Category: gallery-outdoors

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Crow Peak Wildfire

Crews continue to battle a fire started on Crow Peak near Spearfish last Friday. An estimated 1,000 acres have burned and the blaze is still uncontained. The lightning-caused fire is largely fueled by pockets of dead ponderosa pine brought down by pine beetles. Abnormally dry and warm spring and summer weather has also been a factor.

Crow Peak is a favorite of local hiking enthusiasts. The summit provides an expansive view of the Black Hills, Montana and West River’s plains and Wyoming’s Bearlodge Mountains.

Photos by John Mitchell.

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More from Poinsett Summers

Our May/June issue includes a feature on Lake Poinsett, where well-known photographer Greg Latza and his family are the newest residents of a lake community that has attracted people to its shore for centuries. Latza sent us several beautiful photos taken the last few summers. We couldn’t use them all, so here are some that didn’t make the magazine.

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Reaching for New Heights

Mark Rafferty is a young rock climber, photographer and artist from Rapid City. Last November, serious injuries from a 40-foot fall near Tucson sidelined the teen, but he returned to climbing this spring. Here are some recent photos from his climbs in the Black Hills. See more of his work and follow his blog at www.markcrafferty.com.

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Spring Branding in Gregory County

Branding season is in full swing across South Dakota’s colorful cattle country. Family and neighbors gather to”work the cattle,” which includes not just the brand but vaccinations, castration and anything else that may need attention. The work is done amidst the soulful background bawling of momma cows who are temporarily separated from their babies. Here are some photos from the Sutton Ranch, northwest of Bonesteel in the beautiful breaks of the Missouri River in Gregory County. Photos by Bernie and Katie Hunhoff.

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A Treacherous Trek

The Community Caves of Spearfish Canyon are among the best-kept secrets in the Northern Hills, probably because they are so difficult to reach. The hike is just a half-mile, but it is nearly vertical and the path is strewn with rocks shed from the canyon. Bonny Fleming shared these photos from a recent visit with the Black Hills Photography Club.”Freshly fallen snow and a layer of ice made the hike rather hairy. I think it’s safe to say that no one escaped without at least one slip or slide,” Fleming says.

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Spearfish Canyon in Winter

Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway ranks among the most beautiful 20-mile stretches in the USA. The route is a wildly popular fall foliage drive, but its white landscapes in winter are lovely, as well. Next to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, it may be the most photographed place in the Black Hills. Photos by John Mitchell.

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Mount Moriah Winter

Mount Moriah Cemetery, named for the land in Genesis 22, looms directly over Deadwood. Scores of the poor and nameless lie unremembered in pauper’s graves, but most tourists come to read the stones of colorful Deadwood characters like Seth Bullock, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. In winter visitors are few and deer feel free to roam and rest there. Photos by John Mitchell.