Mickelson Rail Trail (MRT) Day 3: Hill City to Custer

Tonight we were headed for the South Blockade Lake campground where we would be spending the next two nights. Watching the weather, things were not looking too good for us — heavy rain and thunderstorms.

After a group discussion over lunch at the Coyote Sage Cafe about the weather (it was raining pretty good at this point), we decided to check out our options. No cabin at Custer was available for the nigh. But, Big Ker found us an amazing place to stay in the Custer, the Shady Rest Motel Cabins.

 Our hostess was amazing...she had put us in a "room" which actually had a kitchen and three sleeping areas...and she had turned on the heat to warm it up for us. We were thrilled to be inside getting hot showers while it poured rain outside.

And the next morning, the sun came out!

Total mileage for the day: 13.7 miles

Mickelson Rail Trail (MRT) Day 2: Rochford to Hill City

America's Smallest Mall is located in Rochford and is actually fairly well stocked for cyclists -- snacks, souvenirs, a few tools, and various things that you might need on a bike trip. 

Today's ride was much easier. More Dayquill (the whiskey didn't seem to have cured my cold) meant that I had no body aches from Day 1.

Our destination was Hill City, which had been hit by the snow storm and was followed by some pretty intense flooding. At one point, the Facebook page had basically said, "don't come here - no power, flooding,..."

Hill City had great services — we took full advantage of the little hardware store, grocery store, and small museum. 

Flooded road across from the trail.

So we called the campground where we had reserved a little cabin and the lady on the other end of the line had assured us that we would be able to access the campground and that the bridge was just fine.

Oh brother. What we should have asked was, "have you walked from the trail, over the bridge, to the cabin?" What we found was that there was a rushing river, and yes the bridge was above water, but there was no way to get to the bridge on eithe side. Sigh. It had been a long day and I felt crappy. No amount of DayQuill was going to make this better. We ended up passing the campground and then crossing over a bridge on private property (not our typical M.O.) and then riding back up the highway. Aside from being misled about the flood level, we were delighted to find an amazing little cabin -- super cute and clean.

Total mileage for the day: 26.5 miles

Mickelson Rail Trail (MRT) Day 1: Deadwood to Rochford

What a day! After following the weather for a few weeks, we woke up to a sunny day.

The local tourism group has a fun photo challenge called "Wild Bill Me!" .... and we can never leave a challenge unattempted. 

 After 25+ photos and a fun walk around the downtown, we headed off on our ride.

When you look at the trail map,  you will notice that there is an alternate route between Deadwood and Rochford. You might also notice that one of the routes is shorter and the other has more switchbacks.

Not thinking too much about it, we opted for the shorter route. Let me tell you about that...arriving on the trail four days after a snow storm dropped 2' of snow that melted quickly means that you will have a very wet trail.

When we got to the steep part, there was no way we were riding up -- even if it had been paved. Now imagine pushing your fully loaded bike up a trail that is wet, your tires sinking down into an inch or two into wet, sandy, mud. We were all thinking the same thing...how long is this day going to be? After about a mile, we got to the top where we merged with the other part of the trail and found a sign with the grade: 13%. We talked with another cyclist later on our trip and she told us that it would have been hard either way. But I do wonder if we would have had to push our bikes up the other trail...

The day was fantastic! Although we had our camping gear, we had made arrangements to stay with Betsy at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon because quite frankly, we had been worried about snow on the ground!

Snow on the side of the trail.

As you near Rochford, you have to take the bridge across the river before you reach the Rochford trailhead. Two of our riders were up ahead and missed the turn off --- not only that, but they passed up the trailhead as well! Eventually they realized, turned around and went back to the trailhead. By this time, we were a little worried that we had lost two of our people...and we were tired. So, we didn't really want to ride out looking for them. Betsy had greeted us and must have known that we were pooped because she offered to drive on down to the trailhead to see if they were there. Sure enough they were.

Of course the highlight of our stay in Rochford was Betsy. She's a tough little lady -- not sure how old she was, but we'd guess late 70s. Tough, kind-hearted and ready to help, when she noticed that I had a cold, she told me she had just what I needed....off she went and when she returned she had a shot of honey whisky which she promptly provided instructions on how it should be held in one's throat when one has a cold.

