Day 76 - ending near Ludlow, SD - The Great Plains Trail - Sort Of

July 29, 2023

Day 76 - ending near Ludlow, SD

Day 76 - Buffalo, SD to Ludlow, SD

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I slept without coughing last night. Got up at 5:13am. Gathered all the items that had become scattered in the tent, and got everything packed in its place. Walked over to the laundromat to use the laundry sink to fill my gallon water jugs. The campground owner was already outside sizing up what he'd do today on the showerhouse construction. It looks like if I stayed here just a few more days, I could be the first person to take a shower in the new facility.

The bike was all packed and I was leaving at 8:12am, but it wasn't to head north on the highway, it was to go back into town and get breakfast at No. 3 Saloon. This time I tried their Meat Lovers Omelette. That, along with the hash browns, filled me up, but I did also eat the pancake. My waitress this morning was constantly filling my coffee cup, which was appreciated. This place has wifi, so I stayed a while after breakfast to answer some comments to the journal. The coffee refills just kept coming. I finally decided I'd had enough coffee. I left there at 10:39am to go over to Supervalu to get Gatorade. What they have is BodyArmor. Also wanted chocolate milk to drink before I left, but they only had white milk in the single serving size, so it was white milk this morning. I did get a picture this time of the inside of the former drug store. I also rode west some so I could see Harding County Courthouse.

I was piddling my morning away, thinking it was just 20 miles to Picnic Spring Campground in Custer National Park. I double checked Google Maps. They were saying it was 26 miles. I did have an advantage today. The wind was blowing strong from the southeast - a tailwind! I'm not sure what time I finally cleared Buffalo's north city limits sign, but I was able to record 5.1 miles riding at noon.

I followed my pre-trip planning today, which I think follows the GPT. It probably does because at 1:05pm, I turned off of US-85 to get on Brown Johnson Road. This road was in good shape for bike riding, and of course, more scenic than what I was seeing from the shoulder of the highway. At one point, Brown Johnson Road made a right-angle turn where I continued straight north on S. Cave Hills Road. That road had great gravel for bicycling also, in spite of the fact I'd passed a 'Minimum Maintenance - Travel At Your Own Risk' sign. At 2:40pm, I was at the boundary for Custer National Forest. I've been through sections of Custer National Forest before a few days ago. I see now that the different sections have unit names. This unit is North and South Cave Hills. There was a box with Motor Vehicle Use Maps of this unit. I picked up a map, and found it handy.

I followed FR-3120 until I came to FR-3123 at 3:58pm. I'd passed a lot of buttes and draws - great scenery without much climbing. Well that no-climbing came to an end when I got on FR-3123. That was all walking, with stops to catch my breath. It also caused me to start coughing. But what a view there was once I was up at the level where the top of the buttes are!

At one spot I sat down on a rock ledge just to enjoy the view. I had my knees over the edge. Later I decided I should move back a little. When I did, my phone fell out of my pants side pocket, landing on the rock ledge. The screen protector cracked, but that's what the protector is for. The phone is still working. I had a little more uphill walking after that and then things levels out pretty well. I could see a storm to the north as I went. My weather radar indicated it wouldn't reach Picnic Spring Campground.

I arrived at the campground at 5:34pm, and had selected my campsite by 5:47pm. I got the tent set up and then took a break, sitting on the picnic table bench. Rechecked the weather radar after the phone gave off an alert. Now it looked like we were going to get rain, so I hustled to get everything off the bike and into the tent. In the end, the rain amounted to almost nothing here.

This campsite has evergreen trees all around and rock ledges not too far past where I'm at. So I'm hearing that soft hush of wind blowing through the trees. I ate supper at 7:00pm, then started in on writing the evening report.

I've stopped coughing now, and am looking forward to a great night's sleep.

Jeff

Spent: $16.75 plus $5 (breakfast) + $6.98 (BodyArmor, milk) = $28.73