Day 16 and 17 - Jerry Johnson Hot Springs

Saturday morning we woke to temps in the low 40’s, but the sun began warming us quickly towards our high in the mid 70’s. We made coffee in camp and sat by the Lochsa River till nearly lunch. 

We arrived at the trailhead at Noon and started the 1.5 mile hike to the first hot spring. Our hope was to walk further than the majority and find some seclusion. That didn’t happen exactly as planned, but we did find a beautiful hot spring pool that we had to ourselves for close to an hour. We alternated between the hot springs, the icy cold river, and our hammock for the rest of the day. On our walk out, we stopped at the hot springs waterfall pool and met Bob and Danielle. We stayed until it was getting dark on us. We were pretty worn out from the day, so we warmed up some leftovers in camp and crashed early. 

Sunday was basically a repeat of Saturday. Up to a cold morning, coffee and oatmeal in camp, then the short drive to the hot springs trailhead. Sunday was a little more crowded, but we had fun hanging out, napping in the hammock and reaped the rewards of smaller crowds later in the afternoon. The springs are amazing and will be something both of us remember forever. We headed back to camp around 4:30 and got dressed for dinner at the Lochsa Lodge.

Lochsa lodge is a cool place with cabins, a restaurant, a bar, gift shop and gas station open year round. Our next visit here could be a flight to Missoula and a stay at the lodge. We had both been craving a cheese burger, so that’s what we ordered for dinner. Back at camp, we crashed early before the cold set in. 

This has been a beautiful weekend in a special place. Tomorrow we head out with no set destination. There is rain and a temperature drop in the forecast, so maybe a hotel for a hot shower and laundry. 

P.S. Monica Lewis, you are the most amazing friend and travel partner. I am incredibly thankful for our partnership and the love you give me. This weekend was the best two days of our trip so far and I can’t wait to see what comes next. 

Love, Jason.  

Monica: Hiked to the worlds most beautiful natural hot springs- 4 miles round trip and spent 6 hours in and out of (warm to very hot) spring pools, cooling down in an ice cold mountain trout stream, and hammock if in the shade of giant fir trees. There were people coming and going all day but it never felt over crowded. 

The first pool we visited was around bath water temp. Maybe 99-100 degrees. We stayed for 30 minutes or so and discovered a larger hotter pool just up the hill. This one was amazing. We had the pool to ourselves for about an hour and we’re then joined by a sweet Montana family traveling for a wedding. 
Moved on to a more popular spring with a small but diverse group of soakers. Old, young, locals, travelers, even a family from Taiwan. Bob, an old self appointed hot spring caretaker (removing sand after snow melts) shows up daily to soak in his birthday suit. Yep, some folks (not most) lose all inhibitions and clothing. It’s quite the cosmos! If you have never felt a piping hot natural spring fed waterfall trickling down your back after a plunge into an icy nearby river, you have not lived! 


P.s. Jason Williams you put the sparkle in my eyes and heart. I’ve learned so much from you on this adventure- careful planning, flexibility, humor and endless patience is noted daily. I love you with my whole heart.  You make me happy to be alive. ♥️