Day 16: To free camping at Lochsa lodge

August 16, 2013

Today I want to visit two hot springs that I've never seen before. I want to get to the hot springs as early as possible to be there before the weather gets hot. So I got up at 6 (incredibly early for me) and on the road at 7. The first few miles were chilly, temperature in the upper 50's. No traffic, great view of the river and forested slopes.

Early in the morning I saw 3 westbound cyclists, 2 men and 1 woman.

I pedaled nonstop to keep warm, upstream to the Weir creek trailhead, arriving before 9. From the trailhead I hiked 1/2 mile upstream to the hot spring. The hot spring was in the shade, temperature 105F. A bit hot, but nice. I left at 10:30 after the area got into the sun and the water temperature rose considerably. I had the place to myself.

Weir Creek hot spring is a nice clean soak with a good view of a creek 20 feet below. But it's best on a cold cloudy day. Or after it's been in the shade for several hours.

Back at the bike I continued upstream another 10 miles to the Warm Springs trailhead. It has a big sign and parking lot and is way more crowded than Weir Creek.

1.5 mile gently upstream hike to Jerry Johnson hot springs.

The hike to the hot spring area is 1.5 miles gentle upstream through forest. Many people on the trail, and many people at the hot spring. About half of the trail goes through recently burned areas. I heard people complain about how it used to be beautiful. But it really didn't look too bad because the fire wasn't hot enough to kill all the trees. The understory is growing back now. Regeneration in process...

Warm Springs trail through burned forest.

The first hot spring I see is a hot waterfall gushing out of a cliff next to Warm Springs creek.

Because it was warm and sunny all the visitors soaked in the riverside pools that allow you to mix cool river water with the hot spring water. It was mid-day, so none of the riverside pools had shade.

One of many riverside pools supplied by hot seeps near the river.

A couple hundred yards upstream I found several pools on a hillside. The pools have no shade and were very hot. These would be great during winter when the riverside pools are all flooded. Not great now, though.

One of several separate hot pools up the hill.

A couple hundred yards downstream from the main riverside pools is a hot waterfall cascading into the river. A man has been building a wall to create a soaking pool now that the creek is low. The wall needs some work, so his pool was only 90F. I soaked there for a long time because that's warm enough when you're in the sun and the air temperature is also 90F.

Closer view of the hot pool fed by the hot waterfall.

Generally I think it's best to visit Jerry Johnson hot spring early in the day or late in the afternoon when the pools are shaded by surrounding mountains. I visited at the worst time of day for enjoying hot water.

After the long stop at Jerry Johnson hot spring I hiked 1.5 miles back to the road and continued upstream on US 12. I pedaled along the Lochsa river all day, slowly gaining 1500 feet.

A few miles upstream I turned into the Lochsa lodge. The USFS campground below the lodge was full, but the lodge has free camping on irrigated grass in their turnaround loop. Store and shower nearby. But also much traffic. And gasoline fumes from the gas station.

I shared the grassy area with 3 traveling motorcyclists. I drank too much beer, but they drank much more than I did. It wasn't a restful night because of people coming and going from their cabins. I'm now at 3700 feet elevation. The mountains are steep and the forest has become quite dense. But the evening was still pleasantly warm.

Distance: 43.1 miles (69 km)
Climbing: 1538 feet (463 m)
Average Speed: 10.2 mph (16.3 km/h)
Hiking: 4 miles (6.4 km)

Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 863 miles (1,389 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0