With A Thumb And A Bicycle The Possibilities Are Endless

Going from the South Fork Campground to Alpine Divide Campground. This was by the far the worst day of my entire trip. The morning started out great- as I previously mentioned the sun was shining and my destination was only 30 miles away. An easy 2-3 hour trip I figured. From the South Fork Campground I headed east towards Eagar. The first sign of bad luck struck when a little rottweiler chased me for half a mile down hwy 260. Not the end of the world, so I kept riding. Soon the wind picked up. The worst wind I've ever ridden in. It was blowing so hard, that if I stopped pedaling (going downhill) I would be pushed uphill. Going above 6 mph was out of the question. When I finally arrived at the campground 5 hours later, it was so snowed in there was no way to even get to it. I decided to keep riding into Alpine (another small town) just 8 miles downhill from where I was, and luckily the wind had finally ceased. I got there to discover that the Coronado trail/ hwy 666/ hwy 191 -the highlight of my trip- was closed 30 miles ahead. I was devastated and felt like giving up. Quite frankly, I just wanted to go home. Moreover, Alpine was buried under several feet of snow, and it was now snowing so hard I could hardly see in front of me. Camping anywhere in the area seemed suicidal. At the last minute, with the advice of a guy named Wes, as a last resort I hitched a ride east into New Mexico. I got dropped off a a campground at a lower elevation, and was able to setup camp minutes before the storm got there. It would snow for the next 15 hours.

The next morning when I got up and it was still snowing (after going to bed at 5) I skipped breakfast hoping to find something in the nearby town. So I loaded up my bike and rode an icy mile or two into a tiny little town called Luna. I stopped by the only store in town to buy some coffee before I kept riding onto Glenwood further south. After I bought the coffee and was about to walk out the door, the woman behind the counter offered me a seat next to the heater. I couldn't refuse. I ended up drinking six more cups of coffee, and stayed for several hours talking to this woman. After 11 o' clock I decided it was too late in the day to leave, and so Dianne (the woman working the store) offered me her barn to sleep in. That night I slept like a baby next to the her Alpacas, Goats and Dog.

The Alpacas were awesome, whenever my hands were cold, I'd just walk into their pin and stuff my hands in their fleece. Soooooo warm. The goats were pretty cool as well, although one got his head stuck in the fence in the middle of the night so he was rather loud.

The next morning Dianne gave me a ride into Glenwood and we made our goodbyes. I spent the day in town, went to The Catwalk (a very cool hike if your ever in the area) and then setup camp just outside town at a campground called Bighorn.

In the morning I woke to a man and his dog standing over me. He asked me if I was alive to which I responded, “Yah, still here.” We talked for a little while, his name was Bruce and he had been on the road for 7 years. He was living in what looked like a converted GMC milk truck with his dog Andy. After talking for a while, he invited me to breakfast, which I couldn't refuse. We went into town and he treated me to a nice conversation over coffee and biscuits. Later he told me, that it's rare he ever has someone to talk to, and that he greatly enjoyed my company- that was a great start to my day.

I left Glenwood around 10 o'clock headed for the Blackjack Campground on the Arizona New Mexico Border, right where the rim drops off. During the ride the idea popped into my head that sleeping in my own bed was going to be great. The idea took root and 40 miles later, just before the border, I stuck out my thumb and hitched a ride into Safford. Once in Safford I got another ride to I-10. Once there I got picked up and was home before sunset. It wasn't the ending I had imagined but being home just sounded so nice- and it was.

Total, I rode my bicycle 400 miles and traveled 600 with a maximum elevational displacement of 8000ft, and end the end, every mile was worth it. It's not to say that there weren't hard times, but that is just a consequence of “Adventuring.”

Sorry that was a little novel-esk but here are some pictures for those of you with shorter attention spans.
These include pictures of my campsite outside of Luna, before and after the storm, the Alpacas, the dog Mishamar, The Catwalk, and a photo I shot on my way out of New Mexico. Thanks for following!