Bear Butte, South Dakota

[Dirty Harry]

On Sunday I hiked up Bear Butte, northeast of Sturgis. This is the last chance I will have to explore this area before it is overrun by middle aged guys riding Harleys. :roost: There is a visitor center at the base of the mountain with a bronze statue of Frank Fools Crow facing towards the peak.

 

[Dirty Harry]

This area is considered sacred to the Lakota and the Cheyenne. Many Native Americans still come here for prayer, leaving prayer clothes and tobacco ties as offerings. It is at Bear Butte (called Mato Paha by the Souix and Noahvose by the Cheyenne) that Crazy Horse summoned his people in 1857 to rally them to resist the encroachment of western settlers.

 

[Dirty Harry]

The "butte" is actually an igneous laccolith that rises 1500 feet above the valley floor. It is east of the Black Hills, offering great views of the valley and the hills. There isn't much shade on the hike to the top, as the area was ravaged by fire about 12 years ago. Other than the elevation gain and some loose rock it is not a difficult hike, at 5 miles round trip. I hardly saw anyone else on the trail during my hike and it made for an easy afternoon from Rapid City.

 

[Dirty Harry]

On the way home I saw this box truck on the other side of the freeway. Talk about a bad day! Fortunately no one was hurt and somehow the truck overturned under an offramp so it was easy for law enforcement to route traffic around the accident.