Spring
Bureau of Land Management ground in Valencia County holds this warm spring, recorded only as Spring, about 17 miles from Belen. It is public land and access is open. The water is warm to the hand, well short of hot. What stands out is the chemistry: a 1941 sample found the water loaded with dissolved solids, many times saltier than drinking water, with iron among the minerals.
Dry basin country a little under 5,500 feet, with light winter snow and less than a foot of precipitation most years. The spring is a hundred yards or so from the closest road, within the Rio Puerco Field Office. No road name is given. No campground appears on file within range, and nothing describes the outlet.
Cold months are the good ones. Access is a short walk and no fee is recorded. The salinity reading is the thing to know before you dip a hand in: that much dissolved mineral makes for heavy, brackish water, and the sample dates to the early 1940s, so current conditions may differ. The USGS assigned it a site number, which is how it ended up listed at all.
The water at Spring contains 13600 mg/L total dissolved solids. It is notably rich in calcium (may support bone density and joint health), magnesium (known for muscle relaxation and stress relief), and sodium (supports circulation and skin hydration).
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Spring sits at 5,460 feet above sea level, way above the mile-high mark. You may not feel the altitude strongly, but hot water still dehydrates you faster at elevation. UV is about 22% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Spring is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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