12 Jul finding a new favorite with Jordan Hot Springs
Monday July 10 – Tuesday July 11
I celebrated my 37th birthday in the Gila Wilderness and my only wishes were for chocolate and to backpack to Jordan Hot Springs. Aaron amazingly located my favorite chocolate bars, Taza, at the Gila Cliff Dwellings visitor center and bought me almost every flavor — our only sweets for 3 weeks!
We were still settling into our new set up in the Gila Wilderness when my actual birthdate rolled around, and did not want to hike to this popular hot springs with a crowd so we set our departure date for Monday July 10th, leaving us plenty of time to prepare.
We began the hike early, by 7am so we wouldn’t be dealing with midday heat. Jordan Hot Springs are 7 miles from the TJ Corral Trailhead, ascending 800ft over the first 2 miles, up a wide open hillside before dropping into Little Bear Canyon.
Another mile and half downhill and we were in Little Bear Canyon, shaded from the sun, walking through wildflowers with the small stream underfoot. It was truly a different world than the sparse, hot and dry hillsides above!
We hiked out of Little Bear Canyon to reach the wider much larger canyon surrounding the Middle Fork of the Gila River. The massive canyon walls would guide the remaining 4 miles of our journey to the hot springs.
As typical with most hikes in the Gila, we began a series of river crossings that were ankle to knee-deep nice cold water.
The area was flush with insane levels of flourishing plants. We came across fields as tall as 5′, and spotted some blooming Datura (moonflower), along with mint, alfalfa, and buffalo guards.
We arrived at Jordan Hot Springs around 11:30, and our jaws dropped immediately. The clearest, bluest double-decker pool lay before us, walls lined with trees and lush foliage … It was something out of a dream! We toured around the springs to find two campsites directly above the pools, and were ecstatic to the have the place all to ourselves!
Before we even set up camp we took our first soak. The water was the most perfect 90-something degree temperature: hot enough to relax the entire body but cool enough to prevent any overheating. After taking a break to set up camp, we returned to the pools several more times that day for hours of peaceful relaxation.
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- The spring’s flow into the upper pool
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- So many plants!
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- Cliff views looking out past the lower pool
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- An alter of offerings from past visitors
In addition to soaking, we read books, took naps, and generally lazed about for a full 24 hours. The only other hiker we saw, who passed us halfway through the trip, used the pools not long after we first arrived, and never reappeared. We felt so lucky to have this place all to ourselves for a whole day and night!
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- A blue-bellied lizard was very curious about us when we arrived!
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- Having the best time at Jordan Hot Springs!
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- Camping high on a steep hillside is perfect for views!
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- Dawn light on the cliffs to the west
The next day, we continued our dedicated relaxation with a loooong soak at 6am. After we ate breakfast, read more books, and soaked a final time, we begrudgingly packed up camp and began the hike out around 1:30p. If we hadn’t told others to expect us returning that day (or had any food left!) we definitely would have stayed longer! Now we know for next time to aim for at least 2 nights at this paradise camping spot.
Our hike out was just as lovely as the way in, and we discovered more beaver work between their two large dams on the Middle Fork. They were specifically taking down cottonwoods, likely because cottonwoods are a coppicing tree and send up new shoots from existing roots, compared to Sycamores which are seed-sprouted only. There are at least 6 cottonwoods taken down in this small area, not including a HUGE one that was still in progress!
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- Hiking back out through the Gila Wilderness
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- Evidence of beavers at work near the dam
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- This tree is about 70% of the way through!
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- Check out that progress — great job beavers!
We broke up the 7 miles with a nice river-dipping break at the Middle Fork – Little Bear junction. As we reached the area, we passed a large group of a dozen or so boyscouts, with three chaperones heading to the springs. Our solo time would have been thoroughly ruined had we stayed another night! It was difficult to imagine how 15 people would change the energy of that tranquil wonderland, let alone young boys! We carried on back through Little Bear Canyon while the first thunderheads of monsoon season built and rumbled overhead. No rain fell until we reached the clear-sighted hill top of the final miles, but it was so slight the ground never soaked past a polka dot pattern. We reached the trailhead a little after 4:30p, exhausted but thoroughly fulfilled by the gorgeous hike to the incredible Jordan Hot Springs.
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