Proposed Route

I looked at the map and came up with something. There is supposed to be a Trail Head right by Mount Rushmore, which I thought would be a good place to start. From there it should be a short hike into the Black Elk Wilderness. We can either stop there for dinner or push on a little farther. In the wilderness (see map below) we can go a number of differnt ways but I picked a route that takes to Cathedral Spires, which is just outside the wilderness, then north to Harney Peak. After that we keep heading north to loop back to the Centennial Trail.

I figure we can probably get through most or all of the Black Elk Wilderness in 1 day, depending on how ambitious we are. After the Wilderness, we'll keeping heading North on the Centennial Trail. There are a couple good stopping points, again depending on how ambitious we are (see map below). The first is Sheridan Lake Rec Area, about 10 miles North of Black Elk Wilderness. The second is Pactola Reservoir Rec Area, about 10 - 15 miles North of Sheridan Lake. (These 2 areas are in the red insert boxes in the map). If we do a little on Thursday then follow 15 miles a day we should be able to do all of it. If we follow our pace from last year we'll be lucky to get through the Black Elk Wilderness. So it depends on how much BSing we want to do. Let me know what you guys think.

To see more maps and info http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills/maps/index.shtml