Road Impassable when Wet

Hello from New Mexico! I first attempted to ride into New Mexico yesterday afternoon. As soon as I hit the border it started raining. Just a light rain, nothing too threatening. But as I approached the summit of this pass it started pouring. The high subalpine country gave me great views of the surrounding area so I was able to see lightning from all four directions. I found a nice patch of trees and took shelter in there. When I could see it was only raining harder I pitched my tent and hid inside.
As the storm progressed streams started to develop through my area of "shelter". There must have been some water under me because puddles were forming all night. I discovered, however, that biking shorts make great sponges, and was able to keep the puddles to a manageable size.

By this morning it had stopped raining and there were few clouds remaining. The dirt roads were absolute muck though. The clay in the soil formed a very thick mud that stuck to my tires until they could no longer turn, even when I tried pushing my bike on the grass. I removed my rear fender on the trailer and found a good stick for routine mud removal, and eventually made it to rideable gravel.
So I decided to turn back and walk to the highway; I returned to Colorado and rode in New Mexico a second time. I can ride the highway to Abiquiu tomorrow and be right on schedule. I am a little disapointed that I'll miss part of the route, as the map mentioned many "stunning views" and "awesome descents" in between notes of "road impassable when wet".

Since last posting from Salida I have climbed the highest pass on the route, Indiana Pass (11 900 feet), rode some sweet singletrack into Del Norte, and not showered. But I will tonite.