u/Moos3_M3at

Some things I’ll keep in mind for the next trip

1. The Rochford saloon has an incredibly mediocre cheeseburger, I’ll probably eat a mountain house instead
2. The lady at the snack counter in Rochford was incredibly kind to my dog, I will stop by again
3. I need to hit the lost cabin beer garden in hill city, I didn’t have time this trip and it will be a priority next time.
4. A screenshot of the trail pass is not good enough. I was hassled by some people who were checking passes and only the physical paper will do. They still allowed me to continue my trip though.
5. Really no where to camp in between deadwood and hill city, I should probably have found a campground in advance but lucked out this trip

Not really sure where to start so apologies for the rambling. My buddy and I have been working out at the gym for the last 8 months and everything’s been great! He got married a couple of months ago and his wife has started going to the gym with us everyday, I didn’t have an issue with it initially, his wife is a great person and I have no issues with her personally. I’ve recently started to feel like I’m third wheeling the two of them at the gym. Neither one of them really includes me in their conversations, which mostly just consist of whispering whenever it’s my turn to use the equipment. They also just kinda show up at the gym whenever and notify me after they get there. By the time my friend texted me yesterday, they were halfway through the workout. I’m tired man, I’m basically the lifting equivalent of a caddy. I rack and detach the plates, wipe down the equipment, and help them with form occasionally. I think I’m just going to drop the gym membership and work out at my apartments gym space since I’m basically paying for that anyways.

I am looking to build a small 2 person tent, really it would just be a a large bivvy tent that is big enough for me and my dog - where does one source tent poles? Do you have to custom order them? Is there a site where you can order premade poles at different lengths?

I decided to strip down my bikepacking rig and sign up for a race this last Saturday. I didn’t do any structured training leading up to the event which in hindsight was a mistake. Shoutout to the volunteers at the grasslands gravel race in fort Pierre - they were all super great people; I stopped at the last aid station and chatted with one of them for about 15 minutes before heading off to the finish.

The terrain covered some of the nicest gravel roads I have ever ridden on to some of the nastiest hard to ride double track I’ve ever had to cross. After a month of rain, the cows had pretty much destroyed some sections of the double track. There isn’t really any shade on the course but luckily there was a bit of a breeze to negate the heat and humidity. 10/10 would recommend

I got to participate in my first gravel race today, the volunteers were super nice and I had an OK time. I didn’t do any structured training prior to the race (mistake) and felt pretty horrible starting at mile 56. After attempting to revive my spirits and partially broken body with some Rob zombie, I struggled to an aid station at mile 60. A kind volunteer offered cold water and beer which was enough to get me back to the finish.

As of 7/13, the snowfields were still large and steep enough to need crampons and an ice ax. Lots of rockfall on Middle—make sure you’re wearing your helmet! The heat was brutal, so we opted for a 3am alpine start under the stars.

This would serve a couple of purposes

1. I would no longer need to carry the poles myself, reducing the amount of weight I have to carry.
2. Ideally, the legs would be detachable so I can use them when necessary. The dog will need to learn how to slither in such cases
3. When at camp, she can be off leash without me having to actually supervise her. What’s she gonna do? Role away?

Has anyone done this before? Any recommendations for trekking poles or surgeons?

I moved to central South Dakota from Montana about a year ago for a job and the chance to move out of my parent’s basement. Fast forward to current day and I’ve been all over the state, riding my bike and fishing one weekend at a time. I am tired of having to drive 2.5-3 hours in any direction just to find a decent mountain bike trail system or fish for trout out of a stream. Tent camping locally is hard because there doesn’t seem to be any places where I can set up camp away from the wind and the afternoon thunderstorms can come out of no where. Between the weather this past couple of weeks and not having anyone to share my hobbies with I am going insane. I guess this was kind of a rant but I think I am looking for reasons to stay? What makes this desolate wind scoured section of state worth living in for the rest of you?