I hung out at my camping spot for the first half of the day. I just didn’t feel like doing much. But around noon I left the Salmon, Idaho area and drove 3.5 hours northwest to another hot spring called Jerry Johnson. The drive was beautiful. Through cattle spotted fields with mountains as a backdrop and a curvy road through wooded areas. One of the cattle fields I passed had tons of calves that were running around and following their moms. It was very cute. I drove up and back down the Lolo Pass and along a rapid river.
Finally, I arrived at the trailhead parking lot. This hike was shorter and easier than the hot spring hike I did the day before. It started with a beautiful bridge crossing over the same rapid river I drove along. And then through tall trees and greenery. It followed a river pretty much the whole way. The forest was really quiet, the only noise was the river and the pitter-patter of those tiny hail balls falling. I was at the hot spring before I knew it and I wasn’t even sure I was there until I checked my GPS. There was one big pool and a smaller one connected to it. I could see steam coming up from it and when I felt the water it was pretty warm but not as hot as yesterday’s hot spring. I hopped into the pool, which overlooked the running river and the cloudy blue sky, and enjoyed the pool to myself. There was a stream coming down from a little waterfall behind me that steamed all the way down until it met up with the rapid river in front of me. There was one couple that passed by and then another shortly after with a cute golden retriever. The dog jumped into the pool and came over and licked my face and got a few pets. The couple kept hiking a little ways up so it made me wonder if there were more pools up a little further. I stayed for an hour or so before I got out. I waited for the sun to pop out from behind the clouds so it could help warm me up as I dried off and changed behind a big boulder. On my hike back I noticed other steaming streams pouring out into the big river and paths leading down to them, so I guess people go wherever they find a hot stream in the area. I spotted a flowering plant called Trillium my uncle had taught me, so I definitely retained some information from our walks in nature. The walk back felt quick and soon I was driving back the way I came through the tall trees, along curvy roads, up and down the pass, and past the herds of cattle. Although, I noticed some deer crossing the road and when I got closer they ran to the other side of the road into a field to join a herd of Elk grazing and a black bear standing still behind them. It was cool to see the diverse animal group; I had never seen something like that before. I saw another Elk herd grazing in another area too on this drive. I was going to stay at the Lolo Pass Visitors Center for the night but decided to drive another hour back to Missoula. I parked at the Walmart closer to this side of town and did a little grocery shopping before making some dinner. It was getting late already so I just ate and hung out before calling it a night.
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