Found Two

We jumped in the truck with map in hand the other morning and headed up Forest Road 1130. Right off, a large doe and a very small fawn crossed the road right in front of us.

My memory was pretty decent on the first one. Although the location wasn’t signed and the timbers that formed steps to a viewing location are now badly worn, we drove right to the Rainbow Falls viewpoint. The trees have grown and the view is now quite obstructed, but yup, that’s the spot I remember.

There was a sketchy path that continued down from the view point that may have resulted in a better view, but I decided to leave that to someone else to determine. Unfortunately, it was obvious that Jack the Pyromaniac had been there and he left his mark!

Turk didn’t care about the waterfall, but he was sure interested in the smell of something on the trail.

Baker Hot Spring was a bit more challenge. I’d been there a couple times as a kid and my parents had been there when they were dating. I’d always remembered it being below, but not far from the road. Never did find any sign of the access point that I remembered.

The pool had changed and there weren’t as many trees around, but the hot spring was still there. There were indications that a few college students had enjoyed Spring Break at the hot spring. The access trail was in good condition, but once again, nothing was signed at the trail head.

Most maps show FR1144 going through but it had been cut off on the lower end just past Park Creek campground, and on the upper end just south of the hairpin turn. There’s now a large turn-around where the road ends. The trail to the left is the former route of FR1144. The area to the right is the hot spring trail head. Take the trail all the way to the end – about 1/4 mile or a bit more, each direction.

There were quite a few flowers and fungi out, adding color to the day.

The next trick will be to try to find any remnants of the Morovitz cabins.