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62: North Star Road

After some tossing and turning, at 5:30 AM the first light appeared on the eastern horizon and I deemed it late enough to begin the day. After an oatmeal breakfast while still half wrapped in my sleeping bag, I packed my tent (thoroughly sodden with dew) and got on the road.

Today’s ride is predominantly on the GRMBR on the North Star Road, built by the CCC, and cutting the former Gila Wilderness into two units (the eastern unit is now the Aldo Leopoldo Wilderness). The miles were largely unremarkable, save for a striking concentration of the largest grasshoppers I’ve ever seen. Many were mating, one upon the other, and many of the mating pairs were perched upon the corpse of another road killed grasshopper. I entertained myself for a spell by narrating grasshopper fetishes. When I reached the highway, the grasshopper carnage was even worse, speckling the asphalt.

Upon reaching the CDT I pitched my tent to let it dry out and pedaled on to the Lake Roberts General Store. I wish I had thought to take a photo… the selection of food items available was the most bizarre I’ve ever seen. E.g. there were four cans of Vienna sausages on the shelf of three different brands. I spied a single box of macaroni and cheese, in a faded store brand box, and nabbed it for my dinner.

On my way back, I stopped off at a canyon labeled on the map as “pictograph canyon.” The Mimbres valley here was home to settlements since at least 300 AD through 1100 AD. The canyon flooded recently, but today was cool and inviting. I found a few and enjoyed a few panels of pictographs in a red pigment against white sandstone walls, and took a few minutes to savor being in a quiet desert canyon with a small stream running through it before turning back.

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61: Gila Alt

Morning sounds: Raindrops on my tent; the bugle of a nearby elk; a singular cow moo in the far distance; a bird call a can’t identify, sounding like a ticker tape; a hummingbird’s wings; coyotes yipping

About a mile into the day I arrived at a major crossroads between the “main” CDT and the Gila Wilderness alternate (or “alt” in CDT-speak). Most CDT hikers choose the Gila alt, getting to hike through a long canyon filled with water, pictographs, and hot springs. Sounds lovely! At this point the already faint mainline CDT all but disappears, at least in terms of something one could plausibly ride on a bike (based on my recognizance this morning).

After much deliberation, I opted to ride the first ~20 miles of the Gila alt (and the Gila alt High Route alt) before rejoining the GDMBR.

As forecasted, a series of thunderstorms rolled through this afternoon, driving me into my tent for a few hours. When the last black cloud finally cleared the western horizon, I repacked and soon dropped into a lovely riparian desert canyon. The canyon offered an entirely new landscape and environment. As you might imagine, the Continental Divide Trail offers many stunning high ridges and very few canyons. I immensely enjoyed being among willows, green grass, and canyon walls for a few miles.

The canyon terminated at a lake with a campground and even a water spigot! After a brief climb, this evening’s ride has been along the bench of a large plateau overlooking a valley. Though predominantly gravel road and double track, I’m quite pleased with my route choice today.

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59: Pie Town

Part of the fun of this trip is getting to “discover“ and experience places that are part of the lower of the CDT or GDMBR. Pie Town is one such place. Located in the middle of nowhere and home to a few hundred people at most, Pie Town feels immediately welcoming upon arrival, from the prayer flags fluttering on porches, free in-town camping, to the demeanor of the staff at The Gathering Place restaurant when I walked in. (And, yes, the pie was excellent.)

And then there’s the Toaster House, a free hiker/biker hostel. A CDT/GDMBR staple since time immemorial, the perennially open house is festooned with old toasters and hundreds of pairs of worn out hiking shoes. I availed myself of a hot shower and took advantage of the well equipped bicycle maintenance station in the front yard. It was such a neat and cozy place I was tempted to just stay and hang out—and might have if not for the foolish thought that I could make it to Silver City by noon on Saturday to pick up my next resupply supply box.

Those hopes died quickly when I soon found myself peddling across a large plain with no hint of a trail in sight, only a series of cairns and post stretching to the distant mountains. (In retrospect I wish I had taken the common Pie Town Road Walk Alt. / GDMBR, rather than ride 13 miles of highway to no trail.) Once I reached the foothills a more defined trail appeared, but here to going was slow on the soft surfaces. Where opportunity presented itself, I bailed off onto jeep roads intermittently, and eventually onto the GDMBR for a few quicker miles as the sun set, stopping around 7 pm to grab some water for dinner from a stagnant cow pond.

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