Down below, a handful of wooden structures had appeared, tucked into narrow ravines and groves of alder trees, each one sheltering a carved cedar hot tub. Straight ahead of us was a big, cylindrical tub, for large groups, and down to the left, a set of individual, canoe-shaped tubs separated into stalls. Farther down, there was a row of individual tubs on a platform without any walls between them, which was where we headed.

“This looks fantastic,” I said, and gripped Kurt’s shoulder with a happy squeeze.

The hot springs were fairly empty that day, just a couple of backpackers, a few teenagers, a pregnant woman and her bearded husband. I watched a man exit a stall, dripping water, and pace around the cedar deck. His belly was sagging and his legs were bent and atrophied, coming to gnarled, splayed toes on the end. When he turned around, his ass was a tiny crevice at the bottom of his back between two flattened, pinkish pancakes. He went over and petted a black Labrador tied to a tree, and then returned to his tub.

We staked out two tubs and put down our bags on the adjacent benches. The tubs were made of black, wet wood, with rubber stoppers on the bottom. They were a little slimy, but we didn’t bother to scrub them out. We opened the sluices, wooden flippers that directed the steaming water into the canoe, and hauled over plastic buckets of cold water from a nearby well.

I felt strong, padding back and forth with the cold water. It felt good to use my arms and legs, tapping the last bits of strength left from the hike. I almost wished the preparation of the tub could have gone on longer, but quickly enough it was time to strip down and settle in. I pulled off my clothes, stashed my keys in my shoes, and eased myself into the water. I felt a shiver of warmth run through my body. I groaned, “Fantastic,” as Kurt slipped into the tub beside mine and sighed.

We lay there for a long time, letting the hot water soak deep into our muscles. The birds were chattering in the trees, drunk on juniper berries. I watched my pale feet ripple on the opposite end of the tub, my pale arms flat against my hips. The walls of the tub rose on either side of me like a sarcophagus. I closed my eyes and sank down in the water until the sound of my own body was ringing in my ears.

I came up for air and wiped the wet hair from my eyes. Our little grotto was filling with afternoon shadows now. High above there was golden light on the tops of the trees, and beyond that a ragged circle of blue sky.