Washington PCT 2015: Day 21

Nice foggy morning!

We awoke to a foggy morning on Day 21. It was really quiet and serene as we packed up camp by Snow Lake. There were times when you could hear the lapping of water but could not see it. As the sun came up, the fog rose more and more.
 

Looking across the water while filtering

Packing up after breakfast

We hiked north and into the next valley, meeting a SOBO hiker who had left the Goldmyer hot springs. We chatted for a while before heading our separate ways.

Hiking down to the valley

A view of the valley below

Enjoying myself

Looking backward toward the lake

That waterfall is from Snow Lake

Almost to the bottom!

Once we got down into the forested valley, the trail got very nice. It was actually a well-graded dirt road. And it was very well maintained for the sake of the many visitors to the hot springs. Just before we arrived, we crossed some cool old log bridges, which was a novel experience for Laura!

Hiking up the valley

Welcome to the springs!

Laura using the cool log bridges!

Goldmyer Hot Spring is a little cave in the middle of nowhere. Really hot water comes our of it and is collected in a few small pools. The area is maintained but without buildings or electricity. There is a main cabin for the care-takers and an outhouse or to but other than that, this is just camping sites and trails. The spring is also clothing optional, which was a new experience for both of us.

Amazing site!

Walking up to the spring

After soaking in the pool for a while, we went back to our campsite and slept. This was another short 10 mile day and it was also a cool one. There were about 6 other people at the springs but we were told that they would likely leave at the end of the weekend so we let them have it for the evening and planned on having it to ourselves the next morning.

What are those people wearing?