Dark Canyon
Is The Best Walk in South Dakota’s Black Hills?
I started with a map from the rental car service which clearly differentiated the Black Hills areas from the Plains. The perfect area would be a spot that I could get to quickly and have enough time for a good walk. This would have to occur after work and before darkness set in. I picked Thunderhead Falls, a tourist attraction in the town of Hisega. Hisega is on Route 44 just outside Rapid City and just inside the Hills. So after work the first day, I was on my way.
I found Thunderhead Falls was well marked and easy to get to, but it was closed. From what I could see, this place was too bounded by private property for a good walk. I walked for a while longer and then went on to find another spot. On my drive out I remembered seeing a very scenic spot off of Route 44, so I drove in that direction. When I saw the scenic area again, I turned onto a dirt road bearing the name “Falling Rock Road”. The road had a couple of turn around areas which would make a good spot to leave the car. I stopped at the second one and took a path leading into the woods.
The path took me up a slight incline but for the most part I was walking in a straight line. In less than five, I was walking up a small hill. At the top was a memorial to a child who had died here. From there I looked around and there it was – a magnificent canyon. It was picture perfect with steep cliffs, a river running through it (Rapid Creek), and various shades of green in every direction. Noticing the time was about 7:30pm, I wondered how much the day’s earlier sunshine added to the beauty. I maneuvered around to different vantage points and could see that on one side it was a long straight drop. Instinctively, I looked back at the memorial.
I thought about following Falling Rock Road for a while, but it would be dark soon and I was alone – I didn’t even see another hiker. During the drive back to town a plan was starting to form. I would return to this spot, go down into the valley and spend a few hours hiking through it. But unfortunately, my job situation didn’t allow me the time.
That night I did several internet searches to find out more about the area I was at. “Dark Canyon” came up a couple of times, but it was inconclusive. The next day I was able to check with a couple of Rapid City “old timers” and get a confirmation – I was definitely at Dark Canyon! I also learned that a few years back there was a party there and it became somewhat out of control, resulting in… the memorial. What I found intriguing was that there were few who knew of the canyon by name or location. However, one of the outdoors men explained it to me: “The scenery you saw is all through The Black Hills. You don’t need a map or directions to find it. There are canyons, cliffs, and waterfalls in every direction. You only saw a tiny fraction of what’s out there.” His last sentence resonated with me because I now know The Best Walk is out there – somewhere.
Filed under: South Dakota on June 3rd, 2007 | No Comments »
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As I thought back to when my enjoyment of walking began, I came to the conclusion that it started during my childhood. My favorite walk would take me to a small lake that had formed in the shape of a bell (”Bell” Lake). With a muddy bottom, weeds, etc. it was not a swimming lake. Rather, it was more of an over sized pond providing scenery for nearby residents and recreation for kids. I was between the age of 9 and 12 at the time and I remember Woodbury (N.J.) as a small city with its uptown section connecting to the uptown sections of other cities. It seemed that you could travel across the entire state and stay uptown. But as a child, that was not where the action was. (Not yet.) Bell Lake was in another direction and everything a child would want or need could be found right there. If you weren’t at school, you were at the lake! You could go fishing, ride a raft, cut down trees, hunt turtles, bike ride through the woods, skip rocks, or just hang out. A typical day started early and stopped around dinner time. Here’s some reasons why Bell Lake was special: 
One end of the lake an overflow system formed a small waterfall which flowed into a second basin. On the lake’s other side a stream flowing into the lake. That stream flowed through a pipe large enough to enter. There was water in the pipe but only the bottom. By stretching our legs out above the waterline, we could walk into the pipe. But a walk into the pipe was done reluctantly. It was dark and inhabited by rats as evidenced by the activity just outside the pipe. (Rats Swimming) There were two rules to pipe walking: travel in groups and bring flashlights.It took about 20 minutes to go from beginning to end. The pipe went under a set of apartments and a parking lot then ended at another stream. Except for the flashlight held by the “point man”, most of through of the journey was spent in darkness. There were strange sounds from inside the pipe which we assumed to be rats. Once we came across a couple of bats which offered another explanation for the noises. When we reached the other end, we would take a vote to decide on returning through the pipe or walk around it. On one trip we encountered another group of pipe walkers coming right at us. After some discussion, we figured out how they could climb around us so that neither group had to change directions. As an initiation to Bell Lake, newcomers were challenged to pipe walk with us. 
Bell Lake’s second basin was surrounded by woods. On one side there was a peninsula know as “The Point”. The Point was the best spot to fish and to find turtles. Overgrowth of sticker bushes and vines made getting to The Point tough, but it was worth it. One day buried in the bush we found raft complete with a pole. We gathered our fishing gear and launched the raft. Forgetting about fishing, we traveled to parts of the basin we didn’t even know about. There were no canoes or power boats out there – we had the lake to ourselves! At the end of the day we found a new hiding spot for the raft - after all, the raft was now ours. To our dismay the raft was not there when we returned. After a couple of hours of searching, we found it hidden in another spot. This business of finding the raft, using it, then hiding it continued all summer.There is no doubt that we spent more time walking around looking for the raft than we did riding it.
More times than we expect, great walks occur spontaneously. This was the case last October. While staying in St. Petersburg, we found ourselves wide awake before sunrise and decided to walk along the beach. Because of the darkness, I debated whether to bring a camera. We decided to have a cup of coffee and wait for the sunrise to start. Then we would go with the camera.
