Del Norte to Horca I enjoyed my short day and luxurious stay in a hotel in Del Norte. I went out for Mexican food with a bunch of other bike packers and it was fun! Most of them were going to do a 0 day in Del Norte before tackling the pass the next day. My plan was to get an early start to hopefully beat any thunderstorm activity in the afternoon. I got up reasonably early, and the hotel had a little breakfast cafe where I got coffee and 2 breakfast burritos—one for now, and one for later. I got on the road about 8:15 and pedaled out of Del Norte under a clear sky and calm wind. The paved road out of town was smooth and only slightly uphill for about 10 miles. Then, I knew it turned to gravel and pitched up for the 4000 foot climb to Indiana pass, topping out at 11,940 feet! I paced myself reasonably, and stopped often to take pictures. I kept steady, enjoying the view, once again changing from farms to high desert to timber and aspen mix and finally to sub alpine meadows and scattered trees. Sadly, the sign marking the summit was gone. I found the post, and the location on GPS, but alas no “trophy” sign. I leaned my bike against a post where I assumed the sign used to be and took a picture anyway. Once at the summit, I got cold pretty quickly—it was windy up there too! During the 3+ hours it took me to get up there, some clouds started building so I didn’t linger too long at the summit. I dropped do the other side of the pass, but not far—the road stayed over 10,000 feet, and rolled up and down for several miles. The views were spectacular and I tried not to take too many pictures. I passed a mine superfund site and read the interpretive signs about that. My next stop was to be a town called Platoro—intended to be my original destination the day before. I decided to go there and check it out, and if there was no food or decent lodging I would continue to a little spot on the map called Horca. I arrived in Platoro to several signs for stores/cafes. Turns out every one of the cafes had closed for the season, and only one store with very limited inventory was open. I bought a coke, some pop tarts and a couple candy bars and decided I would continue on to Horca. The 22 miles went pretty quickly as it was downhill following a nice little river called the canejo river. Once in Horca, I saw a sign on the left saying “welcome divide bikers”. I swung in there and it was a house with a gift shop/snacks for bikers. I bought a few things and asked about sleeping options—and the nice elderly folks said I could sleep on their deck and use the bathroom. I was happy with that! It was only later that I walked down the street and noticed another spot that I could have pitched my tent as well!? I’ll check that out tomorrow. So, after a short day and an unexpected stay in Del Norte, it felt good to get back in the saddle and tick off the high point of the entire divide route. Tomorrow I say goodbye to Colorado and enter New Mexico! I did enjoy the day—challenging route, but I paced myself nicely and am ready for tomorrow! Another great day on the divide!