Going on a short hike to a pretty vista point.

Today we are off to the Black Hills National Forest - Norbeck Wildlife Preserve.  The trail we are hiking is called Spoke Creek Cabin Loop according to Alltrails app but the locals call it the American Flag trailhead because there is an add on with the American Flag on top. The hike is listed as 2.7 miles and an elevation gain of 702 feet.  We took a couple of side trails that added quite a bit to the hike.  I think we added about 50 feet to the elevation and extended the mileage to just over 4 miles.  The up and down added a few "floors" to the hike.  My app shows we climbed up and down 74 floors. One of the extensions took us up to the boundary line between the national forest and Custer State Park.  We did get some great views.

The trail head starts at an private RV park.  We were able to talk to the owner and he was the person who maintains the trail markers.  He also had some very good information about the trail and how he would like to extend and develop trail extensions.  

After a lot of climbing up, we reached our first overlook.

Shawna noticed some caterpillars that had hatched out of the mass of silk bundle.

Near the top of the second mountain, we got another great view.

At the Custer State park boundary, they had an Elk jump on the fence line.

The road to the RV park and the trailhead, and beyond is very interesting and just as wild as the sign describes.

 

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When we got back to the 5th wheel, it was time for dinner. This weekend the RV park served a meal with live music. It was fun and the musicians were fantastic.