August 2004
Some ramblings from the Black Hills and the Bighorns
As we begin our summer sojourn to the Black Hills for the
30th summer or so, I needed to stop and write down some
notes before I get entirely too lazy for the rest of
the month's trip.
We started out this vacation staying at Battle Creek Horse
Camp here at Hill City, SD for out 4th visit. Dwight Schrier
and Holli are such cordial hosts I just have to put in
a plug for their horse camp which we enjoy so much. They
are centrally located in the hills which allows us to ride
out to many of the popular sites like the MT Rushmore monuments,
or Harney Peak, or the Centennial 89 trail. Our kids and
grand kids are a mix of horse nuts and 4-wheeler nuts,
so this area of the Black Hills which has multi-use trails
for both of our groups to enjoy really hits the spot with
us. And then trout fishing for the grand kids nearby as
well!
Update on the Black Hills National Forest and
the Black Elk Wilderness area
Dwight keeps me updated every year on the goings on with
the Forest Service and the South Dakota Trail Riders volunteers
out here. Some of our friends like Tom Heffernan are volunteering
as Trail Rangers to help out the Forest Service with compliance
issues. Paying attention to the rules of usage in the Wilderness
area is a point of concern to the Forest Service and to
the local horsemen, and some of us horse users are the
guilty parties. They are issuing citations for exceeding
the limit of 12 horses in a group, or for not registering
when you enter the wilderness areas, or for other trespasses.
The rules are well posted at the points of entry so nobody
has much of an excuse. Fines up to $100 are possible, and
a second offense can cause you to get arrested. They are
serious about this.
And the real unfortunate aspect of all of this is that
the horse people, by these actions, are costing all of
us trail support in these areas. The Forest Service estimates
that only 30% of the horse users bother to register upon
entry, whereas about 80% of the hikers register. And funding
is based on usage numbers of course, so guess which areas
get bypassed! Just as a matter of principal, all of us
horse users ought to register, or sign in, or whatever,
any time that we use recreational facilities anywhere because
this is essential to getting recognized and getting the
support we need. If you are too embarrassed to acknowledge
that you are using the trail systems, then you need to
rethink your actions.
And as surely as I wrote this, we ran into Tom and Cathy
Heffernan the next day out on the trail on our way to Harney
Peak. Tom was handing out the Black Elk Wilderness information
brochures to whomever he encountered on the trail. And
the next day back in camp the local ranger, Darrel Schwartz,
stopped by to talk with anybody in camp who would listen
about the Leave No Trace Ethic and passed out some LNT
brochures. The Forest Service is low on funding for trail
maintenance, so their plan is to supplement the lesser
maintenance with educational efforts. Lets hope that they
can get more maintenance funding also for next year. Most
likely some of our MN Trail Riders donations, designated
by our members for the SD trails, will be used to republish
more of these brochures according to Dwight.
Campground reservations:
Again this year we checked out the Willow Creek Horse Camp.
There were about 7 horse units in the day we traveled
through, which is about half the capacity although no
sites are available in the reservation system. But we
are told that the Sierra Club members are still tying
up the reservations for all these area campgrounds. They
apparently are willing to sacrifice the camping costs
in order to keep one more group out of the wilderness
area!
Update on the Bighorn National Forest and the Cloud
Peak Wilderness
We ventured farther west again for the 11th consecutive
year to the Bighorns in WY. Stayed at Hunter Corrals Trailhead
for the second week in August and met some new MN friends,
Jim & Jill Berg from Albert Lea, who were out here for
the first time with their horses, although they had hiked
out here many times in the past.
Also met Kandy Harrison from the Cloud Peak BCH group
(which we also belong to) who was out here doing volunteer
trail work all week. She was working with the Forest Service
who had the Rocky Mountain Regional Pack Mule String from
Denver out here to pack out the steel and wood from the
bridges which have been removed from the Wilderness area.
They had six large draft horse cross mules, which they
can load out with over 200 pounds each as they carry the
old material out to the wilderness boundary where they
can then truck it away. The Wilderness ethic is so strong
out here that the Forest Service has decided to remove
these manmade structures which were built long before the
area was declared a wilderness. This is a controversial
policy, especially with some of the hikers who now have
to get their feet wet when they cross the creeks. But since
the Forest Service has taken this position, the Back Country
Horsemen are assisting with the work.
Kandy also worked one day on the six mile long Sawmill
Creek trail south of here going into the Sherd Lake trail
loops. The CPBCH volunteer group has now cleared all but
the last mile of the Sawmill. Last year they cleared the
entire trail to Lake Angeline, which is about seven miles
up to the lake at over the 10,000 foot elevation, well
above the tree line in the slab rock and having it's own
small glacier. Some day I will make it up this trail.
The Hunter Trailhead was not as busy this year, with only
about an average of three of us horse groups each day out
of nine possible camp sites. Maybe folks are more concerned
about high gas prices and longer trips than we thought.
There did seem to be more ATV users this year, though.
The camp hosts for August were the same cordial local couple
from Buffalo, WY who have been there for the last 7-8 years.
They pointed out the mess that the July trail hosts left,
(a couple from PA who come every year and whom we have
not met). Their three mules were pastured there all month
and nothing had been cleaned up. Makes you wonder about
how some other people view this idea about No Trace Camping
when even a camp host does something like this.
Campground reservations:
www.reserveusa.com
The non-refundable reservation fee is $9, which is a small
cost if you are concerned about how busy your destination
campground might be.
Maps:
Again this year I remind you of the need for good maps
when you trail ride into the high country where getting
lost can have serious consequences. These are tough trail
systems, and are long enough that getting lost will cost
you an overnight stay out with the bears! If I need to
tell you about carrying a compass or GPS also, then you
aren't ready for the big time trails! Stop in to one
of the sporting goods shops on your way out and pick
up a good map of the area you are visiting. One series
that I like and that are widely available are the Trails
Illustrated, National Geographic Maps series. These are
plastic coated topographic maps with all trails and roads
identified and will stand getting wet (because even a
good map won't help you avoid a rain shower). They cost
around $10 and can be picked up locally in the west or
ordered from their Web site at www.ngmapstore.com or Trails Illustrated, PO Box 4357, Evergreen, CO 80437-4357
(800-962-1643).
Again this year the maps handed out at the Hunter Corrals
trail head which purport to show 5 or 6 loop trails which
new folks can follow if they aren't familiar are still
grossly inadequate. Some people would think that these
might be enough, but believe me they are not - the Forest
Service may think that everyone would also have topo maps
with them, but it is not the case many times.
Back Home Again
Thus ended another ideal summer trail riding season for
us, and time to head home where we are going to once again
do one last stint of summer riding by serving as campground
hosts at the Zumbro Bottoms West campground for the last
half of September and the last week in October for the
Frostbite Ride. So when you finish reading this, head on
down and join us there for one of Minnesota's finest at
the finest time of the year!
Russ Wright
|
