9/8/15

After spending two nights with Jay it was time to get back on the route again. I had a good time at Jay’s, he is a very gracious host. This morning I was none too excited to travel busy highway from Buena Vista to rejoin the route at Poncha Springs, 30+ miles away. I took Jay up on his offer to shuttle me to Poncha Springs.

When we got to Poncha Springs I put all my gear together and discovered I left my map at Jay’s house. It was too far of a drive to go retrieve it, but Jay did agree to drop it in the mail and send it general delivery to Del Norte, CO.

This development of forgetting my map had me quite down for the day. The factor that I will be relying solely on the GPS to get me to Del Norte was a little unsettling, but the fact that I had to impose on Jay one more time to help me out was bumming me the most.

Right out of Ponca Springs begins the climb to get over Marshall Pass, a Divide crossing of 10,800’. About halfway up the pass the winds for the day started to pick up and as anybody who has been following this can predict my luck… It was right in the face. The climb up Marshall pass is an old rail bed, like Boras Pass, making for very manageable climbs for the day. After nearly 21 miles of climbing out of Ponca Springs, I made the pass. The ride down the other side was very quick at times, although when it did level out a bit, the downhill coast was negated by the wind.

Right where the route enters paved highway is the tiny town of Sargents, CO, which has become a typical gas station/convenience store/bar/diner/RV Park. Since I didn’t have my map, I wasn’t quite sure just many days were ahead of me to get to Del Norte or if I would even see another restocking point until then. Resupply in Sargents just to be safe. The convenience store was very poorly stocked so I opted to take care of at least one meal with a sandwich at the diner.

On the road again the wind was pouring right down the gullet making the 13 miles of smooth highway seem like an uphill grind. I finally reached the dirt road turn off and the 90 degree change of direction gave a little reprieve from a direct headwind for a few miles. At this point, I started looking for a place to make camp. Since most of the land is BLM (Bureau of Land Management) this means I can set my tent anywhere on these lands.

Thought I had found a spot, but it was just too rocky to spread out my tent. Peddled on a couple more miles on the all-important look out for small level spot without rocks. Just as I was running out of BLM and would have to cross a few miles of private before the next section of public land, I turned off on a BLM road hoping to find a spot. Just off the main road, I saw a fire pit where others had camped.

There was hardly a spot smooth or level enough for my little tent but I could make do. Then I could see about 50 yards away a nice level spot that would work very well. Walked down to that and noticed yet a better spot near the bend of a creek with grass. Grass is a rarity in this wide open land of rocks and sagebrush. Found the perfect spot for the night, just had to kick some petrified cow crap out-of-the-way and I was all set.

Please follow and like: