Birds singing woke me up at 4:42am to another nice morning. Finished up report and packed up. At 6:10am, I stopped to eat breakfast: Kipper Snacks, Pop Tarts, and a PowerBar. Left Harrison's park at 7:25am, heading south to Rea's, for a cup of coffee. The coffee maker had just finished brewing when I got there. Now I'm ready to go.
Cleared Harrison's city limit's at 7:40am, going north on Monroe Canyon Road. It was partly cloudy with a gentle west wind. Going through Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Management Area was very "downhill". My coasting on pavement ended at 8:46am - onto gravel, later dirt. The dirt roads were actually easier than the gravel.
At 9:00am, I turned left onto Schnurr Road, passing "Coffee 3" Ranch. Stopped for a break at 9:30am, eating the pack of Sugar Babies I'd bought yesterday. I'm avoiding ginger snaps because of my broken tooth. Sugar Babies should probably be on that avoid-list also.
At 11:48am, I crossed into Wyoming, since access to this tri-point is from the southwest. Following directions from Jack Parsell's book, I passed the Tollman Ranch and turned north to the Jordan Ranch, arriving at 12:59pm. Stopped at the house there, and received permission to continue on through the fields to the tri-point. Headed off uphill to what I thought was the tri-point monument, but that was a water tank. Checked the GPS's and saw I needed to go east. After walking the bike through a cactus-filled field, I arrived at Tri-point #11 (WY-SD-NE) at 1:54pm. Took pictures and signed the register. Ate a PowerBar while I decided which direction to go from here.
My devised-at-home plan had me going southeast through the Oglala National Grassland. Common sense said back-track on the roads. The fellow at Jordan Ranch thought going east from the tri-point would be difficult, due to Indian Creek, which would have to be crossed. However, he did think there was a way going through South Dakota. One thing I hadn't counted on was the fence between Wyoming and the park. I hate backtracking. I unloaded the bike, and threw everything over the fence, into Oglala National Grassland. Getting myself over there was going to be the most difficult part, until I realized I could slip between the fence posts on the Nebraska side.
Started walking the bike at 2:45pm. Came to the path I'd seen on Google Earth back home. It's just a cow path! Followed it for a while, then took off across the field more in-line with the direction I was heading (the through-South Dakota route). Got to a vehicle path I could ride on at 3:08pm, but then discovered the front tire was flat. Continued walking the bike - it didn't seem to be hurting the tire any. The road kind of disappeared, but I headed for the gate ahead (which was a mile southeast of the tri-point). Found the gate locked. I got back on a cow path going south. This was close to Indian Creek, and led to a dry spot where I was able to cross (at 3:52pm).
At 4:10pm, I crossed Grassland Road 932, but didn't know it at the time. It would have saved me some walking. I continued going south (uphill), then east, until I was finally on Grassland Road 916 (at 4:48pm). This road looked almost rideable, so I stopped to fix the front tire. First I spent a lot of time pulling cactus needles out of both tires, then I replaced the front tube. Ate a bag of peanuts and was on my way at 6:35pm.
My hope was to camp tonight at Toadstool Geologic Park - still over twenty miles away. Continued on Grassland Road 916, meeting up with Indian Creek Road at 7:00pm. Rode it southeast to Edgemont Road, where I turned south at 8:27pm. Went two miles, then turned east on Montrose Road. Toadstool was still twenty-two miles away and the sun had set. Decided I'd better go for the grassland's "Dispersed Camping" option. The map indicated a spot ahead: Grassland Road 959. Probably next to those hills I see ahead. I didn't find a road marker, but believe I'm close. Surrounded by hills - this is nice. Got the tent up and loaded with the gear by 9:35pm. Worked some on the report, then went to sleep.
