Flip-flop through the hot springs

Dear Reader,

We have made is through the Wemanuche Wilderness in 5 fabulous days with wonderful trails and flowers and wildlife and got back to Wolf Creek Pass where we left off a month ago. The flo-flop to mid-way Colorado has been well worth it since we had perfect conditions (as far as the snow went) in this highest part of the trail. Quite a lot of thunderstorms – which was FUN when you are walking on the Divide!

From Wolf Creek we hitched into Pagosa Springs again and had a dip in the hot springs in the evening. Then Trail-Witch Mary Joy picked us up and took us for a v interesting morning to ancestoral pueoblo site Chimney Rock. Ruins on a narrow ridge leading up to spectacular twin sandstone towers at the end – aprox 1000 years old and related to the famous Chaco Canyon ruins in some way – but very little is known about the people who built them and their culture (or even why they would have built up there, far from water and fields). V intersting!!

Leisurely wound our way back to MJ’s home in Montrose via Silverton and Molass Pass. We were guests at MJ’s for two nights and managed to pick up a hire car from the nearby town. This we are taking to a town near Glacier National Park on the Canada/US border where we will start hiking again, facing South.

On route we’ve swum at Glenwood Springs hot springs (Colorado), tiny but hot Saratoga hot springs (Wyoming) and we are now at Thermopolis which boasts two hot spring pools (with GREAT slides!) and the campsite we were at last night (called “Fountain of Youth”) also has a hotspring pool all of its own. So over the past 5 days we have visited 5 different hot springs. They say they are good for your health but my face now looks like Pizza and both B and I smell noticibly of sulfur. Heading for Montana today and hoping to start hiking from the Canadian Border in 3-4 days time!