Mexico-bound adventurers return with… tales to tell

Catch that brilliant sky and that dry, dry land as Gary DeBlock zips through the desert of the southwestern U.S.. That's the landscape Rich Hamilton and Gary DeBlock traversed on their trip to the Mexican border along the Continental Divide. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Catch that brilliant sky and that dry, dry land as Gary DeBlock zips through the desert of the southwestern U.S.. That's the landscape Rich Hamilton and Gary DeBlock traversed on their trip to the Mexican border along the Continental Divide. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton

By David F. Rooney

The last we heard from Rich Hamilton and Gary DeBlock, the adventurous motorcyclists they were in a cliff-hanger: surrounded by howling wolves on a bitter night in Union Pass, Wyoming.

Okay. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a cliff-hanger; after all, Hamilton managed to call later to regale us with the details. But the two local men certainly did have a real adventure. The wolves were real and so was the rest of their journey through high country desert and ghost towns, past antelope herds and radioactive sites. But they made it back and they have the pictures to prove it, 16 of which are published here in The Revelstoke Current.

The two men travelled more than 11,000 kilometres in their journey across the continent on a pair of  KTM 640 Adventurers, which are 640cc enduro-style bikes that carry 28 litres of fuel. The bikes, which are a favourite of serious continental-scale, cross-country racers, were a great choice — “flawless, really,” according to DeBlock. Hamilton said he experienced no mechanical trouble until he was waiting in the vehicle lineup to cross back into Canada at the end of his trip. “I got a flat and had to take the wheel off and hitchhike back to the nearest town to get it fixed and then hitch back before I could cross the border,” he said.

In an interview at the Modern Bakery on Monday, the duo looked fit, tanned and relaxed after their odyssey.

“It was a great trip,” Hamilton said. “The Americans we met were awesomely friendly.”

So friendly, in fact, that at the U.S.-Mexico border, an American border patrolman saw them ride up and then came out and handed them some icy-cold Popsicles. The Mexicans at the border weren’t quite as agreeable.

“The Mexicans at the border were silent,” DeBlock said. “They didn’t say anything except to demand 500 pesos for a visa.”

But, despite their initial plans to grab a taco and beer in Mexico, the pair didn’t cross the frontier.

“When we got there, the Americans told us they close the border every evening and we could be stuck in Mexico,” Hamilton said. “They said we really wouldn’t want to spend the night out there.”

The scale of the deserts they crossed greatly impressed the two men.

“It’s so desolate,” DeBlock said. “Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of acres of nothing — just desert.”

But there was life in the desolation. They saw herds of antelope, wild horses, donkeys and mules, birds and, of course, sage brush — lots and lots of sagebrush.

“The most prevalent plant in the U.S. has to be the sagebrush,” Hamilton said. “It was everywhere as far as the eye could see.”

The men endured real cold camping out at 13,000 feet, howling wolves one night in Union Pass, Wyoming, and days of riding through clouds of bitter dust in 40° C heat and a ghost town in Nevada. And then there were odd things like coming to a town in Utah which boasted an open-pit mine and radiation warning signs and, everywhere they went, people who knew about Revelstoke.

“All through the trip we met people who’d been here or who knew people here,” Hamilton said. “It’s such a small world.”

DeBlock and Hamilton ended their trip in California and made their way separately back to the green and verdant mountains of home.

“Man, it felt good to see all that green,” DeBlock said.

Amen.

Here are some of the sights Hamilton and DeBlock enjoyed on their journey:

California Pass in Colorado — one of the higher points in Rich Hamilton and Gary DeBlock's adventurous trip to Mexico along the Continental Divide last month. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
California Pass in Colorado — one of the higher points in Rich Hamilton and Gary DeBlock's adventurous trip to Mexico along the Continental Divide last month. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Rich Hamilton (left) and Gary DeBlock pose for a self-portrait somewhere in the desert. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Rich Hamilton (left) and Gary DeBlock pose for a self-portrait somewhere in the desert. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
This brick archway is one of the few signs that humans once lived in Hamilton, a once-prosperous silver town in Nevada. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
This brick archway is one of the few signs that humans once lived in Hamilton, a once-prosperous silver town in Nevada. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
One of the bikes on its side in the desert. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
One of the bikes on its side in the desert. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Now that's a lot of sagebrush! "The most prevalent plant in the U.S. has to be the sagebrush," Hamilton said in an interview. "It was everywhere as far as the eye could see." He and DeBlock were very releieved to make it back to the green, green lands of home. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Now that's a lot of sagebrush! "The most prevalent plant in the U.S. has to be the sagebrush," Hamilton said in an interview. "It was everywhere as far as the eye could see." He and DeBlock were very relieved to make it back to the green, green lands of home. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Hamilton and DeBlock were rarely on anything resembling a real road. Much of their trip was along trails like this one. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Hamilton and DeBlock were rarely on anything resembling a real road. Much of their trip was along trails like this one. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
How dry is THIS? The western U.S. has for a couple of years now been gripped by persistent drought that has left the land cracked and desiccated. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
How dry is THIS? The western U.S. has, for a couple of years now, been gripped by persistent drought that has left the land cracked and desiccated. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
The road to the Boyer Ranch in Aspen Valley, Colo., was lovely. Hamilton and DeBlock spent a little time there visiting with John Boyer, whose great-grandfather built the spread in the early 1900s. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
The road to the Boyer Ranch in Aspen Valley, Colo., was lovely. Hamilton and DeBlock spent a little time there visiting with John Boyer, whose great-grandfather built the spread in the early 1900s. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Camping out was a an almost-nightly occurrence. But Hamilton and DeBlock did occasionally enjoy a night between a motel's clean sheets or the hospitality of American friends. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Camping out was a an almost-nightly occurrence. But Hamilton and DeBlock did occasionally enjoy a night between a motel's clean sheets or the hospitality of American friends. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
The not-so Rio Grande (Big or Grand River in Spanish). Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
The not-so Rio Grande (Big or Grand River in Spanish). Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Gary DeBlock maneuvers his KTM 640 Adventurer across rocky ground. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Gary DeBlock maneuvers his KTM 640 Adventurer across rocky ground. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Here's a stereotypical desert scene: a skeleton in the dust. All it needs is a few talking vultures and it could be something dark cartoonist Gary Larson would enjoy. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamiton
Here's a stereotypical desert scene: a skeleton in the dust. All it needs is a few talking vultures and it could be something dark cartoonist Gary Larson would enjoy. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Hmmm. Here's something you don't often see: radiation warnings on a fenced-off road. Hamilton and DeBlock ran into this outside a town in Utah. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Hmmm. Here's something you don't often see: radiation warnings on a fenced-off road. Hamilton and DeBlock ran into this outside a town in Utah. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Desert and buttes ahead; desert and buttes behind. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamiton
Desert and buttes ahead; desert and buttes behind. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
Gary DeBlock rests against a steel fence line. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamiton
Gary DeBlock rests against the steel fence that lines the U.S.-Mexico border. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton
End of the road. Well, the U.S.-Mexican border, anyway. The yellow signs cautions people to be on the look out for poisonous snakes. Photo courtesy of Rich Hamiton
End of the road. Well, the U.S.-Mexican border, anyway. The yellow signs speaks for itself, doesn't it? Photo courtesy of Rich Hamilton

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