were clustered.

At first, there was nothing.  Then we heard a response from a nearby woodpecker, but he only tempted us with his return calls – he (or was it a she?) wouldn’t hazard a flight to our location.

A doctoral student, Rota led our group to a nearby stand of pine trees, one of which had hosted a Black-backed Woodpecker nest, identified by a small hole about two inches in diameter.  Rota’s graduate work has been focused upon this species, which he says are attracted to habitat created by wildfire and mountain pine beetle infestations.

“Our research seeks to understand the role prescribed fire can play to simultaneously create habitat for this species while reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire,” he said.

"Both the male and female woodpeckers participate in building the nest, which is simply a hollowed out area within the tree, usually at a fairly low level.”

“Squirrels are perhaps the greatest predator for the Black-backed Woodpeckers,” said Rota, “but the birds will fight back at the squirrels.”

Rota has banded many of the birds, often cutting a hole in the side of the tree right next to the nest.  He can then reach in and band the smaller birds.

Chris Rota points to a nesting hole of a Black-backed
Woodpecker during the first "Moon Walk" of 2011.

“I’ve actually learned the genealogy of some of these birds; although we don’t know for certain what their life span is, some of the birds I banded back in 2007 are still around.”

The Black-backed Woodpecker is found primarily in western North America, but their range in Canada extends east to the Maritime Provinces.  It is not thought to be a migratory bird.  While not considered “endangered,” the bird is considered a “sensitive” species.  Their populations are high in areas that have endured wildfires and the onset of pine beetles.

The Moon Walkers trek back down the hillside to their vehicles was not any to soon; more rain was imminent.  By the time many of them reached U.S. 385 – less than a mile away – rains returned.

It was a fine start for another season of Moon Walks, especially since organizers were tempted to cancel the event because of the weather.

Normally, only lightning will cause cancellation of Black Hills Moon Walks, but this has been an unusual May.  Heavy snow just a few days earlier left many folks wondering if the walk would go on as planned. 

The next Moon Walk is slated for Saturday, June 18^th in the northern Black Hills and is entitled “Forest Wildflowers."  The event is dedicated to the memory of USFS botanist Andrew Korth, who led a similar outing last year but lost his life in a boating accident the following day.

Details about the June outing will be forthcoming.  Persons who want to be included on the e-mail notification list should contact Amy Ballard of the Mystic Ranger District..  

Don’t forget, we also post additional information and photographs in our Moon Walk Gallery.

Compared to Black Hills gold rush, "California was nothing..."

A nice-sized crowd showed up for the final Black Hills National Forest Moon Walk of 2010 last Saturday night (9/18/10) near the old gold mining community of Meyersville, located a few miles south of Rochford.

The remnants of Meyersville are typical of hundreds of villages that sprung up in the Black Hills following the discovery of gold in the 1870s.  There’s not much left except a few timbers, stones, a few holes in the ground, and an occasional building. 

The sun had already slipped behind the hills to the southwest by the time speaker Bill Swanson welcomed the group Saturday evening.   A high school science teacher in New Underwood, Swanson was born in Deadwood and grew up in the northern hills – developing a keen interest in the history of this region.  In fact, he’s the second generation of Swansons leading community education classes about history in the  Black Hills – his father taught the first ones back in 1976. 

After working on oilers for several years, the younger Swanson says he came back to the hills and is proud to carry on the tradition his father started.  His folksy presentation was well-received by the group that gathered for his September presentation entitled “Mining Towns of the Late 1800s.”

Focus of this Moon Walk was Meyersville, a mining community that dates back to 1883, nestled in a small valley north of Deerfield Reservoir.

 

“It was never much of a town,” Swanson said, “basically a settlement and mining camp.  Residents purchased supplies from Rochford , Lead or Custer.”   Up the road toward Deerfield are the Yellow Bird and King of the West Mines, but those two sites weren’t included as part of this Moon Walk.  Even in daylight, those two old sites are mostly hidden from view, even though they are right alongside the road.

Swanson led the walkers up a narrow path to a place where a few timbers and stones remain from the old forty stamp mill that once stood.

“This is the original site of what was later the Lookout mine and mill.  It was here for about six month, but then the equipment and timbers were moved to Lookout.”

Farther up the hillside, hidden in the woods, were the leaning timbers of a house that was part of the operation.  Swanson’s partner in researching and writing history articles about the Black Hills – Mart Krause of Rapid City – says that the leaning timbers that remain were once a part of the Frank Cochran mining headquarters, built in 1890.  While the mining operation soon moved, the old building has remained all this time.  As recently as the 1990s, the building was upright and an old safe was situated inside.  It is now long since gone.

We trudged through the tall grass and negotiated a fence, finding yet another building in the woods that – even in daylight – would be hard to spot.

Swanson went to the center of the building, while hikers remained clustered around the perimeter of the structure, attentatively listening as Swanson gave further details about the defunct gold mine.

In his presentation to the assembled Moon Walkers, Swanson suggested “getting out of your cars, hiking to the sites, closing your eyes, and try listening back 130 years to what was going on.  There were no airplanes.  No 4-wheelers.”  Walking along a path, Krause told us that he and Swanson always hike in to locations like this – they never use motorized vehicles that might disturb the site.

Swanson said other research has indicated that as many as 1,500 post offices were strewn throughout the Black Hills region during its mining rush.

“This was the last real gold rush,” he said.  “California was nothing compared to this.  Ore was still coming out of the Black Hills more than 100 years after it had been discovered.”

The price of gold has now busted above $1,300 per ounce, and you might expect to see a resurgence of mining in the Black Hills.  But despite the continuing operation at Wharf Resources – and maybe a few more placer miners among visiting tourists – it’s likely that newcomers roaming the hills these days are in search of another valuable item, more untold history about these beautiful Black Hills.

And with this final Moon Walk for 2010, we were treated to plenty of it.  We've posted a few photos from the event in our 2010 Moon Walk Gallery.

With thanks to all of the presenters – and the folks at the U.S. Forest Service, who have facilitated the Moon Walks – we’re already eagerly awaiting new topics and locations for 2011!