SmartAlec GPS Adventure Guide

Time: 5:00 pm

Location:  Lovers Leap Trail Head behind the School House west of the Game Lodge in Custer State Park

Length: 3 Miles

Recently I spent a day seeing some of the best fall colors the Black Hills has had in a few years. I spent the day with the best adventurer I know, my brother.  We took mountain bikes! I rented mine in Rapid City from Two Wheeler Dealer, a great locally owned bike shop that rents bikes for about $29 for 24 hours.

My brother had a friend that said, Lover’s Leap isn’t too difficult and it’s a ‘loop’ trail so we wouldn’t have to back-track. Sounds good to us!  We didn’t read the trail head sign for difficulty because, of course, we had a ‘friend’.

Turns out said ‘friend’ has never attempted the first 1000 feet of the trail or any part of the trail for that matter.  The beginning was all up hill, not just a little incline but a stutter step incline with rocks.  We just pushed our bikes up.  I admit I was internally slandering said ‘friend’ because this was not the easy ride I’d hoped for.  After we arrived at the to top of the ridge about 25 minutes later, we handled the ride from there on.  It’s not for complete newbies mind you, but definitely a challenging trail for the adventurous type.  Another 20 minutes up the trail we arrived to the spectacular view!  Lover’s Leap is awesome!  See the video here after we arrived. Legend has it that two Native American forbidden lovers jumped to their death from here.

After we spent some time taking pictures and watching the sun start to set we realized we had better get down the hill before its dark.  We had made the mistake before of watching the sun set from Harney Peak and we hiked down in the dark, NOT recommended.  FYI- Bushes and boulders look like buffalo in the dark!

The ride down was absolutely fantastic.  It’s VERY steep at first but the last mile or two is sweet!  The trail pretty much follows a babbling brook, part of the Galena Creek drainage, and winds through the beautiful deciduous forest.  We loved it even though you have to cross the creek a few times but lucky for us the little rock bridges were still there.  If the sun would’ve stayed around we surely would have parked the bikes and just soaked in the babbling brook and quaking aspen!

The biggest challenge for us on the way up was the beginning ascent to the ridge.  The biggest challenge going down was avoiding fresh buffalo chips on the trail.  I admit that we were hollering most the way down “Hellooooo Buffaloooo” to insure that any waiting bulls around the next blind dark corner new we were coming. Fortunately, there were no bulls on the way down.  We didn’t stumble across a lone bull until we free wheeled up to our car to surprise a lone bull waiting for us…about 20 feet away….in the dark, NOT A BUSH!

Discover Lover’s Leap it’s an awsome trip, especially with a guy like my brother..thanks Danny!

Links: Mountain Bikers learn more here

Posted under Off the Beaten Path

43rd Custer State Park Buffalo Round Up:  September 29th, 2008

There’s just something exciting about the idea of venturing out into the open plains of South Dakota and experiencing for a few hours what it was like to see the horizon fill hundreds of stampeding buffalo.  I’ve been to the annual Custer State Park Buffalo Round-Up and I must admit that it’s a thrill every time.  The event itself can be a bit boring in the beginning as you’re packed into a make-shift prairie parking lot along with thousands of others. But when you see the flutter of dust race from your foot as you walk through the dirt you can’t help but say to yourself, today I’m a tough guy!  I mean, who doesn’t feel a bit of the western Clint Eastwood coming to the surface?  Here I am buffalo, you don’t unnerve me, ‘Make My Day”.

The adrenaline runs just a little when you walk towards the southern edge of the southern parking lot and realize ‘there ain’t no fence’ protecting you from the stampede.  Of course there is a fence that runs north and south along the pasture but ‘what if’ they don’t go that way.  Buffalo are known for their unpredictability.  Watch out, they turn on a dime and can out run a quarter horse.  If you don’t believe it, come to the ‘Round-up’ you’ll more than likely get a chance to see for yourself!  Check Youtube or Flickr for some great stuff!

If you want a great view, stay on your feet and be a little mobile.  I always start at the Southern Parking lot, watch the cowboys do their best, with horses, whips, trucks, and guns, to guide the 1,000 strong herd towards the corrals.  As they come into the valley near the Southern viewing area, the herd can break apart and you see the stubborn ones that won’t listen.  They become the crowd favorites!  You can hear… RUN!…”don’t let’m tell ya what to do’!!  Some folks even start there own personal voice-over monologue for the ‘maverick’.  “Listen, I’ve been running for half an hour and I’m tired of seeing every one’s rear end!” or ” Look Mr. I know you got a whip but I got horns and I’m the boss” or even “I forgot my horn polish.. I gotta go back!”

No matter what anyone thinks, seeing the Custer State Park Buffalo Round-up is a once in a lifetime experience that won’t soon be forgotten.  You will come away with your own favorite moment.  For me, I’m always looking for that last renegade bull that won’t go into the corral and forces about 5 cowboys on horses to go speeding down the ridge line to turn it back… Go maverick GO GO GO!

See ya there!

Photo couresy of SD Dept of Tourism

Posted under Events