Day 106 - Frozen socks, hot springs

Brisk morning--probably our 5th consecutive morning of hard frost. My socks were frozen solid (see photo). Winter must be here at night, even if the aspens are still turning that lovely gold color.

We had a beautiful but slushy walk in, with most snow socked in the trail. Sections of trail with a Southern exposure were mostly clear, but there were still drifts on the rest of trail, up to knee deep.

The hitch was surprisingly fast--the third car passing was Ryan, an alternative healer, and his dog Sparky. They kindly made room for us. I had the privilege of cuddling up front with Sparky. Ryan was a very cool guy, a former backcountry ranger in the Cascades and San Juans.

We picked up mail at the post office, and met a very nice woman named Sara. She's done half of the AT, and the CDT in this section. She offered to let us stay at her place, but we opted to stay downtown near the springs.

And what marvelous, hot, sulfurous springs they are. Off to soak!

p.s., The grocery store is 5mi away, so we went to the gas station to resupply. As we were checking out, the clerk cracked a legalized marijuana joke while commenting on our purchases (e.g., Froot Loops, candy bars, potato chips, etc.). This, after I explained that we were going camping. We should work on improving our diet.

Mileage: 10mi from near Archuleta Lake to Wolf Creek Pass