Crook County High Point Trip Report

Cement Ridge (6,674 ft)

Date: April 26, 1998
Author: Dave Covill

We journeyed north Saturday evening from the Denver area to Newcastle WY. Mid-day we headed for the Crook county WY HP, Cement Ridge. Crook was better, lower and further out from the center of the Black Hills. From Savoy on US 14a we took a good gravel road past campgrounds, along the south-facing slope of an E-W valley.

Got out at saddle on Cement Ridge, turned SE and hiked up shortest line to HP near SD border, straight up a NW slope a half mile. Bad idea, tons of snow, postholing, major bummer. We skirted the summit to the west and came up the SW shoulder, much nicer.

Summit was nice, wooded. We left a small cairn, descended to the west on relatively clear ground and hiked back up the road to the saddle. Then we drove to the lookout tower on Cement Ridge a mile west, 40' lower. Nice view of Wyoming.