For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by @thesocalhive I headed up into the Sierra Nevada mountains to spend a few days at...

Jordan Hot Springs!!

Jordan Hot Springs lies in the Golden Trout Wilderness in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountain range. I've actually been out to Jordan a few times before. Once on a solo trip in 2012 and then once again in 2013 with my mom at the end of a big 8 day loop all around the whole Golden Trout Wilderness area. Then in 2017 me, my buddy Ryan, and a couple of our other friends attempted an early season trip to the springs, but since the road to the regular trailhead was still closed due to snow we opted to attempt a trip from a much farther trailhead. And after a couple days of hiking we got close, but the early season runoff from all the melting snow had all the creeks and rivers raging and the final crossing of 9 Mile creek was uncrossable and prevented us from making it all the way. So when Ryan hit me up recently about trying to get in a trip before the winter hit, and he threw out Jordan as one of the potential options, I knew we had to go back for redemption! And also just because I knew Ryan was gonna love it. Not only is he a big hot springs fan, but he's also really into cool old historic stuff and there is lots of that on this trip. So we headed up route 395 to Sherman Pass road and made the long drive up passed Kennedy Meadows to the Blackrock trailhead. The trailhead is probably further out into the middle of the range than almost any other trailhead I know and the road is long and winding making it take a really long time to get out there, so luckily we got a pretty early start.

From the Blackrock trailhead we started down the trail. The first two miles was almost all downhill through forest with a mix of pine and fir trees and dotted with some nice little golden meadows. Eventually the trail leveled out and we came to the big and beautiful Casa Vieja meadow where we stopped for a quick break to checkout a cool old cabin that still stands alongside some cattle pens at the western edge of the meadow. At the north western corner of the meadow we got to the trail junction at 9 Mile creek. From there the trail followed the creek down the canyon crossing it a few times and eventually getting to the junction with the creek from Long Canyon and we stopped there for a bit to fill our water and have a snack. From there it was only another mile or so with one final creek crossing before reaching the official Jordan Hot Springs Historical site. In the past it was the location of a highly popular resort and there are still a few cabins standing there and lots of old historical artifacts. While we were checking out the cabins a horse packer who had setup camp just above the cabins walked down and talked to us for awhile. She has been packing into Jordan for many many decades and she was full of great stories and interesting information. After our conversation we headed down to the creek and checked out the hot springs. The pool was looking well kept and we were definitely looking forward to soaking later that evening. But first we crossed the creek on the log bridge and found a nice spot to setup our hammock camp. Once camp was all setup we headed back down to the springs for a relaxing soak in the hot water. And after a nice long soak we headed back to camp, made some dinner, and then crawled into our hammocks for the first night.

At the Blackrock trailhead

Trailhead sign

Small meadow along the trail

The cabin at Casa Vieja meadow

A peek inside the cabin

9 Mile creek flowing through Casa Vieja

Trail junction sign

Hiking down 9 Mile creek

Hiking down 9 Mile creek

Crossing 9 Mile creek

Crossing the meadow at Jordan

Cabins at the Historical Site

The cabins and the trunk of a huge cedar tree

Old cart wheels

Another cabin

Old machinery inside the cabin

An old saw blade

The backside of the cabin

More old machinery

The collapsed outhouse

Another cabin

The hot springs

Setting up our hammocks

Back down at the hot springs

The first night was pretty cold, but we survived and in the morning we warmed up with some coffee/hot cocoa. We made some breakfast and then headed out on our adventure for the day. A hike down to the Kern river and back. We started down canyon across Redrock creek and into a large burned zone from both the McNally fire of '02 and the Jordan fire of '19. The trail climbed up onto the northern hillside a few hundred feet above the creek and quickly became fairly difficult to follow and we even completely lost it for a short section, but luckily were able to get back on it before going too far. The trail cut in and out and up and down and passed a number of small springs before dropping back down to 9 Mile creek just above Soda Flats. This creek crossing was the one that stopped us back in 2017, but today it was easy to cross. Ryan was even able to get across without getting his feet wet. I had on water shoes so I just waded through the cold water. On the other side of the creek we hiked passed Soda flats which is a small piece of private property where there are some cabins that sit on a beautiful meadowy plateau. From what we learned the previous day from the horse packer at Jordan, the owners of soda flats (grocery store magnates) have had to do a bunch of fighting with the government to keep their land and are only able to supply and maintain it by flying in via a helicopter. Which I was actually able to see in my trip here back in 2012. And while we didn't get to see the chopper on this trip we did have several low flyby's from military jets who fly up 9 Mile canyon on their way over to the China Lake military base. Which is always really cool to see. As we hiked around Soda Flats we saw that there was actually a few people staying there. We waved to them and their two dogs came up and said hello to us.

