2019 NUT Day 5: Jessie Wright & Marsters Segments

After a great night at the power plant, we started off hiking the Jessie Wright segment, which was listed as 4.1 miles, but which we clocked at 5.2.

Along the way, we met the first people we'd see on the trail...the Motley Crew. They were a bunch of retired USFS fellows who were out clearing the trails with chainsaws, picks, shovels and a pair of loppers. These guys are why we had such a great hike! Literally, in 60 miles of hiking, we climbed over maybe a dozen trees. There were dozens more that had been freshly cleared from the trail.

By the time we got to the Marsters segment, the sun was high and hot. This segment was the most exposed due to fire and I spent a lot of time looking up at the burned trees watching for potential falls as we made our way west.

We were glad to find our car as we had left it at the Calf Creek trailhead, piled in our gear and headed to find a camp spot at Horseshoe Bend camp ground.

Total mileage for the day: 10 miles (Jessie Wright: 5.2; Marsters: 3.8)

Campground: Horseshoe Bend Campground with has flush toilets and potable water. Stayed in site #17, adjacent to the Otter Island trail, providing easy river access.

Wildlife: Nothing on the trail.

Trail conditions: Hot and dry.

Terrain: Burned and exposed; very rocky.

Scenery: Forest and river views.

Surprises: Arrived at camp early Thursday afternoon to find just one riverside campsite left. Happy to have good access to the river for cleaning up after a very hot hike.

2019 NUT Day 4: Deer Leap Segment

This was my least favorite part of the hike. There is only one thing that I worry about when it comes to hiking and that is water. Today was hot, low 90s, and we knew that camping would either have to be near Medicine Creek (dispersed) or farther down at one of the developed campgrounds like Boulder Flat.

We hiked through the hot dry forest with lots of ups and downs. Saw a couple of small, dead birds of prey on the trail...the bones had been stripped clean except for the wings, which were completely in tact. Had lunch at a dusty spot where the trail crossed a dirt road.

As we neared Medicine Creek, which was our opportunity for dispersed camping as described in this article about the hike taken by a group of people who had similar skills to us, we kept our eyes peeled for a location to set up camp. All we found after getting there, were lots and lots of downed trees and no perceivable place to camp.

Drats. This meant another 3-4 miles to Boulder Creek. We trudged on.

About 45 minute later, I was about out of water. It was hot, and I always drink often. We should have stopped for more water at Medicine Creek, but didn't think we would need it. We had cell service, and it was a weekday, so we called the number on the back of the "brochure" to get some info about the trail.

Describing where we were, we asked about options for camping. The person on the end of the line consulted the "brochure."

I asked, "Have you ever hiked the trail yourself?"

"No."

"Is there anyone there who has and if so can I talk to them?" I was transferred and got voicemail.

Then we remembered that the number to the Glide office was a different office than the ones listed on the "brochure," so we decided to give them a call. Again, same experience. Someone reading off of the "brochure," except that this time, we were transferred to someone who had hiked the trail.

She asked, "Do you have a map?"

I replied sheepishly, "No, just the brochure." I knew it was a mistake.

We asked about camping options. She said we could jump onto the Soda Springs Creek trail, hike about a quarter mile to a little bench and camp there by Soda Springs Creek.

As far as the official Soda Creek Trailhead, she note that there was a picnic area, but no water. I knew from what I had read that there was no safe river access at Soda Springs, which was where the power plant was.

She also let us know that Boulder Flat and Eagle Rock were not accessible from the trail. Which meant that we would have a very long way to go if we didn't find a place. Darn that "brochure"...it sure looked like we would be able to access them...

So when we arrived at the turn off to Soda Springs Creek that she had mentioned, two of us hiked up .27 miles, found a nice little spot to filter water and a spot for one tent, just as she had described. We got cleaned up and felt fabulous.

The other two continued on to check out the picnic area where they found a "shower" as a result of the leaks in the giant water pipes, picnic tables and flat spots for three tents. It was nice to have cell service and we were summoned to the campsite for the night.

