Gila National Forest

BETH writes - I have ridden 2300 miles with little bike trouble and had hoped the last five days would remain that way. I learned today that in all great adventures there are always tests and today I had another test! The first 30 miles were easy today even though it started to rain about 2 hours into the ride. I wish I could say the same about the last 17. At mile 30 wet and muddy, my bike stopped shifting in the rear so I had 2 of my 27 gears that were useable. The rain continued and I began to climb for the first time in many days. The roads went from hard pack to .5 inch of sticky clay mud that stuck and clogged in every thing. The rain continued and the going got worse. I was climbing the mountains in the Gila National Forest which climb and descend between 7,000 and 8,000 ft many times over. My Mom and Fran had gone ahead to set up camp and it was beginning to get late. About 10 minutes after Mom and Fran had left me, I rode through a huge mud hole and my deraileur got so clogged that it got shot into my spokes. UGGGGH! Since dark was setting in, it was pouring and my bike and myself were covered in mud, I was not going to repair my bike on the spot. I removed my deraileur tucked it around my seat post and I was walking. As dark set in I saw four Elk and three Deer and began to get worried I was never going to reach the campground. My mom had taken my BOB trailer for the day to give me a break, so I could not set up camp early or get warm clothes. I just had to keep walking. Fortunately, mother's tuition set in and my Mother had gotten worried so she came back with the warm car and we put my bike on the back and went down the mountain 4 miles to the campground. After a late dinner and a wet tent I was warm and in my sleeping bag.
JAN writes - After breakfast we drove about 1 1/2 hours to where Beth quit riding yesterday. On the way we stopped at a very strange site we spotted yesterday. In the middle of nowhere were huge satellite dishes - we learned there were 29. Each was 83 feet in diameter. It is called VLA (stands for very large array). Theses dishes are sending signals into outer space. Amazing what our government spends money on! Fran lives in Florida and was very impressed with the Gila National Forest. She found it hard to believe she was in New Mexico. It looked like we were in Virginia Mountains! Over the course of the day we saw a road runner, pronghorns, elk, a black bear, numerous hummingbirds, and deer. Beth got a late start to riding today and unfortunately the rains began about 2PM and didn't stop until after dark. The dirt roads turned to a slimmy mixture (like a mixture of Elmer's Glue and peanut butter) and the glop stuck to the tires and made for very slow going. Beth's bike and her body were coated with mud! Fran and I went ahead to set up the tent about 7:30PM in a primitive camping spot and when Beth didn't show up by dark, I went to look for her. Her bike had broken about 5 miles from us. The heavy mud made it so her wheels wouldn't even turn. I found her by headlights, walking her bike in the pouring rain. She was very cold, to say the least! Not fun for her! We ate a late, wet MRE meal and crawled into our soggy tent. Luckily it stopped raining shortly after going to bed and the tent was almost dry by morning!