[Day 36] Pagosa Springs

I hit the cassette player in the warming hut around 6:30am. The king of blues blaring, I packed up with some pep.

I cruised the three miles over Alberta Peak and down to Colorado Highway 160. I walked most ski run down the mountain. There’s still three or four feet on snow on the ground; it seems Wolf Creek should be running a spring season.

I got to the highway with my thumb out. There were a lot of tourists taking pictures of the CDT plaque, but none of them seemed interested in a real CDT hiker — the first one through the South San Juan’s this season. After about 40 minutes with my thumb out, Meg, a USFS engineer, picked me up from the pass.

We talked about the forest service, her job, and interesting intricacies of national lands work. A civil engineer grad from Santa Clara University, she worked on infrastructure in the Rio Grande National Forest — bridges, dams, roads, and such. She dropped me off at the Walmart, and I got busy with my resupply… a little too busy. I bought up a lot of food. Clearly, my fear this section is the unknown conditions and how long it may take to reach Lake City. You pack your fears on your back.

It seemed half of Texas was in town for the Memorial Day weekend from the bustle at Walmart. I walked my way to the laundromat, where I spent a good five hours — laundry, digital catch up, communicating with family. I was hoping to possibly stay in town, but the hotels were far and few between and pricey. I ordered and Uber to the east side of town (Pagosa is split in two: the older, quaint, touristy eastern down town, and the western side up the hill with the more commercial amenities). He took me to the hot springs and offered me a place to stay should I decide not to head back to trail tonight.

My achilles has been tender, likely from the steep inclines and 30 miles of snowshoe walking this past section. I decided to take Jeremy (my Uber driver) up on his offer. After grabbing Subway for dinner, Jeremy took me to his place. I completed out my hiker chores, showered, and studied up for the section ahead.

Signing off,

Zeppelin