The Case of the Missing Hot Springs
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs
By Zach Hively

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
~Edward Abbey

Three strangers in the past month had recommended this hike to Wally and me, but not one of them had mentioned that the trail didn't technically exist. The path ducked in and out of sight among the ponderosa pines. Wally navigated the underbrush with glee, chasing chipmunks and scoping new scents, but I kept snagging my backpack on scrub oak branches and grumbling about losing the way. Yet, two miles into the woods and nearly a dozen miles from any paved road, my greatest concern was whether I should have worn my swimsuit.

Like two adventurers on the hunt for the Fountain of Youth, my dog and I were determined to find the Piedra River's hot springs. We had no clues to go by other than vague secondhand accounts. I didn't know what these natural pools looked like, and I had never soaked in the wild. I wondered if I might get algae in my swim shorts and where I was supposed to change my clothes. (Keep reading)