So, I've been meaning to get around to doing El Camino Del Diablo. It's a 120 or so mile historic trail that has been around for almost 500 years. In 1540 the great Coronado Expedition traveled the path en route to California.
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View El Camino Del Diablo. Day 2. in a larger map
We headed out from Phoenix on Friday right after work and we decided to meet up in Gila Bend. Sadly we met up at the "Space Age Cafe." I am a fan of greasy spoon restaurants, but this was on another level. The place was filthy and the food was old, cold and nasty.
Maybe not the best place to eat before two long days on my bike, but alas the adventure of trying a shady place is too much fun to resist. I recommend you not try it!
We pulled into Wellton, AZ just east of Yuma and we headed south on El Camino Del Diablo road. Just after turning to dirt we pulled over and camped.
The next morning we awoke to the sound of people. The sound of people doing something. Sit ups I think! It was a group of young folks, too young to be actual marines, working out. We had camped at a spot they used along their morning run to work out. Once they got up and kept running I looked over and saw one of the most amazing sun rises I've ever seen.
I have to mention that this photo is in no way enhanced or retouched. It was that colorful!
I also want to mention that besides this picture and a few others all of the shots/video from this trip were taken by Bam-bam and Gingerfire. It was so nice to be able to concentrate on riding instead of picture taking. Plus, they got some amazing shots and video.
I suited up in my gear and we called into the Barry M Goldwater range. We had to give our names, license plates etc.
And off we went!
After about 25 miles I road up to everyone who was stopped. We took the obligatory pictures next to a tank and on a Heli pad in the middle of no where!
Stay on the road! Laser range to the sides!
Yup, better be aware of your surroundings and any vehicles approaching.
Don't ask me what this odd statue was. It was creepy awesome.
Then off we went again.
This section of the road was really nice compared to what was coming. I was able to cruise along at about 14 MPH which was pretty good for the Single Speed Rigid and the gearing I had on it.
Trying to stay relaxed and keep cranking out the miles.
I expected this route to be sandy, and it was. I expected it to be historical, and it was. What I didn't expect is for it to be so darn pretty. I have to say that it's one of the most beautiful desert routes in Arizona. The Saguaro's are bigger than in most other places and the rock formations are unique. Seeing it all from the perspective of the bike made it even more unique.
In a surprisingly short time we had left the Barry M Goldwater range and had entered Cabeza Prieta.
As the trail progressed it became more and more soft. From sand to silt. The riding was getting more difficult, but I was spoiled. Every time I ran out of water I would just pull up to my truck and refill. I carried enough Gu and cliff bars to keep me going strong until lunch.
We spoke to many Border Patrol agents along the way. They were all really nice and interested in the ride I was doing.
Ginger Fire was the second gnarliest. She was doing the whole trail and the ride back to Phoenix on a barely street legal dirt bike. That's a lot of miles.
For lunch we stopped at Tule Well. I was pretty ready for a break. The riding wasn't painful, but working so hard was getting to me.
Not a bad place to hang out!
Not long after lunch the real silt started.
I aired down from my already low 19 Psi to about 10 to try and stay on top of the silt. Riding in the lower ruts was almost impossible. If I rode in the center I could almost stay on top of the silt. At times I had to stand up and pedal. It's a weird sensation to stand up and pedal like you are on a huge hill, but look ahead and see you are on flat or even slightly down hill terrain. It was so thick it was grabbing both tires and trying to stop my forward movement!
In the back of my mind I had heard about a section that some Border Patrol agents had said was so bad and so deep that it made them want to set their trucks on fire!! I think we finally found it!
The look of someone that is dead beat!! At this point I was very glad to have the silt beds behind me.
Eventually we came upon the main Border Patrol outpost. It seems to move around a bit as Google Earth showed it in a different location.
As we came up the road we saw a group of migrants getting loaded into the Border Patrol truck. They had apparently decided to give up the trek as they ran out of some sort of supplies. The common thing, per the BP Agents we spoke with, was for them to take a seat under a shady tree and wait for the next BP Truck to pick them up.
From the BP outpost on it was up hill. Not very steep, but after 70 miles of riding a sandy uphill was pure pain.
I stopped to speak with one more agent and we talked for a while. He said I was the first mountain biker he'd ever seen on this road. I let him know that one other group had done the ride before me. Their trip report provided a wealth of info! Check it out their great write uphere: Bikepacking.net. His post provides valuable info whether you are riding a mountain bike, dirt bike or driving your 4x4 across this route!
Before I left the last BP Agent and headed for camp he mentioned that he'd let all of the other agents know to check on us throughout the night.
Home sweet home for the night!!
I was really happy with how Day 1 went. 12MPH average over 76 miles.
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Day 2.
I slept well and I didn't mine the BP Trucks coming by our camp throughout the night. We ate some breakfast, chatted with some more BP Agents and started the 40 mile trek to Ajo!
The route from camp to Ajo was almost entirely up hill. That, being tired from the day before, and the sand made it a tough day.
Just plugging away on the miles.
If you look like this:
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You'd think that metal tracks would be a nice thing compared to the sand, but between some sharp edges and loose bits of metal it looked more dangerous than it was worth. Just when the tracks ended a single piece of metal was jutting up about 2 feet in the air. That's a day ender whether you're on a dirt bike or a mountain bike.
Dance Monkey dance, says D!!!! This little fella was in my truck when I "got it back" after I finished riding. I think I'll keep it.
Almost there! Just keep moving!
Towards the end we entered Organ Pipe National Monument.
As I was riding along I kept looking back for fast moving trucks. Since the smoothest line was often in the middle of the road I was worried about getting run over. I looked back and saw a huge plume of dust coming our way fast. I kept looking back trying to gauge when it would reach us. Right when I expected him to be on us I pulled over and road on the far right side of the road just to stay safe. D was following me and so she too hugged the right side of the road.
Then all of a sudden the dust was gone! When I looked back I could see the front end of a Chevy pickup hanging a ways back. He was now going the same speed as us. It's like he didn't want us to see him.
I thought about it and realized that it might be a government truck. If it was he was probably thinking he had come upon a drug runner or something. There aren't a lot of honest reasons someone would drive on the shoulder of a dirt road near the border doing 10 MPH. Unless, they were following a mountain biker! I swerved into the middle of the road so I wasn't obstructed by my truck and as soon as I did I could hear the truck approach.
It was a game and fish warden! He was wondering what my truck was up to, but once he saw my bike he just wanted to see how I was doing and how far I had come.
Coming to the finish line! It was great to have some friends to keep my spirits up and spur me on!
And I'm SPENT!!
40 Miles on day two. 11.4 MPH Average.
View El Camino Del Diablo. Day 2. in a larger map
We had some surprisingly good sandwiches at a little place called the Oasis Cafe. We then made our way back to Phoenix. Another great adventure in the books!
A big thanks to Sunday Cycles here in Phoenix for helping to make sure my bike was ready to go!!