BackBone Grande - Even More Grassland!

Gonna keep on tryin'

Till I reach my highest ground

Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder (1973)

Road 7045, for much of its 15 miles on the BackBone Grande route.

Last month, I added to the BackBone Grande a new 12 mile stretch of rugged two track. See, BackBone Grande - More Grassland! Combined with the original 14 miles of rugged two track and a few short connectors, the route crosses almost 30 miles of stunning prairie across Buffalo Gap National Grassland. It really is something unique to experience. 

I love the vastness of those rolling hills, with seemingly endless waves of grass in every direction. And it's so empty of development and so remote, reminiscent of the Continental Divide Great Basin in Wyoming. I half expect to dodge a herd of wild mustangs thundering over a ridge. 

Road 7045 entering Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

Since then, I can not stop looking at maps and satellite images of the area. Could there be more to add before turning west into the Black Hills?

I start looking even further North and East into Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Maybe I can connect Smithwick Road (County 1E), where the existing route leaves the Grassland, with Riverside Road (County 656), the next solid county gravel road to the north. Hard copy maps, digital maps, and satellite images offer promise, but all cross pockets of private land. Maybe. Maybe not. Time to get back out there.

Newly added 15 miles of rugged two track in Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

During July, I drove and rode throughout this area. There must be a way through. A fun ride through. 

The hard copy maps give a reasonably good outline to start, with Road 7045 providing entry into the Grassland from the South at Smithwick Road and from the North at Riverside Road. Once into it, however, the other numbered roads that spin off Road 7045 either loop back to Road 7045 or dead-end at private property. To add to the confusion, many unnumbered two tracks scatter into a spider web of possibilities, none of which appear to lead to a public road out.

Eventually, I find a couple of paths through. Surprisingly, I like best the most direct way, which is simply Road 7045 all the way across. Relatively well defined tracks wind up and down ridge lines featuring big views. Along the way, a solitary sign, half buried in the grass, marks the way. Granted, it's not much, but it's one sign, nonetheless. Since Road 7045 parallels the Eastern boundary of the Grassland for a stretch, at least that stretch has fewer spin-offs that could cause one to ride off-route. This is definitely going into the BackBone Grande.

Now about 45 miles through Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

Shazam! That adds another 15 miles of rugged two track, totaling almost 45 miles into and through Buffalo Gap National Grassland. At the end of that stretch, about 77 route miles from the Nebraska border, the BackBone Grande finally turns due West on solid county gravel roads to climb directly into the Black Hills. The adventure then dramatically shifts.

This will be the last stretch of rugged two track through Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Venturing any further north would bypass Buffalo Gap, the ancient migratory path into the Black Hills that climbs to Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park on one of my favorite gravel roads anywhere. I'm not missing that. Moreover, open prairie of a different sort awaits another 150 miles or so to the North.

I love the original BackBone Grande route, but it's even better with the addition this year of over 30 miles of Grassland. I'll be riding it again, soon. 

RideWithGPS file - BackBone Grande (7/23/34 Update). 

Links to all BackBone Grande posts - BackBone Grande Page.

Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder (1973).