Paul, we hit the lower hot springs when we went, and never took the final trek to the river so not sure how difficult the last few obstacles are. I personally found the journey a solid workout even to that area. As for photos, I got my butt kicked, literally and figuratively as my phone camera ran out of juice just shortly after I took the last canyon shot below (the wide angle was at the first mile marker according to my GPS), way uphill of the first pools which was a bummer. Also I was more fascinated with how certain car parts got where they did! We decided to hit the springs without too much planning after brunch so I didn't have the time to fully charge. However, all is not lost. We plan on returning but cheating a bit this time. Plan is to get to the lowest pools via water. I already checked into this and they issue about 40 launch permits per day for kayaks, although one source told me 33 and another gave a different number. It's still a few hours of paddling though, so a different type of workout. Never easy. This time I'll make sure to bring fully charged equipment.
On thing, on the way back up, we encountered some first timers. Some didn't look well prepared. At least it's winter. From my understanding there were some deaths in the area during the summer months. I personally wouldn't return here during the summer unless it was via water.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2013 09:56PM by mohave.
