The final chapter of 50 x 50 x 50 (or 50 hikes in 50 States by 50 years old) begins on 6/08/17 when I head for the airport at 6:20am with Therm Rider. We fly to Minneapolis then celebrate another backpacking adventure at a bar in the airport.
This is fitting since Therm Rider made a previous trip with me to knock out States 46-48 in the Central Plains in the winter of 2015. You can read more about that November 2015 trip here. We eventually sync up with the rest of our crew including the Weasel, Beer Run, and the Camel at a speakeasy in downtown Bismarck. Here we are after we enjoyed $2 blackjack tables then discovered the secret door at the speakeasy …
The next day we head for Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and hike in the Southern Unit along Lower Paddock Creek. It is unseasonably hot to the mid 90’s and we seek shade under some trees after setting up camp for the night.
It turns out some “locals” didn’t appreciate our campsite selection and wander into our camp. This buffalo left its mark all over this field and let us know about it. Fortunately, we parted ways with him without issue.
The other locals in the area didn’t appreciate us much either – specifically a stallion protecting his mares who backed down as Beer Run and the Weasel took a lengthy late afternoon stroll to resupply some items from our parked car.
Even the prairie dogs weren’t big fans of us – with a field of burrows that looked like a minefield in the valley nearby. Each was happy to squeak and let you know that you weren’t welcome in this area…
Once the locals went to bed, we had a great sunset followed by an incredible moonrise. Then the storms came. We got chased into our tents on two occasions and eventually called it an early night – well sort of an early night considering we sacked out around 12:30am.
So we hiked out early the next day and completed our shuttle hike along the Lower Paddock Creek trail. It was very peaceful in the early morning hours – and I hiked all of it with the Camel who is an early morning riser. With the time change I was uncharacteristically the same today – which shocked everybody!
We got back to our rental car within the hour, picked up the rest of our crew then headed to Medora, North Dakota to get breakfast in a small hotel. I felt sick while waiting on our food and took the advice of the doctor who drained my swollen elbow before we headed to the Dakotas – and headed to an urgent care to get checked out for an infection.
The blood work checked out – a normal white blood cell count and no blood poisoning – so we headed for Sturgis and then Deadwood, South Dakota for the night. Checked into a suite at the First Gold Hotel then had an AYCE dinner and explored the town. Wild Bill was shot here in 1876 so we had to check out his saloon and the nearby casinos.
The next morning we headed for the Black Hills of South Dakota after a brief stop at Mount Rushmore. On a tip from a day hiker we headed for the Sheridan Lake dam where we were told there were decent campsites. We took the Flume Trail which had us walking through an old shaft which was very cool.
We soon found a campsite near the dam, set-up our tents, then enjoyed some beverages and watched the sunset. After dark even managed to record a podcast Episode 44 The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The next morning we took the Centennial Trail and followed Spring Creek back to the trailhead. There were a few streams on this trail that had us taking off our boots and wading across the stream – but it was a nice and fairly easy hike.
We bid Beer Run farewell back at the trailhead as he cut the trip short to return to work in Atlanta. The rest of the group headed for Wall, South Dakota where we got a room then headed the Badlands National Park where we hiked on the briefly on the Exhibit Trail. The Badlands are cool!!!
Then we headed back to Wall to get dinner and visit the Badlands Bar where a young bartender shared some interesting stories about AK47s and antelope. Only in South Dakota!
The next morning we finally have a chance to explore Wall Drug which is quite an experience to say the least. We also check out the nearby ICBM missile sites as we drive from Wall to the Rapid City, South Dakota. Fortunately, these missiles were never used and have been decommissioned.
At the Rapid City airport, our regional Delta jet awaits. We fly back home via one of Delta’s primary hubs in Minneapolis and wrap up our six day adventure and States #49 and #50 in the Dakotas. Mission complete!
And thus concludes the final chapter of 50 x 50 x 50 (or 50 hikes in 50 States by 50 years old). Not a single State disappointed, and if you can every find the time – I encourage you to explore everyone – it will be the best decision you ever make.
BirdShooter
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