Her saloon was something...I think she'd been there something like 40+ years...and there were things in that saloon that probably hadn't ever been moved since they arrived when she got there. The dust was thick, but the company and her burgers were good. We had a few drinks, chatted with her and her son, and made our way back to the trailer that we had arranged to stay in...one room, three beds and a bathroom all in about a 12x12 room. Clean sheets and clean towels. We were set! 

And yes, she sent me back to the trailer with a dixie cup of whiskey for my nightstand.

Total mileage for the day: 26.4 miles

Tip: If you need a place to stay, call Betsy at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon and ask if you can stay in her trailer. She does not advertise and the only way to reach her is by phone. The saloon is open until the wee hours, so if you do call, wait until mid-afternoon or you might wake her up. In addition to the room we stayed in, there was a second room with a couple of bunk beds and bathroom.

George S. Mickelson Rail Trail Adventure

When we read that the George S. Mickelson trail was one of the top 10 rail trails, we knew we had to go. Knowing that we are in it for more than just the ride, we wanted to make sure that we didn't miss out on any local treasures. So we joined the GSM Facebook page, read the stories from other riders, and began to plan our trip.

On the Trail

We had done enough research to know that parts of this trail are a bit remote. We had a hard time locating a place to stay in the Rochford area and there seemed to be nowhere at all to stay in the last 30 miles -- meaning that our last day would be in the 50-mile range.

Our team: five ladies, mid 50s and 60s...we usually do some pre-trip rides, but none of us are what you would call cyclists. Our plan was to meet up in Edgewood, hop on a shuttle to Deadwood and go from there.

Below you will find the details about our fine adventure.

Day 1: Deadwood to Rochford

Day 2: Rochford to Hill City

Day 3: Hill City to Custer

Day 4: Custer to Custer State Park

Day 5: Custer State Park to Edgemont

Happy trails!

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Logistics & Weather

After a bit of research, it looked like the best time of year was late May/early June. So after talking it up to several of our friends, five of us committed to doing the ride. So we mapped out our ride, packed our bike packing gear and headed east with an eye on the weather and fingers crossed.

We left home on May 20th with a target start date of meeting the group in Edgemont on Tuesday, May 28th. Well, as it turns out, there was a severe snow storm in the Black Hills, leaving about two feet of snow in the Deadwood area just a few days before we were to arrive there. On top of that there was flooding May 26th-28th in Hill City, one of the places where we were planning to stay. But, our little group was all in and we met up with the Edgemont as planned on the 28th. 

Two logistical things that worked well: the shuttle service and our hotel, Tru by Hilton. 

Shuttle: We booked through Deadwheels Bike Shuttle Service, but when the driver called he said he was with Rabbit Bikes, which totally confused us, until we figured out that they are one and the same. Our driver was courteous, even asking us which route we preferred, delivered us safely to our hotel in Deadwood, where we started our ride the next day. One issue though was there was an unsecured trailer tire in the trailer which ended up rolling around and hitting one of our bikes during the course of the shuttle ride.

Hotel: After talking pretty extensively with the Black Hills Tourism folks (everyone in the area uses them for bookings), we ended up staying at Tru. We loved the wonderful staff — they were super accommodating — everything from giving us adjoining rooms to providing an odd shaped Allen wrench and gluten-free breakfast options for the Celiac in the group. The location positive is that we could walk to downtown Deadwood; the location negative was that it was a couple miles to the trail (I was a little envious when I saw some of the lodging that was right on the trail as we left town).

Helpful Sites

• Bike Mickelson
• Mickelson Trail Affiliates

2019 May: Badlands here we come!

Great morning at the Wild Rose...they have this great little kitchen/lounge room where we made our breakfast! Easy cleanup and a fast departure made for a great start to our morning.

Headed down the highway and of to see our friends in Montana. After two days of relaxing, checking out the local sites and Sister's dedicated gluten free bakery in Belgrade, we made the long drive to Badlands and found ourselves surrounded by BISON!

May 2019 Stop #1: Spokane, Washington

We had decided that we wanted to spend a day or two riding the bike trails up in the Spokane area. The weather looked good and we were looking to stay two nights.

After looking at the possible places to stay in the Spokane area we decided to head for the Riverside State Park campground. But when we got there what we found was not what we expected. There was only one small site left, available for a single night, jammed in among th the other sites. It was not at all what we were expecting from the reviews.

