In the Heights

Belle Fourche to Carstens Cottages, South Dakota. Tuesday, August 3, 2021

How great that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first musical is coming to the silver screen. I found myself in my own heights today, the Black Hills.

My hoped-for distant view of them rising from the plains never materialized, it was too hazy or smoky. Their hulk manifested itself in a different way, in my pathetic speed. I kept checking to see if my tires were low, or something was rubbing—I never go THIS slowly.

No, the bike was fine, and I personally felt fine. It was the constant uphill grade, so shallow as to be imperceptible, but steep and unrelenting enough to knock my speed into serious wussy territory. It might have been an optical illusion. I was approaching the Black Hills from the backside, thereby spared the grievous string of tourist traps leading into them from Rapid City. I remember one of them was about defying gravity. SEE WATER FLOW UPHILL the sign shrieked. Well in fact I was going gradually uphill, I thought it seemed I was going flat or even slightly downhill. It was uncanny.

Suddenly I was in Spearfish Canyon. Wow, what scenery.

Such a welcome change from weeks of prairie. A couple of other positive notes: it was getting cooler as I climbed, and the food stops were frequent. I could probably stop carrying my 6 liters (12 pounds) of water, but old habits die hard. A thunderstorm came by, but I was able to duck into a bar and avoid having to break out my rain gear, which for all its high tech fabrics still gets sweaty inside. The motorcycles were frequent but respectful, this scenic highway has a 35 mph limit. One stretch had no shoulders, but I fired up my crazy-bright rear flasher, and no worries.

The road finally steepened to the point where it was noticeable, I even had to walk my bike for a mile. I topped out at 6,300 feet, higher than Mt. Washington, so the acme of this trip so far. Then down to the Mickelson Rail Trail, 109 miles of crushed-stone heaven, as long as it doesn’t rain. Wound up at Carsten Cottages, the only lodging for miles, I’d called ahead and had the proprietor pick up groceries, and barbecued a sirloin steak.

Distance 43 miles, 4,837 total. Time 10 hours with stops. Elevation gain 3,485 feet

©️ 2021 Scott Luria