A Day to Explore

This morning we awoke to the sound of a generator in the campground.  Once it finally shut off we were just barely able to hear the river over the noise from the large group of Boy Scouts that moved in late last night.  So much for our peaceful campsite.  We realized our plan to leave the campground and go exploring in our car was a good one.  However, one set of neighbors took off in their large ATV and the trailer couple took off in their truck.  The Boy Scouts packed up their gear and hiked off with a couple of pack horses.  We were alone again. 

We didn’t hang around for long—but I did finish my book.  We took our little SUV up a long dirt road to the Carey Dome Lookout.  The tower stands 85 feet tall and is the only metal tower still in use in the Payette National Forest.  Bob said that we might be invited to climb up the tower so I was gazing up at the series of stairs with very narrow railings, wondering if I had the courage to climb up there.  The lookout walked out of the nearby cabin to say hello and said that he had come down for lunch.  He would have invited us up but there was a storm moving by and he couldn't due to lightning concerns.  Phew.  He told us that the tower actually acts as a lightning rod and the current runs through the ground from each of the four corners.  You don’t want to be standing there.  During a storm he sits in the tower on a stool with glass insulators on the bottom to protect him.  Wow.  That would be an experience.  Bob chatted with him for a bit while I petted his very friendly dog and looked at the view.  Unfortunately there was a smoky haze today and the mountains in the distance were barely visible.

We headed back down the mountain looking for the trail to Marshall Lake that the lookout had told us about.  We couldn't find it so instead we drove up Marshall Mountain.  It got very steep and rocky the last one-half to three-quarters of a mile so we parked the car, ate some lunch in a lovely meadow, and then hiked up the rest of the way. The wildflowers were beautiful, surprising for August, but we were over 6,000 feet.  I stopped to take photos.  I spotted some hawks flying around and managed to snap a photo of one perching in a tree using my zoom.  I frightened it when I tried to get closer.  To get to the top of the mountain we had to go cross-country.  Bob found a federal government geodetic benchmark which told us that we had found the high point.

While heading back down the mountain in our car we came across a couple who was also looking for the trail to Marshall Lake.  We wished them luck and moved on.  Once we turned back onto the lookout road and drove a ways, we saw the trail we’d been looking for!  Bad directions, I guess.  It was getting late and we had other plans.

Further down the road we turned into Burgdorf Hot Springs.  We hadn't been there for years.  These hot springs were used in the 1860s by miners.  It is now privately owned.  Driving in we noticed that some of the very old cabins have been fixed up and are now rented.  There are others that are falling down.  Burgdorf is a very rustic resort.  When we paid our $14 for two, the woman proudly told us that they have new outhouses.  The pool has gravel on the bottom and the cooler end is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  The hot end has pools that are 110 and 120 degrees—too hot for me. 

The hot water was very relaxing at the end of the day.  At first we had the pool mostly to ourselves but then some older people from an ATV group came in; they were quite friendly.  The air was cool and there was a nice breeze.  We found half in and half out of the water worked best.  When we began turning into prunes we changed out of our suits and drove back to camp.

We discovered that the campground had filled up while we were gone.  Despite the number of people it’s been fairly quiet tonight.  As the sun was setting I heard the sandhill cranes again—but they sounded different.  I got out of my chair by the fire and saw a pair flying over the river vocalizing.  I’m not sure where they went.  Right now we’re sitting by the campfire listening to the river and waiting for the fire to burn down.  Once the coals are perfect we will roast marshmallows and make s’mores—possibly the last ones of the summer.  Tomorrow we head home.

Written on 8/8/2014