Day 1 Long Haul

Lunch….tortillas and sleet!

Today marked the start of a 5 day trek over the mountains, including the highest point of the whole Divide, the Indiana Pass, at a smidge under 12,000ft. Abiquiu is at around 6,000 so we had 6,000 climb, but a total of around 10,000 + elevation gain with all the climbs and descents. At some point we would cross out of New Mexico and in to Colorado. The hardest state would have been conquered! There was only a small matter or thousands of metres of climbing and the energy sapping experience of hauling 5 days of food and as much water as the bike can handle. For me that’s about 7 litres. As we will be in high country we expect to see more streams from which we can take water and filter to drink.

I slept pretty well in my little cabin but was awake by 5:30 anxious with nervous energy. I had an outside shower which woke me up! We all got ourselves loaded up and met at the only convenience store in town for a coffee and sugar laden breakfast options like donuts and sweet rice! We got on the road at 8, with the first 15miles on road to a small township called El Rino. There is a rural college there which was shut but the grounds man let us in to the hall to get water which was just great! After a short stop we headed towards the beginning of the off road section, passing by some local ‘feature’ called the Mars Polar Lander, a bizarre construction of junk which has attracted international attention. The owner was there, a wizen old guy who mumbled something about Trump. As Jake said afterwards, ‘no prizes for guessing who he voted for. Starts with T. Ends in stupid’!! Once off the road the real Divide was on full display…..a long meandering climb on gravel for the rest of the day. When we weren’t climbing we were descending through glorious valleys. I was very confident on the climbs but totally useless on the descents, which were strewn with rocks, sand, washboarding and steep ravines off to the side. I gingerly made my way down and caught the guys on the climb. At lunch, having not been able to locate an alleged water source we stopped for some grub, when the skies opened and we were blanketed in sleet and rain. After it was clear that it wasn’t going to pass we made the decision to get off the high point before the track turned to slush. As we descended the sun came out!! After 43 gruelling miles we located an idyllic dry camp ground to pitch for the night. This was my first introduction to bear country where you have to hang your food and toiletries up a tree to prevent bears from getting to it and/or deciding to raid your camp in search of food. We had to eat early in order to get the food high up which meant I was starving for the rest of the night! I’ll be better prepared tomorrow! We all pitched tents and had a quiet evening as the sun dipped behind the mountain forest.

Day 1 was a success tho very challenging – constantly watching my fluid intake and failing to eat anything near enough. But I’d rather be conservative at the start of the Long Haul and have food later on! There’s no water to shower and no power to charge things….life is pretty simple on the Divide – ride, rest, repeat! And try to stay minimally hydrated and fed!