Golden Trout Wilderness Adventures - Jordan Hot Springs

derekrichardson (71)in #nature • 7 years ago (edited)

So I heard about a hot springs in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains from a friend and fellow youtuber davidsquall351.
(David's channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd6DvWHUFgacm1lMXqg08pA)
It was called Jordan hot springs and after hearing about it I had to check it out myself. I drove up highway 395 to Nine mile canyon rd. Which is the road to Kennedy meadows. I drove up into the mountains passed Kennedy meadows and all the way out to the Blackrock trailhead where we started our adventure. The trail started nice and gradual as we hiked through beautiful Casa Vieja meadows.

Pup checking out Casa Vieja meadows

Reaching Nine Mile creek

From Casa Vieja we headed down Nine Mile creek. Crossing it several times before reaching our destination at Jordan Hot springs!

Wildflowers and butterflys

Dropping down Nine Mile creek

Arriving at Jordan hot springs

Once we got there we had to walk around and check it all out. The place is full of old cabins and other ruins from the early 1900's when "Jordan Junction" was a popular resort.
(Here's a couple links where you can read more about the interesting history - http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/sierra_names2/jordan_hot_springs_history.pdf and
https://goldentroutwilderness.wordpress.com/inyo-nf-trips/1-day/jordan-hot-springs/ )
We also found some of the hot springs, and we found a spot to setup camp not far from the springs.

The remains of the Jordan Junction resort

Old cabins

Nine Mile creek near the hot springs

More old cabins

Views from camp

After setting up camp I decided to go and explore up Redrock creek. I had wanted to try to get all the way up to Redrock meadow but the trail was really tough. (There was no trail pretty much) It was covered in brush and down trees and just completely washed away for the most part, but the creek was flowing good and was a great place to relax and cool off in the water. After that little adventure we made our way back down to camp and walked around and explored along Nine Mile creek, finding a bunch of the many hot springs that dot the area. Some of them are really really hot!! A little later once it cooled of I headed over to the main hot tub and had a nice evening soak before heading back to camp for the night.

Some cool wildflowers by Redrock creek

Climbing up above Redrock creek

Redrock creek

More wildflowers

Indian Head (the red dome) from Redrock creek

Back down at Nine Mile creek

Jordan Hot Springs

The hottest spring I found measured at 125* F!

Hammock shadow

Moonrise

The next day our plan was to hike down to explore the Kern river. So we headed down the trail through the remnants of the McNally fire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNally_Fire) that had scorched the area in 2002. We got down to the creek crossing and then left the trail and headed downstream for our first little adventure of the day. Nine Mile canyon falls. An incredible 200 ft waterfall that plunges down into a deep rocky gorge!

Hiking through the burn zone from the McNally fire

Crossing Nine Mile creek

Small waterfall on our way down to the big one

Looking off the top of Nine Mile canyon falls

Nine Mile canyon falls

From the falls we hiked backed up to the trail and continued along across Soda flats where there there are some privately owned cabins that are still used. From Soda flats we continued down along the trail dropping more steeply now and taking the southern split in the trail down to the bottom of the canyon and the Kern river. We headed up river and found even more old cabins that I think are still used by horse packers. We kept going up river all the way up to the Falls of the Kern where the entire Kern river plunges over a 40 ft waterfall. It is an incredible sight to see, the power of the water is just incredible! Below the falls we found some really nice pools and I spent some time fishing and swimming in the river.

Cabins at Soda Flats

The Kern river

The Falls of the Kern

The top of the falls

Kern River above the falls

Rock outcrop above the falls

The nice pools below the falls

After enjoying my time at the pools we went back down to the horse packers cabins and from there we took the northern split in the trail up passed lower Nine Mile canyon falls. Another very awesome waterfall coming in at around 60 ft. We got back to the main trail and climbed back up and across Soda flats and back up through the burn zone to our camp at the hot springs. I spent the end of the day just relaxing at camp and enjoying a nice long soak in the hot springs!

Lower Nine Mile Canyon falls

View from the top of the falls

Soda Flats

The kids in full adventure mode

Cold creek falls

Climbing back through the burn zone

Getting back to the hot springs

Soak time!

Views from the hot springs

Full moon

The next morning we got up and got our camp all packed up and headed up the trail. We climbed back up Nine mile creek, up through Casa Vieja meadows, and back to the Blackrock trailhead where we started. 18.2 miles of fun and adventure in a beautiful area of the Sierra Nevada mountains. And with a hot spring to top it off, oh man, it doesn't get much better than that!

Going by the old cabins on our way out