Granite Falls Hot Springs

After a busy Monday of running around town and going to a training that ended up being canceled, we decided to go adventuring on Tuesday. Kerry found out about these hot springs that are south of Jackson near Pinedale. The directions we found online ended up being wrong, but luckily we ran across a woman and her horse. She directed us to a gas station that gave us directions to the hot springs. On the way we came across the Snake River and decided to pull over and be tourists and take some pictures. Once we came to the road to the hot springs we noticed a sign that told us the springs we 10 miles back. The dirt road was really muddy and potholed. Along the way we came across 2 ATV's that were being pulled by 8 sled dogs apiece. The snow began to fly after about 8 miles in. We finally came to the waterfall and knew we were in the right spot.

Ready for an adventure.

The Snake River.

The boys on the Snake River.

Right at the gate to the dirt road, about 1 mile back.

Getting out of the car at the hot springs.

Kerry crusing down the 1/4 mile hike in.

Granite falls.

It wasn't until we got down to the river that Mike noticed that there was someone already in the springs and that he somehow was on the other side of the river. We asked him how he got there and we thought he said he walked across, but it was hard to hear over the falls. We decided to ford the river, so we all stripped down to hoodies and our bathing suits. The river was about 40 feet wide and was about 32 degrees so it was less than pleasant to walk across. In typical Dana fashion as soona as my toe hit the water I let out what was called a "priceless yelp". We finally got to the other side and met a nice guy named Mark that had also just moved to Jackson and is working as a winch cat operator at the resort this winter. After chatting with him we found out if we had driven a little ways further we could have walked around and never got into the water. Good life lesson there. The hot springs were great though. As we sat there the snow started dumping and it was absoluetly beautiful.

The springs were on the other side of the river, brrrr.

Me and Kerry enjoying the warm springs.

Roomates.

The fun really began when we had to get out of the springs and ford the river back to our clothes and boots. We took some time to get adjusted to the cool air outside the springs, but apparently I didn't wait quite long enough. After crossing about 10 feet of the river I started to feel very faint and sick to my stomach. Luckily there was a small island of rocks, I stopped and told Kerry I needed a minute, that is when it was like someone had turned down the volume on the waterfall and the lights. I knew immediatly that I was going to faint. Luckily Kerry got me sitting down and I managed to get through the episode without smashing my head on anything. Once I came back to the world Kerry continued to cross the river. When he was about half way across I got up the courage to continue across, Mike held back in case my well-timed fainting episode continued. Somehow I flew across the river and beat Kerry who had about a 20 foot headstart. I have never been so happy to see my boots and sweatpants. The drive back down the road was much more slippery since about 2 or 3 inches of snow had fallen while we were there. For the most part I had a great time and it really made me thankful to have such great friends.

Running back to the car in a very stylish outfit.