Day 44: Walden to Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado

Wind again, leaving Walden, but the roads were the flattest I had seen in some time. Twenty miles passed, then thirty, and in the space of a few miles, I was back in the mountains. My spirits rose dramatically. At last I was free of the unchanging windy plains. New surprises lay around every bend, rewarding exploration.

Mountains!

The mountain road took me up and over Willow Creek Pass, elevation 9,683 feet, where I crossed the Continental Divide. For the eighth time? The ninth? It was a surprisingly easy climb.

What, again?

I had ahead of me thirty miles of downhill, less a mile here and there. The road followed Willow Creek. Most of the creeks I'd passed on the plains were questionably brown. I stopped to swim for the first time in weeks.

Willow Creek

The road skirted the town of Granby, built on the grassy hills above a wildlife refuge / hydroelectric dam.

Wildlife viewing area / hydroelectric dam

Almost before I knew it, I was in the village of Hot Sulphur Springs. I assumed from the name that there were in fact bathable springs here, but hadn't confirmed it. If there were, I was going to take a day off to soak. I learned from the locals that yes, there was a resort here, it had multiple tubs, and day passes could be had. All I needed to know. It was a Friday night on a holiday weekend in a resort town; once again, I lucked into a hotel room.

Hot Sulphur Springs