We woke up early in the hut with just a few miles to go to Wolf Creek Pass, where we would hitchhike into the town of Pagosa Springs. It was supposed to be a nice touristy town with some hot springs.
The hiking went quickly and we soon found our way to the bottom. I had collected a few pieces of trail booty (compass and water bag) that had fallen out of someone’s pack. It turned out to belong to the other guy that was in the hut with us. His backpack was open the whole hike down.
The hitch into town came quickly and surprisingly this guy didn’t know much about the trail. He asked the usual questions like “how do you get food and water” and “do you carry a gun”.
Pagosa Springs is a really cool town. There are a ton of hot springs along the river and a few gear shops.
We spent the morning walking around getting new gear and fixing old gear that broke. Luckily I just needed another pair of socks.
We ate a huge breakfast while we killed time waiting for our hotel room to be available.
When it was finally available, we headed out to do the rest of our errands. First was a trip to the post office to send home some stickers and my umbrella. First stop was a natural grocery store before doing some laundry. The local laundromat was a couple miles away, so we tried hitchhiking in town. This can be hit or miss in a tourist town because so few people know about the trail. Everyone just thinks we’re bums.
Eventually we got a ride from the guy that helped us at the post office and we started our laundry and went to the nearby Wal Mart to get the rest of our food.
While at Wal Mart, we met a guy who knew all about the trail and said his trail name was “Bee God” (he makes honey.) He offered us a ride back to the laundromat, then to our hotel, and finally a ride to the trailhead tomorrow!
With our errands done, we had to pack. Packing for 5 days of hiking takes up a lot more space than you might expect.
The weather looks decent for the next few days. Next stop is Silverton!