Polvadera Mesa, NM

24 miles, 4:07/5:30

Yesterday while debating for some time in the Abiquiu Inn reception area we met Andy, a photographer and cyclist who is riding and making photographs of parts of the Great Divide and other beautiful places. He said he’d like to make our photograph and today, feeling refreshed and clean, we are excited to chat with him some more. After breakfast we see him outside with his tripod and we start talking with him while we go through our slow process of packing everything up. He’s been in Abiquiu for a few days and rode the section we’ll be riding today, so we get very good information from him that even if the rains continue it should be passable, a very nice ride. The book calls it one of the hardest climbs on the route, but he says he’s ridden even Indiana Pass and it’s not that bad. I feel better about it, because knowing how hard it rained yesterday I’m sure there’s mud up there. But no, it’s sandy and slickrock and we should be fine. Andy’s on his way out of town, so he offers us several Cliff bars (which we’re fresh out of) and even pasta and fixings for tonight’s dinner. Since we were going to stop at the store on the way out to buy such things, we thankfully take them off his hands. How nice! I must say, Abiquiu has some of the nicest, most helpful people of our ride so far. Another couple helped us last night in running through our options and offering to drive us places to find a room. And, of course, the people at the Abiquiu Inn made an exceptional offer on their last room just for us. How wonderful!

We start out of town winding up a dry, red rock canyon with a few typical small town New Mexican homes scattered here and there. I’m not talking Santa Fe here, I’m talking real New Mexican homes made from local materials and sometimes pieced together in stages, even added on to old mobile home shells. There are colorful details and things hanging here and there, fences made out of sticks and rocks. After a short while we leave all traces of town behind and we climb on up Polvadera Mesa. It’s not that bad of a climb, but I’m not the one carrying all the water for a dry camp tonight. Dave has probably twenty extra pounds in a water bag bungee corded onto the back of his bike. He’s still climbing faster than me. Guess I shouldn’t expect that to change any time soon.

Near the top of the climb on the mesa we reach our recommended camping spot near the edge of a canyon. We are surrounded by Ponderosas and a few other conifers, and some large rocks that blasted out of some nearby volcano at some point. There are a couple nearly as tall as me arranged in a semi-circle with an old gnarly tree and some down logs with a well built fire ring set up in the middle. I decide we need a fire again tonight! After setting up the tent I start on the fire and Dave gets dinner going.

I have never built a fire out in the woods before. I guess I left that for others to do. But I want to get this fire going and I gather kindling and medium sized wood to go with the large stuff already gathered nearby. But here’s the thing: everything’s damp or wet from yesterday’s downpour. I try a few times to light the small stuff but nothing gets going. Then Dave offers the suggestion of using my knife to shave off some pieces from one of the dryer branches. OK. I have fun with my very dull knife shaving off little pieces and then gather them and put them on the little pile I alread made. They light! Then one by one I add the smallest pieces until a little flame is going well. I blow on it a lot. Then bigger pieces, all the driest stuff I could find, and a few more until there’s a real fire going. Wee! We eat dinner feeling warm and toasty.