6/26
We were fairly to mostly hammered in Grants, so we got off to a late start. By the time we ate at the Route 66 “Grant’s” Cafe, where we were clearly out of place, and got rolling it was almost 11 am. But thankfully it was not yet hot.
With our written permission in hand we pedaled off towards the mountains. Ah, our first big climb. Paved for the first 8 or 9 miles, it went by fairly effortlessly. It was awesome to watch the vegetation change from scrub to pines–though not as spectacular as, say, Mt. Lemmon. But still the trees felt great when we got there.
On the dirt we began seeing boot prints–could it be we have found our CDT hikers? Not 2 minutes later I saw a backpack on the side of the road.
Klaus and Susan are from eastern Washington and have been hiking for 6 weeks. There pace is admitedately slow, but they seem like they are really enjoying it. We sat and chatted about this and that for over an hour. It was nice to finally meet someone crazier than us. They have to carry enormous amounts of water at times. They filled us in on some of the bikers they had seen as well as the thru-hikers that are ahead on the trail. Klaus was nearly floored when we told him we left antelope wells just last sunday. 6 days! We’ve been out here for 6 weeks!
We could have talked to them for hours, but it was getting very late and we hadn’t been riding much. So eventually we pressed on towards 9000 feet. Eventually the road changed from gravely to soft and narrow. It was almost like riding pine singletrack with swooping turns and some nice up and down. The biggest challenge was at the end: a very steep pitch that had us struggling in granny gear.
We got a tiny shower near the top and some lightning but nothing to worry about. It was a good thing we had the permit since a Sheriff drove by and asked to see it.
The descend was again almost singletrack. I was happy to be riding it in the direction we did. Instead of descending on pavement we got the nice, soft, dirt road to cruise down. It was the best downhill of the trail thus far, easily.
We bottomed out not far from Grants itself then turned onto BLM land which apparently has no name. We’ll call it the “windlands.” The elevation varied from 6000-7000 feet, but there is hardly and vegetation and many deeply eroded arroyo’s. The road in this section is more of a 4×4 road, especially with the arroyo crossing which can be quite steep and technical. The area reminds me of upper elevation southern utah. Some very nice rock formations and cliffs.
About 10 miles into this windland the storms began to roll in. To either side of us we had dark coulds. Some were parked above Mt. Taylor. Another was rolling in from the west. We felt lucky for a while until a wall of dust was approaching from the west.
Before it hit the wind picked up to 40-50 mph gusts, nearly knocking us off our bikes. It was a crosswind, so somewhat rideable, but difficult to keep your composure. Every 10 minutes we’d get hit with one of the walls of dust and would be forced to close our eyes, stop and wait it out. It was actually quite frightening at times. There literally was no cover–no rocks to hide behind, deep canyons to seek shelter and certainly no trees. I was preparing mentally for a night of 40 mph winds, no sleep and definitely no warm food. We were stuck out there.
It was getting late but we just kept riding–standing around or setting up camp would have been a fairly futile exercise. As sunset approached the wind died somewhat–I couldn’t believe it. We set up camp next to a wildlife “exclosure” (where cows are not allowed to use the water and kept out). As we ate our dinner a moose ran across the plains attempting to access the water. We felt bad for being a little bit close to the fence, but I’m sure he/she was able to get around us later on. It was a beautiful creature to watch from a distance.
6/27
Sleep was pretty good interupted by a few bouts of wind. We got up early to try and make Cuba before the afternoon storms rolled in.
The first 15 miles to Ojo Frio spring were more of the same–difficult arroyos and almost technical riding (there was even slickrock in places). It made for slow but enjoyable time. At the spring we were nearly out of water and ended up not filling up enough. It was about 47 miles from the spring to Cuba and unfortunately things got hot after that.
We were tempted to turn off the route and take the highway into town, but we pressed on despite our lack of water and the scorching sun. The final unmarked road through BLM land was sandy and slow, cutting even deeper into our water supplies.
We saw a single vehicle on the road and asked them if they knew where we could find some water. When she reached into her cooler to hand Paula to ice cold bottles of water I almost could not believe my eyes. We were definitely saved by the kindness of a stranger. We would have made it, but it would have been much harder. Even with the extra 40oz of water we both still ran out right as we reached Cuba.
Cuba is a decent enough place to get a cheap motel, refuel and head out. I like it better than Grant since it’s smaller and we can walk around. El Bruno’s restaurant was good, but definitely too hot for these gringos.
Now we head off to the high country (and hopefully some signed roads). I just hope the storms are kind to us.
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