Earlier this summer we finally made it some hot springs! This was back in June when getting in hot water sounded really nice on a cool evening. This was also right after I got back from ALT summit and stayed up way to too and got way too little sleep. About an hour after I got back to Seattle we headed off with our friends to the trail head. I napped on the way and was mostly refreshed for the hike-although I was really glad it was a flat and easy 4 miles.
We stopped at a few places along the way to take a breather and look at beautiful things like the river we crossed and a waterfall near the beginning of the hike.
Once we set up camp we hiked the remaining 1/4 mile to the hot springs and got in! There were 3 areas you could sit in. The one above was my favorite. It was warm but not hot and it was exposed to the air so it was refreshing too. Up above was a smaller pool that was a little warmer and just outside of the cave area that was the third spot. In the cave it was pretty hot and pretty dark. If you could brave the low ceiling and not seeing that well in the far back was a wooden bench that allowed you so sit out of the water. It was like a wonderful sauna. I’m glad I finally braved it and tried it out.
We spent 1 night and visited the pools 3 times, once upon arrival, once after dark (that was pretty fun), and once in the morning before we packed up to head out. On the way back home we stopped for some food and a beer-I look forward to that after each hiking/camping trip we go on. Oh the sweet rewards!