After getting the car work done, we again headed toward Idaho. We wanted to try to see a little more of the state as we had thought it lovely before the smoke rolled in, but we were heading into fall and the weather looked a little iffy in the higher elevations. Snow in the forecast? Nah, we’ll pass. So instead of heading into the Ketchum-Hailey area, we headed toward Boise, taking a little detour into the Boise National Forest. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we knew that instead of snow, just a chance of rain was forecast, so we went for it.
We headed north just east of Boise and followed a river through a deep valley surrounded by rocks and woods. It got cooler and rainier the farther north and higher in elevation we went. We made it over the pass and headed back down, now just looking for a place to stop. We tried to stop for gas in a tiny town, but found that the station was closed on Saturdays. Really!? We were trying to decide how far to go beyond that town (where we knew gas would be available the next day) when we didn’t have cell service and didn’t know how much farther we would have to go for gas. And then we came to the Pine Flats Campground. It didn’t look like anything particularly special, but reviews had talked about hot springs within walking distance and that sounded pretty darn good in the cold and rainy weather we were now in. We turned on the heater and snuggled up under blankets for the night.
The next morning Mike headed outside to do his usual coffee drinking and pacing when he managed to throw out his back by turning. Turning around…. that’s it… This made for a pretty terrible day full of trying to manage pain in whatever way he could.
The weather stayed cold and waffled between cloudy and a little rainy, but finally cleared up near sunset. I had watched people come and go at the parking near the trail to the hot springs, so I wandered down once the rain finally left. When I got near them, I saw clouds of steam rising from the whole side of the mountain. Hot water cascaded down to the river and there was a small pool that was unfortunately already being used. I headed back to share my findings and we decided to head to the springs the next morning to see if they would help Mike’s back.
I did a little more scouting the next morning and found giant pools that could be accessed by a little walk through the frigid river. Mike made it to the springs and we had them all to ourselves for a couple of hours. The hot water poured over a ledge next to our big pool, so not only did we have a hot tub, but a hot shower too. It really was an amazing place, made only more beautiful by the changing leaves and autumn weather around us.
We eventually got gas and took a drive to admire the gorgeous valleys around us.
