Beautiful… then wet!

Day 4

6/3/2025

Hill City to Custer to spur trail into Stockade Lake/Custer State Park then back to Hill City

Stats: 38mi. AIS: 3:45 Elev: 1071     Mph: 10.1

The trail out of Hill City mostly paralled the highway with a big bridge over the road and then a tunnel under as we climbed 10 miles toward the Crazy Horse Monument before descending into Custer. At times the trail was above and then below the road but always there was road noise. I guess I was glad that traffic is not yet at its peak!

At the highest point was the turnoff to the Crazy Horse Memorial. We did not take the time to visit but got a pretty good description of the project from the volunteer at the Custer City Visitor Center. It is under construction ALL from donated money. They are not using any public funds for this gargantuan scupture. The size of it when it’s done could fit the Mt Rushmore faces in the hole under his arm!

The downhill into Custer began after Crazy Horse and departed from the highway. It took us behind a hill through a valley and alongside spectacular granite rock walls. I have so many photos because I was loving all the rocks,

We arrived in Custer and felt like riding a little further so we took a 6.5 miles round trip into a small lake and former stockade in Custer State Park. it was a nice rolling hill paved trail to the small lake. 

The return 5 mile climb to Crazy Horse and then looking forward to the 10 miles descent to Hill City. We took a quick snack stop at the top at a nice bench. Just as we were getting ready to ride down Jim announced a rain cell was moving in and it was going to be wet pretty soon. Yep! After about 1 minute it was a quick stop to add raincoats and my ball cap under my helmet. It keeps the rain from smacking my face. We were all ready pretty bundled up for the cold ride down. It was never very warm yesterday. The high was maybe 50. We had a few brief moments of sunshine. Very few. 

The rain hit fast and hard. We were going about 23 mph without pedaling at times. Remember the tunnel under the road I mentioned? As soon as we got there we stopped. It was a fairly long concrete shelter from the weather. Good pit stop for about 15 minutes! During our wait it began to rain even harder with a little sleet. The tunnel began to fill up with cyclists!! Party in the tunnel… ha ha ha. After waiting for it to ease off a bit we were pedaling hard for the last 4-5 miles to Hill City and our dry, warm van! It hadn’t even rained in Hill City. Our last mile was dry. No complaints about that. I was wet and cold (my legs and feet). Took awhile to warm up after changing into dry, warm clothes. 

We had decided to “wild camp” tonight. We found a spot on the iOverlander app about 5 miles out of town off a Forest Service road. It was perfect! Quiet and off the beaten path. Made dinner and had a great nights sleep. I was tired…. from shivering maybe. 

Day 5

6/4/2025

Van Tourist Day

Well the wet weather did not arrive this morning as forecasted but we decided to abandon the Mickelson and take a drive up The Needles Highway and into Custer State Park. It was worth it! The Needles Highway is narrow, twisty with 4 small narrow tunnels. We only went through one because we weren’t sure about the van fitting in one of them. It would be difficult to turn around on this road!

We drove through Custer State Park wildlife loop road. It’s famous for grasslands and buffalo. We did learn it’s like a giant buffalo ranch. They are immunized for brucellosis, culled for reproduction, size, health etc. Only the best stay in the Park the others are sold for food or relocation. They have a roundup every fall to process the herd. It’s about 1400 bison at the most. Managed quite differently than the Yellowstone Park herd.

Enjoyed the beautiful drive and headed south to checkout the terminal point of the Mickelson Trail in Edgemont. After the Pringle trailhead the countryside opens into sweeping grasslands then drops downhill to Edgemont. Pretty windy open ride with a different kind of beauty.

Mickelson Trail Summation

What a treasure they have in the South Dakota Black Hills! The trail is so nicely maintained by the State (Fish and Game). It seems obvious with the explosion of e-bikes that the use of the trail has increased exponentially! Everyone can enjoy the beauty of the hills off the roads and highway! I am so happy we rode the trail. Sorry we didn’t have enough days to finish this time.

The Van…. How did we do?

Our new van is going to suit us perfectly. It’s a learning curve of taking a walk around before you depart an activity to making sure everything is put away and won’t roll around or fall off a counter.

We managed very well. Sleeping was comfortable. The kitchen works really well. We seemed to have all the utensils, gadgets and appliances to accomplish our meals. I did try to put up some sticky back hooks for jackets. It held 2 puffy jackets just fine but I added another jacket and surpassed the threshold. Need a stronger hook or two!

Our plan is to swap bikes for skis next winter. I think we will have many fun adventures with this van. Can’t wait😊