Tl;Dr: one more day of healing up in Platoro before trying the highest pass on the route. Work in progress, check back later
Doing a few errands and getting ready to ride tomorrow – itching to go.
My spokes took a number of hits in NM, I checked them over today – nothing broken, the tension seems a little whacky in places, but the wheels are true and solid.
Doing what I can to make Laurel & Hardy and myself comfortable. Thinking of checking in at urgent care in Del Norte.
Getting packed up, hoping for an early departure tomorrow. There’s trash to get rid of, reorganizing to not wear the giant Da Brim & carry a bit less water (there’s plenty falling from the sky).
The route to Del Norte goes over the highest pass on the route – 11.9k feet. It’s not a ton of distance (~50 miles), and only about 4,200 feet of climbing. I’ve got a couple 6k days under my belt. So, not so bad! But it’s higher than I’ve been since… Oh, 2014? And the weather tomorrow seems good, but with a chance of showers around noon – hard to avoid. (By the way: my new favorite weather app is Clime – really well done!)
After Del Norte – well, 1 day at a time. The next big destination is Salida, 152 miles from Del Norte. There are plenty of places to camp and some smaller towns (Sargents, Doyleville).
Last night’s lightning was not normal according to Nick, one of the proprietors of Gold Pan. Sounds like Platoro got it bad, but Jasper Colorado got it worse. Speaking of, I’m about as close as I’ll get!
Some pics from platoro
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