Crazy Horse Volksmarch 2019

Every summer I travel to the Black Hills of South Dakota to visit family.  Although these visits usually coincide with Labor Day, this year I made the trip in early June.  The main reason for the change?  The Crazy Horse Volksmarch is always held the first weekend of June and after participating nine years ago, I wanted to walk it again.

My family, ready to walk!

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain near Custer, South Dakota that is being carved into the likeness of Crazy Horse, a famous Oglala Lakota warrior.  The work started in 1948, and due to the finished sculpture's colossal size, is far from completion.  When it is finished, Crazy Horse Memorial will be the world's second largest sculpture.

Follow the sign

Due to extensive construction work involving blasting rock, the mountain is off-limits.  The sculpture-in-progress can be viewed from the visitor center, a safe distance away.  But twice a year the Crazy Horse Memorial suspends work and holds a weekend volksmarch, allowing the public access to the mountain's very top.

The walk began in lovely pine woods

Hoping for some company, I recruited two of my brothers and young nephew.  My parents normally participate in the volksmarch every year, but this time my mom was recovering from an illness.  Although also under the weather, but not wanting to miss out, at the last minute my dad decided to join in the fun.

My nephew found the checkpoint sign

It was a gorgeous blue-sky South Dakota morning as my youngest brother pulled his pickup into the parking area designated for volksmarchers.  After everyone had applied sunscreen and visited the port-o-potty, we paid our 3 bucks each and picked up our checkpoint cards.  The walk had four checkpoints along it's route, and walkers were required to have their card stamped at each one.

Helpful Cub Scouts stamped our cards

Our walk began in the shade of some lovely pine woods.  Following a rough trail my family and I wound up and down a few short hills.  No real views of the mountain yet, but the scenery was pleasant and the temperature perfect.

Following a haul road

Before we knew it we came upon the first checkpoint, manned by a troop of enthusiastic Cub Scouts.  The boys happily stamped our cards, and we continued on.

Our first glimpse of Crazy Horse Mountain

After crossing a boggy area, walkers were directed onto a gravel haul road.  My family and I traversed another steep hill, and then came out into an open area.  Up ahead I caught glimpses of the famous mountain.  Another bend in the road and it was front and center.

A model of the finished sculpture

After nine years, I expected to see dramatic changes to the mountain, but it looked about the same.  The face was complete (it was finished in 1998), a large hole blasted under where the arm will be, and an outline of the horse's head painted on the granite.  But the sculpture is so big that even though large amounts of rock are removed from the mountain's face every year, progress is hard to measure visually.

Passing by the final checkpoint

The volksmarch route passed by an area where some of the construction vehicles were parked, which gained my nephew's full attention (he loves big trucks).

Climbing a long hill

Taking a short break in the shade of a bank of stadium lights (the memorial offers laser light shows in the summer months) I made sure my dad drank water and had a snack.  Although he was holding up much better than expected, I was still worried about him hiking while recovering from an illness.  (He's over 80 - but is in such great shape you wouldn't know it!)

The face comes into view

Passing by checkpoints 2 and 3, participants received more enthusiastic Cub Scout greetings.  One checkpoint offered port-o-potties, and another had set up a snack booth raising funds for a different local Cub Scout troop.

Family photo op

By the time we reached checkpoint 4, Crazy Horse's face dominated the skyline.  It didn't look far now.  But this final stretch was a steep, gravel road that was mostly in the sun.  Now nearly midday, it was getting hot.  I worried that this hot climb would be too much for my dad.

Amazing detail in the eyes

But dad was determined to make it all the way.  We walked slowly, and I encouraged him to stop and rest whenever he needed to.  There were a few small patches of shade, and our group paused at each one to give dad a breather.  My dad did wonderfully, never complained, and was enthusiastic the entire time.  Also a trooper, my young nephew, who had just completed 1st grade, made the entire climb without so much as a peep. 

View from the top

Finally, the side of the face came into view.  Rounding the corner, I stepped out onto the top of Crazy Horses's arm.  What a view!  The enormous carved face rose before me, 87 feet 6 inches in height.  On either side, the forested slopes of the Black Hills stretched away for miles.

Passing by the armpit

I was surprised to see the mountaintop wasn't packed with people as it was on my previous volksmarch nine years ago.  There was ample room to wander around and take in the sights without fighting for space.  My family even got a group photo unobstructed by other people.  Maybe because we hiked on Sunday of the two-day event?  Whatever the reason, I was happy for the smaller crowds.

Father and son heading down

My family spent a good twenty minutes on the summit, gazing in awe at the intricately detailed face (the eyes were amazing!), taking in the expansive views, and listening to a few of the workers stationed on top chat with volksmarchers.  Then, seeing thunderheads billowing in the distance, we decided it was time to get off the mountain.

One final close-up

After descending on the gravel haul road, our route diverged from the folks still climbing and followed a different path to the parking lot.  We passed by a shallow ditch full of croaking frogs (which my nephew tried in vain to locate).  Looking behind gave another perspective of the mountain, rising above huge piles of crushed rock blasted from it's slopes.

Lots of rock and equipment below

Although the volksmarch was billed as a 10 kilometer distance (6.2 miles) when we reached the parking lot my brother's gps watch only recorded 4.5 miles.  Having completed lots of hikes recently, it didn't seem like 6 miles to me either.  No matter, it was more than enough for my dad who weathered the walk in good spirits, and was now ready for some lunch in nearby Hill City.

Thunderheads gathering

A great way to spend time with my family, hike No. 23 of my #52hikechallenge was especially memorable.

The blog post about my 2010 Crazy Horse Volksmarch can be found here.

To learn more about the Crazy Horse Memorial visit their excellent website: https://crazyhorsememorial.org/, or click on this link.