#45b Sol Duc Hot springs

We packed up and went to a campground about an hour away called Sol Duc and it was a natural hot spring. They have captured the source of the hot springs and pump it directly into the pool area.

Small Mineral Wading Pool 99F

Large Mineral Fountain Pool 101F

Medium Mineral Pool 104F

Freshwater Pool 50F - 85F

Of course I go for the 104 degrees. After an hour I went over to the 60 degree water and it was very cold. I walked slowly in till I got to my head. All the sudden I was really drunk. It was all natural but drunk all the same. I intentionally went towards the ladder exit because I didn't want to go unconscious and drown. It was actually a little spooky thinking things could have gone the wrong way. I recovered and after awhile I felt normal again. I got back in to the hot soak and with my addictive personality i went back to the cold water to try to re -create the intoxication but this time nothing happened. I have issues.

We put our RV in there for 3 days and I love hot baths so it was just heaven for me. It was a little bit of an expense of about $10 per person to have a hot soak. We got a pretty good deal on the RV site compared to the lodge. They rent the RV site for about $30 a night and were full hookups except sewer. Compared to the 250 per night for the lodge I would say the site was affordable. If you give them 250 per night they will let you soak for free. I went every night for several hours, after 6 p.m. they reduce the rate.

On the second day, I went on a nice hike up the left side of the Sol Duc River. It started at the campground and ended up at the Sol Duc Falls and all together it was about 4 miles. I had dropped my bike off at for the top of the hill so after I got through the walking I would ride the bike down the hill back to the site. I did this two days in a row using a near identical hike. This trail went on the right side of the river. On the first hike, I went off trail looking for the right-side trail somewhere on the other side of the river. I crossed the river by crawling across a log jam which was a little spooky. I was so far off trail I could tell I was walking when people had not walked for 1,000 years or so. What a rush. At some point the sound of the river was becoming more and more distant and I was having no luck intercepting the right-side trail. I had several miles to go and it would be dark in 2 or 3 hours so I went back to the river and got back on task. As I emerged from the hike entering the parking lot it was pretty dusk. I rode down the steep hill back home in the dark with the rain stinging my face. I ended the day with a hot soak.

The next bunch of pictures are from my two hikes

The second hike was identical only this trail followed the right side of the river. At the end of the hike there are the most beautiful waterfalls. What a pleasure to be in a rain forest.

Honey I want to wear this but does it make my butt look big? Answer very carefully.

This guy hung out by the RV

This was the view at the Resort

This was the way the trail looked at dusk as I emerged from the hike on day 1

Sol Duc River

On the day were leaving we saw a sign saying that Salmon jump here in the fall. Here is the video.

On the day we left I saw a sign referencing salmon area below or something and wanted to check it out. We hiked down and I was pleased to see that salmon were migrating upstream to spawn. The three of us went close and India didn’t want to go all the way down as it was a pretty steep rocky riverbank. Savannah and I went right down to the edge and watched the salmon jumping. They were unsuccessfully trying to hop up past a waterfall. From what I saw none of them made it and I wondered how they would ever succeed. Later I was told they do get exhausted and give up for a while and rest in the pools below. Sooner or later, it rains and when the river swells the elevations equalize to a height they can successfully jump and get upstream. I took some video and we were fascinated by how tough and determined they were