Early morning hike up to the Pass Mountain summit above the Wind Cave. Too many people, especially for a Monday morning. From 5:30am to 8:30am, I saw 23 people and two dogs. But, most of them turned around at the Wind Cave so I had the peak to myself while I was up there.

Note: Just off the route about halfway from the WC up to the peak, there is a GINORMOUS bee hive in a gap between two rocks. I heard this weird sound that I thought was wind through the rocks. Searching for the source, I stepped into a vertical crevice and leaning in further to see in the dark gap, I suddenly realized what it was and I just froze. It was the biggest mass of bee bodies I've ever seen in person and my face was less than an arm's length away from this nightmare. I thought I was gonna die for sure. Almost to the top on a steep, rocky incline, there was nowhere to run or hide, so I backed away real slow holding my breath until I was back at the trail. Since they didn't follow me, I went on up to the top. You'd think I'd be freaked out enough (or, smart enough) to just go home, rather than push my luck by hanging around right above them. I think I must have used up one of my nine lives on that one, especially after reading some earlier trip logs about people getting stung. The Wind Cave has always been a mecca for bees, so use caution up there.