Total mileage for the day: 9.6 miles

Campground: Soda Springs trailhead. We were technically camped in a day use area. Picnic tables; porta pot, no river access; water was available from the giant water pipes. If you do go, you will be treated to the sound of the power plant and associated lights.

Wildlife: Nothing on the trail.

Trail conditions: Hot and dry. 

Terrain: Heavily forested and steep climbs. Be aware that you will be hiking far above the river, so carry plenty of water.

Scenery: Forest

Surprises: Contrary to what we had read in this article, there was no dispersed camping along Medicine Creek or anywhere else along this segment of the trail.

2019 NUT Day 3: Hot Springs Segment

This was going to be a great day! We were camped at a terrific spot with our tent about 10 feet from the water, and we woke up to the sounds of the river. I drank my coffee and walked down a hundred feet or so to check out the river and hot springs. The actual hot springs that you see pictured in the "brochure" are about 100 feet or so above the river. But there are also some hot springs down at water level, which would be where I got an eyeful - full frontal of a very dreadlocked gentleman. The others in our group had their own visual experiences.

Two group decisions had been made in advance: the hot springs would not be on our itinerary, from everything that we had read, it was very dirty and highly overused, and this would be a short day on the trail so that we could rest our weary legs.

After a well-deserved leisurely morning, as we were in absolutely no hurry, we made a very late start on the trail. We arrived at the Hot Springs trailhead about .4 miles later where we used the bathroom and checked out the signs. There was a TON of graffiti and stickers all over the trail signs. This was the only section of the trail where we saw trash and evidence of poor human behavior.

Given that we were hiking downriver, we crossed the bridge and turned left, which turned out to be the wrong way...the USFS needs to have their trail signs up high enough so that they cannot be covered over with stickers! After a .5 mile round trip to nowhere, we came back to the bridge and proceeded to find our way, which included a very, very steep section of the trail.

After a relatively short hike, we arrived at the Tokatee Lake trailhead and adjacent campsite. We retrieved the car from the Tokatee Falls trailhead parking lot, which contained creature comforts such as camp chairs and cold beverages.

The campground was large and very full of extremely respectful campers. It was about the quietest campground we have ever been in...oh, and guess who was camped directly across from us? Yep, full frontal man.

Total mileage for the day: 5.0 miles

Campground: Tokatee Campground ($10). Large campground; no water. There was a LOT of dust; old ashes from the fire pits were dumped on the site (rather than removed) by maintenance folks.

Wildlife: Nothing on the trail.

Trail conditions: Good. 

Terrain: Heavily forested and steep climbs. 

Scenery: Forest

Surprises: Oops...we had left the car at the Tokatee Falls trailhead rather than the Tokatee Lake trailhad, requiring a 1.55 mile walk to retrieve the car. The good thing was that there was a lot of shade, so our beverages were still nice and cold.

2019 NUT Day 2: Dread and Terror Segment

After bidding our friend goodbye, the four of us set off on the trail around 9:30 in the morning. We knew that it would be a long day, as we had at least 13.5 miles to go. We headed down the road to the White Mule trailhead, where we found a concrete lined canal that would eventually divert water to the power plant. We also met two middle aged ladies (I did mention that we are all middle aged ladies, right?) who were preparing to hike one of the segments of the trail that day. We exchanged pleasantries and they gave us some insights on trail conditions.

From the White Mule trailhead, we stepped onto the trail and into the forest. There were many spectacular views during the first couple of miles. We hiked and hiked and about mid segment, we found a nice little spot to have our lunch...water access was a few steps away and there was a small fire pit. As my good friend Jean Ella taught me to do, I took off my shoes and socks (as I do at every lunch stop) and gave my feet a nice little soak in the river.

