GDMBR day by day

GDMBR Section 6 Grants to the Mexico Border

This section is one of the most memorable of our trip. It’s got the joy of reaching the end of the journey/challenge, but more than that it’s got the crossing of Gila Wilderness, the infamous and beautiful sting in the tail. The Gila is a high mountain plateau, a bit like the section northeast of Abiquiu, but it is more remote. Water and food are scarce, and it has very hilly, eroded and muddy roads. Despite the hardships, its beauty combined with the knowledge that it’s the last physical challenge of the trip.

On a historical note, the Gila was the birthplace and sometimes hideout for the famous Apache warrior/bandit Geronimo and Billy the Kid lived around Silver City and could hide out there too. It’s so vast, remote, and full of wildlife, I can why! Someone could probably subsist or die there without being found forever.

Day 50 GDMBR 25th September 2022 – Grants to Pie Town

70 miles, 2725 ft ascent

Again we took an alternative route- called the Malpais which goes on a paved road for a few hours before joining the main route on a mud road to Pie Town. The benefit is the chance to see a huge natural stone arch by the road, and it’s still a long enough day out!

We set off a bit late as the breakfast was so minimal that we stopped at a large gas station by the interstate to fill up with snacks and drinks. Jane also discovered her tire was pin pricked all over with “Goat heads”- very sharp thorns that are common in New Mexico. Her tubeless gunk did its job and we just pulled them all out and carried on. A few days later near the border, we met again some Canadians who were struggling with multiple punctures as they were cycling with tubes. Tubeless tires are so much better.

At the Malpais natural arch- hard to get the scale, its huge.

An hour or two before Pie Town we met a young woman walking the route looking pretty tired with a long way to go, Thankfully she found a lift in the back of a pickup truck so we met again in the hostel that evening.

The mud road to Pie Town- was nicely dry for us because we waited out the rain, but those travelling before and after had a tough time.

Pie Town is one of the best overnight stays of the trip as it has the “Toaster House- a hostel run on donations, no set fee. Set up by a king lady who sadly died the following winter. When we stopped it was run by a relative/friend of hers who was so welcoming and great to talk to. We hope the tradition carries on and that the toaster house survives. Its name, I think, comes from the hoard of toasters piled up on the fence outside, born of a sometime tradition of locals donating toasters to it.

The veranda of the Toaster house with Jane and Geoff? who we cycled with on and off across the Gila

Pie Town itself is named after several cafes there, selling pies. For someone from northern England, I had visions of huge meat pies – no such thing, these are desert pies. Sadly we arrived too late and left too early so no pies for us- rescued by the hostel owner who had one going spare.

Day 51 GDMBR 26 September 2022 – Pie Town to Bursum Road wild camp

59 Miles, 2425 ft Ascent

Set off with some trepidation as we worked out it was 3 or 4 days to Silver City, the next town and in between there is very little water / shops. We started with the now usual 7 litres of water between us, our max with bike bottles with the intention of filtering more into a water bladder where possible. Jane could carry 2 bottles in her frame as she had no frame bag plus two on her forks, and I had one on the frame and two on my handlebars, plus a water bladder in my small backpack.

No huge hills as Pie Town is quite high, but lots of junctions so Sat Nav is very useful. My Garmin map started paying up as I had set it up badly for this section so relied on Komoot which was fine. The route follows Mangas Road through a mix of sparse ranches and then woodland, eventually descending to cross a road in the middle of nowhere, into a great basin to the Bursum road which climbs out of it into the Gila proper. For water, we stopped a couple of times to filter water from ponds with different levels of muddy water,

Descending on the Mangas road out of the forest into the basin

Starting along the Bursum Road towards the Gila

The Bursum road was closed due to a huge washout but we had read we could push by on bikes for a few miles, so we stayed on it. It was very rough and we camped in the middle of the washed-out section, resembling a dried-up river more than a road.

Wild camp by the washed-out Bursum Road soon after ” Y Ranch”

Day 52 GDMBR 27 September 2022 Bursum Road/Y Ranch to Diamond Creek wild camp

54 miles 2525 ft ascent

Into the Gila wilderness, mostly high forest but with unexpected grasslands where we met a farming couple mending the road, which was in a very sorry state! The Bursum road soon after our camp spot had completely disappeared in places, with holes the size of a car and so deep we got completely clear groundwater out of the bottom. In the grasslands, it was very rutted with dried mud. This would be impossible in the rain but we had fine weather again.

The objective was a campground at Black Canyon, but as I was so whacked and Diamond Creek was so beautiful, we stopped there.

