July 26 - Day 31

Pinecreek (informal campground) to A& M Reservoir (informal campground)
92 miles, Avg Speed - 8.6

Dirtbaby shakes Numbstuff’s tent at 6am sharp. We knew we had a long and difficult day in front of us, so we get up early, pack up and hit the road.

The day begins with an interesting twist as Numbstuff realizes the route and waypoints for the ride on his GPS have ended.   We just finished Section 2 of the Great Divide route, and now it was time to update the GPS device with Section 3 waypoints.  That would mean pulling out his netbook computer and dealing with technology issues as he connects the GPS device to his computer...Not the time nor place for that now... We set off to enter the most difficult and remote day of the journey so far without GPS navigation, rather only using the Adventure Cycling route maps Dirtbaby carries and interprets. Don't get me wrong, the Adventure Cycling maps are great, but having the GPS to guide you also just makes you navigate with that much more confidence that you are on the right track.   Should prove Interesting…

We cycle about ten miles to a small town, Atlantic City for breakfast. Bill follows behind and we meet him at a closed café (the only one in town) where we all gather around a picnic table for an instant breakfast meal and coffee. When we depart, Numbstuff and Dirfbaby head off while Bill takes some more time to water up and gather his belongings.

Let’s leave it at, Numbstuff and Dirtbaby make a 5 mile “unnecessary” uphill detour after departing breakfast. The day seems to begin with some rough edges… We cycle back to Atlantic City after realizing our mistake and get back on route.  Already, we realize not having the GPS waypoints to guide us will be making a difference for us today.

Make no mistake about it, we now depart civilization as we know it and head out into the desert.

There will be only one water stop in the next 80 miles and the temperature at 10ish am is in the 90”s. Mile after mile the route continues on a sometimes sand, dirt, loose rock and sage brush grown road/trail. There is no evidence of civilization, anywhere. Even animals which we had become accustom to, simply vanish. Our minds begin to wonder and the vastness of the desert and heat begins to toy with us. Each new route and turn is done so with great debate, as making another mistake will be costly.  We each read, and re-read the map several times in order to ensure we are on the right road and making the correct turns.

At round 2pm we reach an oasis in the middle of the desert. It is barely visible from our vantage point by Numbstuff picks up a small green patch of life completely out of place in this unforgiving land. It is the water stop we had been looking for…

Now this is where the psychology of the journey gets interesting and the “test” of one’s ability to remain cool and collective comes into play. You see, we knew that we were in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no one around. The deafening sound of quite outside of the flies buzzing around your face reminds you each and every second you are nowhere any modern day person should be.

At the water stop, Dirtbaby and Numbstuff say very little, the focus is on getting some food in our bellies and refilling water supplies. A simple galvanized steel pipe came from the earth and dumped its’ water onto the desert floor. We filtered and filled every water carrier we had right to the top. Someone had left a cows skull at the entrance of the water source perhaps as a small reminder or a further taunt that if you are here, well, good luck!!

After about an hour at the water stop, we realize we still have more than 55 miles to complete before the end of our day. About ten miles up the route Dirtbaby admits to Numbstuff that she is indeed scared. Earlier at the watering hole Numbstuff has thought in his own moment of anxiety that the difference from remaining cool and alive and completely loosing it is just a small turn of the dial, a single click of that dial and it’s all over…

The day continues and the miles seem to slow to a crawl. On the route map we should be crossing a river that is now completely dry and Dirtbaby is thrown from her bike when hitting the sand in the now dry bed of the creek. She is fine, just a few bumps and bruises.

At 9:45 PM we cycle into the A&M Reservoir after almost running over large Sage Grouse flightless birds in the middle of the road. We meet Bill once again at the camp site along with 3 other hikers. We can see Bill’s headlamp from the trail and he unknowingly helps us to camp. He is very excited to see us and cannot believe we have made it. There is a gale force wind and setting up our tents was a group effort. No dinner or food of any of us as we are too exhausted and use our final efforts to simply climb into our sleeping bags and go to sleep.