The George S. Mickelson Trail, in the heart of the beautiful Black Hills, was completed in September of 1998. Its gentle slopes and easy access allow people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills. Much of the trail passes through National Forest Land, but there are parts of the trail that pass through privately owned land, where the trail use is restricted to the trail only.
The trail is 109 miles long and contains more than 100 converted railroad bridges and 4 rock tunnels. The trail surface is primarily crushed limestone and gravel. There are 15 trailheads, all of which offer parking, self-sale trail pass stations, vault toilets, and tables.
A majority of the trail does not exceed a 4% grade, but parts of the trail are considered strenuous. Dumont is the highest point and the 19 mile stretch from Deadwood to Dumont is the longest incline.
The Mickelson Trail was originally the Burlington Northern line that carried trains from Edgemont to the northern Black Hills and the gold mines of the Deadwood area. The trail transverses the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. The original track was built in in 9 months and 22 days, and was abandoned in 1983. A group of outdoor enthusiasts recognized the trail's potential, and with support of Governor George Mickelson, it became the state's first rails to trails project.
I made it to Deadwood around 10AM and found one of the several parking areas where you can park and jump onto the trail. I decided to limit my first walk to around 3 miles, just to explore and get the feel of what the trail is like. I parked the truck and changed into my hiking shoes and put on my hiking hat. The first thing I noticed was how well kept up the trail was and I hoped that all of it was in just as good of shape. The surface was compact and easy to walk on and the few bridges I crossed were in excellent shape and some were designed to blend into the environment very well. Below are some pictures I took on the trail today. I am sure I will enjoy walking the trail many times while I am here.
 |
| As you can see from the above map the trail goes on for quite a long distance. During the summer hikers and walkers and bicyclist can use the trail. In the winter snow mobiles can use it. |
 |
| Above you can see the old railroad rail. I guess it was more cost efficient to just put the trail over the old rails than to remove the rails. It also gives the trail a little personality. |
 |
| A picture shot from one of the several bridges. |
 |
| A lot of great looking flowers along the trail. |
After I hiked the trail I decided to head into Lead. I was through Lead with my Dad several years ago but I don't think we ever stopped in the town as we were driving through to get to the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Bi-way. To get to Lead you have to drive uphill for a ways. Like everything around this area, you have to construct on a hill. When Lead was established, after gold was discovered. They undermined so much that the main street of the town was pretty much condemned and quite a few of the historical buildings were abandoned or moved to higher ground. Below are pictures of the Homestake Mine. One of the biggest gold producing mines in the US. I would highly recommend you visit their Wiki page and read about it. Homestake Mine The below pictures do not do the mine justice. It is massive and the free tour of the provided by the Sanford Lab Homestake visitor center was very interesting. From mine to physics experiment.
Well I checked my schedule and after a day shift tomorrow I will be back on late shift starting Monday, but still working in moccasins. Oh joy. I will be trying to get another 3 mile walk in today after the temperature goes down. Usually around 7PM. Take care everyone and please say a prayer for my sister-in-law Janie. She is having a hard time with her chemo treatments. Pray that God will remve the cancer and that the treatments won't be worse than the disease. Thanks for reading. Take care.
No comments:
Post a Comment