2026-06 Iceman & Camp 5, South Dakota

South Dakota June Trip Notes

June 5-8, 2026

Lee and I left Fort Collins, Colorado, on Friday, June 5, and met Darren Finger, Steve Giessler, and Steve’s granddaughter, Remi [sp?], in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Lee and I drove our green 2025 Wrangler, which has a 3.5-inch lift and 37-inch tires. Darren and Steve each drove trucks with campers and trailers carrying their trail rigs. Steve’s trail rig was a white 2006 GMC Envoy Denali with a high lift and 40-inch tires. Darren’s trail rig was a darker-colored 2005 GMC Envoy with a high lift and 37-inch tires.

During the drive north, Darren’s truck had trouble with a turbo air intake tube that lost its seal. He removed his front driver-side tire to access the area, reseated the pipe, and secured it with a new hose clamp. After the repair, we all continued north. Lee and I later split off from the group to drive Needles Highway and hike Cathedral Spires Trail. We did not meet back up with the rest of the group until the next morning. That night, Lee and I stayed in a hotel in Lead, while the rest of the group camped near the Camp 5 Trail trailhead.

The next morning, we planned to meet in Nemo before running Iceman Trail. Darren and Steve were delayed because Google Maps indicated that running portions of Camp 5 Trail on the way to Nemo would be fast enough, but it took longer than Google indicated. Once everyone met in Nemo, we continued to the Iceman trailhead and aired down.

Before reaching the official trail entrance sign, we stopped for a short hike to a cave. This was before the trail became rocky. Iceman Trail included faster, narrow sections with mud puddles and pinstriping, interrupted by sections of large rocks that required careful line selection. Everyone hit skid plates and rock rails several times, and some sections benefited from good spotting.

Iceman is an out-and-back route. At the end of the trail, we stopped to relax and eat snacks before heading back toward the trailhead. The weather was hot and slightly humid, with a light breeze. Conditions were mostly sunny with passing clouds. Overall, I thought the weather was good, although I enjoy hot weather more than some of the others.

We took time working through some sections of Iceman, but no one became stuck to the point that a winch or another vehicle was needed for recovery.

After Iceman, we decided to deviate from the original plan to run trails in the Cereal Bowl area. Everyone had enough rock crawling for the day. Instead, we took a more scenic trail up to Custer Peak and later had dinner together in Deadwood.

The next day, we ran Camp 5 Trail. The trail effectively had two paths that crossed each other multiple times. One path was an easier bypass route, or the more developed trail, although it was still challenging in sections. The harder path went primarily through a creek bed. We moved back and forth between the two options depending on how fun or challenging the creek bed looked, using opportunities to drop into it or exit back to the easier route.

I became stuck once during Camp 5, which required using the winch. While moving over rocks, the front end of the Wrangler climbed onto a rock that rolled under the tie rod and front differential. At the same time, the rear of the Wrangler became wedged against another rock. The vehicle could not move forward or backward and was essentially resting on the tie rod and front differential. I used the winch, a snatch block, and a tree to pull the rock forward and away from the vehicle, which allowed the Wrangler to move forward.

That was the only time anyone became stuck on the trail. However, one impromptu trail repair was needed later. After Camp 5, while we were on the way to check out the China Wall ruins, Steve’s muffler was damaged enough that it needed to be removed, bent back into shape, trimmed slightly, and welded back on. Steve had a mobile welding kit, so the repair was completed relatively quickly compared with how the situation could have gone.

After visiting the China Wall ruins, we again deviated from the original trail plan. After Camp 5, everyone had done enough rock crawling for the day. Instead, we decided to take it easy and tour Wonderland Cave, escaping the heat in the 47-degree cave. After the cave tour, Lee and I split off from the group again and stopped for dinner in Nemo.

On Monday, June 8, during the drive home, Lee and I also stopped at Wind Cave National Park for the Fairgrounds Cave Tour.

Overall, we deviated from the original plan and ran fewer trails than originally mapped out, but everyone seemed to have a great time and enjoyed the relaxed pace. Lee and I look forward to returning to the area to explore more off-road trails in the Black Hills.