September 16, 2024
Day 29: From Del Norte to Platoro over Indiana Pass (3640 m).
The trail strikes back!
Today was a difficult day for several reasons.
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Things started out great. We got up and everything was dry staying on the bandshell. It didn’t rain overnight but there was talk that the sprinklers would go off all night long.
We got to the local diner at 7 am and loaded up on an omelette with all the sides and shared a plate sized pancake.
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We looked at the weather app in Del Norte and it said 2 mm of rain at 11 and again at 12 but it was only a 40% chance so we had hope.
The ride started on a quiet paved road. It was flat and easy with no wind. Peter said it was 21 km to the first turn but I don’t recall any turns. It just turned to gravel and it was straight up. We knew it was a 1200 m climb but not all climbs are created equal. If you are climbing on a 2% rail grade it just feels like a bit more difficult pedaling but it’s hardly noticeable. This climbing ranged from 4 to 9% grade and it wasn’t switchbacks. It was straight up and you hit a little turn and the. It was straight up again.
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I peeled all the layers soon as the climbing started and I was riding on my standard shorts and UV hoodie and feeling good. As we were climbing I looked back and saw another rider and quickly knew it was Nick, who we’d ridden with twice already but he was moving about 10% further than us each day so he was about 3 days faster. The last we saw him I figured we’d never see him again.
He caught up and we talked while riding. He had an unfortunate incident of having his phone fly off on a bumpy descent but he didn’t notice. He got to the next town and checked his iPad and then hoped it was still up top. He borrowed a motorcycle and got pulled over immediately because it was t licensed. So on top of the lost phone he had a $100 ticket. Then he borrowed a street legal bike but couldn’t find it.
He stayed with us for a bit and we made half the distance and the weather was still fine but we had the rain gear close at hand. It wasn’t much later and it started to rain. The rain gear always says it breathes but that’s false. I rode for a bit and the rain let off so I peeled off the coat and I was drenched underneath. I swapped to merino underneath.
We kept climbing and the rain started again. We decided that this time we needed to get layers on and fast. The problem was my fingers were already cold just wearing standard riding gloves. I laid my bike down and tried opening the clasps on my back rack. No luck. I had my second little tantrum of the trip. I kicked the bag to show it who was boss and then tried again.
I scrambled to put on a puffy and rain coat then stripped down to my underwear and put on pants and the rain pants. This is the first time I used the pants but I am now so happy I had them. We also put on our warmest gloves.
We got back to climbing and it was turn after turn straight up. Completely relentless. It was the most sustained climbing I think I’ve ever done. At one point I asked Peter how much further and he said another 300 m. I couldn’t believe it. We finally made it to the top. It was cold. Very cold. And it was also the highest point we made on the trip (3646 m). I was grateful it wasn’t snow. That would have been a disaster. We made 35 km by lunch which is not much.
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I was hungry so we scarfed down hummus and naan, reloaded snacks and got moving. I think at the time I ate 7 Oreos. We knew there was a big 500 m descent coming but first we had to bump up and down some more. I was already feeling the effects of the climbing.
We started descending and went past the mine. It was more ominous than impressive. There were many wooden cabins that were falling apart spread across the mountain. The mine itself was a newer building but we were warned not to partake in the surface water because it’s contaminated. That was fine because we were both carrying 4 L and since it was cold we weren’t drinking much.
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I think part of the climbing challenge was the weight of our fully loaded bikes. My base weight with gear is 58 pounds. I estimate on top of that I had 20 pounds of food and 10 pounds of water so close to 90 pounds. By comparison an expensive cross country bike weighs 25 pounds. That’s a huge difference!
After the mine we started the proper descent and it felt good to make some distance fast. I was rolling in front of Peter and we were moving fast. I kept looking back every now and again and then suddenly he wasn’t there so I stopped. I was worried he crashed so I waited a minute and then he starts waving to me to come back up. That’s not good. We missed a turn so we had to climb back up 1.5 km. That was a let down.
We finished the descent and then we had to climb again but it started raining hard by that point. The rain and cold really takes it out of you. We ended up meeting up with 3 other riders and turns out that we met one of them 2 nights ago at the campground with all the bikers. We talked with them a bit. They are on an 8 night trip.
The next descent was rough. It was muddy and rocky and really hard on your hands and wrists. We had to stop several times. It was raining hard at times. We made the bottom and found it was 5 miles and another 200 m of climbing to get to next town. We knew there was a restaurant but I was thinking it would be closed so we wouldn’t get our hopes up.
The final climbing was mostly in the rain and then the sun emerged and I got very hot fast. I lost a few layers and Peter commented how pretty it must have been all the way; we couldn’t really see the views for the low cloud and rain.
When we arrived in Platoro and we immediately saw the cafe and Skyline Lodge. It’s a pretty small place as a town. There may be a 100-200 people maximum. We decided this was the end of our journey as the climbs had us hungry and tired and it was already 4:30.
Peter checked us in and I walked over to the restaurant. I sat for a while and no one turned up. There was another table and I asked them how they got menus. They said that you get them at the counter where Peter was checking us in. Strange. We sat down again, looked over the menus and then walked back over to place our order. The whole place has the feel of Schitts Creek on CBC. It’s hard to explain but just a bit odd.
The meal was great and I took advantage of bottomless fries and ate probably too much. We then washed the bikes with a garden hose and checked into our airstream trailer. I’m guessing it’s from the 60’s or 70’s. It has heat and a shower so we are both feeling very happy. We have all our wet clothes hanging everywhere possible so we hope to start dry in the morning if we can handle the heat sleeping.
Highlights:
-setting around Platoro
-breakfast in Del Norte
-dinner at the Skyline cafe
-airstream accommodations
-hose to wash the bikes
-some views
-connecting with the other riders
-6 deer
-chatting with other riders
Distance - 80 km / 1926 m elevation gain
Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 3,274 km (2,033 miles)
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