Bikepacking "The Deuce" Maah Daah Hey Trail Extension

I created a route on Ride with GPS to ride the newest section of the Maah Daah Hey Trail http://mdhta.com/. A little over 45 miles in length, the section—called The Deuce—was added in 2014 to extend the already over 100 miles of singletrack trail from the CCC trailhead to Sully Creek State Park. I rode the original 100+ miles last year (2019) with my friend, Rachel McClosky, over a period of 3 days.

This route took me from Sully Creek State Park (where I camped out the night before) to Burning Coal Vein campground. I spent one night at the terminus campground, then returned to my car via a shorter (but very hilly!) gravel route. Sully Creek State Park allowed me to park my car directly in front of their staffed registration trailer for just $7/day.

You can find my route here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41080041. I opted to stay on East River Road on the way back—instead of ducking back onto the Maah Daah Hey at the end—just to save time. It was a long 8-hr drive back to St. Paul, MN!

I selected to ride my mountain bike (Canyon Neuron), because I knew the terrain would be a bit rough for my gravel bike. My Neuron is fitted with a custom frame bag from Cedaero (https://cedaero.com/products/customfr.... On my handlebars is the Swift Industries Catalyst Pack. My rear bag is the Revelate Designs Spinelock Seat Bag (10L). My sleep system—the Zenbivy Light (https://zenbivy.com/pages/light-bed?g... rated to 25°F, which should have been fine for this trip. However, the weather forecast didn't predict that low-lying Sully Creek State Park would be 10°F degrees colder than the surrounding area. After a chilly first night at camp, I was a bit concerned about getting cold when I'd be so far from my car. I made a quick run to Walmart for some polar fleece long underwear and remembered that I also had an emergency blanket (one of those reflective ones) packed. Both kept me cozy at Burning Coal Vein, though I suspect the temperature didn't get as low overnight.

Having ridden the entire Maah Daah Hey now, I can say that The Deuce section is a wonderful upgrade over the original. It's more thoughtfully designed (i.e. not designed by a bunch of cows), which meant better grades for climbing, improved surfaces with less erosion, and even sturdy bridges. Like the original, it does an awesome job showing off the gorgeous landscapes.

I didn't see any animals, aside from the cows you'll see in the video (if you look carefully!). I saw Western Bluebirds, magpies, grouse, turkeys and pheasants, though. It was hunting season, so I think the deer and antelope were properly spooked.

There were 4 trailheads, each with a bench and waterbox along the route. I did a drop ahead of time at Tom's Wash, just in case the water was turned off at the campground (it wasn't). It was handy to hit up both on the way out and the way back. There was plenty of water for general use in the boxes I checked along the way as well.

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I am proud to be a Pactimo Brand Ambassador. For this trip, I wore their: Raptor Bibs: https://www.pactimo.com/products/wome...
12-hr Bibs: https://www.pactimo.com/products/wome...
Range Merino Wool Jersey: https://www.pactimo.com/products/wome...
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Video filmed October 8, 2022.