September 14, 2017
Day 3: Day trip to San Antonio hot spring
Today will be a semi-rest day to soak at San Antonio hot spring. I got up at 7, ate cereal in the room, and got on the road at 8. The temperature was 49F/9C. Definitely cooler than the Rio Grande valley.
The day starts and finishes on pavement, NM 126. But most of today's route is unpaved. Last night the proprietor of the store told me about a trail to San Antonio hot spring. The trail is several miles shorter and has significantly less climbing than the unpaved Forest Road.
Finding the trail was easy. I passed a couple of No Trespassing signs but they seemed to apply to the houses along the first part of the road, not to the road itself. After 1/2 mile the road ends and the trail begins. It was clear that the trail was once a road.
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The trail has beautiful scenery. It's a great backcountry adventure. But it was a challenging trail for a guy with a recumbent bike. I had to carry the bike over about 100 fallen trees on the trail. At the hot spring a local guy said that people mostly ski the trail during winter when deep snow covers the fallen trees. The trail also has dozens of mudholes that were difficult to get through. And the trail crosses two deeply eroded creeks, where I carried the bike down and up steep boulder-filled slopes where the old road probably had bridges.
The trail is about 4 miles long. I pushed or carried the bike for 3/4 of that distance. All uphill except for the two creek crossings. This is supposed to be a rest day but it took 2 hours of strenuous work to go 4.5 miles.
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I parked my bike near the bottom of the main hiking trail which connects Forest Road 376 to the hot spring. From there it was a 1/2 mile hike up a steep hill to the hot spring.
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San Antonio hot spring is fed by two large pipes coming out of a well. The flow is so large that the pool temperatures stay about the same regardless of the weather. The top pool is the largest and deepest, but it was 104.5F, too hot for an hours-long soak. I soaked in the 3rd pool (not shown) which was only 102.5F.
An intense but brief rain shower passed through while I was in the hot water. The morning was overcast but the afternoon was partly cloudy. I got a bit of sunburn while soaking.
San Antonio hot spring is on the northwest rim of a supervolcano called Valles Caldera that was formed more than 1 million years ago. The 13.7 mile wide circular caldera is clearly visible on my route map.
I soaked from about 10 AM until nearly 3 PM. I improved the pool quite a bit by scooping sediment from the bottom of the pool and using the sediment to fill cracks in the wall. Over time I raised the water level 2 inches and removed enough sediment to lower the bottom of the pool 1 inch. The pool was 3 inches deeper when I left.
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I planned for a long soak and was aware that I need a LOT of water. I drank 2.5 quarts of water while soaking, but was still very dehydrated when I left the hot spring. Fortunately I had a can of V-8 and another bottle of water at the bike. But when I returned to the bike I discovered the water bottle was only half full.
I presumed the return on Forest Road 376 would be much easier than the entry on the trail. But I was wrong. The trail went steady uphill to the hot spring. The road climbs several hundred feet higher than the trail before descending out of the caldera to NM 126.
The temperature was a perfect 75F/24C, the grade was only 3%, and rocks weren't much of a problem. Forest Road 376 has maybe 500 feet of climbing from the trailhead to the 8500 foot summit. But I was so dehydrated that my body just didn't work properly. I felt miserable and weak. I was also hungry but found it impossible to eat with such a dry mouth. The unpaved Forest Road ended with a steep 1 mile descent. Then 2 more miles of steep descent on paved NM 126 to La Cueva.
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Back at La Cueva lodge at 4:30 PM I drank a lot of water and quickly began to feel better. It helped that the food truck was open. I ordered their standard meal, a green chile cheese burger and fries. It wasn't the best burger but it was the best thing available. A couple hours later I had another green chile cheese burger. I didn't eat lunch and didn't snack at the hot spring. Lack of fuel also contributed to my weakness when leaving the hot spring.
Today was supposed to be a rest day. I soaked nearly 5 hours at San Antonio hot spring but getting there and back was very hard work. Most of today's distance was unpaved. I felt so miserable when I arrived at La Cueva that I wondered if I will be up for a day of mountain climbing tomorrow. But I felt much better by the time I went to bed.
I don't regret taking the trail to San Antonio hot spring. It was a great back country adventure. The day would have 50% more climbing if I went both directions on the Forest Road.
Distance: 15.3 mi. (24.5 km) mostly unpaved
Ascent/Descent: +1173/-1173 ft. (+356/-356 m)
Average Speed: 6.0 mph (9.6 km/h)
Hiking: 1 mi. (1.6 km)
Today's ride: 15 miles (24 km)
Total: 96 miles (154 km)
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