We ran across a travel story in the New York Times about hiking Harney Peak.

The writer, Stephen Regenold, captures the experience of being atop the tallest peak this side of the Rocky Mountains. (It’s 7,242 feet above sea level.) He also writes about the strange granite rock formations of Cathedral Spires and the Needles. He said they could have been drawn by Dr. Suess.

The downside, at least for Regenold and photographer T.C. Worley, is that they made the hike in May 2008, not long after the big blizzard. They had post-hole through some pretty deep snow. And they lost the trial once. The upside was that they had the trail all to themselves.

Harney Peak, when it’s not crowded, is probably the best of many good hikes in the Black Hills. It’s a day hike, and if you start out at Sylvan Lake it’s not too strenous. And the view from the top is pretty incredible. The Black Hills are like a big, lumpy green blanket spread out in all directions.