08/11 Big day. Had the most elevation gain off-pavement on my entire trip–4824 feet to be exact (almost a mile of climbing). And it only took 10 1/2 hours. 
Everything started off OK. I rode out of town on a paved road heading east just like I was supposed to. Then I came to a fork. One gravel road went east and one went south. According to my map, gravel wasn’t even in the forecast and pavement would have been much easier with all the rain but no matter. There were no signs of course so I went with my compass and took the eastern route.
As luck would have it I should have went south. The road hit a dead-end after two miles. There were a couple guys working to stem a flood that was washing away the front entrance to their ranch and they confirmed that I should have gone the other way. So back I went. That would be the theme for the day, unsigned forks in the road, neither looking like a better choice than the other. Fortunately the few times this happened I picked the right way. The highway is marked on my GPS but its usually several miles off from where I actually am so I can’t use it for anything detailed. Amazingly enough it does show excellent detail for elevation contours so I used that to confirm if I should be heading up or down.
The climbing started almost immediately was I was on the right road. People driving by would honk and wave which provided some encouragement since the soft ground made for some tough riding. There was one offer for a ride up the mountain in a pickup but I passed. No cheating. In several places the grade was really steep so I’d point the front wheel to the opposite side, start riding and then quickly turn the wheel for a heart-pumping 50 foot burst up the hill. Then I’d stop and catch my breath for the next section. Sometimes this would go on for an hour.
With the daily afternoon rains and near constant cloud cover I figured it would be a wet one but other than a little drizzle it didn’t actually start raining until I was up over the 8000 foot mark. The low-lying clouds kept visibility down but when the sun broke through the scenery was amazing. I only passed a couple tiny villages and from the look on the faces of the residents not too many cyclists pass through. The kids were even so surprised to see me they forgot to yell “Gringo!”.
While taking a break a couple guys came down the road and stopped to say hi. One of them had lived in California and we reminisced over some of the great places to eat there. He didn’t miss it that much though– his life here, planting trees for a living and raising his family was far more fulfilling. He did inform me that my planned stop for the night lacked accommodations but the city only 4 miles further on and all downhill had 4 hotels. When I arrived here the sun had just gone down. After only looking around for a minute a hotel appeared and I checked in for the night.
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