Morning at camp

Getting ready to start the hike

Crossing the meadow at Redrock creek

9 Mile creek just below Jordan

Off trail in the burn zone

The upper creek crossing

The cabins at Soda Flats

Soda Flats

Passed Soda flats the trail was in much better shape and was easy to follow, but was also much steeper as it dropped us down towards the river. Once down the steep section we arrived at the lower crossing of 9 Mile creek, which was a bit more confusing and challenging, but we made it across without any issues. Including Ryan still keeping his feet dry. Just below the crossing we got to the Lower 9 Mile falls which is a beautiful 50-60 foot tall waterfall. We got some pictures of the falls and then headed down the last little bit to Painters camp which is a really cool old camp with a couple old cabins right alongside the Kern river. Unfortunately I don't know the history or how it got it's name or any of that, but I'm sure that it has quite a history. We stopped and had lunch there on the big wooden table and while we were there we met a couple fly fishermen who had been hiking up the river doing some fishing and were planning to camp there for the night. They were both really cool and we chatted with them for awhile, but eventually it was our turn to go looking for some trout. So we got our poles ready and started making our way up the river. There is no trail along this section of the river and we had to contend with quite a few obstacles, but we made our way just fine, casting here and there, and before long I caught the first trout of the day! And a little further up, I caught another! Eventually we got up to the area just below the Falls of the Kern where the whole river drops off a waterfall into a big granite chute full of nice pools. And that's where we really started hooking up. And not just hooking up, but catching some of the biggest trout I have ever caught in the Sierra!!

Dropping down towards the river

The lower creek crossing

Lower 9 Mile falls

Painters camp

Log cabin at Painters camp

River views from the wooden table during lunch

Making some casts on our way up river

First catch of the trip

Getting to the pools just below the Falls of the Kern

The Falls of the Kern

Another beautiful trout

One of the big catches

Ryan fishing

The fly fishermen at Painters camp had told stories of 2 foot trout... I just figured they were exaggerated, but now I was a believer. It was really incredible to be catching such epic trout while surrounded by such epic scenery. But eventually it got later in the afternoon and we knew that we needed to start making our way back to camp if we were gonna get there before dark, especially since we still had one more waterfall to check out. So we headed back down the river to Painters camp, gave a wave to the fly fisherman, and started our way back up the trail. Up passed the lower falls, across the lower crossing, and up the steep climb to Soda Flats. And at the upper crossing just above Soda flats we left the trail and headed downstream around the far side of the flats to the biggest waterfall of the trip... Upper 9 Mile falls. A massive waterfall that drops probably almost 200 feet into a huge narrow granite gorge. We made our way out onto the cliffs across from the falls where we got some great views of it. We had a quick snack and got some pictures and then headed back up to the trail. We crossed the creek and made our way up the trail, this time being able to follow it all the way without ever losing it. We arrived back at camp with the last bit of light. It was a long tough day and the hot springs were definitely calling our name. So we headed down for another great evening soak. It's amazing how much a few drinks and some hot water can ease a sore body. And although there were some other new campers there this night, we still ended up having the springs all to ourselves once again. It was so nice it was hard to want to get out, but eventually we did and headed back to camp to make some dinner and then once again crawl into our hammocks for the last night of the trip.

Heading back across the lower crossing

Upper 9 Mile falls
(Had to put 2 pictures together to get it all!)

Watching our last rays of sun disappear as we headed back up through the burn zone

Sunset glow from the burn zone

Getting back to Jordan just in time

Soaking in the hot springs

The second night was not quite as cold and since I was so tired from the long hike and so relaxed from the hot springs I slept great. In the morning we made breakfast and then got our camp all packed up. We tossed on our packs and headed down to cross the creek on the log, getting one last view of the hot springs and then stopped off at the historic cabins so that we could get a few more pictures of them before heading out. We said goodbye to the horse packer and then started making our way back up the trail. The hike out was quite a climb but we actually made pretty good time. When we got back up to Casa Vieja meadow we stopped for a bit and tried some fishing in the creek there. We could see a bunch of little Golden trout swimming around in there, but despite our efforts we were unsuccessful at catching any. From there it was another 2 miles of climbing to get back to the trailhead and by the last bit of it I was definitely getting pretty tired. But once back at the trailhead, with my backpack off, I was feeling great just thinking back over what an absolutely incredible trip we had just had!!

Morning views from camp

Crossing the log

One last look at the hot springs

Getting a few more pictures of the cabins

The biggest cabin

The horse packer's horses grazing in the meadow

Long canyon creek

Golden color on the trail

Fishing in Casa Vieja meadow

Map

And so until next time...

I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into

My California!!

all photos by @derekrichardson

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[//]:# (!worldmappin 36.23042 lat -118.30474 long Jordan Hot Springs d3scr)
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