I took the three boys by myself back up to far northern New Mexico, again a stone’s throw from the Continental Divide. This was our third time this summer to the same general vicinity, just south of the NM/CO border, north, south or—in this case—west of the Cruces Basin Wilderness. This time we drove in from the Chama side (from the East), as I thought it might make for slightest shorter driving. It still ended up being nearly two hours on dirt roads. I remain undecided regarding which approach is preferable.
The boys played with almost no parental supervision, non-stop (fantastic). They were really into the idea of wandering around the empty wilderness area just to the East, which I felt compelled to accomodate with a few short hikes.
I rarely worry about anything out in the backcountry, even when I’m by myself with the three boys. However, there was constant thunder booming all around us all night long—fortunately not directly on us—and I admit to losing some sleep over the worry of lightning.
What I should have worried about, as it turned out, was what all that rain did to the roads that we needed to use to escape our remote perch. There was about a three mile section way up high, out in the meadows, that was slick as snot, and I was essentially paddling through the mud with my rear wheels on the way out. The boys didn’t notice just how gripped I was. We weren’t in any real danger–other than getting stranded until the roads dried out. It was one of those situations of the utmost concentration, that feels so incredibly exhilarating–probably because it is a bit worrisome. Anyway, we didn’t get stuck, and it all worked out well, so score one for Type II fun.
