Left Philmont scout center this morning under darkening skies with rain predicted from 40-80% all day:all the way to trinidad,co.
Noted bear prints outside our tent this morning!
Rode thru Cimarron,nm and continued thru rolling plains with Kit Carson nat'l forest to our left.Desolate.quiet. Beatiful.Roads were in great shape and traffic was minimal. At about mile 45 stopped for a water refill and rest at the Whittington NRA museum about 8 miles outside of Raton NM where we stopped for lunch at Crystal's Cafe.while there and writing the first part of this blog it decided to start raining. Air temp in Raton was 57deg.
After a good lunch and conversing with the locals/patrons we put on our rain gear and headed toward the Raton Pass,sumit 7850 above sea level. Raton sits about 6200 ft.
Entered I-25 and proceded to climb. The pass is not a major pass and was about 7 miles to the top with a grade of about 6.5%. by the time we reached the summit we were as wet inside the rain gear as outside. The temp at the top was 50 deg with 15 mph winds so we chilled quickly, so only stopped briefly for a picture at the welcome to Colorado sign before descending.
The ascent,even in the rain was enjoyable most cars and trucks pulled over to the outer lane. Visibility did become a factor the last half mile of the climb.
The descent was sweet! 17 miles of 6% grade, the only concern was trash on the shoulders, the slippery conditions and of course wet brakes.
Entered Trinidad and set up our tents and found the showers at the Trinidad state junior college which has quite a varied cirriculum. Located the nearest laudromat for tomorrow and proceded to the students union for an excellent supper. We will breakfast there tomorrow also.
Since tomorrow is an off day we will do laundry and tour the town.
Went for a short walk after dinner and found an excellent IPA called wet mountain.
As i sit here and write this it is pouring rain and there are flood warnings in towns north of us. Ironically the average rainfall,according to the official Trinidad guide book, is 3.5 inches. The towns north of us are to receive 2 inches.
But none in the RGV yet i see.