Michael made it to the campsite a little after 7 pm and we shared a dinner together as he offered me some chicken teriyaki. He had lasagne after both adventure meals were sufficiently rehydrated. Too bad the Army’s field meals were no where near this standard. Dinner was pleasant and we listened to the Coyotes doing their early evening routine howling at the moon and then listened to whatever else that was apparently out here with us.

I am still trying to take it easy on my rear tire, so I started a little later and in more light to avoid as many larger rocks as possible. It was a beautiful morning as I was quickly greeted by a single pronghorn and then an elk. The elk was a little confused and actually ran parallel with me for a few seconds.

I am glad I spoke with some locals yesterday because I may have been more concerned with all the smoke this morning. I actually rode through some smoke that was a little eye burning. I used my neck gaiter to keep as much of the smoke out of my airway as possible. My clothes still smell like smoke this evening.

The forested area with the controlled burn was beautiful and the trail was amazing. I was lucky it was still chilly this morning as covering my face was actually serving two purposes, the additional purpose being keeping warm.

The sun eventually had an uninhibited direct line to me as I rode on and the temperature quickly flipped to a little warm and sometimes even toasty. Getting more water was essential today at the Beaverhead Work Center. This center provides an outpost for firefighters to stage to fight local fires. I was looking forward to filling up on as much water as possible because the last half of the ride would be the ups and downs of the Gila National Forest.

I saw my first longhorn on the trip and he seemed as amazed about me as I was of him. He seemed to be a little too proud of himself, shouldn’t he be in Texas with all the other proud ones?

I eventually rode through some open places and by a flooded area before reaching the work center. The views were amazing and seem constant with New Mexico, forever changing.

After the center visit, the climbing began and was consistent for the rest of the day. It seemed to be way more up than down until the final drop into the Upper Black Canyon USFS campsite.

Only a few miles after loading up on water, a creek was a welcomed site and I refilled my one bottle I had already consumed. Seems water was abundant in this isolated area.

The rest of the day was switchbacks and steep ascents in the forest as I climbed up and over a few mountains. Tomorrow will essentially be the same all day and this was a good preview of what challenges it shall bring.

I am looking forward to hearing about Michael’s experiences today as I know for me, it ended up being a challenging day. I will sleep really good tonight.