Taking Advantage of the Crazy South Dakota Winter
February 8, 2012 10:50 AM
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“How ‘bout that weather?” Lately, almost every conversation I’ve had or heard has included a discussion about the crazy South Dakota winter we’re having. The old adage, “If you don’t like the weather wait five minutes, it’ll change,” has been proven true once again. Whether you’re a snow lover or part of the crowd that wishes is could be 70-degrees and blue skies every day, hopefully you’ve been taking advantage of the weather to have a few adventures.
Without the snow and our usual winter fun, the mood around our house was beginning to get a little bleak. Finally we decided that if it’s going to look like summer, we’re going to treat it as such. We have what I jokingly refer to as “Our Black Hills Bucket List.” It’s a list of all the adventures we want to check out and haven’t gotten to yet. Most of these are summer activities but with the sunshine and 50-degree temps this past weekend we figured it was the perfect opportunity to check one off.
Our adventure took us to a place of some mystery and much local lore, Hippie Hole and Big Falls. Even though we weren’t going to get any swimming or cliff jumping in it seemed like a fun hike and we figured we’d probably have the place to ourselves. The directions we had were vague so we opted to use a geocache with a similar name help us get there. Using the vague directions, the GPS and some intuition we bounced down a few Forest Service roads until we arrived at a well-used turn around with the words “Hippie Ville” colorfully painted in large letters on a nearby boulder. We took this as a hint, shouldered our packs and started hiking.
Our three dogs raced down the steep but scenic trail, tails wagging with the excitement of being in the woods. Mica-flecked granite, sparking icy drainages, and imagination-sparking caves filled our views. The trail led us deep into sun choked canyon of Battle Creek where we followed the winding stream down towards the waterfall and pool. The closer we got to the pool, the smoother the rock became, making it apparent Mother Nature’s been working at creating Big Falls for a long time.
Suddenly, the trail dropped away, the gurgle of the ice crusted stream turned to a dull roar and the canyon widened. The granite-rimmed pool was a perfect ice skating rink, save for the hole where the falls crashed through. We scrambled high and low, searching for a passage below but found ourselves cliffed out. A large rope reached towards the pool below but led into the icy depths of the pool. The 50-degree sunshine and bone-chilling water persuaded us to wait for another day.
With nowhere to go but up, we meandered our way out of the canyon. The sun warmed our backs and layers were quickly shed. By the time we reached the top, I was wishing for a t-shirt and shorts. It seemed that the weather knew we were at Hippie Hole, even if it was February in South Dakota. It was a perfect weekend for making the most of our crazy winter and checking another adventure off the list.
Getting There: From Highway 16, head south on South Rockerville Road. Turn left on to Foster Gulch Road (Forest Service Road 372.1) and follow the road until you reach the fork in the road where it splits with Deadman Gulch Road. Stay right on Foster Gulch Road. You will drive past three more Forest Service two-tracks before coming to Forest Service Road 372.1E, turn right onto this road and follow it down to a turnaround. Park here and look for the obvious trail headed downhill. Once you reach the creek, just keep heading downstream until you reach Big Falls and Hippie Hole.
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