After such an exhilarating entrance to South Dakota yesterday, today was ripe with potential. Some potential for greatness, some potential for disaster, but potential regardless. Last night we were having a hard enough time scrambling to find a place to sleep and stash our food that we didn’t want to deal with re-fixing Maddie’s flat. We were hoping it would be magically fixed when we awoke, but no such luck. Thus, we began our day patching her extra tubes once again, having never succeeded with a patch previously. The possibility of it going flat within a couple miles once again weighed heavily on our minds.
It took us about 3 hours to get out of camp, and most of that time was spent fixing and re-fixing her flat. We’re not the fastest at fixing flats to begin with, and after we thought we patched it up this morning it turned out we’d missed a hole, so we had to go through the entire process again. By the time we got moving it was around 10am. We were planning on going 50 miles to Mt. Rushmore. Plenty of hills awaited.
On the way out of Wind Cave National Park we saw hundreds of prairie dogs scurrying between their holes. They’re smaller than I remembered, and were making a noise I can’t recall, but I do remember it feeling like they were taunting us.
From mile 5 to mile 10 we were climbing the entire time. If you’re going to be climbing hills though, the Black Hills are where you want to do it. Our plodding pace couldn’t bring our spirits down as we biked by giant pine trees on hills that put the Pennsylvanian hills from the beginning of our trip to shame. Huge rocks jutted out amongst the trees, adding to the majestic beauty.
We arrived in the small town of Pringle at noon. I got a BLT and chocolate cake from the Hitchrail Bar and Restaurant, which clearly thought of themselves predominantly as a bar, based on the dark and gloomy aesthetic, and the massive bar lined with every alcohol imaginable. The food was pretty darn good though. After our break we passed by a giant mound of hundreds of old bicycles. They were stacked in a sort of dome shape, about 12 feet high. According to Roadside America, assemblage began in the 80s. You may wonder who would throw away a bicycle - after the frustration caused by Maddie’s tire, we do not.
We spent the next 12 miles hopping on and off the Mickelson Trail, a bike trail heading north through the Black Hills. In some parts it’s a nicely maintained crushed limestone, in others it was literally an un-rideable pile of sand. It slowed our pace, but the scenery was pretty enough that we weren’t too bothered. It’s nice to get away from the highway sometimes, if only for some peace and quiet.
We arrived in Custer and decided to rest at the Purple Pie Place. They served pie and ice cream and even sandwiches, but we stuck to the desserts. The ice cream was extremely underwhelming, as were the blackberry and cherry pies. The strawberry rhubarb was the star, making up for the other disappointments. Overall I’d give it a thumbs down, though.
While we were eating we planned out the rest of our day. Originally we wanted to reach Mt. Rushmore. However, I’d been told of an awesome hike in Custer State Park just 7.5 miles away. We decided to call an audible, and take an extra day in the Hills to do the hike.
At 7,200 feet, Black Elk Peak is the highest peak in the US east of the Rockiea. Our destination was Sylvan Lake Campground, just a half mile from the Black Elk Peak hike’s trail head. We cruised for 4 miles, and then encountered a hill that just kept going, and going, and going; we biked uphill with no rest for 3 miles. By the end we were both drenched in sweat and ready to take a shower and go to bed. But there was another hill to climb, this time on foot! We dropped our stuff off at our campsite then doubled back to the trailhead to start the 6 mile hike.
The hike ended up being one of the best experiences of the trip thus far! It was challenging both physically and mentally, with a lot of rocks in the path and some steep ascents. It was absolutely gorgeous; the views across Custer State Parks were breathtaking. There were hundred-foot rock faces towering all around, with thousands of pine trees rising around them. We even ran across an antelope, which was strangely unafraid, coming within 5 or so feet of us before turning away. The payoff at the peak was extremely satisfying. We could see for hundreds of miles in all directions, the Black Hills and more laid out in front of us as if we were looking down on a map.
This was the first time we completely detoured from a start-of-day plan as far as what we’ll do and where we’ll sleep. Maddie and I have really been on the same page in terms of what’s best for us and what we should be doing, and today’s decision was no different. We’ve been balancing out each other’s foibles really well, picking up slack for the other when needed. This kind of teamwork will be in even greater demand as we approach what I believe is the toughest part of our trip, the journey across Wyoming and Montana. But we still have two more days in the Black Hills and intend to make them count! Tonight we are camping in Custer State Park, tomorrow Hill City, and Spearfish after that. More exciting updates to come!
-Charlie
Love these photos (and, of course, the food recap)! You both are amazing!!!