About 2/3 the way we topped up water at a forest service centre . There was no huge shortage if water- recent rains had filled the odd stream too.

Heasing down towards the Beaverhead forest service station

Intricate patterns on a log in the river

Day 53 GDMBT 28th September 2022 -Diamond Creek to Silver City

73 miles, 6200 ft of ascent

Monster day, a bit longer than ideal as we didn’t make it to the Black Canyon campground yesterday. The route goes over a series of ridges to get to the road near Lake Roberts then takes in a few more hills to get over to Silver City on the road. This day alongside the Indiana pass and Abiquiu to Cuba was the hardest of the trip for us. This one had a certain edge as the coast downhill to Silver City, totally knackered and in failing light marked the end of all the hills and the start of a clear run to Mexico. Magic!

To make things tougher, we had banked on finding the shop at Lake Roberts open but just like on our way to Abiquiu, it was closed for the season, and again we knocked on a door to ask for water. This time the householder took some gentle persuasion by the calm and polite Geoff, who was given a good telling off that anyone cycling in the Gila should carry water!!

The meadows had a fine shimmering look at dusk and dawn from some sort of fine mesh covering.

After dumping our stuff in a cheap motel we had a good refill in MacDonalds. Geof, who was 70-odd years old put us to shame in the Gila, gently carrying on at a constant pace, while we alternately shot ahead and slowed down.

We were so shattered and needed to plan logistics to return from the Mexican border, that we stopped a couple of days at Silver City, but Geoff trundled on at 7.30 am the next morning.

Silver city is a pleasant and relaxed place with some good bars, coffee shops and restaurants, and quite an art scene. We even had a great old hotel ( the Palace) after checking out of the cheapo motel, the only one we stayed in that’s worth recommending.

The reception area, Palace Hotel, Silver City

Hard to leave, but after deciding to end the trip at the Columbus border crossing instead of the usual Antelope Wells we were sorted and on our way in a couple of days. Columbus has a nice hotel with transport for bikes and is a stone’s throw from a real Mexican town, whereas Antelope Wells is in the middle of nowhere.

Day 54 GDMBR 1st October 2022 – Silver City to Hatchita

77 miles 1800 ft ascent

Great day on good roads and surprisingly enjoyable gravel/packed mud across the desert to Hatchita, where there is a store run by cycling enthusiast and a community centre to stop at. Many people stay at a guy’s ranch who arranges transport back from the border but we didn’t need that. Confusingly both the shop owner and the transport guy have the same name – Jeffery! one’s Sharp (Ranch/transport) and the other is Cullum (store and tour rider). The store is great: very simple but with food and coffee, ice cream and even hot chocolate!

Feeling too cocky getting near the end of the trip, I managed to ride straight into the back of Jane heading out of Silver City, coasting along looking at the map on my phone. She got quite badly scuffed and I broke her panniers. After patching up both her knees and her paniers with Elastoplast we continued on our way. She accuses me, probably correctly, of being more concerned over her bike than her knees!

Rolling quickly along the undulating dirt road to Hatchita felt amazing- grinning from ear to ear at times, with the finishing line clearly in sight and on good terrain. Superb day.

The most southerly US railroad with the Mexican mountains behind

The wall of the Hatchita community centre, was adorned proudly with the names of, I guess, locals who supported it.

Day 55 GDMBR 2nd October 2022 – Hatchita to Columbus

44 miles, 500 feet ascent

Final day! A breezy and cloudy day following the border road and fence. It was dominated by the border security features and the wild and empty terrain, so a bit underwhelming. I think we got our good feeling out yesterday and today was a bit of a grind.

To our left were the empty plains of New Mexico, and to the right were the Mexican mountains. In between was Trump’s wall, border patrol cars /masts and even a surveillance air balloon. The road even had a sandy track alongside where the border patrol vehicles drag tires to sweep it clear of tracks, so they can spot if anyone has crossed.

To be fair to Trump and the US security, the land is wide open with no settlements, so otherwise would be an easy place to cross for adventurous/desperate migrants. The migrant issue pervades the atmosphere around here.

We crossed the border for a couple of hours to celebrate. The huge fence and wall which cuts across here are clearly just for the benefit of the USA. On our way into Mexico, nobody checked our passports, logged our entry or looked through our bags bar a casual poke at a pannier. On the way back it was the usual entry checks but again easy with an Esta.

Thankfully, we had plenty of time to pop into Mexico, and relax in the Los Milagros hotel in Columbus. The next day we would get a lift from the hotel proprietor to EL Paso airport where our car hire was booked for a 2-week tour of the great National Parks of Utah and Arizona.

Job done!