We left our hotel room, walked across a small boardwalk, and entered the beach area. The visibility wasn’t the best, but seeing that the sun was rising was encouraging. We took a right with the Golf of Mexico on our left. The water’s edge is flatter and firmer, its easier to walk there. For those reasons we stayed near the water, and it allowed us to splash our feet in the water! Two things were immediately noticed: 1.) We were the only humans on the beach and 2.) There was an incredible amount of bird activity. They were busy and noisy. We could only assume that these birds woke up pretty hungry. As with most beaches, the majority of the birds were Seagulls but we found the Pelicans more interesting because of their fish catching ability.
Looking back at the sun’s position, we could see that the view of the sunrise through the palm trees was a beautiful site. Looking towards the Gulf, the sky and the water seemed to be changing color as the amount of light increased. We could see that the rocks in the jetties were now taking form and battle over perching positions was raging on one rock. Up ahead we could see that the beach line would be taking a turn to the right allowing for an inlet. We decided that the inlet would make a good place to turn around.
As we arrived at the inlet, we noticed that at its mouth there were more Pelicans – and they also seemed to be having a good breakfast. A couple of Seagulls approached, but they were no match for the Pelicans who promptly chased them away. We had walked for quite a while but the sun was in no hurry. The daylight was still dim, but for us it was just right. We were enjoying what we might be The Best we’ve taken in Florida.
As we headed back, we suddenly saw a number of Dolphins in the water. They were moving fast in every direction. We assumed they were also getting breakfast. Trying to get a picture of them was difficult. As soon as the camera was pointed at one it would dive into the water. Without exaggeration, there must have been thirty of forty Dolphins. I caught a picture of two. The Dolphin activity continued as the sun began to rise at a faster pace. We were now no longer alone on the beach. Others were walking and seemed to enjoying the scenery as much as we were. Before long we were approaching the boardwalk taking us back to the room.
About an hour later we went to breakfast with the others we were vacationing with and talked about the walk we took. They promptly asked if they could join us the next morning. We did enjoy another walk along the same route, but it was the first spur-of-the-moment walk that is best remembered.
Until recently my walking experiences in Philadelphia have been limited to sidewalks taking me through the different sections of urban landscape. But that was before I learned about the Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park System which has over 200 miles of scenic, recreation trails and includes all the city’s parks. My daughter lives in Philadelphia and during our visits we started walking a couple of trails along the Schuylkill River: The Loop and the Water Works. Then recently we discovered the Wissahickon Valley Park. For a wedding location, my daughter chose the Valley Green Inn which is in the Chestnut Hill Section of Philadelphia and in the Wissahickon Valley. During our previous visits to the Valley Green Inn we noticed the abundance of scenery and walking trails just outside the inn. That trip didn’t allow enough time for walking, but I did read about what was there. What was most intriguing was that so many consider this Philadelphia’s best walking area. So my next goal was to see for myself. Well, last week her wedding brought us to the Chestnut Hill section and the day before the wedding there was enough free time for my sons and I to explore the Wissahickon Valley trails. 
To begin our walk we drove to the Valley Green Inn, chose the path to the left bearing the name “Forbidden Drive” and started walking. (Forbidden Drive is only forbidden to motorized vehicles.) Although one can walk, jog, bicycle, or horseback ride on this trail, we saw mostly other walkers. To our left the creek was in constant view. Off of this trail there are other smaller trails to follow which are good for hiking and lead to higher elevations. We also saw evidence of mountain biking - but none passed us. After a while we followed a trail back to Forbidden Drive. From 
there we walked back past the Valley Green Inn and about a mile down we came upon a covered bridge on our right. We learned that this is the “Thomas Mill Bridge” which is the only historic covered bridge still standing within the corporate limits of Philadelphia. Only foot traffic may pass through the bridge. We walked through the bridge then turned around and started the walk back. Looking back we noticed that the bridge has unusual sawtooth decorations along the roof line. We stopped a couple of times to get closer to the creek and to photograph a Heron.
At this point I was very impressed with the area. The walking areas had good variety and there was great scenery everywhere. Also, the people we passed were friendly. Everyone we saw smile and said “good morning”. Another point was that was absolutely no litter to be found - none! It seemed impossible that to be in such a country type environment and still be in the city. But was this The Best Walk in Philadelphia? At this point I wanted to see a bit more before I was 100% sure. It would take one more walk to convince me.
I decided to walk to the uptown Chestnut Hill area then start walking towards the creek. I would take a number of random residential streets to get a good view of the German influenced architecture in this area while heading in the general direction of the creek. In less time than I expected I had seen a number of very impressive houses and was walking past a series of dead end streets. I took that as a sign that the creek or at least the park must be nearby. It was. The next street over brought me to the entry path. I spoke to an outbound hiker who confirmed that the creek was ahead. He also volunteered that this was The Best Walk in Philadelphia.
Within ten minutes the elevation began to rise and I found myself on a ridge looking down at a stream. This section was extremely scenic! I followed that trail until it intersected another trail which I could see it lead to the creek. As I walked up to the creek I could see a couple of kids fishing on the other side. I followed the path which took me through a number of turns and climbs. There were other streams entering into the river with a couple of them displaying a small waterfall. Most of the streams had paths running beside them. As I stopped a few times to catch a closer view of the creek, I noticed there were a few large trees uprooted. Some time later the trail led me to a street. (This wasn’t the same spot where I entered.) On the other side of the street was a parking area for trail users. I crossed the street and asked directions for the way back to Chestnut Hill.
The other day I was searching for songs about walking to see if the lyrics would be worth writing about. I was looking for a song that would provide motivation to walk at a specific location. When “Walking in Memphis” popped up I immediately recalled the song’s sound. Although the lyrics are loaded with fantasies, I thing the song may inspire a few to visit Memphis. As a matter of fact, I know I would like to go to Memphis, see a few blues shows, and go for a long walk around the city. Since I’ve never been to Memphis, it’s hard to say if The Best Walk could be found there, but please feel free to comment if you have been there!
