Last weekend I rediscovered the joys of winter hiking in the Black Hills. In recent years, I’ve gotten a bit lazy and spent most of my winter time walking around Rapid City or sometimes venturing up Dinosaur Hill.

But really, the dead of winter is a great time to hike. And depending on where you go in the Black Hills, you don’t necessarily need cross country skis or snowshoes or other gear. (A warm coat, however, is important.) Besides, even in the dead of winter the Black Hills can be pretty nice.

And because the creeks are frozen over, you can hike paths not available in the summer. You can march right up the middle of a frozen waterway, instead of the more circuitous summer routes over rocks and trees. Of course, if you hear a popping sound it might be time to get back on the banks.

The ice has this fluid, melted candle-wax look to it as it flow over rocks and across flat spots.

On the day after Christmas, I grabbed the dogs and headed to the Centennial Trail just downstream from Sheridan Lake. By the time we got to the trailhead, it was snowing hard. The dogs plunged happily ahead. They stumbled on the ice, nosed the snow for hidden mice. I followed along behind them. It was so quiet; I could almost hear the snow falling.