Deadwood to Hill City

August 3, 2018

Day 1

Starting in Deadwood

I arrived at the trailhead in Deadwood as early as I could get there hoping to get a parking spot nearby. The large lot was already fairly fill with the vehicles and trailers used to haul the hundreds of motorcycles already in town. Luckily my Honda Fit is small and can be tucked into even the most unlikely of parking spaces. A few minutes to unload the bike, attach my panniers, take a look at my map and I was off for the first 60 or so miles of my ride.

Many views like this

The trail out of Deadwood is smooth packed stone dust as is most of the George S. Mickelson Trail. It mostly follows the old rail bed of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad from Edgemont in the south, northwards through the Black Hills to Deadwood. As it leaves Deadwood and starts on its long uphill grade into the Black Hills, you can still see the old rails peeking through the stone dust for the first few miles. Over the next fifteen miles you climb steadily up a two to four percent grade while climbing just over 2000 feet. I found it to be the most strenuous part of the ride due to the steady pace needed throughout the climb. What it lacks in steepness it makes up for in distance but is still well within the abilities of most people in decent physical condition on bikes with climbing gear ratios. The compensation is some fantastic scenery along the way.

This first leg of my ride was by far the most scenic and interesting. The Black Hills are spectacular with vistas and interesting sites along every mile. The trail is well maintained and serviced by shelters, water pumps and historical information plaques at regular intervals. Old mines poke up along stream banks and ghost towns appear as you round a bend. Most of the land is private and cows sometimes graze along the trail in the high pastures. There are gates in these areas and although they are self closing, they sometimes need a bit of help. This section passes by the old Bulldog ranch which served as a stagecoach stop, bootlegger’s depot and “entertainment center” of the adult variety. Stop and read every sign, it is well worth the time it takes.

Just around milepost 90 my journey took a positive turn with the beginning of a nice nineteen mile long downhill grade to the Durmont Trailhead. The scenery became more open pasture and occasionally ran alongside the roaring thunder of Highway 17 with it groups of touring motorcycles. It was still a mostly quiet and peaceful journey with far less effort per mile traveled.

Between Rochford and Mystic I passed through four tunnels blasted through hill tops as the old railroad route moved back into hill country. There was bit of up and down riding in this section with the up side winning overall. The ghost town of Mystic appeared as I rounded a stream side bend and it was time for lunch break and a refill of my water bottles. After a few hundred calories it was back into the saddle and upwards for another five hundred feet of so before the last downhill glide into Hill City and a stop to pick up something for dinner. Another 11 miles along the twisting Old Hill City Road took me to Keystone, my friend Dennis, a hot meal and good night’s sleep. Thankfully, the Old Hill City Road is mostly downhill to Keystone!