Harney Peak
South Dakota
Elevation: 7,242'
Vertical Gain: 1500'
Date: May 29, 2013
Time: 6:45 PM
Weather: Cool, rainy
Party: Bob, Kevin
After climbing White Butte this morning, Kevin and I headed due south, past Mount Rushmore,
towards Harney Peak in Custer State Park.  We saw storm clouds coming in from the west and
then it started raining.  At the park entrance I asked how long the Harney hike would take and
was told it is typically a four hour trip.  To make up enough time to include Missouri in this trip
we still wanted to climb Harney Peak today so with the rain we chose the Cathedral Spires
Trail as it looked a little shorter.  The road to the trailhead was curvy and narrow with an
interesting tunnel.  The roads and trails were quite deserted, I assume because of the weather
and it was still early in the season.  We started up at 5:30 and a wrong turn on the way up
added .4 miles and it ended up being a 6.2 mile round trip hike.  The noise of an approaching
thunderstorm kept us up moving pretty quickly but it caught up to us just before the summit
and fortunately rolled through pretty fast.  We only spent about 15 minutes at the top exploring
the cool stone tower.  It was chilly and we were running out of daylight.  Hiking down quickly,
right past some nearby deer, we made it back to the car at 8:00 in only an hour.  Who else
starts an estimated four hour mountain hike at 5:30 PM in bad weather!

From the car, I called for the required reservation at nearby Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park.  
There was just enough light left to set up the tent and cook some Fettuccine Alfredo.  With the
full day and the time zone change, it was not long before we were asleep in bed.
Cathedral Spires right at the
beginning of the trail.
A curious greeter.  There are areas
along the trail that were purposely
cut down as a way to prevent the
spread of the Mountain Pine Beetle.
Entering the tower area.
Made it!
More spires on the way back.