Hot Springs Escape During COVID-19

2020 has been a STRANGE year.  No way we could have known this global pandemic would shut things down.  After finishing distance teaching,  Onions and I were going stir crazy and off to the mountains we went.  We decided to head back to the Eastern Sierra.  Here are two maps that show how to get to some of the hot springs we visited.

So, if you happen to be using this handdrawn map, note that it's not to scale and use GPS as long as you are on Highway 395.  Back in 2017, we visited #3 (Rock Tub) and #6 (Wild Willy's) so this time, with a bit more research and preparation, we were able to visit four more of them.

So our first hot spring of this trip is #1 on the map, Buckeye!  Here's the view from the parking lot.  Head down a steep slope and this is what you find!

A couple hot spring pools hard by the river!

It's great to sit in the pool with thermally heated hot water showering down.



And then take a dip in the cold river.










We like to go to hot springs near the end of the day, when the temperatures are cooler and the light on is more spectacular.  Next stop, #3 Crab Cooker Hot Springs.


Upon inspection, Onions deemed the pool to be dirty and the water insufficiently hot, so we passed.




As always, his high standards were the right choice.  Here at #4 Shepherd Hot Springs, the water was clean and the temperature of the water could be adjusted to the hot temps we prefer!



The added bonus is that this is a drive-up hot spring.  Plus there are wild camping sites nearby.  Next time we return, we'll be doing some boondocking!





















At this point, we were so happy and enjoying ourselves so much, we might have overdone it on the "glamour" photos.



We did return to #2 Rock Tub but didn't take any photos as we got distracted chatting with a rancher with an amazing mustache from San Luis Obispo, but our last hot spring was #2 Travertine.  



After hiking in excess of two miles in a big loop that we didn't need to do, here's Onions celebration that we found it.  



Travertine is the largest springs we've visited as it's a series of five pools.









We met a very nice woman (Chinese woman married to a Caucasian guy, the only person of color we met on the entire trip) who grabbed our phones and snapped many pictures of us together. 




Everything was great but the water was disappointingly lukewarm.







This TINY one person pool was the warmest so we both spent time in there enjoying the water.

Sunset over the Sierra Nevada from Travertine Hot Springs