Climbing Bear Butte -Sturgis South Dakota
This ancient mountain was formed by magma rising to the earth's crust and cooling forming the Bear shaped dome. It was covered with pine trees until 1996 when a fire broke out and burned over 800 acres of the park. The local Natives believe this a sacred place, they place prayer cloths on the trees and build small piles of rocks on the summit of the mountain. It is a 1000 feet elevation gain from the trailhead. I thought the most difficult part was about 1/3 of the way up, where we decided to take the stairs instead of the longer switchbacks. There are a few places to hide in the shade as you go up they get fewer and fewer. It was 93 degrees when we started, with little to no cloud cover so, it was a scorcher. I started with a liter of water and drank the entire thing. I did it in flip flops which I don't recommend but if you watch your steps you should be fine. It took us about 3 hours round trip, we stopped and took short breaks along the way up, but not on the way down. There is an Observation deck at the top of the mountain with an amazing 360 degree view of the surrounding lands. If you're in the Sturgis or Deadwood area and looking for a little adventure, exercise and some amazing views check out Bear Butte.
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