Olympic Hot Springs

Fri 21 Oct: Woke up to a Grey overcast day, managed to convince Doug to bike to the hot springs - so what if we get wet, that's why we invested in good rain gear. Was spitting when we left, which turned into drizzle and light rain for most of the day. Certainly see why the road was closed, a major task ahead to rebuild it. The detour route wasn't very bike friendly but got through okay with some walking. After that it was nice biking on a smooth tarseal road knowing there will be no traffic. Stopped at the Glines Canyon Overlook, where a dam once was, but was removed in 2012, and the river started flowing freely again late 2014. In November 2015 the road first got closed due to a washout. They rebuilded it, adding a bridge, however after only 3 weeks it washed out again, I think it's been closed since. After that the climbing begun probably for about 6 or 7 kms until the end of the road. Bike stats for the way there are: 13.39 km, 1 hr 25, elevation gain 563 m, loss 81 m. Once we got to the trailhead we left the bikes and carried on foot on a well formed trail for 4.24 km, 47 mins, elevation gain 142 m - we probably could had bike this but it said no bikes and after the climb to get there it was nice to have a change. There were about 6 hot pools formed on the hillside nestled in amongst the bush along about a 200 m track above the river. We choose the first pool. We thought we would have the place to ourselves but there was 6 other people there when we were, but all had our own pools. We quickly got out of our wet gear and into the very hot pool, it took me awhile to get fully in, not liking very hot water as much as Doug but soon became very enjoyable. The outside temperature was 7°C, and still drizzling, so we made the most of the pool before getting out and returning back to the van. At least the ride back down was a lot quicker although quite chilly especially on the fingers. It was nice to be able to get back and get into warm clothes and have a cup or two of hot chocolate, definitely benefits of a campervan. Decided to stay put for the night.Read more