Foggy Trail to Black Elk Peak, Black Hills, South Dakota
Taken July 2019
Black Elk Peak, formerly named Harney Peak, rises to 7,244 feet in South Dakota's Black Hills, making it the highest natural point in the state and in the United States east of the Rockies. The summit trail climbs through stands of ponderosa pine, birch, and spruce before reaching a stone lookout tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The peak carries deep spiritual meaning for the Lakota people, tied to Black Elk's recorded vision of the mountain as the center of the world. It sits within Custer State Park and the Black Elk Wilderness, drawing hikers year-round on a route that gains roughly 1,100 feet over its final approach.
Taken July 2019
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