Keep Out

July 2, 2023

Private: Keep Out

Good weather today. Sunny and warm. I think on the Mickelson trail the high temperature was 78 or 79. There’s a lot of shade on the Mickelson Trail. There was a brief rain when a storm moved across the sky. Luckily, I was in a small shelter that they have scattered along the trail. I waited it out for about a half hour or 45 minutes.

Then I continued on to Custer South Dakota. The storm stayed at my back, but the thunder sounded pretty threatening. When I got to my campground, I set up my tent first thing just in case but the skies cleared and it has not rained since.

I must say my initial impression of this trail when planning this trip was that it would be fairly flat since it is a rail trail. Most rail trails aren’t any steeper than three or 3 1/2%. Other than my mistake taking the wrong trail yesterday and winding up walking up at 17% grade, this trail has not been any steeper than 3 1/2. However, from deadwood to Custer, there are three peaks that you have to climb. they are each 5500 feet in elevation or higher. The highest was 6100 feet. The trail is packed quite firmly at its base but there is loose stone dust or ground stone on the surface that sometimes is pretty thick. With my 115 pound bike in 2 1/2 inch tires it made for slow going. Sometimes it felt like I was riding in sand.

I was quite impressed with the bridges that were on the upper half of the trail. They were very smooth and well-built. There was no bumps or jostling at all. This is pretty rare for rail trail and I give them an A+. However, the second half of the trail had some pretty rough Bridges. I would rate these as the worst I’ve ever been on on any rail trail I’ve traveled.

The scenery is fairly diverse. At times you’re going through narrow gorges with rocky cliffs, at other times you’re going through rolling pastures and cattle land. There are old and even new mining operations scattered about. I am sure if one is willing to explore on foot one could find some very interesting mining site. There are a number of gates that must be opened and closed as most of the property on either side of the trail is private and they sure let you know. Cattle are still frequent here so gates are a necessity.

At one point on the trail today I could see a general store off to my left on the road that follows the trail for a good ways. I had planned on stopping here for lunch. There were a number of small bridges that were extensions of private driveways leading back up into the woods that would take me directly to the general store, just a couple hundred feet from the store. However, there were no trespassing signs everywhere. One sign indicated that you would need to use the trail head to access the road and get to the store. This was a good quarter to a half mile past where the general store sat and downhill. This would’ve meant an extra mile or a mile and a half of climbing to go to the store. Not much but every extra mile adds up. It’s pretty sad that Someone would refuse use of a 25 or 30 foot bridge just because they own it and don’t want anybody to use it. If I were the store owner, I would make a deal with someone that has one of these bridges and place of sign allowing cyclist to cross. I would imagine this would increase the revenue for the store dramatically during the summer months. Otherwise the trail is really doing little for the local economy.

Anyhow, I am staying at a campsite just north of Custer South Dakota. I called earlier today to be sure I could access the campsite from the trail and was told that I could. The path that I found leading toward the campsite also had a small private bridge and no trespassing signs. I ignored these this time. No one was out and about to say anything. The campground is a bit unusual as it sits on the side of a very steep hill. The road wanders back-and-forth across the hill in dog leg fashion with at least 300 or 400 campsites. It’s actually not a bad place to stay. Lots of shade from pine trees, a pool for the kids, and tent sites with power and water for $30. I am amazed however at the size of some of the RVs that are here. Just to get to your campsite they have an escort in a four wheeler. I am sure they have to for some of these rigs. Some have to be 40-50 feet long or longer. I even got escorted to my tent site. I felt very special.

Just north of the campsite is the crazy horse monument that has been under construction since 1948. You can just barely see it from the bike trail as there is a hill that obscures most of the view. There’s really no easy way to get to the monument from the trail as you would need to take a single track through pasture land to get to the main road the. To the front gate. Anyway, at this point, I was being chased by thunder and lightning so I kept going to the campsite.

The hills here are called the Black Hills. I was reading a placard that said the Indians had named it the Black Hills because they appear to be black due to the many pine trees. I think this is incorrect. I believe they called the Black Hills because it is quite rocky and the rocks here are almost black in color. I’m not sure if they are volcanic in nature or not. They appear to be shale and very loose and crumbling. But they certainly are black.

From here, I head up to Rapid City, where I have an offer from a WarmShowers host. Hopefully the weather will hold. It’s only 41 miles but I believe I am in for many many hills.

PS: Trains for Frank.

PPS: I got chased away from the trains. Seems you can only look from a distance. What a shame. Too many F-ing rules. I only wanted pics. Signs, Signs,everywhere Signs. Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind. ……...you sang that, didn’t you.

PPPS: Clunk the knee prosthesis is making some noise lately but not hurting. My butt still hurts.

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 1,468 miles (2,363 km)

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