Boiling River

Occasionally, a great hike can be an easy one. This is the case with the Boiling River. The  parking area is close to the north gate where we can get to it quickly, and one mile down (if you count walking around in the river as part of it) and almost one mile back to the car. Necessary accompaniments are a towel, bathing suit if you are so inclined to go all the way in and water to drink to stay hydrated.

The Boiling River is an area where some hot springs come out from an underground cavern and dumps into the Gardiner River. The hot springs water is too hot to touch, actually it is hot enough to scald. And the Gardiner River is very cold, as a mountain stream would normally be. Now, put the two together, rock off an area to enjoy and viola! you have a hot tub in a river bed. I told Barbara and Bob that if they took me on a long hike and then let me sit in this area, I would have to spend the night. They graciously conceded and we dashed down to enjoy it on an in-between day (in-between two major hikes and cleaning cabins!).


Here are the rapids along the Gardiner River as we walked to the hot springs site. This is a good representative of many such white water areas to enjoy in the various rivers throughout the park.

Below you can see the water just suddenly appears from the crevice in the rock. These are the hot springs. The path to the 'hot tub' area crosses above this area in the picture.
 

This is where the hot springs water flows into the river. What really doesn't show up well in this picture is the vivid color differential of the dark green against the brilliant red rock. Both indications of two different types of algae.

From where I was sitting, I discovered if I scooped the small pebbles into a small area and continuously ran my feet over them, it was the delightful equivalent of getting a foot massage. Behind me the water was probably 40 to 50 degrees colder than inside the rocks. How crazy is that?

Bob enjoyed the warmth on his feet also. We were quite relaxed on the way back to the car.

Barbara found a new friend, if only for a little while. I don't believe she knows any strangers. Barb had a rash on both of her lower legs from rubbing against some grass while hiking several miles the day before. The rash was an angry red when she got in the water. By the time we got home it was almost totally gone. Such is the healing ways of all the minerals and elements in that water!

I couldn't resist adding in this beautiful, orange dragon fly we saw on the trail in.