Out and About on the Mickelson Trail

Railroad enthusiasts know that the maximum grade for trains is about 3 percent and since the Mickelson Trail is a rails to trails route we knew that we'd be facing long steady climbs as we headed north out of Edgemont. And the trail lived up to that expectation. Coming from Colorado where folks brag about climbing mountain passes topping out at 10-12 thousand feet you'd think a miniscule 3% grade would hardly be even noticeable. And it wasn't for the first 10 or 20 miles. Past that the relentless nature of the continual climb up towards Custer slowly said "Hello!" and what with the 95 degree heat we were mighty glad to finally catch a short descent into Custer and the "Mile High Motel" which was home for the night. We like Custer a lot having visited several times before but the journey in via the Mickelson Trail was a first for us.

Folks say the Edgemont to Custer segment is perhaps the least scenic of the route but the first 16 miles climbing through Sheep Canyon was as pretty as anywhere we've ridden. The trailheads are scattered every 10-20 miles and are a welcome place to find water and restrooms as well as some welcome shade in the trailside shelters. Even though we were starting out on a Saturday we saw very few other cyclists in the 44 miles to Custer.

This morning we mounted up and headed over the hill from Custer to Hill City. This was a short day for us of only 15 miles which was fine as our legs and behinds were a little tender from yesterday's ride. Tomorrow we'll be out at the crack of dawn for the 50 miles to Deadwood which is the trail's northern end. There we'll turn around and repeat as we head back to Edgemont. There is limited camping along the trail and the motels are in the towns so there doesn't seem to be a good way to split the ride into true thirds so whenever we see a short day we know a long day is soon to follow.

The climb out of Custer is beautiful as it wanders through mountain meadows, pine forest, and stunning rock formations. Half of the distance to Hill City is climbing but at the top you are rewarded with a view of the Crazy Horse Memorial off to the right. From a distance the head and face is quite distinctive but the rest of the monument - the torso and horse - seem to have not progressed much in the last decade but that doesn't seem to deter the steady stream of cars headed up to see what there is to see. In all fairness there is an impressive museum and visitors center that is worth half a day if you're in the area but today we were looking forward to the 7 mile not-much-need-to-pedal descent so decided to save a revisit to the monument for another day.

Hill City, like Custer and the other towns in the Black Hills, is all about the tourists. Sophie has a special tie to Hill City as she has a teddy bear on display at the "World Famous", "Guiness Book of World Record-holding" Teddy Bear Museum. Of course, so do more than 10,000 other folks who have donated their own special teddy bear over the years. The stories behind some of the bears will likely bring you to tears so bring a hanky just in case. There's also a very talented chainsaw log carver who turns out carved bears, buffalo, mutant ninja turtles, and all sorts of other wooden critters while you watch. Sophie and I of course had more pressing business to attend to which is why I sit here lounging by the pool drinking lemonade and writing this blog.