March 24, 2012

We had a plan for today, but late last night on of the Calhoun teachers asked if I'd be willing to help chaperone some of their students for a day trip. The students had visited Crazy Horse High School, and the culture teacher their invited them to join his students for a religious ceremony in the black hills today. I said yes, since the chance of an opportunity like this coming along again is slim. Long story short, we followed the school bus of local students out into the black hills. Our understanding was that it was to be a two hour drive out there, a couple miles' hike to the top of a hill with a nice view, the ceremony, and hike back down. Plan was to meet the rest of the NYC students for a biology talk by the bison corrals in the park in early to mid afternoon. Well. The drive time was close, but the hiking time that I had expected was way off. We got there (“there” turned out to be Sylvan Lake, which was still covered in ice) and parked with a vast multitude of other cars and buses. We realized this was a bigger event than we had thought. After we had been doing some steady, brisk uphill hiking for a good long while, we came to an opening in the trees with a great view, and expected to be almost there. Then we overheard some Lakota people talking about the climb, and some kids pointed way off in the distance to some rocky peaks and said, “Yeah, the castle that's up there. That's where we're going.” Oh my. A very long, brisk, vertical hike later and we were standing on Harney Peak, which it turns out is the highest point between the Rockies and the Pyrenees. You can see it from inside Badlands, a good 2.5 hour drive away. The view was absolutely spectacular, the whole world spread out at your feet in all directions. There is an old fire camp building up there, which is the “castle” the kids were referring to. We got up there, rested and snacked (it was already 1pm), and listened to some native drumming and singing. Ferdinand, the driver for the Lakota students, talked with some of us a few times. He explained to me the history of this annual climb to Harney Peak. When Black Elk (a Lakota man who lived with a writer for some years to write a book which I've read, Black Elk Speaks) was 9 years old he got very sick and went into a coma. He came to Harney Peak and looked out at the view. It was beautiful there. He got better and the spirits flew him back home, but he left his spirit on Harney. When he was 67 years old he made his way back to Harney Peak to join his spirit. I asked Ferdinand if this was the start of the annual climb, and he said maybe. The reason for the climb is to welcome spring and pray for prosperity. For rains to feed the grasses. The animals eat the grasses, and live. Then we can live, too. The climb back down was taken just as briskly as the climb up. It was close to 3pm and we had a long drive ahead. We drove back to Badlands and down into the Sage Creek Wilderness, the most remote area of the park, which is where the bison herds run wild. On the way we encountered big horn sheep, pronghorns, and prairie dogs as well as many bison, some blocking the road. We camped at Sage Creek near some bison, setting up tents just as the sun set. In the process we heard a coyote calling, and many returning calls. It's beautiful there, big rolling hills tan with grasses, spotted with Junipers and Cedars, Sage Creek cutting it's way through the hills. After dinner I took a night hike with two Calhoun teachers and Sara, a park ranger. The crescent moon set, and the milky way came alive. We hiked to the top of a hill and lay there watching the stars for a while, listening to the coyotes and a nearby owl. As the night went on, the coyotes continued to be boisterous, and they sounded pretty close. It was really cool.