So we got back in the car and made our way north to another campground. But this time it was about 8 p.m. and we were tired. Imagine our disappointment when we pulled up to the second campground and it was closed. Fortunately we had seen in RV park about a mile down the road. We pulled in and they had a space for us. Typically we have always kind of turned up our noses at RV parks, but this was a lifesaver. The host, Lon, was a great guy. Later learned that most of the people were full-timers living there and he ran a very tight ship. This being our first trip with our new kitchen that I had built worked out pretty well because I was able to fine-tune things and even borrow his staple gun.

The next day we went down to Spokane, had a terrific ride on the bike path and enjoyed a fabulous meal at Cole's, a dedicated gluten-free restaurant.

The Great Prius Adventure: Beatty & the Spicer Ranch

Headed over to Beatty to see if it had changed much since the last time I was there back a couple decades ago. It seemed bigger, but maybe not. Stopped at the small museum to ask a few questions regarding what to do in the area...the museum person said that we should head over and check out the Spicer Ranch where you can bike ride, hike, camp and so forth. We jokingly asked about showers and she said she thought they were set up for that as well.

So off we went in search of the ranch. When we arrived, we were pretty amazed to find a very large tract of land set aside for mountain biking with a little donations box.

There were teenagers from Las Vegas participating in a mountain bike race. We watched for a bit, talked to a lady who turned out to be one of the owners of the place, and ended up taking advantage of the wonderful shower facilities. And yes, we left a donation!

On our way back to Beatty, we decided to look for a few Geocaches, though we passed up the one at the old Angel's Landing (think red light). Ended up finding one right on the highway in front of a place that sells every kind of military ammo can and other boxes that you can imagine. Had quite a conversation with the owner -- nice guy, but a bit on the conspiracy theory side of life.

The Great Prius Adventure: Death Valley to Rhyolite

Rolled out of the back of the Prius this morning and made our way to Zabriskie Point to view the sunrise.

No time to get dressed, so we just took our coffee making resources and hiked up to the point in our pajamas!

We stopped and set up our camp stove to make a relaxing breakfast at Hells Gate (Death Valley National Park) before heading out to Rhyolite and the Goldwell Open Air Museum.

The Great Prius Adventure: Death Valley

After spending a couple of days with Mom, we headed to Death Valley for some warm weather and desert camping. We were pretty pleased to find a campsite at Texas Springs - the one campground that does not allow generators. So, we bought a pass for three nights and got busy enjoying the sights.

Texas Springs Campground	Shade across from our site!
View up the road.	Shower Time Prius car doors come in handy!

As most tourists to Death Valley do, we checked out the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, though it was only about 80 degrees, so not much of a furnace! The exhibits were updated since my last visits -- and it was really, really awesome to see two miners highlighted in the displays: one male and one female. So cool. There was also a really great display about the native people of the area, the Timbisha Shoshone.

We also took advantage of the ranger talk at the old Harmony Borax Works site. Again, the talks have been updated to include a variety of perspectives as well as the natural environment.

 

Furnace Creek Visitor Center

Harmony Borax Works

Our next day, we took the Golden Canyon Trail/Badlands/Gower Gulch Loop hike. Clocking in around 4.6 miles, I wish we would have had our poles at a couple of points.   

 

Tip: If you go - bring plenty of water and prepare for total sun exposure. If you are at all nervous about heights, you might skip this hike.

The Great Prius Adventure: Brannan Island State Recreation Area

Today we drove from Eugene, Oregon to Brannan Island State Recreation Area near Antioch, CA.We were pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful and little used campground on the Delta. This was our first overnight in the Prius.

With the Habitent put up and the air mattress readied for sleeping, we settled in for the first night. A couple of take aways:

1. We were very happy with the roominess of the Prius. Much bigger than our backpacking trip.
   
2. Get everything set up, because although it feels roomy, it won't when you are trying to find your headlamp, hat, etc.
   
3. The condensation factor...because we were in a coastal area, there was some condensation. And, with foam board window coverings, making sure to keep it to a minimum is important. I figure that I may need to make new coverings at some point.

The park itself was really lovely, and included 3 miles of paved walking paths. This was impressive; I especially enjoyed the signs for hiking and fishing for the alternatively abled.

Tip: There were also flush toilets and 50 cent showers, though the bathrooms were not very clean. During the two nights we were there (in late March),  we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

If you enjoy fishing or canoeing, this is the place for you.

