Bear Valley Hot Spring
(the Goat Trail used to get in there)

For the first time since I have been going into Bear Valley Hot Spring, it turned out to be a real unadulterated bust. I have been rained on at times, to be sure, but always before the HS itself was worth the pain. This time, for the first time since I have been trekking in there, about 10 years worth, there was a whole gaggle of folks in there... on Thursday. To say I was surprised would be to master the art of understatement. I went to great lengths to maintain my separation from them and their party, never went into the large HS itself, never let the animals (goats, 3) anywhere near them or their camp. However I still was faced with "attitude" because of having "stock" in this area. I have been hiking off and on since 1952. I don't think that at age 66 I have to do any excuse-making because of going to a low-impact pack animal. Especially since a couple of years back I took a whole party of folks into this HS for the express purpose of cleaning up the mess that had been left behind by the horse people. Ya just can't win.

The hot spring. A veritable creek bubbles up out of the hillside here. Keeps the best pool a constant 103 degrees. Yummmm...	The next morning. Beautiful in the cool morning air!
My transport. Little Brother carried the most, about 30 lbs.	Ya just can't pass by all this neat green stuff without a nibble!
The local residents come to lick the minerals off the rocks.	At this point they are starting to get a little wary of all the low-life campers over there! Since this was a telephoto shot, we are a lot further away than it looks.
And this cadre of guys still have peach fuzz all over their antlers. They won't impress the ladies much like that!	We're outta here.
Not this one. He can take a little more encroachment on his space than the others.	Well, dang, even his space has limits!