Day 68: From Cottonwood to Mt Princeton Hot Springs

Mileage: 13.6 miles (1059.3-1072.9)

I spent most of the morning lounging in the hot spring pools reading and just letting my aching muscles absorb the full benefit of the calming waters. It was dangerous because I didn't have to check out until 1pm from the dorm, so I had basically no incentive to set out for the day. On top of that, there was a huge spread for breakfast, which I discovered after bathing for an hour or two. I started with a cup of coffee, bowl of raisin bran, and two bagels with cream cheese.



After that I returned to the dorm, packed my stuff up, and took one last lay on the bed. It was 11am by the time I made my way down to the lobby to return my key. At that point I was getting hungry again so I had another bagel and cream cheese with some instant oatmeal. After downing my second breakfast I head out front to grab a hitch back to the trailhead. A guy from Crested Butte stopped almost immediately in his white van to pick me up. He had a few bikes in the back and had spent the weekend timing bike races near Leadville. He dropped me at the Avalanche Trailhead, where me and Jason had quit the night previous, and I thanked him for stopping.

A great coi pond, my dad would have appreciated at the Hot Springs.

I finally got walking by about 11:30am, with the big puffy clouds already rolling-in, signaling it could rain, hail, or do nothing at any moment. I walked along the valley, assuaging my fear that the trail was going to go straight up the canyon's walls in endless switchbacks as it had done the day's previously. Instead, I roamed through Aspen groves along the river, following the undulating hills, full of the freshly popped King Boletes and various other fungus that I wasn't sure about. The blue and purple hues of the Lupine and Colorado Blue Columbine dotted the meadows, while the mix of Aspen and Douglas Fir provided ample shade. 

I walked for a few hours before the clouds produced the rain they promised. I was winding my way down a 4WD drive road when it really picked up. The skies opened up and the rain started pouring down, seemingly from a single cloud. I ran down the hill and found shelter underneath a porta-pottie entrance. I watched the rain and hail turn the road into a muddy river and could only hope it would stop soon. I was just thankful to have found something to stand under. After about a half hour the rain subsided to a slow drizzle. While I was waiting for it to completely stop a little girl, no more than seven years-old walked up and asked the use the bathroom. I figured that was my signal to leave - if a seven year-old could brave the drizzle, so could I.

I found the drizzle wasn't actually that bad and it basically stopped within a few minutes. I continued down the jeep road, past a horse ranch that doubled as a Young Life Christian retreat center. The red, yellow, purple, and orange of the wildflowers popped brilliantly out of the fields, as if rejuvenated by the passing rain. I had been told by locals that this was the best year for wildflowers they could remember because of all the rain. I was at least thankful for that.

A few miles down the road I reached Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, where I had planned to grab a bite to eat and then continue on my way. I had just been there a few weeks before with Alex and Margi and I figured it'd just be glutinous to stay at a hot spring two nights in a row. Well, so much for that plan. I made friends with the bartender while I sipped my beer and ate my burger and fries. He told me I should just go to reception and tell them I was friends with him and they'd let me go to the hot springs for free. Sure enough, he was right. All I had to say was, "I'm friends with Keith, the bartender!" and the kids manning the desk let me right on in. They didn't check a computer, a list, or anything. So I was at a hot spring for the second night in a row. I had met a lady at the bar who was planning on heading home the next day over Monarch Pass and she offered me a ride that way. 

I figured after soaking I was going to be too tired to keep hiking so I took her up on her offer for the ride. I figured I'd start walking north from there, and connect back with Mt. Princeton Hot Springs the next day, about 30 miles north from Monarch Pass. After that, I'd have completed the walk from Mexico all the way to Tennessee Pass, 8 miles north of Leadville, more than 1,100 miles. We camped a few miles up the road under the stars with the Chalk Cliffs looming over us, illuminated in the moonlight.