iron mike
Just up the road from the Trapper Creek Wilderness trailhead is Government Mineral Springs. Back in the day there was a fancy hotel here (it burned to the ground many years ago), built near the mineral springs. Camille and I somehow inserted the word "hot" into our idea about what this place was like. After schlocking around in the mud and looking at the cold water we realized they were mineral springs only, the hot springs are all down the road, closer to Carson. Camille even got some devils club thorns stuck in her finger. Ouch! Sure wish there was some hot springs to dip my feet into.
These mineral springs, called Iron Mike, are obviously heavy in iron. I don't know why you'd want to drink this stuff. My parents have a well with lots of iron in the water and that water is not good for drinking. yuck! As an added twist there was even a notice posted from the State of Washington near the pump at Government Springs that due to high coliform levels the water wasn't even safe to drink. Bah! We got back in the car and drove back to Portland.
The Forest Service does have a lovely little cabin here that one can rent. It is very close to several trailheads. Just don't drink the water...
iron mike
Just up the road from the Trapper Creek Wilderness trailhead is Government Mineral Springs. Back in the day there was a fancy hotel here (it burned to the ground many years ago), built near the mineral springs. Camille and I somehow inserted the word "hot" into our idea about what this place was like. After schlocking around in the mud and looking at the cold water we realized they were mineral springs only, the hot springs are all down the road, closer to Carson. Camille even got some devils club thorns stuck in her finger. Ouch! Sure wish there was some hot springs to dip my feet into.
These mineral springs, called Iron Mike, are obviously heavy in iron. I don't know why you'd want to drink this stuff. My parents have a well with lots of iron in the water and that water is not good for drinking. yuck! As an added twist there was even a notice posted from the State of Washington near the pump at Government Springs that due to high coliform levels the water wasn't even safe to drink. Bah! We got back in the car and drove back to Portland.
The Forest Service does have a lovely little cabin here that one can rent. It is very close to several trailheads. Just don't drink the water...