Naked Push-Ups and Taco Madness – Days 19 and 20

Day 19

Mileage: 301.3 to 320.1

The rock-encircled hot creek.

The legendary Deep Creek Hot Springs are a destination every hiker is excited about. Cool river water with separate pools of hot natural spring water. It’s beautiful and a great place to take a long break from your daily walk. That is if you don’t mind naked people. Clothing is optional here and as the day grows older clothing becomes more scarce. Everyone knows this thanks to word of mouth and Guthook so no one should be surprised. We elected to keep ours on but many others did not.

We got to the spring nice and early before the crowds arrived. We swam and enjoyed the springs with only one other group of girls. A group of guys showed up a couple of hours later and after some sweet talk Cody scored us some free beers. Then the nakedness happened. One guy was on some serious happy pills; we realized this after he made several comments on how beautiful the surrounding brown rocks were. He followed this up by doing some naked push-ups in front of a group of girls. It was disturbing and entertaining, kind of like a car wreck. Don’t worry folks, he wasn’t a hiker. As the day grew older we knew that we had to move on.

We hiked through the hottest stretch of the day butttttt our trail friend had previously invited to take us into town to meet up with her friends. This meant that we’d be able to enjoy some tacos, a bed, and a hot shower for Kelsey’s birthday the following day. WAHOOOOO!!! We had the motivation but this seemed like the longest day on trail so far. This was also the first time we’d break out our headlamps as we hiked into camp much later than our usual 5 p.m. arrival.

Day 20

Mileage 320.1 to 342.0

After waking up several times throughout the night to the sounds of a large animal stomping through camp, our alarm bells went off bright and early. We still have no idea who our camp visitor was. With tacos and hot showers on our mind we were ready to get walking. We sang Kelsey happy birthday and enjoyed the cool morning air while it lasted. It was a slow-moving, hot day, which made a ton of sense after we learned that there was a heat advisory in affect.

Our packs got their own booth.

After 21.9 miles of heat we had reached our pickup point. IT WAS TIME!!! Our friend took us to a local taqueria where we enjoyed 95 cent tacos for taco Tuesday and cold sodas (something we dream about every day on trail). It was great and made the struggles of the day well worth it.

After tacos we went to a local scoop shop for some ice cream. One may ask if the day could get any better? Oh yes, it can! We finished the night off with hot showers and a clean bed to sleep in. It was a great night in town and a phenomenal way to spend Kelsey’s birthday. We’re very grateful for our new friends and this awesome opportunity to keep walking.

Birthday girl strikes a pose (LOL).

Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

Comments 2

  • Gwen : Jun 21st

    Stunning views and sunsets! ? Wowza!

    Reply
  • Duke : Jun 22nd

    Stunning birthday pose! Your pictures paint a great picture of your hike!

    Reply

What Do You Think?