Author Acknowledgements for Hiking the Black Hills Country, Third Edition

Part 1 (Dec. 1, 2021)

Hiking the Black Hills Country, Third Edition has been out now for six months and I am happy to report that almost 2,000 copies have been sold!

After 4,097 miles driven, 422 miles hiked, COVID closures, hail storms, and lots of coffee and energy drinks, the book was released on June 1, 2021.

The book consumed two years of my life but it was an amazing experience.

It had a great time traveling, hiking, using GPS, making new maps, and writing about trails all over the Black Hills region of South Dakota and Wyoming.

However, perhaps the most rewarding aspect of this long journey was meeting people along the way.

Yes, I am the author and my name is on the front cover, but so many individuals from the different public lands agencies and other organizations helped with the third edition of this book.

These people are credited in the acknowledgments section at the beginning of the book, but I would like to publicly thank them online as well.

Thank you to everyone who answered my questions and provided great insight.

• Sara Erickson, Samuel Ainsley, Benjamin Schumacher, Matthew Jurak, and Eric Carney from the various Black Hills National Forest ranger districts.
• Patty Ressler, Matthew White, Joanna Marshaus, and Andrea Fountain of the Black Hills Parks and Forests Association
• Nickolos Myers (who has recently moved on to Mesa Verde National Park) and Joanne Ensley at Devils Tower National Monument
• Tom Farrell from Wind Cave National Park
• Connie Wolf at Badlands National Park
• Bradley Block of Jewel Cave National Monument (who has recently taken a position with BHNF)
• Kobee Stalder, Custer State Park
• Jim Jandreau, Bear Butte State Park
• Tim Cowman, State of South Dakota Geologist
• Mark Fahrenbach and Brian Fagnan of the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources
• Jona Ohm, Strategic Communications Director for South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
• Curtis Price, Lecturer at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
• LaRayne Woster, teacher at St. Joseph Indian School
• William Welk, Pennington County Highway Department
• Jackie Wyatt, Vore Buffalo Jump
• Marcus Lingl and LaDonna Droll, owners of Vector Design Print and Tech
• Martin and Lisa Freidel of Custer
• The staff of the Hot Springs Public Library
• Joe from Canyon Cab Company for picking me up at the end of the Centennial Trail
• Danielle Billing of Enderlin, North Dakota

This book would not have been possible without the guidance and support of Katherine O’Dell, David Legere, and Lynn Zelem from FalconGuides, who stuck by the project and believed in the importance of this revision even through a time of great difficulty in the world (onset of the coronavirus).

And special thanks to Emily Vollmer, Assistant Marketing Director for the Globe Pequot Press, for all of her hard work promoting the book!

If I have forgotten anyone, I am truly sorry.

A little about the book:

The guidebook features 58 hikes throughout Black Hills National Forest in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, at Wind Cave and Badlands National Parks, Devils Tower, and Jewel Cave National Monuments, Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, Bear Butte and Custer State Parks, as well as trail descriptions for the Centennial and Mickelson Trails.

It is available wherever books are sold and all online outlets.

ISBN: 9781493043088

Part 2 (Dec. 8, 2021)

Additionally, I would like to acknowledge some of the gear I used during the writing of this guidebook, which was written while hiking and camping through excessive heat, rain, snow, sleet, mud, so on…

Gear that withstood most of the journey:

Footwear

Danner Crag Rat Hiking Boots

Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX Hiking Boots

Korkers Polar Vortex 1200 Insulated Winter Boots

Chinook Trekker 30 Snowshoes

Backpack Stuff

My trusty bright blue High Sierra Backpack (5 years strong!)

Kelty Coyote 80 Backpack

Camelbak Unbottle 70

Osprey Hydraulics Reservoir 3.0 Liter

Various REI and Sea to Summit Waterproof Stuff Sacks

Overcoats

Under Armour Storm 3.0 Jacket

The North Face ThermoBall Triclimate Jacket

The North Face Apex Flex GTX Jacket

Marmot Phoenix EVODry Jacket

Pants

KUHL Renegade Rock Pants

KUHL Destroyr Pants

Wrangler ATG Fleece Lined Pants

Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants

Outdoor Research Voodoo Pants

Clothing

Under Armour Fitted Cold Gear

BULA Neck Gaiter

Darn Tough Socks

The North Face and Evony Winter Hats

Wells Lamont, Carhartt, Seirus, and Gordini Gloves

Camping

The North Face Dolomite 20 Sleeping Bag

Alps Mountaineering Getaway Chair

Coleman Dual Fuel Campstove 424

REI Stratus Insulated Air Pad

Mountainsmith Morrison 2 Tent

Miscellaneous

Garmin eTrex Touch 35 GPS

Suunto GPS Watches

YETI Rambler Vacuum Bottle

Tubbs Snowshoe Poles

Motorola G Plus 5th Generation

Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80