Idaho: Goldbug Hot Springs

Late at night, I heard someone outside my van and when I looked out my window some guy was walking alongside my van. He didn’t see me looking out the window though. It sounded like he walked from the front to the back and then turned and walked to the front again, but I don’t know if he was just walking past it to go towards the Walmart. Either way, it didn’t feel very threatening after I watched him walk really far away. Overall I slept well and left for Salmon, Idaho the next day. I FaceTimed my family on my drive and wished my mom a happy mother’s day. The drive to the Salmon area was really pretty. Green mountains most of the way until I drove higher into snow-capped pines and then down again into the valley of the mountains. Salmon was a small town that I was only passing through.

Finally, I parked at the Goldbug Hot Springs trailhead parking lot. There were a number of cars already there so I expected it to be quite busy. As I started my hike I noticed a handful of people starting after me. The trail went up and down, through sagebrush and along the river. There were multiple areas with fire pits along the way for people to camp or just hang out, which I thought was cool. The mountains looked muted with the dull sage and the white cloudy sky. I made my way higher and after following the river for a while found the steaming pools. I had passed a few people who were coming down on my way up so it wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would be. There were two bigger pools and both had people in them, so I went back to a smaller pool so I could have one to myself. I didn’t feel like socializing that much, so I was glad to find one empty. The view from my pool was mostly of the valley wall instead of down the valley but it was still very pretty. I was kicking myself for not packing a beer to drink once I got up there though. I took some self-timer photos, being very careful to not let my phone slide into the water, and just hung out for a long time. The water was pretty hot so I took turns being mostly in and mostly out of the water. The pool was pretty clear and the rocks were colorful surrounding the edge. I watched as people made it to the springs and looked for a spot. The biggest pool was full of people and dogs but everyone seemed to find a spot. I had one younger woman join my pool for a little bit and we took some pictures for each other. After some people and dogs left the biggest pool she went over there, I’m sure to have the better view. After a long soak, I got out and got dressed behind some trees. I made my way down and after about 5 or 10 minutes started to feel a little cold. On my hike down it started snowing but the snowflakes looked like tiny styrofoam balls, so maybe it was hail. I started driving back the way I had come to a free campground 30 mins away. I gassed up in Salmon and drove down their cute downtown again. The site I found was really nice and had a picnic table and fire pit. It was near a river and before making dinner I walked over to the boat landing. The green hills looked pretty behind the curved river. As I made some chili for dinner, I read my book while sitting in the doorway of my van. Birds were chirping and a breeze rustled the leaves hanging from a branch above me. It was a relaxing evening. I ate dinner sitting in my doorway and then cleaned up. I had a relaxing end to my relaxing day.