06/02/23 Silver City to Lake Roberts

June 2, 2023

I’m sitting at a picnic table above Lake Roberts, waiting to get evicted but hopefully not. I had to ride a very steep hill to get to this spot, only to discover that the campground is down an equally steep hill, next to the lake. Lovely, actually. But today has been a day of a hills, tomorrow and the next shall be as well, and I just don’t want to have to begin my day tomorrow with a useless climb. So my plan is to forget about the campground and lurk here until dark, then throw my sleeping bag on the picnic table, making breaking camp in the morning quick and easy. Hopefully the store at the bottom of the hill will be open (should have checked the hours when I was there earlier buying my beer) but even if it isn’t I’ve enough snacks to get me to Gila Hot Springs, where I know there’s a store but even better, hot springs. This whole place is a vast mega volcano and ancient magma lurks below, making for relaxing destinations, such as mine.

But that’s tomorrow. Today was nice, difficult but nice. I’ve climbed out of the desert into to the Mogollon Range and am loving it. It’s ideal up here around 7000 feet. The air feels fresh, the temperatures are pleasant and there’s still enough atmosphere to breathe.

I pulled into Cherry Creek campground about 14 miles out of Silver City on the chance there was a spigot to top off my water bottles. It is a dry campground but Jason and Jen were there with their dog Sport and were eager to share what they had with me. They’ve been living out of their van for the past five months and are the among the most happy and chill people I’ve met.

I hung around for a long time chatting with them and watching Jason and Sport play fetch with a fucking log. Jason’s got personality disorders that have kept him out of work and on the streets, cause that’s the system we’ve built. Jason and Jen struck up an acquaintance outside a liquor store in Albuquerque where he’d hang out constantly and she’d visit constantly, drinking her way through an abusive marriage. One thing led to another culminating in a car accident that led to a payout and now they have a van and the husband has no clue where Jen is. Nobody drinks, and all are living in the moment, happy. I considered stopping for the day and hang out more, but I felt like I’d only just started and hadn’t earned a stop yet, uptight boomer that I am.

So, I kept on going. In spite of the hills (I was often in my lowest gear and walked a couple of times) it felt really good to be here in the trees. Nice. But I’ve had enough of hills that I want to stay where I am and begin tomorrow with a nice downhill ride before beginning the climb towards Gila Hot Springs.

Neil and his cousin on day 4 of riding the divide

Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 431 miles (694 km)

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