Goldmyer Hotsprings overnight with aDam 2013-10-19

Last weekend a few friends joined my wife and I at one of our favorite places - Goldmyer Hotsprings. This was Colin's first time to the springs, and we had another first-timer as well. aDam is the official mascot of Fazed, an incredible online community which I was lucky enough to stumble across many years ago. For the last few years (besides a few months of being lost) aDam has been travelling the globe from fazer to fazer, living it up in a fashion that most living breathing people will would envy. He finally arrived on my doorstep for the first time a few weeks ago and we have been having a blast, as you already know if you've been following my blog.

We left the newly upgraded Dingford Creek Trailhead at 10:30 am, leaving just enough time for the hike before we would be allowed into the springs at noon. FYI, as there is now a bathroom at the trailhead, a NW Forest Service Pass is now required to park there. Many thanks to the volunteers who offered to drive in some of our heavy/bulky gear!

We always hike in along the road as it's shorter and more scenic than the trail on the South side of the river. Snoqualmie Mountain, Wild Dare Peak, and Mount Thomson are just a few of the snow-capped peaks that pop in and out of view along the way. The weather could not have been more perfect for a backpacking trip in late October.

We arrived at the caretaker's cabin just after Noon. Before it came into view, a generator and other sounds of construction could be heard echoing through the woods. We met the new caretakers and headed down to our usual campsite above Burnt Boot Creek. After a quick set-up and warm food it was off to the hotsprings to soak away our worries. We stopped at Grandpa - a 900-year-old Douglas Fir - and made an attempt to lock arms around him, but came up about a foot short.

 

5-11-2013 Goldmyer Hotsprings

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Last weekend Steffy and I backpacked in to Goldmyer Hotsprings with Ben, Tiffany, and Scott. None of us had been in over six months, and this was Scott's first visit to the Springs themselves so needless to say we were all pumped from the start. On the hike in the weather was ideal and the mountain views were spectacular.


Dingford Creek and Burnt Boot Creek were raging from the recent warm weather, and the Middlefork was easily a foot higher than I have ever seen it . We met the new caretakers and their dog, who left us a nice present at our campsite upon arrival.





Plenty of soaking was had, as usual with no shortage of dong. We were lucky to get the hotsprings to ourselves for a few hours although reservations for the day were maxed out. All slept well and ate well, and we were even able to avoid the wet forecast for the hike out. What a great trip!