Devil’s Gulch is a great destination to spend the day outdoors, hike its many trails and enjoy the sunshine and some nature. Most of the time, people drive to get there. But 16-year-old Miles McDaniels used his own two feet, and walked twenty miles to get there.
Miles McDaniels is a student and scout from Brandon Valley. His ultimate goal is to work to Eagle Scout status.
“Right now, I’m in the last rank before Eagle Scout and with the pandemic being what it is, I don’t know how the normal process of becoming an Eagle Scout is going to work. But, I have several merit badges to achieve first before I can begin the process of becoming an Eagle Scout, so my plan is to just keep going forward one step at a time, get all those merit badges and just go from there.”
The latest merit badge he’s achieved is hiking. Inspired by and taking some pro-tips from some videos on YouTube, he started working on his hiking badge.
“I set personal goals and started training for it,” he said. “First, three miles, then fifteen miles and then twenty miles.”
The route and ultimate destination he chose was from out his front door from his family home in rural Brandon/Sioux Falls, to Devil’s Gulch here in Garretson.
“Two days beforehand we did a run through of the full route using the car, so I would know all the landmarks along the route. I left my house at 5 a.m. and reached Devil’s Gulch by the afternoon. I certainly picked a hot day for it. (In fact, all that week temperatures were in the 90’s or above and extremely muggy). So, when I was done with the 20 miles I was all done in and didn’t walk the trails or explore the park, so I came back this week (July 21st is when the Gazette spoke with him) so that I could walk all the trails and enjoy the park for itself. (It was his first visit to the park.)”
McDaniels said that after he finishes high school at Brandon Valley he would like to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. Ultimately, he wants to work on the railroad, and said he’s willing to start at the bottom and work his way up to driving trains all over the nation.
“The pandemic has been rough on everybody and one of the things you’ve got to battle is boredom,” he said. “There is no reason to stay at home and be bored, not when there is a whole world outside your door. If you can, go outside for a walk and enjoy it. Make it a day trip. Devil’s Gulch is a good place to do that. I did it to challenge myself. So, I would encourage you to go out and challenge yourself too.”
