GDMBR 2023 Day 41
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- September 19, 2023
Distance: 87km
Ascent: 1156m
Descent: 973m
End of day elevation: 2943m
Weather; Partly Cloudy, 14°C
When I got up, it was a tad colder than I thought it should be.....then I noticed that the power was out in the cabin. A quick check of the breaker panel didn't show any tripped switches...and it was then that I notice hydro trucks just down the street making repairs...so there was a general, ,town wide power outage.
It was no real problem for me, as I just packed up and headed to the local lodge that had power and were serving breakfast.
As forecasted, the weather upon leaving Platoro was beautiful...and to add, a low, dramatic fog was burning off of the valley.
The long, predominantly downhill morning ride to Horca was absolutely beautiful, interrupted briefly by cattle being herded along a short section of the road. I was riding. Along the way I met a couple of the hikers I met at the campground.
I was hoping to grab a snack at the RV park in Horca, but unfortunately it was closed...but the gift shop in town was open, and they served coffee and very tasty pastries....of which I grabbed a couple for the road.
Immediately after Horca, the paved road out of town climbed up to La Manga Pass...and shortly afterwards I found myself in New Mexico. The route took me onto a gravel road which started out nice, but quickly degraded to some of the roughest track since Montana...with some steep, rock-strewn hike-a-bikeing. After the road became more ridable, I climbed up to a plateau that provided spectacular views of the mountains and valleys all around, then dropped into a valley where I had hoped to ge water at a stream...but to no avail as it was dried up. Shortly after the bridge across the dried out river bed, the climbing began again up to another plateau where there were several hunting camps, before dropping off the other side and eventully to my camp at Upper Lagunita campground...and that's where I met Mark and Alan...an couple of riders I had met back at the Salida Hostel. They were generous to let me setup camp at their rather large campsite. And so it was for the rest of the eveing...chatting and comparing stories of the day's adventure. I retired at around 9pm...and slept like a rock for the night at that lovely campsite.
Your Colorado passage was very well planned and executed! Indiana Pass is a biggie. Hats off to you, brother!! Thanks and best...pops
Thanks! I was surprised at how beautifully diverse Colorado is...agreed, Indiana Pass was a long climb...and given the fact that I had such great weather for a lot of whole ride, I had that rainy afternoon coming to me! :-)
Welcome to NM! Enjoy the rocks, mud, and hail, just kidding. Cant wait to see the rest of NM. You've been doing great at staying positive. Thanks for videos and insight.
Thanks Mike!! Was happy to get to the final state. One of the things I learned, was to just go with the flow and not try to push it to hard...nature will always win, so better to go with it than try to fight it.
Nicely done! Thanks for the post! Solo-travel!!!!👍
Thank you and you're welcome! Fundamentally solo...but always meeting and riding with other riders along the way...such as it is on the GDMBR!
We got stuck in a cattle drive, leaving Upper Red Lake Campground. We were inside the herd for a good half mile. A very interesting experience.
Awesome! Not easy work, especially when the occasional renegade tries to go their own way. I was impressed at how the dogs keep them in line when I saw them between Marshall Pass and Sargents.
That first bit of New Mexico to Lagunitas was spectacular, some of my favorite scenery, but the road was a mess of rock and mud and eroded gullies. Took me all afternoon to go 20 miles.
That was a mess, wasn't it! Thankfully I didn't have rain then, hope it was the same for you. Learned that those rocky inclines are intentional by using mining tailings...nasty yes, but I think I'd rather push up through rocks than mud...
Nice views! We stayed at the campsite in Horca.
Spectacular!! Did you stay at the RV campground in Horca?
I can’t recall the name but it was quite nice along a river. You would have turned right from the store you went to and another right across a bridge. There definitely was plenty of car camping, but we got a nice quiet spot near the river.
Funny, when we hit the New Mexico sign it started raining and didn’t stop all day. Travel was very slow with the peanut butter mud. The camp site you finished at was where we stayed as well.
That sounds like the RV park...glad to hear you got a good spot by the river!
That sounds nasty...those roads are rough enough without being muddy...sounds like quite the slog...I bet you were really happy to end that day!
New Mexico!!!
Was very happy to get there!
This was a really interesting day. The road down from Platoro was some of the prettiest of the whole trip. Then the road in New Mexico was some of the worst of the whole trip. However the view from the top of that horrible muddy/mucky/rocky slog was quite spectacular. Fortunately the rest of the roads in New Mexico where much better.
Indeed! We were very high for the entire second half of that day. Views were magnificent riding across that long plateau leading to the campground...the reward for all that work!