#45. South Dakota: July 18-19, 2024

This extraordinary outdoor excursion offered a new twist: the mini catastrophe occurred at the end of the trip, not in the days leading up to it.

The Highpointers convention was scheduled for July 17–20 in Rapid City, South Dakota. This annual event rotates between the regions of the US, allowing Highpointers to reach different locations and complete additional highpoints in neighboring states. My trip to Chamonix the month before had boosted my confidence that I could safely hike, and I was fully looking forward to joining my fellow highpointers in reaching the summit of Black Elk Peak, South Dakota. I had summited it in 2016, and it was only moderately difficult, so a repeat hike seems very doable.

I hadn’t realized there would be a bonus hike as well. On July 18, those interested were encouraged to join a hike up Bear Butte, some 40 miles from our hotel in Rapid City. I joined my two longtime hiking buddies from Maine, Cliff Young and Rod Emerick, arriving promptly at the trailhead by 8 AM.  The conference organizer had arranged for a native American guide to give us some background on the area before we started the hike, but there had been some miscommunication. This guide thought he was hired for a four-hour period, whereas most of us would have preferred a quick 10-15 minute overview and then the chance to get an early start on a hot day. It was already 85° when we arrived at the trailhead, and we knew it would only get hotter. One hour into his rambling presentation, we quietly headed for the restroom, then peeled off to the trail.

The elevation gain on Bear Butte is only 1000 feet total. However, with our late start, it was 90° and there was little breeze. Cliff had gotten out ahead, while Rod and I kept a steady pace behind. Two-thirds of the way up, Rod indicated that he needed to turn around. There was no concern of “separating “ on the trail, since there were plenty of people coming and going.

As I neared the platform at the top of the butte, I could hear singing and imagined the music had been arranged for the benefit of the hikers. Instead, it was a local Native American family enjoying a weekend outing. Cliff was there waiting for us, along with Alison Kieffer from Caribou, Maine, whom I met the previous day. Given the dearth of highpointers from Louisiana (an entirely flat state), I had long since joined up with the Maine delegation, which, with Alison, had grown to include five people.

It wasn't 20 minutes before Ron appeared on the staircase leading up to the platform. Happy surprise that he'd decided to finish the hike. We snapped the obligatory photos, chit-chatted with other hikers, and decided it was time to head down to find some shade.

I was extremely relieved that I had been up to the hike. Yes, I was very cautious with my footwork, always leading with the right on the way down, but that caution paid off. 

The next day, I again joined Cliff and Rod to hike up Black Elk Peak (previously Harney's Peak, renamed in 2016). That same year I had climbed it with Ann Marston as part of my highpointing quest, but I was anxious to do it again. I had few hiking opportunities, and Black Elk offered the perfect degree of difficulty. Given the unrelenting sun the previous day, we were at the trailhead by 8 AM. We were lucky to get our choice of parking spaces, since by the time we returned, cars lined both sides of the road near Sylvan Lake.

We had plenty of company on the trail, including cross-country clubs, scout troops, and families taking advantage of summer vacation, not to mention many fellow highpointers (for whom the hike would count toward the elusive goal of 50).

Black Elk Peak offers one of the most interesting summits, with a stone tower built in the 1930s as a CCC project. Hikers wandered through this dungeon-like structure, snapping photos in all directions. As I joined others on the summit, I inwardly celebrated my return to moderate hiking.

Back at the hotel, I joined up with my "roomie" for this (and other) conventions, Robin Watson. For the second year in a row, she had headed up the logistics coordination committee for the convention: manning the registration desk, handing out t-shirts, and providing information on the different events. At this final banquet dinner, most people had a drink in their hand; she still had a folder.

Only as I was trying to leave South Dakota did the drama begin, when I got caught up in the CrowdStrike incident. On July 19, as we were enjoying the final day of the convention, the American cybersecurity company CrowdStrike distributed a faulty update to its security software, causing computer systems to shut down nationwide. Among those hardest hit was Delta Airlines, which cancelled over 1200 flights, mine included. By the time I got from Rapid City to Minneapolis late in the evening, the airport hotels were fully booked. I managed to find a room at the same hotel I'd used for a conference a week earlier and proceeded to cool my heels for 48 hours in scenic Minneapolis. But it was a small price to pay for another extraordinary outdoor excursion.

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