Picking Hazel up from school Thursday afternoon, I asked if she’d like to repeat a climbing route in Boulder that her mom had done when she was about her age. She agreed that she wanted to do the climb and our weekend plan was set. Friday morning we headed to Boulder and around 8 am pulled into the parking area for the Flatirons. After changing out of pajamas, Hazel was ready to make the hike into the Third Flatiron, so we set off on the heavily traveled path and were at the base of the climb by 9 am.
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| Hazel at the trailhead for the Flatirons ready to go |
I geared up with cams and a set of twin ropes - blue for Laura and red for Hazel - and climbed past a few large eye bolts before reaching a comfortable belay ledge, a rope stretching 70+ meter pitch. Laura and Hazel tied in and climbed together as they normally do as I enjoyed the views while belaying them up to me.
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| Hazel gearing up for the climb |
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| Hazel starting the climb up the Third Flatiron |
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| Hazel waiting for her mom to put away the phone |
Hazel climbed smoothly and before we knew it, we were on our third pitch and across the gulley, climbing the final slab moves to the summit of the Third Flatiron.
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| Hazel near the summit of the Third Flatiron |
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| Hazel relaxing and eating cookies on the summit |
Hazel enjoys the climbing, but I believe the belays are even more fun for her. While I climb, she loves hanging out high up on the rock faces and eating snacks while her feet dangle to the open air below.
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| Hazel having fun at a belay station |
Upon reaching the top of the flatiron, Laura and I debated our rapelling options and eventually determined that we should rappel down the standard way, in two rappels, to make sure we could pull the ropes. We set up double 70s; I went first stopping at the midpoint. Hazel and Laura repelled the entire length to the bottom while I set up the second station, which would have less drag when pulling the ropes from above us. We reached the base and hiked out at a quick pace, sometimes having to run to keep up with Hazel and arrived back at the car at 2 pm, for a six-hour car to car and a wonderful day on the rock.
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Laura and Hazel rappelling off the Third Flatiron
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We were soon headed due north and with excitement for the following days, arriving in Custer SD before 9 pm. We stayed in a hotel and after a nice breakfast, were up and making the 15-minute drive to Custer State Park. Along the way we saw deer, longhorn cows and a flock of turkeys numbering at least 75 or more along the roadside.
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| Cows |
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| Turkey crossing |
We paid our entrance fee and found a parking space at the trailhead for Black Elk Peak, South Dakota's high point. Laura, Hazel, Owl and I all set off on the 8-mile hike by 9 am and the miles began to pass smoothly. At an overlook several miles into our hike, Hazel was having a difficult time but with some water, a snack and a change to a positive attitude, things were on track again quickly. We ran ahead and scared Laura as she passed by us and played games as we hiked.
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| Hazel and Justin at the trailhead |
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| Hazel at a viewpoint with Black Elk Peak beyond |
Before we knew it we were at the summit and climbing around and exploring the amazing fire lookout tower constructed by the CCC in the 1930’s. The three of us spent a few minutes exploring the tower and escaping the wind before heading over to the actual summit and finding the USGS marker.
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| Hazel making the final steps up to the fire lookout |
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| Laura and Hazel at the lookout tower |
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| Hazel and Justin in the fire lookout |
We spent about a half hour exploring; some of the trees had flags tied to them with what appeared to be spices. We ate our snacks before heading back through the lookout tower and beginning our descent.
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| Prayer flags tied to trees |
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| USGS benchmark on the summit |
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Laura, Hazel and Owl relaxing on the summit
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| Prayer flags at the summit |
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A water catchment at the summit
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Racing down, we opted to take the route through the needles which are big rock spires and are excellent scenery. Laura commented on what appeared to be excellent rock climbing routes everywhere and we talked about how fun it would be to explore that area more. We arrived back at the car at 1PM, having hiked just over 8 miles in five hours. Hazel summitted her sixth state high point and continues to enjoy the accomplishment of climbing mountains. We’re super proud of her.
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Hazel having fun on the trail
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| A neat section of trail with a rock creating a tunnel |
After the hike, Hazel napped for an hour before exploring Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments.
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| Laura, Hazel and Justin at Mt. Rushmore |
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| Hazel ready for another day of hiking |
On our third day, we decided to explore a bit of the climbing on the spires and settled on a 5.5 climb that we thought Hazel would enjoy. After the extremely windy first pitch, we bundled Hazel up in a small cave area with our extra jackets next to the belay and I climbed the second pitch. I chose not to continue on to the summit as I was in only running sneakers and the upper slab plus high wind was not making me feel 100% secure. I opted to downclimb to the second anchor just above a feature on the route called the wormhole because you have to wiggle yourself through it. Laura climbed up high enough to retrieve the gear while chatting with Hazel on the walkie talkie as she huddled in her warm sheltered area. I lowered Laura after she cleaned the climbing gear and was soon on rappel to join them. One more rappel and we were off the rock and hiking out through the amazing spires once again.
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| All smiles as we approached the climbing area |
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| Hazel bundled up in her little cave as we waited for Justin to rappel |
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| Justin rappelling around the wormhole rather than through it |
Hazel was tired so while she slept, we drove the needles highway and woke her as we passed the corralled buffalo. Also, Laura and I swapped out and explored the Sylvan Lake area before heading back to the hotel for swimming and hot tub time.
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| Buffalo on the Needles highway |
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| One of the wild burros we passed |
On our last morning, we explored the train in the Custer city park and hiked the skyline trail to take in the views. We then went by the mammoth site in Hot Springs, SD, which was a really neat archeology site.
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| Hazel with the Chief at the start of the Skywalk trail |
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| Enjoying the train in Custer, SD |
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| Laura and Hazel at the mammoth dig site |