After lunch, we encountered three small slide areas. The first two were not bad, but the third one left us with a trail that was about as wide as a single foot and all sand. VERY UNSTABLE. The river was only about 10-15 feet straight down a sheer rock face, and there was a good sized stake ready to impale any hiker who had the misfortune of taking a tumble. We gingerly made our way across the slide area and shortly thereafter found our campsite. We were tired and very glad to be there.

The campsite was wonderful and very large with excellent water access. It was almost 7pm and we quickly set up camp, cleaned up and had dinner. We could see people down and across the river who were sitting in the hot springs.

The next morning, we continued on our hike and found several more large campsites. The biggest and brightest was directly across the river from the hotsprings with great logs "benches" for sitting in camp. Note that you cannot get to the hotsprings by crossing the river.

Total mileage for the day: 14.6 miles

Campground: Dispersed campsite approximately .4 miles upriver from the Hot Springs trailhead. There were 3-4 large, flat camp sites; we chose the one furthest upriver and the farthest away from the hot springs. Water access was easy for washing up and for filtering.

NOTE: There were only two other potential camping spots along this segment. We had lunch near the halfway point where you could fit two small tents. The other spot was about a mile or so up from where we finally camped. It was a large site, but pretty dark due to heavy foliage. Water access was easy in both cases.

Wildlife: Nothing on the trail.

Trail conditions: Three slide areas, making for pretty precarious crossing.

Terrain: Heavily forested and good climbs. 

Scenery: The first part of the trail provide spectacular waterfall views.

Surprises: Our mileage (14.6 miles) was longer than expected. The "brochure" indicated that the whole segment was 13 miles; from the inset, we estimated that and our campsite was about a mile east of the Hot Springs trailhead, so we figured it would be about 12 miles of Dread and Terror plus the 1.5 miles from Bunker Hill camp to White Mule trailhead. 

2019 NUT Day 1: Lemolo Segment

This was going to be an adventure! We had set up this trip with two of our friends, and a third joined us for the first day/night of our trek. We were excited to get underway. From the "brochure" we estimated that we would be hiking about 5.5 miles, as campground appeared to be about 3/4 mile from the White Mule Trailhead.

So we set off in our four cars, dropping three of them off along the way (Calf Creek trailhead, Tokatee Falls trailhead, Bunker Hill campground), and made our way up to Kelsay Valley to begin our adventure. Fortunately, we hadn't planned to do a long hike the first day. The journey from our home to the trailhead is typically about three hours, but with all of the car shuffling, packing and repacking, eating lunch and so forth, it took us about five and a half hours to set foot on the trail.

The trailhead is right next to a horse camp and we met the nicest three ladies who were the horse camp hosts. They welcomed us and gave us a few tips on the area. The section of the trail that we were doing was the Lemolo Segment, described as 6.3 miles on the "brochure" and adjacent to the Bunker Hill campground. 

Since we had dropped off a car at Bunker Hill, we knew we would eventually have to be on a road to access the campground. Using the Gaia GPS app, we knew that we were close to the camp; as soon as we saw that the terrain eased up, we took the opportunity to bushwhack our way about 100 yards out to the road, which led us to camp. 

We were very happy to be camped at the lake as it gave us a good opportunity to get cleaned up and enjoy some great views.

Total mileage for the day: 6.4 miles

Campground: Bunker Hill ($10), there are only five sites, one porta pot, and no water. We stayed in site #2 and filtered water from the lake. There was a LOT of dust.

Wildlife: Nothing on the trail, but we did have six deer visit us in the middle of the night.

Trail conditions: Very dusty and horseworn.

Terrain: Fairly easy hiking. The beginning of it was more meadow like with views of the meandering river. The trail did take us up into the forest before we dropped down to camp.

Scenery: Grasses, wildflowers.

Surprises: Our mileage (6.4 miles) was longer than expected. The "brochure" indicated that the whole segment was 6.3 miles and our campsite was a mile and a half east of the White Mule trailhead.

