May 31, 2023
roads continue to worsten
Black canyon to somewhere in the plains of Augustin
Today we woke up with a modest ambition to leave before 10 am. We ate oatmeal and packed everything by 830. We set off just after our camp mate, bill, who we met yesterday when he pulled in. I didn't expect to ride with him, but we seemed to be riding a similar pace for the first half of the day. There were many fewer trees today and the road felt quite exposed. It was hot and we started with a big 1200' climb. It wasn't too bad and the descents were very mellow. Sometimes the descents are so rough and rocky its not a reward. We passed at least 3 hills on our way to the beaver head work center at 25 miles. The map said there was water, so we figured it would be a good lunch spot. We made it there around 2 and it was quite busy with firefighters. We had been eyeing a fire that was burning north west of us. I think it's the pass fire. Luckily the wind was blowing the smoke away from us. Bill set off from the work camp just before us. The road going north from here was variable. Sometimes rocky and sometimes rutted clay. We passed through some private ranch land and into the plains of San Augustin. It was super sunny with no trees and we promptly passed into the smoke from the pass fire.
The wind was gusty, but partly from behind. I stopped often to put on chapstick or inhale some saline spray. As the miles wore on, the road became worse, with large rocks and deep ruts. The wind was ever changing but it seemed to be coming from the west. Eventually we passed out of the smoke area. Which was a relief, but we were so tired from the day already. The miles were slow to come. Eventually we found what we thought was the water spot, but it was just a cow trough and looked gross. The map showed a water place and I hoped that wasn't it, because it was the last opportunity for water before camp. Not only did we need water for "dinner", but also for the next day. At this time I hadnt seen bill for a while and wondered if he had found something we hadnt. He had the ride with GPS maps, ACA phone map, AND the gpx files for a garmin. Eventually I see him just off the road on an embankment. He pointed for us to go down the little off shoot road toward a tanker. I was stoked. We met him down there only to find the tanker empty, but we did notice a small concrete cap covering a well.
We moved the cap to find a natural spring! It had minimal algae and we filtered a bunch. It was probably 7 pm at this point, and the next camping area was in the national forest. We had left the forest when we went into the plains. We rode a few more miles into the national forest and found a service road to explore. We found a suitable spot and started to make camp. It was around 7 pm and we had been riding for 11 hours. We did the bare necessities: brush, put up the tent and sleeping stuff, ate, etc. The last few nights we had been making ramen with dried beans and vegetables, but tonight didnt allow us enough time, so we ate wraps with dates and nut butter. It was a bit sad. I did do a surprisingly effective towel bath, but it was a far cry from a nalgene bath. As we settled into our tent, surrounded by sparse pine trees and cow turds, a great relief was upon us.
Mileage:52
Up:4577
Down:3743
Ride time:11h
Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 82 miles (132 km)
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