Saline Valley Part 2
So I went back to Saline Valley and spent almost 3 happy weeks there…happy except for the crowding. One night, two other vehicles invaded my campsite (unheard of! bad camping etiquette!!). Still, even with the hordes of people, it is an awesome place. Another year though, I will come at a less popular time, like maybe before it cools off.
2.25 miles up the “road” from the upper springs (actually a trail of boulders interspersed with sand and large gravel), there is a natural warm pool. Although my trike was malfunctioning horribly (slipping out of gear), I wanted to see it badly enough to trike up there anyway. Once. There is nothing worse than trying to bike when your bike won’t stay in any gear, particularly when you are on sand, gravel and boulders. It’s a testimony to my —er— persistence (or shall we call a spade a spade and say stubbornness) that I made it there and back at all. After readjusting my derailleur for the 500th time to no avail, I discovered that my cassette was bent. I tried to straighten it enough to ride with a pair of pliers, but it only got worse. Another year (and I will be back) I will ride up a bunch of times as I prefer the natural pool to the concrete ones.
Someone at the hot springs told me this pool was all full of black scum. Is it just me? I don’t see any scum of any color. In fact, I plunged in with all my clothes on, had a great time wallowing for a while, and came out cleaner than I went in.
Here’s the setting of the pool. I was bummed to learn that all these palms were added by “improvers” (meaning people). I had thought they just sprang out of nowhere because of the water, but no.