George S. Mickelson Bike Trail ... Simply amazing

Today we rode the George S. Mickelson Trail (www.mickelsontrail.com) through the Black Hills of South Dakota.  The trail runs 109 miles from historic Deadwood (north) to Edgemont (south) following the old Burlington Northern line.  We started at the Mystic Trailhead (12 miles north of Hill City) and rode approximately 11 miles north, past the old mining town of Rochford through two tunnels and over several trestle bridges, one as high as 100 feet, alongside several different creeks, including the Rapid Creek.

This was simply the most amazing rail-to-trail bike ride that we've ever ridden.  The day was cool (low 60s), with some cloud cover (including a smoky haze blown down to area from fires in British Columbia), and gentle breezes keeping us cool (and blowing mosquitoes away).  The ride ran along several creeks, gentle grade (average grade of 4%), through steep canyons lined with crumbling slate cliffs.  The two tunnels were tall and the entries were covered with metal mesh to catch the crumbling slate ... cool and damp inside the tunnels, not long enough to need separate lighting to traverse the trail.  Tall Englemann spruce trees lined the steep canyon walls along with forests of Ponderosa pines and sprinkling patches of birch.  Butterflies flew alongside darting in front of our bikes and wildflowers were lining the trail.  We rode for a short distance alongside of a dirt road, but there were few vehicles ... otherwise, we had the quiet of the forest, songs of the birds and sound of water from the creeks. We saw few other cyclists, but everyone was truly impressed with the trail's unique grandeur.

Our only regret is that we don't have time to do the entirety of trail ... Bambi says that he is willing to return in the future so that we can complete the trail ... and we'll be delighted to return to this trail.

Tomorrow we head for Steamboat Lake State Park in northern Colorado ...