CDT Day 101 – Doc Campbell’s Post

Date: 10/7/20

Daily Miles: 13

Total Miles: 1864

It felt so still in the forest as we got going this morning. It wasn’t as cold as yesterday morning, which we appreciated.

We had read comments from other hikers about a nice view point about a mile and a half from where we camped. So we decided to take a very early break and make some hot chocolate there. The views were indeed spectacular, as we looked out over the river valley with the Gila winding its way along the bottom. One of the best views so far in New Mexico.

Most days, we feel an urgency to keep making forward progress the whole day. So, it felt like a real luxury to just sit, enjoy the view and make a nice hot drink. We chatted for awhile and didn’t feel any pressure to hurry on. Definitely something that felt mentally re-energizing.

It certainly helped that we didn’t have too many miles today to get into Gila Hot Springs (which basically consists of Doc Campbell’s Post). We didn’t have a lot of food for today, so we couldn’t stretch things out too much anyways, but it was nice to have a more relaxed day.

The walking today was a lot like yesterday…stretches of very rocky trail mixed with stretches of nice pine needle strewn trail. It was nice to have pine trees around us for most of the day so that we could walk in the shade, even as it got hot.

We made it down to the road just after lunch and then had some paved road walking to make it into Doc Campbell’s. We were able to get a room at the motel across the street and were able to use their thermal springs hot tub which felt great.

The folks at Doc Campbell’s were super helpful, even though today was their day off. They gave us our packages, helped us get our laundry going, and opened the store so we could buy a bunch of food to eat this afternoon and evening. We both had new shirts and new new shoes waiting for us here, so it was an extra exciting town stop!