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| Hiking | 8.30 Miles |
665 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.30 Miles | | | |
| 665 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | After spending three nights in Stanley, we relocated to the southern boundaries of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. We camped at the Fir Creek Campground and also started our hike from there.
The objective of our hike was some hot springs located approximately 4.5 miles in from the trail head of Bear Valley Creek. Normally, this hike requires three fords to reach, however, some locals let me know all of the fords could be bypassed through the use of a fishing trail that included a heads up bypass. In a convenient coincidence, the fisherman’s trail literally started from my campsite along Bear Valley Creek.
The fisherman's trail was a little primitive to start, but it was pretty short lived in general and the bypass high above Bear Valley Creek did prove to be a little heads up in spots, but it was only two tenths of a miles long and was not overly sketchy. A goat trail would be a good analogy to describe the "sketchy" bypass. I leashed Dot for the bypass and would recommend the same for other dogs. Eventually, we linked back up with the actual trail after the final ford and it was pretty easy going to the hot springs. The trail was in excellent shape and the forest was idyllic. The hot springs consisted of several pools and were located in a stunning setting along the raging creek. After spending about an hour rotating through various pools. Dot and I returned the way we came.
Later that evening we hiked a short beginning portion of the trail from the proper trailhead. We encountered a little deadfall during this portion, but in general the trail was in great shape. We turned around when we reached the location of our campsite on the adhjacent side of the creek. |
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