Wilderness areas

[DAllen72]

Thinking about doing an out and back on the Centennial Trail in the Black Hills (Bear Butte to Wind Cave and back) at the end of May.  This would be solo and unsupported.  Big ?, how to get around the Black Elk Wilderness?  Obviously illegal to bike through, buy can I break the bike down and carry it on my pack?  Is it illegal to still possess the bike in Wilderness (even if strapped to your pack).  Any input would be appreciated, thanks. 

[ScottM]

Hey there.

This should go on a FAQ, since it's come up a few times now.

The technical definition, if you really get down to it, is that even possessing a bike in a WA is not allowed.  Do two wheels and a frame a  bike make?  Depends on your view, I guess.

Wilderness detours on long distance trails are a pain, I sympathize with you...

[AZTtripper]

I haven't been there in years but I thought they had built detours around it. I remember a thread at MTBR on the Midwest page somebody asking about this route. The locals didn't sound interested in bikepacking it, they said there was too much boring cow trail and better to do just the good pieces.

The did say that somebody at the local shop would have the GPS data for it though.

I posted that I thought the guy should do it it seams like a great route the parts I have ridden (only around Sylvan Lake in the 90's) were good. I would like to do this someday but I think I would go back on Michelson (rails) Trail for a loop with a quick finish.

 

[DAllen72]

ScottM

I'm going to try and make contact with someone with the Black Elk WA.  I'm guessing their answer (if I get one) will be an interpretation, but I'll give it a shot.  Also, thanks for this excellent site

AZTripper

Good idea, I'll check with MTBR and the BH bike shops.  There is some sweet single track in the the Black Hills, but the even the cow paths are better than what I have in my neck of the woods.

Thanks again. 

[DAllen72]

Nothing shocking here but I spoke to some people affiliated with the Black Elk WA this afternoon.  First person, long sigh then transfered me.  Next person, after another long sigh, stated it would be legal to carry a broken down bike on the backpack.  Basically said it wasn't illegal to possess the bike but to use it as a mechanized mode of transport in the WA.  Obviously, this was his interpretation (as I expected).  On another note, he thought this was highly unusual and couldn't believe one would carry a bike over 9 miles.......he thought I was nuts    

[dave54]

The Forest Service was originally set up as a decentralized organization, with all decision making made as low in the organizational chain as possible.  Ideally, all land management decisions should be made by people with boots on the ground, not judges and lawyers and bureaucrats in Washington DC.  Enforcement of the Wilderness Act should follow this same principle, and has for years.  So the status of the disassembled bike on your back should be made by the local officials, and for the most part FS interpretation of the Wilderness Act has followed this philosophy.  More heavily used Wilderness elsewhere in the country most likely would not allow a bike carried in this manner, but as DAllen pointed out, here it would be acceptable.   

Unfortunately, over the years various court decisions have tried to move all decisions up to the national level in a cookie cutter one-size-fits-all manner.  Various factions of the environmental industry go judge shopping when a locally made decision is contrary to their agenda.  So how long would this be allowed in the Black Elk Wilderness?  If it became a common practice the policy may change, but for know it appears to OK.

[Pivvay]

It sucks that "by the book" even possession of a disassembled bike is illegal. This makes promoting an event with breakdown and carrying it not possible IMO. However for "personal" use, if you can get the go ahead in an area and carry it through, i don't see why it should be a problem. A disassembled (wheels off) bike your back clearly shows intent to walk through the wilderness section, not ride it. I think most rangers who could ever ticket you would likely feel the same way but the problem remains that you just need one too disagree and the way the law is written is not on your side

Of course whether bikes should be banned in wilderness is a whole different issue too...

[Slim]

There are 2 questions here:

I'll start with the easy one: yes there is a bike detour around the Black Elk Wilderness in the Black Hills of SD, it's called 89B (according to my guideboook: Exploring the Black Hills and Badlands by Hiram Rogers, revised edition 1999)

The second is whether you can carry your bike through a wilderness area. I'm not going to tackle that one.

[DAllen72]

Slim,

Thanks for the info on 89B.  Didn't know about the detour, this would be ideal and I will certainly check into it.   

Dave

[Marshal]

Here is a report on the "south" on the Centennial Trail to "north" on the Michelson (rails) Trail
http://mtbrcmusing.blogspot.com/2008/07/black-hills-tour-part-1.html
http://mtbrcmusing.blogspot.com/2008/07/black-hills-tour-part-2.html

Jim and I tried to do this loop/trip the yr before but I blew up in the heat and had to bail, Jim went back the next yr and did it solo...I think he has GPS tracks

Side Note: this route would be a great addition to the ITT routes imo

Oh, here are Jims pics, Bk Hills are cool........http://mtbrcmusing.blogspot.com/2008/06/sd-trip-report-to-come.html

[DAllen72]

trail717,

I read this report last year and just reread it a couple days ago.  When I read it the first time it planted the seed as I had no idea the Centennial trail existed.  I had been considering a Grand Loop attempt this year but just don't have enough time to give it an honest attempt.  Enter the Centennial trail.......closer to my home and hopefully good enough to satisfy my spirit for a while  

[Marshal]

trail717,

I read this report last year and just reread it a couple days ago.  When I read it the first time it planted the seed as I had no idea the Centennial trail existed.  I had been considering a Grand Loop attempt this year but just don't have enough time to give it an honest attempt.  Enter the Centennial trail.......closer to my home and hopefully good enough to satisfy my spirit for a while  

Good Luck, Take lots of pics, look forward to your write up, this one's on my list of rides to finish someday!!!!!!!!!!

[jhl99]

I'm considering a trip to the Black Hills this fall.  In preparation, I've been scrounging together various datasets.

The following  image shows the data provided by the NF Service regarding the wilderness boundry (white), the Centennial trail (Green Arrows point  to N and S segments) and the trails (red) that the NF Service has published.  I haven't looked at the roads and DRG data much yet, but it looks there are trail fragments on the W side.

[jjonas]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here. I saw trail717's links to my blog so I thought I'd give a little more detail on the Black Hills Tour. BTW, the time that trail717 and I tried to ride this route, it was late July and the temps were well above 100F (I think it was 106F the first day on the trail) and there were a few wildfires burning near the trail. I bailed on the loop about halfway down the Centennial trail because I knew finding water on the southern end could have been difficult.

I think the best way to get around the wilderness area is to exit the Centennial Trail at Hwy 244 and head west for about 3 miles. Turn south on a dirt road (Palmer Ck Rd) then turn south onto Hwy 87 (Needles Hwy). Ride the pavement through the needles then rejoin the trail at Iron Ck.

To connect the Centennial Trail with the Mickelson Trail:
At the Wind Cave NP boundary, take the dirt road to the east and then south. It will come to a "T" at the mouth of Red Valley. Then head west back to Hwy 385 and into Hot Springs on 7-11 Rd. Go south out of Hot Springs on Rt 71 as soon as you cross the Cheyenne River, turn west onto Rocky Ford Rd (dirt). After a couple of right turns you'll head down a steep grade to a ford crossing the Cheyenne River. Rocky Ford Rd. will take you to old Hwy 18. From there, you can turn north and catch the Mickelson Trail about 10 miles in or you can turn south and ride into Edgemont for the official start of the Mickelson.

I'll pull my GPS tracks together and see if I can convince Scott to add it to the routes page.

[HopeHal]

Poach the damn thing with the bike on your back!

Sets a good example to those who are ripping up WA with their wheels.

When they keep the ******* cows out of WA then I might change my opinion.

The USFS is too overwhelmed to get woolly about such hairsplitting and challenging such a ticket before a federal judge would be a likely win for common sense.