Brrrr… it’s cold here today!  What a shocking difference from the heat I’ve come to expect from New Mexico.

As per usual, I didn’t do much on our zero day.  Nick was far more ambitious than I was.  While I stayed in bed, he actually got up and walked to a coffee shop for some breakfast.  He very kindly brought me back a bagel, which I ate in bed.  

I stayed in bed, updating the blog, while he went to do laundry.

The most productive thing I did before noon was make sure I had my resupply sorted.  I also cleaned the dust off some of my gear.  After that, I read a letter from my good friend/ex-coworker Wendy.  I’ll never get tired of receiving letters.  Love and miss you, Wendy!

Exhausted by the morning activities, I took a nap. ;)

I probably would have slept all day, but I woke up when Gump texted me.  I had texted him in the morning (ooh, another productive thing I did!), asking if he would be willing to give us a ride to the hardware store so we could get some Heet (there are no fuel canisters in this town so we were thinking we’d have to use alternative methods).  He did us one better - since he had a car, and since he and Juniper were making a trip to Pagosa Springs and Wolf Creek Pass to check out the snow conditions, he told me he’d pick us up a fuel can while he was there.  So amazing!  I can’t even be upset that he woke me up from a delightful nap.  :)

After acquiring the fuel can, Nick and I decided to walk to the Family Dollar for some snacks since I was finally up and hungry.  On the way, I chatted with my dear friend Julia - it was great to hear her voice and catch up.

The last thing we did today was walk all the way downstairs, where we had dinner.  Just after we ordered, Joe Dirt stopped by to give us some peanut butter cookies he baked.  We had briefly seen him in Pie Town but didn’t officially meet him, so we invited him to join us.  Getting to know him was a lot of fun (as it always is).  Dinner was a very long affair because the waitress was a little disorganized, but I appreciated that it was so long and relaxed (and the waitress was lovely).  Just as we were finishing up, we saw Bodhi and Cody and Napoleon, who stopped in for some dessert and ice cream.  It was nice to see them after Road Walk 2020.  Shredder and Tesla walked in shortly after that and they sat with us for a bit while they enjoyed their ice cream.   

Most hikers are planning to leave tomorrow,  which had been our plan, too.  However, we decided just this morning to stay here a few more days.  Someone posted in the CDT 2022 Facebook group about the snow conditions on the trail between here and Pagosa Springs, saying it took them a lot longer to get through than they expected due to the snow and blowdowns.  With that intel and with my stupid ankle, we decided to take a few more days before heading out there.  Not only will it give my ankle a little more time to figure herself out, but it will give all the hikers ahead of us time to forge a good trail in the snow.  Theoretically.    

You know that I already hate feeling ‘behind’, even though we are over a week ahead of schedule.  I promise to do my best to enjoy my days off.  (It shouldn’t be a problem as there are 4 pillows on my extremely comfortable bed, and if I can somehow steal a few of Nick’s pillows to add to my collection … ) 

:)