As you approach the Black hills from the east or north, you appreciate their size.  We had climbed White Butte the previous day, so Harney Peak was much more impressive in size than anything we had seen in a couple of weeks.  Driving from Keystone, SD (actually, Spokane Creek), we came past Mt. Rushmore and caught our first glimpse of Harney.  It was obviously taller than anything around it, and it is easily identifiable by the tower on top.

We drove to the trailhead at Sylvan Lake, dodging rain as we went.  Be forewarned that if you go to Sylvan Lake, you will enter Custer State Park, and you will have to pay a hefty fee ($5.00 per person, or $12.00 per vehicle).  The trails are identified by numbers, which are etched into the trees (never seen that before).  We decided to go up trail #4, which has some nice scenic vistas, and joins with #9 just before the top.  The trail itself is fairly easy, with some limited rocky sections.  Just beyond the trailhead on #4 is an old mining cave (on the left) which has a spectacular display of clear and black mica.

Trail #4 passes through a small forest area and starts the ascent.  Most of the way up it alternates between short ascents and ridges.  It winds around, offering beautiful views of the Cathedral (shown below).  Eventually it meanders into the Black Elk Wilderness area, and joins up with trail #9.  At this point, the trail gets a little steeper and rockier, but we never found it difficult.  About 10-15 minutes of hiking and you are at the stairs (yes, stairs) leading to the summit.  You will hike through a small tunnel, and up into the observation tower.

The most difficult aspect of the hike was finding the geodetic marker.  We were not able to find one near the tower.  I spoke to another highpointer we met, and he had some info that identified 3 markers on the peak.  One was listed 5 meters from the "aircraft beacon".  There was no aircraft beacon.  About a half-hour of scrambling and I located one of the markers (shown below).  I also found the remains of what I think was the old "aircraft beacon".  Standing on the tower looking southwest, (on the platform with the tower to your back) you will see some additional ridges.  Walking through the base of the tower will put you on a trail going down.  If you walk OFF the trail to the right, you can walk around the sunken area that was used for water storage by the fire watch team.  Walk over to the other ridge, where you will encounter a tree (it may have many ribbons tied to it).  Climb up the channel, and once on top you will see the angle irons embedded in the concrete from the old aircraft beacon.  Look around the area where you came up and you will see the marker.

After a quick lunch of Deviled Ham and Kipper Snacks, we started down.  We decided to take #9 all the way down, and it was even easier than #4.  It was better than some of the local roads (IMHO).  We  made it back down in just over an hour.

A note on weather - it can change quickly up here.  The clouds started rolling in while we were on top.  We started down, and before we got to the bottom we were hearing huge thunder claps.  We passed a family that was on their way up, with no rain gear.  Hope they did OK.