Archive for the ‘rocky canyon’ Category

Across the River

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

I spent a beautiful evening hiking and soaking tonight. Crossed the shallow river and climbed to the rebuilt top pool at Rocky. Enjoyed the warm water and stars as they became more visible with the setting sun. It is not how it was, but I am thankful that I am able to soak in these waters that run freely out of the earth. There is a smaller middle pool that is shallow and slow moving. At the bottom near the log is a large pool that is lukewarm at best. When I was up this summer someone had done a remodeling job complete with carpet in the bottom pool. When I visited last month, someone had pulled the disgusting piece of flooring out and carried it across the river. I found it sitting on the bank and was happy to find it a new home, far away from the hot spring. With the changes at Rocky, I have noticed more trash and not as much respect for this amazing place. If you wander up this river or others to enjoy a hot spring or much needed escape, please carry out what you bring in and maybe a few extras if found.

Molly DeVinaspre
Ocean Artista
Art is way to explore myself, the world around me, and sources of creativity in a deeper way. I enjoy immersing myself in the creative as well as the occasional hot spring, ocean, river or lake.

| Posted in boise national forest, idaho, rocky canyon | 4 Comments »

Rocky Canyon Hot Springs Video Flashback

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Filmed shortly after the famed pools went up in 2007 (which were dismantled recently), behold the glory of Rocky Canyon Hot Springs.

View Rocky Canyon Hot Springs on IHS

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| Posted in boise national forest, flashback, idaho, rocky canyon, video | No Comments »

Back to the Basics

Monday, March 1st, 2010

CrushedWeek after week slipped past, until finally, a Tuesday afternoon stepped out of the void and presented itself. It only took a second for me to realize just what exactly this meant. No time for dogs, but I needed an accomplice. Easy. I knew of a geothermal fiend that didn’t have BSU class on Tuesdays. So, I nabbed my soak-pack (a small sling-style backpack pre-loaded with day hiking and hot springing gear) and was out the door. Destination – Boise National Forest.

Afternoons like this are why Boise is such a great place to live. Forest to the north, high desert to the south. Open space. The great outdoors. Only 1 hour in either direction. Within 30 minutes I broke free of crowded roads and the vast expanse of the bustling valley. Another 30 minutes on highway 55 brought me into the thick of the forest, and Mile Marker 4 Hot Springs.

HS CGSkinnydipper was slammed, and I wasn’t in a mood to banter. A more subtle commune with nature was on my agenda. On down the highway. Thoughts of checking on Rocky Canyon and Little Anderson came and went. Then, I arrived at Hot Springs Campground. Took a look around, checked temps (100-101) and left. It looked good, but I needed more hiking.

Pine Flats was awesome. Not the soak, but everything else. All of the pools except one tiny soaker up top were too cool (upper 90s) for school. It was just nice to hike around and look for signs of spring. Oh, and no trash to pick up is always a treat. After all of that hiking, it was time to return to Hot Springs Campground.

HS CG QualifiedThe soak at HS CG was marginal. We cleared the area of trash and hopped right in. Well, turns out that 101 degrees during the day wasn’t too bad, but that 101 had turned into 99 after sunset and the ambient air temps had dropped right along with it. Add to that Red Spider Mites (RSMs), and the suck factor increased a bit. I’ve heard stories, but after many visits to HS CG with no RSM encounters I didn’t think much of it – until now. I have a theory that hot springers are inadvertently infecting the non-afflicted hot springs with RSMs. Ugh, another one to add to the list.

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| Posted in boise national forest, garden valley, hot springs campground, idaho, little anderson, pine flats, rocky canyon, skinnydipper | 1 Comment »

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