The Great Prius Adventure: Gear for Small Spaces

Thinking about this trip and how to gear up for it was a blending of our strategies from ultralight weight backpacking, bike packing, and camping in our pint sized popup.

Rule 1: Minimize the clothing.

Yes, car camping is different because you are doing things that you might do in everyday life, but also things when you are camping.

For this trip, ranging from days in the 50s-80s and nights in the 40s-60s, we needed a pretty wide variety (t-shirts to long sleeves, shorts to pants). When it is cold, you wear the same things. When it's hot you wear the same things. When it's in-between, you get to wear something clean! 

Generally speaking, I have three days of clean clothes, one pair pjs, one puff coat. After sleeping cold the first night (it was really damp), I added a hoodie for sleeping (I really don't want to sleep in my coat and wear it all day when it is cold -- yes, I will do this when I'm backpacking, but not on this trip!).

Rule 2: Take only what you need.

From past trips, you pretty much know what won't get used...the only thing that I want to take along that won't get used is a first aid kit and warm gloves.

Rule 3: Sleeping must be comfortable.

For this trip, we purchased a Klymit Double V sleeping pad at Costco. It's too heavy for backpacking, but perfect for the Prius because it fills the entire sleeping area. To complement it, we have the X-Lounger miniature air pump (USB charged!) that I bought on Amazon. It's great!

Rule 4: Provisions and food prep must be self contained.

Water

The best addition we made to our camping gear last year, were a set of collapsible water bags. In the "old days" we had a 5-gallon blue water jug, but the fact is, it's a pain to pack and awkward to carry. Swapping it for the water bags was awesome because they can be stored anywhere when empty and are easy to carry when full. In the Prius, we are able to store one in the back tucked into a nook of the sleeping platform, another next two it and two on the floor in the back seat.

Food

We do have a tiny ice chest which is really for the beginning of the trip or times when we can score ice along the way. BUT, we are camping in Death Valley and ice doesn't go far.

For us, self-contained food is a must...T has Celiac disease, which means that most of what we find in small out of the way places are off limits. So, we plan ahead, especially when going to places with limited options and rely on carrots, nuts, apples, bananas, chocolate peanut butter(!), gluten free bread, and a number of backpacking meals. Now, I know what some of you will say -- those are too expensive. BUT, when you think about it, we had dinner last night for about $8 for the two of us, had zero clean up, and it was pretty tasty.

We will be adding a page on how we dealt with backpacking food on our latest trip.

Stove

We use our backpacking stove, the Primus Eta Express Stove. It's great and boils water FAST, especially when you are camping below see level!

The Great Prius Adventure: Preparations

The most important part of this trip was getting the Prius ready for sleeping.*

The Platform

In the 2017, there is a pretty good cavity in the cargo area - almost a 3" drop from top of the folded down backseats to the bottom of the cargo area.

To deal with this, I used some scrap plywood and old 2x4s that I cut down on my table saw so that I had the correct elevation. With those screwed together, I stapled down some left over carpet.

Voila! A level sleeping area was achieved!

Back Seat Foot Area

The second thing we did was to figure out what we would put in the rear passenger foot space to extend our sleeping area.

On one side, we used two of those plastic shoebox sized containers (clothing storage) and a small ice chest. On the other, we have a small "milk crate" style box which we turned upside down -- under it are a pair of shoes and the rear headrests, which must be removed for a more level sleeping experience. During the day, a food bag goes into the crate and it is stored on the seat. On top of the crate are two more plastic shoebox sized containers, which hold all of our snacks, topped by one large thin rectangular plastic box that serves as a catchall.

*Credit to the Prius Camping Facebook group for some of the great tips that we have implemented.

2019 The Great Prius Adventure

This spring break, we decided to gear out the Prius for a two week road trip.

Why? Well, we have read up on "van life" and since we don't have a van, we decided, "hey, why not live in the Prius? People do it all the time!"

The following posts outline our two week spring break camping trip, including where we stayed, hikes we took, and other adventures along the way.

Happy trails!

The Great Prius Adventure: Preparations

The Great Prius Adventure: Gear for Small Spaces

The Great Prius Adventure: Brannan Island State Recreation Area

The Great Prius Adventure: Death Valley

The Great Prius Adventure: Death Valley to Rhyolite

Habitent

Klymit Double V