The High Point of South Dakota

  Sundance, Wyoming, United States
Saturday, August 25, 2007

Harney Peak Plaque

Harney Peak is said to be the highest point between the Rocky Mountains in North America, and the Pyrenees Mountains of Europe.  There are a few trails that you can take to get there.  One left from the campground that we were staying at, but was pretty long.  Another left from Sylvan Lake (Harney Trail #9).  Its a 3.8 mile hike.  After breakfast at Mount Rushmore, which was nice cause it gave me the chance to see the monument in sunshine, we drove over to Sylvan Lake.  We both threw on camelbaks, with a little something extra in mine, and found the trail head. 

Maybe a half mile up the trail, we passed a little girl skipping

Jerry on the way up

down in the other direction, who told us she'd already been up to the top!  I was pretty surprised, until we passed her mother a few yards later who told us that in fact they'd only gone a little farther and then turned around.  I think for a second there Jerrys ego was a little bruised, since he was already breathing heavy, and here came this little girl who wasnt winded at all.  But anyway, the trail was a ton of fun!  It went up and down, winding through forests, opening out into beautiful views.  Eventually we made it all the way to the top. 

Pointing to Harney Peak

  Theres an old fire lookout tower up there, and the summit is actually a pretty large area. We spent some time climbing around, taking in the view from all different directions.  I'd packed a beer (a Rolling Rock) in my camelbak, and we drank that at the top.  One of the best beers Ive ever had. Theres also a little pool at the top, created by a man made dam.  I really regret not bringing my swim trunks to the top.  It would have been a nice dip.

A beer and a call home

After an hour or so, we headed back down.   The return trip was much quicker.  Once we got to the bottom, we got in the car and headed for Wyoming.  We decided to splurge, and stay in hotel for the night, since the last few campgrounds we'd stayed at hadnt had showers!  Boy was it worth it.