American Alpine Project
Ascending America's Highest Peaks to Raise Spirits Around the Globe
Harney Peak, South Dakota
Harney Peak, SD
Elevation: 7,242 ft.
Summit Attained: Late afternoon, 6/16/99
This was my second highpoint, completed two years after I summitted Humphrey's Peak, AZ. I had just completed my freshman year of high school.
Like Humphrey's, this summit was attained via a detour on one of our family trips. My mother, who was pretty stoked about my 50 summits idea, found a lodge near Harney and arranged everything so that it would be our first stop. We stayed in a rustic lodge at Sylvan Lakes Resort in Custer State Park.
June 16th was a particularly cold day for some reason, so we delayed our hike until the middle of the afternoon. Leaving the resort grounds, we walked about a mile down a dirt road to the Harney trailhead. The hike from there was relatively short and easy. Everyone summitted, including my mother, father, sister (age 9,) and brother. Josh and I were the first to reach the top, which is marked by an odd tower that looks like a misplaced lighthouse. The interior of the tower is pretty cool and, although it was foggy, the view from the top was awesome. We scrambled around on the large boulders that surround the tower for a while before heading back down the trail and road to the lodge. Round trip was about 2 hrs.
Elevation: 7,242 ft.
Summit Attained: Late afternoon, 6/16/99
This was my second highpoint, completed two years after I summitted Humphrey's Peak, AZ. I had just completed my freshman year of high school.
Like Humphrey's, this summit was attained via a detour on one of our family trips. My mother, who was pretty stoked about my 50 summits idea, found a lodge near Harney and arranged everything so that it would be our first stop. We stayed in a rustic lodge at Sylvan Lakes Resort in Custer State Park.
June 16th was a particularly cold day for some reason, so we delayed our hike until the middle of the afternoon. Leaving the resort grounds, we walked about a mile down a dirt road to the Harney trailhead. The hike from there was relatively short and easy. Everyone summitted, including my mother, father, sister (age 9,) and brother. Josh and I were the first to reach the top, which is marked by an odd tower that looks like a misplaced lighthouse. The interior of the tower is pretty cool and, although it was foggy, the view from the top was awesome. We scrambled around on the large boulders that surround the tower for a while before heading back down the trail and road to the lodge. Round trip was about 2 hrs.
