Bicycles, Backpacks, Thumbs, Mountains and Canyons

Summer time in the desert is a special thing. I took a large group of people camping up in the Pineleno mountains a few weeks ago which was a lot of fun. We played horseshoes, sat around campfires, stayed up late and talked to trees.

When it was time to go, I got dropped off in Safford where I started my next journey: hitchhiking to Canyon de Chelly just below the four corners. I had my bicycle, but it was a secondary form of transportation given that I had three days to get to the canyon, as I intended to meet some friends from California there. The first day was hard, which was my fault. I inadvertently chose a route not commonly traveled, given that I only saw maybe 8 cars that first day. This made getting a ride next to impossible, and I only made 30 of the 370 miles I had to go. Luckily, the next two days, my luck turned around and I made better time. I had to forgo this section of highway during my bicycle tour as it was closed in winter snow, but riding through it now in the back of an open pickup, the forest gleamed white and green, packed so tightly with aspen you could hardly see the sky, freckled with dream like meadows every now and again. It was worth the wait. Day three I made it to the canyon by 10 in the morning. I met up with my friends that afternoon and through a series of fortunate events, was able to backpack into the canyon that night. Our guide showed us a handful of the canyon's ruins, before we set up camp on his family's land. After we hiked out the next day, he prepared the sweat lodge for us before we departed. To this day, I have never felt something so cleansing. You know your warm when you walk out into the the 100 degree desert and it feels like early spring.  As my friends planned to visit the grand canyon before heading further west, I rode south with them before going our separate ways.

A little while later, over the 4th of July, Sean Campbell, Sean Saleh, and myself decided to climb Mount Wrightson where we could watch the fireworks from the summit. Being the tallest mountain in southern Arizona, it provided us with a good perspective. We watched fireworks from Tucson, Sierra Vista, Nogalas, Saughrita, and Sonoita (among others) at the same time. Spent the remainder of the night drinking coco around the fire before we passed out like little babies. I suppose that's what summer is for.

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!

Rim Country

Payson to Show low/ Pinetop was quite uneventful. Getting up the rim turned out to be much less difficult than getting to Payson. I spent my birthday riding out of a little town called Heber. Unfortunately this is the area that was heavily damaged from the rodeo-chediski fire back in 2002, and due to all the snow melt during the previous week, everything was muddy. It kind of looked like a fire ravaged swamp. Pretty soon I was in Pinetop and enjoying a delicious bean burrito. I spent the night at a friends cabin, where we discussed the weather long into the night. We eventually came to the consensus that I'd best leave the following day, since the road I'd be taking was in the best condition it would be in all season. However, we anticipated a change for the worst thanks to a storm rolling through later the next day. So despite all my desires for a zero-day in a a cozy cabin, I headed out early in the morning in my attempt to beat the storm. I made it a campground on the other side of the pass and battened down the hatches before things got nasty.

On a side note, I later found out that after the storm hit, the road (once they got it back open) was in the worst condition it had been all season. Seems we made the right call...

The campground was on the edge of a town called south fork. I could count the number of improved structures on one hand. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful area and everyone I ever saw there waved and smiled. The campground was awesome, The Little Colorado as they call it was flowing and ran right through the middle. Day one of waiting out the storm was long and boring. With nothing to do, and no one to talk to, the day seemed to last forever. All the storm brought me was rain. Day two was very different. That night it snowed for hours and hours on end. Sleeping was hard and the night was long. Luckily in the morning the snow gave me something to do (gathering what was left of dry wood, making little trails, and so on). I received the good news that the storm should be clearing out by noon the following day, and I could resume my tour. The day went by much quicker, and I felt quite accomplished. In the morning I got up to a blue bird day, packed up camp, and headed out to my next destination- Alpine Divide Campground.

Here are some pictures of the rim country, my campsite outside Heber, and some photos of South Fork before and after the first part of the storm storm. The remainder of my trip to come soon. Enjoy!


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Bicycle Tour Beginnings

And so the bike tour begins....

Day 1 went very well, as I made it from Oracle jct. to Phoenix in a straight run. I rode 90mi that day and set a new personal record. That evening I pitched my new tarp/tent that I finished seam-sealing the morning prior, but pitched it so low to the ground that everything was wet in the morning due to condensation. Despite being a little damp, the trip was off to a great start. The desert hills were bountifully green with all of the recent rains, and the smell of creosote drew me closer to the mountains.

Day 2 was very difficult. Starting from just outside Mesa at about 1200ft, I rode almost all uphill until I got over the 4500ft pass in the late afternoon. I found a great spot just off the road where I was out of view of cars, but had access to a running creek down below. Learning from my mistake the night prior, I pitched my tarp several feet off the ground and had a much more enjoyable morning.

Day 3 (today) has also been very strenuous but equally rewarding. I lost the several thousand feet in elevational gain that I conquered the day before, only to climb it again. At about noon I reached Payson at 5000ft, approximately 20mi from where I was camping. I stopped at a small Mexican restaurant and had the best bean burrito of my life. I have a friend in Payson that I will stay with tonight, making today a relatively easy day. Tomorrow I'll be back on the road...

The only thing that stands between me and Show Low at this point is the Mogollon rim, a straight 2500 ft climb. Because it is all uphill, it will surly take me several days. Saturday night, there is supposed to be a storm that will roll through bringing me snow, though I'll likely just hunker down and wait it out.
Here are a few pictures of my route, campsites, and my bike on the side of the road

-Andy