TROOP 162 SUMMER TRIP, 2014
By Jonas Hutchinson, troop historian 2013-2014
On the first day of our summer trip this year, Father’s Day, we drove for 8 hours, from Duluth down through southwest Minnesota, past big farmland and windmills, then across South Dakota. At the end of the day we camped at a roadside campground above the Missouri River. After a hotdog dinner, some people went fishing for catfish and most people went swimming in the campground pool. We might have been a little bit rowdy after a long car ride. We didn’t get kicked out of the campground, and nobody got injured, so...that was all still good.
On day two we drove for another 5 hours to the Black Hills and arrived at the town of Custer where we set up camp at a campground between the town and Custer State Park. Our campsite was in a red pine forest above a small meadow. It was also next to a site that was being actively logged for the first few days of our visit. That first night, we went to Mt. Rushmore, to see the night show honoring American veterans on the stage before the lit mountain sculptures of visionary presidents Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Before the show, we hiked around the base of the monument, and toured the park museum, learning about the presidents it commemorates, and also a lot about the years of work and struggle by the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. And we ate ice cream. Oh yeah.
The next morning, after a great breakfast of french toast, eggs scrambled in bacon grease, and bacon (of course), we went on a 7 mile hike up the highest peak in South Dakota - Harney Peak. At the top there was an abandoned, castle-like stone fire tower which gave views for miles in all directions, including back onto the plains toward Minnesota. We lunched at the top, and clamored on steep rocks and small cliffs for a couple of hours. After we hiked down, we jumped into a freezing lake for a few minutes. Our swim was cut short by a rainstorm. We made camp in the rain -- not so fun, but dry overnight.
The next day, we went to Jewel Cave National Park, the largest breathing cave system in the United States. Experts figure only about 3% of the cave system has actually been explored, judging from the volume of air exchange measured during shifts in barometric pressure, and some think this cave may actually connect with the Wind Cave National Park system further towards the southeast. While waiting for our tour to start, we went for a 3 mile mountain meadow hike, passing by the cave opening first discovered by prospectors in 1900. Later, for our official cave tour, our park ranger guide led a 2 hour walk on a metal grate path, past many different limestone formations and drip sculptures. We returned to camp, but later that afternoon and evening we headed out again, driving the back roads through Custer State Park, looking for wildlife. This was really great. We saw herds of bison up close, antelope, turkeys, deer, and even a small group of mules.
We returned to Custer State Park the next morning to look at more wildlife, and to hike yet again. (Our parent leaders and scoutmaster really like to hike. They don’t always look like they like it, but they must because they kept scheduling hikes.) This time we went 2 miles through the high grassland terrain, with broad vistas, that army soldiers like Custer’s would travel by horseback. After returning to camp for lunch, most of the troop went into town, sightseeing and “shopping.” They seemed to have the most fun at The Weapons Emporium, where they met the coolest 70 year-old lady (proprietor) ever. My dad and brother and I went trout fishing in one of the park lakes instead. We cleaned, cooked, and ate the 3 speckled trout we caught, for dinner.
We left the park the next day, taking a great side trip through Badlands National Monument, which is a maze of rock formations and canyons, mostly looking like mounds and cliffs of eroding limestone dirt. That detour made the day pretty long, and we camped at dark and roasted sausages in a state park on the eastern border of South Dakota, before arising on our last day to caravan all the way back to Duluth.
No injuries, no enemies, many photos and scouting experiences - another score for Troop 162.