Day 2 began with a decent continental breakfast at our hotel, then as Bonnie got everything organized in the hotel room, I ran over to Hardware Hanks and after a little searching, was able to find the bolt we needed for Bonnie's seat. I bought an extra one for backup and we were on our way. Our day 2 plan was to go from Hill City to Edgemont, 60 miles away, We were both pretty sore starting out and we knew the first 10 miles were going to be the hardest with a 1000 ft climb up to Crazy Horse. We took our time and while on the climb, we passed the half way point.
The Halfway Point
We were going pretty slow and although it took us over 2 hours to make the climb, we knew it would be the last big climb on the trail. We stopped at The Mountain trail head and filled up on water before beginning one of the nicer sections of the trail. The Mountain TH to Custer is only 5 miles, but it is all downhill and has some great scenery.
After making it to Custer, we walked a block from the trail head to the Pizza Hut and went inside and enjoyed a cold pop in the air conditioned restaurant. As we were leaving Custer we had our first encounter with the wind that was going to slow down our progress for the rest of the day. So for the next couple of miles we struggled with a short uphill against the wind until we were able to reach the top of the climb and follow it with a downhill section that was protected from the wind so we could put in some fast miles. Although we were making our way out of the hills, there were still some nice views on this section with some cool rock outcroppings along the way. At MM 35.7 we passed the White Elephant Trail Head which has no facilities and is pretty much just a parking lot. From the White Elephant Trail Head to the Pringle Trail Head (MM 32.1), the wind really began to pick up and we limped our way into the Trail Head rest area where we ate, rested, and filled up our water supply. From Pringle to the Minnekahta Trail Head (MM 16.2) the wind was almost unbearable, threatening to knock us off our bikes at times. That whole section of the trail descends the southern edge of the Black Hills with no wind protection from the south, so if you happen to hit a day with the wind blowing from the south, be prepared to fight it the whole way. There also isn't much to see on this section, making it for me, the worst section of the trail. Once at the Minnekahta Trail Head, we rested, ate, and filled up on water one last time. While resting there we met a couple who was hiking the trail. They had come from Edgemont but some health issues had resurfaced for the man so they were cutting their trip short. They informed us that after a few miles we should get into a section of the trail that is more protected from the wind. We hoped they were right and began the last section of the trail. The first couple of miles were long, straight and directly into the wind but we were able to push through and we began the last 10 miles going downhill with little wind. With 8 miles left we reached Sheep Canyon. I didn't know anything about Sheep Canyon but I was really surprised by how nice it was. The trail runs along side it for several miles and although our pictures don't really do it justice, it was quite impressive.
Sheep Canyon
Sheep Canyon Rest Area
So now we had just 8 miles left. They were pretty uneventful with most of it being downhill and with just 5 miles left we got our first glimpse of Edgemont.
Edgemont in the distance
The last 3 miles or so follow the train tracks into Edgemont, with the trail actually ending at MM 1. For the last mile you follow signs along streets through Edgemont until you reach the end, but that's the thing, we never saw anything that said "Mickelson Trail begins here". Maybe we were too tired to really look but we were quite disappointed with the end. In Deadwood there is a big "Mickelson Trail" sign, but nothing like that in Edgemont. Our son had dropped off my truck the night before and luckily we had him pin it on google maps or we might not have found it (I know, how can you loose something in Edgemont). I did a google search and saw that there is a wooden post with a "0" MM on it so maybe the next time we pass by Edgemont on our way to Denver, we'll stop and really look to see if we can find it. So the stats for the day were 63.7 miles traveled with 3093 feet of climbing in 11 hours and 20 minutes. We finished the day by stopping at Dairy Queen in Hot Springs for some well deserved burgers and fries.
*******Update we did go back to Edgemont and found the end of the trail and the milemarker 0.0 . The sign on the road had said to turn left to follow the Mickelson Trail. You actually keep going on the road the same way until you hit the Edgemont Park about 1/2 block down from where the sign told you to turn. The park is nice and there is a railroad car, a bridge, a picnic area, and a playground. There is also the sign George Mickelson Trailhead Edgemont 0.0.