Mickelson Rail Trail (MRT) Day 5: Custer State Park to Edgemont

Despite the weather concerns of the previous days, today was a beautiful day. We arose early knowing that we had a full day of riding and that Big Ker was on a tight timeline to get home to Bozeman.

Knowing that we had 5-8 miles of uphill from our campground, we were looking forward to to getting to the summit so that we could get get in some faster miles. I was so happy when I got to the "top" that I yelled to the others, "we made it" at which point Big Ker jumped off of her bike and started singing and dancing. The celebration was short-lived when we realized that around the next bend we would be pedaling uphill again. Sigh.

One of the highlights was of course Crazy Horse, which you could see from the trail. We stopped for a bit to take in the view and continued on our way.

We had contacted a locale Facebook group about the potential for lunchtime snacks and drinks in Pringle and were looking forward to checking out the town. What we found when we arrived was a giant pile of old bicycles. At first we thought maybe they hated bikers and this was a trash pile. But then we saw Bike Sculpture in Google Maps and the interpretive sign as we got closer.

After poking around a bit, we learned that the store was not open (nor was there a plan to open at all for the season). I did find a bar and poked my head in the door to find the barkeeper getting prepping for the day, but they were not open for business. Somehow I talked them into a soda, but that was as far as I got...probably for the best, as we noticed what seemed to be a giant barrel of rancid oil out back.

Old Mile Marker and Trestle

Off we went, a beautiful day on the trail. One of the prettiest areas was along the sheepherder ridge. Take your time here and enjoy the views.

Sheepherder Ridge

Mile Post 1

Rolling in to Edgemont around 3:30 or so, we were all in pretty good spirits....and then we realized that we would be going nowhere for a while because a train was on the tracks. Two other cyclists were also waiting...it was pretty hot and we were all antsy to get moving. I looked at the map and could see that the only way around was a very, very long detour in the hot sun.

Really? Less than a mile from the end!

The two young guys decided they didn't want to wait and went for the detour. We waited and waited. Eventually the train moved on and we finished up our ride at the trailhead in the park. As we relaxed in the shade, the two cyclists finally arrived, hot and tired. The detour was a good five miles. We were glad we had stayed back and waited for the train to pass through.

We made it!

We loaded up our cars and headed off in different directions. Another trip in the books.

Total mileage for the day: about 49 miles

Tips: Pringle really doesn't have reliably open services, so be sure that you have enough food/water for the day. As for the GMRT, the overall elevation is "downhill" when traveling from N to S, but there was much pedaling to be done on this trip. Be aware.

Mickelson Rail Trail (MRT) Day 4: Custer to Custer State Park

The kind people at Custer State Park had set us up with a cabin for Saturday night. It was a pretty short ride from Custer to the "Stockade" where we spent a bit of time looking around. We ended up getting to the campground early (no rain!) where we found another super cute cabin. The cleaning crew was just about done prepping for us, so we hung out a bit, dropped our stuff and then went touring around the park.

The ride around Stockade Lake was great. We headed up to Hwy 12, where there was very little traffic and continued on...we ended up going UPhill and eventually came to a summit sign. We decided to go for it and had a wonderful ride down, down, down, and down some more to a small lodge. No one wanted to think about the ride back up....certainly not myself! I was looking for someone with a rig big enough for all of our bikes, when I spied a couple of fishermen. So I went on over and asked if they might take us up to the top of the hill for a quick $20...of course! They were headed back to camp with their fish, so we rode over and met their families. Very shortly, we were all on board and headed up the very steep, steep, steep road. They ended up dropping us at the intersection of the lake loop road and Hwy 12; we tried to pay them, but they wouldn't take a dime. As we have found on all of our trips — people are kind and will always go out of their way to lend a hand.

Pre-hailstorm!

We hopped on our bikes and started riding back...only to find ourselves in a very heavy hailstorm! A quick 10 minute ride and we were back to camp and some very awesome hot showers!

Campground: South Blockade Lake State Park

Total mileage for the day: about 11 miles

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!

---

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.