Horca to NM Ponderosa camp This morning started out differently than any other on this trip. Sometime in the middle of night I woke up to…gastric issues. Very unusual for me, but it happened. No idea what or why? Anyway, needless to say I didn’t sleep well and was afraid to have any breakfast for fear of my stomach not being right. I decided to forge ahead with my plan for the day anyway, as it didn’t look crazy hard, and besides, I was heading into New Mexico today! I got a slow start, of course and with toilet paper on standby, off I went! The morning started off with a decent climb on the highway right out of Horca, and I rode it pretty slow hoping I would feel better throughout the day. The skies were high overcast, but it didn’t look like rain, at least. I was happy to finally complete the climb, and after a good descent I was happy to make a left turn onto a gravel road. After a few miles, I was watching my map to mark the point I crossed into New Mexico—the only sign was a forest sign announcing I was entering Carson National Forest in New Mexico. One state left to cross!!! The event gave me a little lift, and my stomach seemed to have settled down, but I just didnt feel like myself and continued to trudge on at a pretty slow pace for me. The road condition steadily got worse, and by the time I neared the summit of the highest climb of the day—right at 11,000 feet—the “road” looked like a rocky creek bed, and I had to push my bike uphill for almost a mile. I did actually enjoy the route so far as it was different and challenging, but I still felt a bit weak and “off”. I suppose I didn’t feel bad enough to stop though, so I forged on hoping to lose some elevation so I could camp lower with less chance of freezing. Once I summited the high point, the road condition steadily improved and I was able to ride all of the high country until the road tipped downhill toward the lower elevation I wanted. Unfortunately, at that moment it began to rain. Not hard, but enough for me to dig out my raincoat and hide under a tree for a while. I decided to try eating something, so munched on a Clif bar while hiding under the tree. No ill effects noted, I pushed on to the low point of the day, and a possible camping spot. I descended out of the timber to open country, then to a river bottom. Once there, I really didn’t like the camp spot so much, because of all the cow “sign” to contend with. I again waited as I decided what to do next, and hoping the rain would stop. Luckily, the rain DID stop, and I decided to push ahead another 10 miles or so hoping for a better camp spot. I did feel slightly better, and though it still felt like a bit of a slog, I was confident I was going to make it to the next camp spot. I climbed back up into the timber and by the time I got to a potential camp site marked on my GPS the area was almost park-like with big trees and short grassy meadows. Plenty of options for camping, and when I saw another bike packer named Alex—who I had met previously—with his camp already set up, I wheeled in to say hi. We chatted briefly, and I set up camp about 50 yards away from his. I really liked the camp spot, and I also liked the fact that I was hungry. I decided to just pretend my stomach wasn’t unhappy this morning, and had a normal dinner and tea with no ill effects! Hope for tomorrow! As for today, I really did love the route, and was proud of myself for hanging in there through some tough route and physical conditions. I did it, and fell asleep hoping for a better tomorrow. It was a day without regrets; not even one letter…