58.40 mi / 5:20:44 time / 10.9 mph avg. / 38.0 mph max. / 3502 ft. climbing
Staying at Kehl Springs National Forest Campground

Today would be the first fairly easy day in a while, so I didn’t even wake up until after sunrise! The day would consist of more riding in this high forested lake country, because I wanted to spend one more night up at altitude before dropping down to the heat. Most of the day was spent hovering around 7000 ft., though there was still plenty of up-and-down.

The first services were 40 miles in, at Clints Well (no apostrophe, just like Lees Ferry; Arizona needs to hire some grammer mavens in addition to altitude/mileage sticklers!) At the cafe where I had a patty melt lunch, a couple there said to me “don’t let anyone know about this place!” To them, the whole area was paradise, and it’s true, it seems relatively unknown and untouched, especially considering that it isn’t too far from Flagstaff and Phoenix. It seems like most people didn’t know what I was referring to whenever I told them that I was going to stay up at altitude northeast of Phoenix. Maybe because it is so undeveloped, that makes people lose interest.

That couple also mentioned that last Memorial Day, it snowed 6 inches up here! So good thing I wasn’t here last year. However,the temperatures hovered around 65 for the entire day, and it was overcast, so it actually felt quite cool even this year. Around lunchtime it even started spitting drops of rain.

My original plan had me staying at the campground at Clints Well, but since I had plenty of time, I figured I would have a little adventure, heading 9 miles south to the edge of the Mogollon Rim, and then 7 miles east along a gravel forest road to a campground right on the rim. The Mogollon Rim is the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, upon which I had spent the entire trip. The edge drops down 2000 ft. to the Sonoran Desert, marking the final time I’ll be at high altitude. When you fly into Phoenix from the northwest, you can actually see the Rim, recognizable as a forested area, followed by a cliff, and then no trees below.

Riding the gravel road was kind of like riding through Flagstaff; there was so much to focus on (rocks, ruts, washboard) that the miles went by relatively quickly, even though I rarely got above 6 mph, and did many sections at 3 mph. But arrival at the campground was a huge disappointment. The web page led me to believe that the campground was right on the rim, with views off the edge down to the lights of Payson 15 miles away. Instead, it was simply in the middle of the forest, with the rim nowhere in sight. It was a pleasant place, but I could have found a site of my own just like it without spending an hour and a half on gravel! I did get a brief view at one point along the road, but I should have realized that I’ve been at the edge of five 2000+ ft cliffs this trip (Colorado National Monument, Dead Horse Point, Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyons), and the Mogollon Rim can’t really compare.

Oh well, it was free, and there was no point in going back now, so I set up my tent. No sooner did I finish that than the rain began in earnest, and just like a couple days ago in Cameron, I spent the afternoon hours huddled in my tent hiding from weather. The only other campers in the site (the host?) came by and offered fried-chicken dinner, but just about then it finally let up, and I managed to create some Middle-Eastern/Mexican Fusion: couscous with Taco Bell seasoning, jalapenos, and string cheese, stuffed in pita bread. Yum!

The fact that it rained all afternoon wasn’t a big deal because I didn’t have any other plans (I’m on my 3rd issue of The Economist!), but as I went to sleep, my main concern was the ride out tomorrow: would it be a ride, or would I have to slog through 7 miles of mud?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 11:32 am and is filed under 2009 Bike Tour, bike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.