Cold Water Crossings, Hot Water Soakings

The first weekend in July, Josh and I went on an overnight camping trip in the mountains northwest of Stanley. On Saturday July 1, we left home late because I'd worked at the pharmacy all day. We left around 5:30pm and drove to Stanley, then continued driving west on Highway 21, and turned off to head towards Boundary Creek. We drove to the Dagger Falls campground near the Boundary Creek put-in sight on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. From the campground, it was only a .5 mile hike to Dagger Creek Hot Springs, but there was a forest fire through the area in 2022, and there wasn't a trail anymore due to the downed trees and erosion of the soil. We had to climb over fallen trees and groups of rocks and through some brush, so it took longer than expected. It took us almost 45 minutes, but we finally got to the hot springs around 9:15 that night, and we had it all to ourselves. We soaked our legs and feet in the singular pool by nearby Dagger Creek, and enjoyed the 106* water in the cool night. Thankfully, it was still light enough to see as we hiked there, but as we were soaking, it got darker and darker, and when we left the hot springs to hike back, it was after dark, so it took us even longer (nearly an hour) to trek back to the van. It was a beautiful night, with nearly a full moon, and a view of Venus and Mars so close to each other in the western sky. We admired the night views as we drove 12 miles back on the Boundary Creek Road to park the van at Fir Creek Campground to sleep for the night. 

Dagger Creek Hot Springs

The nearly full moon lit the way as we
drove to Fir Creek Campground for the night.

Mars & Venus were so close to each other in the night sky. Venus
is the lower, brighter spot. Mars is above it diagonally to the left.

On Sunday morning, we began our hike around 9am from a trailhead near the Fir Creek Campground to get to the destination of Bear Valley Hot Springs, which was 7.5 miles round trip and crosses Marsh Creek twice each way. The hike was pretty, and it was a beautiful day. We were glad we left in the morning, because the weather was cooler and the trail was fairly empty on our hike in--we only saw one other couple. It took us 2.5 hours to get there. The first soakable pool was on a rocky hillside overlooking Marsh Creek. It was shallow, and was pretty hot (about 105*). We soaked in it for a few minutes, not realizing there were more pools below. We could see a group of people camping in a tree-covered section by the creek, and decided to check out the area further. We hiked down to that area, and it was then that we found out there were more pools, a pretty large one next to the creek, and several rock pools along the edge of the creek. They were SO pretty, and I'm glad we investigated further. These pools were cooler, so we were able to soak in them longer, and we loved listening to the flowing creek water as we soaked. We had a wonderful time soaking alone--because the campers weren't soaking at that time and there was nobody else around. Altogether, we soaked and searched the area for over an hour before starting the hike back. It was a lot warmer by now, and we passed multiple people on the trail heading to the springs. Josh and I each tried separate places to cross the creek at the water crossings on the way back, and my way ended up being MUCH more difficult and time consuming. I had a terrible time crossing, and had a full-blown anxiety attack as a result. The water crossing incident cost us about a half hour, so the return trip took 3 hours to get back! We made it back to the van around 4pm. We were exhausted! It had been a great day, but we were wiped from the heat and the exertion of the long hike in the afternoon. We drove back home that evening. 2 days later, I discovered that I'd come in contact with some red spider mites. We believe it was in the first hot pool we soaked in on the hillside. We'd heard and read about the mites, but had been lucky enough not to have been exposed to them before then. The bites covered both of my legs as well as my buttocks, and it was really uncomfortable for several days! I was still glad we'd gone, but I was leery the rest of the summer of hot springs that required water crossings along the trail or hot pools that had reportings of spider mites.

This hike was in the Frank Church Wilderness, so Josh signed
in at the registry before we began our hike. 

The trail followed the creek for most of the hike.

The trail also meandered through hills and forest.

The first pool at Bear Valley Hot Springs. 

The larger, lower pool at Bear Valley Hot Springs

Soaking in the large pool

The gushing water near the creek-side warm pools.

Rock pools near the creek

I picked my first Morel mushroom on the hike back.
I cooked it after we got home. It was good!

Crossing Marsh Creek on the way back. 
I used a large stick to help me cross the 
swifter, deeper stretches to keep my balance.

This was the water crossing that was more shallow.
I had exerted so much energy crossing the swift
creek, that I sat in this water for a few minutes
to catch my breath and stabilize my emotions.

Back on the trail again

I was SO glad to be back on hard land again!

It was fun to see people enjoying the nearby creek.

.

We saw rafters, kayakers, and paddle boarders.

The final stretch of the hike.

We did it!

Spider Mite bites