Days 0 and 1: Antelope Reservoir to Boulder Creek via Antelope Ridge

We had planned to park the car at the Antelope Reservoir for the duration of our bike tour, which we felt was out of the way, safe, and would be a great spot to organize all our gear and camp out at on each end of the bike tour. It would also solve the issue of not having drinkable water, as our research showed that the water in the reservoir is toxic due to mining runoff. So we made sure to bring our own water for each end. 

As we drove through Jordan Valley (as we were coming back from a longer trip east to Colorado), we saw hoards of people in cowboy boots and hats. Literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of people swarmed the tiny town. Turns out, we showed up right during a huge rodeo. We started thinking about a Plan B for camping as we could not imagine that during a huge rodeo and on a Saturday afternoon, there would be any dispersed camping at the reservoir... but lo and behold, we drove by the 4 sites with picnic tables and there was a gem of a dispersed site with no picnic table, but set far enough back that we couldn't see anyone else! 

We biked along the reservoir until we ran out of road.

We settled in quickly, dug all our gear out and started packing our panniers. We explored further down the road along the reservoir and while there were other campable spots, we got the best non-official dispersed site. We saw two or three other vehicles come by to look for camping and they all left.  

The reservoir was really beautiful, with hundreds of birds that stop over (and seem not to impacted by the mining runoff). The only noise were the birds who will definitely let you know when the sun is rising. Ha. We got an early start and schemed a way to avoid having to bike back through Jordan Valley, which added a bunch o' miles on dirt, and it was worth every extra calorie burned.  

Views towards Silver City...

Hot hot hot climbing for days.

The day took us through bucolic farmland where Ani got to do a ton of birding and dry hot exposed BLM land. It turns out that the hundreds of acres of junipers were recently cut down to preserve the sage grouse mating habitat... because get this -- sage grouse will only mate in historical mating spots and refuse to mate if there is anything taller than they are. Hence, juniper trees get taller than them, they stop reproducing. We also got to experience the joy of millions of mormon crickets, which periodically were so thick on the road that they would spring away from our bike wheels such that it looked like we were parting the Red Sea. There were so many that we were a little worried that we would be forced to make camp in a swarm of them.

This picture does not do justice to exactly how many mormon crickets there actually were.

But thank goodness, the spot along Boulder Creek that we thought would have safe enough water to treat, indeed, had grass, shade, and water... and no mormon crickets. While this day of riding was not the most beautiful we would have, we met some of the nicest folks, whether they were stopping to make sure we had enough water, or curious locals who wanted to stop and chat. Bill, a well known local, shared with us that we were the first cyclists he had seen and had some hilarious stories about another local breaking into his house and eating his ribeye and drinking his whiskey.

A faint double track road along Boulder Creek led to several dispersed campsites... until you reach this sign. We made sure to camp right before the fence and sign.

Dispersed camping doesn't really get better than this!

A few tips for bike tourists:

• Jordan Valley is the only place to restock food on this whole loop. There is no potable water and depending on the time of year, many of the creeks may not be running or running very low. Even when they are running, you have to be really careful about agricultural and mining runoff. 
• We carried 4 liters of water each just in case so we could dry camp if needed given the lack of intel we had due to our last minute route change. This section is also extremely exposed due to the juniper cut.
• Boulder Creek was the only water we felt was safe to drink from between Jordan Valley and Deep Creek (and the Boulder Creek water definitely tasted better than the Deep Creek water). If you do this loop clockwise, as you coast downhill towards Boulder Creek, your heart may sink because you will see ranch land on the right side of the road, but if you keep your eyes peeled left, you will see a faint double track back into a grassy area along the creek and there are several great dispersed sites.
• We actually met the ranch owner the next day and she was really nice (and has helped out bike tourists in the past). 
• Be careful for snakes sunning themselves in the road. In my efforts to find dispersed camping, I ran over a poor snake with my bike. :(