Over two days we rode two additional sections of the Continental Divide Trail by Silver City. Both were incredibly scenic and were deserted. Actually, we did see one person once. Both days were out and back rides. Day one was 18.4 miles with 2102′ of climbing and day two was 22 miles with 2798′ of climbing.
The first of these rides started off Walnut Creek Road on a really well maintained section of the CDT. The trail swoops around the mountains and dives in and out of the river bed in some challenging jumbles of rock before climbing up to a view of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery – home to a community of Benedictine monks. Perched high up in the mountains, the monastery stood out against the forested backdrop and then we heard the bells. Seven times during the day, called the Hours, the bells will call the Benedictine to return to the monastery church to attend to the Work of God. When’s the last time you were riding along singletrack and came upon a monastery?
Day 2 was a challenge. We rode from Bear Canyon Road up a really steep road to the Boy Scout Trail and took that to the Continental Divide Trail. The Boyscout Trail had a few steep and rocky sections but flowed very well. We made a hard left onto the CDT and climbed up some loose rocky sections before flattening out to a true treat. The trail traverses around the mountains on a very narrow trail that hugs the side. It’s hard to look at all the views when you only have a small margin of error before you plummet off the side. The end is a bomb down into Sapillo Campground on a volcanic pumice like trail. What a unique experience with fantastic views!
The climb back to our truck was tough, or maybe it was the heat. We’ve been blessed with outstanding weather the entire fall so far and hope to keep it going. Our solar panels are killing it, keeping our batteries topped up each day.
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